Examining Thai high school students' developing STEM projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teenoi, Kultida; Siripun, Kulpatsorn; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

Like others, Thailand education strongly focused on STEM education. This paper aimed to examine existing Thai high school students' integrated knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in their developing science project. The participants included 49 high school students were studying the subject of individual study (IS) in Khon Kaen wittayayon school, Khon Kaen, Thailand. The IS was provided to gradually enhance students to know how to do science project starting from getting start to do science projects, They enrolled to study the individual study of science project for three year in roll. Methodology was qualitative research. Views of students' integrated knowledge about STEM were interpreted through participant observation, interview, and students' science projects. The first author as participant observation has taught this group of students for 3 years. It found that 16 science projects were developed. Views of students' integrated knowledge about STEM could be categorized into three categories. These included (1) completely indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, (2) partial indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and (3) no integration. The findings revealed that majority of science projects could be categorized as completely indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The paper suggested some ideas of enhancing students to applying STEM for developing science projects.

A case study of the knowledge transfer practices from the perspectives of highly experienced engineers in the aerospace industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Deloris

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to describe the existing knowledge transfer practices in selected aerospace companies as perceived by highly experienced engineers retiring from the company. Specifically it was designed to investigate and describe (a) the processes and procedures used to transfer knowledge, (b) the systems that encourage knowledge transfer, (c) the impact of management actions on knowledge transfer, and (d) constraining factors that might impede knowledge transfer. Methodology. A descriptive case study was the methodology applied in this study. Qualitative data were gathered from highly experienced engineers from 3 large aerospace companies in Southern California. A semistructured interview was conducted face-to-face with each participant in a private or semiprivate, non-workplace setting to obtain each engineer's perspectives on his or her company's current knowledge transfer practices. Findings. The participants in this study preferred to transfer knowledge using face-to-face methods, one-on-one, through actual troubleshooting and problem-solving scenarios. Managers in these aerospace companies were observed as having knowledge transfer as a low priority; they tend not to promote knowledge transfer among their employees. While mentoring is the most common knowledge transfer system these companies offer, it is not the preferred method of knowledge transfer among the highly experienced engineers. Job security and schedule pressures are the top constraints that impede knowledge transfer between the highly experienced engineers and their coworkers. Conclusions. The study data support the conclusion that the highly experienced engineers in the study's aerospace companies would more likely transfer their knowledge to those remaining in the industry if the transfer could occur face-to-face with management support and acknowledgement of their expertise and if their job security is not threatened. The study also supports the conclusion that managers should be responsible for the leadership in developing a knowledge-sharing culture and rewarding those who do share. Recommendations. It is recommended that a quantitative study of highly experienced engineers in aerospace be conducted to determine the degree to which knowledge-sharing methods, processes, and procedures may be effective in capturing their knowledge. It is also recommended that a replication of this study be undertaken to include the perspectives of first-line managers on developing a knowledge-sharing culture for the aerospace industry.

Multiple Case Study of STEM in School-Based Agricultural Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stubbs, Eric A.; Myers, Brian E.

2015-01-01

This multiple case study investigated the integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in three Florida high school agriculture programs. Observations, interviews, documents, and artifacts provided qualitative data that indicated the types of STEM knowledge taught. Variables of interest included student and teacher…

Participant outcomes, perceptions, and experiences in the Internationally Educated Engineers Qualification Program, University of Manitoba: An exploratory study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friesen, Marcia R.

Immigration, economic, and regulatory trends in Canada have challenged all professions to examine the processes by which immigrant professionals (international graduates) achieve professional licensure and meaningful employment in Canada. The Internationally Educated Engineers Qualification Program (IEEQ) at the University of Manitoba was developed as an alternate pathway to integrate international engineering graduates into the engineering profession in Manitoba. However, universities have the neither mandate nor the historical practice to facilitate licensure for immigrant professionals and, thus, the knowledge base for program development and delivery is predominantly experiential. This study was developed to address the void in the knowledge base and support the program's ongoing development by conducting a critical, exploratory, participant-oriented evaluation of the IEEQ Program for both formative and summative purposes. The research questions focussed on how the IEEQ participants perceived and described their experiences in the IEEQ Program, and how the participants' outcomes in the IEEQ Program compared to international engineering graduates pursuing other licensing pathways. The study was built on an interpretivist theoretical approach that supported a primarily qualitative methodology with selected quantitative elements. Data collection was grounded in focus group interviews, written questionnaires, student reports, and program records for data collection, with inductive data analysis for qualitative data and descriptive statistics for quantitative data. The findings yielded rich understandings of participants' experiences in the IEEQ Program, their outcomes relative to international engineering graduates (IEGs) pursuing other licensing pathways, and their perceptions of their own adaptation to the Canadian engineering profession. Specifically, the study suggests that foreign credentials recognition processes have tended to focus on the recognition and translation of human and/or institutional capital. Yet, access to and acquisition of social and cultural capital need to receive equal attention. Further, the study suggested that, while it is reasonable that language fluency is a pre-requisite for successful professional integration, there is also a fundamental link between language and cognition in that international engineering graduates are challenged to understand and assimilate information for which they may not possess useful language or the underlying mental constructs. The findings have implications for our collective understanding of the scope of the professional engineering body of knowledge.

Human systems integration in remotely piloted aircraft operations.

PubMed

Tvaryanas, Anthony P

2006-12-01

The role of humans in remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) is qualitatively different from manned aviation, lessening the applicability of aerospace medicine human factors knowledge derived from traditional cockpits. Aerospace medicine practitioners should expect to be challenged in addressing RPA crewmember performance. Human systems integration (HSI) provides a model for explaining human performance as a function of the domains of: human factors engineering; personnel; training; manpower; environment, safety, and occupational health (ESOH); habitability; and survivability. RPA crewmember performance is being particularly impacted by issues involving the domains of human factors engineering, personnel, training, manpower, ESOH, and habitability. Specific HSI challenges include: 1) changes in large RPA operator selection and training; 2) human factors engineering deficiencies in current RPA ground control station design and their impact on human error including considerations pertaining to multi-aircraft control; and 3) the combined impact of manpower shortfalls, shiftwork-related fatigue, and degraded crewmember effectiveness. Limited experience and available research makes it difficult to qualitatively or quantitatively predict the collective impact of these issues on RPA crewmember performance. Attending to HSI will be critical for the success of current and future RPA crewmembers. Aerospace medicine practitioners working with RPA crewmembers should gain first-hand knowledge of their task environment while the larger aerospace medicine community needs to address the limited information available on RPA-related aerospace medicine human factors. In the meantime, aeromedical decisions will need to be made based on what is known about other aerospace occupations, realizing this knowledge may have only partial applicability.

VIP: A knowledge-based design aid for the engineering of space systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Steven M.; Bellman, Kirstie L.

1990-01-01

The Vehicles Implementation Project (VIP), a knowledge-based design aid for the engineering of space systems is described. VIP combines qualitative knowledge in the form of rules, quantitative knowledge in the form of equations, and other mathematical modeling tools. The system allows users rapidly to develop and experiment with models of spacecraft system designs. As information becomes available to the system, appropriate equations are solved symbolically and the results are displayed. Users may browse through the system, observing dependencies and the effects of altering specific parameters. The system can also suggest approaches to the derivation of specific parameter values. In addition to providing a tool for the development of specific designs, VIP aims at increasing the user's understanding of the design process. Users may rapidly examine the sensitivity of a given parameter to others in the system and perform tradeoffs or optimizations of specific parameters. A second major goal of VIP is to integrate the existing corporate knowledge base of models and rules into a central, symbolic form.

Knowledge management: An abstraction of knowledge base and database management systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riedesel, Joel D.

1990-01-01

Artificial intelligence application requirements demand powerful representation capabilities as well as efficiency for real-time domains. Many tools exist, the most prevalent being expert systems tools such as ART, KEE, OPS5, and CLIPS. Other tools just emerging from the research environment are truth maintenance systems for representing non-monotonic knowledge, constraint systems, object oriented programming, and qualitative reasoning. Unfortunately, as many knowledge engineers have experienced, simply applying a tool to an application requires a large amount of effort to bend the application to fit. Much work goes into supporting work to make the tool integrate effectively. A Knowledge Management Design System (KNOMAD), is described which is a collection of tools built in layers. The layered architecture provides two major benefits; the ability to flexibly apply only those tools that are necessary for an application, and the ability to keep overhead, and thus inefficiency, to a minimum. KNOMAD is designed to manage many knowledge bases in a distributed environment providing maximum flexibility and expressivity to the knowledge engineer while also providing support for efficiency.

Engineering design knowledge recycling in near-real-time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leifer, Larry; Baya, Vinod; Toye, George; Baudin, Catherine; Underwood, Jody Gevins

1994-01-01

It is hypothesized that the capture and reuse of machine readable design records is cost beneficial. This informal engineering notebook design knowledge can be used to model the artifact and the design process. Design rationale is, in part, preserved and available for examination. Redesign cycle time is significantly reduced (Baya et al, 1992). These factors contribute to making it less costly to capture and reuse knowledge than to recreate comparable knowledge (current practice). To test the hypothesis, we have focused on validation of the concept and tools in two 'real design' projects this past year: (1) a short (8 month) turnaround project for NASA life science bioreactor researchers was done by a team of three mechanical engineering graduate students at Stanford University (in a class, ME210abc 'Mechatronic Systems Design and Methodology' taught by one of the authors, Leifer); and (2) a long range (8 to 20 year) international consortium project for NASA's Space Science program (STEP: satellite test of the equivalence principle). Design knowledge capture was supported this year by assigning the use of a Team-Design PowerBook. Design records were cataloged in near-real time. These records were used to qualitatively model the artifact design as it evolved. Dedal, an 'intelligent librarian' developed at NASA-ARC, was used to navigate and retrieve captured knowledge for reuse.

Nasa's Experiences Enabling the Capture and Sharing of Technical Expertise Through Communities of Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topousis, Daria E.; Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Lebsock, Kenneth L.

2012-12-01

Historically, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had few opportunities or incentives to share their technical expertise across the Agency. Its center- and project-focused culture often meant that knowledge never left organizational and geographic boundaries. The need to develop a knowledge sharing culture became critical as a result of increasingly complex missions, closeout of the Shuttle Program, and a new generation of engineers entering the workforce. To address this need, the Office of the Chief Engineer established communities of practice on the NASA Engineering Network. These communities were strategically aligned with NASA's core competencies in such disciplines as avionics, flight mechanics, life support, propulsion, structures, loads and dynamics, human factors, and guidance, navigation, and control. This paper is a case study of NASA's implementation of a system that would identify and develop communities, from establishing simple websites that compiled discipline-specific resources to fostering a knowledge-sharing environment through collaborative and interactive technologies. It includes qualitative evidence of improved availability and transfer of knowledge. It focuses on capabilities that increased knowledge exchange such as a custom-made Ask An Expert system, community contact lists, publication of key resources, and submission forms that allowed any user to propose content for the sites. It discusses the peer relationships that developed through the communities and the leadership and infrastructure that made them possible.

Patterns of Informal Reasoning in the Context of Socioscientific Decision Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadler, Troy D.; Zeidler, Dana L.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study is to contribute to a theoretical knowledge base through research by examining factors salient to science education reform and practice in the context of socioscientific issues. The study explores how individuals negotiate and resolve genetic engineering dilemmas. A qualitative approach was used to examine patterns of…

Exploring Links between Pedagogical Knowledge Practices and Student Outcomes in STEM Education for Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, Peter; English, Lyn; Dawes, Les; King, Donna; Baker, Steve

2015-01-01

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is an emerging initiative in Australia, particularly in primary schools. This qualitative research aimed to understand Year 4 students' involvement in an integrated STEM education unit that focused on science concepts (e.g., states of matter, testing properties of materials) and…

Engineering design activities and conceptual change in middle school science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnittka, Christine G.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of engineering design classroom activities on conceptual change in science, and on attitudes toward and knowledge about engineering. Students were given a situated learning context and a rationale for learning science in an active, inquiry-based method, and worked in small collaborative groups. One eighth-grade physical science teacher and her students participated in a unit on heat transfer and thermal energy. One class served as the control while two others received variations of an engineering design treatment. Data were gathered from teacher and student entrance and exit interviews, audio recordings of student dialog during group work, video recordings and observations of all classes, pre- and posttests on science content and engineering attitudes, and artifacts and all assignments completed by students. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected concurrently, but analysis took place in two phases. Qualitative data were analyzed in an ongoing manner so that the researcher could explore emerging theories and trends as the study progressed. These results were compared to and combined with the results of the quantitative data analysis. Analysis of the data was carried out in the interpretive framework of analytic induction. Findings indicated that students overwhelmingly possessed alternative conceptions about heat transfer, thermal energy, and engineering prior to the interventions. While all three classes made statistically significant gains in their knowledge about heat and energy, students in the engineering design class with the targeted demonstrations made the most significant gains over the other two other classes. Engineering attitudes changed significantly in the two classes that received the engineering design intervention. Implications from this study can inform teachers' use of engineering design activities in science classrooms. These implications are: (1) Alternative conceptions will persist when not specifically addressed. (2) Engineering design activities are not enough to promote conceptual change. (3) A middle school teacher can successfully implement an engineering design-based curriculum in a science class. (4) Results may also be of interest to science curriculum developers and engineering educators involved in developing engineering outreach curricula for middle school students.

Enabling the Capture and Sharing of NASA Technical Expertise Through Communities of Practice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Topousis, Daria E.; Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Lebsock, Kenneth L.

