Genetically engineered nanocarriers for drug delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi P

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Pu Shi, Joshua A Gustafson, J Andrew MacKayDepartment of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USAAbstract: Cytotoxicity, low water solubility, rapid clearance from circulation, and off-target side-effects are common drawbacks of conventional small-molecule drugs. To overcome these shortcomings, many multifunctional nanocarriers have been proposed to enhance drug delivery. In concept, multifunctional nanoparticles might carry multiple agents, control release rate, biodegrade, and utilize target-mediated drug delivery; however, the design of these particles presents many challenges at the stage of pharmaceutical development. An emerging solution to improve control over these particles is to turn to genetic engineering. Genetically engineered nanocarriers are precisely controlled in size and structure and can provide specific control over sites for chemical attachment of drugs. Genetically engineered drug carriers that assemble nanostructures including nanoparticles and nanofibers can be polymeric or non-polymeric. This review summarizes the recent development of applications in drug and gene delivery utilizing nanostructures of polymeric genetically engineered drug carriers such as elastin-like polypeptides, silk-like polypeptides, and silk-elastin-like protein polymers, and non-polymeric genetically engineered drug carriers such as vault proteins and viral proteins.Keywords: polymeric drug carrier, non-polymeric drug carrier, gene delivery, GE drug carriers

Engineering students' sustainability approaches

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Haase, S.

2014-05-01

Sustainability issues are increasingly important in engineering work all over the world. This article explores systematic differences in self-assessed competencies, interests, importance, engagement and practices of newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark in relation to environmental and non-environmental sustainability issues. The empirical base of the article is a nation-wide, web-based survey sent to all newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark commencing their education in the fall term 2010. The response rate was 46%. The survey focused on a variety of different aspects of what can be conceived as sustainability. By means of cluster analysis, three engineering student approaches to sustainability are identified and described. The article provides knowledge on the different prerequisites of engineering students in relation to the role of sustainability in engineering. This information is important input to educators trying to target new engineering students and contribute to the provision of engineers equipped to meet sustainability challenges.

Modularization of genetic elements promotes synthetic metabolic engineering.

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Qi, Hao; Li, Bing-Zhi; Zhang, Wen-Qian; Liu, Duo; Yuan, Ying-Jin

2015-11-15

In the context of emerging synthetic biology, metabolic engineering is moving to the next stage powered by new technologies. Systematical modularization of genetic elements makes it more convenient to engineer biological systems for chemical production or other desired purposes. In the past few years, progresses were made in engineering metabolic pathway using synthetic biology tools. Here, we spotlighted the topic of implementation of modularized genetic elements in metabolic engineering. First, we overviewed the principle developed for modularizing genetic elements and then discussed how the genetic modules advanced metabolic engineering studies. Next, we picked up some milestones of engineered metabolic pathway achieved in the past few years. Last, we discussed the rapid raised synthetic biology field of "building a genome" and the potential in metabolic engineering. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Moral Fantasy in Genetic Engineering.

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Boone, C. Keith

1984-01-01

Discusses the main ethical issues generated by the new genetics and suggests ways to think about them. Concerns include "playing God," violation of the natural order of the universe, and abuse of genetic technology. Critical distinctions for making difficult decisions about genetic engineering issues are noted. (DH)

First-Year Engineering Students' Portrayal of Engineering in a Proposed Museum Exhibit for Middle School Students

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Mena, Irene B.; Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.

2012-04-01

Students' perceptions of engineering have been documented through studies involving interviews, surveys, and word associations that take a direct approach to asking students about various aspects of their understanding of engineering. Research on perceptions of engineering rarely focuses on how students would portray engineering to others. First-year engineering student teams proposed a museum exhibit, targeted to middle school students, to explore the question "What is engineering?" The proposals took the form of a poster. The overarching research question focuses on how these students would portray engineering to middle school students as seen through their museum exhibit proposals. A preliminary analysis was done on 357 posters to determine the overall engineering themes for the proposed museum exhibits. Forty of these posters were selected and, using open coding, more thoroughly analyzed to learn what artifacts/objects, concepts, and skills student teams associate with engineering. These posters were also analyzed to determine if there were any differences by gender composition of the student teams. Building, designing, and teamwork are skills the first-year engineering students link to engineering. Regarding artifacts, students mentioned those related to transportation and structures most often. All-male teams were more likely to focus on the idea of space and to mention teamwork and designing as engineering skills; equal-gender teams were more likely to focus on the multidisciplinary aspect of engineering. This analysis of student teams' proposals provides baseline data, positioning instructors to develop and assess instructional interventions that stretch students' self-exploration of engineering.

Possible people, complaints, and the distinction between genetic planning and genetic engineering.

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Delaney, James J

2011-07-01

Advances in the understanding of genetics have led to the belief that it may become possible to use genetic engineering to manipulate the DNA of humans at the embryonic stage to produce certain desirable traits. Although this currently cannot be done on a large scale, many people nevertheless object in principle to such practices. Most often, they argue that genetic enhancements would harm the children who were engineered, cause societal harms, or that the risks of perfecting the procedures are too high to proceed. However, many of these same people do not have serious objections to what is called 'genetic planning' procedures (such as the selection of sperm donors with desirable traits) that essentially have the same ends. The author calls the view that genetic engineering enhancements are impermissible while genetic planning enhancements are permissible the 'popular view', and argues that the typical reasons people give for the popular view fail to distinguish the two practices. This paper provides a principle that can salvage the popular view, which stresses that offspring from genetic engineering practices have grounds for complaint because they are identical to the pre-enhanced embryo, whereas offspring who are the result of genetic planning have no such grounds.

Safe genetically engineered plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosellini, D; Veronesi, F

2007-01-01

The application of genetic engineering to plants has provided genetically modified plants (GMPs, or transgenic plants) that are cultivated worldwide on increasing areas. The most widespread GMPs are herbicide-resistant soybean and canola and insect-resistant corn and cotton. New GMPs that produce vaccines, pharmaceutical or industrial proteins, and fortified food are approaching the market. The techniques employed to introduce foreign genes into plants allow a quite good degree of predictability of the results, and their genome is minimally modified. However, some aspects of GMPs have raised concern: (a) control of the insertion site of the introduced DNA sequences into the plant genome and of its mutagenic effect; (b) presence of selectable marker genes conferring resistance to an antibiotic or an herbicide, linked to the useful gene; (c) insertion of undesired bacterial plasmid sequences; and (d) gene flow from transgenic plants to non-transgenic crops or wild plants. In response to public concerns, genetic engineering techniques are continuously being improved. Techniques to direct foreign gene integration into chosen genomic sites, to avoid the use of selectable genes or to remove them from the cultivated plants, to reduce the transfer of undesired bacterial sequences, and make use of alternative, safer selectable genes, are all fields of active research. In our laboratory, some of these new techniques are applied to alfalfa, an important forage plant. These emerging methods for plant genetic engineering are briefly reviewed in this work

Safe genetically engineered plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosellini, D; Veronesi, F [Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale e Biotecnologie Agroambientali e Zootecniche, Universita degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX giugno 74, 06121 Perugia (Italy)

2007-10-03

The application of genetic engineering to plants has provided genetically modified plants (GMPs, or transgenic plants) that are cultivated worldwide on increasing areas. The most widespread GMPs are herbicide-resistant soybean and canola and insect-resistant corn and cotton. New GMPs that produce vaccines, pharmaceutical or industrial proteins, and fortified food are approaching the market. The techniques employed to introduce foreign genes into plants allow a quite good degree of predictability of the results, and their genome is minimally modified. However, some aspects of GMPs have raised concern: (a) control of the insertion site of the introduced DNA sequences into the plant genome and of its mutagenic effect; (b) presence of selectable marker genes conferring resistance to an antibiotic or an herbicide, linked to the useful gene; (c) insertion of undesired bacterial plasmid sequences; and (d) gene flow from transgenic plants to non-transgenic crops or wild plants. In response to public concerns, genetic engineering techniques are continuously being improved. Techniques to direct foreign gene integration into chosen genomic sites, to avoid the use of selectable genes or to remove them from the cultivated plants, to reduce the transfer of undesired bacterial sequences, and make use of alternative, safer selectable genes, are all fields of active research. In our laboratory, some of these new techniques are applied to alfalfa, an important forage plant. These emerging methods for plant genetic engineering are briefly reviewed in this work.

Seeking perfection: a Kantian look at human genetic engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunderson, Martin

2007-01-01

It is tempting to argue that Kantian moral philosophy justifies prohibiting both human germ-line genetic engineering and non-therapeutic genetic engineering because they fail to respect human dignity. There are, however, good reasons for resisting this temptation. In fact, Kant's moral philosophy provides reasons that support genetic engineering-even germ-line and non-therapeutic. This is true of Kant's imperfect duties to seek one's own perfection and the happiness of others. It is also true of the categorical imperative. Kant's moral philosophy does, however, provide limits to justifiable genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering in biotechnology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bedate, C.A.; Morales, J.C.; Lopez, E.H.

1981-09-01

The objective of this book is to encourage the use of genetic engineering for economic development. The report covers: (1) Precedents of genetic engineering; (2) a brief description of the technology, including the transfer of DNA in bacteria (vectors, E. coli and B. subtilis hosts, stages, and technical problems), practical examples of techniques used and their products (interferon; growth hormone; insulin; treatment of blood cells, Talasemia, and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome; and more nutritious soya), transfer to higher organisms, and cellular fusion; (3) biological risks and precautions; (4) possible applications (production of hydrogen, hydrocarbons, alcohol, chemicals, enzymes, peptides, viral antigens, monoclonal antibodies, genes, proteins, and insecticides; metal extraction; nitrogen fixation; biodegradation; and new varieties of plants and animals; and (5) international activities.

Genetic Engineering of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dan; Khurshid, Muhammad; Sun, Zhan Min; Tang, Yi Xiong; Zhou, Mei Liang; Wu, Yan Min

2016-01-01

Alfalfa is excellent perennial legume forage for its extensive ecological adaptability, high nutrition value, palatability and biological nitrogen fixation. It plays a very important role in the agriculture, animal husbandry and ecological construction. It is cultivated in all continents. With the development of modern plant breeding and genetic engineering techniques, a large amount of work has been carried out on alfalfa. Here we summarize the recent research advances in genetic engineering of alfalfa breeding, including transformation, quality improvement, stress resistance and as a bioreactor. The review article can enables us to understand the research method, direction and achievements of genetic engineering technology of Alfalfa.

Teaching Engineering Students Team Work

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Levi, Daniel

1998-01-01

The purpose of this manual is to provide professor's in engineering classes which the background necessary to use student team projects effectively. This manual describes some of the characteristics of student teams and how to use them in class. It provides a set of class activities and films which can be used to introduce and support student teams. Finally, a set of teaching modules used in freshmen, sophomore, and senior aeronautical engineering classes are presented. This manual was developed as part of a NASA sponsored project to improve the undergraduate education of aeronautical engineers. The project has helped to purchase a set of team work films which can be checked out from Cal Poly's Learning Resources Center in the Kennedy Library. Research for this project has included literature reviews on team work and cooperative learning; interviews, observations, and surveys of Cal Poly students from Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Psychology; participation in the Aeronautical Engineering senior design lab; and interviews with engineering faculty. In addition to this faculty manual, there is a student team work manual which has been designed to help engineering students work better in teams.

Empathy among students in engineering programmes

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Rasoal, Chato; Danielsson, Henrik; Jungert, Tomas

2012-10-01

Engineers face challenges when they are to manage project groups and be leaders for organisations because such positions demand skills in social competence and empathy. Previous studies have shown that engineers have low degrees of social competence skills. In this study, the level of empathy as measured by the four subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, perspective taking, fantasy, empathic distress and empathic concern, among engineering students was compared to students in health care profession programmes. Participants were undergraduate students at Linköping University, 365 students from four different health care profession programmes and 115 students from two different engineering programmes. When the empathy measures were corrected for effects of sex, engineering students from one of the programmes had lower empathy than psychology and social worker students on the fantasy and perspective-taking subscales. These results raise questions regarding opportunities for engineering students to develop their empathic abilities. It is important that engineering students acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills regarding empathy.

Teacher-to-Teacher: An Annotated Bibliography on DNA and Genetic Engineering.

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Mertens, Thomas R., Comp.

1984-01-01

Presented is an annotated bibliography of 24 books on DNA and genetic engineering. Areas considered in these books include: basic biological concepts to help understand advances in genetic engineering; applications of genetic engineering; social, legal, and moral issues of genetic engineering; and historical aspects leading to advances in…

Designed by Engineers: An analysis of interactionaries with engineering students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrik Artman

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to describe and analyze learning taking place in a collaborative design exercise involving engineering students. The students perform a time-constrained, open-ended, complex interaction design task, an “interactionary”. A multimodal learning perspective is used. We have performed detailed analyses of video recordings of the engineering students, including classifying aspects of interaction. Our results show that the engineering students carry out and articulate their design work using a technology-centred approach and focus more on the function of their designs than on aspects of interaction. The engineering students mainly make use of ephemeral communication strategies (gestures and speech rather than sketching in physical materials. We conclude that the interactionary may be an educational format that can help engineering students learn the messiness of design work. We further identify several constraints to the engineering students’ design learning and propose useful interventions that a teacher could make during an interactionary. We especially emphasize interventions that help engineering students-retain aspects of human-centered design throughout the design process. This study partially replicates a previous study which involved interaction design students.

Interests and attitudes of engineering students

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Rutherford, Brian

2007-12-01

Engineering programs have been less successful than other professions in achieving gender equity. Analyses of gender differences in the attitudes and interests of engineering students may help illuminate ways to combat the underrepresentation of women in engineering. This study examined data collected from 863 engineering students who attended 15 American universities from fall 2005 through spring 2006 using an online survey. The survey was designed to understand the backgrounds, academic preparation, motivation, interests, and attitudes of engineering students. To determine whether males and females received different academic preparation prior to entering engineering, the survey examined participants' mathematics, science, and technical coursework taken in high school. The questions probed students' comfort and interest level in mathematics, science, and technology/engineering and investigated student interest in the three fundamental engineering activities by asking 49 design, build, and analyze questions on topics covering a variety of engineering disciplines. A combination of question formats was used including pre-categorized demographic information, 5-point Likert scales, and open-ended responses. Gender similarities and differences were identified and their implications were considered for the recruitment and retention of engineers. Female engineering students in this study were equally or better prepared than males to major in engineering based on the number and types of science and mathematics classes taken in high school. However, statistically significant gender differences were found in the attitudes and interests of engineering students. The difference in the comfort level, interest in learning, being able to demonstrate, or in performing stem skills depended on the question topic rather than gender. The areas with the highest comfort and interest level were often different for females and males. Several topics and curriculum areas of high interest to

Genetically Engineered Immunotherapy for Advanced Cancer

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In this trial, doctors will collect T lymphocytes from patients with advanced mesothelin-expressing cancer and genetically engineer them to recognize mesothelin. The gene-engineered cells will be multiplied and infused into the patient to fight the cancer

German politics of genetic engineering and its deconstruction.

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Gottweis, H

1995-05-01

Policy-making, as exemplified by biotechnology policy, can be understood as an attempt to manage a field of discursivity, to construct regularity in a dispersed multitude of combinable elements. Following this perspective of politics as a textual process, the paper interprets the politicization of genetic engineering in Germany as a defence of the political as a regime of heterogeneity, as a field of 'dissensus' rather than 'consensus', and a rejection of the idea that the framing of technological transformation is an autonomous process. From its beginning in the early 1970s, genetic engineering was symbolically entrenched as a key technology of the future, and as an integral element of the German politics of modernization. Attempts by new social movements and the Green Party to displace the egalitarian imaginary of democratic discourse into the politics of genetic engineering were construed by the political élites as an attack on the political order of post-World War II Germany. The 1990 Genetic Engineering Law attempted a closure of this controversy. But it is precisely the homogenizing idiom of this 'settlement' which continues to nourish the social movements and their radical challenge to the definitions and codings of the politics of genetic engineering.

Genetically engineered orange petunias on the market

OpenAIRE

Bashandy, Hany; Teeri, Teemu Heikki

2017-01-01

Main conclusion Unauthorized genetically engineered orange petunias were found on the market. Genetic engineering of petunia was shown to lead to novel flower color some 20?years ago. Here we show that petunia lines with orange flowers, generated for scientific purposes, apparently found their way to petunia breeding programmes, intentionally or unintentionally. Today they are widely available, but have not been registered for commerce. Electronic supplementary material The online version of ...

Genetic engineering for skeletal regenerative medicine.

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Gersbach, Charles A; Phillips, Jennifer E; García, Andrés J

2007-01-01

The clinical challenges of skeletal regenerative medicine have motivated significant advances in cellular and tissue engineering in recent years. In particular, advances in molecular biology have provided the tools necessary for the design of gene-based strategies for skeletal tissue repair. Consequently, genetic engineering has emerged as a promising method to address the need for sustained and robust cellular differentiation and extracellular matrix production. As a result, gene therapy has been established as a conventional approach to enhance cellular activities for skeletal tissue repair. Recent literature clearly demonstrates that genetic engineering is a principal factor in constructing effective methods for tissue engineering approaches to bone, cartilage, and connective tissue regeneration. This review highlights this literature, including advances in the development of efficacious gene carriers, novel cell sources, successful delivery strategies, and optimal target genes. The current status of the field and the challenges impeding the clinical realization of these approaches are also discussed.

Perspectives of genetic engineering in radiobiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khanson, K.P.; Zvonareva, N.B.; Evtushenko, V.I.

1988-01-01

Present evidence on the use of genetic engineering methods in studying the molecular mechanism of radiation damage and repair of DNA, as well as radiation mutagenesis and carcinogenesis has been summarized. The new approach to radiobiological research has proved to be extremely fruitful. Some previously unknown types of structural disorders in DNA molecule have been discovered, some repair genes isolated and their primary structure established, some aspects of radiation mutagenesis elucidated, and research into disiphering the molecular bases of neoplastic transformations of exposed cells are being successfully investigated. The perspectives of using genetic engineering methods in radiobiology are discussed

Creativity among Geomatical Engineering Students

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Keh, Lim Keng; Ismail, Zaleha; Yusof, Yudariah Mohammad

2017-01-01

This research aims to find out the creativity among the geomatical engineering students. 96 geomatical engineering students participated in the research. They were divided into 24 groups of 4 students. Each group were asked to solve a real world problem collaboratively with their creative thinking. Their works were collected and then analysed as…

Modeling student success in engineering education

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Qu

In order for the United States to maintain its global competitiveness, the long-term success of our engineering students in specific courses, programs, and colleges is now, more than ever, an extremely high priority. Numerous studies have focused on factors that impact student success, namely academic performance, retention, and/or graduation. However, there are only a limited number of works that have systematically developed models to investigate important factors and to predict student success in engineering. Therefore, this research presents three separate but highly connected investigations to address this gap. The first investigation involves explaining and predicting engineering students' success in Calculus I courses using statistical models. The participants were more than 4000 first-year engineering students (cohort years 2004 - 2008) who enrolled in Calculus I courses during the first semester in a large Midwestern university. Predictions from statistical models were proposed to be used to place engineering students into calculus courses. The success rates were improved by 12% in Calculus IA using predictions from models developed over traditional placement method. The results showed that these statistical models provided a more accurate calculus placement method than traditional placement methods and help improve success rates in those courses. In the second investigation, multi-outcome and single-outcome neural network models were designed to understand and to predict first-year retention and first-year GPA of engineering students. The participants were more than 3000 first year engineering students (cohort years 2004 - 2005) enrolled in a large Midwestern university. The independent variables include both high school academic performance factors and affective factors measured prior to entry. The prediction performances of the multi-outcome and single-outcome models were comparable. The ability to predict cumulative GPA at the end of an engineering

Knowledge of Genetics and Attitudes toward Genetic Testing among College Students in Saudi Arabia.

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Olwi, Duaa; Merdad, Leena; Ramadan, Eman

2016-01-01

Genetic testing has been gradually permeating the practice of medicine. Health-care providers may be confronted with new genetic approaches that require genetically informed decisions which will be influenced by patients' knowledge of genetics and their attitudes toward genetic testing. This study assesses the knowledge of genetics and attitudes toward genetic testing among college students. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a multistage stratified sample of 920 senior college students enrolled at King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. Information regarding knowledge of genetics, attitudes toward genetic testing, and sociodemographic data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. In general, students had a good knowledge of genetics but lacked some fundamentals of genetics. The majority of students showed positive attitudes toward genetic testing, but some students showed negative attitudes toward certain aspects of genetic testing such as resorting to abortion in the case of an untreatable major genetic defect in an unborn fetus. The main significant predictors of knowledge were faculty, gender, academic year, and some prior awareness of 'genetic testing'. The main significant predictors of attitudes were gender, academic year, grade point average, and some prior awareness of 'genetic testing'. The knowledge of genetics among college students was higher than has been reported in other studies, and the attitudes toward genetic testing were fairly positive. Genetics educational programs that target youths may improve knowledge of genetics and create a public perception that further supports genetic testing. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Recent Advances in Genetic Engineering - A Review

OpenAIRE

Sobiah Rauf; Zubair Anwar; Hussain Mustatab Wahedi; Jabar Zaman Khan Khattak; Talal Jamil

2012-01-01

Humans have been doing genetic engineering, a technology which is transforming our world, for thousands of years on a wide range of plants, animals and micro organism and have applications in the field of medicine, research, industry and agriculture. The rapid developments in the field of genetic engineering have given a new impetus to biotechnology. This introduces the possibility of tailoring organisms in order to optimize the production of established or novel metabolites of commercial imp...

Can Man Control His Biological Evolution? A Symposium on Genetic Engineering. Genetic Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Paul

1972-01-01

Presented are issues related to genetic engineering. Increased knowledge of techniques to manipulate genes are apt to create confusion about moral values in relation to unborn babies and other living organisms on earth. Human beings may use this knowledge to disturb the balance maintained by nature. (PS)

Genetic Engineering: The Modification of Man

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Sinsheimer, Robert L.

1970-01-01

Describes somatic and genetic manipulations of individual genotypes, using diabetes control as an example of the first mode that is potentially realizable be derepression or viral transduction of genes. Advocates the use of genetic engineering of the second mode to remove man from his biological limitations, but offers maxims to ensure the…

Communication Needs of Thai Civil Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Kaewpet, Chamnong

2009-01-01

This article reports on an examination of the communication needs of a group of Thai civil engineering students. Twenty-five stakeholders helped identify the communication needs of the students by participating in individual interviews. These included employers, civil engineers, civil engineering lecturers, ex-civil engineering students of the…

An existential analysis of genetic engineering and human rights ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Genetic engineering for purposes of human enhancement poses risks that justify regulation. However, this paper argues philosophically that it is inappropriate to use human rights treaties to prohibit germ-line genetic engineering whether therapeutic or for purposes of enhancement. When also looked at existentially, the ...

Genetic engineering possibilities for CELSS: A bibliography and summary of techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, E. J.

1982-01-01

A bibliography of the most useful techniques employed in genetic engineering of higher plants, bacteria associated with plants, and plant cell cultures is provided. A resume of state-of-the-art genetic engineering of plants and bacteria is presented. The potential application of plant bacterial genetic engineering to CELSS (Controlled Ecological Life Support System) program and future research needs are discussed.

Genetic engineering applied to agriculture has a long row to hoe.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Henry I

2018-01-02

In spite of the lack of scientific justification for skepticism about crops modified with molecular techniques of genetic engineering, they have been the most scrutinized agricultural products in human history. The assumption that "genetically engineered" or "genetically modified" is a meaningful - and dangerous - classification has led to excessive and dilatory regulation. The modern molecular techniques are an extension, or refinement, of older, less precise, less predictable methods of genetic modification, but as long as today's activists and regulators remain convinced that so called "GMOs" represent a distinct and dangerous category of research and products, genetic engineering will fall short of its potential.

Effects of genetic engineering on the pharmacokinetics of antibodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colcher, D.; Goel, A.; Pavlinkova, G.; Beresford, G.; Booth, B.; Batra, S.K.

1999-01-01

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) may be considered 'magic bullets' due to their ability to recognize and eradicate malignant cells. MAbs, however, have practical limitations for their rapid application in the clinics. The structure of the antibody molecules can be engineered to modify functional domains such as antigen-binding sites and/or effectors functions. Advanced in genetic engineering have provided rapid progress the development of new immunoglobulin constructs of MAbs with defined research and therapeutic application. Recombinant antibody constructs are being engineered, such as human mouse chimeric, domain-dispositioned, domain-deleted, humanized and single-chain Fv fragments. Genetically-engineered antibodies differ in size and rate of catabolism. Pharmacokinetics studies show that the intact IgG (150 kD), enzymatically derived fragments Fab' (50 kD) and single chain Fv (28 kD) have different clearance rates. These antibody forms clear 50% from the blood pool in 2.1 days, 30 minutes and 10 minutes, respectively. Genetically-engineered antibodies make a new class of immunotherapeutic tracers for cancer treatment

Navigating Transitions: Challenges for Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Moore-Russo, Deborah; Wilsey, Jillian N.; Parthum, Michael J., Sr.; Lewis, Kemper

2017-01-01

As college students enter engineering, they face challenges when they navigate across various transitions. These challenges impact whether a student can successfully adapt to the rigorous curricular requirements of an engineering degree and to the norms and expectations that are particular to engineering. This article focuses on the transitions…

Genetic Optimization Algorithm for Metabolic Engineering Revisited

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias B. Alter

2018-05-01

Full Text Available To date, several independent methods and algorithms exist for exploiting constraint-based stoichiometric models to find metabolic engineering strategies that optimize microbial production performance. Optimization procedures based on metaheuristics facilitate a straightforward adaption and expansion of engineering objectives, as well as fitness functions, while being particularly suited for solving problems of high complexity. With the increasing interest in multi-scale models and a need for solving advanced engineering problems, we strive to advance genetic algorithms, which stand out due to their intuitive optimization principles and the proven usefulness in this field of research. A drawback of genetic algorithms is that premature convergence to sub-optimal solutions easily occurs if the optimization parameters are not adapted to the specific problem. Here, we conducted comprehensive parameter sensitivity analyses to study their impact on finding optimal strain designs. We further demonstrate the capability of genetic algorithms to simultaneously handle (i multiple, non-linear engineering objectives; (ii the identification of gene target-sets according to logical gene-protein-reaction associations; (iii minimization of the number of network perturbations; and (iv the insertion of non-native reactions, while employing genome-scale metabolic models. This framework adds a level of sophistication in terms of strain design robustness, which is exemplarily tested on succinate overproduction in Escherichia coli.

Effect of an Engineering Camp on Students' Perceptions of Engineering and Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Hammack, Rebekah; Ivey, Toni A.; Utley, Juliana; High, Karen A.

2015-01-01

Students' knowledge about a profession influences their future decisions about careers. Research indicates that students tend to hold stereotypical views of engineers, which would hinder engineering as a career choice. The purpose of this study was to measure how participating in a week long engineering summer camp affected middle school students'…

Rabbit defensin (NP-1) genetic engineering of plant | Ting | African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Rabbit defensin (NP-1) genetic engineering of plant. ... Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. ... defensin genetic engineering of plant in recent years, and also focuses on the existing problems and new strategies in this area.

Plant Genetic Resources: Selected Issues from Genetic Erosion to Genetic Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karl Hammer

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Plant Genetic Resources (PGR continue to play an important role in the development of agriculture. The following aspects receive a special consideration:1. Definition. The term was coined in 1970. The genepool concept served as an important tool in the further development. Different approaches are discussed.2. Values of Genetic Resources. A short introduction is highlighting this problem and stressing the economic usfulness of PGR.3. Genetic Erosion. Already observed by E. Baur in 1914, this is now a key issue within PGR. The case studies cited include Ethiopia, Italy, China, S Korea, Greece and S. Africa. Modern approaches concentrate on allelic changes in varieties over time but neglect the landraces. The causes and consequences of genetic erosion are discussed.4. Genetic Resources Conservation. Because of genetic erosion there is a need for conservation. PGR should be consigned to the appropriate method of conservation (ex situ, in situ, on-farm according to the scientific basis of biodiversity (genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and the evolutionary status of plants (cultivated plants, weeds, related wild plants (crop wild relatives.5. GMO. The impact of genetically engineered plants on genetic diversity is discussed.6. The Conclusions and Recommendations stress the importance of PGR. Their conservation and use are urgent necessities for the present development and future survival of mankind.

Genetic engineering of cyanobacteria as biodiesel feedstock.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruffing, Anne.; Trahan, Christine Alexandra; Jones, Howland D. T.

2013-01-01

Algal biofuels are a renewable energy source with the potential to replace conventional petroleum-based fuels, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The economic feasibility of commercial algal fuel production, however, is limited by low productivity of the natural algal strains. The project described in this SAND report addresses this low algal productivity by genetically engineering cyanobacteria (i.e. blue-green algae) to produce free fatty acids as fuel precursors. The engineered strains were characterized using Sandias unique imaging capabilities along with cutting-edge RNA-seq technology. These tools are applied to identify additional genetic targets for improving fuel production in cyanobacteria. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates successful fuel production from engineered cyanobacteria, identifies potential limitations, and investigates several strategies to overcome these limitations. This project was funded from FY10-FY13 through the President Harry S. Truman Fellowship in National Security Science and Engineering, a program sponsored by the LDRD office at Sandia National Laboratories.

Engineering Values Into Genetic Engineering: A Proposed Analytic Framework for Scientific Social Responsibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Sankar, Pamela L; Cho, Mildred K

2015-01-01

Recent experiments have been used to "edit" genomes of various plant, animal and other species, including humans, with unprecedented precision. Furthermore, editing the Cas9 endonuclease gene with a gene encoding the desired guide RNA into an organism, adjacent to an altered gene, could create a "gene drive" that could spread a trait through an entire population of organisms. These experiments represent advances along a spectrum of technological abilities that genetic engineers have been working on since the advent of recombinant DNA techniques. The scientific and bioethics communities have built substantial literatures about the ethical and policy implications of genetic engineering, especially in the age of bioterrorism. However, recent CRISPr/Cas experiments have triggered a rehashing of previous policy discussions, suggesting that the scientific community requires guidance on how to think about social responsibility. We propose a framework to enable analysis of social responsibility, using two examples of genetic engineering experiments.

[Research progress of genetic engineering on medicinal plants].

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Zhong-qiu; Shen, Ye

2015-02-01

The application of genetic engineering technology in modern agriculture shows its outstanding role in dealing with food shortage. Traditional medicinal plant cultivation and collection have also faced with challenges, such as lack of resources, deterioration of environment, germplasm of recession and a series of problems. Genetic engineering can be used to improve the disease resistance, insect resistance, herbicides resistant ability of medicinal plant, also can improve the medicinal plant yield and increase the content of active substances in medicinal plants. Thus, the potent biotechnology can play an important role in protection and large area planting of medicinal plants. In the development of medicinal plant genetic engineering, the safety of transgenic medicinal plants should also be paid attention to. A set of scientific safety evaluation and judgment standard which is suitable for transgenic medicinal plants should be established based on the recognition of the particularity of medicinal plants.

TMTI Task 1.6 Genetic Engineering Methods and Detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slezak, T; Lenhoff, R; Allen, J; Borucki, M; Vitalis, E; Gardner, S

2009-12-04

A large number of GE techniques can be adapted from other microorganisms to biothreat bacteria and viruses. Detection of GE in a microorganism increases in difficulty as the size of the genetic change decreases. In addition to the size of the engineered change, the consensus genomic sequence of the microorganism can impact the difficulty of detecting an engineered change in genomes that are highly variable from strain to strain. This problem will require comprehensive databases of whole genome sequences for more genetically variable biothreat bacteria and viruses. Preliminary work with microarrays for detecting synthetic elements or virulence genes and analytic bioinformatic approaches for whole genome sequence comparison to detect genetic engineering show promise for attacking this difficult problem but a large amount of future work remains.

Genetic Engineering and Crop Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Helen C.; Frost, S.

1991-01-01

With a spotlight upon current agricultural difficulties and environmental dilemmas, this paper considers both the extant and potential applications of genetic engineering with respect to crop production. The nonagricultural factors most likely to sway the impact of this emergent technology upon future crop production are illustrated. (JJK)

Barriers to student success in engineering education

Science.gov (United States)

Boles, Wageeh; Whelan, Karen

2017-07-01

In the UK, the USA and Australia, there have been calls for an increase in the number of engineering graduates to meet the needs of current global challenges. Universities around the world have been grappling with how to both attract more engineering students and to then retain them. Attrition from engineering programmes is disturbingly high. This paper reports on an element of research undertaken through an Australian Learning and Teaching Council-funded Fellowship that investigated the factors leading to student attrition in engineering programmes, by identifying barriers to student success. Here, we contrast a review of the literature related to student barriers and success with student perceptions, gathered through a series of focus groups and interviews at three Australian universities. We also present recommendations for action to try to remove barriers to student success.

Intervention to Improve Engineering Self-Efficacy and Sense of Belonging of First-Year Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Kari L.

The percentage of bachelor's degrees in STEM awarded to women and underrepresented minority students needs to increase dramatically to reach parity with their majority counterparts. While three key underrepresented minority (URM) groups, African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, and Native Americans constitute some 30 percent of the overall undergraduate student population in the United States, the share of engineering degrees earned by members of these groups declines as degree level increases. Underrepresented minority students accounted for about 12% of engineering bachelor's degrees awarded in 2009, 7% of master's degrees and 3% of doctorates (NSF Science Resource Statistics, 2009). The percent in engineering has been steadily decreasing, while overall participation in higher education among these groups has increased considerably. Keeping those thoughts in mind it is important to examine the historical theories and frameworks that will help us not only understand why underrepresented minority students pursue and persist in STEM majors in low numbers, but to also develop interventions to improve the alarming statistics that hamper engineering diversity. As indicated by our past two U.S. Presidents, there has been an increased discussion on the national and state level regarding the number of students entering engineering disciplines in general and underrepresented minority students in particular. Something happens between a student's freshman year and the point they decide to either switch their major or drop out of school altogether. Some researchers attribute the high dropout rate of underrepresented minority students in engineering programs to low engineering self-efficacy (e.g. Jordan et al., 2011). A student's engineering self-efficacy is his/her belief that he/she can successfully navigate the engineering curriculum and eventually become a practicing engineer. A student's engineering self-efficacy is formed by mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, his

Engineering students and their entrepreneurial intentions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipa Dionísio Vieira

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Promoting entrepreneurship is a key opportunity in the current environment, and engineering have recognized this criticism by including in their curricula basic financial disciplines. Given the current economic situation, provide the future engineer with concepts and techniques to move from knowledge to action, can improve the value perception of entrepreneurship as an alternative to employability on behalf of others. The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary results of the ENGEmpreende survey developed to measure the perceived attitudes and values of entrepreneurship by engineering students. Our sample involves 387 students of engineering courses from University of Minho. Portuguese engineering students report good levels of thoughts about entrepreneurship. Our study also found that their entrepreneurship predisposition has dependency relationships with gender, thoughts about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activities. The results of the perceived image of the entrepreneur suggest that students recognize the positive image of the entrepreneur in society, but have doubts about what is best: entrepreneur or employee in a large company? As perceived barriers, engineering students perceive as difficult to find a business idea or access to bank loans. Students’ perceived skills and competence suggest a perceived high adaptability, perseverance, technical confidence and orientation to results. The results of ENGEmpreende survey give an additional contribution to the theme of engineering entrepreneurship intentions through the identification of entrepreneurship predisposition, attitude to self-employment, entrepreneurial image, barriers to entrepreneurship, risk perception and technical confidence.

