scholarly journals How Engineering Technology Students Perceive Mathematics

Author(s):  
Meher Taleyarkhan ◽  
◽  
Anne Lucietto ◽  
Therese Azevedo ◽  
◽  
...  

Engineering Technology (ET) is often combined with that of Engineering. Although Engineering Technology is based on a more hands-on approach and Engineering a theoretical approach, the two majors share a very similar pedagogy in teaching students the same engineering and scientific principles. An observation by an ET professor found that ET students more often than not would eschew the use of mathematical computations and instead provide answers they believe to be correct, without computation or explanation. Leading researchers to delve into possible reasons as to why ET students are reluctant to utilize mathematics. This study utilized in-person interviews with 15 undergraduate participants from a Midwestern University in the United States of America from ET to ascertain how ET students perceive mathematics. The results of the study found that although ET students were stated to not hate mathematics and are open to using mathematics, there was a slight apprehension towards math due to bad math experiences and not being able to connect the conceptual nature of mathematics to the visual and real-life scenarios ET students are used to facing. The results of this study help to lay the foundation for future research studies geared towards further understanding why ET students are apprehensive towards mathematics and ultimately how to help ET students overcome this apprehension.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Sevil

<p>During March of 2018, a Cambridge Analytica-employed contractor reportedly gained unauthorised access to personal data stored on Facebook servers (Lapaire, 2018). Using a ‘scraping program’, Aleksandr Kogan obtained the personal data of approximately 87-million Facebook users (Lapaire, 2018; Lotrea, 2018). This data was later lawfully sold to Cambridge Analytica and used to create detailed profiles of Facebook users’ identities. Zuboff (2015) states the instigator for legislative change rectifying deficiencies allowing such happenings is the general public’s understanding of commodifying identity as threatening to privacy. The United States of America and the European Parliament heard requisite testimonies by Mark Zuckerberg regarding these events, but Australia did not. The alternate attitudes towards personal data on Facebook within Australia gave merit to the current study’s likewise investigation. A 25-item attitudinal questionnaire was administered via a Qualtrics survey to a snowball sampling of 65 participants. Via exploratory factor analysis the remaining 19-items which comprised the tool labelled the ‘Commodi-5’ was deemed valid for use with participants and similar populations. Additionally, the tool was deemed appropriately reliable via Cronbach’s reliability coefficient. Significance testing of the recorded data demonstrated participants desired the legislative change which Zuboff (2015) describes; however, legislative change has not yet occurred in Australia. This study proposes this may be because the attitudes possessed by the Australian general public are not uniform to those possessed by appointed officials. The implications of which should be the focus of future research.</p>


Author(s):  
Geoffrey J. Peter

Modern technology and manufacturing methods often require engineers who understand the fundamental principles of vibration theory and who are also skilled in vibration applications. Simply processing, remembering and applying the material learned from lectures and laboratory experiments with artificial criteria are inadequate. Hands-on teaching techniques with real-world problems are needed to complete the engineering students’ education. This paper demonstrates how hands-on experiments performed in industry support and increase the students’ understanding of fundamental principles and skill in their applications. Graduates with both knowledge and skill are more competitive in today’s job market. A one-quarter industry-based vibration course was developed and taught with a hands-on segment at the Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering and Technology (MMET) program at Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) - Portland Campus. This novel instructional approach provided students with the opportunity to immediately apply material, learned in class and laboratory, in real-world industry situations with real-world problems. This instructional approach is applicable in many engineering fields and the author found the mechanical vibrations class particularly well suited for this instructional design style. The hands-on approach, grounded in the vibration course curriculum, provided a direct link to the fundamentals of vibration in industry. Student comments are included to demonstrate the value perceived by the students. Although this curriculum experiment involved mechanical engineering technology students, it would benefit mechanical engineering students equally well. In addition, the paper provides a brief description of the industries that participated in this project. Industries were selected because they use vibration based manufacturing, perform extreme testing or design their products to avoid failure due to vibrations.


2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Pressley ◽  
Melvin Limson ◽  
Miranda Byse ◽  
Marsha Lakes Matyas

The “Healthy Heart Race” activity provides a hands-on demonstration of cardiovascular function suitable for lay audiences. It was field tested during the United States of America Science and Engineering Festival held in Washington, DC, in October 2010. The basic equipment for the activity consisted of lengths of plastic tubing, a hand pump, collection containers, clamps, and simulated blood prepared by tinting water with red food coloring. Student participants were first asked to experience the effort required to pump through an unaltered tube. A presenter then applied a strong clamp that pinched each tube downstream from the pump, and students were asked to pump against the increased resistance. The students' observations were then used as the basis for discussions of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease with the presenters. Distribution of informative postcards during the 2 days of the festival indicated that at least 2,500 students completed the Healthy Heart Race activity. Our experiences to date suggest that the Healthy Heart Race activity can be accomplished effectively in the high-volume, high-distraction environment of a science fair or museum.