2011-01-01

Historically, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had few opportunities or incentives to share their technical expertise across the Agency. Its center- and project- focused culture often meant that knowledge never left organizational and geographic boundaries. With increasingly complex missions, the closeout of the Shuttle Program, and a new generation entering the workforce, developing a knowledge sharing culture became critical. To address this need, the Office of the Chief Engineer established communities of practice on the NASA Engineering Network. These communities were strategically aligned with NASA's core competencies in such disciplines as avionics, flight mechanics, life support, propulsion, structures, loads and dynamics, human factors, and guidance, navigation, and control. This paper describes the process used to identify and develop communities, from establishing simple websites that compiled discipline-specific resources to fostering a knowledge-sharing environment through collaborative and interactive technologies. It includes qualitative evidence of improved availability and transfer of knowledge. It focuses on pivotal capabilities that increased knowledge exchange such as a custom-made Ask An Expert system, community contact lists, publication of key resources, and submission forms that allowed any user to propose content for the sites. It discusses the peer relationships that developed through the communities and the leadership and infrastructure that made them possible.

A threshold model of content knowledge transfer for socioscientific argumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Fowler, Samantha R.

2006-11-01

This study explores how individuals make use of scientific content knowledge for socioscientific argumentation. More specifically, this mixed-methods study investigates how learners apply genetics content knowledge as they justify claims relative to genetic engineering. Interviews are conducted with 45 participants, representing three distinct groups: high school students with variable genetics knowledge, college nonscience majors with little genetics knowledge, and college science majors with advanced genetics knowledge. During the interviews, participants advance positions concerning three scenarios dealing with gene therapy and cloning. Arguments are assessed in terms of the number of justifications offered as well as justification quality, based on a five-point rubric. Multivariate analysis of variance results indicate that college science majors outperformed the other groups in terms of justification quality and frequency. Argumentation does not differ among nonscience majors or high school students. Follow-up qualitative analyses of interview responses suggest that all three groups tend to focus on similar, sociomoral themes as they negotiate socially complex, genetic engineering issues, but that the science majors frequently reference specific science content knowledge in the justification of their claims. Results support the Threshold Model of Content Knowledge Transfer, which proposes two knowledge thresholds around which argumentation quality can reasonably be expected to increase. Research and educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Understanding First Generation College Student Experiences and Interaction with Belongingness, Identity, and Social Capital: An Explanatory Mixed Method Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boone, Hank Joseph Reyes

This master's thesis is a mixed method explanatory study focusing on First Generation College student's (FGS) engineering degree experiences. Constructs used to understand their experiences were future time perspective, belongingness, engineering identity, social capital, and social identity complexity. An upper level engineering students' communications class was surveyed at a western land grant institution. Analysis showed FGS had more engineering belongingness than peers having at least one parent graduate college. The qualitative population was then upper level engineering FGS who reported high belongingness. Data showed the five interview participants communicated belongingness in terms of engineering identity. They became an engineer when they had experiences using engineering knowledge. Participants often accessed parents and family to make academic and career decisions, but some accessed more individuals (i.e. professors, engineers, peers). Lastly, participants appeared to compartmentalize their FGS identity to outside the engineering classroom while they formed their engineering identity through the degree program.

Alternate Reality Games as an Informal Learning Tool for Generating STEM Engagement among Underrepresented Youth: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Source

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilliam, Melissa; Jagoda, Patrick; Fabiyi, Camille; Lyman, Phoebe; Wilson, Claire; Hill, Brandon; Bouris, Alida

2017-01-01

This project developed and studied "The Source," an alternate reality game (ARG) designed to foster interest and knowledge related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) among youth from populations underrepresented in STEM fields. ARGs are multiplayer games that engage participants across several media such as shared…

The role of discourse in group knowledge construction: A case study of engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kittleson, Julie M.; Southerland, Sherry A.

2004-03-01

This qualitative study examined the role of discourse (verbal elements of language) and Discourse (nonverbal elements related to the use of language, such as ways of thinking, valuing, and using tools and technologies) in the process of group knowledge construction of mechanical engineering students. Data included interviews, participant observations, and transcripts from lab sessions of a group of students working on their senior design project. These data were analyzed using discourse analysis focusing on instances of concept negotiation, interaction in which multiple people contribute to the evolving conceptual conversation. In this context, despite instructors' attempts to enhance the collaboration of group members, concept negotiation was rare. In an effort to understand this rarity, we identified themes related to an engineering Discourse, which included participants' assumptions about the purpose of group work, the views about effective groups, and their epistemologies and ontologies. We explore how the themes associated with the engineering Discourse played a role in how and when the group engaged in concept negotiation. We found that underlying ideologies and assumptions related to the engineering Discourse played both facilitating and inhibitory roles related to the group's conceptually based interactions.

A methodology for extending domain coverage in SemRep.

PubMed

Rosemblat, Graciela; Shin, Dongwook; Kilicoglu, Halil; Sneiderman, Charles; Rindflesch, Thomas C

2013-12-01

We describe a domain-independent methodology to extend SemRep coverage beyond the biomedical domain. SemRep, a natural language processing application originally designed for biomedical texts, uses the knowledge sources provided by the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS©). Ontological and terminological extensions to the system are needed in order to support other areas of knowledge. We extended SemRep's application by developing a semantic representation of a previously unsupported domain. This was achieved by adapting well-known ontology engineering phases and integrating them with the UMLS knowledge sources on which SemRep crucially depends. While the process to extend SemRep coverage has been successfully applied in earlier projects, this paper presents in detail the step-wise approach we followed and the mechanisms implemented. A case study in the field of medical informatics illustrates how the ontology engineering phases have been adapted for optimal integration with the UMLS. We provide qualitative and quantitative results, which indicate the validity and usefulness of our methodology. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Exploration of student's creativity by integrating STEM knowledge into creative products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayasari, Tantri; Kadarohman, Asep; Rusdiana, Dadi; Kaniawati, Ida

2016-02-01

Creativity is an important capability that should be held to competitive standards in the 21st century in entering the era of information and knowledge. It requires a creative generation that is able to innovate to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex future. This study examines the student's creativity level by integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) knowledge to make creative products in renewable energy (solar energy). Total respondents in this study were 29 students who take applied science course. This research used qualitative and quantitative method (mixed methods), and used "4P" dimension of creativity to assess student's creativity level. The result showed a creative product is influenced by STEM knowledge that can support student's creativity while collaborating an application of knowledge, skills, and ability to solve daily problems associated with STEM.

Enhancements to the Engine Data Interpretation System (EDIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hofmann, Martin O.

1993-01-01

The Engine Data Interpretation System (EDIS) expert system project assists the data review personnel at NASA/MSFC in performing post-test data analysis and engine diagnosis of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). EDIS uses knowledge of the engine, its components, and simple thermodynamic principles instead of, and in addition to, heuristic rules gathered from the engine experts. EDIS reasons in cooperation with human experts, following roughly the pattern of logic exhibited by human experts. EDIS concentrates on steady-state static faults, such as small leaks, and component degradations, such as pump efficiencies. The objective of this contract was to complete the set of engine component models, integrate heuristic rules into EDIS, integrate the Power Balance Model into EDIS, and investigate modification of the qualitative reasoning mechanisms to allow 'fuzzy' value classification. The results of this contract is an operational version of EDIS. EDIS will become a module of the Post-Test Diagnostic System (PTDS) and will, in this context, provide system-level diagnostic capabilities which integrate component-specific findings provided by other modules.

Enhancements to the Engine Data Interpretation System (EDIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hofmann, Martin O.

1993-01-01

The Engine Data Interpretation System (EDIS) expert system project assists the data review personnel at NASA/MSFC in performing post-test data analysis and engine diagnosis of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). EDIS uses knowledge of the engine, its components, and simple thermodynamic principles instead of, and in addition to, heuristic rules gathered from the engine experts. EDIS reasons in cooperation with human experts, following roughly the pattern of logic exhibited by human experts. EDIS concentrates on steady-state static faults, such as small leaks, and component degradations, such as pump efficiencies. The objective of this contract was to complete the set of engine component models, integrate heuristic rules into EDIS, integrate the Power Balance Model into EDIS, and investigate modification of the qualitative reasoning mechanisms to allow 'fuzzy' value classification. The result of this contract is an operational version of EDIS. EDIS will become a module of the Post-Test Diagnostic System (PTDS) and will, in this context, provide system-level diagnostic capabilities which integrate component-specific findings provided by other modules.

Boilermodel: A Qualitative Model-Based Reasoning System Implemented in Ada

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

comple- ment to shipboard engineering training. Accesion For NTIS CRA&I DTIO I A3 f_- Unairmoui1ccd [i Justification By ................... Distribut;or, I...investment (in terms of man-hours lost, equipment maintenance, materials, etc.) for initial training. On- going training is also required to sustain a...REASONING FROM MODELS Model-based expert systems have been written in many languages and for many different architectures . Knowledge representation also

Extending Engineering Practice Research with Shared Qualitative Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trevelyan, James

2016-01-01

Research on engineering practice is scarce and sharing of qualitative research data can reduce the effort required for an aspiring researcher to obtain enough data from engineering workplaces to draw generalizable conclusions, both qualitative and quantitative. This paper describes how a large shareable qualitative data set on engineering…

Qualitative and temporal reasoning in engine behavior analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dietz, W. E.; Stamps, M. E.; Ali, M.

1987-01-01

Numerical simulation models, engine experts, and experimental data are used to generate qualitative and temporal representations of abnormal engine behavior. Engine parameters monitored during operation are used to generate qualitative and temporal representations of actual engine behavior. Similarities between the representations of failure scenarios and the actual engine behavior are used to diagnose fault conditions which have already occurred, or are about to occur; to increase the surveillance by the monitoring system of relevant engine parameters; and to predict likely future engine behavior.

Evaluating the Impact of Conceptual Knowledge Engineering on the Design and Usability of a Clinical and Translational Science Collaboration Portal

PubMed Central

Payne, Philip R.O.; Borlawsky, Tara B.; Rice, Robert; Embi, Peter J.

2010-01-01

With the growing prevalence of large-scale, team science endeavors in the biomedical and life science domains, the impetus to implement platforms capable of supporting asynchronous interaction among multidisciplinary groups of collaborators has increased commensurately. However, there is a paucity of literature describing systematic approaches to identifying the information needs of targeted end-users for such platforms, and the translation of such requirements into practicable software component design criteria. In previous studies, we have reported upon the efficacy of employing conceptual knowledge engineering (CKE) techniques to systematically address both of the preceding challenges in the context of complex biomedical applications. In this manuscript we evaluate the impact of CKE approaches relative to the design of a clinical and translational science collaboration portal, and report upon the preliminary qualitative users satisfaction as reported for the resulting system. PMID:21347146

The role of hardware in learning engineering fundamentals: An empirical study of engineering design and product analysis activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brereton, Margot Felicity

A series of short engineering exercises and design projects was created to help students learn to apply abstract knowledge to physical experiences with hardware. The exercises involved designing machines from kits of materials and dissecting and analyzing familiar household products. Students worked in teams. During the activities students brought their knowledge of engineering fundamentals to bear. Videotape analysis was used to identify and characterize the ways in which hardware contributed to learning fundamental concepts. Structural and qualitative analyses of videotaped activities were undertaken. Structural analysis involved counting the references to theory and hardware and the extent of interleaving of references in activity. The analysis found that there was much more discussion linking fundamental concepts to hardware in some activities than in others. The analysis showed that the interleaving of references to theory and hardware in activity is observable and quantifiable. Qualitative analysis was used to investigate the dialog linking concepts and hardware. Students were found to advance their designs and their understanding of engineering fundamentals through a negotiation process in which they pitted abstract concepts against hardware behavior. Through this process students sorted out theoretical assumptions and causal relations. In addition they discovered design assumptions, functional connections and physical embodiments of abstract concepts in hardware, developing a repertoire of familiar hardware components and machines. Hardware was found to be integral to learning, affecting the course of inquiry and the dynamics of group interaction. Several case studies are presented to illustrate the processes at work. The research illustrates the importance of working across the boundary between abstractions and experiences with hardware in order to learn engineering and physical sciences. The research findings are: (a) the negotiation process by which students discover fundamental concepts in hardware (and three central causes of negotiation breakdown); (b) a characterization of the ways that material systems contribute to learning activities, (the seven roles of hardware in learning); (c) the characteristics of activities that support discovering fundamental concepts in hardware (plus several engineering exercises); (d) a research methodology to examine how students learn in practice.

Middle School Engineering Problem Solving Using Traditional vs. e-PBL Module Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baele, Loren C.