University Experiences and Women Engineering Student Persistence

Science.gov (United States)

Ayers, LoAnn Debra Gienger

Riverside University (a pseudonym), like many universities, has not significantly increased the number of women who graduate with bachelor's degrees in engineering. The purpose of the study is to understand how the university experiences of women students influence the decision to persist in an undergraduate engineering degree and to understand the role of self-perception in how the students perceive experiences as supporting or hindering their persistence in the major. Archival data, documents and artifacts, observations, individual interviews, and a focus group with women engineering students provide insights into students' perceived barriers and supports of student success. Analysis of the data results in two major themes. First, students' self-confidence and self-efficacy influence how women assimilate university experiences as either supportive or diminishing of academic success. Second, university policies and practices shape the campus environment within which student experiences are formed and influence a student's level of institutional, academic, and social integration. The results of the study indicate opportunities for university leadership to enhance strategies that positively shape students' institutional, academic and social integration as precursors toward increasing the number of women students who successfully complete undergraduate engineering degrees at Riverside University. Future research is indicated to better understand how gender and gender identity intersects with other demographic factors, such as socio-economic status, immigration status, and life stage (e.g., traditional versus non-traditional students), to support or deter the persistence of engineering students to degree completion.

Engineering Students' Sustainability Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Haase, S.

2014-01-01

Sustainability issues are increasingly important in engineering work all over the world. This article explores systematic differences in self-assessed competencies, interests, importance, engagement and practices of newly enrolled engineering students in Denmark in relation to environmental and non-environmental sustainability issues. The…

Engineering education for youth: Diverse elementary school students' experiences with engineering design

Science.gov (United States)

Hegedus, Theresa

Lingering concerns over the persistent achievement gap amidst the trend of an increasingly diverse society have been compounded by calls from the Oval Office, the National Science Board, and nationwide media to also address our current creativity crisis. Now, more than ever, we have a responsibility to produce a STEM-capable (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce to meet the demands of our rapidly changing local and global economic landscape. Barriers exist in our traditional educational system, which has historically limited underrepresented groups' affiliation and membership in the disciplines of science and engineering. The recent incorporation of engineering into the latest science education reform efforts presents an opportunity to expose students as early as elementary school to engineering practices and habits of mind, which have the potential to stimulate creative thinking skills through engineering design. This qualitative study was designed to examine the ways in which engineering education has the potential to promote creativity and academic competence in elementary science classrooms. As a part of my study, a diverse group of students from two fifth-grade classrooms took part in a 10-12 hour, engineering-based curriculum unit (Engineering is Elementary) during their regular science instructional time. Using a sociocultural lens, to include cultural production and identities in practice as part of my framework, I analyzed group and individual performances through classroom observations, student interviews, and teacher reflections to better understand the meaning students made of their experiences with engineering. Findings from the study included the ways in which creativity was culturally produced in the classroom to include: 1) idea generation; 2) design and innovation; 3) gumption/resourcefulness; and 4) social value. Opportunities for collaboration increased through each stage of the unit culminating with the design challenge

Engineering Computer Games: A Parallel Learning Opportunity for Undergraduate Engineering and Primary (K-5 Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Michael Budnik

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present how our College of Engineering is developing a growing portfolio of engineering computer games as a parallel learning opportunity for undergraduate engineering and primary (grade K-5 students. Around the world, many schools provide secondary students (grade 6-12 with opportunities to pursue pre-engineering classes. However, by the time students reach this age, many of them have already determined their educational goals and preferred careers. Our College of Engineering is developing resources to provide primary students, still in their educational formative years, with opportunities to learn more about engineering. One of these resources is a library of engineering games targeted to the primary student population. The games are designed by sophomore students in our College of Engineering. During their Introduction to Computational Techniques course, the students use the LabVIEW environment to develop the games. This software provides a wealth of design resources for the novice programmer; using it to develop the games strengthens the undergraduates

Current Students | College of Engineering & Applied Science

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Electrical Engineering Instructional Laboratories Student Resources Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Academic Programs Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Major Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Minor Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering

Admissions - Undergraduate Students | College of Engineering & Applied

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Electrical Engineering Instructional Laboratories Student Resources Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Academic Programs Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Major Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Minor Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering

Student Organizations | College of Engineering & Applied Science

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Electrical Engineering Instructional Laboratories Student Resources Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Academic Programs Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Major Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Minor Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering

Transfer Students | College of Engineering & Applied Science

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Electrical Engineering Instructional Laboratories Student Resources Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Academic Programs Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Major Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Minor Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering

Genetic engineering including superseding microinjection: new ways to make GM pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Galli, Cesare; Perota, Andrea; Brunetti, Dario; Lagutina, Irina; Lazzari, Giovanna; Lucchini, Franco

2010-01-01

Techniques for genetic engineering of swine are providing genetically modified animals of importance for the field of xenotransplantation, animal models for human diseases and for a variety of research applications. Many of these modifications have been directed toward avoiding naturally existing cellular and antibody responses to species-specific antigens. A number of techniques are today available to engineering the genome of mammals, these range from the well established less efficient method of DNA microinjection into the zygote, the use of viral vectors, to the more recent use of somatic cell nuclear transfer. The use of enzymatic engineering that are being developed now will refine the precision of the genetic modification combined with the use of new vectors like transposons. The use of somatic cell nuclear transfer is currently the most efficient way to generate genetically modified pigs. The development of enzymatic engineering with zinc-finger nucleases, recombinases and transposons will revolutionize the field. Nevertheless, genetic engineering in large domesticated animals will remain a challenging task. Recent improvements in several fields of cell and molecular biology offer new promises and opportunities toward an easier, cost-effective and efficient generation of transgenic pigs. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Refresher Course in Plant Genetic Engineering

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A Refresher Course in Plant Genetic Engineering for postgraduate College ... that the teachers can perform the same set of experiments in their respective College/ ... research. The teachers are encouraged to add a note on their 'expectations' ...

Perceptions of Engineering students, lecturers and academic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Perceptions of Engineering students, lecturers and academic development practitioners about academic development classes at a university of technology. ... development, engineering education, scaffolding, self-regulated learning, students ...

Engineering Knowledge and Student Development: An Institutional and Pedagogical Critique of Engineering Education

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Xiaofeng

Educators have recommended the integration of engineering and the liberal arts as a promising educational model to prepare young engineers for global economic, environmental, sociotechnical, and ethical challenges. Drawing upon philosophy of technology, engineering studies, and educational psychology, this dissertation examines diverse visions and strategies for integrating engineering and liberal education and explores their impacts on students' intellectual and moral development. Based on archival research, interviews, and participant observation, the dissertation presents in-depth case studies of three educational initiatives that seek to blend engineering with the humanities, social sciences, and arts: Harvey Mudd College, the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, and the Programs in Design and Innovation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research finds that learning engineering in a liberal arts context increases students' sense of "owning" their education and contributes to their communication, teamwork, and other non-technical professional skills. In addition, opportunities for extensive liberal arts learning in the three cases encourage some students to pursue alternative, less technocentric approaches to engineering. Nevertheless, the case studies suggest that the epistemological differences between the engineering and liberal arts instructors help maintain a technical/social dualism among most students. Furthermore, the dissertation argues a "hidden curriculum," which reinforces the dominant ideology in the engineering profession, persists in the integrated programs and prevents the students from reflecting on the broad social context of engineering and critically examining the assumptions upheld in the engineering profession.

Software Engineering Frameworks: Textbooks vs. Student Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

McMaster, Kirby; Hadfield, Steven; Wolthuis, Stuart; Sambasivam, Samuel

2012-01-01

This research examines the frameworks used by Computer Science and Information Systems students at the conclusion of their first semester of study of Software Engineering. A questionnaire listing 64 Software Engineering concepts was given to students upon completion of their first Software Engineering course. This survey was given to samples of…

Molecular research and genetic engineering of resistance to ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper reviews the recent research progress on genetic methods of resistance, the status and existing problems, traditional breeding, the main resistance mechanism, molecular markers and genetic engineering of resistance genes. It is hoped that new breeding methods and new varieties resistant to Verticillium wilt will ...

First-year engineering students' views of the nature of engineering: implications for engineering programmes

Science.gov (United States)

Karataş, F. Ö.; Bodner, G. M.; Unal, Suat

2016-01-01

A study was conducted on the views of the nature of engineering held by 114 first-year engineering majors; the study built on prior work on views of the nature of science held by students, their instructors, and the general public. Open-coding analysis of responses to a 12-item questionnaire suggested that the participants held tacit beliefs that engineering (1) involves problem solving; (2) is a form of applied science; (3) involves the design of artefacts or systems; (4) is subject to various constraints; and (5) requires teamwork. These beliefs, however, were often unsophisticated, and significant aspects of the field of engineering as described in the literature on engineering practices were missing from the student responses. The results of this study are important because students' beliefs have a strong influence on what they value in a classroom situation, what they attend to in class, and how they choose to study for a course.

Genetic engineering and sustainable production of ornamentals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lütken, Henrik Vlk; Clarke, Jihong Liu; Müller, Renate

2012-01-01

Abstract Through the last decades, environmentally and health-friendly production methods and conscientious use of resources have become crucial for reaching the goal of a more sustainable plant production. Protection of the environment requires careful consumption of limited resources and reduct......Abstract Through the last decades, environmentally and health-friendly production methods and conscientious use of resources have become crucial for reaching the goal of a more sustainable plant production. Protection of the environment requires careful consumption of limited resources....... This review presents the more recent progress of genetic engineering in ornamental breeding, delivers an overview of the biological background of the used technologies and critically evaluates the usefulness of the strategies to obtain improved ornamental plants. First, genetic engineering is addressed......, compactness can be accomplished by using a natural transformation approach without recombinant DNA technology. Secondly, metabolic engineering approaches targeting elements of the ethylene signal transduction pathway are summarized as a possible alternative to avoid the use of chemical ethylene inhibitors...

Genetic engineering, a hope for sustainable biofuel production: review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudip Paudel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The use of recently developed genetic engineering tools in combination with organisms that have the potential to produce precursors for the production of biodiesel, promises a sustainable and environment friendly energy source. Enhanced lipid production in wild type and/or genetically engineered organisms can offer sufficient raw material for industrial transesterification of plant-based triglycerides. Bio-diesel, produced with the help of genetically modified organisms, might be one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels and to mitigate various environmental hazards. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i2.10644 International Journal of the Environment Vol.3(2 2014: 311-323

Non-genetic engineering of cells for drug delivery and cell-based therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qun; Cheng, Hao; Peng, Haisheng; Zhou, Hao; Li, Peter Y; Langer, Robert

2015-08-30

Cell-based therapy is a promising modality to address many unmet medical needs. In addition to genetic engineering, material-based, biochemical, and physical science-based approaches have emerged as novel approaches to modify cells. Non-genetic engineering of cells has been applied in delivering therapeutics to tissues, homing of cells to the bone marrow or inflammatory tissues, cancer imaging, immunotherapy, and remotely controlling cellular functions. This new strategy has unique advantages in disease therapy and is complementary to existing gene-based cell engineering approaches. A better understanding of cellular systems and different engineering methods will allow us to better exploit engineered cells in biomedicine. Here, we review non-genetic cell engineering techniques and applications of engineered cells, discuss the pros and cons of different methods, and provide our perspectives on future research directions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of students worksheet based on mastery learning in genetics subject

Science.gov (United States)

Megahati, R. R. P.; Yanti, F.; Susanti, D.

2018-05-01

Genetics is one of the subjects that must be followed by students in Biology education department. Generally, students do not like the genetics subject because of genetics concepts difficult to understand and the unavailability of a practical students worksheet. Consequently, the complete learning process (mastery learning) is not fulfilled and low students learning outcomes. The aim of this study develops student worksheet based on mastery learning that practical in genetics subject. This research is a research and development using 4-D models. The data analysis technique used is the descriptive analysis that describes the results of the practicalities of students worksheets based on mastery learning by students and lecturer of the genetic subject. The result is the student worksheet based on mastery learning on genetics subject are to the criteria of 80,33% and 80,14%, which means that the students worksheet practical used by lecturer and students. Student’s worksheet based on mastery learning effective because it can increase the activity and student learning outcomes.

Industry and genetic engineering of plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Posada, Mario

1995-01-01

The paper is about the importance of the genetic engineering and their development in the plants like is the resistance to the insects, to the mushrooms, retard in the maturation of the fruits and improvement of the quality of vegetables oils, among other aspects

130 FEMINISM AND HUMAN GENETIC ENGINEERING: A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ike Odimegwu

genetic engineering to reconstruct the life of the human person. Negatively .... height, beauty or intelligence. Apart from ... cloning and stem-cell researches, artificial insemination. ..... form of manufacturing children involving their quality control.

Admissions - Graduate Students | College of Engineering & Applied Science

Science.gov (United States)

Electrical Engineering Instructional Laboratories Student Resources Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Academic Programs Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Major Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Minor Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering

Undergraduate Engineers and Teachers: Can Students Be Both?

OpenAIRE

Zarske, Malinda S; Vadeen, Maia L; Tsai, Janet Y; Sullivan, Jacquelyn F; Carlson, Denise W

2017-01-01

Today’s college-aged students are graduating into a world that relies on multidisciplinary talents to succeed. Engineering college majors are more likely to find jobs after college that are outside of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, including jobs in healthcare, management, and social services. A survey of engineering undergraduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder in November 2012 indicated a desire by students to simultaneously pursue secondary ...

Introducing systems engineering to industrial design engineering students with hands-on experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bonnema, Gerrit Maarten; Lutters-Weustink, Ilanit F.; van Houten, Frederikus J.A.M.; Selvaraj, H.; Muthukumar, V.

2005-01-01

The article presents an innovative educational project to introduce systems engineering to third year students in industrial design engineering at the University of Twente. In a short period the students are confronted with new technology, namely sensors and actuators. They have to apply this

76 FR 5780 - Determination of Regulated Status of Alfalfa Genetically Engineered for Tolerance to the...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-02

...] Determination of Regulated Status of Alfalfa Genetically Engineered for Tolerance to the Herbicide Glyphosate... decision and determination on the petition regarding the regulated status of alfalfa genetically engineered... regulated status of alfalfa genetically engineered for tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate based on an...

An Exploratory Survey of Student Perspectives Regarding Search Engines

Science.gov (United States)

Alshare, Khaled; Miller, Don; Wenger, James

2005-01-01

This study explored college students' perceptions regarding their use of search engines. The main objective was to determine how frequently students used various search engines, whether advanced search features were used, and how many search engines were used. Various factors that might influence student responses were examined. Results showed…

Biomedical and Biochemical Engineering for K-12 Students

Science.gov (United States)

Madihally, Sundararajan V.; Maase, Eric L.

2006-01-01

REACH (Reaching Engineering and Architectural Career Heights) is a weeklong summer academy outreach program for high school students interested in engineering, architecture, or technology. Through module-­based instruction, students are introduced to various engineering fields. This report describes one of the modules focused on introducing…

Genetically engineered rice. The source of β-carotene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karol Terlecki

2014-04-01

Full Text Available β-carotene is a precursor of vitamin A. It is converted to vitamin A in the humans intestine by the β-carotene-15,15’-monooxygenase. Vitamin A is essential to support vision, as an antioxidant it protects the body from free radicals, it helps to integrate the immune system, as well as takes part in cellular differentiation and proliferation. Vitamin A deficiency is a major public health problem especially among developing countries. Nyctalopia, commonly known as „Night Blindness” is one of the major symptoms of Vitamin A deficiency (VAD. Plants such as apricots, broccoli, carrots, and sweet potatoes are rich in β-carotene. Some of the plants are characterized by a higher content of provitamin-A. Among vegetables rich sources of β-carotene are: carrots, pumpkin, spinach, lettuce, green peas, tomatoes, watercress, broccoli and parsley leaves. Amongst fruits the highest content of β-carotene is in apricot, cherry, sweet cherry, plum, orange and mango. The aim of the present study was to analyze available literature data of increasing the content of β-carotene in genetically engineered rice. The genetically modified cultivar contains additional genes: PSY and CRTI thanks to which rice seed endosperm contains β-carotene. Genetically engineered rice with β-carotene is an effective source of vitamin A, it contains approximately 30 μg β-carotene per 1 g. Fortunately some of the advantages of Genetically Modified Food give an opportunity to reduce VAD worldwide, by introducing the rice which has been genetically engineered to be rich in β-carotene. The popularity of this plant as an element of nutrition is simultaneously a source of vitamin A.

High School Student Modeling in the Engineering Design Process

Science.gov (United States)

Mentzer, Nathan; Huffman, Tanner; Thayer, Hilde

2014-01-01

A diverse group of 20 high school students from four states in the US were individually provided with an engineering design challenge. Students chosen were in capstone engineering courses and had taken multiple engineering courses. As students considered the problem and developed a solution, observational data were recorded and artifacts…

Empowering Engineering Students through Employability Skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urvashi Kaushal

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A professional course like engineering strives to get maximum number of its students placed through campus interviews. While communication skills have been added in all the engineering courses with the aim to improve their performance in placement, the syllabus mostly concentrates on the development of four language skills. The students are not made aware of the employability skills and their significance. the increasing competition makes it imperative that apart from a regular degree certain skills are required by engineers. Industries while advertising for various posts even mention essential skills required along with the essential qualification. However skills and the significance of skills while applying for jobs or while facing interviews is a topic which is rarely given consideration while preparing for job interviews or while entering the job market. This paper intends to enlist the importance of skills and why students need to be aware of the skills they possess and how they can work on packaging their candidature around a few skills.  Different profession requires different skills and if students identify their skills or acquire certain skills they can unquestionably have an added advantage in the interview and placement. Hence, this paper intends to enlist the skills, the importance of skills, ways to create awareness of individual skills specifically in engineering students who will step into the industry in near future.

Minority Engineering Program Pipeline: A Proposal to Increase Minority Student Enrollment and Retention in Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Charity, Pamela C.; Klein, Paul B.; Wadhwa, Bhushan

1995-01-01

The Cleveland State University Minority Engineering Program Pipeline consist of programs which foster engineering career awareness, academic enrichment, and professional development for historically underrepresented minority studies. The programs involved are the Access to Careers in Engineering (ACE) Program for high school pre-engineering students: the LINK Program for undergraduate students pursuing degree which include engineering; and the PEP (Pre-calculus Enrichment Program) and EPIC (Enrichment Program in Calculus) mathematics programs for undergraduate academic enrichment. The pipeline is such that high school graduates from the ACE Program who enroll at Cleveland State University in pursuit of engineering degrees are admitted to the LINK Program for undergraduate level support. LINK Program students are among the minority participants who receive mathematics enrichment through the PEP and EPIC Programs for successful completion of their engineering required math courses. THese programs are interdependent and share the goal of preparing minority students for engineering careers by enabling them to achieve academically and obtain college degree and career related experience.

Genetic engineering for improvement of Musa production in Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The transgenic approach shows potential for the genetic improvement of the crop using a wide set of transgenes currently available which may confer resistance to nematode pests, fungal, bacterial and viral diseases. This article discusses the applications of genetic engineering for the enhancement of Musa production.

Induction of atherosclerosis in mice and hamsters without germline genetic engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørklund, Martin Mæng; Hollensen, Anne Kruse; Hagensen, Mette Kallestrup

2014-01-01

RATIONALE: Atherosclerosis can be achieved in animals by germline genetic engineering, leading to hypercholesterolemia, but such models are constrained to few species and strains, and they are difficult to combine with other powerful techniques involving genetic manipulation or variation. OBJECTIVE......: To develop a method for induction of atherosclerosis without germline genetic engineering. METHODS AND RESULTS: Recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors were engineered to encode gain-of-function proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 mutants, and mice were given a single intravenous vector...... injection followed by high-fat diet feeding. Plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 and total cholesterol increased rapidly and were maintained at high levels, and after 12 weeks, mice had atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta. Histology of the aortic root showed progression of lesions...

Engineering Self-Efficacy Contributing to the Academic Performance of AMAIUB Engineering Students: A Qualitative Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Aleta, Beda T.

2016-01-01

This research study aims to determine the factors of engineering skills self- efficacy sources contributing on the academic performance of AMAIUB engineering students. Thus, a better measure of engineering self-efficacy is needed to adequately assess engineering students' beliefs in their capabilities to perform tasks in their engineering…

A Student Team in a University of Michigan Biomedical Engineering Design Course Constructs a Microfluidic Bioreactor for Studies of Zebrafish Development

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yu-chi; Li, David; Al-Shoaibi, Ali; Bersano-Begey, Tom; Chen, Hao; Ali, Shahid; Flak, Betsy; Perrin, Catherine; Winslow, Max; Shah, Harsh; Ramamurthy, Poornapriya; Schmedlen, Rachael H.; Takayama, Shuichi

2009-01-01

Abstract The zebrafish is a valuable model for teaching developmental, molecular, and cell biology; aquatic sciences; comparative anatomy; physiology; and genetics. Here we demonstrate that zebrafish provide an excellent model system to teach engineering principles. A seven-member undergraduate team in a biomedical engineering class designed, built, and tested a zebrafish microfluidic bioreactor applying microfluidics, an emerging engineering technology, to study zebrafish development. During the semester, students learned engineering and biology experimental design, chip microfabrication, mathematical modeling, zebrafish husbandry, principles of developmental biology, fluid dynamics, microscopy, and basic molecular biology theory and techniques. The team worked to maximize each person's contribution and presented weekly written and oral reports. Two postdoctoral fellows, a graduate student, and three faculty instructors coordinated and directed the team in an optimal blending of engineering, molecular, and developmental biology skill sets. The students presented two posters, including one at the Zebrafish meetings in Madison, Wisconsin (June 2008). PMID:19292670

Elementary Students' Acquisition of Academic Vocabulary Through Engineering Design

Science.gov (United States)

Kugelmass, Rachel

This study examines how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) inquiry-based learning through a hands-on engineering design can be beneficial in helping students acquire academic vocabulary. This research took place in a second grade dual- language classroom in a public, suburban elementary school. English language learners, students who speak Spanish at home, and native English speakers were evaluated in this study. Each day, students were presented with a general academic vocabulary focus word during an engineering design challenge. Vocabulary pre-tests and post-tests as well as observation field notes were used to evaluate the student's growth in reading and defining the focus academic vocabulary words. A quiz and KSB (knowledge and skill builder) packet were used to evaluate students' knowledge of science and math content and engineering design. The results of this study indicate that engineering design is an effective means for teaching academic vocabulary to students with varying levels of English proficiency.

Exergetic optimization of turbofan engine with genetic algorithm method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turan, Onder [Anadolu University, School of Civil Aviation (Turkey)], e-mail: onderturan@anadolu.edu.tr

2011-07-01

With the growth of passenger numbers, emissions from the aeronautics sector are increasing and the industry is now working on improving engine efficiency to reduce fuel consumption. The aim of this study is to present the use of genetic algorithms, an optimization method based on biological principles, to optimize the exergetic performance of turbofan engines. The optimization was carried out using exergy efficiency, overall efficiency and specific thrust of the engine as evaluation criteria and playing on pressure and bypass ratio, turbine inlet temperature and flight altitude. Results showed exergy efficiency can be maximized with higher altitudes, fan pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature; the turbine inlet temperature is the most important parameter for increased exergy efficiency. This study demonstrated that genetic algorithms are effective in optimizing complex systems in a short time.

Molecular profiling techniques as tools to detect potential unintended effects in genetically engineered maize

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Barros, E

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Molecular Profiling Techniques as Tools to Detect Potential Unintended Effects in Genetically Engineered Maize Eugenia Barros Introduction In the early stages of production and commercialization of foods derived from genetically engineered (GE) plants... systems. In a recent paper published in Plant Biotechnology Journal,4 we compared two transgenic white maize lines with the non-transgenic counterpart to investigate two possible sources of variation: genetic engineering and environmental variation...

Appraising Capacity Building among Engineering Students in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The results showed that 66.9% of the respondents had passion for their choice of engineering courses. Out of 110 students that had access to computer system, about 87.4% had related engineering application software on their personal computer while only 76.2% could use them proficiently. Based on the students' ...

human genetic engineering and social justice in south africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

resources, are also acutely visible in the health-care sector. Genetic ... engineering (GE)2 from a South African perspective might not, initially, seem like an obvious ... prevalence of so-called genetic tourism, where couples from developed countries travel to countries in the developing world to undergo in vitro fertilisation ...

Engaging Community College Students Using an Engineering Learning Community

Science.gov (United States)

Maccariella, James, Jr.

The study investigated whether community college engineering student success was tied to a learning community. Three separate data collection sources were utilized: surveys, interviews, and existing student records. Mann-Whitney tests were used to assess survey data, independent t-tests were used to examine pre-test data, and independent t-tests, analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to examine post-test data. The study found students that participated in the Engineering TLC program experienced a significant improvement in grade point values for one of the three post-test courses studied. In addition, the analysis revealed the odds of fall-to-spring retention were 5.02 times higher for students that participated in the Engineering TLC program, and the odds of graduating or transferring were 4.9 times higher for students that participated in the Engineering TLC program. However, when confounding variables were considered in the study (engineering major, age, Pell Grant participation, gender, ethnicity, and full-time/part-time status), the analyses revealed no significant relationship between participation in the Engineering TLC program and course success, fall-to-spring retention, and graduation/transfer. Thus, the confounding variables provided alternative explanations for results. The Engineering TLC program was also found to be effective in providing mentoring opportunities, engagement and motivation opportunities, improved self confidence, and a sense of community. It is believed the Engineering TLC program can serve as a model for other community college engineering programs, by striving to build a supportive environment, and provide guidance and encouragement throughout an engineering student's program of study.

Impacts of Innovativeness and Attitude on Entrepreneurial Intention: Among Engineering and Non-Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Kris M. Y.; Breznik, Kristijan

2017-01-01

This study attempted to explore the impacts of attitudinal antecedents on students' entrepreneurial intention. Comparisons between students of engineering and non-engineering backgrounds and gender groups were made. Total of 998 students from universities in Hong Kong were surveyed, leading to a number of highlights in the study. First, it is…

Beyond Blackboards: Engaging Underserved Middle School Students in Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard, Sarah; Judy, Justina; Muller, Chandra; Crawford, Richard H; Petrosino, Anthony J; White, Christina K; Lin, Fu-An; Wood, Kristin L

Beyond Blackboards is an inquiry-centered, after-school program designed to enhance middle school students' engagement with engineering through design-based experiences focused on the 21 st Century Engineering Challenges. Set within a predominantly low-income, majority-minority community, our study aims to investigate the impact of Beyond Blackboards on students' interest in and understanding of engineering, as well as their ability to align their educational and career plans. We compare participants' and nonparticipants' questionnaire responses before the implementation and at the end of the program's first academic year. Statistically significant findings indicate a school-wide increase in students' interest in engineering careers, supporting a shift in school culture. However, only program participants showed increased enjoyment of design-based strategies, understanding of what engineers do, and awareness of the steps for preparing for an engineering career. These quantitative findings are supported by qualitative evidence from participant focus groups highlighting the importance of mentors in shaping students' awareness of opportunities within engineering.

Creating meaningful learning experiences: Understanding students' perspectives of engineering design

Science.gov (United States)

Aleong, Richard James Chung Mun

There is a societal need for design education to prepare holistic engineers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to innovate and compete globally. Design skills are paramount to the espoused values of higher education, as institutions of higher learning strive to develop in students the cognitive abilities of critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. To meet these interests from industry and academia, it is important to advance the teaching and learning of engineering design. This research aims to understand how engineering students learn and think about design, as a way for engineering educators to optimize instructional practice and curriculum development. Qualitative research methodology was used to investigate the meaning that engineering students' ascribe to engineering design. The recruitment of participants and corresponding collection of data occurred in two phases using two different data collection techniques. The first phase involved the distribution of a one-time online questionnaire to all first year, third year, and fourth year undergraduate engineering students at three Canadian Universities. After the questionnaire, students were asked if they would be willing to participate in the second phase of data collection consisting of a personal interview. A total of ten students participated in interviews. Qualitative data analysis procedures were conducted on students' responses from the questionnaire and interviews. The data analysis process consisted of two phases: a descriptive phase to code and categorize the data, followed by an interpretative phase to generate further meaning and relationships. The research findings present a conceptual understanding of students' descriptions about engineering design, structured within two educational orientations: a learning studies orientation and a curriculum studies orientation. The learning studies orientation captured three themes of students' understanding of engineering design: awareness

"Genetic Engineering" Gains Momentum (Science/Society Case Study).

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, John W.; Moore, Elizabeth A., Eds.

1980-01-01

Reviews the benefits and hazards of genetic engineering, or "recombinant-DNA" research. Recent federal safety rules issued by NIH which ease the strict prohibitions on recombinant-DNA research are explained. (CS)

Linking First-Year and Senior Engineering Design Teams: Engaging Early Academic Career Students in Engineering Design

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Garey A.; Weckler, Paul; Thomas, Dan

2015-01-01

In Biosystems Engineering at Oklahoma State University, senior design is a two semester course in which students work on real-world projects provided by clients. First-year (freshmen and trans­fer) students enroll in an introductory engineering course. Historically, these students worked on a team-based analysis project, and the engineering design…

Chromosome engineering: power tools for plant genetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Simon W L

2010-12-01

The term "chromosome engineering" describes technologies in which chromosomes are manipulated to change their mode of genetic inheritance. This review examines recent innovations in chromosome engineering that promise to greatly increase the efficiency of plant breeding. Haploid Arabidopsis thaliana have been produced by altering the kinetochore protein CENH3, yielding instant homozygous lines. Haploid production will facilitate reverse breeding, a method that downregulates recombination to ensure progeny contain intact parental chromosomes. Another chromosome engineering success is the conversion of meiosis into mitosis, which produces diploid gametes that are clones of the parent plant. This is a key step in apomixis (asexual reproduction through seeds) and could help to preserve hybrid vigor in the future. New homologous recombination methods in plants will potentiate many chromosome engineering applications. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive Training of Engineering Students through Continuing Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Reynoso Flores

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses a priority for student training in general and particularly for future engineers. Although this issue has been frequently addressed in recent years, proposals are still insufficient for engineering students. This paper is aimed at theoretically and empirically demonstrating the potential of continuing education as one of the key areas that engineering schools have for the comprehensive training of students. Preliminary results of a research project commissioned by the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Electrica-FIME of Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico, are presented to respond to the need to improve the learning process of students with a comprehensive approach. The research justification and some of the results obtained in the exploratory phase are also described.

Diesel Technology: Engines. [Teacher and Student Editions.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbieri, Dave; Miller, Roger; Kellum, Mary

Competency-based teacher and student materials on diesel engines are provided for a diesel technology curriculum. Seventeen units of instruction cover the following topics: introduction to engine principles and procedures; engine systems and components; fuel systems; engine diagnosis and maintenance. The materials are based on the…

Behavior of Engineering Students in Kuwait University

OpenAIRE

M. A. Al-Ajmi; R. S. Al-Kandari

2015-01-01

This initial study is concerned with the behavior of engineering students in Kuwait University which became a concern due to the global issues of education in all levels. A survey has been conducted to identify academic and societal issues affecting the engineering student performance. The study is drawing major conclusions with regard to private tutoring and the online availability of textbooks’ solution manuals.

The Rise of Student-to-Student Learning: Youth-led Programs Impacting Engineering Education Globally

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian O'Shea

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Around the globe, students and young engineers are playing an increasing role in the coordination and delivery of engineering education programs. Many youth-led initiatives are now conducted with students involved in all aspects of their creation, organisation and delivery. This trend presents an exciting opportunity for the education of engineering students, both those involved in delivery of the courses and for participants. This paper profiles four leading youth-led engineering education programs and analyses their structure and growth in recent years. Profiled are initiatives coordinated by Engineers Without Borders – Australia (EWB-A; the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST; the Electrical Engineering Students’ European Association (EESTEC; and the Student Platform for Engineering Education Development (SPEED. Each case study includes a brief history of the organisation, program overview, growth analysis and future projections. The common features amongst these programs were analysed, as were the aspects which made them distinct from traditional university offerings. Key findings about the initiatives include: an international focus; the mixture of formal learning and social aspects; an integral role of volunteers within the organisation; the use of residential programs; and the role of internal professional development of committee members and volunteers. Additionally, this paper outlines the benefits for universities and provides a guide for how engineering faculties can support and nurture these initiatives and effectively create partnerships.

Engineering Students' Views of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study from Petroleum Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jessica M; McClelland, Carrie J; Smith, Nicole M

2017-12-01

The mining and energy industries present unique challenges to engineers, who must navigate sometimes competing responsibilities and codes of conduct, such as personal senses of right and wrong, professional ethics codes, and their employers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the current dominant framework used by industry to conceptualize firms' responsibilities to their stakeholders, yet has it plays a relatively minor role in engineering ethics education. In this article, we report on an interdisciplinary pedagogical intervention in a petroleum engineering seminar that sought to better prepare engineering undergraduate students to critically appraise the strengths and limitations of CSR as an approach to reconciling the interests of industry and communities. We find that as a result of the curricular interventions, engineering students were able to expand their knowledge of the social, rather than simply environmental and economic dimensions of CSR. They remained hesitant, however, in identifying the links between those social aspects of CSR and their actual engineering work. The study suggests that CSR may be a fruitful arena from which to illustrate the profoundly sociotechnical dimensions of the engineering challenges relevant to students' future careers.

Expose Mechanical Engineering Students to Biomechanics Topics

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Hui

2011-01-01

To adapt the focus of engineering education to emerging new industries and technologies nationwide and in the local area, a biomechanics module has been developed and incorporated into a mechanical engineering technical elective course to expose mechanical engineering students at ONU (Ohio Northern University) to the biomedical engineering topics.…

Selected engagement factors and academic learning outcomes of undergraduate engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Justice, Patricia J.