2021 ◽  
pp. 135581962199748
Author(s):  
Erin G Grinshteyn

Objective To assess the association between perceived neighbourhood safety and health services use among older adults. Methods The Health and Retirement Study was used to assess the association of perceived neighbourhood safety with inpatient hospital utilization, contact with a physician, home health use, and any health services utilization in the United States of America (n = 10,844). Logistic regression models were used, while controlling for a large number of potential confounders. Results The odds of any contact with a physician were greater among those who perceived their neighbourhood safety to be excellent (odds ratio (OR): 1.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 2.72) or very good (OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.32) compared with those who perceived their neighbourhood safety as fair or poor, controlling for all model covariates. The odds of any health services utilization were greater among those who perceived their neighbourhood safety to be excellent (OR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.26, 3.00) or very good (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.50) compared with those who perceived their neighbourhood safety as fair or poor controlling for all other model covariates. The odds of inpatient care were higher among those who perceived their neighbourhood to be excellent compared with those who compared their neighbourhood to be fair/poor (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.48). Results were not statistically significant for home health utilization. Conclusions These analyses show a relationship between perceived neighbourhood safety and contact with a physician and any health services utilization among older adults and a weaker relationship between perceived neighbourhood safety and inpatient services. Future research should continue to examine this relationship between perceived neighbourhood safety and health services utilization among older adults.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-34
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Dell ◽  
Jeanne Christman ◽  
Robert D. Garrick

This paper describes a workshop led by female Engineering Technology students, with support from female faculty, to provide an introduction to Engineering Technology to 4th – 7th grade girls through a series of interactive laboratory experiments. This outreach program was developed to improve attitudes towards science and engineering in middle school-aged girls by making science tangible and fun. The workshop takes place on a college campus and makes use of four different Engineering Technology laboratories. Each lab activity includes a hands-on experiment, beginning with an overview of the engineering technology discipline and a brief description of the theories related to the experiment. The day culminates with a panel session between the participants and the college students. An ancillary outcome of the program is that it serves as a community building event for female Engineering Technology college students. Connections are developed between the students and between students and faculty in the college. The college students gain the satisfaction of influencing the attitudes of participants and develop critical communication skills. An attitude survey given to participants before and after the workshop shows that participation in these workshops results in a more positive attitude towards science and technology. College student volunteers were also surveyed after the workshop to determine the impact of their participation. A full workshop description is given in this paper as well as analysis of the assessment results for the participants and the college students. 


Allergies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Venugopal Gangur ◽  
Harini G. Acharya

Sesame allergy is a life-threatening disease that has been growing globally with poorly understood mechanisms. To protect sensitive consumers, sesame is regulated in many countries. There were four research goals for this work on sesame allergy: (i) to map the timeline, and the extent of its global rise; (ii) to dissect the complexity of the disease, and its mechanisms; (iii) to analyze the global regulation of sesame; and (iv) to map the directions for future research and regulation. We performed a literature search on PubMed and Google Scholar, using combinations of key words and analyzed the output. Regulatory information was obtained from the government agencies. Information relevant to the above goals was used to make interpretations. We found that: (i) the reports appeared first in 1950s, and then rapidly rose globally from 1990s; (ii) sesame contains protein and lipid allergens, a unique feature not found in other allergenic foods; (iii) it is linked to five types of diseases with understudied mechanisms; and (iv) it is a regulated allergen in 32 advanced countries excluding the USA. We also provide directions for filling gaps in the research and identify implications of possible regulation of sesame in the USA.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Sevil

<p>During March of 2018, a Cambridge Analytica-employed contractor reportedly gained unauthorised access to personal data stored on Facebook servers (Lapaire, 2018). Using a ‘scraping program’, Aleksandr Kogan obtained the personal data of approximately 87-million Facebook users (Lapaire, 2018; Lotrea, 2018). This data was later lawfully sold to Cambridge Analytica and used to create detailed profiles of Facebook users’ identities. Zuboff (2015) states the instigator for legislative change rectifying deficiencies allowing such happenings is the general public’s understanding of commodifying identity as threatening to privacy. The United States of America and the European Parliament heard requisite testimonies by Mark Zuckerberg regarding these events, but Australia did not. The alternate attitudes towards personal data on Facebook within Australia gave merit to the current study’s likewise investigation. A 25-item attitudinal questionnaire was administered via a Qualtrics survey to a snowball sampling of 65 participants. Via exploratory factor analysis the remaining 19-items which comprised the tool labelled the ‘Commodi-5’ was deemed valid for use with participants and similar populations. Additionally, the tool was deemed appropriately reliable via Cronbach’s reliability coefficient. Significance testing of the recorded data demonstrated participants desired the legislative change which Zuboff (2015) describes; however, legislative change has not yet occurred in Australia. This study proposes this may be because the attitudes possessed by the Australian general public are not uniform to those possessed by appointed officials. The implications of which should be the focus of future research.</p>


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