This multiple methods (Denzin, 1978) study investigated two instructional approaches, traditional module and electronic Problem-Based Learning instruction (e-PBL), used within a middle school engineering classroom focused on the variables of engagement, content knowledge, student self-assessment and teacher assessment of problem solving solutions. A non-equivalent group quasi-experimental research design (Creswell, 2015) was used on middle school students (N = 100) between those that received traditional module instruction (n = 51) and e-PBL instruction (n = 49). The qualitative approach of triangulation (Jick, 1979) was used to identify emergent themes for both between and within methods of data analysis on student engagement survey responses, two days of field observations notes, and six student interview transcripts. The quantitative results identified that students who received e-PBL instruction self-reported significantly greater engagement than those who received traditional module instruction. Further, there was a significant interaction effect between engineering content knowledge by group and gender as males who received e-PBL instruction had greater growth of content knowledge scores than males receiving traditional instruction, while females who received traditional instruction had greater growth of content knowledge scores than females in the e-PBL group. Through triangulation of the qualitative data, the emergent themes of the study suggest that hands-on learning produces higher levels of reported engagement independent of instructional method. The emergence of problem solving fatigue developed when both study groups reported a decline in engagement when entering into the final phase of the quantitative study suggesting that too many complex, ill-structured problems in rapid succession may negatively impact student engagement. Although females within the treatment group were most engaged, they did not achieve the knowledge growth of the females in the control group, who were the least engaged. Males presented with e-PBL instruction not only had better engagement, they had the greatest content knowledge growth of any group. Females were likely to have a greater negative difference between self-assessment scores and teacher assessment scores, while males self-assessed themselves closer to the teacher assessment score. Challenges to e-PBL implementation were identified including time, teacher training, and the strict school schedule. A learning management system (LMS) was found to effectively facilitate an e-PBL learning environment.

Socio-Technical Perspective on Interdisciplinary Interactions During the Development of Complex Engineered Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGowan, Anna-Maria R.; Daly, Shanna; Baker, Wayne; Papalambros, panos; Seifert, Colleen

2013-01-01

This study investigates interdisciplinary interactions that take place during the research, development, and early conceptual design phases in the design of large-scale complex engineered systems (LaCES) such as aerospace vehicles. These interactions, that take place throughout a large engineering development organization, become the initial conditions of the systems engineering process that ultimately leads to the development of a viable system. This paper summarizes some of the challenges and opportunities regarding social and organizational issues that emerged from a qualitative study using ethnographic and survey data. The analysis reveals several socio-technical couplings between the engineered system and the organization that creates it. Survey respondents noted the importance of interdisciplinary interactions and their benefits to the engineered system as well as substantial challenges in interdisciplinary interactions. Noted benefits included enhanced knowledge and problem mitigation and noted obstacles centered on organizational and human dynamics. Findings suggest that addressing the social challenges may be a critical need in enabling interdisciplinary interactions

A knowledge-based support system for mechanical ventilation of the lungs. The KUSIVAR concept and prototype.

PubMed

Rudowski, R; Frostell, C; Gill, H

1989-09-01

The KUSIVAR is an expert system for mechanical ventilation of adult patients suffering from respiratory insufficiency. Its main objective is to provide guidance in respirator management. The knowledge base includes both qualitative, rule-based knowledge and quantitative knowledge expressed in the form of mathematical models (expert control) which is used for prediction of arterial gas tensions and optimization purposes. The system is data driven and uses a forward chaining mechanism for rule invocation. The interaction with the user will be performed in advisory, critiquing, semi-automatic and automatic modes. The system is at present in an advanced prototype stage. Prototyping is performed using KEE (Knowledge Engineering Environment) on a Sperry Explorer workstation. For further development and clinical use the expert system will be downloaded to an advanced PC. The system is intended to support therapy with a Siemens-Elema Servoventilator 900 C.

Storying energy consumption: Collective video storytelling in energy efficiency social marketing.

PubMed

Gordon, Ross; Waitt, Gordon; Cooper, Paul; Butler, Katherine

2018-05-01

Despite calls for more socio-technical research on energy, there is little practical advice to how narratives collected through qualitative research may be melded with technical knowledge from the physical sciences such as engineering and then applied in energy efficiency social action strategies. This is despite established knowledge in the environmental management literature about domestic energy use regarding the utility of social practice theory and narrative framings that socialise everyday consumption. Storytelling is positioned in this paper both as a focus for socio-technical energy research, and as one potential practical tool that can arguably enhance energy efficiency interventions. We draw upon the literature on everyday social practices, and storytelling, to present our framework called 'collective video storytelling' that combines scientific and lay knowledge about domestic energy use to offer a practical tool for energy efficiency management. Collective video storytelling is discussed in the context of Energy+Illawarra, a 3-year cross-disciplinary collaboration between social marketers, human geographers, and engineers to target energy behavioural change within older low-income households in regional NSW, Australia. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Choosing engineering: Can I succeed and do I want to? A qualitative analysis framed in expectancy-value theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matusovich, Holly Marie

Recently published reports call for an increase in the number of engineering graduates and suggest appropriate characteristics that these graduates should embody. Accomplishing either objective requires first understanding why students choose to pursue engineering degrees. This research started addressing this knowledge gap using Eccles' expectancy-value model to qualitatively and longitudinally examine undergraduate student's choices to enroll and persist in engineering majors. Specifically, this study focused on identity within Eccles' model to answer the question: How do students' beliefs about being engineers in the future shape their choices to pursue engineering? Framed in Eccles' model, students' choices to pursue engineering majors are based on beliefs about their engineering-related competence and how much they value succeeding in an engineering major. Eccles posits that identity shapes both competence and value beliefs. This study defined identity as students' self-perceptions as future engineers then examined the roles these self-perceptions in shaping their choices to pursue engineering degrees. Gee's conception of four-interrelated aspects of identity (nature identity, institutional identity, affinity identity, and discourse identity) provided a lens to examine students' self-perceptions as future engineers. Multiple case study methods guided this research with each of ten students (five men and five women) representing a case. Results derive from the inductive analysis of longitudinal interviews triangulated with survey results---all data spanned the students' first through fourth undergraduate years. This study is part of a larger body of work, the Academic Pathways Study (APS), conducted by the Center for Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE). Results demonstrated that students' self-perceptions as future engineers are connected to both competence and value beliefs and to the choice to persist in engineering. Specifically, the results showed: (1) even in their fourth undergraduate year, three out of ten participants were uncertain about themselves as future engineers; (2) students choosing to pursue an engineering degree because they identify with the types of activities in which engineers engage experience the persistence choice process differently than students who choose engineering for other reasons; and (3) all students ultimately had positive competence beliefs, although two women participants continually renegotiated definitions of competence in engineering.

The Contribution of Qualitative Research Towards the Issues Affecting Female Undergraduate Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duggan, Louise Maria

2015-01-01

This article explores the use of qualitative research methods towards our understanding of the issues affecting female undergraduate engineers. As outlined in this article female engineering students face many challenges during their undergraduate studies. Qualitative research methods provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the…

A qualitative study comparing the instruction on vectors between a physics course and a trigonometry course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, Wendy Michelle

Science and engineering instructors often observe that students have difficulty using or applying prerequisite mathematics knowledge in their courses. This qualitative project uses a case-study method to investigate the instruction in a trigonometry course and a physics course based on a different methodology and set of assumptions about student learning and the nature of mathematics than traditionally used when investigating students' difficulty using or applying prerequisite mathematics knowledge. Transfer theory examined within a positivist or post-positivist paradigm is often used to investigate students' issue applying their knowledge; in contrast, this qualitative case-study is positioned using constructionism as an epistemology to understand and describe mathematical practices concerning vectors in a trigonometry and a physics course. Instructor interviews, observations of course lectures, and textbooks served as the qualitative data for in-depth study and comparison, and Saussure's (1959) concept of signifier and signified provided a lens for examining the data during analysis. Multiple recursions of within-case comparisons and across-case comparison were analyzed for differences in what the instructors and textbooks explicitly stated and later performed as their practices. While the trigonometry and physics instruction differed slightly, the two main differences occurred in the nature and use of vectors in the physics course. First, the "what" that is signified in notation and diagrams differs between contextualized and context-free situations, and second, physics instruction taught vectors very similar to trigonometry instruction when teaching the mathematics for doing physics, but once instruction focused on physics, the manner in which vector notation and diagrams are used differed from what is explicitly stated during mathematics instruction.

Qualitative Knowledge Construction for Engineering Systems: Extending the Design Structure Matrix Methodology in Scope and Procedure

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

Social Science Research Methods. M. S. Lewis-Beck, A . Bryman and T. F. Liao. Thousand Oaks CA, SAGE. 2: 440-442. Checkland, P. (1999). Systems...E. (1948). " A Mathematical Theory of Communication." The Bell System Technical Journal 27(3): 379-423. Simon, H. A . (1962). "The Architecture of...provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently

A Methodology for Multiple Rule System Integration and Resolution Within a Singular Knowledge Base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kautzmann, Frank N., III

1988-01-01

Expert Systems which support knowledge representation by qualitative modeling techniques experience problems, when called upon to support integrated views embodying description and explanation, especially when other factors such as multiple causality, competing rule model resolution, and multiple uses of knowledge representation are included. A series of prototypes are being developed to demonstrate the feasibility of automating the process of systems engineering, design and configuration, and diagnosis and fault management. A study involves not only a generic knowledge representation; it must also support multiple views at varying levels of description and interaction between physical elements, systems, and subsystems. Moreover, it will involve models of description and explanation for each level. This multiple model feature requires the development of control methods between rule systems and heuristics on a meta-level for each expert system involved in an integrated and larger class of expert system. The broadest possible category of interacting expert systems is described along with a general methodology for the knowledge representation and control of mutually exclusive rule systems.

Fundamentals of the knowledge about chemical additives present in rubber gloves.

PubMed

Oliveira, Hegles Rosa de; Alchorne, Alice de Oliveira de Avelar

2011-01-01

One of the most frequent causes of allergic contact dermatitis of occupational origin are rubber additives, which are present in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The most allergenic additives of natural and synthetic gloves are thiurams, carbamates and mercapto group. To investigate the state of knowledge about the chemical additives used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber gloves. This was a qualitative research study in which professionals working in the manufacture, research, prescription and commercialization of gloves answered an open questionnaire. 30 individuals were interviewed: 4 researchers in occupational medicine, 5 occupational physicians, 2 occupational safety technicians, a rubber workers' union physician, an occupational safety engineer, a pro duction engineer of rubber gloves, 4 importers of gloves, a manufacturer of gloves, 3 businessmen who sell PPE, 3 salesclerks working in stores that sell PPE, 2 businessmen who own stores that sell products for allergic individuals, and 3 dermatologists. Knowledge of the chemical composition of rubber gloves is scant. The labeling of gloves, with the description of their chemical composition, would facilitate choosing the best type of glove for each person. This low-cost action to businesses would be a gain from the standpoint of public health, with huge repercussions for users of rubber gloves.

"Can One Put Faith and Work in the Same Sentence?" Faith Development and Vocation of a Female Leader in the Engineering Profession.

PubMed

Mayer, Claude-Hélène; Viviers, Rian

2018-06-01

Faith has been pointed out as a possible resource in strengthening individuals' health and well-being at work. The aim of this article is to gain in-depth knowledge of the faith development and vocation of a selected female leader in a male-dominated work context. The article contributes to research on faith development in women leaders, based on Fowler's faith development theory. This is a single case study grounded in a qualitative research design. In-depth qualitative data were gathered through observation and interviews over 18 months. Findings showed the development of faith across a women leader's life span and highlight that faith and vocation are important resources that provide strength, meaningfulness and a vision.

Detailed qualitative dynamic knowledge representation using a BioNetGen model of TLR-4 signaling and preconditioning.

PubMed

An, Gary C; Faeder, James R

2009-01-01

Intracellular signaling/synthetic pathways are being increasingly extensively characterized. However, while these pathways can be displayed in static diagrams, in reality they exist with a degree of dynamic complexity that is responsible for heterogeneous cellular behavior. Multiple parallel pathways exist and interact concurrently, limiting the ability to integrate the various identified mechanisms into a cohesive whole. Computational methods have been suggested as a means of concatenating this knowledge to aid in the understanding of overall system dynamics. Since the eventual goal of biomedical research is the identification and development of therapeutic modalities, computational representation must have sufficient detail to facilitate this 'engineering' process. Adding to the challenge, this type of representation must occur in a perpetual state of incomplete knowledge. We present a modeling approach to address this challenge that is both detailed and qualitative. This approach is termed 'dynamic knowledge representation,' and is intended to be an integrated component of the iterative cycle of scientific discovery. BioNetGen (BNG), a software platform for modeling intracellular signaling pathways, was used to model the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) signal transduction cascade. The informational basis of the model was a series of reference papers on modulation of (TLR-4) signaling, and some specific primary research papers to aid in the characterization of specific mechanistic steps in the pathway. This model was detailed with respect to the components of the pathway represented, but qualitative with respect to the specific reaction coefficients utilized to execute the reactions. Responsiveness to simulated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration was measured by tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production. Simulation runs included evaluation of initial dose-dependent response to LPS administration at 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000, and a subsequent examination of preconditioning behavior with increasing LPS at 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000 and a secondary dose of LPS at 10,000 administered at approximately 27h of simulated time. Simulations of 'knockout' versions of the model allowed further examination of the interactions within the signaling cascade. The model demonstrated a dose-dependent TNF response curve to increasing stimulus by LPS. Preconditioning simulations demonstrated a similar dose-dependency of preconditioning doses leading to attenuation of response to subsequent LPS challenge - a 'tolerance' dynamic. These responses match dynamics reported in the literature. Furthermore, the simulated 'knockout' results suggested the existence and need for dual negative feedback control mechanisms, represented by the zinc ring-finger protein A20 and inhibitor kappa B proteins (IkappaB), in order for both effective attenuation of the initial stimulus signal and subsequent preconditioned 'tolerant' behavior. We present an example of detailed, qualitative dynamic knowledge representation using the TLR-4 signaling pathway, its control mechanisms and overall behavior with respect to preconditioning. The intent of this approach is to demonstrate a method of translating the extensive mechanistic knowledge being generated at the basic science level into an executable framework that can provide a means of 'conceptual model verification.' This allows for both the 'checking' of the dynamic consequences of a mechanistic hypothesis and the creation of a modular component of an overall model directed at the engineering goal of biomedical research. It is hoped that this paper will increase the use of knowledge representation and communication in this fashion, and facilitate the concatenation and integration of community-wide knowledge.