The concept of student engagement and its relationship to successful student performance and learning outcomes has a long history in higher education (Kuh, 2007). Attention to faculty and student engagement has only recently become of interest to the engineering education community. This interest can be attributed to long-standing research by George Kuh's, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. In addition, research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Academic Pathway Study (APS) at the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) and the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE), Measuring Student and Faculty Engagement in Engineering Education, at the National Academy of Engineering. These research studies utilized the framework and data from the Engineering Change study by the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State, that evaluated the impact of the new Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) EC2000 "3a through k" criteria identify 11 learning outcomes expected of engineering graduates. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent selected engagement factors of 1. institution, 2. social, 3. cognitive, 4. finance, and 5. technology influence undergraduate engineering students and quality student learning outcomes. Through the descriptive statistical analysis indicates that there maybe problems in the engineering program. This researcher would have expected at least 50% of the students to fall in the Strongly Agree and Agree categories. The data indicated that the there maybe problems in the engineering program problems in the data. The problems found ranked in this order: 1). Dissatisfaction with faculty instruction methods and quality of instruction and not a clear understanding of engineering majors , 2). inadequate Engineering faculty and advisors availability especially applicable

Genetic Engineering In BioButanol Production And Tolerance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashok Rao

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The growing need to address current energy and environmental problems has sparked an interest in developing improved biological methods to produce liquid fuels from renewable sources. Higher-chain alcohols possess chemical properties that are more similar to gasoline. Ethanol and butanol are two products which are used as biofuel. Butanol production was more concerned than ethanol because of its high octane number. Unfortunately, these alcohols are not produced efficiently in natural microorganisms, and thus economical production in industrial volumes remains a challenge. The synthetic biology, however, offers additional tools to engineer synthetic pathways in user-friendly hosts to help increase titers and productivity of bio-butanol. Knock out and over-expression of genes is the major approaches towards genetic manipulation and metabolic engineering of microbes. Yet there are TargeTron Technology, Antisense RNA and CRISPR technology has a vital role in genome manipulation of C.acetobutylicum. This review concentrates on the recent developments for efficient production of butanol and butanol tolerance by various genetically engineered microbes.

Effectiveness of an online curriculum for medical students on genetics, genetic testing and counseling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary P. Metcalf

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background: It is increasingly important that physicians have a thorough understanding of the basic science of human genetics and the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI associated with genetic testing and counseling. Methods: The authors developed a series of web-based courses for medical students on these topics. The course modules are interactive, emphasize clinical case studies, and can easily be incorporated into existing medical school curricula. Results: Results of a ‘real world’ effectiveness trial indicate that the courses have a statistically significant effect on knowledge, attitude, intended behavior and self-efficacy related to genetic testing (p<0.001; N varies between 163 and 596 for each course. Conclusions: The results indicate that this curriculum is an effective tool for educating medical students on the ELSI associated with genetic testing and for promoting positive changes in students' confidence, counseling attitudes and behaviors.

46 CFR 166.10 - Course of study for engineering students.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Course of study for engineering students. 166.10 Section... AND APPROVAL OF NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIPS § 166.10 Course of study for engineering students. The course of study for engineering students shall include (a) all the instruction necessary to fully equip the...

Investigation of students' experiences of gendered cultures in engineering workplaces

Science.gov (United States)

Male, Sally A.; Gardner, Anne; Figueroa, Eugenia; Bennett, Dawn

2018-05-01

Women remain severely under-represented in engineering in Australia as in all Western countries. This limits the pool of talent, standpoints and approaches within the profession. Furthermore, this under-representation equates to restriction of the benefits of being an engineer mainly to men. Gendered workplace experiences have been found to contribute to women leaving the profession. In this study we explore students' experiences of gendered cultures in engineering workplaces, using interviews with a purposive sample of 13 students (4 male) recruited following a previous survey. Although the overall experience of workplace learning is positive for many students, male and female engineering students reported experiences consistent with masculine cultures. Educators and employers must proactively lead improvements to the culture in engineering workplaces, prepare students for gendered workplaces and support students to reflect during and after workplace experiences. The experiences presented here could be adapted to enhance inclusivity training.

The Complex Dynamics of Student Engagement in Novel Engineering Design Activities

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Mary

In engineering design, making sense of "messy," design situations is at the heart of the discipline (Schon, 1983); engineers in practice bring structure to design situations by organizing, negotiating, and coordinating multiple aspects (Bucciarelli, 1994; Stevens, Johri, & O'Connor, 2014). In classroom settings, however, students are more often given well-defined, content-focused engineering tasks (Jonassen, 2014). These tasks are based on the assumption that elementary students are unable to grapple with the complexity or open-endedness of engineering design (Crismond & Adams, 2012). The data I present in this dissertation suggest the opposite. I show that students are not only able to make sense of, or frame (Goffman, 1974), complex design situations, but that their framings dynamically involve their nascent abilities for engineering design. The context of this work is Novel Engineering, a larger research project that explores using children's literature as an access point for engineering design. Novel Engineering activities are inherently messy: there are characters with needs, settings with implicit constraints, and rich design situations. In a series of three studies, I show how students' framings of Novel Engineering design activities involve their reasoning and acting as beginning engineers. In the first study, I show two students whose caring for the story characters contributes to their stability in framing the task: they identify the needs of their fictional clients and iteratively design a solution to meet their clients' needs. In the second, I show how students' shifting and negotiating framings influence their engineering assumptions and evaluation criteria. In the third, I show how students' coordinating framings involve navigating a design process to meet clients' needs, classroom expectations, and technical requirements. Collectively, these studies contribute to literature by documenting students' productive beginnings in engineering design. The

Do Knowledge Arrangements Affect Student Reading Comprehension of Genetics?

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jen-Yi; Tung, Yu-Neng; Hwang, Bi-Chi; Lin, Chen-Yung; Che-Di, Lee; Chang, Yung-Ta

2014-01-01

Various sequences for teaching genetics have been proposed. Three seventh-grade biology textbooks in Taiwan share similar key knowledge assemblages but have different knowledge arrangements. To investigate the influence of knowledge arrangements on student understanding of genetics, we compared students' reading comprehension of the three texts…

Food safety evaluation of crops produced through genetic engineering--how to reduce unintended effects?

Science.gov (United States)

Jelenić, Srećko

2005-06-01

Scientists started applying genetic engineering techniques to improve crops two decades ago; about 70 varieties obtained via genetic engineering have been approved to date. Although genetic engineering offers the most precise and controllable genetic modification of crops in entire history of plant improvement, the site of insertion of a desirable gene cannot be predicted during the application of this technology. As a consequence, unintended effects might occur due to activation or silencing of genes, giving rise to allergic reactions or toxicity. Therefore, extensive chemical, biochemical and nutritional analyses are performed on each new genetically engineered variety. Since the unintended effects may be predictable on the basis of what is known about the insertion place of the transgenic DNA, an important aim of plant biotechnology is to define techniques for the insertion of transgene into the predetermined chromosomal position (gene targeting). Although gene targeting cannot be applied routinely in crop plants, given the recent advances, that goal may be reached in the near future.

A Hybrid Neural Network-Genetic Algorithm Technique for Aircraft Engine Performance Diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Takahisa; Simon, Donald L.

2001-01-01

In this paper, a model-based diagnostic method, which utilizes Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms, is investigated. Neural networks are applied to estimate the engine internal health, and Genetic Algorithms are applied for sensor bias detection and estimation. This hybrid approach takes advantage of the nonlinear estimation capability provided by neural networks while improving the robustness to measurement uncertainty through the application of Genetic Algorithms. The hybrid diagnostic technique also has the ability to rank multiple potential solutions for a given set of anomalous sensor measurements in order to reduce false alarms and missed detections. The performance of the hybrid diagnostic technique is evaluated through some case studies derived from a turbofan engine simulation. The results show this approach is promising for reliable diagnostics of aircraft engines.

Development of concept-based physiology lessons for biomedical engineering undergraduate students.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Regina K; Chesler, Naomi C; Strang, Kevin T

2013-06-01

Physiology is a core requirement in the undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum. In one or two introductory physiology courses, engineering students must learn physiology sufficiently to support learning in their subsequent engineering courses and careers. As preparation for future learning, physiology instruction centered on concepts may help engineering students to further develop their physiology and biomedical engineering knowledge. Following the Backward Design instructional model, a series of seven concept-based lessons was developed for undergraduate engineering students. These online lessons were created as prerequisite physiology training to prepare students to engage in a collaborative engineering challenge activity. This work is presented as an example of how to convert standard, organ system-based physiology content into concept-based content lessons.

An Australian study of possible selves perceived by undergraduate engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Dawn; Male, Sally A.

2017-11-01

In this study, we worked with second-year engineering students at an Australian university to examine previously identified threshold concepts within the theoretical framework of Possible Selves. Using workshops as the context for intensive work with students, students were encouraged to consider their future lives and work, including their engineering fears, expectations, and aspirations. The findings revealed many students to have a poor understanding of the realities of engineering work. Moreover, perceived gaps between self-efficacy and the requirements of engineering work appeared to be motivating if students deemed it possible to reduce the gap, but demotivating if they identified a characteristic over which there was perceived to be no control. The study suggests that these engineering students needed more opportunities to explore both the roles of engineers and their own possible selves. Overall, the findings indicate that higher education students may need encouragement and support to explore potential future roles, and they strengthen calls for further research in this area.

Genetically engineered tissue to screen for glycan function in tissue formation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

M., Adamopoulou; E.M., Pallesen; A., Levann

2017-01-01

engineered GlycoSkin tissue models can be used to study biological interactions involving glycan structure on lipids, or glycosaminoglycans. This engineering approach will allow us to investigate the functions of glycans in homeostasis and elucidate the role of glycans in normal epithelial formation....... We use genetic engineering with CRISPR/Cas9 combined with 3D organotypic skin models to examine how distinct glycans influence epithelial formation. We have performed knockout and knockin of more than 100 select genes in the genome of human immortalized human keratinocytes, enabling a systematic...... analysis of the impact of specific glycans in the formation and transformation of the human skin. The genetic engineered human skin models (GlycoSkin) was designed with and without all major biosynthetic pathways in mammalian glycan biosynthesis, including GalNAc-O-glycans, O-fucosylation, O...

Experiential Engineering through iGEM--An Undergraduate Summer Competition in Synthetic Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Rudolph; Dori, Yehudit Judy; Kuldell, Natalie H.

2011-01-01

Unlike students in other engineering disciplines, undergraduates in biological engineering typically have limited opportunity to develop design competencies, and even fewer chances to implement their designed projects. The international Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition is a student Synthetic Biology competition that, in 2009,…

Formula Student as Part of a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Huw Charles

2013-01-01

Formula Student (FS) is a multi-university student design competition managed by the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Students are required to demonstrate and prove their creativity and engineering skills through the design, manufacture and financing of a small formula style race car. This paper seeks to explore the educational value that…

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS FOR SECOND YEAR CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARWAN M. SHAMEL

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In the second semester of the second year of a Mechanical Engineering course, students are supposed to take a Module Outside the Main Discipline (MOMD. This module is chosen to be “Product Design Exercise” a module that is offered to Chemical Engineering students at the same stage. The aim was to expose students from both disciplines to an environment in which they are encouraged to interact with and engage team members with a relatively different background. The students were divided into eight groups all comprised of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering students, and they were offered different open-ended projects that were selected to exploit the knowledge developed by the students thus far and they were slightly skewed towards Chemical Engineering. The students demonstrated a high level of cooperation and motivation throughout the period of the project. Effective communication and closing of knowledge gaps were prevalent. At the end of the project period, students produced a journal paper in lieu of the project report.

Genetic Engineering of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Nowakowski, Adam; Walczak, Piotr; Janowski, Miroslaw; Lukomska, Barbara

2015-10-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can be obtained from various organs and easily propagated in vitro, are one of the most extensively used types of stem cells and have been shown to be efficacious in a broad set of diseases. The unique and highly desirable properties of MSCs include high migratory capacities toward injured areas, immunomodulatory features, and the natural ability to differentiate into connective tissue phenotypes. These phenotypes include bone and cartilage, and these properties predispose MSCs to be therapeutically useful. In addition, MSCs elicit their therapeutic effects by paracrine actions, in which the metabolism of target tissues is modulated. Genetic engineering methods can greatly amplify these properties and broaden the therapeutic capabilities of MSCs, including transdifferentiation toward diverse cell lineages. However, cell engineering can also affect safety and increase the cost of therapy based on MSCs; thus, the advantages and disadvantages of these procedures should be discussed. In this review, the latest applications of genetic engineering methods for MSCs with regenerative medicine purposes are presented.

Cognitive abilities of Emirati and German engineering university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Rindermann, Heiner; Baumeister, Antonia E E; Gröper, Anne

2014-03-01

According to human capital theory, individual competences and personality attributes are relevant for individual productivity and income. Within human capital, intelligence is crucial. To study engineering and work successfully as an engineer, high cognitive abilities are necessary, especially for work in research and development. In a study of 30 German and 30 Emirati engineering students (mean age: 22 years), both groups were tested with mathematical and figural intelligence scales (CogAT). German engineering students achieved a mean IQ of 116, and Emirati students 104 (in converted UK norms). In both groups male students achieved better results than females (2 to 4 IQ point difference). The results are compared with those from PISA and TIMSS. The possible causes of these results, their consequences and strategies for improvement are discussed.

Role of plant biotechnology and genetic engineering in crop-improvement, with special emphases on cotton: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, L.H.; Siddiq, S.Z.; Tariq, A.H.; Arshad, M.; Gorham, J.

2003-01-01

Plant biotechnology and genetic engineering offer novel approaches to plant-breeding, production, propagation and preservation of germplasm. In this manuscript, the population and food-requirements of Pakistan, role of biotechnology and genetic engineering in crop-improvement, along with potential uses in cotton, have been discussed. The latest position of plant biotechnology and genetic engineering in Pakistan and the advantages of biotechnology and genetic-engineering techniques over conventional plant-breeding techniques, along with critical views of various scientists have been reviewed. (author)

Possible Health Hazards from Genetically Engineered Crops ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paradox of Genetic Engineering of crops is evident from the unending revolution in the seeding and growth of new multibillion naira industries while it also poses the greatest hazards to life on the planet Earth. Recombination DNA technology is used to insert, delete, transpose and substitute new genes in plants that ...

Genetic engineering: frost damage trial halted.

Science.gov (United States)

Budiansky, S

The University of California at Berkeley has announced the postponement of a planned experiment involving the field testing of bacteria genetically engineered to reduce frost damage to crops. The action came after Jeremy Rifkin, who had earlier filed suit against the National Institutes of Health after its Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee had approved the experiment, threatened to seek a temporary restraining order against the university to halt the experiment.

Genetic Engineering: A Matter that Requires Further Refinement in Spanish Secondary School Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez-Gracia, M. V.; Gil-Quylez, M. J.; Osada, J.

2003-01-01

Genetic engineering is now an integral part of many high school textbooks but little work has been done to assess whether it is being properly addressed. A checklist with 19 items was used to analyze how genetic engineering is presented in biology textbooks commonly used in Spanish high schools, including the content, its relationship with…

Agrobacterium: nature's genetic engineer.

Science.gov (United States)

Nester, Eugene W

2014-01-01

Agrobacterium was identified as the agent causing the plant tumor, crown gall over 100 years ago. Since then, studies have resulted in many surprising observations. Armin Braun demonstrated that Agrobacterium infected cells had unusual nutritional properties, and that the bacterium was necessary to start the infection but not for continued tumor development. He developed the concept of a tumor inducing principle (TIP), the factor that actually caused the disease. Thirty years later the TIP was shown to be a piece of a tumor inducing (Ti) plasmid excised by an endonuclease. In the next 20 years, most of the key features of the disease were described. The single-strand DNA (T-DNA) with the endonuclease attached is transferred through a type IV secretion system into the host cell where it is likely coated and protected from nucleases by a bacterial secreted protein to form the T-complex. A nuclear localization signal in the endonuclease guides the transferred strand (T-strand), into the nucleus where it is integrated randomly into the host chromosome. Other secreted proteins likely aid in uncoating the T-complex. The T-DNA encodes enzymes of auxin, cytokinin, and opine synthesis, the latter a food source for Agrobacterium. The genes associated with T-strand formation and transfer (vir) map to the Ti plasmid and are only expressed when the bacteria are in close association with a plant. Plant signals are recognized by a two-component regulatory system which activates vir genes. Chromosomal genes with pleiotropic functions also play important roles in plant transformation. The data now explain Braun's old observations and also explain why Agrobacterium is nature's genetic engineer. Any DNA inserted between the border sequences which define the T-DNA will be transferred and integrated into host cells. Thus, Agrobacterium has become the major vector in plant genetic engineering.

76 FR 8707 - Syngenta Seeds, Inc.; Determination of Nonregulated Status for Corn Genetically Engineered To...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-15

... Organisms and Products Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering Which Are Plant Pests or Which There... genetic engineering that are plant pests or that there is reason to believe are plant pests. Such...

Humanitarian Aspirations of Engineering Students: Differences between Disciplines and Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela R. Bielefeldt

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This study explored the aspirations of undergraduate engineering students in regard to helping others, examining potential differences between disciplines and institutions. Over 1900 undergraduate students from 17 U.S. universities responded to a survey in spring 2014. In open-ended responses, 15.5% of the students included some form of helping people and/or the world as one of the factors that motivated them to select their engineering major; for 6.7% of the students this was the primary or only motivating factor listed. Helping as a motivation was not equally prevalent among different engineering disciplines, being much more common among students majoring in biomedical, environmental, materials, and civil and less common in computer and aerospace. Different disciplines also varied in the priority for helping people relative to other future job factors - highest in chemical/biological, moderate in civil and related majors, and lowest among electrical/computer and mechanical. Institutional differences were found in the extent to which students indicated an importance that their career would help people and the extent to which an ability to help others was a central message in their major. The results indicate the percentages of engineering students who are most likely to embrace humanitarian engineering; fostering these aspirations in students could help with attraction and retention.

Empowering Engineering Students through Employability Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Kaushal, Urvashi

2016-01-01

A professional course program like engineering strives to get the maximum number of its students placed through campus interviews. While communication skills have been added in all the engineering courses with the aim to improve their performance in placement, the syllabus mostly concentrates on the development of four language skills. The…

Fostering Passion among First Year Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Mazumder, Quamrul H.

2010-01-01

Engineering is a complex field of study. Declining enrollment in engineering programs in the United States is of concern and understanding the various factors that contribute to this decline is in order. Fostering a higher level of student engagement with the content may foster passion towards engineering which could increase academic competency…

University of Colorado CubeSat Student Projects as Successful Model for Teaching Students about Engineering Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Palo, S. E.; Li, X.; Woods, T. N.; Kohnert, R.

2014-12-01

There is a long history of cooperation between students at the University of Colorado, Boulder and professional engineers and scientists at LASP, which has led to many successful space missions with direct student involvement. The recent student-led missions include the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE, 1998 - 2002), the Student Dust Counter (SDC) on New Horizons (2006 - present), the Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE), being a very successful NSF CubeSat that launched in September 2012, and the NASA Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) CubeSat (launch will be in early 2015). Students are involved in all aspects of the design, and they experience the full scope of the mission process from concept, to fabrication and test, and mission operations. A significant part of the student involvement in the CubeSat projects is gained by using the CubeSat development as a focal point for an existing two-semester course sequence in CU's Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES) Department: the Space Hardware Design section of Graduate Projects I & II (ASEN 5018 & ASEN 6028). The goal of these courses is to teach graduate students how to design and build systems using a requirement-based approach and fundamental systems engineering practices. The two-semester sequence takes teams of about 15 students from requirements definition and preliminary design through manufacturing, integration, and testing. In addition to the design process, students learn key professional skills such as working effectively in groups, finding solutions to open-ended problems, and actually building a system to their own set of specifications. The partnership between AES and LASP allows us to include engineering professionals in the mix, thus more effectively training science and engineering students for future roles in the civilian or commercial space industry. The mentoring process with LASP engineers helps to mitigate risk of the inexperience of the students and ensures consistent

The experimental study of genetic engineering human neural stem cells mediated by lentivirus to express multigene.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Pei-qiang; Tang, Xun; Lin, Yue-qiu; Martin, Oudega; Sun, Guang-yun; Xu, Lin; Yang, Yun-kang; Zhou, Tian-hua

2006-02-01

To explore the feasibility to construct genetic engineering human neural stem cells (hNSCs) mediated by lentivirus to express multigene in order to provide a graft source for further studies of spinal cord injury (SCI). Human neural stem cells from the brain cortex of human abortus were isolated and cultured, then gene was modified by lentivirus to express both green fluorescence protein (GFP) and rat neurotrophin-3 (NT-3); the transgenic expression was detected by the methods of fluorescence microscope, dorsal root ganglion of fetal rats and slot blot. Genetic engineering hNSCs were successfully constructed. All of the genetic engineering hNSCs which expressed bright green fluorescence were observed under the fluorescence microscope. The conditioned medium of transgenic hNSCs could induce neurite flourishing outgrowth from dorsal root ganglion (DRG). The genetic engineering hNSCs expressed high level NT-3 which could be detected by using slot blot. Genetic engineering hNSCs mediated by lentivirus can be constructed to express multigene successfully.

From Precaution to Peril: Public Relations Across Forty Years of Genetic Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Andrew J

2016-12-01

The Asilomar conference on genetic engineering in 1975 has long been pointed to by scientists as a model for internal regulation and public engagement. In 2015, the organizers of the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in Washington, DC looked to Asilomar as they sought to address the implications of the new CRISPR gene editing technique. Like at Asilomar, the conveners chose to limit the discussion to a narrow set of potential CRISPR applications, involving inheritable human genome editing. The adoption by scientists in 2015 of an Asilomar-like script for discussing genetic engineering offers historians the opportunity to analyze the adjustments that have been made since 1975, and to identify the blind spots that remain in public engagement. Scientists did take important lessons from the fallout of their limited engagement with public concerns at Asilomar. Nonetheless, the scientific community has continued to overlook some of the longstanding public concerns about genetic engineering, in particular the broad and often covert genetic modification of food products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineers' Responsibilities for Global Electronic Waste: Exploring Engineering Student Writing Through a Care Ethics Lens.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Ryan C; Wilson, Denise

2017-04-01

This paper provides an empirically informed perspective on the notion of responsibility using an ethical framework that has received little attention in the engineering-related literature to date: ethics of care. In this work, we ground conceptual explorations of engineering responsibility in empirical findings from engineering student's writing on the human health and environmental impacts of "backyard" electronic waste recycling/disposal. Our findings, from a purposefully diverse sample of engineering students in an introductory electrical engineering course, indicate that most of these engineers of tomorrow associated engineers with responsibility for the electronic waste (e-waste) problem in some way. However, a number of responses suggested attempts to deflect responsibility away from engineers towards, for example, the government or the companies for whom engineers work. Still other students associated both engineers and non-engineers with responsibility, demonstrating the distributed/collective nature of responsibility that will be required to achieve a solution to the global problem of excessive e-waste. Building upon one element of a framework for care ethics adopted from the wider literature, these empirical findings are used to facilitate a preliminary, conceptual exploration of care-ethical responsibility within the context of engineering and e-waste recycling/disposal. The objective of this exploration is to provide a first step toward understanding how care-ethical responsibility applies to engineering. We also hope to seed dialogue within the engineering community about its ethical responsibilities on the issue. We conclude the paper with a discussion of its implications for engineering education and engineering ethics that suggests changes for educational policy and the practice of engineering.

Teaching Engineering students to "Think thief"

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hartel, Pieter H.; Junger, Marianne

We report on an educational experiment where information technology students were encouraged to think out of the box about the dark side of information technology. Instead of taking the usual point of view of the engineer we challenged the students to take the point of view of the motivated

76 FR 78232 - Monsanto Co.; Determination of Nonregulated Status for Soybean Genetically Engineered To Have a...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-16

... peer review of safety tests, and health effects of genetically modified organisms and glyphosate. APHIS...] Monsanto Co.; Determination of Nonregulated Status for Soybean Genetically Engineered To Have a Modified... that there is reason to believe are plant pests. Such genetically engineered organisms and products are...

Students' perceptions of the relevance of mathematics in engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Flegg, Jennifer; Mallet, Dann; Lupton, Mandy

2012-09-01

In this article, we report on the findings of an exploratory study into the experience of students as they learn first year engineering mathematics. Here we define engineering as the application of mathematics and sciences to the building and design of projects for the use of society [M. Kirschenman and B. Brenner, Education for Civil Engineering: A Profession of Practice, Leader. Manag. Eng. 10 (2010), p. 54]. Qualitative and quantitative data on students' views of the relevance of their mathematics study to their engineering studies and future careers in engineering was collected. The students described using a range of mathematics techniques (mathematics skills developed, mathematics concepts applied to engineering and skills developed relevant for engineering) for various usages (as a subject of study, a tool for other subjects or a tool for real world problems). We found a number of themes relating to the design of engineering mathematics curriculum emerged from the data. These included the relevance of mathematics within different engineering majors, the relevance of mathematics to future studies, the relevance of learning mathematical rigour and the effectiveness of problem-solving tasks in conveying the relevance of mathematics more effectively than other forms of assessment. We make recommendations for the design of engineering mathematics curriculum based on our findings.

U.S. Adults with Agricultural Experience Report More Genetic Engineering Familiarity than Those Without

Science.gov (United States)

Stofer, Kathryn A.; Schiebel, Tracee M.

2017-01-01

Researchers and pollsters still debate the acceptance of genetic engineering technology among U.S. adults, and continue to assess their knowledge as part of this research. While decision-making may not rely entirely on knowledge, querying opinions and perceptions rely on public understanding of genetic engineering terms. Experience with…

Engineering Education and Students' Challenges: Strategies toward Enhancing the Educational Environment in Engineering Colleges

Science.gov (United States)

Alkandari, Nabila Y.

2014-01-01

The main goal of this research is to gain an understanding of the challenges which have to be confronted by the engineering students at the College of Engineering and Petroleum at Kuwait University. The college has a large number of students, of which three hundred and eighty five were selected on a random basis for study purposes. The results…

Effects of Engineering Design-Based Science on Elementary School Science Students' Engineering Identity Development across Gender and Grade

Science.gov (United States)

Capobianco, Brenda M.; Yu, Ji H.; French, Brian F.

2015-04-01

The integration of engineering concepts and practices into elementary science education has become an emerging concern for science educators and practitioners, alike. Moreover, how children, specifically preadolescents (grades 1-5), engage in engineering design-based learning activities may help science educators and researchers learn more about children's earliest identification with engineering. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which engineering identity differed among preadolescents across gender and grade, when exposing students to engineering design-based science learning activities. Five hundred fifty preadolescent participants completed the Engineering Identity Development Scale (EIDS), a recently developed measure with validity evidence that characterizes children's conceptions of engineering and potential career aspirations. Data analyses of variance among four factors (i.e., gender, grade, and group) indicated that elementary school students who engaged in the engineering design-based science learning activities demonstrated greater improvements on the EIDS subscales compared to those in the comparison group. Specifically, students in the lower grade levels showed substantial increases, while students in the higher grade levels showed decreases. Girls, regardless of grade level and participation in the engineering learning activities, showed higher scores in the academic subscale compared to boys. These findings suggest that the integration of engineering practices in the science classroom as early as grade one shows potential in fostering and sustaining student interest, participation, and self-concept in engineering and science.

UAF Space Systems Engineering Program: Engaging Students through an Apprenticeship Model

Science.gov (United States)

Thorsen, D.

2017-12-01

Learning by doing has been the mantra of engineering education for decades, however, the constraints of semester length courses limits the types and size of experiences that can be offered to students. The Space Systems Engineering Program (SSEP) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks provides interdisciplinary engineering and science students with hands-on experience in all aspects of space systems engineering through a design, build, launch paradigm applied to balloon and rocket payloads and small satellites. The program is structured using an apprenticeship model such that students, freshmen through graduate, can participate in multi-year projects thereby gaining experiences appropriate to their level in college. Students enter the lab in a trainee position and receive training on lab processes and design software. Depending on the student's interests they learn how to use specific lab equipment and software design tools. Trainees provide support engineering under guidance of an upper classman. As the students' progress in their degree program and gain more expertise, they typically become part of a specific subsystem team, where they receive additional training in developing design documents and in writing requirements and test documents, and direct their efforts to meeting specific objectives. By the time the student reaches their senior year, they have acquired the leadership role for a specific subsystem and/or a general leadership role in the lab. If students stay to pursue graduate degrees, they assume the responsibility of training and mentoring other undergraduates in their areas of expertise. Throughout the program upper class students mentor the newer students. The Space Systems Engineering Program strives to reinforce a student's degree program through these large scale projects that place engineering in context.

Intrinsic Value and the Genetic Engineering of Animals.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, R.B.M. de

2008-01-01

The concept of intrinsic value is often invoked to articulate objections to the genetic engineering of animals, particularly those objections that are not directed at the negative effects the technique might have on the health and welfare of the modified animals. However, this concept was not

Engineering for All: A Middle School Program to Introduce Students to Engineering as a Potential Social Good

Science.gov (United States)

Hacker, Michael; Crismond, David; Hecht, Deborah; Lomask, Michal

2017-01-01

This article is the first of a two-part series about Engineering for All (EfA), a $1.7M National Science Foundation-funded project, which introduces middle school students to engineering, not only as a career path, but as an endeavor with potential for doing social good. Engineering for All opens students' eyes to the role engineers play in…

Student-driven courses on the social and ecological responsibilities of engineers : commentary on "student-inspired activities for the teaching and learning of engineering ethics".

Science.gov (United States)

Baier, André

2013-12-01

A group of engineering students at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, designed a course on engineering ethics. The core element of the developed Blue Engineering course are self-contained teaching-units, "building blocks". These building blocks typically cover one complex topic and make use of various teaching methods using moderators who lead discussions, rather than experts who lecture. Consequently, the students themselves started to offer the credited course to their fellow students who take an active role in further developing the course themselves.

Student involvement as a vehicle for empowerment: a case study of the student platform for engineering education development

KAUST Repository

Delaine, David A.

2010-08-01

This paper examines the mission, structure and outputs of one organisation, the Student Platform for Engineering Education Development (SPEED), as a case study for how student-led organisations can use student involvement to promote and sustain student self-efficacy in an academic field. SPEED attracts young people to engineering through student participation in engineering education (EE). SPEED is a global, non-profit student organisation that functions as an interdisciplinary network to diversify dialogue, stimulate change and impact the development of EE and its effect on society. SPEED is directly attracting young people to engineering in various ways: the organisation of its keynote event, the Global Student Forum; facilitating interactions between globally minded, socially inclined engineers with aspirations to change the world; and through the global dissemination of SPEED\\'s work and practices through broad and relevant channels. Short-term outcomes are highlighted here. This case study can serve as a model for student engagement and involvement in other disciplines. © 2010 SEFI.

Modeling Student Success in Engineering Education

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Qu

2013-01-01

In order for the United States to maintain its global competitiveness, the long-term success of our engineering students in specific courses, programs, and colleges is now, more than ever, an extremely high priority. Numerous studies have focused on factors that impact student success, namely academic performance, retention, and/or graduation.…

Motivating students in engineering & ICT education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ir. Peter van Kollenburg; Ir. Dick van Schenk Brill

2009-01-01

We found out that 25 % of our students came to study at the Electrical & Electronic Engineering department (E&E) because they were active (as a hobby) in music. Because of this the E&E department offers their students to work in video and audio themes in all projects of their education. From our

Genetic engineering with T cell receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ling; Morgan, Richard A

2012-06-01

In the past two decades, human gene transfer research has been translated from a laboratory technology to clinical evaluation. The success of adoptive transfer of tumor-reactive lymphocytes to treat the patients with metastatic melanoma has led to new strategies to redirect normal T cells to recognize tumor antigens by genetic engineering with tumor antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) genes. This new strategy can generate large numbers of defined antigen-specific cells for therapeutic application. Much progress has been made to TCR gene transfer systems by optimizing gene expression and gene transfer protocols. Vector and protein modifications have enabled excellent expression of introduced TCR chains in human lymphocytes with reduced mis-pairing between the introduced and endogenous TCR chains. Initial clinical studies have demonstrated that TCR gene-engineered T cells could mediate tumor regression in vivo. In this review, we discuss the progress and prospects of TCR gene-engineered T cells as a therapeutic strategy for treating patients with melanoma and other cancers. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Photonics education development for electrical engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yang; Luo, Yuan; Liu, Yu; Hu, ZhangFang; Cai, Xuemei

2017-08-01

We describe the contents of an advanced undergraduate course on photonics at School of Electrical Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications. The main goal of the course is to equip the student with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge to participate in photonics-related industry and further graduate level study and research if they choose. The prerequisites include college-level physics and higher mathematics which a general engineering student has already had in his/her first and second year college study. Although applications of photonics are ubiquitous such as telecommunications, photonic computing, spectroscopy, military technology, and biophotonics etc. Telecommunication information system application is more emphasized in our course considering about the potential job chances for our students.

History and future of genetically engineered food animal regulation: an open request.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Kevin D

2016-06-01

Modern biotechnology resulted from of a series of incremental improvements in the understanding of DNA and the enzymes that nature evolved to manipulate it. As the potential impact of genetic engineering became apparent, scientists began the process of trying to identify the potential unintended consequences. Restrictions to recombinant DNA experimentation were at first self-imposed. Collaborative efforts between scientists and lawyers formalized an initial set of guidelines. These guidelines have been used to promulgate regulations around world. However, the initial guidelines were only intended as a starting point and were motivated by a specific set of concerns. As new data became available, the guidelines and regulations should have been adapted to the new knowledge. Instead, other social drivers drove the development of regulations. For most species and most applications, the framework that was established has slowly allowed some products to reach the market. However, genetically engineered livestock that are intended for food have been left in a regulatory state of limbo. To date, no genetically engineered food animal is available in the marketplace. A short history and a U.S.-based genetic engineer's perspective are presented. In addition, a request to regulatory agencies is presented for consideration as regulation continues to evolve. Regulators appear to have shown preference for the slow, random progression of evolution over the efficiency of intentional design.

Impact of distributed virtual reality on engineering knowledge retention and student engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Sulbaran, Tulio Alberto

Engineering Education is facing many problems, one of which is poor knowledge retention among engineering students. This problem affects the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (A/E/C) industry, because students are unprepared for many necessary job skills. This problem of poor knowledge retention is caused by many factors, one of which is the mismatch between student learning preferences and the media used to teach engineering. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of Distributed Virtual Reality (DVR) as an engineering teaching tool. The implementation of DVR addresses the issue of poor knowledge retention by impacting the mismatch between learning and teaching style in the visual versus verbal spectrum. Using as a point of departure three knowledge domain areas (Learning and Instruction, Distributed Virtual Reality and Crane Selection as Part of Crane Lift Planning), a DVR engineering teaching tool is developed, deployed and assessed in engineering classrooms. The statistical analysis of the data indicates that: (1) most engineering students are visual learners; (2) most students would like more classes using DVR; (3) engineering students find DVR more engaging than traditional learning methods; (4) most students find the responsiveness of the DVR environments to be either good or very good; (5) all students are able to interact with DVR and most of the students found it easy or very easy to navigate (without previous formal training in how to use DVR); (6) students' knowledge regarding the subject (crane selection) is higher after the experiment; and, (7) students' using different instructional media do not demonstrate statistical difference in knowledge retained after the experiment. This inter-disciplinary research offers opportunities for direct and immediate application in education, research, and industry, due to the fact that the instructional module developed (on crane selection as part of construction crane lift planning) can be

Perception of risks and benefits of in vitro fertilization, genetic engineering and biotechnology.

Science.gov (United States)

Macer, D R

1994-01-01

The use of new biotechnology in medicine has become an everyday experience, but many people still express concern about biotechnology. Concerns are evoked particularly by the phrases genetic engineering and in vitro fertilization (IVF), and these concerns persist despite more than a decade of their use in medicine. Mailed nationwide opinion surveys on attitudes to biotechnology were conducted in Japan, among samples of the public (N = 551), high school biology teachers (N = 228), scientists (N = 555) and nurses (N = 301). People do see more benefits coming from science than harm when balanced against the risks. There were especially mixed perceptions of benefit and risk about IVF and genetic engineering, and a relatively high degree of worry compared to other developments of science and technology. A discussion of assisted reproductive technologies and surrogacy in Japan is also made. The opinions of people in Japan were compared to the results of previous surveys conducted in Japan, and international surveys conducted in Australia, China, Europe, New Zealand, U.K. and U.S.A. Japanese have a very high awareness of biotechnology, 97% saying that they had heard of the word. They also have a high level of awareness of IVF and genetic engineering. Genetic engineering was said to be a worthwhile research area for Japan by 76%, while 58% perceived research on IVF as being worthwhile, however 61% were worried about research on IVF or genetic engineering. Japanese expressed more concern about IVF and genetic engineering than New Zealanders. The major reason cited for rejection of genetic manipulation research in Japan and New Zealand was that it was seen as interfering with nature, playing God or as unethical. The emotions concerning these technologies are complex, and we should avoid using simplistic public opinion data as measures of public perceptions. The level of concern expressed by scientists and teachers in Japan suggest that public education "technology promotion

First-Year University Science and Engineering Students' Understanding of Plagiarism

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Shelley

2007-01-01

This paper is a case study of first-year science and engineering students' understandings of plagiarism. Students were surveyed for their views on scenarios illustrating instances of plagiarism in the context of the academic work and assessment of science and engineering students. The aim was to explore their understandings of plagiarism and their…

Eliciting and characterizing students' mental models within the context of engineering design

Science.gov (United States)

Dankenbring, Chelsey

Recently, science education reform documents have called for the incorporation of engineering principles and practices into the K-12 science standards and curriculum. One way this has been done is through the use of engineering design tasks as a way for students to apply their scientific understandings to real-world problems. However, minimal studies have documented students' conceptions within the context of engineering design. Thus, the first chapter of this thesis outlines the steps taken to develop a draw-and-explain item that elicited students' mental models regarding the cause of the four seasons after finishing an engineering design task. Students' mental models regarding the reason for the seasons are also described. The second chapter characterizes students' conceptions regarding sun-Earth relationships, specifically the amount of daylight hours throughout the year, for students who completed either an engineering design task or more traditional learning activities. Results from these studies indicate that draw-and-explain items are an effective way of obtaining students' mental models and that students harbor a variety of alternate conceptions on astronomy related concepts within various learning contexts. Implications from this study include the need for further research regarding how engineering design is used in the classroom and how engineering design facilitates science learning. Also, professional development that allows in-service teachers to gain experience teaching engineering design is needed, as are teacher preparation programs that expose pre-service teachers to engineering design.

Genetic Engineering and Human Mental Ecology: Interlocking Effects and Educational Considerations

OpenAIRE

Affifi, Ramsey

2017-01-01

This paper describes some likely semiotic consequences of genetic engineering on what Gregory Bateson has called ?the mental ecology? (1979) of future humans, consequences that are less often raised in discussions surrounding the safety of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). The effects are as follows: an increased 1) habituation to the presence of GMOs in the environment, 2) normalization of empirically false assumptions grounding genetic reductionism, 3) acceptance that humans are capabl...

"Soft-Engineering" Students Learning Math during Project Work on Optical Illusions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timcenko, Olga; Triantafyllou, Evangelia

2015-01-01

Media Technology is a study line between engineering, art and humanities, situated at Faculty of Engineering and Science of Aalborg University. Although formally students of engineering, Media Technology students show even greater difficulties with entry-level mathematical knowledge than typical ...

High School Students' Use of Meiosis When Solving Genetics Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wynne, Cynthia F.; Stewart, Jim; Passmore, Cindy

2001-01-01

Paints a different picture of students' reasoning with meiosis as they solved complex, computer-generated genetics problems, some of which required them to revise their understanding of meiosis in response to anomalous data. Students were able to develop a rich understanding of meiosis and can utilize that knowledge to solve genetics problems.…

Providing Co-Curricular Support: A Multi-Case Study of Engineering Student Support Centers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Walter C., Jr.

2015-01-01

In response to the student retention and diversity issues that have been persistent in undergraduate engineering education, many colleges have developed Engineering Student Support Centers (ESSCs) such as Minority Engineering Programs (MEPs) and Women in Engineering Programs (WEPs). ESSCs provide underrepresented students with co-curricular…

Multivariate Analysis of Students' Performance in Math Courses and Specific Engineering Courses

OpenAIRE

H. Naccache; R. Hleiss

2016-01-01

The aim of this research is to study the relationship between the performance of engineering students in different math courses and their performance in specific engineering courses. The considered courses are taken mainly by engineering students during the first two years of their major. Several factors are being studied, such as gender and final grades in the math and specific engineering courses. Participants of this study comprised a sample of more than thousands of engineering students a...

Assessment of cognitive factors that impact on student knowledge of genetics

Science.gov (United States)

Gerow, Tracy Nelson

1999-12-01

Attaining an understanding of basic principles of inheritance and their implications is crucial for all people as society is confronted with a variety of ethical, sociological and ecological questions generated by the rapid growth of genetic knowledge. College level students are burdened by terminology, have difficulty making associations among related ideas, and often possess misconceptions or fragmented ideas about how traits are inherited. Subject comprehension is evaluated mostly with objective testing techniques that don't show how well students truly understand concepts. This research was done to determine how prior subject knowledge in biology and general cognitive ability affected community college students' understanding of several genetic principles both before and after completing a one-semester college biology course. Understanding of genetic principles was determined with a videotape assessment that evaluated student written explanations of experimental events. The evaluations were then used to place students into three categories: descriptive, transitional, and relational type learners. A subset of students was interviewed to better determine how thoroughly genetic concepts depicted in the videotape program were understood. Prior subject matter knowledge and cognitive level were discovered to be moderately correlated with ability to explain genetic phenomena. Most students in this study were categorized as either descriptive or transitional learners. Descriptive type students gave less detailed explanations, employed less successful problem solving methods, had more misconceptions and used feedback less effectively than did transitional type learners. The study results show that science teachers need to be aware of the heterogeneity existing in their students' background knowledge and cognitive skills. It demonstrated that a large contingency of students, descriptive learners, lack a framework of knowledge upon which to build new concepts or change

Discovery Camp Excites Students about Engineering and Technology Careers

Science.gov (United States)

Massiha, G. H.

2011-01-01

In the United States and elsewhere, there is a dramatic shortage of engineers and technologists. And, unfortunately, these professions often suffer from a lack of awareness among K-12 students. Clearly, educators need to show students the very exciting and lucrative aspects of these fields. Engineering and technology are consistently listed by…

Patent Information Use in Engineering Technology Design: An Analysis of Student Work

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Margaret; Zwicky, Dave

2017-01-01

How might engineering technology students make use of patent information in the engineering design process? Librarians analyzed team project reports and personal reflections created by students in an undergraduate mechanical engineering technology design course, revealing that the students used patents to consider the patentability of their ideas,…

A phenomenographic study of students' experiences with transition from pre-college engineering programs to first-year engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Salzman, Noah

Recent national dialogues on the importance of preparing more students for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics has driven the development of formal and informal learning opportunities for children and adolescents to explore engineering. Despite the growth of these programs, relatively little research exists on how participation in these programs affects students who choose to pursue further study in engineering. The present study addressed this gap through an exploration of the different ways that First-Year Engineering students experience the transition from pre-college engineering to undergraduate engineering studies. Given the focus of this research on students' experiences, phenomenography was chosen to explore the phenomenon of transition from pre-college to first-year engineering at a large, public Midwestern university. This facilitated understanding the range of variation in the ways that students experienced this transition. Twenty-two students with different amounts of participation in a variety of different engineering programs were selected to be interviewed using a purposeful maximum variation sampling strategy. The interviews were guided by a semi-structured interview protocol that encouraged the participants to reflect on their pre-college engineering experiences, their experiences in First-Year Engineering, and the transition between the two domains. The interviews were analyzed using phenomenographic methods to develop an outcome space consisting of five qualitatively different but related ways of experiencing the transition from pre-college to First-Year Engineering. These categories of description included Foreclosure, Frustration, Tedium, Connection, and Engaging Others. With the exception of the first category which was characterized by a lack of passion and commitment to engineering, the remaining four categories formed a hierarchical relationship representing increasing integration in First-Year Engineering. The

The First Year of College: Understanding Student Persistence in Engineering

OpenAIRE

Hayden, Marina Calvet

2017-01-01

This research study aimed to expand our understanding of the factors that influence student persistence in engineering. The unique experiences of engineering students were examined as they transitioned into and navigated their first year of college at a public research university in California. Most students provided similar responses with respect to the way they experienced the transition to college and social life. There was, however, wide student response variation regarding their experien...

Engineering Students: Enhancing Employability Skills through PBL

Science.gov (United States)

H, Othman; Mat Daud K., A.; U, Ewon; Salleh B, Mohd; Omar N., H.; Baser J, Abd; Ismail M., E.; A, Sulaiman

2017-05-01

As a developing country, Malaysia faces challenging tasks to develop her economy just like many other countries. Nowadays, change involves many aspects like the economy from agriculture to manufacturing, technology from modern to more advanced ones; mindset from traditional to advanced and so on. Previous studies show that one of the major issues facing local graduates is the lack of employability skills. This problem concerns not only the government but undergraduates and institutions alike. From the pedagogical aspect, one of the more effective ways to improve this is through instructional delivery and in this case the use of Problem-based Learning (PBL). The need to adopt PBL should involved applied subjects undertaken by engineering students. Studies have shown that the use of PBL has been proven to make learning more attractive and effective. In this research, we studied the effectiveness of PBL towards enhancing employability skills among engineering undergraduates. This study adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data was collected using documents analysis. Student samples comprised manufacturing engineering undergraduates from public institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. The results show that student’s employability skills can be enhanced using PBL. In addition, students become more competitive towards making them more relevance with the needs of the industry with regard to employability skills. In conclusion, PBL is a very effective catalyst towards raising the employability skills among engineering undergraduates and should be adopted in all engineering education.

Misconceptions About Sound Among Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Pejuan, Arcadi; Bohigas, Xavier; Jaén, Xavier; Periago, Cristina

2012-12-01

Our first objective was to detect misconceptions about the microscopic nature of sound among senior university students enrolled in different engineering programmes (from chemistry to telecommunications). We sought to determine how these misconceptions are expressed (qualitative aspect) and, only very secondarily, to gain a general idea of the extent to which they are held (quantitative aspect). Our second objective was to explore other misconceptions about wave aspects of sound. We have also considered the degree of consistency in the model of sound used by each student. Forty students answered a questionnaire including open-ended questions. Based on their free, spontaneous answers, the main results were as follows: a large majority of students answered most of the questions regarding the microscopic model of sound according to the scientifically accepted model; however, only a small number answered consistently. The main model misconception found was the notion that sound is propagated through the travelling of air particles, even in solids. Misconceptions and mental-model inconsistencies tended to depend on the engineering programme in which the student was enrolled. However, students in general were inconsistent also in applying their model of sound to individual sound properties. The main conclusion is that our students have not truly internalised the scientifically accepted model that they have allegedly learnt. This implies a need to design learning activities that take these findings into account in order to be truly efficient.

Creativity Development for Engineering Students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Chunfang; Holgaard, Jette Egelund; Kolmos, Anette

2010-01-01

In this paper we outline two approaches to enhance creative skills in a PBL environment at Aalborg University, Denmark. The two strategies are respectively characterized by 1) integrating creativity training into curriculum and 2) introducing real life engineering projects for students. Two cases...

76 FR 80869 - Monsanto Co.; Determination of Nonregulated Status of Corn Genetically Engineered for Drought...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-27

... and products altered or produced through genetic engineering that are plant pests or that there is... in 7 CFR part 340, ``Introduction of Organisms and Products Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering Which Are Plant Pests or Which There Is Reason to Believe Are Plant Pests,'' regulate, among other...

Using Genetically Engineered Animal Models in the Postgenomic Era to Understand Gene Function in Alcoholism

Science.gov (United States)

Reilly, Matthew T.; Harris, R. Adron; Noronha, Antonio

2012-01-01

Over the last 50 years, researchers have made substantial progress in identifying genetic variations that underlie the complex phenotype of alcoholism. Not much is known, however, about how this genetic variation translates into altered biological function. Genetic animal models recapitulating specific characteristics of the human condition have helped elucidate gene function and the genetic basis of disease. In particular, major advances have come from the ability to manipulate genes through a variety of genetic technologies that provide an unprecedented capacity to determine gene function in the living organism and in alcohol-related behaviors. Even newer genetic-engineering technologies have given researchers the ability to control when and where a specific gene or mutation is activated or deleted, allowing investigators to narrow the role of the gene’s function to circumscribed neural pathways and across development. These technologies are important for all areas of neuroscience, and several public and private initiatives are making a new generation of genetic-engineering tools available to the scientific community at large. Finally, high-throughput “next-generation sequencing” technologies are set to rapidly increase knowledge of the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome, which, combined with genetically engineered mouse mutants, will enhance insight into biological function. All of these resources will provide deeper insight into the genetic basis of alcoholism. PMID:23134044

Adaptation of abbreviated mathematics anxiety rating scale for engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Nordin, Sayed Kushairi Sayed; Samat, Khairul Fadzli; Sultan, Al Amin Mohamed; Halim, Bushra Abdul; Ismail, Siti Fatimah; Mafazi, Nurul Wirdah

2015-05-01

Mathematics is an essential and fundamental tool used by engineers to analyse and solve problems in their field. Due to this, most engineering education programs involve a concentration of study in mathematics courses whereby engineering students have to take mathematics courses such as numerical methods, differential equations and calculus in the first two years and continue to do so until the completion of the sequence. However, the students struggled and had difficulties in learning courses that require mathematical abilities. Hence, this study presents the factors that caused mathematics anxiety among engineering students using Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (AMARS) through 95 students of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM). From 25 items in AMARS, principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that there are four mathematics anxiety factors, namely experiences of learning mathematics, cognitive skills, mathematics evaluation anxiety and students' perception on mathematics. Minitab 16 software was used to analyse the nonparametric statistics. Kruskal-Wallis Test indicated that there is a significant difference in the experience of learning mathematics and mathematics evaluation anxiety among races. The Chi-Square Test of Independence revealed that the experience of learning mathematics, cognitive skills and mathematics evaluation anxiety depend on the results of their SPM additional mathematics. Based on this study, it is recommended to address the anxiety problems among engineering students at the early stage of studying in the university. Thus, lecturers should play their part by ensuring a positive classroom environment which encourages students to study mathematics without fear.

Synthetic alienation of microbial organisms by using genetic code engineering: Why and how?

Science.gov (United States)

Kubyshkin, Vladimir; Budisa, Nediljko

2017-08-01

The main goal of synthetic biology (SB) is the creation of biodiversity applicable for biotechnological needs, while xenobiology (XB) aims to expand the framework of natural chemistries with the non-natural building blocks in living cells to accomplish artificial biodiversity. Protein and proteome engineering, which overcome limitation of the canonical amino acid repertoire of 20 (+2) prescribed by the genetic code by using non-canonic amino acids (ncAAs), is one of the main focuses of XB research. Ideally, estranging the genetic code from its current form via systematic introduction of ncAAs should enable the development of bio-containment mechanisms in synthetic cells potentially endowing them with a "genetic firewall" i.e. orthogonality which prevents genetic information transfer to natural systems. Despite rapid progress over the past two decades, it is not yet possible to completely alienate an organism that would use and maintain different genetic code associations permanently. In order to engineer robust bio-contained life forms, the chemical logic behind the amino acid repertoire establishment should be considered. Starting from recent proposal of Hartman and Smith about the genetic code establishment in the RNA world, here the authors mapped possible biotechnological invasion points for engineering of bio-contained synthetic cells equipped with non-canonical functionalities. Copyright © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

76 FR 63278 - Bayer CropScience LP; Determination of Nonregulated Status for Cotton Genetically Engineered for...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-12

... part 340, ``Introduction of Organisms and Products Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering... regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms. Our determination is based... things, the introduction (importation, interstate movement, or release into the environment) of organisms...

Elementary students' engagement in failure-prone engineering design tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Chelsea Joy

Although engineering education has been practiced at the undergraduate level for over a century, only fairly recently has the field broadened to include the elementary level; the pre-college division of the American Society of Engineering Education was established in 2003. As a result, while recent education standards require engineering in elementary schools, current studies are still filling in basic research on how best to design and implement elementary engineering activities. One area in need of investigation is how students engage with physical failure in design tasks. In this dissertation, I explore how upper elementary students engage in failure-prone engineering design tasks in an out-of-school environment. In a series of three empirical case studies, I look closely at how students evaluate failed tests and decide on changes to their design constructions, how their reasoning evolves as they repeatedly encounter physical failure, and how students and facilitators co-construct testing norms where repetitive failure is manageable. I also briefly investigate how students' engagement differs in a task that features near-immediate success. By closely examining student groups' discourse and their interactions with their design constructions, I found that these students: are able to engage in iteration and see failure-as-feedback with minimal externally-imposed structure; seem to be designing in a more sophisticated manner, attending to multiple causal factors, after experiencing repetitive failure; and are able to manage the stress and frustration of repetitive failure, provided the co-constructed testing norms of the workshop environment are supportive of failure management. These results have both pedagogical implications, in terms of how to create and facilitate design tasks, and methodological implications--namely, I highlight the particular insights afforded by a case study approach for analyzing engagement in design tasks.

76 FR 63279 - Monsanto Co.; Determination of Nonregulated Status for Soybean Genetically Engineered for Insect...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-12

... and products altered or produced through genetic engineering that are plant pests or that there is... regulations in 7 CFR part 340, ``Introduction of Organisms and Products Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering Which Are Plant Pests or Which There Is Reason to Believe Are Plant Pests,'' regulate, among other...

Improving motivation and engagement in core engineering courses with student teams

Science.gov (United States)

Trenshaw, Kathryn Faye

Team-based projects are common in capstone engineering design courses and increasingly common in first-year engineering programs. Despite high enrollments and budget cutbacks affecting many programs, second- and third-year students can also benefit from team-based project experiences, which motivate them to succeed in engineering and prepare them for a globally competitive workforce. My dissertation research demonstrates that team design projects can be incorporated into the curricula of engineering departments, and these projects result in positive affective outcomes for students. Using ABET outcomes and Self Determination Theory (SDT) as the background for my studies, I investigated students' confidence, motivation, and sense of community after experiencing team design projects in two different engineering departments at a large public institution. In the first study, I used a sequential mixed methods approach with a primary quantitative phase followed by an explanatory qualitative phase to evaluate a chemical engineering program that integrated team design projects throughout the curriculum. The evaluation methods included a survey based on desired ABET outcomes for students and focus groups to expand on the quantitative results. Students reported increased confidence in their design, teamwork, and communication skills after completing the projects. In my second and third studies, I used qualitative interviews based on SDT to explore student motivation in an electrical and computer engineering course redesigned to support students' intrinsic motivation to learn. SDT states that intrinsic motivation to learn is supported by increasing students' sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in regard to their learning. Using both narrative inquiry and phenomenological methodologies, I analyzed data from interviews of students for mentions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness as well as course events that were critical in changing students' motivation

Student employment and study effort for engineering students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Line Katrine Harder; Harder, D. E.

2015-01-01

more than those in studies from e.g. UK and US [3, 4, 5]. A similar trend was seen in a study from Norway [6]. Government financial support seems to limit the amount of hours spent on paid work but not the percentage of students who take on paid work. Thus, full-time studies with benefits of increased...... capabilities and experience gained through employment could be aided by proper policies. Additionally, one of the highest impacts on study activity was the perceived study environment. As the engineering students have four hours per week of interaction with an instructor for each five ECTS...... to answer if the full-time student is under demise in these settings as opposed to settings without financial support [1, 2]. The research consisted of a web-based survey amongst all students at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The students in this survey had fewer employment hours and studied...

Genetic engineering of microorganisms for biodiesel production

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Hui; Wang, Qun; Shen, Qi; Zhan, Jumei; Zhao, Yuhua

2013-01-01

Biodiesel, as one type of renewable energy, is an ideal substitute for petroleum-based diesel fuel and is usually made from triacylglycerides by transesterification with alcohols. Biodiesel production based on microbial fermentation aiming to establish more efficient, less-cost and sustainable biodiesel production strategies is under current investigation by various start-up biotechnology companies and research centers. Genetic engineering plays a key role in the transformation of microbes into the desired cell factories with high efficiency of biodiesel production. Here, we present an overview of principal microorganisms used in the microbial biodiesel production and recent advances in metabolic engineering for the modification required. Overexpression or deletion of the related enzymes for de novo synthesis of biodiesel is highlighted with relevant examples. PMID:23222170

Changing the Engineering Student Culture with Respect to Academic Integrity and Ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

VanDeGrift, Tammy; Dillon, Heather; Camp, Loreal

2017-08-01

Engineers create airplanes, buildings, medical devices, and software, amongst many other things. Engineers abide by a professional code of ethics to uphold people's safety and the reputation of the profession. Likewise, students abide by a code of academic integrity while learning the knowledge and necessary skills to prepare them for the engineering and computing professions. This paper reports on studies designed to improve the engineering student culture with respect to academic integrity and ethics. To understand the existing culture at a university in the USA, a survey based on a national survey about cheating was administered to students. The incidences of self-reported cheating and incidences of not reporting others who cheat show the culture is similar to other institutions. Two interventions were designed and tested in an introduction to an engineering course: two case studies that students discussed in teams and the whole class, and a letter of recommendation assignment in which students wrote about themselves (character, strengths, examples of ethical decisions) three years into the future. Students were surveyed after the two interventions. Results show that first-year engineering students appreciate having a code of academic integrity and they want to earn their degree without cheating, yet less than half of the students would report on another cheating student. The letter of recommendation assignment had some impact on getting students to think about ethics, their character, and their actions. Future work in changing the student culture will continue in both a top-down (course interventions) and bottom-up (student-driven interventions) manner.

Genetic engineering of syringyl-enriched lignin in plants

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, Vincent Lee; Li, Laigeng

2004-11-02

The present invention relates to a novel DNA sequence, which encodes a previously unidentified lignin biosynthetic pathway enzyme, sinapyl alcohol dehydrogenase (SAD) that regulates the biosynthesis of syringyl lignin in plants. Also provided are methods for incorporating this novel SAD gene sequence or substantially similar sequences into a plant genome for genetic engineering of syringyl-enriched lignin in plants.

Non-Genetic Engineering Approaches for Isolating and Generating Novel Yeasts for Industrial Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, P. J.; Bellon, J. R.; Schmidt, S. A.; Varela, C.; Pretorius, I. S.

Generating novel yeast strains for industrial applications should be quite straightforward; after all, research into the genetics, biochemistry and physiology of Baker's Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has paved the way for many advances in the modern biological sciences. We probably know more about this humble eukaryote than any other, and it is the most tractable of organisms for manipulation using modern genetic engineering approaches. In many countries, however, there are restrictions on the use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), particularly in foods and beverages, and the level of consumer acceptance of GMOs is, at best, variable. Thus, many researchers working with industrial yeasts use genetic engineering techniques primarily as research tools, and strain development continues to rely on non-GM technologies. This chapter explores the non-GM tools and strategies available to such researchers.

Gender and Health Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops in ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Gender and Health Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops in Developing Countries ... exists, the gender and health impacts have so far received only cursory attention. ... New funding opportunity for gender equality and climate change ... social inequality, promote greater gender parity, and empower women and girls.

The engineering capstone course fundamentals for students and instructors

CERN Document Server

Hoffman, Harvey F

2014-01-01

This essential book takes students and instructors through steps undertaken in a start-to-finish engineering project as conceived and presented in the engineering capstone course. The learning experience follows an industry model to prepare students to recognize a need for a product or service and work in a team; identify competition, patent overlap, and necessary resources; generate a project proposal that accounts for business issues; prepare a design, develop and fabricate the product or service; develop a test plan to evaluate the product or service; and prepare and deliver a final report and presentation. Throughout the book, students are asked to examine the business viability of the project. The Engineering Capstone Course: Fundamentals for Students and Instructors emphasizes that a design must meet a set of realistic technical specifications and constraints, including examination of attendant economics, environmental needs, sustainability, manufacturability, health and safety, governmental regulations...

Evolving social responsibility understandings, motivations, and career goals of undergraduate students initially pursuing engineering degrees

Science.gov (United States)

Rulifson, Gregory A.

Engineers impact the lives of every person every day, and need to have a strong sense of social responsibility. Understanding what students think about social responsibility in engineering and their futures is very important. Further, by identifying influences that change these ideas and shape their conceptualizations, we can intervene to help prepare students for their responsibilities as part of the profession in the future. This thesis presents the experiences, in their own words, of 34 students who started in engineering. The study is composed of three parts: (i) engineering students' ideas about socially responsible engineering and what influenced these ideas, (ii) how students see themselves as future socially responsible engineers and how this idea changes over their first three years of college, and (iii) what social responsibility-related reasons students who leave engineering have for choosing a new major. Results show that students are complicated and have varied paths through and out of engineering studies. Students came up with their own ideas about socially responsible engineering that converged over the years on legal and safety related aspects of the profession. Relatedly, students identified with the engineering profession through internships and engineering courses, and rarely described socially responsible aspirations that could be accomplished with engineering. More often, those students who desired to help the disadvantaged through their engineering work left engineering. Their choice to leave was a combination of an unsupportive climate, disinterest in their classes, and a desire to combine their personal and professional social responsibility ambitions. If we want engineering students to push the engineering profession forward to be more socially responsible, we can identify the effective influences and develop a curriculum that encourages critical thinking about the social context and impacts of engineering. Additionally, a social

Agrobacterium: nature’s genetic engineer

Science.gov (United States)

Nester, Eugene W.

2015-01-01

Agrobacterium was identified as the agent causing the plant tumor, crown gall over 100 years ago. Since then, studies have resulted in many surprising observations. Armin Braun demonstrated that Agrobacterium infected cells had unusual nutritional properties, and that the bacterium was necessary to start the infection but not for continued tumor development. He developed the concept of a tumor inducing principle (TIP), the factor that actually caused the disease. Thirty years later the TIP was shown to be a piece of a tumor inducing (Ti) plasmid excised by an endonuclease. In the next 20 years, most of the key features of the disease were described. The single-strand DNA (T-DNA) with the endonuclease attached is transferred through a type IV secretion system into the host cell where it is likely coated and protected from nucleases by a bacterial secreted protein to form the T-complex. A nuclear localization signal in the endonuclease guides the transferred strand (T-strand), into the nucleus where it is integrated randomly into the host chromosome. Other secreted proteins likely aid in uncoating the T-complex. The T-DNA encodes enzymes of auxin, cytokinin, and opine synthesis, the latter a food source for Agrobacterium. The genes associated with T-strand formation and transfer (vir) map to the Ti plasmid and are only expressed when the bacteria are in close association with a plant. Plant signals are recognized by a two-component regulatory system which activates vir genes. Chromosomal genes with pleiotropic functions also play important roles in plant transformation. The data now explain Braun’s old observations and also explain why Agrobacterium is nature’s genetic engineer. Any DNA inserted between the border sequences which define the T-DNA will be transferred and integrated into host cells. Thus, Agrobacterium has become the major vector in plant genetic engineering. PMID:25610442

Volatile terpenoids: multiple functions, biosynthesis, modulation and manipulation by genetic engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, Farhat; Ke, Yanguo; Yu, Rangcai; Yue, Yuechong; Amanullah, Sikandar; Jahangir, Muhammad Muzammil; Fan, Yanping

2017-11-01

Terpenoids play several physiological and ecological functions in plant life through direct and indirect plant defenses and also in human society because of their enormous applications in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries. Through the aid of genetic engineering its role can by magnified to broad spectrum by improving genetic ability of crop plants, enhancing the aroma quality of fruits and flowers and the production of pharmaceutical terpenoids contents in medicinal plants. Terpenoids are structurally diverse and the most abundant plant secondary metabolites, playing an important role in plant life through direct and indirect plant defenses, by attracting pollinators and through different interactions between the plants and their environment. Terpenoids are also significant because of their enormous applications in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries. Due to their broad distribution and functional versatility, efforts are being made to decode the biosynthetic pathways and comprehend the regulatory mechanisms of terpenoids. This review summarizes the recent advances in biosynthetic pathways, including the spatiotemporal, transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms. Moreover, we discuss the multiple functions of the terpene synthase genes (TPS), their interaction with the surrounding environment and the use of genetic engineering for terpenoid production in model plants. Here, we also provide an overview of the significance of terpenoid metabolic engineering in crop protection, plant reproduction and plant metabolic engineering approaches for pharmaceutical terpenoids production and future scenarios in agriculture, which call for sustainable production platforms by improving different plant traits.

Oxford engineering students to study new solutions for vacuum chambers

CERN Multimedia

Department of Engineering Science - University of Oxford

2012-01-01

In April, eleven engineering science students in their third year at Oxford University were invited here to present their design ideas for new vacuum chamber materials to be used in accelerators. We publish below an abstract of the article that the University of Oxford featured on its website.   The 11 Oxford students who worked at CERN on alternatives to beryllium in vacuum chambers. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford.) Engineering Science students invited to design for CERN’s Large Hadron Collider In April, eleven Engineering Science students in their third year were invited to the CERN laboratory in Geneva to present their ideas for new vacuum chamber designs for the experiments of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Their design objectives were to propose alternatives to beryllium – the material used for some of the existing experimental vacuum chambers. Beryllium (chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4) is to...

SUCCESS FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING ERGONOMICS TO ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MUSHTAK AL-ATABI

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Taylor's University School of Engineering (Malaysia is a project-based-learning school that puts a conscious effort to educate engineers on the importance of applying ergonomic principles at the conceiving and designing stages of a product life cycle. This paper reports on an innovative approach to teaching ergonomics using the SUCCESS framework (Simple, Unexpected, Credible, Concrete, Emotions, Story, and Simulation. This teaching technique was adopted to engage the hearts and minds of the students and get them to embrace ergonomics as an important skill for engineers. Comparing students’ module evaluation and feedback, both before and after the adoption of the SUCCESS framework showed that students enjoyed the new approach of teaching and found it more fulfilling.

Variables Affecting Secondary School Students' Willingness to Eat Genetically Modified Food Crops

Science.gov (United States)

Maes, Jasmien; Bourgonjon, Jeroen; Gheysen, Godelieve; Valcke, Martin

2017-04-01

A large-scale cross-sectional study (N = 4002) was set up to determine Flemish secondary school students' willingness to eat genetically modified food (WTE) and to link students' WTE to previously identified key variables from research on the acceptance of genetic modification (GM). These variables include subjective and objective knowledge about genetics and biotechnology, perceived risks and benefits of GM food crops, trust in information from different sources about GM, and food neophobia. Differences between WTE-related variables based on students' grade level, educational track, and gender were analyzed. The students displayed a rather indecisive position toward GM food and scored weakly on a genetics and biotechnology knowledge test. WTE correlated most strongly with perceived benefits and subjective and objective knowledge. The results have clear implications for education, as they reiterate the need to strengthen students' scientific knowledge base and to introduce a GM-related debate at a much earlier stage in their school career.

Evolution of Students' Varied Conceptualizations About Socially Responsible Engineering: A Four Year Longitudinal Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rulifson, Greg; Bielefeldt, Angela R

2018-03-20

Engineers should learn how to act on their responsibility to society during their education. At present, however, it is unknown what students think about the meaning of socially responsible engineering. This paper synthesizes 4 years of longitudinal interviews with engineering students as they progressed through college. The interviews revolved broadly around how students saw the connections between engineering and social responsibility, and what influenced these ideas. Using the Weidman Input-Environment-Output model as a framework, this research found that influences included required classes such as engineering ethics, capstone design, and some technical courses, pre-college volunteering and familial values, co-curricular groups such as Engineers Without Borders and the Society of Women Engineers, as well as professional experiences through internships. Further, some experiences such as technical courses and engineering internships contributed to confine students' understanding of an engineer's social responsibility. Overall, students who stayed in engineering tended to converge on basic responsibilities such as safety and bettering society as a whole, but tended to become less concerned with improving the lives of the marginalized and disadvantaged. Company loyalty also became important for some students. These results have valuable, transferable contributions, providing guidance to foster students' ideas on socially responsible engineering.

A Summer Leadership Development Program for Chemical Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Annie E.; Evans, Greg J.; Reeve, Doug

2012-01-01

The Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow Program (LOT) is a comprehensive curricular, co-curricular, extra-curricular leadership development initiative for engineering students. LOT envisions: "an engineering education that is a life-long foundation for transformational leaders and outstanding citizens." Academic courses, co-curricular certificate…

A Phenomenographic Investigation of the Ways Engineering Students Experience Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Fila, Nicholas David

Innovation has become an important phenomenon in engineering and engineering education. By developing novel, feasible, viable, and valued solutions to complex technical and human problems, engineers support the economic competitiveness of organizations, make a difference in the lives of users and other stakeholders, drive societal and scientific progress, and obtain key personal benefits. Innovation is also a complex phenomenon. It occurs across a variety of contexts and domains, encompasses numerous phases and activities, and requires unique competency profiles. Despite this complexity, many studies in engineering education focus on specific aspects (e.g., engineering students' abilities to generate original concepts during idea generation), and we still know little about the variety of ways engineering students approach and understand innovation. This study addresses that gap by asking: 1. What are the qualitatively different ways engineering students experience innovation during their engineering projects? 2. What are the structural relationships between the ways engineering students experience innovation? This study utilized phenomenography, a qualitative research method, to explore the above research questions. Thirty-three engineering students were recruited to ensure thorough coverage along four factors suggested by the literature to support differences related to innovation: engineering project experience, academic major, year in school, and gender. Each participant completed a 1-2 hour, semi-structured interview that focused on experiences with and conceptions of innovation. Whole transcripts were analyzed using an eight-stage, iterative, and comparative approach meant to identify a limited number of categories of description (composite ways of experiencing innovation comprised of the experiences of several participants), and the structural relationships between these categories. Phenomenographic analysis revealed eight categories of description that were

The effects of computer-aided design software on engineering students' spatial visualisation skills

Science.gov (United States)

Kösa, Temel; Karakuş, Fatih

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of computer-aided design (CAD) software-based instruction on the spatial visualisation skills of freshman engineering students in a computer-aided engineering drawing course. A quasi-experimental design was applied, using the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Visualization of Rotations (PSVT:R) for both the pre- and the post-test. The participants were 116 freshman students in the first year of their undergraduate programme in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at a university in Turkey. A total of 72 students comprised the experimental group; they were instructed with CAD-based activities in an engineering drawing course. The control group consisted of 44 students who did not attend this course. The results of the study showed that a CAD-based engineering drawing course had a positive effect on developing engineering students' spatial visualisation skills. Additionally, the results of the study showed that spatial visualisation skills can be a predictor for success in a computer-aided engineering drawing course.