Use of Soft Computing Technologies for a Qualitative and Reliable Engine Control System for Propulsion Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trevino, Luis; Brown, Terry; Crumbley, R. T. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The problem to be addressed in this paper is to explore how the use of Soft Computing Technologies (SCT) could be employed to improve overall vehicle system safety, reliability, and rocket engine performance by development of a qualitative and reliable engine control system (QRECS). Specifically, this will be addressed by enhancing rocket engine control using SCT, innovative data mining tools, and sound software engineering practices used in Marshall's Flight Software Group (FSG). The principle goals for addressing the issue of quality are to improve software management, software development time, software maintenance, processor execution, fault tolerance and mitigation, and nonlinear control in power level transitions. The intent is not to discuss any shortcomings of existing engine control methodologies, but to provide alternative design choices for control, implementation, performance, and sustaining engineering, all relative to addressing the issue of reliability. The approaches outlined in this paper will require knowledge in the fields of rocket engine propulsion (system level), software engineering for embedded flight software systems, and soft computing technologies (i.e., neural networks, fuzzy logic, data mining, and Bayesian belief networks); some of which are briefed in this paper. For this effort, the targeted demonstration rocket engine testbed is the MC-1 engine (formerly FASTRAC) which is simulated with hardware and software in the Marshall Avionics & Software Testbed (MAST) laboratory that currently resides at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, building 4476, and is managed by the Avionics Department. A brief plan of action for design, development, implementation, and testing a Phase One effort for QRECS is given, along with expected results. Phase One will focus on development of a Smart Start Engine Module and a Mainstage Engine Module for proper engine start and mainstage engine operations. The overall intent is to demonstrate that by employing soft computing technologies, the quality and reliability of the overall scheme to engine controller development is further improved and vehicle safety is further insured. The final product that this paper proposes is an approach to development of an alternative low cost engine controller that would be capable of performing in unique vision spacecraft vehicles requiring low cost advanced avionics architectures for autonomous operations from engine pre-start to engine shutdown.

Image-based metrology of porous tissue engineering scaffolds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajagopalan, Srinivasan; Robb, Richard A.

2006-03-01

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary effort aimed at the repair and regeneration of biological tissues through the application and control of cells, porous scaffolds and growth factors. The regeneration of specific tissues guided by tissue analogous substrates is dependent on diverse scaffold architectural indices that can be derived quantitatively from the microCT and microMR images of the scaffolds. However, the randomness of pore-solid distributions in conventional stochastic scaffolds presents unique computational challenges. As a result, image-based characterization of scaffolds has been predominantly qualitative. In this paper, we discuss quantitative image-based techniques that can be used to compute the metrological indices of porous tissue engineering scaffolds. While bulk averaged quantities such as porosity and surface are derived directly from the optimal pore-solid delineations, the spatially distributed geometric indices are derived from the medial axis representations of the pore network. The computational framework proposed (to the best of our knowledge for the first time in tissue engineering) in this paper might have profound implications towards unraveling the symbiotic structure-function relationship of porous tissue engineering scaffolds.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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, relevance, and transfer. With this framework of student learning, engineering educators can enhance learning experiences by engaging all three levels of students' understanding. The curriculum studies orientation applied the three holistic elements of curriculum---subject matter, society, and the individual---to conceptualize design considerations for engineering curriculum and teaching practice. This research supports the characterization of students' learning experiences to help educators and students optimize their teaching and learning of design education.

Inter-organizational design: exploring the relationship between formal architecture and ICT investments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iubatti, Daniela; Masciarelli, Francesca; Simboli, Alberto

This chapter aims to explore how the information-processing capabilities that emerge from a network structure affect the diffusion of innovation in a multidivisional organization. In particular, this study analyzes the role of firm investments in ICT to facilitate communication and knowledge diffusion. Using a qualitative approach, we investigate the behavior of an Italian multinational firm, Engineering S.p.A., analyzing our data using a content analysis procedure. Our results show the limited role of ICT in favoring knowledge exchange both inside and outside the firm's divisions: traditional communication patterns are generally preferred over the use of technologies for information sharing. Additionally, we find that key individuals who play a central role in the firm's communication network are unable to use ICTs for knowledge transfer. We conclude that this is the result of a strategic decision to keep top management practically unchanged since the firm was established. Therefore, key individuals act as filters to knowledge flows. Knowledge, in particular tacit knowledge, is transferred from key individuals to other actors through face-to-face contacts, thereby creating a diseconomy for the organization.

Relatedness-based Multi-Entity Summarization

PubMed Central

Gunaratna, Kalpa; Yazdavar, Amir Hossein; Thirunarayan, Krishnaprasad; Sheth, Amit; Cheng, Gong

2017-01-01

Representing world knowledge in a machine processable format is important as entities and their descriptions have fueled tremendous growth in knowledge-rich information processing platforms, services, and systems. Prominent applications of knowledge graphs include search engines (e.g., Google Search and Microsoft Bing), email clients (e.g., Gmail), and intelligent personal assistants (e.g., Google Now, Amazon Echo, and Apple’s Siri). In this paper, we present an approach that can summarize facts about a collection of entities by analyzing their relatedness in preference to summarizing each entity in isolation. Specifically, we generate informative entity summaries by selecting: (i) inter-entity facts that are similar and (ii) intra-entity facts that are important and diverse. We employ a constrained knapsack problem solving approach to efficiently compute entity summaries. We perform both qualitative and quantitative experiments and demonstrate that our approach yields promising results compared to two other stand-alone state-of-the-art entity summarization approaches. PMID:29051696

The One or the Many: Quantified Subjectivity and Aggregated Uniqueness in Qualitative Rehabilitation Research.

PubMed

Juritzen, Truls I; Soberg, Helene L; Røe, Cecilie; Saebu, Martin; Engen, Grace; Bliksvaer, Trond; Engebretsen, Eivind

2017-01-01

This article aims to identify and critically assess qualitative intervention studies of rehabilitation processes that target young adults. By applying a meta-epistemological approach inspired by the works of Michel Foucault and Julia Kristeva, we examine how the included studies present qualitative knowledge and whether they adhere to their own stated principles of qualitative knowledge. Through their stated aims and theoretical framing, the articles draw attention to individual processes of meaning making. Nonetheless, we find that the articles to a great extent emphasize frequencies of the qualitative data they present. Individual processes and experiences are subject to subdivisions and categorization and transformed into manageable objects of knowledge. In conclusion, these studies, with one important exception, contribute to self-marginalization of the knowledge they themselves promote: They undermine the uniqueness of the qualitative knowledge they proclaim by focusing on frequency and the general patterns and categories encompassing the unique. © The Author(s) 2016.

An approach to integrating and creating flexible software environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bellman, Kirstie L.

1992-01-01

Engineers and scientists are attempting to represent, analyze, and reason about increasingly complex systems. Many researchers have been developing new ways of creating increasingly open environments. In this research on VEHICLES, a conceptual design environment for space systems, an approach was developed, called 'wrapping', to flexibility and integration based on the collection and then processing of explicit qualitative descriptions of all the software resources in the environment. Currently, a simulation is available, VSIM, used to study both the types of wrapping descriptions and the processes necessary to use the metaknowledge to combine, select, adapt, and explain some of the software resources used in VEHICLES. What was learned about the types of knowledge necessary for the wrapping approach is described along with the implications of wrapping for several key software engineering issues.

Rocket engine diagnostics using qualitative modeling techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Binder, Michael; Maul, William; Meyer, Claudia; Sovie, Amy

1992-01-01

Researchers at NASA Lewis Research Center are presently developing qualitative modeling techniques for automated rocket engine diagnostics. A qualitative model of a turbopump interpropellant seal system has been created. The qualitative model describes the effects of seal failures on the system steady-state behavior. This model is able to diagnose the failure of particular seals in the system based on anomalous temperature and pressure values. The anomalous values input to the qualitative model are generated using numerical simulations. Diagnostic test cases include both single and multiple seal failures.

Rocket engine diagnostics using qualitative modeling techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Binder, Michael; Maul, William; Meyer, Claudia; Sovie, Amy

1992-01-01

Researchers at NASA Lewis Research Center are presently developing qualitative modeling techniques for automated rocket engine diagnostics. A qualitative model of a turbopump interpropellant seal system was created. The qualitative model describes the effects of seal failures on the system steady state behavior. This model is able to diagnose the failure of particular seals in the system based on anomalous temperature and pressure values. The anomalous values input to the qualitative model are generated using numerical simulations. Diagnostic test cases include both single and multiple seal failures.

Engineering and Technology: The Public's Perspective--Part 2: A Qualitative Analysis for the National Academy of Engineering.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doble, John; Komarnicki, Mary

This report for the National Academy of Engineering's Office of Public Awareness represents the second phase of an examination of public opinion about engineering and technology. This document presents an analysis of six qualitative, focused group discussions or focus groups. Five of these groups were college educated Americans and one was…

Self-Perceptions of Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Leadership Skills among Recent Engineering Graduates: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Fallon E.

2013-01-01

This study describes the communication-specific soft skills that recent engineering graduates from Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited universities in the state of Kentucky report they use at work. Utilizing a basic interpretive qualitative approach in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain the…

Emission spectra of selected SSME elements and materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tejwani, Gopal D.; Vandyke, David B.; Bircher, Felix E.; Gardner, Donald G.; Chenevert, Donald J.

1992-01-01

Stennis Space Center (SSC) is pursuing the advancement of experimental techniques and theoretical developments in the field of plume spectroscopy for application to rocket development testing programs and engine health monitoring. Exhaust plume spectral data for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) are routinely acquired. The usefulness of this data depends upon qualitative and quantitative interpretation of spectral features and their correlation with the engine performance. A knowledge of the emission spectral characteristics of effluent materials in the exhaust plume is essential. A study of SSME critical components and their materials identified 30 elements and 53 materials whose engine exhaust plume spectral might be required. The most important were evaluated using SSC's Diagnostic Testbed Facility Thruster (DTFT), a 1200-lbf, liquid oxygen/gaseous hydrogen rocket engine which very nearly replicates the temperature and pressure conditions of the SSME exhaust plume in the first Mach diamond. This report presents the spectral data for the 10 most important elements and 27 most important materials which are strongly to moderately emitting in the DTFT exhaust plume. The covered spectral range is 300 to 426 nm and the spectral resolution is 0.25 nm. Spectral line identification information is provided and line interference effects are considered.

Perspectives of best Practices for Learning Gender-Inclusive Science: Influences of Extracurricular Science for Gifted Girls and Electrical Engineering for Women

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Shaunda L.

Gifted girls in elementary school must follow the set curriculum, but their choices of extracurricular activities may indicate future subject preferences. This study attempted to explore the perceptions of gifted girls regarding how the family, home, and school environments influenced their choices to take extracurricular science classes. A mixed methodology was adopted: qualitative, to understand the girls' perceptions of influence, and quantitative, to measure their attitudes toward science. Influential factors identified in this study highlight fun as occurring with the highest frequency and four emergent factors: doubt, traditional sex roles, boredom, and group work. In addition, findings from a focused case study of a graduate electrical engineer are interwoven with the girls' perspectives of science. The varying ages and experiences with science of the participants provide interesting views. This study adds knowledge to the field of science education, specifically on withingender differences of gifted girls and women in engineering.

Integration of expert knowledge and uncertainty in natural risk assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baruffini, Mirko; Jaboyedoff, Michel

2010-05-01

Natural hazards occurring in alpine regions during the last decades have clearly shown that interruptions of the Swiss railway power supply and closures of the Gotthard highway due to those events have increased the awareness of infrastructure vulnerability also in Switzerland and illustrate the potential impacts of failures on the performance of infrastructure systems. This asks for a high level of surveillance and preservation along the transalpine lines. Traditional simulation models are only partially capable to predict complex systems behaviours and the subsequently designed and implemented protection strategies are not able to mitigate the full spectrum of risk consequences. They are costly, and maximal protection is most probably not economically feasible. In addition, the quantitative risk assessment approaches such as fault tree analysis, event tree analysis and equivalent annual fatality analysis rely heavily on statistical information. Collecting sufficient data to base a statistical probability of risk is costly and, in many situations, such data does not exist; thus, expert knowledge and experience or engineering judgment can be exploited to estimate risk qualitatively. In order to overcome the statistics lack we used models based on expert's knowledge in order to qualitatively predict based on linguistic appreciation that are more expressive and natural in risk assessment. Fuzzy reasoning (FR) can be used providing a mechanism of computing with words (Zadeh, 1965) for modelling qualitative human thought processes in analyzing complex systems and decisions. Uncertainty in predicting the risk levels arises from such situations because no fully-formalized knowledge are available. Another possibility is to use probability based on triangular probability density function (T-PDF) that can be used to follow the same flow-chart as FR. We implemented the Swiss natural hazard recommendations FR and probability using T-PDF in order to obtain hazard zoning and uncertainties. We followed the same approach for each term of risks i.e. hazard, vulnerability, element at risk, exposition. This risk approach can be achieved by a comprehensive use of several artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which are done through, for example: (1) GIS techniques; (2) FR or T-PDF for qualitatively predicting risks for possible review results; and (3) A Multi-Criteria Evaluation for analyzing weak points. The main advantages of FR or T-PDF involve the ability to express not-fully-formalized knowledge, easy knowledge representation and acquisition, and self updatability. The results show that such an approach points out quite wide zone of uncertainty. REFERENCES Zadeh L.A. 1965 : Fuzzy Sets. Information and Control, 8:338-353.