Results of Summer Enrichment Program to Promote High School Students' Interest in Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Brenda; McAnulty, Kate

2014-01-01

For more than thirty years, personnel from the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering have presented a summer program targeting high school students historically underrepresented in engineering fields. INSPIRE provides these students with an introduction to careers in engineering and assists the students in planning their…

A FIELD STUDY WITH GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ALFALFA INOCULATED WITH RECOMBINANT SINORHIZOBIUM MELILOTI: EFFECTS ON THE SOIL ECOSYSTEM

Science.gov (United States)

The agricultural use of genetically engineered plants and microorganisms has become increasingly common. Because genetically engineered plants and microorganisms can produce compounds foreign to their environment, there is concern that they may become established outside of thei...

Linking Engineering and Medical Training: A USC program seeks to introduce medical and engineering students to medical device development.

Science.gov (United States)

Tolomiczenko, George; Sanger, Terry

2015-01-01

Medical students are attracted by the prospect of a meaningful addition to their clinical work. Engineering students are excited by a unique opportunity to learn directly alongside their medical student peers. For both, as well as the scientific community at large, the boutique program at the University of Southern California (USC) linking engineering and medical training at the graduate level is instructive of a new way of approaching engineering education that can potentially provide benefits to both students and society. Students who have grown up in an era of ?mass customization? in the retail and service industries can enjoy that same degree of flexibility also in the realm of education. At the same time, society gains engineers who have developed an increased empathy and awareness of the clinical contexts in which their innovations will be implemented.

Engineers as Information Processors: A Survey of US Aerospace Engineering Faculty and Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, Maurita Peterson; And Others

1991-01-01

Reports on survey results from 275 faculty and 640 students, predominantly in the aerospace engineering field, concerning their behaviors about the appropriation and dissemination of information. Indicates that, as information processors, aerospace faculty and students are "information naive." Raises questions about the efficacy of…

Campus Climate and the Underrepresented Minority Engineering Student Experience: A Critical Race Study

Science.gov (United States)

Mayes, Terrance

In the current technological era, the number of minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a crucial factor in predetermining the economic growth of the United States. Since the minority population is growing at much faster rates than the non-minority population, the lack of proportionate production of minority engineers poses a threat to the United States' ability to remain a global competitor in technological innovation. Sixty-three per cent (63%) of undergraduate students who enter engineering majors continue on to graduate in that major. The graduation rate, however, for African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students in engineering is significantly lower at 39%. As this group represents only a small fraction of the annual student enrollment, engineering programs are graduating these minority groups at rates that are greatly disproportionate to United States demographics. Therefore, researchers are thoroughly investigating certain initiatives that promote academic success among underrepresented minority students in engineering. Colleges and universities have attempted to address the growing achievement gap between underrepresented minority and non-minority engineering students, predominately through various deficit-based interventions, focusing on the student's flaws and problems. As the pipeline for minorities in engineering continues to narrow, it begs the question of whether institutions are focusing on the right solutions to the problem. Critical Race Theory scholars argue that colleges and universities must address institutional climate issues around students, such as racism, microaggressions, and marginalization, before members of oppressed groups can truly succeed. This dissertation explored the unique experiences of underrepresented minority engineering students in a predominately White and Asian campus.

What Do Final Year Engineering Students Know about Sustainable Development?

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolaou, I.; Conlon, E.

2012-01-01

This paper presents data from a project that aims to determine the level of knowledge and understanding of engineering students about sustainable development (SD). The data derive from a survey completed by final year engineering students in three Irish Higher Education Institutions. This paper is part of a larger study that examines the…

Teaching electronics to first-year non-electrical engineering students

OpenAIRE

Dahnoun, Naim

2017-01-01

Teaching electronics is not only for electrical and electronics students but also for mechanical, aerospace, engineering design, civil and engineering mathematics programmes, which are likely to have electronics units as part of their curriculum. To teach electronics for these non-electronic programmes is very challenging in many aspects. First, the electronics unit has to satisfy the learning outcomes for each programme. Second, the student's motivation is normally very low since electronics...

Genetic and metabolic engineering in diatoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Weichao; Daboussi, Fayza

2017-09-05

Diatoms have attracted considerable attention due to their success in diverse environmental conditions, which probably is a consequence of their complex origins. Studies of their metabolism will provide insight into their adaptation capacity and are a prerequisite for metabolic engineering. Several years of investigation have led to the development of the genome engineering tools required for such studies, and a profusion of appropriate tools is now available for exploring and exploiting the metabolism of these organisms. Diatoms are highly prized in industrial biotechnology, due to both their richness in natural lipids and carotenoids and their ability to produce recombinant proteins, of considerable value in diverse markets. This review provides an overview of recent advances in genetic engineering methods for diatoms, from the development of gene expression cassettes and gene delivery methods, to cutting-edge genome-editing technologies. It also highlights the contributions of these rapid developments to both basic and applied research: they have improved our understanding of key physiological processes; and they have made it possible to modify the natural metabolism to favour the production of specific compounds or to produce new compounds for green chemistry and pharmaceutical applications.This article is part of the themed issue 'The peculiar carbon metabolism in diatoms'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Attitudes towards Communication Skills among Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Kovac, Mirjana M.; Sirkovic, N.

2017-01-01

Good communication skills are of utmost importance in the education of engineering students. It is necessary to promote not only their education, but also to prepare them for the demanding and competitive job market. The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes towards communication skills after formal instruction between the students of…

The Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory For Desert Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Kemp, John D.; Phillips, Gregory C.

1985-11-01

The Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory for Desert Adaptation (PGEL) is one of five Centers of Technical Excellence established as a part of the state of New Mexico's Rio Grande Research Corridor (RGRC). The scientific mission of PGEL is to bring innovative advances in plant biotechnology to bear on agricultural productivity in arid and semi-arid regions. Research activities focus on molecular and cellular genetics technology development in model systems, but also include stress physiology investigations and development of desert plant resources. PGEL interacts with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a national laboratory participating in the RGRC. PGEL also has an economic development mission, which is being pursued through technology transfer activities to private companies and public agencies.

EU member states' voting for authorizing genetically engineered crops

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smart, Richard D.; Blum, Matthias; Wesseler, Justus

2015-01-01

Several authors suggest a gridlock of the European Union's (EU's) approval process for genetically engineered (GE) crops. We analyse the voting behaviour of EU Member States (MSs) for voting results from 2003 to 2015 on the approval of GE crops to test for a gridlock; no reliable data are

Chapter VIII. Contributions of propagation techniques and genetic modification to breeding - genetic engineering for disease resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Genetic engineering offers an opportunity to develop flower bulb crops with resistance to fungal, viral, and bacterial pathogens. Several of the flower bulb crops, Lilium spp., Gladiolus, Zantedeschia, Muscari, Hyacinthus, Narcissus, Ornithogalum, Iris, and Alstroemeria, have been transformed with t...

Perspectives for genetic engineering for the phytoremediation of arsenic-contaminated environments: from imagination to reality?

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yong-Guan; Rosen, Barry P

2009-04-01

Phytoremediation to clean up arsenic-contaminated environments has been widely hailed as environmentally friendly and cost effective, and genetic engineering is believed to improve the efficiency and versatility of phytoremediation. Successful genetic engineering requires the thorough understanding of the mechanisms involved in arsenic tolerance and accumulation by natural plant species. Key mechanisms include arsenate reduction, arsenic sequestration in vacuoles of root or shoot, arsenic loading to the xylem, and volatilization through the leaves. Key advances include the identification of arsenic (As) translocation from root to shoot in the As hyperaccumulator, Pteris vittata, and the characterization of related key genes from hyperaccumulator and nonaccumulators. In this paper we have proposed three pathways for genetic engineering: arsenic sequestration in the root, hyperaccumulation of arsenic in aboveground tissues, and phytovolatilization.

Language Aspects of Engineering Students' View of Entropy

Science.gov (United States)

Haglund, Jesper; Andersson, Staffan; Elmgren, Maja

2016-01-01

Entropy is a central concept in thermodynamics, but has been found to be challenging to students due to its abstract nature and the fact that it is not part of students' everyday language. Interviews with three pairs of engineering students (N = 6) were conducted and video recorded regarding their interpretation and use of the entropy concept, one…

A field release of genetically engineered gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (LdNPV)

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent D' Amico; Joseph S. Elkinton; John D. Podgwaite; James M. Slavicek; Michael L. McManus; John P. Burand

1999-01-01

The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) nuclear polyhedrosis virus was genetically engineered for nonpersistence by removal of the gene coding for polyhedrin production and stabilized using a coocclusion process. A β-galactosidase marker gene was inserted into the genetically engineered virus (LdGEV) so that infected larvae could be tested for...

Differences in Chemical Engineering Student-Faculty Interactions by Student Age and Experience at a Large, Public, Research University

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Ciston, Shannon; Sehgal, Sanya; Mikel, Tressa; Carnasciali, Maria-Isabel

2018-01-01

Adult undergraduate students aged 25+ in engineering disciplines are an important demographic bringing a wealth of life experience to the classroom. This study uses qualitative data drawn from semi-structured interviews with two groups of undergraduate chemical engineering students at a large, public research university: adult students with…

Engineering a Biological Revolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Matheson, Susan

2017-01-26

The new field of synthetic biology promises to change health care, computer technology, the production of biofuels, and more. Students participating in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition are on the front lines of this revolution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

American chestnut: A test case for genetic engineering?

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Leila Pinchot

2014-01-01

The thought of genetically engineered (GE) trees might conjure images of mutant trees with unnatural and invasive tendencies, but there is much more to the story. GE trees are a new reality that, like it or not, will probably be part of the future of forestry. The basic inclination of most Forest Guild stewards is to reject GE trees as violating our principle to...

Comparing Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Engineering: Commercialization Lessons

OpenAIRE

Dickson, Edward M.

1984-01-01

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly leaving its academic home and moving into the marketplace. There are few precedents for an arcane academic subject becoming commercialized so rapidly. But, genetic engineering, which recently burst forth from academia to become the foundation for the hot new biotechnology industry, provides useful insights into the rites of passage awaiting the commercialization of artificial intelligence. This article examines the structural similarities and dissimilarities...

Current status of genetic engineering in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L): an assessment.

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Chakravarthy, Vajhala S K; Reddy, Tummala Papi; Reddy, Vudem Dashavantha; Rao, Khareedu Venkateswara

2014-06-01

Cotton is considered as the foremost commercially important fiber crop and is deemed as the backbone of the textile industry. The productivity of cotton crop, worldwide, is severely hampered by the occurrence of pests, weeds, pathogens apart from various environmental factors. Several beneficial agronomic traits, viz., early maturity, improved fiber quality, heat tolerance, etc. have been successfully incorporated into cotton varieties employing conventional hybridization and mutation breeding. Crop losses, due to biotic factors, are substantial and may be reduced through certain crop protection strategies. In recent years, pioneering success has been achieved through the adoption of modern biotechnological approaches. Genetically engineered cotton varieties, expressing Bacillus thuringiensis cry genes, proved to be highly successful in controlling the bollworm complex. Various other candidate genes responsible for resistance to insect pests and pathogens, tolerance to major abiotic stress factors such as temperature, drought and salinity, have been introduced into cotton via genetic engineering methods to enhance the agronomic performance of cotton cultivars. Furthermore, genes for improving the seed oil quality and fiber characteristics have been identified and introduced into cotton cultivars. This review provides a brief overview of the various advancements made in cotton through genetic engineering approaches.

The effect of genetically engineered glucagon on glucose recovery after hypoglycaemia in man

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvidberg, A; Jørgensen, S; Hilsted, J

1992-01-01

To compare the effect on glucose recovery after insulin-induced hypoglycaemia of intramuscular genetically engineered glucagon, intramuscular glucagon from pancreatic extraction and intravenous glucose, we examined 10 healthy subjects during blockage of glucose counterregulation with somatostatin...... appearance rate were far more protracted after i.m. glucagon than after i.v. glucose. These results suggest that genetically engineered glucagon and glucagon from pancreatic extraction have a similar effect on hepatic glucose production rate. Due to the protracted effect of intramuscular glucagon, a combined......, propranolol and phentolamine. Each subject was studied on three separate occasions. Thirty min after a bolus injection of 0.075 iu soluble insulin per kilogram body weight the subjects received one of the following treatments: 1 mg glucagon from pancreatic extraction intramuscularly; 1 mg genetically...

Production of amino acids - Genetic and metabolic engineering approaches.

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Lee, Jin-Ho; Wendisch, Volker F

2017-12-01

The biotechnological production of amino acids occurs at the million-ton scale and annually about 6milliontons of l-glutamate and l-lysine are produced by Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum strains. l-glutamate and l-lysine production from starch hydrolysates and molasses is very efficient and access to alternative carbon sources and new products has been enabled by metabolic engineering. This review focusses on genetic and metabolic engineering of amino acid producing strains. In particular, rational approaches involving modulation of transcriptional regulators, regulons, and attenuators will be discussed. To address current limitations of metabolic engineering, this article gives insights on recent systems metabolic engineering approaches based on functional tools and method such as genome reduction, amino acid sensors based on transcriptional regulators and riboswitches, CRISPR interference, small regulatory RNAs, DNA scaffolding, and optogenetic control, and discusses future prospects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The ethics of using genetic engineering for sex selection.

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Liao, S Matthew

2005-02-01

It is quite likely that parents will soon be able to use genetic engineering to select the sex of their child by directly manipulating the sex of an embryo. Some might think that this method would be a more ethical method of sex selection than present technologies such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) because, unlike PGD, it does not need to create and destroy "wrong gendered" embryos. This paper argues that those who object to present technologies on the grounds that the embryo is a person are unlikely to be persuaded by this proposal, though for different reasons.

The Intersection of Gender and Race: Exploring Chemical Engineering Students' Attitudes

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Goodwin, Allison; Verdín, Dina; Kirn, Adam; Satterfield, Derrick

2018-01-01

We surveyed 342 first-year engineering students at four U.S. institutions interested in a chemical engineering career about their feelings of belonging in engineering, motivation, and STEM identities. We compared these students by both gender and race/ethnicity on these attitudinal factors. We found several significant differences in…

Influencing Student Beliefs about the Role of the Civil Engineer in Society

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Nesbit, Susan E.; Sianchuk, Robert; Aleksejuniene, Jolanta; Kindiak, Rebecca

2012-01-01

This study suggests that community service learning experiences facilitate the reconstruction of civil engineering student beliefs about both the type of work performed by civil engineers and the broad impact of civil engineering knowledge. Further, the service learning experiences highlight for students 1) the importance of relationships between…

Gauging Workplace Readiness: Assessing the Information Needs of Engineering Co-op Students

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Jeffryes, Jon; Lafferty, Meghan

2012-01-01

Librarians at the Science and Engineering Library at the University of Minnesota surveyed engineering students participating in a work placement as part of the cooperative education program. The survey asked about students' on-the-job information usage, comfort level accessing different types of engineering literature, and experience learning to…

Perspectives for genetic engineering for the phytoremediation of arsenic-contaminated environments: from imagination to reality?

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Yong-Guan; Rosen, Barry P

2009-01-01

Phytoremediation to clean up arsenic-contaminated environments has been widely hailed as environmentally friendly and cost effective, and genetic engineering is believed to improve the efficiency and versatility of phytoremediation. Successful genetic engineering requires the thorough understanding of the mechanisms involved in arsenic tolerance and accumulation by natural plant species. Key mechanisms include arsenate reduction, arsenic sequestration in vacuoles of root or shoot, arsenic loa...

The Influence of Toy Design Activities on Middle School Students' Understanding of the Engineering Design Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ninger; Pereira, Nielsen L.; George, Tarun Thomas; Alperovich, Jeffrey; Booth, Joran; Chandrasegaran, Senthil; Tew, Jeffrey David; Kulkarni, Devadatta M.; Ramani, Karthik

2017-10-01

The societal demand for inspiring and engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and preparing our workforce for the emerging creative economy has necessitated developing students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes from as early as elementary school levels. Hands-on engineering design activities have shown the potential to promote middle school students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes. However, traditional classrooms often lack hands-on engineering design experiences, leaving students unprepared to solve real-world design problems. In this study, we introduce the framework of a toy design workshop and investigate the influence of the workshop activities on students' understanding of and self-efficacy beliefs in engineering design. Using a mixed method approach, we conducted quantitative analyses to show changes in students' engineering design self-efficacy and qualitative analyses to identify students' understanding of the engineering design processes. Findings show that among the 24 participants, there is a significant increase in students' self-efficacy beliefs after attending the workshop. We also identified major themes such as design goals and prototyping in students' understanding of engineering design processes. This research provides insights into the key elements of middle school students' engineering design learning and the benefits of engaging middle school students in hands-on toy design workshops.

Students' Attitudes and Enrollment Trends in Physics and Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Banjong, Delphine

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are critical for meeting ever-increasing demands in the U.S. for STEM and related skills, and for ensuring the global competitiveness of the United States in technological advancement and scientific innovation. Nonetheless, few U.S. students consider a STEM degree after high school and fewer STEM students end up graduating with a STEM degree. In 2012, the United States ranked 35th in math and 27th in science out of 64 participating countries in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Considering the significant role physics and engineering play in technological advancement, this work investigates the attitudes of students and recent enrollment trends in these important subject areas.

An exploration of students' perceptions and attitudes towards creativity in engineering education

Science.gov (United States)

Waller, David R.

This study used a mixed methods approach to develop a broad and deep understanding of students’ perceptions towards creativity in engineering education. Studies have shown that students’ attitudes can have an impact on their motivation to engage in creative behavior. Using an ex-post facto independent factorial design, attitudes of value towards creativity, time for creativity, and creativity stereotypes were measured and compared across gender, year of study, engineering discipline, preference for open-ended problem solving, and confidence in creative abilities. Participants were undergraduate engineering students at Queen’s University from all years of study. A qualitative phenomenological methodology was adopted to study students’ understandings and experiences with engineering creativity. Eleven students participated in oneon- one interviews that provided depth and insight into how students experience and define engineering creativity, and the survey included open-ended items developed using the 10 Maxims of Creativity in Education as a guiding framework. The findings from the survey suggested that students had high value for creativity, however students in fourth year or higher had less value than those in other years. Those with preference for open-ended problem solving and high confidence valued creative more than their counterparts. Students who preferred open-ended problem solving and students with high confidence reported that time was less of a hindrance to their creativity. Males identified more with creativity stereotypes than females, however overall they were both low. Open-ended survey and interview results indicated that students felt they experienced creativity in engineering design activities. Engineering creativity definitions had two elements: creative action and creative characteristic. Creative actions were associated with designing, and creative characteristics were predominantly associated with novelty. Other barriers that emerged

Engineering Student's Ethical Awareness and Behavior: A New Motivational Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Bairaktarova, Diana; Woodcock, Anna

2017-08-01

Professional communities are experiencing scandals involving unethical and illegal practices daily. Yet it should not take a national major structure failure to highlight the importance of ethical awareness and behavior, or the need for the development and practice of ethical behavior in engineering students. Development of ethical behavior skills in future engineers is a key competency for engineering schools as ethical behavior is a part of the professional identity and practice of engineers. While engineering educators have somewhat established instructional methods to teach engineering ethics, they still rely heavily on teaching ethical awareness, and pay little attention to how well ethical awareness predicts ethical behavior. However the ability to exercise ethical judgement does not mean that students are ethically educated or likely to behave in an ethical manner. This paper argues measuring ethical judgment is insufficient for evaluating the teaching of engineering ethics, because ethical awareness has not been demonstrated to translate into ethical behavior. The focus of this paper is to propose a model that correlates with both, ethical awareness and ethical behavior. This model integrates the theory of planned behavior, person and thing orientation, and spheres of control. Applying this model will allow educators to build confidence and trust in their students' ability to build a professional identity and be prepared for the engineering profession and practice.

Undergraduate Engineers and Teachers: Can Students Be Both?

Science.gov (United States)

Zarske, Malinda S.; Vadeen, Maia L.; Tsai, Janet Y.; Sullivan, Jacquelyn F.; Carlson, Denise W.

2017-01-01

Today's college-aged students are graduating into a world that relies on multidisciplinary talents to succeed. Engineering college majors are more likely to find jobs after college that are outside of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, including jobs in healthcare, management, and social services. A survey of…

Engineering Ethics : The Second Report on Student Awareness and Course Methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Abe, Takao; Hachimori, Akira; Honywood, Michael

This paper is the second one detailing the findings of a questionnaire survey administered to gauge respondents' awareness of engineering ethics. The survey was carried out with the cooperation of Japanese, South Korean, and Chinese universities as well as a number of Japanese corporations. Our findings indicate that while students and company employees alike generally exhibit an appetite for learning about engineering ethics, South Korean and Chinese students have adopted a posture that is more conducive to such study than their Japanese counterparts. We also discovered a number of other differences rooted in students' nationality. Engineering ethics content seems to receive little attention in corporate training programs. Small and medium size companies in particular may not be addressing questions of engineering ethics in an aggressive manner.

The Discussions around Precision Genetic Engineering: Role of and Impact on Disabled People

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregor Wolbring

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Genetic researchers are advancing in their abilities to extract precise genetic information from biological and human entities bringing genetic research steps closer to accurately modifying genes of biological entities, including that of humans. In this analytical essay, we focus on the discussions about precision genetic intervention that have taken place since March 2015 as they pertain to disabled people. We focus on two areas; one being the role of disabled people in the recent gene editing discussions and the second being the utility of existing legal instruments. Within our first focus we address the following questions: (a What is the visibility of disabled people in the gene-editing discussions that have taken place since March 2015? (b What has been the impact of those discussions on disabled people? (c Were social problems which disabled people face taken into account in those discussions; (d How does the reality of engagement with disabled people in these discussions fit with science, technology and innovation governance discourses that ask for more stakeholder, bottom up and anticipatory involvement? Within our second focus we address the following questions: (a What is the utility of the United Nations Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD; and (b What is the utility of existing legal instruments covering genetic interventions: for preventing negative social consequences of genetic engineering developments for disabled people. We argue that (a the genetic engineering debates since March 2015 have portrayed disabled people dominantly through a medical lens; (b that the governance of science, technology and innovation of genetic engineering including anticipatory governance and responsible innovation discourses has not yet engaged with the social impact of gene editing on disabled people; (c that few scholars that focus on the social situation of disabled people are visible in the governance discussions of gene

Phage Genetic Engineering Using CRISPR–Cas Systems

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Asma Hatoum-Aslan

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Since their discovery over a decade ago, the class of prokaryotic immune systems known as CRISPR–Cas have afforded a suite of genetic tools that have revolutionized research in model organisms spanning all domains of life. CRISPR-mediated tools have also emerged for the natural targets of CRISPR–Cas immunity, the viruses that specifically infect bacteria, or phages. Despite their status as the most abundant biological entities on the planet, the majority of phage genes have unassigned functions. This reality underscores the need for robust genetic tools to study them. Recent reports have demonstrated that CRISPR–Cas systems, specifically the three major types (I, II, and III, can be harnessed to genetically engineer phages that infect diverse hosts. Here, the mechanisms of each of these systems, specific strategies used, and phage editing efficacies will be reviewed. Due to the relatively wide distribution of CRISPR–Cas systems across bacteria and archaea, it is anticipated that these immune systems will provide generally applicable tools that will advance the mechanistic understanding of prokaryotic viruses and accelerate the development of novel technologies based on these ubiquitous organisms.

A Study to Investigate the Consumer Behavior and Cultural Dimensions of Engineering Students in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FARYAL SALMAN SALMAN

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The current study compares consumer behavior and Cultural Orientations between engineering and non-engineering students in Pakistan. Engineering students by virtue of their academic background are considered to have more technical know-how, more cognitive skills and can easily learn and adopt a new technology as compared to students from a non-engineering background. Furthermore the researchers were interested to find out that how the thinking skills and choice making of engineering students differ from other students and ultimately effects their consumer behavior and Cultural Dimensions. For this purpose three consumer behavior variables have been selected that are Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty and Customer Switching. Cultural Dimensions are measured using the model proposed by Geert Hofstede. Two technologically sophisticated services are used in this study that is Mobile Phone and Debit Cards. The target population of the study consisted of 5000 students of which approximately 500 respondents were from various engineering universities in Pakistan. The comparison of consumer behavior and Cultural Dimensions differences was made through two group?s Discriminant Analysis. Differences in behavior and Cultural Dimensions have been reported among the engineering versus non-engineering students. Mobile Phone services satisfaction and loyalty were high among nonengineering students whereas engineering student?s registered higher satisfaction and loyalty in Debit Card services. Another interesting finding is difference in switching behavior. In case of both the servicesengineering students reported a higher mean score for switching. Score for Cultural Dimensions were also different among the two students type; whereby mean score for Masculinity

Assessing students' performance in software requirements engineering education using scoring rubrics

Science.gov (United States)

Mkpojiogu, Emmanuel O. C.; Hussain, Azham

2017-10-01

The study investigates how helpful the use of scoring rubrics is, in the performance assessment of software requirements engineering students and whether its use can lead to students' performance improvement in the development of software requirements artifacts and models. Scoring rubrics were used by two instructors to assess the cognitive performance of a student in the design and development of software requirements artifacts. The study results indicate that the use of scoring rubrics is very helpful in objectively assessing the performance of software requirements or software engineering students. Furthermore, the results revealed that the use of scoring rubrics can also produce a good achievement assessments direction showing whether a student is either improving or not in a repeated or iterative assessment. In a nutshell, its use leads to the performance improvement of students. The results provided some insights for further investigation and will be beneficial to researchers, requirements engineers, system designers, developers and project managers.

Cross-Cultural Communication Training for Students in Multidisciplinary Research Area of Biomedical Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shigehiro Hashimoto

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Biomedical Engineering makes multidisciplinary research area, which includes biology, medicine, engineering and others. Communication training is important for students, who have a potential to develop Biomedical Engineering. Communication is not easy in a multidisciplinary research area, because each area has its own background of thinking. Because each nation has its own background of culture, on the other hand, international communication is not easy, either. A cross-cultural student program has been designed for communication training in the multidisciplinary research area. Students from a variety of backgrounds of research area and culture have joined in the program: mechanical engineering, material science, environmental engineering, science of nursing, dentist, pharmacy, electronics, and so on. The program works well for communication training in the multidisciplinary research area of biomedical engineering. Foreign language and digital data give students chance to study several things: how to make communication precisely, how to quote previous data. The experience in the program helps students not only understand new idea in the laboratory visit, but also make a presentation in the international research conference. The program relates to author's several experiences: the student internship abroad, the cross-cultural student camp, multi PhD theses, various affiliations, and the creation of the interdisciplinary department.

Influence of gender in choosing a career amongst engineering fields: a survey study from Turkey

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Bucak, Seyda; Kadirgan, Neset

2011-10-01

The aim of this study is to understand the motivating factors behind students' choices in their decision-making process and also get an insight on their perception of different engineering branches. A survey was prepared and the results were evaluated amongst 1163 answers. Two major influences on student's decision in their professional choices are shown to be career services and family members. Generally, students have claimed to choose a profession based on 'finding a job' and 'being happy'. Some engineering branches such as Genetic and Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Industrial Engineering, are shown to be distinctly preferred by female students, whereas mechanical, civil and electronic engineering are favourites for male students. The survey results were also compared with the distribution of male and female students in various engineering departments. This study clearly shows that certain engineering branches are perceived as more appropriate for women and are thus favoured by female students, while those perceived as more appropriate for men are favoured by male students.

An Arts-Based Instructional Model for Student Creativity in Engineering Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Laduca

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Over the past twenty years, nearly all job growth in the United States has emerged from new companies and organizations with assumedly innovative products, services, and practices. Yet, the nurturing of student creative thinking and problem solving is infrequent in engineering education. Inherent to developing these creativity skills and attributes is the need to be exposed to difference — in people and environment. Engineering education rarely offers such opportunities. Additionally, engineering students are rarely presented opportunities to develop designs responding to real human problems. This paper puts forth a new instructional model to address these needs by utilizing arts processes and practices as catalysts for both creativity development in students and transdisciplinary collaboration on problems addressing deep human needs. This model is premised on the substantiated role of the arts in developing creativity and growing understanding of the human condition. This art-based instructional model was piloted as exploratory pedagogical research during the summers of 2015 and 2016 as a partnership between the Arts Nexus (IAN and the School of Engineering at the University of Dayton. In each year, this program supported twelve student interns from engineering, business, science, the arts, and the humanities to develop innovative technologies and services meeting client needs. Student growth in creative problem-solving and transdisciplinary collaboration, as well as the success of the completed innovation technology prototype were assessed by the project mentors and participating students via survey evaluations and narrative responses. The assessment results revealed substantial student growth in student creativity and transdisciplinary collaboration and a remarkably strong evaluation of the success of the students’ innovations. Also realized for all students was a transformation in their perception of their place in the world as

Examining Teacher Talk in an Engineering Design-Based Science Curricular Unit

Science.gov (United States)

Aranda, Maurina L.; Lie, Richard; Selcen Guzey, S.; Makarsu, Murat; Johnston, Amanda; Moore, Tamara J.

2018-03-01

Recent science education reforms highlight the importance for teachers to implement effective instructional practices that promote student learning of science and engineering content and their practices. Effective classroom discussion has been shown to support the learning of science, but work is needed to examine teachers' enactment of engineering design-based science curricula by focusing on the content, complexity, structure, and orchestration of classroom discussions. In the present study, we explored teacher-student talk with respect to science in a middle school curriculum focused on genetics and genetic engineering. Our study was guided by the following major research question: What are the similarities and differences in teacher talk moves that occurred within an engineering design-based science unit enacted by two teachers? Through qualitative and quantitative approaches, we found that there were clear differences in two teachers' use of questioning strategies and presentation of new knowledge that affected the level of student involvement in classroom discourse and the richness and details of student contributions to the conversations. We also found that the verbal explanations of science content differed between two teachers. Collectively, the findings in this study demonstrate that although the teachers worked together to design an engineering designed-based science curriculum unit, their use of different discussion strategies and patterns, and interactions with students differed to affect classroom discourse.

Women Engineering Transfer Students: The Community College Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Susan J.

2011-01-01

An interpretative philosophical framework was applied to a case study to document the particular experiences and perspectives of ten women engineering transfer students who once attended a community college and are currently enrolled in one of two university professional engineering programs. This study is important because women still do not earn…

Reproductive cloning, genetic engineering and the autonomy of the child: the moral agent and the open future.

Science.gov (United States)

Mameli, M

2007-02-01

Some authors have argued that the human use of reproductive cloning and genetic engineering should be prohibited because these biotechnologies would undermine the autonomy of the resulting child. In this paper, two versions of this view are discussed. According to the first version, the autonomy of cloned and genetically engineered people would be undermined because knowledge of the method by which these people have been conceived would make them unable to assume full responsibility for their actions. According to the second version, these biotechnologies would undermine autonomy by violating these people's right to an open future. There is no evidence to show that people conceived through cloning and genetic engineering would inevitably or even in general be unable to assume responsibility for their actions; there is also no evidence for the claim that cloning and genetic engineering would inevitably or even in general rob the child of the possibility to choose from a sufficiently large array of life plans.

Genetic engineering and sustainable production of ornamentals: current status and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lütken, Henrik; Clarke, Jihong Liu; Müller, Renate

2012-07-01

Through the last decades, environmentally and health-friendly production methods and conscientious use of resources have become crucial for reaching the goal of a more sustainable plant production. Protection of the environment requires careful consumption of limited resources and reduction of chemicals applied during production of ornamental plants. Numerous chemicals used in modern plant production have negative impacts on human health and are hazardous to the environment. In Europe, several compounds have lost their approval and further legal restrictions can be expected. This review presents the more recent progress of genetic engineering in ornamental breeding, delivers an overview of the biological background of the used technologies and critically evaluates the usefulness of the strategies to obtain improved ornamental plants. First, genetic engineering is addressed as alternative to growth retardants, comprising recombinant DNA approaches targeting relevant hormone pathways, e.g. the gibberellic acid (GA) pathway. A reduced content of active GAs causes compact growth and can be facilitated by either decreased anabolism, increased catabolism or altered perception. Moreover, compactness can be accomplished by using a natural transformation approach without recombinant DNA technology. Secondly, metabolic engineering approaches targeting elements of the ethylene signal transduction pathway are summarized as a possible alternative to avoid the use of chemical ethylene inhibitors. In conclusion, molecular breeding approaches are dealt with in a way allowing a critical biological assessment and enabling the scientific community and public to put genetic engineering of ornamental plants into a perspective regarding their usefulness in plant breeding.

Engineering Students' Conceptions of Entrepreneurial Learning as Part of Their Education

Science.gov (United States)

Täks, Marge; Tynjälä, Päivi; Kukemelk, Hasso

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine what kinds of conceptions of entrepreneurial learning engineering students expressed in an entrepreneurship course integrated in their study programme. The data were collected during an entrepreneurship course in Estonia that was organised for fourth-year engineering students, using video-recorded group…

Appropriate Programs for Foreign Students in U.S. Chemical Engineering Curricula.

Science.gov (United States)

Findley, M. E.

Chemical engineers in developing countries may need abilities in a number of diverse areas including management, planning, chemistry, equipment, processes, politics, and improvisation. Chemical engineering programs for foreign students can be arranged by informed advisers with student input for inclusion of some of these areas in addition to…

Improving innovation and multidisciplinary competences among bachelor of engineering students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Løje, Hanne; Andersson, Pernille Hammar; Grex, Sara

2017-01-01

within Engineering Education. Furthermore, there is also a demand for the graduates to be able to work multidisciplinary and to be able to use generic skills in their work. In this paper, the research question is how to enhance innovation and multidisciplinary competences of engineering students......From society and industry, there are increasing requirements for skilled and well-educated engineers who can develop new solutions through innovation and this have pushed universities to meet these requirements by having an increasing focus on developing innovation and entrepreneurship programmes......? This is a central question in order to educate engineers that can create sustainable solutions for the environment, for products and to secure future workplaces. In this paper, a new mandatory course for Bachelor of Engineering students at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) "Innovation Pilot...

Commodifying animals: ethical issues in genetic engineering of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Almond, B

2000-03-01

The genetic modification of living beings raises special ethical concerns which go beyond general discussion of animal rights or welfare. Although the goals may be similar, biotechnology has accelerated the process of modification of types traditionally carried out by cross-breeding. These changes are discussed in relation to two areas: biomedicine, and animal husbandry. Alternative ethical approaches are reviewed, and it is argued that the teleological thesis underlying virtue ethics has special relevance here. The case for and the case against genetic engineering and patenting of life-forms are examined, and conclusions are drawn which favour regulation, caution and respect for animals and animal species.

Assessing Students' Motivation to Engage in Sustainable Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Mary; Bielefeldt, Angela R.; Swan, Christopher W.; Paterson, Kurtis G.

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to design an assessment instrument to evaluate students' attitudes toward sustainable engineering (SE). Factors that impact SE beliefs could then be explored. Design/methodology/approach: Using the definition of sustainability from the Brundtland report and expectancy value theory, students' sentiment toward…

Student-inspired activities for the teaching and learning of engineering ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Alpay, E

2013-12-01

Ethics teaching in engineering can be problematic because of student perceptions of its subjective, ambiguous and philosophical content. The use of discipline-specific case studies has helped to address such perceptions, as has practical decision making and problem solving approaches based on some ethical frameworks. However, a need exists for a wider range of creative methods in ethics education to help complement the variety of activities and learning experiences within the engineering curriculum. In this work, a novel approach is presented in which first-year undergraduate students are responsible for proposing ethics education activities of relevance to their peers and discipline area. The students are prepared for the task through a short introduction on engineering ethics, whereby generic frameworks for moral and professional conduct are discussed, and discipline and student-relevance contexts provided. The approach has been used in four departments of engineering at Imperial College London, and has led to the generation of many creative ideas for wider student engagement in ethics awareness, reflection and understanding. The paper presents information on the premise of the introductory sessions for supporting the design task, and an evaluation of the student experience of the course and task work. Examples of proposals are given to demonstrate the value of such an approach to teachers, and ultimately to the learning experiences of the students themselves.

Engineering in translational medicine

CERN Document Server

2014-01-01

This book covers a broad area of engineering research in translational medicine. Leaders in academic institutions around the world contributed focused chapters on a broad array of topics such as: cell and tissue engineering (6 chapters), genetic and protein engineering (10 chapters), nanoengineering (10 chapters), biomedical instrumentation (4 chapters), and theranostics and other novel approaches (4 chapters). Each chapter is a stand-alone review that summarizes the state-of-the-art of the specific research area. Engineering in Translational Medicine gives readers a comprehensive and in-depth overview of a broad array of related research areas, making this an excellent reference book for scientists and students both new to engineering/translational medicine and currently working in this area.

Stereotype Threat: A Qualitative Study of the Challenges Facing Female Undergraduate Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Entsminger, J. R., II

From a sociocultural point of view, this qualitative case study explored how upper-level, female undergraduate engineering students perceived the possibility of or experience with stereotype threat as shaping their experiences. The study also investigated how these students explained their reasons for choosing their engineering major, the challenges they encountered in the major, and their reasons for persevering in spite of those challenges. Using Steele and Aronson's (1995) stereotype threat theory as a framework, and considering the documented underrepresentation of females in engineering, the study sought to examine how stereotype threat shaped the experiences of these students and if stereotype threat could be considered a valid reason for the underrepresentation. The study was conducted at a large, four-year public university. First, students in the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology completed the Participant Screening Survey. Based on responses from the survey, six female engineering students from the college were identified and invited to participate in the study. The participants came from the following majors: Electrical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. After receiving the study consent letter and agreeing to participate, the students were involved in a 90-minute focus group meeting, a 45-minute one-on-one interview, and a 30-minute follow-up interview. After conducting the data collection methods, the data were then transcribed, analyzed, and coded for theme development. The themes that emerged coincided with each research question. The themes highlighted the complex interactions and experiences shared by the female engineering majors. The female students were enveloped in an environment where there existed an increased risk for activating stereotype threat. In addition, the female students described feeling pushed to prove to themselves and to others that the negative stereotype that 'females

Mathematics Education for Engineering Technology Students – A Bridge Too Far?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noraishiyah Abdullah

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Trying to decide what is best suited for someone or something is an ever enduring task let alone trying to prepare students with the right engineering mind. So ‘how do you build an engineer?’ if that is the right word. What is the right ingredient? Mathematics has been said as the most important foundation in engineers’ life. Curriculum has been developed and reviewed over the years to meet this target. This work explores how much or lack of it has the curriculum prepares the future technologist to face the world of engineering technology as far as mathematics is concerned. Analysis of mathematics lectures, interviews of engineering technologist students and engineering technology subject lecturer is undertaken. Understand what each contributes help in understanding the picture that the current education is painting. Based on the theory of learning, APOS theory helps in explaining how students bridge their knowledge of mathematics when it comes to solving engineering technology problems. The question is, is it a bridge too far? 

Shedding light on the subject: introduction to illumination engineering and design for multidiscipline engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Ronen, Ram S.; Smith, R. Frank

1995-10-01

Educating engineers and architects in Illumination Engineering and related subjects has become a very important field and a very satisfying and rewarding one. Main reasons include the need to significantly conserve lighting energy and meet government regulations while supplying appropriate light levels and achieving aesthetical requirements. The proliferation of new lamps, luminaries and lighting controllers many of which are 'energy savers' also helps a trend to seek help from lighting engineers when designing new commercial and residential buildings. That trend is believed to continue and grow as benefits become attractive and new government conservation regulations take affect. To make things even better one notices that Engineering and Science students in most disciplines make excellent candidates for Illumination Engineers because of their background and teaching them can move ahead at a brisk pace and be a rewarding experience nevertheless. In the past two years, Cal Poly Pomona College of Engineering has been the beneficiary of a DOE/California grant. Its purpose was to precipitate and oversee light curricula in various California community colleges and also develop and launch an Illumination Engineering minor at Cal Poly University. Both objectives have successfully been met. Numerous community colleges throughout California developed and are offering a sequence of six lighting courses leading to a certificate; the first graduating class is now coming out of both Cypress and Consumnes Community Colleges. At Cal Poly University a four course/laboratory sequence leading to a minor in Illumination Engineering (ILE) is now offered to upper division students in the College of Engineering, College of Science and College of Architecture and Design. The ILE sequence will briefly be described. The first course, Introduction to Illumination Engineering and its laboratory are described in more detail alter. Various methods of instruction including lectures, self work

COMPETENCE CRITERIA OF TEACHERS AT BLENDED LEARNING OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kateryna A. Ivanova

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The work is devoted to the definition of competence criteria of teachers in the mixed (hybrid education of engineering students. The study was conducted based on generalization of known competence criteria of teachers of traditional education and analysis of publications of domestic and foreign authors devoted to the problems of mixed education. The competence criteria of the teachers in mixed training of engineering students were proposed, an expert evaluation of the importance of each criterion was conducted using the non-parametric Friedman criterion. 27 criteria which are most significant for assessing the competence of teachers in the mixed education of engineering students were identified. Taking into account the specificity of the teacher's work in mixed education, the singled out competence criteria were divided into three subgroups.

Evaluating Secondary Students' Scientific Reasoning in Genetics Using a Two-Tier Diagnostic Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Tsui, Chi-Yan; Treagust, David

2010-05-01

While genetics has remained as one key topic in school science, it continues to be conceptually and linguistically difficult for students with the concomitant debates as to what should be taught in the age of biotechnology. This article documents the development and implementation of a two-tier multiple-choice instrument for diagnosing grades 10 and 12 students' understanding of genetics in terms of reasoning. The pretest and posttest forms of the diagnostic instrument were used alongside other methods in evaluating students' understanding of genetics in a case-based qualitative study on teaching and learning with multiple representations in three Western Australian secondary schools. Previous studies have shown that a two-tier diagnostic instrument is useful in probing students' understanding or misunderstanding of scientific concepts and ideas. The diagnostic instrument in this study was designed and then progressively refined, improved, and implemented to evaluate student understanding of genetics in three case schools. The final version of the instrument had Cronbach's alpha reliability of 0.75 and 0.64, respectively, for its pretest and the posttest forms when it was administered to a group of grade 12 students (n = 17). This two-tier diagnostic instrument complemented other qualitative data collection methods in this research in generating a more holistic picture of student conceptual learning of genetics in terms of scientific reasoning. Implications of the findings of this study using the diagnostic instrument are discussed.

Energizing Engineering Students with Hydrogen Fuel Cell Project

Science.gov (United States)

Cannell, Nori; Zavaleta, Dan

2010-01-01

At Desert Vista High School, near Phoenix, Arizona, Perkins Innovation Grant funding is being used to fund a program that is helping to prepare students for careers in engineering by giving them hands-on experience in areas like hydrogen generation and fuel cell utilization. As one enters Dan Zavaleta's automotive and engineering classroom and lab…

Perception of Leadership in Electrical Engineering Students, UTHM

Science.gov (United States)

Saari, Farrah Atikah Binti; Ghani, Nor Aslasiah Binti

2015-01-01

Demand for graduates with leadership skills more in priority to meet the needs of human resources. Hence, this study was undertaken to investigate the level of leadership skills among students in Electrical Engineering at University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. Descriptive study carried out to evaluate student leadership. The study sample consisted…

Undergraduate engineering students' attitudes and perceptions towards `professional ethics' course: a case study of India

Science.gov (United States)

Sethy, Satya Sundar

2017-11-01

'Professional Ethics' has been offered as a compulsory course to undergraduate engineering students in a premier engineering institution of India. It was noticed that students' perceptions and attitudes were frivolous and ornamental towards this course. Course instructors and institution authorities were motivated to find out the factors contributing to this awkwardness. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared and administrated to 336 students registered for the July-November 2014 semester. The study found two factors contributing to students' indifference towards the Professional Ethics course. First, most of the students did not have self-interest to join the engineering programme, and while pursuing their study, they decided to switch to a different field upon completion of their engineering study. Second, students who desired to be engineers in their future believed that engineering code of ethics is not really referred to in most of the engineering jobs, and therefore Professional Ethics course is only meant for classroom discussions.

Reusable rocket engine preventive maintenance scheduling using genetic algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Tao; Li, Jiawen; Jin, Ping; Cai, Guobiao

2013-01-01

This paper deals with the preventive maintenance (PM) scheduling problem of reusable rocket engine (RRE), which is different from the ordinary repairable systems, by genetic algorithm. Three types of PM activities for RRE are considered and modeled by introducing the concept of effective age. The impacts of PM on all subsystems' aging processes are evaluated based on improvement factor model. Then the reliability of engine is formulated by considering the accumulated time effect. After that, optimization model subjected to reliability constraint is developed for RRE PM scheduling at fixed interval. The optimal PM combination is obtained by minimizing the total cost in the whole life cycle for a supposed engine. Numerical investigations indicate that the subsystem's intrinsic reliability characteristic and the improvement factor of maintain operations are the most important parameters in RRE's PM scheduling management

Application of case teaching in genetics courses to students majoring in forestry.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qin-Mei; Cui, Jian-Guo; Yu, Chang-Zhi; Zhang, Zhi; Wu, Yue-Liang; Zhang, Li-Jie; Lin, Mei

2017-10-20

Undergraduate students majoring in forestry generally reflect that genetics is one of the most difficult compul-sory courses, because the traditional teaching method is difficult to satisfy their needs. According to the theoretical charac-teristics of forestry and actual demands of the students, in the light of teaching and research experience in recent years, we adopted a series of typical genetic cases such as 'opening coffin to identify relatives', stem-throne of Lycium ruthenicum Murr, and magic powers in Harry Potter. Our practices revealed that the case teaching in genetics could train good personality traits, learning abilities and creativity of the students, stimulate their interests and initiatives in learning, and increase systematic learning.

Study Strategies for Engineering Students at DTU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Hans Peter

2002-01-01

The study strategies of first year Master students are investigated at DTU fall 1999 - spring 2002. The results show that the students study less than their teachers expect. And they spend most time on activities not leading to deep understanding and engineering competencies. The students spend...... almost half of their study time on theoretical calculations and only little on authentic problems. They attend many lectures but read very little. This may be a reasonable response to the teaching and examination they encounter; but not with respect to learning. Changing the teaching structure at DTU has...

De-Problematizing 'GMOs': Suggestions for Communicating about Genetic Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Blancke, Stefaan; Grunewald, Wim; De Jaeger, Geert

2017-03-01

The public debates concerning genetic engineering (GE) involve many non-scientific issues. The ensuing complexity is one reason why biotechnologists are reluctant to become involved. By sharing our personal experiences in science communication and suggesting ways to de-problematize GE, we aim to inspire our colleagues to engage with the public. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

`Human nature': Chemical engineering students' ideas about human relationships with the natural world

Science.gov (United States)

Goldman, Daphne; Ben-Zvi Assaraf, Orit; Shemesh, Julia

2014-05-01

While importance of environmental ethics, as a component of sustainable development, in preparing engineers is widely acknowledged, little research has addressed chemical engineers' environmental concerns. This study aimed to address this void by exploring chemical engineering students' values regarding human-nature relationships. The study was conducted with 247 3rd-4th year chemical engineering students in Israeli Universities. It employed the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP)-questionnaire to which students added written explanations. Quantitative analysis of NEP-scale results shows that the students demonstrated moderately ecocentric orientation. Explanations to the NEP-items reveal diverse, ambivalent ideas regarding the notions embodied in the NEP, strong scientific orientation and reliance on technology for addressing environmental challenges. Endorsing sustainability implies that today's engineers be equipped with an ecological perspective. The capacity of Higher Education to enable engineers to develop dispositions about human-nature interrelationships requires adaptation of curricula towards multidisciplinary, integrative learning addressing social-political-economic-ethical perspectives, and implementing critical-thinking within the socio-scientific issues pedagogical approach.

Field cage studies and progressive evaluation of genetically-engineered mosquitoes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca Facchinelli

Full Text Available A genetically-engineered strain of the dengue mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, designated OX3604C, was evaluated in large outdoor cage trials for its potential to improve dengue prevention efforts by inducing population suppression. OX3604C is engineered with a repressible genetic construct that causes a female-specific flightless phenotype. Wild-type females that mate with homozygous OX3604C males will not produce reproductive female offspring. Weekly introductions of OX3604C males eliminated all three targeted Ae. aegypti populations after 10-20 weeks in a previous laboratory cage experiment. As part of the phased, progressive evaluation of this technology, we carried out an assessment in large outdoor field enclosures in dengue endemic southern Mexico.OX3604C males were introduced weekly into field cages containing stable target populations, initially at 10:1 ratios. Statistically significant target population decreases were detected in 4 of 5 treatment cages after 17 weeks, but none of the treatment populations were eliminated. Mating competitiveness experiments, carried out to explore the discrepancy between lab and field cage results revealed a maximum mating disadvantage of up 59.1% for OX3604C males, which accounted for a significant part of the 97% fitness cost predicted by a mathematical model to be necessary to produce the field cage results.Our results indicate that OX3604C may not be effective in large-scale releases. A strain with the same transgene that is not encumbered by a large mating disadvantage, however, could have improved prospects for dengue prevention. Insights from large outdoor cage experiments may provide an important part of the progressive, stepwise evaluation of genetically-engineered mosquitoes.

Genetically engineering adenoviral vectors for gene therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Coughlan, Lynda

2014-01-01

Adenoviral (Ad) vectors are commonly used for various gene therapy applications. Significant advances in the genetic engineering of Ad vectors in recent years has highlighted their potential for the treatment of metastatic disease. There are several methods to genetically modify the Ad genome to incorporate retargeting peptides which will redirect the natural tropism of the viruses, including homologous recombination in bacteria or yeast. However, homologous recombination in yeast is highly efficient and can be achieved without the need for extensive cloning strategies. In addition, the method does not rely on the presence of unique restriction sites within the Ad genome and the reagents required for this method are widely available and inexpensive. Large plasmids containing the entire adenoviral genome (~36 kbp) can be modified within Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and genomes easily rescued in Escherichia coli hosts for analysis or amplification. A method for two-step homologous recombination in yeast is described in this chapter.

Improvement of Engineering Students' Communication Skills in English through Extensive Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Nishizawa, Hitoshi; Yoshioka, Takayoshi; Itoh, Kazuaki

The students' communication skills in English have improved after introducing Extensive Reading courses into the curriculum of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department. The students' average TOEIC scores, which used to be far lower than the ones of students in other educational institutions, have increased in recent two years. The students who used to avoid learning English have welcomed extensive reading of graded readers for foreign learners and books for native children of English. This is because the extensive reading causes less stress and it is enjoyable. The students who have read more than 0.2 million words of English texts have faster reading speed and more confidence in reading. They seem to change their reading style from English-to-Japanese translation (and comprehension in Japanese) to direct comprehension in English. Their listening comprehension is also improved. Extensive reading is an effective educational method to improve English communication skills of engineering students, and it also becomes a useful method of continuous education for engineers in need of improving their skills.

Women Students in Engineering in Mexico: Exploring Responses to Gender Differences

Science.gov (United States)

García Villa, Carmen; González y González, Elsa M.

2014-01-01

The percentage of women students in engineering in Mexico is still low compared to the percentage of women enrolled in higher education institutions in the country, which has achieved parity with male enrollment. It is thus important to understand how gender can shape the experiences of female college students in engineering programs, which was…

Engineering Values into Genetic Engineering: A Proposed Analytic Framework for Scientific Social Responsibility

OpenAIRE

Sankar, Pamela L.; Cho, Mildred K.

2015-01-01

Recent experiments have been used to “edit” genomes of various plant, animal and other species, including humans, with unprecedented precision. Furthermore, editing Cas9 endonuclease gene with a gene encoding the desired guide RNA into an organism, adjacent to an altered gene, could create a “gene drive” that could spread a trait through an entire population of organisms. These experiments represent advances along a spectrum of technological abilities that genetic engineers have been working ...

The Effects of Meiosis/Genetics Integration and Instructional Sequence on College Biology Student Achievement in Genetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Browning, Mark

The purpose of the research was to manipulate two aspects of genetics instruction in order to measure their effects on college, introductory biology students' achievement in genetics. One instructional sequence that was used dealt first with monohybrid autosomal inheritance patterns, then sex-linkage. The alternate sequence was the reverse.…

Open field release of genetically engineered sterile male Aedes aegypti in Malaysia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renaud Lacroix

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease. In the absence of specific drugs or vaccines, control focuses on suppressing the principal mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, yet current methods have not proven adequate to control the disease. New methods are therefore urgently needed, for example genetics-based sterile-male-release methods. However, this requires that lab-reared, modified mosquitoes be able to survive and disperse adequately in the field. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Adult male mosquitoes were released into an uninhabited forested area of Pahang, Malaysia. Their survival and dispersal was assessed by use of a network of traps. Two strains were used, an engineered 'genetically sterile' (OX513A and a wild-type laboratory strain, to give both absolute and relative data about the performance of the modified mosquitoes. The two strains had similar maximum dispersal distances (220 m, but mean distance travelled of the OX513A strain was lower (52 vs. 100 m. Life expectancy was similar (2.0 vs. 2.2 days. Recapture rates were high for both strains, possibly because of the uninhabited nature of the site. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: After extensive contained studies and regulatory scrutiny, a field release of engineered mosquitoes was safely and successfully conducted in Malaysia. The engineered strain showed similar field longevity to an unmodified counterpart, though in this setting dispersal was reduced relative to the unmodified strain. These data are encouraging for the future testing and implementation of genetic control strategies and will help guide future field use of this and other engineered strains.

Engineering Students as Science Teachers: A Case Study on Students' Motivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aharon Gero

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The program "Educational Clinic" was recently developed and implemented at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. This one year program is designed to train engineering students as teaching assistants in high schools in order to help high school pupils with mathematics and science. The study described in this paper tracked changes in students' motivation to participate in the program throughout the year. Data was collected by questionnaires and interviews. The findings reveal that alongside a fixed high level of extrinsic motivational factors, which reflect student satisfaction of improving their teaching skills, a considerable increase was found in the level of intrinsic motivational factors, which express the students' interest in the program.

Career development in Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering: a student's roadmap.

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Faraj, Ziad O

2008-01-01

Bioengineering/biomedical engineering education has progressed since the late 1950s and is still evolving in leading academic institutions worldwide. Today, Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering is acclaimed as one of the most reputable fields within the global arena, and will likely be the catalyst for any future breakthroughs in Medicine and Biology. This paper provides a set of strategies and recommendations to be pursued by individuals aiming at planning and developing careers in this field. The paper targets the international student contemplating bioengineering/biomedical engineering as a career, with an underlying emphasis on the student within developing and transitional countries where career guidance is found deficient. The paper also provides a comprehensive definition of the field and an enumeration of its subdivisions.

Engineering surveying theory and examination problems for students

CERN Document Server

Schofield, W

2013-01-01

Engineering Surveying: Theory and Examination Problems for Students, Volume 1, Third Edition discusses topics concerning engineering surveying techniques and instrumentations. The book is comprised of eight chapters that cover several concerns in engineering survey. Chapter 1 discusses the basic concepts of surveying. Chapter 2 deals with simple and precise leveling, while Chapter 3 covers earthworks. The book also talks about the theodolite and its applications, and then discusses optical distance measurement. Curves, underground and hydrographic surveying, and aspects of dimensional control

An integrated biochemistry and genetics outreach program designed for elementary school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Eric D; Lee, Sarah K; Radebaugh, Catherine A; Stargell, Laurie A

2012-02-01

Exposure to genetic and biochemical experiments typically occurs late in one's academic career. By the time students have the opportunity to select specialized courses in these areas, many have already developed negative attitudes toward the sciences. Given little or no direct experience with the fields of genetics and biochemistry, it is likely that many young people rule these out as potential areas of study or career path. To address this problem, we developed a 7-week (~1 hr/week) hands-on course to introduce fifth grade students to basic concepts in genetics and biochemistry. These young students performed a series of investigations (ranging from examining phenotypic variation, in vitro enzymatic assays, and yeast genetic experiments) to explore scientific reasoning through direct experimentation. Despite the challenging material, the vast majority of students successfully completed each experiment, and most students reported that the experience increased their interest in science. Additionally, the experiments within the 7-week program are easily performed by instructors with basic skills in biological sciences. As such, this program can be implemented by others motivated to achieve a broader impact by increasing the accessibility of their university and communicating to a young audience a positive impression of the sciences and the potential for science as a career.

Learning English: Experiences and Needs of Saudi Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Unruh, Susan; Obeidat, Fayiz

2015-01-01

In this qualitative study, Saudi engineering students talk openly of their experiences learning English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and as university students in the United States (US). These students reported that they learned only the basics of vocabulary and grammar in KSA. Consequently, they came to the US with few English skills. In…

A Novel Approach to Physiology Education for Biomedical Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

DiCecco, J.; Wu, J.; Kuwasawa, K.; Sun, Y.

2007-01-01

It is challenging for biomedical engineering programs to incorporate an indepth study of the systemic interdependence of cells, tissues, and organs into the rigorous mathematical curriculum that is the cornerstone of engineering education. To be sure, many biomedical engineering programs require their students to enroll in anatomy and physiology…

Natural genetic engineering: intelligence & design in evolution?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ussery, David

2011-01-01

There are many things that I like about James Shapiro's new book "Evolution: A View from the 21st Century" (FT Press Science, 2011). He begins the book by saying that it is the creation of novelty, and not selection, that is important in the history of life. In the presence of heritable traits...... function. Shapiro argues that what we see in genomes is 'Natural Genetic Engineering', or designed evolution: "Thinking about genomes from an informatics perspective, it is apparent that systems engineering is a better metaphor for the evolutionary process than the conventional view of evolution...... as a select-biased random walk through limitless space of possible DNA configurations" (page 6). In this review, I will have a look at four topics: 1.) why I think genomics is not the whole story; 2.) my own perspective of E. coli genomics, and how I think it relates to this book; 3.) a brief discussion...

Preparing students for workplace learning in higher engineering education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dehing, A.J.M.

2012-01-01

Student preparation for professional practice is an important course aim in the education of engineers by the universities of applied sciences (Geurts & Meijers, 2004; Sheppard, et al., 2008; Sullivan & Rosin, 2008). Since the start of the professional engineering schools at the beginning of the

Study on biofortification of rice by targeted genetic engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumon M. Hossain

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Micronutrient malnutrition is a major health problem in Bangladesh and also in many other developing countries, where a diversified diet is not affordable for the majority. In the present world- one, out of seven people suffers from hunger. Yet, there is a stealthier form of hunger than lack of food: micronutrient malnutrition or hidden hunger. While often providing enough calories, monotonous diets (of rural poor frequently fail to deliver sufficient quantities of essential minerals and vitamins. Due to micronutrient deficiencies different characteristic features have been observed to the victims. Various estimates indicate that over two-thirds of the world population, for the most part women and children specially, pre-school children are deficient in at least one micronutrient. This can have devastating consequences for the life, health and well being of the individuals concerned (like premature death, blindness, weakened immune systems etc. Genetic engineering approach is the upcoming strategy to solve this problem. Genetically engineered biofortified staple crops specially, rice that are high in essential micronutrients (Fe, Zn, vitamin A and adapted to local growing environments have the potential to significantly reduce the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies specially to the rural poor.

Innovation Pilot – to Improve Innovation Competences of Engineering Students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Løje, Hanne; Grex, Sara

2017-01-01

In the future, there will be increasing demands for skilled and well-educated engineers who are capable of developing new solutions through innovation and can work in multidisciplinary teams. Therefore the universities are developing innovation and entrepreneurship programs to improve...... the innovation competences of the engineering students to meet this demand. In this paper, we will discuss how to improve innovation competences of engineering students and describe how it is done in a newly developed course at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The aim of the course is to strengthened...... innovation skills in addition to personal and interpersonal skills. This is done in close collaboration with companies. The outline for the course is that the students work in multidisciplinary teams with specific challenges offered by the companies. The main findings so far show the importance of the use...

Genetic engineering in nonhuman primates for human disease modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Kenya; Sasaki, Erika

2018-02-01

Nonhuman primate (NHP) experimental models have contributed greatly to human health research by assessing the safety and efficacy of newly developed drugs, due to their physiological and anatomical similarities to humans. To generate NHP disease models, drug-inducible methods, and surgical treatment methods have been employed. Recent developments in genetic and developmental engineering in NHPs offer new options for producing genetically modified disease models. Moreover, in recent years, genome-editing technology has emerged to further promote this trend and the generation of disease model NHPs has entered a new era. In this review, we summarize the generation of conventional disease model NHPs and discuss new solutions to the problem of mosaicism in genome-editing technology.

The impact of program experiences on the retention of women engineering students in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Villa, Maria Del Carmen Garcia

This qualitative study sought to describe and understand the experiences of female students attending engineering colleges in Mexico and the sources of support and strategies that helped them persist in their programs. The participants were 20 women engineering students enrolled in at least their third year in selected colleges of engineering in Mexico, in both public and private universities, and pursuing a variety of engineering majors. Findings focus on the experiences of female students that helped them stay in their programs. Participants described their experiences in college as very challenging and perceived the environment as hostile and uncertain. In addition, patriarchal Mexican cultural values and stereotypes were identified by students as influencing and helping shape the engineering environment. However, in this context, participants were able to find sources of support and use strategies that helped them remain in their majors, such as a strong desire to succeed, a perceived academic self-ability; and support from their families, peers, institutions, and---most importantly---their professors. Furthermore, the fact that participants were able to persist in their programs gave them a sense of pride and satisfaction that was shared by their families, peers, and faculty. In addition, participants experienced contradictory forces and were constantly negotiating between rejecting traditional gender norms and upholding the norms that are so deeply engrained in Mexican society. Finally, as the students advanced in their programs and became "accepted to the club," they tended to reproduce the male-dominated value system present in engineering colleges accepting their professors' expectations of being "top students," accepting the elitist culture of engineering superiority, and embracing the protection given by their male peers. Retention of Mexican female engineering students is important for all engineering colleges, but cultural factors must be taken into

Crack in the Pipeline: Why Female Underrepresented Racial Minority College Students Leave Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Vazquez-Akim, Jenny Amanda

Female and underrepresented racial minority (URM) students are indicating their interest in STEM fields at increasing rates, yet when examining the engineering discipline specifically disparities in degree completion rates between female URM students and others in the racial or gender majority are even more severe. This study explored female URM college student perceptions of school and classroom climate and the impact these factors had on their decision to persist or to leave engineering. Through a qualitative interview methodology grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study explored factors including self-efficacy, perceived barriers and supports, other-group orientation and outcome expectations that influenced students' academic decision-making. Interview participants consisted of 5 female URM students that matriculated into an engineering major at a top tier, private university but subsequently left the discipline in pursuit of another field of study. The perceptions of this target population were juxtaposed with interview data from 4 male non-URM, 4 female non-URM, and 4 male URM leavers in addition to 7 female URM engineering persisters. As a final component in the research design, 9 undergraduate engineering faculty were interviewed to understand their perceptions of why female URM students leave engineering in pursuit of other disciplines. With faculty being a central component of the academic environment, their perceptions of female URM students, as well as how they view their role in these students' retention, provided insight on this other side of retention question. Salient findings emerged that differentiated female URM leavers' experiences in engineering from other student populations. Female URM leavers were less likely to call upon self-directed learning strategies in response to academic challenges. Perceived academic barriers such as heavy course loads, lack of connection between material and application, and perceived academic

Insights into Technopreneurship: Self-Employment Perceptions among Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Urban, B.; Barreira, J.

2007-01-01

Infusing an enterprising spirit into student endeavors and the promotion of entrepreneurial skills has been implemented worldwide as an impetus to promote "technopreneurship". This study empirically investigates entrepreneurial perceptions among non-business engineering students before and after exposure to an entrepreneurship intervention.…

Engineering genetic circuit interactions within and between synthetic minimal cells

Science.gov (United States)

Adamala, Katarzyna P.; Martin-Alarcon, Daniel A.; Guthrie-Honea, Katriona R.; Boyden, Edward S.

2017-05-01

Genetic circuits and reaction cascades are of great importance for synthetic biology, biochemistry and bioengineering. An open question is how to maximize the modularity of their design to enable the integration of different reaction networks and to optimize their scalability and flexibility. One option is encapsulation within liposomes, which enables chemical reactions to proceed in well-isolated environments. Here we adapt liposome encapsulation to enable the modular, controlled compartmentalization of genetic circuits and cascades. We demonstrate that it is possible to engineer genetic circuit-containing synthetic minimal cells (synells) to contain multiple-part genetic cascades, and that these cascades can be controlled by external signals as well as inter-liposomal communication without crosstalk. We also show that liposomes that contain different cascades can be fused in a controlled way so that the products of incompatible reactions can be brought together. Synells thus enable a more modular creation of synthetic biology cascades, an essential step towards their ultimate programmability.

Genetic engineering microbes for bioremediation/ biorecovery of uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apte, S.K.; Rao, A.S.; Appukuttan, D.; Nilgiriwala, K.S.; Acharya, C.

2005-01-01

Bioremediation (both bioremoval and biorecovery) of metals is considered a feasible, economic and eco-friendly alternative to chemical methods of metal extraction, particularly when the metal concentration is very low. Scanty distribution along with poor ore quality makes biomining of uranium an attractive preposition. Biosorption, bioprecipitation or bioaccumulation of uranium, aided by recombinant DNA technology, offer a promising technology for recovery of uranium from acidic or alkaline nuclear waste, tailings or from sea-water. Genetic engineering of bacteria, with a gene encoding an acid phosphatase, has yielded strains that can bioprecipitate uranium from very low concentrations at acidic-neutral pH, in a relatively short time. Organisms overproducing alkaline phosphatase have been selected for uranium precipitation from alkaline waste. Such abilities have now been transferred to the radioresistant microbe Deinococcus radiodurans to facilitate in situ bioremediation of nuclear waste, with some success. Sulfate-reducing bacteria are being characterized for bioremediation of uranium in tailings with the dual objective of uranium precipitation and reduction of sulfate to sulphide. Certain marine cyanobacteria have shown promise for uranium biosorption to extracellular polysaccharides, and intracellular accumulation involving metal sequestering metallothionin proteins. Future work is aimed at understanding the genetic basis of these abilities and to engineer them into suitable organisms subsequently. As photosynthetic, nitrogen-fixing microbes, which are considerably resistant to ionizing radiations, cyanobacteria hold considerable potential for bioremediation of nuclear waste. (author)

The investigation of STEM Self-Efficacy and Professional Commitment to Engineering among female high school students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-hui Liu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study employed social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory (SCCT as foundations to explore the influence of high school students' beliefs about female gender roles and female engineer role models on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM self-efficacy and professional commitment to engineering. A total of 88 students from a national girls' high school participated in STEM project-based learning. A survey questionnaire named The STEM Self-efficacy and Professional Commitment to Engineering Questionnaire, developed by the researchers, was administered to collect data, and a structured equation model was employed to confirm the multi-theoretical model developed in this study. The results of this study show that enhancing the gender role beliefs and engineer role models of female students may increase their STEM self-efficacy and professional commitment to engineering. In other words, the female high school students' professional commitment to engineering model can explain students' intentions for future engineering careers. Thus, this study suggests integrating STEM project-based learning into the curricula of various schools and integrating female engineer role models into STEM project-based learning activities for female students, which can enhance female high school students' STEM self-efficacy and professional commitment to engineering.

Implementing a Flip-Flop Teaching Model in Thermal Physics for Engineering Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. Emil C. Alcantara

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Implementing flip-flop teaching in a physics classroom allows students to learn concepts outside of the classroom and apply what they learn in the classroom, working with other students and getting immediate feedback from the instructor. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of flip-flop teaching in the performance of engineering students in introductory physics particularly in thermal physics. The study employed descriptive and quasi-experimental method to describe and compare the performance of engineering students in thermal physics when grouped according to sex and types of instruction. Three physics classes consisting of 125 sophomore engineering students at the Batangas State University during the second semester of the SY 2013-2014 were handled by the researcher and selected purposively as participants of the study. It was found out that the variation in the performances of male and female students in the conceptual questions, in the problem solving questions, and overall performance in thermal physics are not significantly different. Male and female students have an overall satisfactory performance in thermal physics. The study also revealed that the variation in the performances of the students in the conceptual questions, in the problem solving questions, and overall performance in thermal physics when grouped according to the types of instruction are not significantly different. Engineering students taught in a traditional physics classroom, in a flipped physics classroom, and in an enhanced-flipped physics classroom are more likely to have similar performances in thermal physics.

Using Student Video Cases to Assess Pre-service Elementary Teachers' Engineering Teaching Responsiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Dalvi, Tejaswini; Wendell, Kristen

2017-10-01

Our study addresses the need for new approaches to prepare novice elementary teachers to teach both science and engineering, and for new tools to measure how well those approaches are working. This in particular would inform the teacher educators of the extent to which novice teachers are developing expertise in facilitating their students' engineering design work. One important dimension to measure is novice teachers' abilities to notice the substance of student thinking and to respond in productive ways. This teacher noticing is particularly important in science and engineering education, where students' initial, idiosyncratic ideas and practices influence the likelihood that particular instructional strategies will help them learn. This paper describes evidence of validity and reliability for the Video Case Diagnosis (VCD) task, a new instrument for measuring pre-service elementary teachers' engineering teaching responsiveness. To complete the VCD, participants view a 6-min video episode of children solving an engineering design problem, describe in writing what they notice about the students' science ideas and engineering practices, and propose how a teacher could productively respond to the students. The rubric for scoring VCD responses allowed two independent scorers to achieve inter-rater reliability. Content analysis of the video episode, systematic review of literature on science and engineering practices, and solicitation of external expert educator responses establish content validity for VCD. Field test results with three different participant groups who have different levels of engineering education experience offer evidence of construct validity.

Engineering Education at a New Public University in Brazil: First Students' Contact with Engineering Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Jesus Franklin A.; Leite, Patricia; Mantovani, Gerson L.; Lanfredi, Alexandre J. C.; Martins-Filho, Luiz S.

2011-01-01

This paper describes the experience of an introductory discipline to the engineering curricula at the Brazilian Federal University of ABC (UFABC). The university offers a common basic curriculum that must be accomplished by every student and can be followed by professionalising courses. The discipline "Introduction to Engineering"…

Assessing the Higher National Diploma Chemical Engineering programme in Ghana: students' perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Boateng, Cyril D.; Cudjoe Bensah, Edem; Ahiekpor, Julius C.