A Study Combining Criticism and Qualitative Research Techniques for Appraising Classroom Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swartz, James D.

Qualitative criticism is a method of understanding things, actions, and events within a social framework. It is a method of acquiring knowledge to guide decision making based on local knowledge and a synthesis of principles from criticism and qualitative research. The function of qualitative criticism is centered with Richard Rorty's theoretical…

A Qualitative Evaluation of the Use of Multimedia Case Studies in an Introductory Engineering Course at Two Southeastern Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huett, Kim C.; Kawulich, Barbara

2015-01-01

Collaborating at two universities to improve teaching and learning in undergraduate engineering, an interdisciplinary team of researchers, instructors, and evaluators planned and implemented the use of multimedia case studies with students enrolled in an introductory engineering course. This qualitative action evaluation study focuses on results…

Interdisciplinary Interactions During R&D and Early Design of Large Engineered Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGowan, Anna-Maria Rivas

2014-01-01

Designing Large-Scale Complex Engineered Systems (LaCES) such as aircraft and submarines requires the input of thousands of engineers and scientists whose work is proximate in neither time nor space. Comprehensive knowledge of the system is dispersed among specialists whose expertise is in typically one system component or discipline. This study examined the interactive work practices among such specialists seeking to improve engineering practice through a rigorous and theoretical understanding of current practice. This research explored current interdisciplinary practices and perspectives during R&D and early LaCES design and identified why these practices and perspectives prevail and persist. The research design consisted of a three-fold, integrative approach that combined an open-ended survey, semi-structured interviews, and ethnography. Significant empirical data from experienced engineers and scientists in a large engineering organization were obtained and integrated with theories from organization science and engineering. Qualitative analysis was used to obtain a holistic, contextualized understanding. The over-arching finding is that issues related to cognition, organization, and social interrelations mostly dominate interactions across disciplines. Engineering issues, such as the integration of hardware or physics-based models, are not as significant. For example, organization culture is an important underlying factor that guided researchers more toward individual sovereignty over cross-disciplinarity. The organization structure and the engineered system architecture also serve as constraints to the engineering work. Many differences in work practices were observed, including frequency and depth of interactions, definition or co-construction of requirements, clarity or creation of the system architecture, work group proximity, and cognitive challenges. Practitioners are often unaware of these differences resulting in confusion and incorrect assumptions regarding work expectations. Cognitively, the enactment and coconstruction of knowledge are the fundamental tasks of the interdisciplinary interactions. Distributed and collective cognition represent most of the efforts. Argument, ignorance, learning, and creativity are interrelated aspects of the interactions that cause discomfort but yield benefits such as problem mitigation, broader understanding, and improved system design and performance. The quality and quantity of social interrelations are central to all work across disciplines with reciprocity, respectful engagement, and heedful interrelations being significant to the effectiveness of the engineering and scientific work.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

"The Invisible Staff": A Qualitative Analysis of Environmental Service Workers' Perceptions of the VA Clostridium difficile Prevention Bundle Using a Human Factors Engineering Approach.

PubMed

Yanke, Eric; Moriarty, Helene; Carayon, Pascale; Safdar, Nasia

2018-06-11

Using a novel human factors engineering approach, the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model, we evaluated environmental service workers' (ESWs) perceptions of barriers and facilitators influencing adherence to the nationally mandated Department of Veterans Affairs Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) prevention bundle. A focus group of ESWs was conducted. Qualitative analysis was performed employing a visual matrix display to identify barrier/facilitator themes related to Department of Veterans Affairs CDI bundle adherence using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety work system as a framework. Environmental service workers reported adequate cleaning supplies/equipment and displayed excellent knowledge of CDI hand hygiene requirements. Environmental service workers described current supervisory practices as providing an acceptable amount of time to clean CDI rooms, although other healthcare workers often pressured ESWs to clean rooms more quickly. Environmental service workers reported significant concern for CDI patients' family members as well as suggesting uncertainty regarding the need for family members to follow infection prevention practices. Small and cluttered patient rooms made cleaning tasks more difficult, and ESW cleaning tasks were often interrupted by other healthcare workers. Environmental service workers did not feel comfortable asking physicians for more time to finish cleaning a room nor did ESWs feel comfortable pointing out lapses in physician hand hygiene. Multiple work system components serve as barriers to and facilitators of ESW adherence to the nationally mandated Department of Veterans Affairs CDI bundle. Environmental service workers may represent an underappreciated resource for hospital infection prevention, and further efforts should be made to engage ESWs as members of the health care team.

Qualitative Research and the Legitimization of Knowledge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkinson, Brent; And Others

1991-01-01

Expresses concerns about importing qualitative research methods from education to family therapy. Argues that qualitative researchers cannot establish the trustworthiness of their findings, regardless of the methods they use. Further contends that the legitimacy of research knowledge cannot be determined by researchers, but rather requires the…

Key Future Engineering Capabilities for Human Capital Retention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sivich, Lorrie

Projected record retirements of Baby Boomer generation engineers have been predicted to result in significant losses of mission-critical knowledge in space, national security, and future scientific ventures vital to high-technology corporations. No comprehensive review or analysis of engineering capabilities has been performed to identify threats related to the specific loss of mission-critical knowledge posed by the increasing retirement of tenured engineers. Archival data from a single diversified Fortune 500 aerospace manufacturing engineering company's engineering career database were analyzed to ascertain whether relationships linking future engineering capabilities, engineering disciplines, and years of engineering experience could be identified to define critical knowledge transfer models. Chi square, logistic, and linear regression analyses were used to map patterns of discipline-specific, mission-critical knowledge using archival data of engineers' perceptions of engineering capabilities, key developmental experiences, and knowledge learned from their engineering careers. The results from the study were used to document key engineering future capabilities. The results were then used to develop a proposed human capital retention plan to address specific key knowledge gaps of younger engineers as veteran engineers retire. The potential for social change from this study involves informing leaders of aerospace engineering corporations on how to build better quality mentoring or succession plans to fill the void of lost knowledge from retiring engineers. This plan can secure mission-critical knowledge for younger engineers for current and future product development and increased global competitiveness in the technology market.

An Exploratory Study of the United States Naval Academy Engineering Curriculum

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

research was conducted in an entirely quantitative fashion. There is a large amount of qualitative data that was not analyzed. These data are from the... qualitative assessment of the Naval Academy’s engineering program, and would be an excellent opportunity for future research . Overall, the results of...California: Sage Publications. Patton, M. Q. (1987). How to Use Qualitative Methods in Evaluation. California: Sage Publications. 89

Viewing Knowledge Bases as Qualitative Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clancey, William J.

The concept of a qualitative model provides a unifying perspective for understanding how expert systems differ from conventional programs. Knowledge bases contain qualitative models of systems in the world, that is, primarily non-numeric descriptions that provide a basis for explaining and predicting behavior and formulating action plans. The…

Knowledge representation and qualitative simulation of salmon redd functioning. Part I: qualitative modeling and simulation.

PubMed

Guerrin, F; Dumas, J

2001-02-01

This work aims at representing empirical knowledge of freshwater ecologists on the functioning of salmon redds (spawning areas of salmon) and its impact on mortality of early stages. For this, we use Qsim, a qualitative simulator. In this first part, we provide unfamiliar readers with the underlying qualitative differential equation (QDE) ontology of Qsim: representing quantities, qualitative variables, qualitative constraints, QDE structure. Based on a very simple example taken of the salmon redd application, we show how informal biological knowledge may be represented and simulated using an approach that was first intended to analyze qualitatively ordinary differential equations systems. A companion paper (Part II) gives the full description and simulation of the salmon redd qualitative model. This work was part of a project aimed at assessing the impact of the environment on salmon populations dynamics by the use of models of processes acting at different levels: catchment, river, and redds. Only the latter level is dealt with in this paper.

Once upon a time: Storytelling as a knowledge translation strategy for qualitative researchers.

PubMed

Bourbonnais, Anne; Michaud, Cécile

2018-06-10

Qualitative research should strive for knowledge translation toward the goal of closing the gap between knowledge and practice. However, it is often a challenge in nursing to identify knowledge translation strategies able to illustrate the usefulness of qualitative results in any given context. This article defines storytelling and uses pragmatism to examine storytelling as a strategy to promote the knowledge translation of qualitative results. Pragmatism posits that usefulness is defined by the people affected by the problem and that usefulness is promoted by modalities, like storytelling, that increase sensitivity to an experience. Indeed, stories have the power to give meaning to human behaviors and to trigger emotions, and in doing so bring many advantages. For example, by contextualizing research results and appealing to both the reason and the emotions of audiences, storytelling can help us grasp the usefulness of these research results. Various strategies exist to create stories that will produce an emotional experience capable of influencing readers' or listeners' actions. To illustrate the potential of storytelling as a knowledge translation strategy in health care, we will use our story of discovering this strategy during a qualitative study in a nursing home as an example. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Factors that facilitate or inhibit interest of domestic students in the engineering PhD: A mixed methods study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howell Smith, Michelle C.

Given the increasing complexity of technology in our society, the United States has a growing demand for a more highly educated technical workforce. Unfortunately, the proportion of United States citizens earning a PhD in engineering has been declining and there is concern about meeting the economic, national security and quality of life needs of our country. This mixed methods sequential exploratory instrument design study identified factors that facilitate or inhibit interest in engineering PhD programs among domestic engineering undergraduate students in the United States. This study developed a testable theory for how domestic students become interested in engineering PhD programs and a measure of that process, the Exploring Engineering Interest Inventory (EEII). The study was conducted in four phases. The first phase of the study was a qualitative grounded theory exploration of interest in the engineering PhD. Qualitative data were collected from domestic engineering students, engineering faculty and industry professional who had earned a PhD in engineering. The second phase, instrument development, developed the Exploring Engineering Interest Inventory (EEII), a measurement instrument designed with good psychometric properties to test a series of preliminary hypotheses related to the theory generated in the qualitative phase. In the third phase of the study, the EEII was used to collect data from a larger sample of junior and senior engineering majors. The fourth phase integrated the findings from the qualitative and quantitative phases. Four factors were identified as being significant influences of interest in the engineering PhD: Personal characteristics, educational environment, misperceptions of the economic and personal costs, and misperceptions of engineering work. Recommendations include increasing faculty encouragement of students to pursue an engineering PhD and programming to correct the misperceptions of the costs of the engineering PhD and the nature of the work that PhD engineers do. The tested model provides engineering educators with information to help them prioritize their efforts to increase interest in the engineering PhD among domestic students.

Knowledge Engineering and Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopez, Antonio M., Jr.; Donlon, James

2001-01-01

Discusses knowledge engineering, computer software, and possible applications in the field of education. Highlights include the distinctions between data, information, and knowledge; knowledge engineering as a subfield of artificial intelligence; knowledge acquisition; data mining; ontology development for subject terms; cognitive apprentices; and…

Investigation of urban science teachers' pedagogical engagements: Are urban science teachers culturally responsive?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udokwu, Chukwudi John

This study utilized mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative research approach to explore the current pedagogical engagements of twenty middle school urban science teachers in the Midwest region of the United States. It qualitatively examined twelve of these teachers' knowledge of culturally responsive pedagogy. The study investigated the following questions: What are the current pedagogical practices of urban middle school science teachers? To what extent are middle school science teachers' pedagogical practices in urban schools culturally responsive? What are urban students' perspectives of their teachers' current pedagogical engagements? The design of the study was qualitative and quantitative methods in order to investigate these teachers' pedagogical practices. Data collections were drawn from multiple sources such as lesson plans, students' sample works, district curriculum, surveys, observational and interview notes. Analysis of collected data was a mixed methodology that involved qualitative and quantitative methods using descriptive, interpretative, pattern codes, and statistical procedures respectively. Purposeful sampling was selected for this study. Thus, demographically there were twenty participants who quantitatively took part in this study. Among them were seven (35%) males and thirteen (65%) females, three (15%) African Americans and seventeen (85%) Caucasians. In determining to what extent urban science teachers' pedagogical practices were culturally responsive, eight questions were analyzed based on four cluster themes: (a) teachers' social disposition, (b) culturally responsive curriculum, (c) classroom interactions, and (d) power pedagogy. Study result revealed that only five (25%) of the participants were engaged in culturally responsive pedagogy while fifteen (75%) were engaged in what Haberman (1991) called the pedagogy of poverty. The goal was to investigate urban science teachers' pedagogical engagements and to examine urban students' perspective of their science teachers' pedagogical practices, and ensure that all students have a sense of ownership of their knowledge, a sense that is empowering and liberating. The implications of these findings were to promote urban students' achievements in science and see them employed in science and engineering. I hope this study helps in developing better professional development that will be culturally responsive and to ensure that all students have a sense of ownership of their knowledge.

Building qualitative study design using nursing's disciplinary epistemology.

PubMed

Thorne, Sally; Stephens, Jennifer; Truant, Tracy

2016-02-01

To discuss the implications of drawing on core nursing knowledge as theoretical scaffolding for qualitative nursing enquiry. Although nurse scholars have been using qualitative methods for decades, much of their methodological direction derives from conventional approaches developed for answering questions in the social sciences. The quality of available knowledge to inform practice can be enhanced through the selection of study design options informed by an appreciation for the nature of nursing knowledge. Discussion paper. Drawing on the body of extant literature dealing with nursing's theoretical and qualitative research traditions, we consider contextual factors that have shaped the application of qualitative research approaches in nursing, including prior attempts to align method with the structure and form of disciplinary knowledge. On this basis, we critically reflect on design considerations that would follow logically from core features associated with a nursing epistemology. The substantive knowledge used by nurses to inform their practice includes both aspects developed at the level of the general and also that which pertains to application in the unique context of the particular. It must be contextually relevant to a fluid and dynamic healthcare environment and adaptable to distinctive patient conditions. Finally, it must align with nursing's moral mandate and action imperative. Qualitative research design components informed by nursing's disciplinary epistemology will help ensure a logical line of reasoning in our enquiries that remains true to the nature and structure of practice knowledge. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Bracketing as a skill in conducting unstructured qualitative interviews.

PubMed

Sorsa, Minna Anneli; Kiikkala, Irma; Åstedt-Kurki, Päivi

2015-03-01

To provide an overview of bracketing as a skill in unstructured qualitative research interviews. Researchers affect the qualitative research process. Bracketing in descriptive phenomenology entails researchers setting aside their pre-understanding and acting non-judgementally. In interpretative phenomenology, previous knowledge is used intentionally to create new understanding. A literature search of bracketing in phenomenology and qualitative research. This is a methodology paper examining the researchers' impact in creating data in creating data in qualitative research. Self-knowledge, sensitivity and reflexivity of the researcher enable bracketing. Skilled and experienced researchers are needed to use bracketing in unstructured qualitative research interviews. Bracketing adds scientific rigour and validity to any qualitative study.

TARGET's role in knowledge acquisition, engineering, validation, and documentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levi, Keith R.

1994-01-01

We investigate the use of the TARGET task analysis tool for use in the development of rule-based expert systems. We found TARGET to be very helpful in the knowledge acquisition process. It enabled us to perform knowledge acquisition with one knowledge engineer rather than two. In addition, it improved communication between the domain expert and knowledge engineer. We also found it to be useful for both the rule development and refinement phases of the knowledge engineering process. Using the network in these phases required us to develop guidelines that enabled us to easily translate the network into production rules. A significant requirement for TARGET remaining useful throughout the knowledge engineering process was the need to carefully maintain consistency between the network and the rule representations. Maintaining consistency not only benefited the knowledge engineering process, but also has significant payoffs in the areas of validation of the expert system and documentation of the knowledge in the system.

Human Systems Integration Competency Development for Navy Systems Commands

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

cognizance of Applied Engineering /Psychology relative to knowledge engineering, training, teamwork, user interface design and decision sciences. KSA...cognizance of Applied Engineering /Psychology relative to knowledge engineering, training, teamwork, user interface design and decision sciences...requirements (as required). Fundamental cognizance of Applied Engineering / Psychology relative to knowledge engineering, training, team work, user

Sketching for Knowledge Capture: A Progress Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-16

understanding , qualitative modeling, knowledge acquisition, analogy, diagrammatic reasoning, spatial reasoning. INTRODUCTION Sketching is often used...main limits of sKEA’s expressivity are (a) the predicate vocabulary in its knowledge base and (b) how natural it is to express a piece of information ...Sketching for knowledge capture: A progress report Kenneth D. Forbus Qualitative Reasoning Group Northwestern University 1890 Maple Avenue

The morality of socioscientific issues: Construal and resolution of genetic engineering dilemmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Zeidler, Dana L.

2004-01-01

The ability to negotiate and resolve socioscientific issues has been posited as integral components of scientific literacy. Although philosophers and science educators have argued that socioscientific issues inherently involve moral and ethical considerations, the ultimate arbiters of morality are individual decision-makers. This study explored the extent to which college students construe genetic engineering issues as moral problems. Twenty college students participated in interviews designed to elicit their ideas, reactions, and feelings regarding a series of gene therapy and cloning scenarios. Qualitative analyses revealed that moral considerations were significant influences on decision-making, indicating a tendency for students to construe genetic engineering issues as moral problems. Students engaged in moral reasoning based on utilitarian analyses of consequences as well as the application of principles. Issue construal was also influenced by affective features such as emotion and intuition. In addition to moral considerations, a series of other factors emerged as important dimensions of socioscientific decision-making. These factors included personal experiences, family biases, background knowledge, and the impact of popular culture. The implications for classroom science instruction and future research are discussed.

a Conceptual Framework for Virtual Geographic Environments Knowledge Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Lan; Lin, Hui

2016-06-01

VGE geographic knowledge refers to the abstract and repeatable geo-information which is related to the geo-science problem, geographical phenomena and geographical laws supported by VGE. That includes expert experiences, evolution rule, simulation processes and prediction results in VGE. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering in order to effectively manage and use geographic knowledge in VGE. Our approach relies on previous well established theories on knowledge engineering and VGE. The main contribution of this report is following: (1) The concepts of VGE knowledge and VGE knowledge engineering which are defined clearly; (2) features about VGE knowledge different with common knowledge; (3) geographic knowledge evolution process that help users rapidly acquire knowledge in VGE; and (4) a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering providing the supporting methodologies system for building an intelligent VGE. This conceptual framework systematically describes the related VGE knowledge theories and key technologies. That will promote the rapid transformation from geodata to geographic knowledge, and furtherly reduce the gap between the data explosion and knowledge absence.

A Qualitative Approach to Assessing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groth, Randall; Spickler, Donald; Bergner, Jennifer; Bardzell, Michael

2009-01-01

Because technological pedagogical content knowledge is becoming an increasingly important construct in the field of teacher education, there is a need for assessment mechanisms that capture teachers' development of this portion of the knowledge base for teaching. The paper describes a proposal drawing on qualitative data produced during lesson…

Engineering the path to higher-order thinking in elementary education: A problem-based learning approach for STEM integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rehmat, Abeera Parvaiz

As we progress into the 21st century, higher-order thinking skills and achievement in science and math are essential to meet the educational requirement of STEM careers. Educators need to think of innovative ways to engage and prepare students for current and future challenges while cultivating an interest among students in STEM disciplines. An instructional pedagogy that can capture students' attention, support interdisciplinary STEM practices, and foster higher-order thinking skills is problem-based learning. Problem-based learning embedded in the social constructivist view of teaching and learning (Savery & Duffy, 1995) promotes self-regulated learning that is enhanced through exploration, cooperative social activity, and discourse (Fosnot, 1996). This quasi-experimental mixed methods study was conducted with 98 fourth grade students. The study utilized STEM content assessments, a standardized critical thinking test, STEM attitude survey, PBL questionnaire, and field notes from classroom observations to investigate the impact of problem-based learning on students' content knowledge, critical thinking, and their attitude towards STEM. Subsequently, it explored students' experiences of STEM integration in a PBL environment. The quantitative results revealed a significant difference between groups in regards to their content knowledge, critical thinking skills, and STEM attitude. From the qualitative results, three themes emerged: learning approaches, increased interaction, and design and engineering implementation. From the overall data set, students described the PBL environment to be highly interactive that prompted them to employ multiple approaches, including design and engineering to solve the problem.

A novel knowledge-based system for interpreting complex engineering drawings: theory, representation, and implementation.

PubMed

Lu, Tong; Tai, Chiew-Lan; Yang, Huafei; Cai, Shijie

2009-08-01

We present a novel knowledge-based system to automatically convert real-life engineering drawings to content-oriented high-level descriptions. The proposed method essentially turns the complex interpretation process into two parts: knowledge representation and knowledge-based interpretation. We propose a new hierarchical descriptor-based knowledge representation method to organize the various types of engineering objects and their complex high-level relations. The descriptors are defined using an Extended Backus Naur Form (EBNF), facilitating modification and maintenance. When interpreting a set of related engineering drawings, the knowledge-based interpretation system first constructs an EBNF-tree from the knowledge representation file, then searches for potential engineering objects guided by a depth-first order of the nodes in the EBNF-tree. Experimental results and comparisons with other interpretation systems demonstrate that our knowledge-based system is accurate and robust for high-level interpretation of complex real-life engineering projects.

Knowledge Management and Law Enforcement: An Examination of Knowledge Management Strategies of the Police Information System (POLNET) in the Turkish National Police

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gultekin, Kubra

2009-01-01

This research study explores knowledge management (KM) in law enforcement, focusing on the POLNET system established by the Turkish National Police as a knowledge-sharing tool. This study employs a qualitative case study for exploratory and descriptive purposes. The qualitative data set came from semi-structured face-to-face and telephone…

How Engineers Negotiate Domain Boundaries in a Complex, Interdisciplinary Engineering Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Panther, Grace; Montfort, Devlin; Pirtle, Zachary

2017-01-01

Engineering educators have an essential role in preparing engineers to work in a complex, interdisciplinary workforce. While much engineering education focuses on teaching students to develop disciplinary expertise in specific engineering domains, there is a strong need to teach engineers about the knowledge that they develop or use in their work (Bucciarelli 1994, Allenby Sarewitz, 2011; Frodeman, 2013). The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of the knowledge systems of practicing engineers through observations of their practices such that the insights learned can guide future education efforts. Using an example from a complex and interdisciplinary engineering project, this paper presents a case study overviewing the types of epistemological (or knowledge-acquiring or using) complexities that engineers navigate. Specifically, we looked at a discussion of the thermal design of a CubeSat that occurred during an engineering review at NASA. We analyzed the review using a framework that we call 'peak events', or pointed discussions between reviewers, project engineers, and managers. We examined the dialog within peak events to identify the ways that knowledge was brought to bear, highlighting discussions of uncertainty and the boundaries of knowledge claims. We focus on one example discussion surrounding the thermal design of the CubeSat, which provides a particularly thorough example of a knowledge system since the engineers present explained, justified, negotiated, and defended knowledge within a social setting. Engineering students do not get much practice or instruction in explicitly negotiating knowledge systems and epistemic standards in this way. We highlight issues that should matter to engineering educators, such as the need to discuss what level of uncertainty is sufficient and the need to negotiate boundaries of system responsibility. Although this analysis is limited to a single discussion or 'peak event', our case shows that this type of discussion can occur in engineering and suggests that it could be important for future engineering education research.

Knowledge Worker Perceptions of Telework Policy in the New York Metropolitan Area: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slaughter, Sandra Lorraine Hawks

2013-01-01

This qualitative descriptive case study, "Knowledge Worker Perceptions of Telework in the New York Metropolitan Area," was conducted to explore the perceptions of knowledge workers who commute to a physical workplace in the New York Metropolitan area (NYMA). In-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen NYMA commuters who are…

Bachelors of Science in Nursing Students and a Qualitative Analysis of Their Medication Administration Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Betts, Kelly J.

2016-01-01

Lack of medication knowledge and skills is detrimental to the safety and welfare of patients. Lack of pharmacology knowledge and skills is detrimental to the safety and welfare of patients. In a southern baccalaureate nursing program, students demonstrated deficiencies in their medication knowledge and skill proficiency. This qualitative study…

A Knowledge Engineering Approach to Analysis and Evaluation of Construction Schedules

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-01

software engineering discipline focusing on constructing KBSs. It is an incremental and cyclical process that requires the interaction of a domain expert(s...the U.S. Army Coips of Engineers ; and (3) the project management software developer, represented by Pinnell Engineering , Inc. Since the primary...the programming skills necessary to convert the raw knowledge intn a form a computer can understand. knowledge engineering : The software engineering

Knowledge translation in rehabilitation engineering research and development: a knowledge ecosystem framework.

PubMed

Chau, Tom; Moghimi, Saba; Popovic, Milos R

2013-01-01

Rehabilitation engineering is concerned with technology innovations and technology-mediated treatments for the improvement of quality of care and quality of life of individuals with disability. Unlike many other fields of health research, the knowledge translation (KT) cycle of rehabilitation engineering research and development (R&D) is often considered incomplete until a technology product or technology-facilitated therapy is available to target clientele. As such, the KT journey of rehabilitation engineering R&D is extremely challenging, necessarily involving knowledge exchange among numerous players across multiple sectors. In this article, we draw on recent literature about the knowledge trichotomy in technology-based rehabilitation R&D and propose a knowledge ecosystem to frame the rehabilitation engineering KT process from need to product. Identifying the principal process of the ecosystem as one of knowledge flow, we elucidate the roles of repository and networked knowledge, identify key consumers and producers in a trinity of communities of practice, and draw on knowledge management literature to describe different knowledge flows. The article concludes with instantiations of this knowledge ecosystem for 2 local rehabilitation engineering research-development-commercialization endeavors. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pathways to policy: Lessons learned in multisectoral collaboration for physical activity and built environment policy development from the Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP) initiative.

PubMed

Politis, Christopher E; Mowat, David L; Keen, Deb

2017-06-16

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer funded 12 large-scale knowledge to action cancer and chronic disease prevention projects between 2009 and 2016 through the Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP) initiative. Two projects, Healthy Canada by Design (HCBD) and Children's Mobility, Health and Happiness (CMHH), developed policies to address physical activity and the built environment through a multisectoral approach. A qualitative analysis involving a review of 183 knowledge products and 8 key informant interviews was conducted to understand what policy changes occurred, and the underlying critical success factors, through these projects. Both projects worked at the local level to change physical activity and built environment policy in 203 sites, including municipalities and schools. Both projects brought multisectoral expertise (e.g., public health, land use planning, transportation engineering, education, etc.) together to inform the development of local healthy public policy in the areas of land use, transportation and school travel planning. Through the qualitative analysis of the knowledge products and key informant interviews, 163 policies were attributed to HCBD and CMHH work. Fourteen "pathways to policy" were identified as critical success factors facilitating and accelerating the development and implementation of physical activity and built environment policy. Of the 14 pathways to policy, 8 had a focus on multisectoral collaboration. The lessons learned from the CLASP experience could support enhanced multisectoral collaborations to accelerate the development and implementation of physical activity and built environment policy in new jurisdictions across Canada and internationally.