2012-05-01

Chemical engineers have played key roles in the growth of the chemical and allied industries in Ghana but indigenous industries that have traditionally been the domain of the informal sector need to be migrated to the formal sector through the entrepreneurship and innovation of chemical engineers. The Higher National Diploma Chemical Engineering programme is being migrated from a subject-based to a competency-based curriculum. This paper evaluates the programme from the point of view of students. Data were drawn from a survey conducted in the department and were analysed using SPSS. The survey involved administering questionnaires to students at all levels in the department. Analysis of the responses indicated that the majority of the students had decided to pursue chemical engineering due to the career opportunities available. Their knowledge of the programme learning outcomes was, however, poor. The study revealed that none of the students was interested in developing indigenous industries.

Diving Deep: A Comparative Study of Educator Undergraduate and Graduate Backgrounds and Their Effect on Student Understanding of Engineering and Engineering Careers, Utilizing an Underwater Robotics Program

Science.gov (United States)

Scribner, J. Adam

Numerous studies have demonstrated that educators having degrees in their subjects significantly enhances student achievement, particularly in secondary mathematics and science (Chaney, 1995; Goe, 2007; Rowan, Chiang, & Miller, 1997; Wenglinsky, 2000). Yet, science teachers in states that adopt the Next Generation Science Standards will be facilitating classroom engineering activities despite the fact that few have backgrounds in engineering. This quantitative study analyzed ex-post facto WaterBotics (an innovative underwater robotics curriculum for middle and high school students) data to determine if educators having backgrounds in engineering (i.e., undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering) positively affected student learning on two engineering outcomes: 1) the engineering design process, and 2) understanding of careers in engineering (who engineers are and what engineers do). The results indicated that educators having backgrounds in engineering did not significantly affect student understanding of the engineering design process or careers in engineering when compared to educators having backgrounds in science, mathematics, technology education, or other disciplines. There were, however, statistically significant differences between the groups of educators. Students of educators with backgrounds in technology education had the highest mean score on assessments pertaining to the engineering design process while students of educators with disciplines outside of STEM had the highest mean scores on instruments that assess for student understanding of careers in engineering. This might be due to the fact that educators who lack degrees in engineering but who teach engineering do a better job of "sticking to the script" of engineering curricula.

Think first job! Preferences and expectations of engineering students in a French `Grande Ecole'

Science.gov (United States)

Gerwel Proches, Cecile N.; Chelin, Nathalie; Rouvrais, Siegfried

2018-03-01

A career in engineering may be appealing owing to the prospect of a good salary and a dynamic work environment. There may, however, be challenges for students wishing to enter their first job. In engineering education, career preparation courses may be included so as to prepare students adequately for their first job, future careers, and to reinforce career decision-making skills. This study explored the first-job preferences and expectations of engineering students at a generalist French 'Grande Ecole' before their compulsory internship. The study ultimately provided insight into ways in which future engineers may best be equipped for their first jobs. A qualitative research study was employed, using four focus groups to collect data, which was analysed thematically. Key findings indicate the resolute importance that engineering students place on having a challenging job, teamwork, independence, opportunities for development, and a participative style of being managed. The research findings may be of value in order to renew an engineering curriculum with better alignment between students' expectations and industry needs.

Improving Student Writing: Methods You Can Use in Science and Engineering Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Hitt, S. J.; Bright, K.

2013-12-01

Many educators in the fields of science and engineering assure their students that writing is an important and necessary part of their work. According to David Lindsay, in Scientific Writing=Thinking in Words, 99% of scientists agree that writing is an integral part of their jobs. However, only 5% of those same scientists have ever had formal instruction in scientific writing, and those who are also educators may then feel unconfident in teaching this skill to their students (2). Additionally, making time for writing instruction in courses that are already full of technical content can cause it to be hastily and/or peremptorily included. These situations may be some of the contributing factors to the prevailing attitude of frustration that pervades the conversation about writing in science and engineering classrooms. This presentation provides a summary of past, present, and ongoing Writing Center research on effective writing tutoring in order to give science and engineering educators integrated approaches for working with student writers in their disciplines. From creating assignments, providing instruction, guiding revisions, facilitating peer review, and using assessments, we offer a comprehensive approach to getting your students motivated to improve their writing. Our new research study focuses on developing student writing resources and support in science and engineering institutions, with the goal of utilizing cross-disciplinary knowledge that can be used by the various constituencies responsible for improving the effectiveness of writing among student engineers and scientists. We will will draw upon recent findings in the study of the rhetoric and compositional pedagogy and apply them to the specific needs of the science and engineering classroom. The fields of communication, journalism, social sciences, rhetoric, technical writing, and philosophy of science have begun to integrate these findings into classroom practice, and we will show how these can also

Genetic engineering of crops: a ray of hope for enhanced food security.

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Sarvajeet Singh; Gill, Ritu; Tuteja, Renu; Tuteja, Narendra

2014-01-01

Crop improvement has been a basic and essential chase since organized cultivation of crops began thousands of years ago. Abiotic stresses as a whole are regarded as the crucial factors restricting the plant species to reach their full genetic potential to deliver desired productivity. The changing global climatic conditions are making them worse and pointing toward food insecurity. Agriculture biotechnology or genetic engineering has allowed us to look into and understand the complex nature of abiotic stresses and measures to improve the crop productivity under adverse conditions. Various candidate genes have been identified and transformed in model plants as well as agriculturally important crop plants to develop abiotic stress-tolerant plants for crop improvement. The views presented here are an attempt toward realizing the potential of genetic engineering for improving crops to better tolerate abiotic stresses in the era of climate change, which is now essential for global food security. There is great urgency in speeding up crop improvement programs that can use modern biotechnological tools in addition to current breeding practices for providing enhanced food security.

[Progress of research on genetic engineering antibody and its application in prevention and control of parasitic diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Yuan; Yu, Chuan-xin

2013-08-01

Antibody has extensive application prospects in the biomedical field. The inherent disadvantages of traditional polyclonal antibody and monoclonal antibody limit their application values. The humanized and fragmented antibody remodeling has given a rise to a series of genetic engineered antibody variant. This paper reviews the progress of research on genetic engineering antibody and its application in prevention and control of parasitic diseases.

The Influence of Self-Efficacy on Entrepreneurial Intention among Engineering Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Saraih U.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to examine the influence of self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intention amongst engineering students from Public Higher Educational Institution (PHEI in Malaysia. This study employs a quantitative method using the questionnaire instrument. Data is obtained from 345 respondents comprising of final year students from various public institutes of higher learning in Malaysia. Findings revealed that the students from these public institutes demonstrated a high interest in entrepreneurial intention (mean=3.67, SD=.54 and a moderate level of sel-efficacy (mean=3.22, SD=.71. Findings also pointed out that self-efficacy is significantly associated with entrepreneurial intention (β=.45, p<.01 as exhibited by the engineering students in these institutes. These findings further reinforces an element of Bandura Social Learning Theory which states that self-efficacy is able to influence the entrepreneurial intention amongst engineering students in public institutions. As a result, public instituitions can emphasize strategies to increase the degree of self-efficacy amongst students to enhance the level of entrepreneurial intention. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed along with recommendations for the further improvement of institution management.

Changes in the Social Responsibility Attitudes of Engineering Students Over Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Bielefeldt, Angela R; Canney, Nathan E

2016-10-01

This research explored how engineering student views of their responsibility toward helping individuals and society through their profession, so-called social responsibility, change over time. A survey instrument was administered to students initially primarily in their first year, senior year, or graduate studies majoring in mechanical, civil, or environmental engineering at five institutions in September 2012, April 2013, and March 2014. The majority of the students (57 %) did not change significantly in their social responsibility attitudes, but 23 % decreased and 20 % increased. The students who increased, decreased, or remained the same in their social responsibility attitudes over time did not differ significantly in terms of gender, academic rank, or major. Some differences were found between institutions. Students who decreased in social responsibility initially possessed more positive social responsibility attitudes, were less likely to indicate that college courses impacted their views of social responsibility, and were more likely to have decreased in the frequency that they participated in volunteer activities, compared to students who did not change or increased their social responsibility. Although the large percentage of engineering students who decreased their social responsibility during college was disappointing, it is encouraging that courses and participation in volunteer activities may combat this trend.

Teaching problem-solving skills to nuclear engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Waller, E.; Kaye, M. H.

2012-08-01

Problem solving is an essential skill for nuclear engineering graduates entering the workforce. Training in qualitative and quantitative aspects of problem solving allows students to conceptualise and execute solutions to complex problems. Solutions to problems in high consequence fields of study such as nuclear engineering require rapid and accurate analysis of the problems, design of solutions (focusing on public safety, environmental stewardship and ethics), solution execution and monitoring results. A three-month course in problem solving, modelling and simulation was designed and a collaborative approach was undertaken with instructors from both industry and academia. Training was optimised for the laptop-based pedagogy, which provided unique advantages for a course that includes modelling and simulation components. The concepts and tools learned as part of the training were observed to be utilised throughout the duration of student university studies and interviews with students who have entered the workforce indicate that the approaches learned and practised are retained long term.

Academic Performance as a Predictor of Student Growth in Achievement and Mental Motivation During an Engineering Design Challenge in Engineering and Technology Education

OpenAIRE

Mentzer, Nathan

2008-01-01

The purpose of this correlational research study was to determine if students’ academic success was correlated with: (a) the student change in achievement during an engineering design challenge; and (b) student change in mental motivation toward solving problems and critical thinking during an engineering design challenge. Multiple experimental studies have shown engineering design challenges increase student achievement and attitude toward learning, but conflicting evidence surrounded the im...

IMPROVING PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING BY MANIPULATING THE HOST. (R829479C001)

Science.gov (United States)

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is a major technique for the genetic engineering of plants. However, there are many economically important crop and tree species that remain highly recalcitrant to Agrobacterium infection. Although attempts have been made to ...

Engaging Students in the Ethics of Engineering and Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keiko, Yasukawa

This paper argues that education for engineers and technologists should focus on the ethics of technology and engineering, and not just ethics in technology and engineering projects. It argues that one's expression of their ethical position is linked closely to their identity formation, and is di......, and is different to other "competencies" that are emphasised in engineering and technology education. Principles of sustainable development are proposed as a framework for engaging students in reflecting on their ethical positions and practices.......This paper argues that education for engineers and technologists should focus on the ethics of technology and engineering, and not just ethics in technology and engineering projects. It argues that one's expression of their ethical position is linked closely to their identity formation...

Genetic-evolution-based optimization methods for engineering design

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, S. S.; Pan, T. S.; Dhingra, A. K.; Venkayya, V. B.; Kumar, V.

1990-01-01

This paper presents the applicability of a biological model, based on genetic evolution, for engineering design optimization. Algorithms embodying the ideas of reproduction, crossover, and mutation are developed and applied to solve different types of structural optimization problems. Both continuous and discrete variable optimization problems are solved. A two-bay truss for maximum fundamental frequency is considered to demonstrate the continuous variable case. The selection of locations of actuators in an actively controlled structure, for minimum energy dissipation, is considered to illustrate the discrete variable case.

Learning Styles of Mexican Food Science and Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Palou, Enrique

2006-01-01

People have different learning styles that are reflected in different academic strengths, weaknesses, skills, and interests. Given the almost unlimited variety of job descriptions within food science and engineering, it is safe to say that students with every possible learning style have the potential to succeed as food scientists and engineers.…

New Laboratory Course for Senior-Level Chemical Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Aronson, Mark T.; Deitcher, Robert W.; Xi, Yuanzhou; Davis, Robert J.

2009-01-01

A new laboratory course has been developed at the University of Virginia for senior- level chemical engineering students. The new course is based on three 4-week long experiments in bioprocess engineering, energy conversion and catalysis, and polymer synthesis and characterization. The emphasis is on the integration of process steps and the…

An Academic Survey of Engineering Student Athletes at a Division I University

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Charles E.

2007-01-01

This paper explores the academic success of NCAA Division I collegiate student athletes that enroll in engineering majors. At the University of South Carolina, which is a member of the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference, nineteen engineering students were on an active athletic roster during the spring semester of 2005. The mean cumulative…

Improving medical students' knowledge of genetic disease: a review of current and emerging pedagogical practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolyniak, Michael J; Bemis, Lynne T; Prunuske, Amy J

2015-01-01

Genetics is an essential subject to be mastered by health professional students of all types. However, technological advances in genomics and recent pedagogical research have changed the way in which many medical training programs teach genetics to their students. These advances favor a more experience-based education focused primarily on developing student's critical thinking skills. In this review, we examine the current state of genetics education at both the preclinical and clinical levels and the ways in which medical and pedagogical research have guided reforms to current and emerging teaching practices in genetics. We discover exciting trends taking place in which genetics is integrated with other scientific disciplines both horizontally and vertically across medical curricula to emphasize training in scientific critical thinking skills among students via the evaluation of clinical evidence and consultation of online databases. These trends will produce future health professionals with the skills and confidence necessary to embrace the new tools of medical practice that have emerged from scientific advances in genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics.

Telos, conservation of welfare, and ethical issues in genetic engineering of animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Rollin, Bernard E

2015-01-01

The most long-lived metaphysics or view of reality in the history of Western thought is Aristotle's teleology, which reigned for almost 2,000 years. Biology was expressed in terms of function or telos, and accorded perfectly with common sense. The rise of mechanistic, Newtonian science vanquished teleological explanations. Understanding and accommodating animal telos was essential to success in animal husbandry, which involved respect for telos, and was presuppositional to our "ancient contract" with domestic animals. Telos was further abandoned with the rise of industrial agriculture, which utilized "technological fixes" to force animal into environments they were unsuited for, while continuing to be productive. Loss of husbandry and respect for telos created major issues for farm animal welfare, and forced the creation of a new ethic demanding respect for telos. As genetic engineering developed, the notion arose of modifying animals to fit their environment in order to avoid animal suffering, rather than fitting them into congenial environments. Most people do not favor changing the animals, rather than changing the conditions under which they are reared. Aesthetic appreciation of husbandry and virtue ethics militate in favor of restoring husbandry, rather than radically changing animal teloi. One, however, does not morally wrong teloi by changing them-one can only wrong individuals. In biomedical research, we do indeed inflict major pain, suffering and disease on animals. And genetic engineering seems to augment our ability to create animals to model diseases, particularly more than 3,000 known human genetic diseases. The disease, known as Lesch-Nyhan's syndrome or HPRT deficiency, which causes self-mutilation and mental retardation, provides us with a real possibility for genetically creating "animal models" of this disease, animals doomed to a life of great and unalleviable suffering. This of course creates a major moral dilemma. Perhaps one can use the very

Cultivation of students' engineering designing ability based on optoelectronic system course project

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Danhua; Wu, Yubin; Li, Jingping

2017-08-01

We carry out teaching based on optoelectronic related course group, aiming at junior students majored in Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering. " Optoelectronic System Course Project " is product-designing-oriented and lasts for a whole semester. It provides a chance for students to experience the whole process of product designing, and improve their abilities to search literature, proof schemes, design and implement their schemes. In teaching process, each project topic is carefully selected and repeatedly refined to guarantee the projects with the knowledge integrity, engineering meanings and enjoyment. Moreover, we set up a top team with professional and experienced teachers, and build up learning community. Meanwhile, the communication between students and teachers as well as the interaction among students are taken seriously in order to improve their team-work ability and communicational skills. Therefore, students are not only able to have a chance to review the knowledge hierarchy of optics, electronics, and computer sciences, but also are able to improve their engineering mindset and innovation consciousness.

Students' Perceptions of the Relevance of Mathematics in Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Flegg, Jennifer; Mallet, Dann; Lupton, Mandy

2012-01-01

In this article, we report on the findings of an exploratory study into the experience of students as they learn first year engineering mathematics. Here we define engineering as the application of mathematics and sciences to the building and design of projects for the use of society [M. Kirschenman and B. Brenner, "Education for Civil…

Evaluating Risk Awareness in Undergraduate Students Studying Mechanical Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Langdon, G. S.; Balchin, K.; Mufamadi, P.

2010-01-01

This paper examines the development of risk awareness among undergraduate students studying mechanical engineering at a South African university. A questionnaire developed at the University of Liverpool was modified and used on students from the first, second and third year cohorts to assess their awareness in the areas of professional…

Student Attraction to Engineering through Flexibility and Breadth in the Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Alpay, E.

2013-01-01

Several European universities provide entry to general engineering studies prior to degree specialisation. The potential advantages of such entry include the provision of a broader foundation in engineering fundamentals, the option for students to defer specialisation until a greater awareness of the different engineering disciplines and the…

Information seeking and students studying for professional careers: the cases of engineering and law students in Ireland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gillian Kerins

2004-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the results of two empirical studies which explored the information seeking behaviour of engineering and law students in Ireland. Findings reveal similar patterns in the information seeking behaviour between students studying to become professionals and information seeking patterns of these groups identified in Leckie et al.'s model. Students learned their information seeking strategies, including effective and less effective approaches, from educators and continuing mis-perceptions of libraries and information professionals. The studies suggest that engineering and law students in Ireland could benefit from greater information literacy training and awareness, enabling them to acquire the information skills they need to function effectively and efficiently in their future professional work lives.

Undergraduates Achieve Learning Gains in Plant Genetics through Peer Teaching of Secondary Students

Science.gov (United States)

Chrispeels, H. E.; Klosterman, M. L.; Martin, J. B.; Lundy, S. R.; Watkins, J. M.; Gibson, C. L.

2014-01-01

This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non–majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole­cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates’ learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates’ content knowledge, even for non–science major students. PMID:25452487

The First Year of College: Understanding Student Persistence in Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Hayden, Marina Calvet

This research study aimed to expand our understanding of the factors that influence student persistence in engineering. The unique experiences of engineering students were examined as they transitioned into and navigated their first year of college at a public research university in California. Most students provided similar responses with respect to the way they experienced the transition to college and social life. There was, however, wide student response variation regarding their experience of academic life and academic policies, as well as in their level of pre-college academic preparation and financial circumstances. One key finding was that students' experiences during the first year of college varied widely based on the extent to which they had acquired organizational and learning skills prior to college. The study used a mixed methods approach. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through an online survey and one-on-one interviews conducted with freshman students near the end of their first year of college. The theoretical foundations of this study included Astin's Theory of Student Involvement and Tinto's Theory of Student Departure. The design of the study was guided by these theories which emphasize the critical importance of student involvement with the academic and social aspects of college during the first year of college.

Computer vision syndrome and associated factors among medical and engineering students in chennai.

Science.gov (United States)

Logaraj, M; Madhupriya, V; Hegde, Sk

2014-03-01

Almost all institutions, colleges, universities and homes today were using computer regularly. Very little research has been carried out on Indian users especially among college students the effects of computer use on the eye and vision related problems. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of computer vision syndrome (CVS) among medical and engineering students and the factors associated with the same. A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical and engineering college students of a University situated in the suburban area of Chennai. Students who used computer in the month preceding the date of study were included in the study. The participants were surveyed using pre-tested structured questionnaire. Among engineering students, the prevalence of CVS was found to be 81.9% (176/215) while among medical students; it was found to be 78.6% (158/201). A significantly higher proportion of engineering students 40.9% (88/215) used computers for 4-6 h/day as compared to medical students 10% (20/201) (P medical students. Students who used computer for 4-6 h were at significantly higher risk of developing redness (OR = 1.2, 95% CI = 1.0-3.1,P = 0.04), burning sensation (OR = 2.1,95% CI = 1.3-3.1, P computer for less than 4 h. Significant correlation was found between increased hours of computer use and the symptoms redness, burning sensation, blurred vision and dry eyes. The present study revealed that more than three-fourth of the students complained of any one of the symptoms of CVS while working on the computer.

Genetic engineering: Rifkin strikes at corn this time.

Science.gov (United States)

Budiansky, S

As a result of a threatened suit by Jeremy Rifkin, Stanford University has postponed an experiment involving a test plot of genetically-engineered corn. At issue is an injunction forbidding the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee of the National Institutes of Health from approving federal funding of experiments entailing the release of recombinant DNA into the environment. Rifkin's legal argument is that an environmnental impact statement must be filed for both commercially- and federally-funded research. It is expected that Rifkin's demand for equal treatment regardless of funding source will be agreed to by NIH.

Optics in engineering education: stimulating the interest of first-year students

Science.gov (United States)

Blanco-García, Jesús; Vazquez-Dorrío, Benito

2014-07-01

The work here presented deals with stimulating the interest for optics in first-year students of an Engineering School, which are not specifically following Optical Engineering studies. Optic-based technologies are nowadays wide spread, and growing, in almost all the engineering fields (from non destructive testing or alignments to power laser applications, fiber optic communications, memory devices, etc.). In general, the first year curriculum doesn't allow a detailed review of the main light properties, least its technical applications. We present in this paper our experience in showing some basic optic concepts and related technologies to the students of our school. Based on the fact that they have a very basic training in this branch of physics, we have designed a series of experimental demonstrations with the dual purpose of making them understand the basic principles of these technologies, and to know the potential of applications to engineering they offer. We assembled these experiments in the laboratory and invited students to pass to get to know them, giving them an explanation in which we focused on the possible range of application of each technique. The response was very good, not only by the number of students who attended the invitation but also by the interest demonstrated by their questions and opinions.

A Mathematics Support Programme for First-Year Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Hillock, Poh Wah; Jennings, Michael; Roberts, Anthony; Scharaschkin, Victor

2013-01-01

This article describes a mathematics support programme at the University of Queensland, targeted at first-year engineering students identified as having a high risk of failing a first-year mathematics course in calculus and linear algebra. It describes how students were identified for the programme and the main features of the programme. The…

Increasing Prediction the Original Final Year Project of Student Using Genetic Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Saragih, Rijois Iboy Erwin; Turnip, Mardi; Sitanggang, Delima; Aritonang, Mendarissan; Harianja, Eva

2018-04-01

Final year project is very important forgraduation study of a student. Unfortunately, many students are not seriouslydidtheir final projects. Many of studentsask for someone to do it for them. In this paper, an application of genetic algorithms to predict the original final year project of a studentis proposed. In the simulation, the data of the final project for the last 5 years is collected. The genetic algorithm has several operators namely population, selection, crossover, and mutation. The result suggest that genetic algorithm can do better prediction than other comparable model. Experimental results of predicting showed that 70% was more accurate than the previous researched.

Tinkering and Technical Self-Efficacy of Engineering Students at the Community College

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Baker, Dale R.; Wood, Lorelei; Corkins, James; Krause, Stephen

2015-01-01

Self-efficacy in engineering is important because individuals with low self-efficacy have lower levels of achievement and persistence in engineering majors. To examine self-efficacy among community college engineering students, an instrument to specifically measure two important aspects of engineering, tinkering and technical self-efficacy, was…

Undergraduate engineering student experiences: Comparing sex, gender and switcher status

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Fergen, Brenda Sue

This dissertation explores undergraduate engineering experiences, comparing men with women and switchers with non-switchers. Factors related to a chilly academic climate and gender-role socialization are hypothesized to contribute to variations in men's and women's academic experiences and persistence rates. Both quantitative and qualitative data are utilized in an effort to triangulate the findings. Secondary survey data, acquired as result of a 1992 Academic Environment Survey, were utilized to test the hypothesis that sex is the most important predictor (i.e., demographic variable) of perceptions of academic climate. Regression analyses show that sex by itself is not always a significant determinant. However, when sex and college (engineering vs. other) are combined into dummy variables, they are statistically significant in models where sex was not significant alone. This finding indicates that looking at sex differences alone may be too simplistic. Thirty personal interviews were conducted with a random stratified sample of undergraduate students from the 1993 engineering cohort. The interview data indicate that differences in childhood socialization are important. With regard to persistence, differences in socialization are greater for switchers vs. non-switchers than men vs. women. Thus, gender-role socialization does not appear to play as prominent a role in women's persistence as past literature would indicate. This may be due to the self-selection process that occurs among women who choose to pursue engineering. Other aspects of childhood socialization such as parents' level of educational and occupation, students' high school academic preparation and knowledge of what to expect of college classes appear to be more important. In addition, there is evidence that, for women, male siblings play an important role in socialization. There is also evidence that women engineering students at Midwestern University face a chilly academic climate. The factors which

Contextual Shaping of Student Design Practices: The Role of Constraint in First-Year Engineering Design

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Goncher, Andrea M.

thResearch on engineering design is a core area of concern within engineering education, and a fundamental understanding of how engineering students approach and undertake design is necessary in order to develop effective design models and pedagogies. This dissertation contributes to scholarship on engineering design by addressing a critical, but as yet underexplored, problem: how does the context in which students design shape their design practices? Using a qualitative study comprising of video data of design sessions, focus group interviews with students, and archives of their design work, this research explored how design decisions and actions are shaped by context, specifically the context of higher education. To develop a theoretical explanation for observed behavior, this study used the nested structuration. framework proposed by Perlow, Gittell, & Katz (2004). This framework explicated how teamwork is shaped by mutually reinforcing relationships at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. I appropriated this framework to look specifically at how engineering students working on a course-related design project identify constraints that guide their design and how these constraints emerge as students interact while working on the project. I first identified and characterized the parameters associated with the design project from the student perspective and then, through multi-case studies of four design teams, I looked at the role these parameters play in student design practices. This qualitative investigation of first-year engineering student design teams revealed mutual and interconnected relationships between students and the organizations and institutions that they are a part of. In addition to contributing to research on engineering design, this work provides guidelines and practices to help design educators develop more effective design projects by incorporating constraints that enable effective design and learning. Moreover, I found

CURRICULUM: A Chemical Engineering Course for Liberal Arts Students--Indigo: A World of Blues

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Piergiovanni, Polly R.

2012-01-01

Sophomore liberal arts and engineering students enrolled in a course to learn and practice some basic chemical engineering side by side. The course was developed around the theme of indigo dyeing, which has an interesting history, fascinating chemistry and is accessible to all students. The students participated in a variety of active learning…

Improving medical students' knowledge of genetic disease: a review of current and emerging pedagogical practices

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Wolyniak MJ

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Michael J Wolyniak,1 Lynne T Bemis,2 Amy J Prunuske2 1Department of Biology, Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, VA, 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA Abstract: Genetics is an essential subject to be mastered by health professional students of all types. However, technological advances in genomics and recent pedagogical research have changed the way in which many medical training programs teach genetics to their students. These advances favor a more experience-based education focused primarily on developing student's critical thinking skills. In this review, we examine the current state of genetics education at both the preclinical and clinical levels and the ways in which medical and pedagogical research have guided reforms to current and emerging teaching practices in genetics. We discover exciting trends taking place in which genetics is integrated with other scientific disciplines both horizontally and vertically across medical curricula to emphasize training in scientific critical thinking skills among students via the evaluation of clinical evidence and consultation of online databases. These trends will produce future health professionals with the skills and confidence necessary to embrace the new tools of medical practice that have emerged from scientific advances in genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics. Keywords: genetics education, medical genetics, pedagogical practice, active learning, problem-based learning

The Role of Entrepreneurship Program Models and Experiential Activities on Engineering Student Outcomes

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Duval-Couetil, Nathalie; Shartrand, Angela; Reed, Teri

2016-01-01

Entrepreneurship education is being delivered to greater numbers of engineering students through a variety of courses, programs, and experiential learning activities. Some of these opportunities are designed primarily to serve engineering students in their departments and colleges, while others are cross-campus, university-wide efforts to serve…

Assessing Freshman Engineering Students' Understanding of Ethical Behavior.

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Henslee, Amber M; Murray, Susan L; Olbricht, Gayla R; Ludlow, Douglas K; Hays, Malcolm E; Nelson, Hannah M

2017-02-01

Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, is on the rise in colleges, particularly among engineering students. While students decide to engage in these behaviors for many different reasons, academic integrity training can help improve their understanding of ethical decision making. The two studies outlined in this paper assess the effectiveness of an online module in increasing academic integrity among first semester engineering students. Study 1 tested the effectiveness of an academic honesty tutorial by using a between groups design with a Time 1- and Time 2-test. An academic honesty quiz assessed participants' knowledge at both time points. Study 2, which incorporated an improved version of the module and quiz, utilized a between groups design with three assessment time points. The additional Time 3-test allowed researchers to test for retention of information. Results were analyzed using ANCOVA and t tests. In Study 1, the experimental group exhibited significant improvement on the plagiarism items, but not the total score. However, at Time 2 there was no significant difference between groups after controlling for Time 1 scores. In Study 2, between- and within-group analyses suggest there was a significant improvement in total scores, but not plagiarism scores, after exposure to the tutorial. Overall, the academic integrity module impacted participants as evidenced by changes in total score and on specific plagiarism items. Although future implementation of the tutorial and quiz would benefit from modifications to reduce ceiling effects and improve assessment of knowledge, the results suggest such tutorial may be one valuable element in a systems approach to improving the academic integrity of engineering students.

Student Pugwash Conference Probes Scientists' Individual Responsibility.

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Seltzer, Richard J.

1985-01-01

Students from 25 nations and senior scientists examined ethical and social dimensions of decision making about science and technology during the 1985 Student Pugwash Conference on scientists' individual responsibilities. Working groups focused on toxic wastes, military uses of space, energy and poverty, genetic engineering, and individual rights.…

The Chemical Engineering behind How Carbonated Beverages Go Flat: A Hands-On Experiment for Freshmen Students

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Hohn, Keith L.

2007-01-01

A hands-on project was developed to educate new chemical engineering students about the types of problems chemical engineers solve and to improve student enthusiasm for studying chemical engineering. In this project, students studied the phenomenon of carbonated beverages going flat. The project was implemented in 2003 and 2004 at Kansas State…

REPROBATION AND LACK OF INTEREST IN MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING STUDENTS

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César Humberto Guzmán Valdivia

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Engineering education in mechatronics is an attractive field of research because it is a new multidisciplinary career. However, a potential problem is the reprobation rate. In the period from January to April 2012 at the Universidad Politécnica de Zacatecas a 53% regular students of a total of 197 were registered. To find the causes of this problem, a survey was conducted to determine the causes of reprobation, lack of motivation and interest to a population of 96 students, of which 40 were the first training cycle, 32 the second and 24 the third. The surveys yielded three main results. The first indicates that the lack of interest is proportional to the time spent in college. The second shows that the reprobation rate is linked to the laziness and the excess of courses. And the last shows a lack of motivation and low expectations of student due to the monotony of the theoretical courses. In conclusion, more research is needed to have a motivated student in an engineering career in mechatronics.

Student involvement as a vehicle for empowerment: a case study of the student platform for engineering education development

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Delaine, David A.; Seif-Naraghi, Sonya B.; Al-Haque, Shahed; Wojewoda, Nicolò ; Meninato, Yvonne; DeBoer, Jennifer

2010-01-01

This paper examines the mission, structure and outputs of one organisation, the Student Platform for Engineering Education Development (SPEED), as a case study for how student-led organisations can use student involvement to promote and sustain

A Survey of Gender Biases of Freshman Students toward Engineering.

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Schaer, Barbara; And Others

1991-01-01

A survey of 724 freshman engineering orientation students investigated the significance of 5 literature-cited barriers to women's success in engineering--sexual discrimination, financial concerns, academic comfort, career awareness, and locus of control. Significant main effects were found for gender but not ethnic group. The instrument is…

Students' Attitudes towards Interdisciplinary Education: A Course on Interdisciplinary Aspects of Science and Engineering Education

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Gero, Aharon

2017-01-01

A course entitled "Science and Engineering Education: Interdisciplinary Aspects" was designed to expose undergraduate students of science and engineering education to the attributes of interdisciplinary education which integrates science and engineering. The core of the course is an interdisciplinary lesson, which each student is…

A Project-Based Engineering and Leadership Workshop for High School Students

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Ryder, Linda Sue; Pegg, Jerine; Wood, Nathan

2012-01-01

Summer outreach programs provide pre-college participants an introduction to college life and exposure to engineering in an effort to raise the level of interest and bring more students into engineering fields. The Junior Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (JEMS) program is a project-based summer workshop in which teams of high school students…

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 20: Engineers as information processors: A survey of US aerospace engineering faculty and students

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Holland, Maurita Peterson; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1991-01-01

U.S. aerospace engineering faculty and students were surveyed as part of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Research Project. Faculty and students were viewed as information processors within a conceptual framework of information seeking behavior. Questionnaires were received from 275 faculty members and 640 students, which were used to determine: (1) use and importance of information sources; (2) use of specific print sources and electronic data bases; (3) use of information technology; and (4) the influence of instruction on the use of information sources and the products of faculty and students. Little evidence was found to support the belief that instruction in library or engineering information use has significant impact either on broadening the frequency or range of information products and sources used by U.S. aerospace engineering students.

The Characteristics and Experiences of Successful Undergraduate Latina Students Who Persist in Engineering

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Robinson, Carrie

Females and underrepresented ethnic minorities earn a small percentage of engineering and computer science bachelor's degrees awarded in the United States, earn an even smaller proportion of master's and doctoral degrees, and are underrepresented in the engineering workforce (Engineering Workforce Commission, [2006], as cited in National Science Foundation, 2012; United States Department of Education, [2006], as cited in National Science Foundation, 2009a; United States Department of Education, [2006], as cited in National Science Foundation, 2009b). Considerable research has examined the perceptions, culture, curriculum, and pedagogy in engineering that inhibits the achievement of women and underrepresented ethnic minorities. This action research study used a qualitative approach to examine the characteristics and experiences of Latina students who pursued a bachelor's degree in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU) as part of the 2008 first-time full-time freshman cohort. The researcher conducted two semi-structured individual interviews with seven undergraduate Latina students who successfully persisted to their fourth (senior) year in engineering. The researcher aimed to understand what characteristics made these students successful and how their experiences affected their persistence in an engineering major. The data collected showed that the Latina participants were motivated to persist in their engineering degree program due to their parents' expectations for success and high academic achievement; their desire to overcome the discrimination, stereotyping, and naysayers that they encountered; and their aspiration to become a role model for their family and other students interested in pursuing engineering. From the data collected, the researcher provided suggestions to implement and adapt educational activities and support systems within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering to improve the retention and graduation rates

Application of Genetic Engineering for Chromium Removal from Industrial Wastewater

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N. K. Srivastava; M. K. Jha; I. D. Mall; Davinder Singh

2010-01-01

The treatment of the industrial wastewater can be particularly difficult in the presence of toxic compounds. Excessive concentration of Chromium in soluble form is toxic to a wide variety of living organisms. Biological removal of heavy metals using natural and genetically engineered microorganisms has aroused great interest because of its lower impact on the environment. Ralston metallidurans, formerly known as Alcaligenes eutrophus is a LProteobacterium colonizing indus...

Notification: Evaluation of Office of Pesticide Programs’ Genetically Engineered Corn Insect Resistance Management

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Project #OPE-FY15-0055, July 09, 2015. The EPA OIG plans to begin preliminary research on the EPA's ability to manage and prevent increased insect resistance to genetically engineered Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn.

Intelligent techniques in engineering management theory and applications

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Onar, Sezi

2015-01-01

This book presents recently developed intelligent techniques with applications and theory in the area of engineering management. The involved applications of intelligent techniques such as neural networks, fuzzy sets, Tabu search, genetic algorithms, etc. will be useful for engineering managers, postgraduate students, researchers, and lecturers. The book has been written considering the contents of a classical engineering management book but intelligent techniques are used for handling the engineering management problem areas. This comprehensive characteristics of the book makes it an excellent reference for the solution of complex problems of engineering management. The authors of the chapters are well-known researchers with their previous works in the area of engineering management.

Improving student retention in computer engineering technology

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Pierozinski, Russell Ivan

The purpose of this research project was to improve student retention in the Computer Engineering Technology program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology by reducing the number of dropouts and increasing the graduation rate. This action research project utilized a mixed methods approach of a survey and face-to-face interviews. The participants were male and female, with a large majority ranging from 18 to 21 years of age. The research found that participants recognized their skills and capability, but their capacity to remain in the program was dependent on understanding and meeting the demanding pace and rigour of the program. The participants recognized that curriculum delivery along with instructor-student interaction had an impact on student retention. To be successful in the program, students required support in four domains: academic, learning management, career, and social.

Excel Exercises for First-Year Engineering Students

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Wagner, Geri

2006-01-01

Several Excel applications are presented which are part of the syllabus in the first semester of engineering studies at Haugesund College. The aim of the applications is for the students to acquire both computing skills and mathematical understanding at the same time. The applications cover numerical solution of equations, differentiation,…

An Alternative Route to Chemical Engineering for Minority and Other Students.

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Cussler, E. L.

The following three alternative ways in which minority group chemistry majors may be trained as chemical engineers are examined in this paper: (l) they are admitted as engineers and take the same courses as engineering students at the graduate level; (2) undergraduate courses are taken as part of the transition from chemistry to chemical…

Genetic engineering and chemical conjugation of potato virus X.

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Lee, Karin L; Uhde-Holzem, Kerstin; Fischer, Rainer; Commandeur, Ulrich; Steinmetz, Nicole F

2014-01-01

Here we report the genetic engineering and chemical modification of potato virus X (PVX) for the presentation of various peptides, proteins, and fluorescent dyes, or other chemical modifiers. Three different ways of genetic engineering are described and by these means, peptides are successfully expressed not only when the foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) 2A sequence or a flexible glycine-serine linker is included, but also when the peptide is fused directly to the PVX coat protein. When larger proteins or unfavorable peptide sequences are presented, a partial fusion via the FMDV 2A sequence is preferable. When these PVX chimeras retain the ability to assemble into viral particles and are thus able to infect plants systemically, they can be utilized to inoculate susceptible plants for isolation of sufficient amounts of virus particles for subsequent chemical modification. Chemical modification is required for the display of nonbiological ligands such as fluorophores, polymers, and small drug compounds. We present three methods of chemical bioconjugation. For direct conjugation of small chemical modifiers to solvent exposed lysines, N-hydroxysuccinimide chemistry can be applied. Bio-orthogonal reactions such as copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition or hydrazone ligation are alternatives to achieve more efficient conjugation (e.g., when working with high molecular weight or insoluble ligands). Furthermore, hydrazone ligation offers an attractive route for the introduction of pH-cleavable cargos (e.g., therapeutic molecules).

Genetic Engineering and Sustainable Crop Disease Management: Opportunities for Case-by-Case Decision-Making

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Paul Vincelli

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Genetic engineering (GE offers an expanding array of strategies for enhancing disease resistance of crop plants in sustainable ways, including the potential for reduced pesticide usage. Certain GE applications involve transgenesis, in some cases creating a metabolic pathway novel to the GE crop. In other cases, only cisgenessis is employed. In yet other cases, engineered genetic changes can be so minimal as to be indistinguishable from natural mutations. Thus, GE crops vary substantially and should be evaluated for risks, benefits, and social considerations on a case-by-case basis. Deployment of GE traits should be with an eye towards long-term sustainability; several options are discussed. Selected risks and concerns of GE are also considered, along with genome editing, a technology that greatly expands the capacity of molecular biologists to make more precise and targeted genetic edits. While GE is merely a suite of tools to supplement other breeding techniques, if wisely used, certain GE tools and applications can contribute to sustainability goals.

Gaming, texting, learning? Teaching engineering ethics through students' lived experiences with technology.

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Voss, Georgina

2013-09-01

This paper examines how young peoples' lived experiences with personal technologies can be used to teach engineering ethics in a way which facilitates greater engagement with the subject. Engineering ethics can be challenging to teach: as a form of practical ethics, it is framed around future workplace experience in a professional setting which students are assumed to have no prior experience of. Yet the current generations of engineering students, who have been described as 'digital natives', do however have immersive personal experience with digital technologies; and experiential learning theory describes how students learn ethics more successfully when they can draw on personal experience which give context and meaning to abstract theories. This paper reviews current teaching practices in engineering ethics; and examines young people's engagement with technologies including cell phones, social networking sites, digital music and computer games to identify social and ethical elements of these practices which have relevance for the engineering ethics curricula. From this analysis three case studies are developed to illustrate how facets of the use of these technologies can be drawn on to teach topics including group work and communication; risk and safety; and engineering as social experimentation. Means for bridging personal experience and professional ethics when teaching these cases are discussed. The paper contributes to research and curriculum development in engineering ethics education, and to wider education research about methods of teaching 'the net generation'.

Guide to essential math a review for physics, chemistry and engineering students

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Blinder, Sy M

2008-01-01

This book reminds students in junior, senior and graduate level courses in physics, chemistry and engineering of the math they may have forgotten (or learned imperfectly) which is needed to succeed in science courses. The focus is on math actually used in physics, chemistry and engineering, and the approach to mathematics begins with 12 examples of increasing complexity, designed to hone the student''s ability to think in mathematical terms and to apply quantitative methods to scientific problems. By the author''s design, no problems are included in the text, to allow the students to focus on their science course assignments.- Highly accessible presentation of fundamental mathematical techniques needed in science and engineering courses- Use of proven pedagogical techniques develolped during the author's 40 years of teaching experience- illustrations and links to reference material on World-Wide-Web- Coverage of fairly advanced topics, including vector and matrix algebra, partial differential equations, speci...

STUDENT-DEFINED QUALITY BY KANO MODEL: A CASE STUDY OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN INDIA

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Ismail Wilson Taifa

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Engineering Students in India like elsewhere worldwide need well designed classrooms furniture which can enable them to attend lectures without negative impact in the long run. Engineering students from India have not yet been involved in suggesting their requirements for improving the mostly out-dated furniture at their colleges. Among the available improvement techniques, Kano Model is one of the most effective improvement approaches. The main objective of the study was to identify and categorise all the main attributes regarding the classrooms furniture for the purpose of increasing student satisfaction in the long run. Kano Model has been well applied to make an exhaustive list of requirements for redesigning classroom furniture. Cronbach Alpha was computed with the help of SPSS 16.0 for validation purpose and it ranged between 0.8 and 0.9 which is a good internal consistency. Further research can be done by integrating Kano Model with Quality Function Deployment.

Innovative Assessment Paradigm to Enhance Student Learning in Engineering Education

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El-Maaddawy, Tamer

2017-01-01

Incorporation of student self-assessment (SSA) in engineering education offers opportunities to support and encourage learner-led-learning. This paper presents an innovative assessment paradigm that integrates formative, summative, and SSA to enhance student learning. The assessment innovation was implemented in a senior-level civil engineering…

What kind of students should be developed through aeronautical engineering education?

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Holloway, R. B.

1975-01-01

The educational requirements for future aeronautical engineering students are postulated. The change in aeronautical engineering from increasing aircraft performance without regard to cost is compared with the cost effective aspects of future research. The capabilities of future engineers are discussed with respect to the following areas: (1) problem solving, (2) planning and organizing, (3) communication, and (4) professionalism.

Full-participation of students with physical disabilities in science and engineering laboratories.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeannis, Hervens; Joseph, James; Goldberg, Mary; Seelman, Katherine; Schmeler, Mark; Cooper, Rory A

2018-02-01

To conduct a literature review identifying barriers and facilitators students with physical disabilities (SwD-P) may encounter in science and engineering (S&E) laboratories. Publications were identified from 1991 to 2015 in ERIC, web of science via web of knowledge, CINAHL, SCOPUS, IEEEXplore, engineering village, business source complete and PubMed databases using search terms and synonyms for accommodations, advanced manufacturing, additive manufacturing, assistive technology (AT), barriers, engineering, facilitators, instructor, laboratory, STEM education, science, students with disabilities and technology. Twenty-two of the 233 publications that met the review's inclusion criteria were examined. Barriers and facilitators were grouped based on the international classification of functioning, disability and health framework (ICF). None of the studies directly found barriers or facilitators to SwD-P in science or engineering laboratories within postsecondary environments. The literature is not clear on the issues specifically related to SwD-P. Given these findings, further research (e.g., surveys or interviews) should be conducted to identify more details to obtain more substantial information on the barriers that may prevent SwD-P from fully participating in S&E instructional laboratories. Implications for Rehabilitation Students with disabilities remain underrepresented going into STEM careers. A need exist to help uncover barriers students with disabilities encounter in STEM laboratory. Environments. Accommodations and strategies that facilitate participation in STEM laboratory environments are promising for students with disabilities.

Impacts of a Summer Bridge Program in Engineering on Student Retention and Graduation

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Cançado, Luciana; Reisel, John R.; Walker, Cindy M.

2018-01-01

A summer bridge program was developed in an engineering program to advance the preparation of incoming freshmen students, particularly with respect to their math course placement. The program was intended to raise the initial math course placement of students who otherwise would begin their engineering studies in courses below Calculus I. One…

Mentoring program for students newly enrolled in an Engineering Degree

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Juan Pedro Peña-Martín

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This work presents a mentoring program for first year engineering students in the Telecommunications Engineering College (ETSIT at the University of Malaga (UMA. Actors involved in the program are professors from staff, veterans mentoring students and, of course, freshmen. All of them has been organized trough the Moodle based Virtual Learning Environment Platform of the UMA. The program has gone through several phases over three years. This paper shows the main objectives of this mentoring program, the initial design to get them where professors played mentor role, and successive changes made to try to improve the results, including the assumption of the mentor role by senior students (peer mentoring. The tools used for program evaluation are shown too. Despite the low participation, it has been a framework for the development of various educational and socializing activities (for mentors and mentees focused on developing generic competences. Furthermore, it has been a research tool to get a better understanding of problems affecting students newly enrolled.

Narrow-Minded Nerd or Indispensable Source of a Future-Proof Society? Engineering Students on their Profession

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haase, Sanne Schioldann

The unflattering notion “nerd” is often associated with the engineering profession. In this paper engineering descriptions made by future engineers are examined and a far more nuanced and positive understanding of the role of the engineer in a complex, future-oriented society is uncovered...... that the professional engineering identity is disappearing or defragmenting. This paper investigates engineering identity as future engineers describe it. In a nation-wide, webbased survey to a year group of engineering students at the end of their first year the students were asked to describe an engineer...

Examining Experienced Teachers' Noticing of and Responses to Students' Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Aaron W.; Wendell, Kristen B.; Watkins, Jessica

2017-01-01

Engineering design places unique demands on teachers, as students are coming up with new, unanticipated ideas to problems along often unpredictable trajectories. These demands motivate a responsive approach to teaching, in which teachers attend their students' thinking and flexibly adapt their instructional plans and objectives. A great deal of…

Influence of Science, Technology, and Engineering Curriculum on Rural Midwestern High School Student Career Decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Killingsworth, John

Low degree completion in technical and engineering degrees is a growing concern for policymakers and educators in the United States. This study was an examination of the behaviors of adolescents specific to career decisions related to technology and engineering. The central research question for this study was: do rural, Midwestern high school technical and engineering curricula serve to engage students sufficiently to encourage them to persist through high school while sustaining their interests in technology and engineering careers? Engaging students in technology and engineering fields is the challenge for educators throughout the country and the Midwest. Rural schools have the additional challenge of meeting those issues because of resource limitations. Students in three Midwestern schools were surveyed to determine the level of interest in technology and engineering. The generalized likelihood ratio test was used to overcome concerns for small sample sizes. Accounting for dependent variables, multiple independent variables are examined using descriptive statistics to determine which have greater influence on career decisions, specifically those related to technology and engineering. A typical science curriculum is defined for rural Midwestern high schools. This study concludes that such curriculum achieves the goal of maintaining or increasing student interest and engagement in STEM careers. Furthermore, those schools that incorporate contextual and experiential learning activities into the curriculum demonstrate increased results in influencing student career choices toward technology and engineering careers. Implications for parents, educators, and industry professionals are discussed.

REASONS FOR STUDENT DISCONTINUATION IN ENGINEERING DEGREE COURSES OFFERED AT A DISTANCE

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S. Anbahan ARIADURAI

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Faculty of Engineering Technology of the Open University of Sri Lanka has been offering engineering programmes at a distance for the last two decades or so. However, completion rates in Faculty of Engineering Technology are lower compared to the other faculties of the University. This paper investigates the reasons for low completion rates in the faculty and suggests ways and means to overcome this problem. The study concludes that increasing student numbers will not necessarily increase percentage of students completing the programme though the number of students completing is increased. It is found that students offering courses for the first time in the system of distance education in their academic career perform poorer because they are not conversant with distance education techniques. It is recommended that the Faculty must offer an orientation programme on distance education to all the students enrolling for the first time, before they commence their regular programmes. Further, it has been found that considerable percentage of students who obtain eligibility to sit the final examination by completing the continuous assessments do not sit the final examination. This has been found to contribute towards non-completion of programmes as students sitting the final examination in the subsequent years perform poorly in their exams. To overcome this problem, it is recommended that current practise of allowing the student to carry forward their eligibility to unlimited period of time must be disbanded.

Hands-on Summer Camp to Attract K-12 Students to Engineering Fields

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Yilmaz, Muhittin; Ren, Jianhong; Custer, Sheryl; Coleman, Joyce

2010-01-01

This paper explains the organization and execution of a summer engineering outreach camp designed to attract and motivate high school students as well as increase their awareness of various engineering fields. The camp curriculum included hands-on, competitive design-oriented engineering projects from several disciplines: the electrical,…

Factors Affecting the Behavior of Engineering Students toward Safety Practices in the Machine Shop

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Jessie Kristian M. Neria

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the factors that affect the behavior of engineering student toward safety practices in the machine shop. Descriptive type of research was utilized in the study. Results showed that most of the engineering students clearly understand the signage shown in the machine shop. Students are aware that they should not leave the machines unattended. Most of the engineering students handle and use the machine properly. The respondents have an average extent of safety practices in the machine shop which means that they are applying safety practices in their every activity in machine shop. There is strong relationship between the safety practices and the factors affecting behavior in terms of signage, reminder of teacher and rules and regulation.

Chinese engineering students' cross-cultural adaptation in graduate school

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xinquan

This study explores cross-cultural adaptation experience of Chinese engineering students in the U.S. I interact with 10 Chinese doctoral students in engineering from a public research university through in-depth interviews to describe (1) their perceptions of and responses to key challenges they encountered in graduate school, (2) their perspectives on the challenges that stem from cross-cultural differences, and (3) their conceptualization of cross-cultural adaptation in the context of graduate school. My findings reveal that the major challenges participants encounter during graduate school are academic issues related to cultural differences and difficulties of crossing cultural boundaries and integrating into the university community. These challenges include finding motivation for doctoral study, becoming an independent learner, building a close relationship with faculty, interacting and forming relationships with American people, and gaining social recognition and support. The engineering students in this study believe they are less successful in their social integration than they are in accomplishing academic goals, mainly because of their preoccupation with academics, language barriers and cultural differences. The presence of a large Chinese student community on campus has provided a sense of community and social support for these students, but it also contributes to diminishing their willingness and opportunities to interact with people of different cultural backgrounds. Depending on their needs and purposes, they have different insights into the meaning of cross-cultural adaptation and therefore, and choose different paths to establish themselves in a new environment. Overall, they agree that cross-cultural adaptation involves a process of re-establishing themselves in new academic, social, and cultural communities, and adaptation is necessary for their personal and professional advancement in the U.S. They also acknowledge that encountering and adjusting

An Investigation of First-Year Engineering Student and Instructor Perspectives of Learning Analytics Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, David B.; Brozina, Cory; Novoselich, Brian

2016-01-01

This paper investigates how first-year engineering undergraduates and their instructors describe the potential for learning analytics approaches to contribute to student success. Results of qualitative data collection in a first-year engineering course indicated that both students and instructors\temphasized a preference for learning analytics…

Consumer attitudes and decision-making with regard to genetically engineered food products: A review of the literature and a presentation of models for future research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bredahl, Lone; Grunert, Klaus G.; Frewer, Lynn

Executive summary 1. Few studies have to date explained consumer attitudes and purchase decisions with regard to genetically engineered food products. However, the increased marketing of genetically engineered food products and the considerable concern that consumers seem to express with regard t...... Likelihood Model and Social Judgment Theory. The model specifically takes into account the impact of credibility and various informational factors, such as persuasive content of the information provided, on attitudes.......Executive summary 1. Few studies have to date explained consumer attitudes and purchase decisions with regard to genetically engineered food products. However, the increased marketing of genetically engineered food products and the considerable concern that consumers seem to express with regard...... engineering in food production in general as additional determinants of behavioural intentions. 5. How consumers' attitudes towards genetically engineered food products are affected by various information strategies is explained in an attitude change model, which integrates aspects of the Elaboration...

Consumer attitudes and decision-making with regard to genetically engineered food products: A review of the literature and a presentation of models for future research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bredahl, Lone; Grunert, Klaus G.; Frewer, Lynn

1998-01-01

Executive summary 1. Few studies have to date explained consumer attitudes and purchase decisions with regard to genetically engineered food products. However, the increased marketing of genetically engineered food products and the considerable concern that consumers seem to express with regard t...... Likelihood Model and Social Judgment Theory. The model specifically takes into account the impact of credibility and various informational factors, such as persuasive content of the information provided, on attitudes.......Executive summary 1. Few studies have to date explained consumer attitudes and purchase decisions with regard to genetically engineered food products. However, the increased marketing of genetically engineered food products and the considerable concern that consumers seem to express with regard...... engineering in food production in general as additional determinants of behavioural intentions. 5. How consumers' attitudes towards genetically engineered food products are affected by various information strategies is explained in an attitude change model, which integrates aspects of the Elaboration...

Relationships between Locus of Control, Self-Efficacy, Efforts and Academic Achievement among Engineering Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alias Maizam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between the affective learning needs namely, self-efficacy and locus of control, learning efforts and academic achievement among engineering students. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on first year engineering students from two technical universities in Malaysia. Self-efficacy and locus of control were assessed using existing instruments while learning efforts were assessed using a specifically designed instrument based on Carbonaro’s model of learning effort. Academic achievement data were based on cumulative grade point average (CGPA obtained from self-report by participants. The findings indicate that females engineering students tend to have higher self-efficacy compared to males while both groups have similar locus of control and invest in similar learning efforts. Only locus of control is found to be related to academic achievement while self-efficacy is found to be related to efforts. In conclusion, locus of control seems to be an important factor in predicting academic achievement among engineering students.

Outreach Inside the Library: Attracting and Engaging Millennial Engineering and Science Students

OpenAIRE

Shepherd, Susan

2009-01-01

This poster displays ways in which the Science & Engineering (S&E) Library at UC San Diego has capitalized on the values of Millennials to attract and engage undergraduates in science and engineering with inside-the-library exhibits and events. Appealing to characteristics of Millennials, the S&E Library showcases various types of student work, sponsors engaging and innovative library events, and freely experiments with new ways to draw students into the library.

Negative Impact of Employment on Engineering Student Time Management, Time to Degree, and Retention: Faculty, Administrator, and Staff Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Tyson, Will

2012-01-01

Interviews with faculty, administrators, staff, and students at four engineering programs reveal the role of undergraduate student employment on retention and timely degree completion among engineering students. Dueling narratives reveal how student approaches to earning an engineering degree differ greatly from faculty, administrator, and staff…

Teaching chemical product design to engineering students: course contents and challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Anne Ladegaard; Kiil, Søren

Chemical product design is not taught in the same way as traditional engineering courses like unit operations or transport phenomena. This paper gives an overview of the challenges that we, as teachers, have faced when teaching chemical product design to engineering students. Specific course...

Genetic engineering of stem cells for enhanced therapy.

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Nowakowski, Adam; Andrzejewska, Anna; Janowski, Miroslaw; Walczak, Piotr; Lukomska, Barbara

2013-01-01

Stem cell therapy is a promising strategy for overcoming the limitations of current treatment methods. The modification of stem cell properties may be necessary to fully exploit their potential. Genetic engineering, with an abundance of methodology to induce gene expression in a precise and well-controllable manner, is particularly attractive for this purpose. There are virus-based and non-viral methods of genetic manipulation. Genome-integrating viral vectors are usually characterized by highly efficient and long-term transgene expression, at a cost of safety. Non-integrating viruses are also highly efficient in transduction, and, while safer, offer only a limited duration of transgene expression. There is a great diversity of transfectable forms of nucleic acids; however, for efficient shuttling across cell membranes, additional manipulation is required. Both physical and chemical methods have been employed for this purpose. Stem cell engineering for clinical applications is still in its infancy and requires further research. There are two main strategies for inducing transgene expression in therapeutic cells: transient and permanent expression. In many cases, including stem cell trafficking and using cell therapy for the treatment of rapid-onset disease with a short healing process, transient transgene expression may be a sufficient and optimal approach. For that purpose, mRNA-based methods seem ideally suited, as they are characterized by a rapid, highly efficient transfection, with outstanding safety. Permanent transgene expression is primarily based on the application of viral vectors, and, due to safety concerns, these methods are more challenging. There is active, ongoing research toward the development of non-viral methods that would induce permanent expression, such as transposons and mammalian artificial chromosomes.

Developing a Dynamics and Vibrations Course for Civil Engineering Students Based on Fundamental-Principles

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Barroso, Luciana R.; Morgan, James R.

2012-01-01

This paper describes the creation and evolution of an undergraduate dynamics and vibrations course for civil engineering students. Incorporating vibrations into the course allows students to see and study "real" civil engineering applications of the course content. This connection of academic principles to real life situations is in…

Science, law, and politics in the Food and Drug Administration's genetically engineered foods policy: FDA's 1992 policy statement.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelletier, David L

2005-05-01

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) 1992 policy statement was developed in the context of critical gaps in scientific knowledge concerning the compositional effects of genetic transformation and severe limitations in methods for safety testing. FDA acknowledged that pleiotropy and insertional mutagenesis may cause unintended changes, but it was unknown whether this happens to a greater extent in genetic engineering compared with traditional breeding. Moreover, the agency was not able to identify methods by which producers could screen for unintended allergens and toxicants. Despite these uncertainties, FDA granted genetically engineered foods the presumption of GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) and recommended that producers use voluntary consultations before marketing them.

From biology to mathematical models and back: teaching modeling to biology students, and biology to math and engineering students.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiel, Hillel J; McManus, Jeffrey M; Shaw, Kendrick M

2010-01-01

We describe the development of a course to teach modeling and mathematical analysis skills to students of biology and to teach biology to students with strong backgrounds in mathematics, physics, or engineering. The two groups of students have different ways of learning material and often have strong negative feelings toward the area of knowledge that they find difficult. To give students a sense of mastery in each area, several complementary approaches are used in the course: 1) a "live" textbook that allows students to explore models and mathematical processes interactively; 2) benchmark problems providing key skills on which students make continuous progress; 3) assignment of students to teams of two throughout the semester; 4) regular one-on-one interactions with instructors throughout the semester; and 5) a term project in which students reconstruct, analyze, extend, and then write in detail about a recently published biological model. Based on student evaluations and comments, an attitude survey, and the quality of the students' term papers, the course has significantly increased the ability and willingness of biology students to use mathematical concepts and modeling tools to understand biological systems, and it has significantly enhanced engineering students' appreciation of biology.

From Biology to Mathematical Models and Back: Teaching Modeling to Biology Students, and Biology to Math and Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

McManus, Jeffrey M.; Shaw, Kendrick M.

2010-01-01

We describe the development of a course to teach modeling and mathematical analysis skills to students of biology and to teach biology to students with strong backgrounds in mathematics, physics, or engineering. The two groups of students have different ways of learning material and often have strong negative feelings toward the area of knowledge that they find difficult. To give students a sense of mastery in each area, several complementary approaches are used in the course: 1) a “live” textbook that allows students to explore models and mathematical processes interactively; 2) benchmark problems providing key skills on which students make continuous progress; 3) assignment of students to teams of two throughout the semester; 4) regular one-on-one interactions with instructors throughout the semester; and 5) a term project in which students reconstruct, analyze, extend, and then write in detail about a recently published biological model. Based on student evaluations and comments, an attitude survey, and the quality of the students' term papers, the course has significantly increased the ability and willingness of biology students to use mathematical concepts and modeling tools to understand biological systems, and it has significantly enhanced engineering students' appreciation of biology. PMID:20810957

Attitudes towards chemistry among engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Olivo Delgado, Carlos J.

The attitudes towards chemistry of the engineering students enrolled in an introductory course at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico were explored (n = 115). A mixed methodology was used in an exploratory-oriented research approach. The first stage consisted of the administration of a Likert scale attitudinal survey which was validated during the study's design process. The survey allowed collecting information about the participant's attitudes towards their personal opinion, their perspectives about peer's or relatives' opinion, relevant aspects of the discipline, and difficulty-increasing factors in the chemistry course. The scale internal reliability was measured in a pilot study with a convenience simple, obtaining an acceptable coefficient (Cronbach alpha = 0.731). Survey results evidenced a mainly neutral attitude towards the chemistry course, not highly negative or highly positive, in contrast with other studies in this field. On the other hand, the normality hypothesis was tested for the scores obtained by participants in the survey. Although the pilot study sample had an approximately normal distribution, the scores in obtained by the participants in the survey failed the normality test criteria. The second stage of the study was accomplished using a case study. Among the survey participants, some students were invited to in-depth interviews to elucidate the reasons why they have certain attitudes towards chemistry. Study time, instructor, motivation, term of study, and course schedule are the factors that interviewees agreed as contributors to success or failure in the chemistry course. Interview's participants emphasized that study time is determinant to pass the class. This methodological approach, quantitative followed by qualitative, was useful in describing the attitudes towards chemistry among university students of engineering.

Using Insights from Applied Moral Psychology to Promote Ethical Behavior Among Engineering Students and Professional Engineers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gelfand, Scott D

2016-10-01

In this essay I discuss a novel engineering ethics class that has the potential to significantly decrease the likelihood that students (and professionals) will inadvertently or unintentionally act unethically in the future. This class is different from standard engineering ethics classes in that it focuses on the issue of why people act unethically and how students (and professionals) can avoid a variety of hurdles to ethical behavior. I do not deny that it is important for students to develop cogent moral reasoning and ethical decision-making as taught in traditional college-level ethics classes, but as an educator, I aim to help students apply moral reasoning in specific, real-life situations so they are able to make ethical decisions and act ethically in their academic careers and after they graduate. Research in moral psychology provides evidence that many seemingly irrelevant situational factors affect the moral judgment of most moral agents and frequently lead agents to unintentionally or inadvertently act wrongly. I argue that, in addition to teaching college students moral reasoning and ethical decision-making, it is important to: 1. Teach students about psychological and situational factors that affect people's ethical judgments/behaviors in the sometimes stressful, emotion-laden environment of the workplace; 2. Guide students to engage in critical reflection about the sorts of situations they personally might find ethically challenging before they encounter those situations; and 3. Provide students with strategies to help them avoid future unethical behavior when they encounter these situations in school and in the workplace.

Exploration of Engineering Students' Values with Respect to Behaviors in Group Work

Science.gov (United States)

Nagel, Robert L.; Pappas, Eric C.; Swain, Matthew S.; Hazard, Gretchen A.

2015-01-01

In order to train young professionals, instructional methodologies in engineering need not only teach students knowledge, but must also instill the values and teach the behaviors--"competencies" students can demonstrate--required of professional practice. Herein, we focus on understanding the values and behaviors of students with respect…

Engineering students' and faculty perceptions of teaching methods and the level of faculty involvement that promotes academic success

Science.gov (United States)

Karpilo, Lacy N.

Student academic success is a top priority of higher education institutions in the United States and the trend of students leaving school prior to finishing their degree is a serious concern. Accountability has become a large part of university and college ratings and perceived success. Retention is one component of the accountability metrics used by accreditation agencies. In addition, there are an increasing number of states allocating funds based in part on retention (Seidman, 2005). Institutions have created initiatives, programs, and even entire departments to address issues related to student academic success to promote retention. Universities and colleges have responded by focusing on methods to retain and better serve students. Retention and student academic success is a primary concern for high education institutions; however, engineering education has unique retention issues. The National Science Board (2004) reports a significant decline in the number of individuals in the United States who are training to become engineers, despite the fact that the number of jobs that utilize an engineering background continues to increase. Engineering education has responded to academic success issues by changing curriculum and pedagogical methods (Sheppard, 2001). This descriptive study investigates the perception of engineering students and faculty regarding teaching methods and faculty involvement to create a picture of what is occurring in engineering education. The population was the engineering students and faculty of Colorado State University's College of Engineering. Data from this research suggests that engaging teaching methods are not being used as often as research indicates they should and that there is a lack of student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom. This research adds to the breadth of knowledge and understanding of the current environment of engineering education. Furthermore, the data allows engineering educators and other higher

[From gene cloning to expressional analysis--practice and experience from educational reform of experimental gene engineering].

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yan-Hua; Guo, Bin; Lou, Hui-Ling; Cui, Yu-Liang; Gu, Hui-Juan; Qiao, Shou-Yi

2012-02-01

Experimental gene engineering is a laboratory course focusing on the molecular structure, expression pattern and biological function of genes. Providing our students with a solid knowledge base and correct ways to conduct research is very important for high-quality education of genetic engineering. Inspired by recent progresses in this field, we improved the experimental gene engineering course by adding more updated knowledge and technologies and emphasizing on the combination of teaching and research, with the aim of offering our students a good start in their scientific careers.

Improving itaconic acid production through genetic engineering of an industrial Aspergillus terreus strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xuenian; Lu, Xuefeng; Li, Yueming; Li, Xia; Li, Jian-Jun

2014-08-11

Itaconic acid, which has been declared to be one of the most promising and flexible building blocks, is currently used as monomer or co-monomer in the polymer industry, and produced commercially by Aspergillus terreus. However, the production level of itaconic acid hasn't been improved in the past 40 years, and mutagenesis is still the main strategy to improve itaconate productivity. The genetic engineering approach hasn't been applied in industrial A. terreus strains to increase itaconic acid production. In this study, the genes closely related to itaconic acid production, including cadA, mfsA, mttA, ATEG_09969, gpdA, ATEG_01954, acoA, mt-pfkA and citA, were identified and overexpressed in an industrial A. terreus strain respectively. Overexpression of the genes cadA (cis-aconitate decarboxylase) and mfsA (Major Facilitator Superfamily Transporter) enhanced the itaconate production level by 9.4% and 5.1% in shake flasks respectively. Overexpression of other genes showed varied effects on itaconate production. The titers of other organic acids were affected by the introduced genes to different extent. Itaconic acid production could be improved through genetic engineering of the industrially used A. terreus strain. We have identified some important genes such as cadA and mfsA, whose overexpression led to the increased itaconate productivity, and successfully developed a strategy to establish a highly efficient microbial cell factory for itaconate protuction. Our results will provide a guide for further enhancement of the itaconic acid production level through genetic engineering in future.

Examining the Critical Thinking Dispositions and the Problem Solving Skills of Computer Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Özyurt, Özcan

2015-01-01

Problem solving is an indispensable part of engineering. Improving critical thinking dispositions for solving engineering problems is one of the objectives of engineering education. In this sense, knowing critical thinking and problem solving skills of engineering students is of importance for engineering education. This study aims to determine…

Performance of engineering undergraduate students in mathematics: A case study in UniMAP

Science.gov (United States)

Saad, Syafawati Ab.; Azziz, Nor Hizamiyani Abdul; Zakaria, Siti Aisyah; Yazid, Nornadia Mohd

2015-12-01

The purpose of this paper is to study the trend performance of the first year engineering students at a public university in Mathematics course: Engineering Mathematics I. We analyze how ethnicity factor influenced students' performance in mathematics course over three years period. The performance of the undergraduate students in this study is measured by their cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in the first semester. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will be used to test the significance difference between three variables (Malay, Chinese and Indian). Method of simple linear regression (SLR) is used to test the relationship between the performances and to predict the future performance for this course. The findings of the study show that Chinese students perform better than Malay and Indian students.

Female and male Hispanic students majoring in science or engineering: Their stories describing their educational journeys

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Susan Wightman

National statistics clearly demonstrate an underrepresentation of minorities in the fields of science and engineering. Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, and Asians do not typically choose science or engineering as their college major; therefore, there is a very small representation of these minorities in the science and engineering labor force. The decision not to major in science and engineering may begin as soon as the child can begin to recognize role models in the media. News stories, magazine articles, television programs, teachers, parents, administrators, and other agencies have painted the picture of a scientist or engineer as being dominantly a White male. Schools have continued society's portrayal by using curriculum, textbooks, role models, instructional strategies, and counseling that continues to encourage the White male to succeed in science and engineering, but discourages the minority students, male and female, from succeeding in these fields. In this qualitative study, 22 Hispanic students, 12 female and 10 male, who are majoring in science or engineering, were interviewed using Seidman's in-depth interviewing technique. These students were shadowed in their college science or engineering classes; their high school and college transcripts were analyzed; and, a focus group was brought together at the end of the interviewing process in order to allow interaction between the participants. The goal was to explore the educational journeys of the 22 Hispanic students. What made a difference in the journeys of these 22 students so that they could succeed in majors that have historically discouraged minority students? Seven themes emerged: family support, honors program, challenging and interactive curriculum, college preparation in high school courses, caring and kind teachers, small class size, and small communities. Gender comparison of the educational journeys documents these differences between the females and males: college preparation, mentoring

Pertussis toxins, other antigens become likely targets for genetic engineering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marwick, C.

1990-11-14

Genetically engineered pertussis vaccines have yet to be fully tested clinically. But early human, animal, and in vitro studies indicate effectiveness in reducing toxic effects due to Bordetella pertussis. The licensed pertussis vaccines consists of inactivated whole cells of the organism. Although highly effective, they have been associated with neurologic complications. While the evidence continues to mount that these complications are extremely rare, if they occur at all, it has affected the public's acceptance of pertussis immunization.

Engineering students' conceptions of entrepreneurial learning as part of their education

Science.gov (United States)

Täks, Marge; Tynjälä, Päivi; Kukemelk, Hasso

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine what kinds of conceptions of entrepreneurial learning engineering students expressed in an entrepreneurship course integrated in their study programme. The data were collected during an entrepreneurship course in Estonia that was organised for fourth-year engineering students, using video-recorded group interviews (N = 48) and individual in-depth interviews (N = 16). As a result of the phenomenographic analysis, four qualitatively distinctive conceptions of entrepreneurial learning were discerned. Entrepreneurial learning was seen to involve (1) applying entrepreneurial ideas to engineering, (2) understanding entrepreneurial issues in a new way, (3) action-oriented personal development, and (4) self-realising through collective effort. These qualitatively distinct categories differed from each other in four dimensions of variation: nature of learning, response to pedagogy, relation to teamwork, and learning outcomes.

Peer Mentoring among Doctoral Students of Science and Engineering in Taiwan