The ethics in qualitative health research: special considerations.

PubMed

Peter, Elizabeth

2015-09-01

A sound knowledge of the nature of qualitative research, along with an appreciation of some special ethical considerations, is needed for rigorous reviews to be conducted. The overall character of qualitative research is described with an emphasis on the tendency of qualitative researchers to explore sensitive topics using theoretically informed methods. A number of specific features of qualitative that require additional ethical attention and awareness are also examined including the following: 1) participants are frequently quite vulnerable and require protection because the data collection methods, such as in-depth interviews, can delve into personally and politically charged matters; 2) naturalistic observation can raise concerns regarding privacy and consent; 3) the potential for the identifiability of the results of this research may require extra efforts to maintain confidentiality. Ultimately, Reseach Ethics Committee members must be knowledgeable about qualitative approaches to be able to assess the potential harms and benefits in a protocol carefully. Without this knowledge gaining ethics approval can be overly difficult for researchers and the best practices for protecting human participants can be overlooked.

African-American Women's Experiences in Graduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education at a Predominantly White University: A Qualitative Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Quentin R.; Hermann, Mary A.

2016-01-01

In this phenomenological investigation we used qualitative research methodology to examine the experiences of 8 African American women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate programs at 1 predominantly White university (PWU) in the South. Much of the current research in this area uses quantitative methods and only…

Evaluation of creative problem-solving abilities in undergraduate structural engineers through interdisciplinary problem-based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCrum, Daniel Patrick

2017-11-01

For a structural engineer, effective communication and interaction with architects cannot be underestimated as a key skill to success throughout their professional career. Structural engineers and architects have to share a common language and understanding of each other in order to achieve the most desirable architectural and structural designs. This interaction and engagement develops during their professional career but needs to be nurtured during their undergraduate studies. The objective of this paper is to present the strategies employed to engage higher order thinking in structural engineering students in order to help them solve complex problem-based learning (PBL) design scenarios presented by architecture students. The strategies employed were applied in the experimental setting of an undergraduate module in structural engineering at Queen's University Belfast in the UK. The strategies employed were active learning to engage with content knowledge, the use of physical conceptual structural models to reinforce key concepts and finally, reinforcing the need for hand sketching of ideas to promote higher order problem-solving. The strategies employed were evaluated through student survey, student feedback and module facilitator (this author) reflection. The strategies were qualitatively perceived by the tutor and quantitatively evaluated by students in a cross-sectional study to help interaction with the architecture students, aid interdisciplinary learning and help students creatively solve problems (through higher order thinking). The students clearly enjoyed this module and in particular interacting with structural engineering tutors and students from another discipline.

Systems Engineering Knowledge Asset (SEKA) Management for Higher Performing Engineering Teams: People, Process and Technology toward Effective Knowledge-Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shelby, Kenneth R., Jr.

2013-01-01

Systems engineering teams' value-creation for enterprises is slower than possible due to inefficiencies in communication, learning, common knowledge collaboration and leadership conduct. This dissertation outlines the surrounding people, process and technology dimensions for higher performing engineering teams. It describes a true experiment…

I "Still" Wanna Be an Engineer! Women, Education and the Engineering Profession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Judith; Sharp, Rhonda; Mills, Julie; Franzway, Suzanne

2008-01-01

Women's low enrolment in post-school engineering degrees continues to be a problem for engineering faculties and the profession generally. A qualitative interview-based study of Australian women engineers across the range of engineering disciplines showed the relevance of success in math and science at school to their enrolling in engineering at…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Perspectives on knowledge in engineering design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rasdorf, W. J.

1985-01-01

Various perspectives are given of the knowledge currently used in engineering design, specifically dealing with knowledge-based expert systems (KBES). Constructing an expert system often reveals inconsistencies in domain knowledge while formalizing it. The types of domain knowledge (facts, procedures, judgments, and control) differ from the classes of that knowledge (creative, innovative, and routine). The feasible tasks for expert systems can be determined based on these types and classes of knowledge. Interpretive tasks require reasoning about a task in light of the knowledge available, where generative tasks create potential solutions to be tested against constraints. Only after classifying the domain by type and level can the engineer select a knowledge-engineering tool for the domain being considered. The critical features to be weighed after classification are knowledge representation techniques, control strategies, interface requirements, compatibility with traditional systems, and economic considerations.

A design and implementation methodology for diagnostic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Linda J. F.

1988-01-01

A methodology for design and implementation of diagnostic systems is presented. Also discussed are the advantages of embedding a diagnostic system in a host system environment. The methodology utilizes an architecture for diagnostic system development that is hierarchical and makes use of object-oriented representation techniques. Additionally, qualitative models are used to describe the host system components and their behavior. The methodology architecture includes a diagnostic engine that utilizes a combination of heuristic knowledge to control the sequence of diagnostic reasoning. The methodology provides an integrated approach to development of diagnostic system requirements that is more rigorous than standard systems engineering techniques. The advantages of using this methodology during various life cycle phases of the host systems (e.g., National Aerospace Plane (NASP)) include: the capability to analyze diagnostic instrumentation requirements during the host system design phase, a ready software architecture for implementation of diagnostics in the host system, and the opportunity to analyze instrumentation for failure coverage in safety critical host system operations.

Exploring Asynchronous Many-Task Runtime Systems toward Extreme Scales

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knight, Samuel; Baker, Gavin Matthew; Gamell, Marc

2015-10-01

Major exascale computing reports indicate a number of software challenges to meet the dramatic change of system architectures in near future. While several-orders-of-magnitude increase in parallelism is the most commonly cited of those, hurdles also include performance heterogeneity of compute nodes across the system, increased imbalance between computational capacity and I/O capabilities, frequent system interrupts, and complex hardware architectures. Asynchronous task-parallel programming models show a great promise in addressing these issues, but are not yet fully understood nor developed su ciently for computational science and engineering application codes. We address these knowledge gaps through quantitative and qualitative exploration of leadingmore » candidate solutions in the context of engineering applications at Sandia. In this poster, we evaluate MiniAero code ported to three leading candidate programming models (Charm++, Legion and UINTAH) to examine the feasibility of these models that permits insertion of new programming model elements into an existing code base.« less

Transnational Discourses of Knowledge and Learning in Professional Work: Examples from Computer Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nerland, Monika

2010-01-01

Taking a Foucauldian framework as its point of departure, this paper discusses how transnational discourses of knowledge and learning operate in the profession of computer engineering and form a certain logic through which modes of being an engineer are regulated. Both the knowledge domain of computer engineering and its related labour market is…

A Knowledge-Modeling Approach to Integrate Multiple Clinical Practice Guidelines to Provide Evidence-Based Clinical Decision Support for Managing Comorbid Conditions.

PubMed

Abidi, Samina

2017-10-26

Clinical management of comorbidities is a challenge, especially in a clinical decision support setting, as it requires the safe and efficient reconciliation of multiple disease-specific clinical procedures to formulate a comorbid therapeutic plan that is both effective and safe for the patient. In this paper we pursue the integration of multiple disease-specific Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) in order to manage co-morbidities within a computerized Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS). We present a CPG integration framework-termed as COMET (Comorbidity Ontological Modeling & ExecuTion) that manifests a knowledge management approach to model, computerize and integrate multiple CPG to yield a comorbid CPG knowledge model that upon execution can provide evidence-based recommendations for handling comorbid patients. COMET exploits semantic web technologies to achieve (a) CPG knowledge synthesis to translate a paper-based CPG to disease-specific clinical pathways (CP) that include specialized co-morbidity management procedures based on input from domain experts; (b) CPG knowledge modeling to computerize the disease-specific CP using a Comorbidity CPG ontology; (c) CPG knowledge integration by aligning multiple ontologically-modeled CP to develop a unified comorbid CPG knowledge model; and (e) CPG knowledge execution using reasoning engines to derive CPG-mediated recommendations for managing patients with comorbidities. We present a web-accessible COMET CDSS that provides family physicians with CPG-mediated comorbidity decision support to manage Atrial Fibrillation and Chronic Heart Failure. We present our qualitative and quantitative analysis of the knowledge content and usability of COMET CDSS.

Literature search strategies for conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews.

PubMed

Finfgeld-Connett, Deborah; Johnson, E Diane

2013-01-01

To report literature search strategies for the purpose of conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews. Qualitative systematic reviews lie on a continuum from knowledge-building and theory-generating to aggregating and summarizing. Different types of literature searches are needed to optimally support these dissimilar reviews. Articles published between 1989-Autumn 2011. These documents were identified using a hermeneutic approach and multiple literature search strategies. Redundancy is not the sole measure of validity when conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating systematic reviews. When conducting these types of reviews, literature searches should be consistent with the goal of fully explicating concepts and the interrelationships among them. To accomplish this objective, a 'berry picking' approach is recommended along with strategies for overcoming barriers to finding qualitative research reports. To enhance integrity of knowledge-building and theory-generating systematic reviews, reviewers are urged to make literature search processes as transparent as possible, despite their complexity. This includes fully explaining and rationalizing what databases were used and how they were searched. It also means describing how literature tracking was conducted and grey literature was searched. In the end, the decision to cease searching also needs to be fully explained and rationalized. Predetermined linear search strategies are unlikely to generate search results that are adequate for purposes of conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews. Instead, it is recommended that iterative search strategies take shape as reviews evolve. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Information Integration for Concurrent Engineering (IICE) IDEF3 Process Description Capture Method Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-01

methodology, knowledge acquisition, 140 requirements definition, information systems, information engineering, 16. PRICE CODE systems engineering...and knowledge resources. Like manpower, materials, and machines, information and knowledge assets are recognized as vital resources that can be...evolve towards an information -integrated enterprise. These technologies are designed to leverage information and knowledge resources as the key

Automated knowledge-base refinement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mooney, Raymond J.

1994-01-01

Over the last several years, we have developed several systems for automatically refining incomplete and incorrect knowledge bases. These systems are given an imperfect rule base and a set of training examples and minimally modify the knowledge base to make it consistent with the examples. One of our most recent systems, FORTE, revises first-order Horn-clause knowledge bases. This system can be viewed as automatically debugging Prolog programs based on examples of correct and incorrect I/O pairs. In fact, we have already used the system to debug simple Prolog programs written by students in a programming language course. FORTE has also been used to automatically induce and revise qualitative models of several continuous dynamic devices from qualitative behavior traces. For example, it has been used to induce and revise a qualitative model of a portion of the Reaction Control System (RCS) of the NASA Space Shuttle. By fitting a correct model of this portion of the RCS to simulated qualitative data from a faulty system, FORTE was also able to correctly diagnose simple faults in this system.

Motivational and adaptational factors of successful women engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bornsen, Susan Edith

It is no surprise that there is a shortage of women engineers. The reasons for the shortage have been researched and discussed in myriad papers, and suggestions for improvement continue to evolve. However, there are few studies that have specifically identified the positive aspects that attract women to engineering and keep them actively engaged in the field. This paper examines how women engineers view their education, their work, and their motivation to remain in the field. A qualitative research design was used to understand the motivation and adaptability factors women use to support their decision to major in engineering and stay in the engineering profession. Women engineers were interviewed using broad questions about motivation and adaptability. Interviews were transcribed and coded, looking for common threads of factors that suggest not only why women engineers persist in the field, but also how they thrive. Findings focus on the experiences, insights, and meaning of women interviewed. A grounded theory approach was used to describe the success factors found in practicing women engineers. The study found categories of attraction to the field, learning environment, motivation and adaptability. Sub-categories of motivation are intrinsic motivational factors such as the desire to make a difference, as well as extrinsic factors such as having an income that allows the kind of lifestyle that supports the family. Women engineers are comfortable with and enjoy working with male peers and when barriers arise, women learn to adapt in the male dominated field. Adaptability was indicated in areas of gender, culture, and communication. Women found strength in the ability to 'read' their clients, and provide insight to their teams. Sufficient knowledge from the field advances theory and offers strategies to programs for administrators and faculty of schools of engineering as well as engineering firms, who have interest in recruitment, and retention of female students. Future research includes expanding the research to other areas of the United States, and improving engineering education pedagogy with more active and experiential learning.

Math, Science, and Engineering Integration in a High School Engineering Course: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valtorta, Clara G.; Berland, Leema K.

2015-01-01

Engineering in K-12 classrooms has been receiving expanding emphasis in the United States. The integration of science, mathematics, and engineering is a benefit and goal of K-12 engineering; however, current empirical research on the efficacy of K-12 science, mathematics, and engineering integration is limited. This study adds to this growing…

[Teaching and learning the science of qualitative research in the health area].

PubMed

Calderón, Carlos

2012-03-01

Qualitative research constitutes a necessary perspective of knowledge within the field of health services. Healthcare always occurs in complex contexts and its enhancement requires research methodologies that address this complexity. Nevertheless, the knowledge and use of qualitative research in health services is still very limited. Among the different factors that affect its development, the teaching and learning of qualitative research proves to be fundamental, even beyond undergraduate education. Healthcare professionals and health services present certain specific aspects that must be considered in the design and development of the teaching and learning of qualitative research. Based on an eight-year online training experience with Primary Healthcare professionals, the main challenges are indentified and discussed.

Advancing Intercultural Competency: Canadian Engineering Employers' Experiences with Immigrant Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friesen, Marcia; Ingram, Sandra

2013-01-01

This paper explores Canadian engineering employers' perceptions of and experiences with internationally educated engineers (recent immigrants to Canada) employed in their organisations for varying lengths of time. Qualitative data were collected from employers using focus group methodology. Findings reflected employers' observations of culturally…

The Humanistic Side of Engineering: Considering Social Science and Humanities Dimensions of Engineering in Education and Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hynes, Morgan; Swenson, Jessica

2013-01-01

Mathematics and science knowledge/skills are most commonly associated with engineering's pre-requisite knowledge. Our goals in this paper are to argue for a more systematic inclusion of social science and humanities knowledge in the introduction of engineering to K-12 students. As part of this argument, we present a construct for framing the…

Structural engineering masters level education framework of knowledge for the needs of initial professional practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balogh, Zsuzsa Enriko

For at least the last decade, engineering, civil engineering, along with structural engineering as a profession within civil engineering, have and continue to face an emerging need for "Raising the Bar" of preparedness of young engineers seeking to become practicing professional engineers. The present consensus of the civil engineering profession is that the increasing need for broad and in-depth knowledge should require the young structural engineers to have at least a Masters-Level education. This study focuses on the Masters-Level preparedness in the structural engineering area within the civil engineering field. It follows much of the methodology used in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Body of Knowledge determination for civil engineering and extends this type of study to better define the portion of the young engineers preparation beyond the undergraduate program for one specialty area of civil engineering. The objective of this research was to create a Framework of Knowledge for the young engineer which identifies and recognizes the needs of the profession, along with the profession's expectations of how those needs can be achieved in the graduate-level academic setting, in the practice environment, and through lifelong learning opportunities with an emphasis on the initial five years experience past completion of a Masters program in structural engineering. This study applied a modified Delphi method to obtain the critical information from members of the structural engineering profession. The results provide a Framework of Knowledge which will be useful to several groups seeking to better ensure the preparedness of the future young structural engineers at the Masters-Level.

Proceedings of the Workshop on Change of Representation and Problem Reformulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowry, Michael R.

1992-01-01

The proceedings of the third Workshop on Change of representation and Problem Reformulation is presented. In contrast to the first two workshops, this workshop was focused on analytic or knowledge-based approaches, as opposed to statistical or empirical approaches called 'constructive induction'. The organizing committee believes that there is a potential for combining analytic and inductive approaches at a future date. However, it became apparent at the previous two workshops that the communities pursuing these different approaches are currently interested in largely non-overlapping issues. The constructive induction community has been holding its own workshops, principally in conjunction with the machine learning conference. While this workshop is more focused on analytic approaches, the organizing committee has made an effort to include more application domains. We have greatly expanded from the origins in the machine learning community. Participants in this workshop come from the full spectrum of AI application domains including planning, qualitative physics, software engineering, knowledge representation, and machine learning.

Space shuttle main engine anomaly data and inductive knowledge based systems: Automated corporate expertise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modesitt, Kenneth L.

1987-01-01

Progress is reported on the development of SCOTTY, an expert knowledge-based system to automate the analysis procedure following test firings of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). The integration of a large-scale relational data base system, a computer graphics interface for experts and end-user engineers, potential extension of the system to flight engines, application of the system for training of newly-hired engineers, technology transfer to other engines, and the essential qualities of good software engineering practices for building expert knowledge-based systems are among the topics discussed.

The Art of Artificial Intelligence. 1. Themes and Case Studies of Knowledge Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-08-01

in scientific and medical inference illuminate the art of knowledge engineering and its parent science , Artificial Intelligence....The knowledge engineer practices the art of bringing the principles and tools of AI research to bear on difficult applications problems requiring

Fostering Students' Conceptual Knowledge in Biology in the Context of German National Education Standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Förtsch, Christian; Dorfner, Tobias; Baumgartner, Julia; Werner, Sonja; von Kotzebue, Lena; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2018-04-01

The German National Education Standards (NES) for biology were introduced in 2005. The content part of the NES emphasizes fostering conceptual knowledge. However, there are hardly any indications of what such an instructional implementation could look like. We introduce a theoretical framework of an instructional approach to foster students' conceptual knowledge as demanded in the NES (Fostering Conceptual Knowledge) including instructional practices derived from research on single core ideas, general psychological theories, and biology-specific features of instructional quality. First, we aimed to develop a rating manual, which is based on this theoretical framework. Second, we wanted to describe current German biology instruction according to this approach and to quantitatively analyze its effectiveness. And third, we aimed to provide qualitative examples of this approach to triangulate our findings. In a first step, we developed a theoretically devised rating manual to measure Fostering Conceptual Knowledge in videotaped lessons. Data for quantitative analysis included 81 videotaped biology lessons of 28 biology teachers from different German secondary schools. Six hundred forty students completed a questionnaire on their situational interest after each lesson and an achievement test. Results from multilevel modeling showed significant positive effects of Fostering Conceptual Knowledge on students' achievement and situational interest. For qualitative analysis, we contrasted instruction of four teachers, two with high and two with low student achievement and situational interest using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. Qualitative analysis revealed five main characteristics describing Fostering Conceptual Knowledge. Therefore, implementing Fostering Conceptual Knowledge in biology instruction seems promising. Examples of how to implement Fostering Conceptual Knowledge in instruction are shown and discussed.

Diagnosis by integrating model-based reasoning with knowledge-based reasoning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bylander, Tom

1988-01-01

Our research investigates how observations can be categorized by integrating a qualitative physical model with experiential knowledge. Our domain is diagnosis of pathologic gait in humans, in which the observations are the gait motions, muscle activity during gait, and physical exam data, and the diagnostic hypotheses are the potential muscle weaknesses, muscle mistimings, and joint restrictions. Patients with underlying neurological disorders typically have several malfunctions. Among the problems that need to be faced are: the ambiguity of the observations, the ambiguity of the qualitative physical model, correspondence of the observations and hypotheses to the qualitative physical model, the inherent uncertainty of experiential knowledge, and the combinatorics involved in forming composite hypotheses. Our system divides the work so that the knowledge-based reasoning suggests which hypotheses appear more likely than others, the qualitative physical model is used to determine which hypotheses explain which observations, and another process combines these functionalities to construct a composite hypothesis based on explanatory power and plausibility. We speculate that the reasoning architecture of our system is generally applicable to complex domains in which a less-than-perfect physical model and less-than-perfect experiential knowledge need to be combined to perform diagnosis.

Investigating Knowledge Creation Technology in an Engineering Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jalonen, Satu; Lakkala, Minna; Paavola, Sami

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the technological affordances of a web-based collaborative learning technology, Knowledge Practices Environment (KPE), for supporting different dimensions of knowledge creation processes. KPE was used by engineering students in a practically oriented undergraduate engineering course. The study…

Knowledge Engineering (Or, Catching Black Cats in Dark Rooms).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruyle, Kim E.

1993-01-01

Discusses knowledge engineering, its relationship to artificial intelligence, and possible applications to developing expert systems, job aids, and technical training. The educational background of knowledge engineers is considered; the role of subject matter experts is described; and examples of flow charts, lists, and pictorial representations…

The responsibilities of engineers.

PubMed

Smith, Justin; Gardoni, Paolo; Murphy, Colleen

2014-06-01

Knowledge of the responsibilities of engineers is the foundation for answering ethical questions about the work of engineers. This paper defines the responsibilities of engineers by considering what constitutes the nature of engineering as a particular form of activity. Specifically, this paper focuses on the ethical responsibilities of engineers qua engineers. Such responsibilities refer to the duties acquired in virtue of being a member of a group. We examine the practice of engineering, drawing on the idea of practices developed by philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, and show how the idea of a practice is important for identifying and justifying the responsibilities of engineers. To demonstrate the contribution that knowledge of the responsibilities of engineers makes to engineering ethics, a case study from structural engineering is discussed. The discussion of the failure of the Sleipner A Platform off the coast of Norway in 1991 demonstrates how the responsibilities of engineers can be derived from knowledge of the nature of engineering and its context.

PVEX: An expert system for producibility/value engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lam, Chun S.; Moseley, Warren

1991-01-01

PVEX is described as an expert system that solves the problem of selection of the material and process in missile manufacturing. The producibility and the value problem has been deeply studied in the past years, and was written in dBase III and PROLOG before. A new approach is presented in that the solution is achieved by introducing hypothetical reasoning, heuristic criteria integrated with a simple hypertext system and shell programming. PVEX combines KMS with Unix scripts which graphically depicts decision trees. The decision trees convey high level qualitative problem solving knowledge to users, and a stand-alone help facility and technical documentation is available through KMS. The system developed is considerably less development costly than any other comparable expert system.

Hubble Space Telescope Design Engineering Knowledgebase (HSTDEK)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johannes, James D.; Everetts, Clark

1989-01-01

The research covered here pays specific attention to the development of tools to assist knowledge engineers in acquiring knowledge and to assist other technical, engineering, and management personnel in automatically performing knowledge capture as part of their everyday work without adding any extra work to what they already do. Requirements for data products, the knowledge base, and methods for mapping knowledge in the documents onto the knowledge representations are discussed, as are some of the difficulties of capturing in the knowledge base the structure of the design process itself, along with a model of the system designed. The capture of knowledge describing the interactions of different components is also discussed briefly.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 30: Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and the communication of technical information in aerospace. Ph.D Thesis - Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. Final Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Daniel J.; Pinelli, Thomas E.

1994-01-01

This research used survey research to examine the use of communication media in general and electronic media specifically in the U.S. aerospace industry. The survey population included 1,006 randomly selected U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists who belong to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Survey data were compared with qualitative information obtained from 32 AIAA members in telephone and face-to-face conversations. The Information Processing (IP) model developed by Tushman and Nadler and Daft and Lengel constituted the study's theoretical basis. This research analyzed responses regarding communication methods of U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists who create use and disseminate aerospace knowledge and explored selected contextual environmental variables related to media use and effective performance. The results indicate that uncertainty is significantly reduced in environments when levels of analyzability are high. When uncertainty is high there is significantly more use of electronic media. However no relation was found between overall effectiveness and media use in environments stratified by levels by analyzability or equivocality. The results indicate modest support for the influences of uncertainty and analyzability on electronic media use. Although most respondents reported that electronic networks are important for their work the data suggest that there are sharply disparate levels of use.

A complete, multi-level conformational clustering of antibody complementarity-determining regions

PubMed Central

Nikoloudis, Dimitris; Pitts, Jim E.

2014-01-01

Classification of antibody complementarity-determining region (CDR) conformations is an important step that drives antibody modelling and engineering, prediction from sequence, directed mutagenesis and induced-fit studies, and allows inferences on sequence-to-structure relations. Most of the previous work performed conformational clustering on a reduced set of structures or after application of various structure pre-filtering criteria. In this study, it was judged that a clustering of every available CDR conformation would produce a complete and redundant repertoire, increase the number of sequence examples and allow better decisions on structure validity in the future. In order to cope with the potential increase in data noise, a first-level statistical clustering was performed using structure superposition Root-Mean-Square Deviation (RMSD) as a distance-criterion, coupled with second- and third-level clustering that employed Ramachandran regions for a deeper qualitative classification. The classification of a total of 12,712 CDR conformations is thus presented, along with rich annotation and cluster descriptions, and the results are compared to previous major studies. The present repertoire has procured an improved image of our current CDR Knowledge-Base, with a novel nesting of conformational sensitivity and specificity that can serve as a systematic framework for improved prediction from sequence as well as a number of future studies that would aid in knowledge-based antibody engineering such as humanisation. PMID:25071986

Healthcare waste management: qualitative and quantitative appraisal of nurses in a tertiary care hospital of India.

PubMed

Shivalli, Siddharudha; Sanklapur, Vasudha

2014-01-01

The nurse's role in healthcare waste management is crucial. (1) To appraise nurses quantitatively and qualitatively regarding healthcare waste management; (2) to elicit the determinants of knowledge and attitudes of healthcare waste management. A cross-sectional study was undertaken at a tertiary care hospital of Mangalore, India. Self-administered pretested questionnaire and "nonparticipatory observation" were used for quantitative and qualitative appraisals. Percentage knowledge score was calculated based on their total knowledge score. Nurses' knowledge was categorized as excellent (>70%), good (50-70%), and poor (<50%). Chi square test was applied to judge the association of study variables with their attitudes and knowledge. Out of 100 nurses 47 had excellent knowledge (>70% score). Most (86%) expressed the need of refresher training. No study variable displayed significant association (P > 0.05) with knowledge. Apt segregation practices were followed except in casualty. Patients and entourages misinterpreted the colored containers. Nurses' knowledge and healthcare waste management practices were not satisfactory. There is a need of refresher trainings at optimum intervals to ensure sustainability and further improvement. Educating patients and their entourages and display of segregation information board in local language are recommended.

LIS Professionals as Knowledge Engineers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poulter, Alan; And Others

1994-01-01

Considers the role of library and information science professionals as knowledge engineers. Highlights include knowledge acquisition, including personal experience, interviews, protocol analysis, observation, multidimensional sorting, printed sources, and machine learning; knowledge representation, including production rules and semantic nets;…

Qualitative description – the poor cousin of health research?

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background The knowledge and use of qualitative description as a qualitative research approach in health services research is limited. The aim of this article is to discuss the potential benefits of a qualitative descriptive approach, to identify its strengths and weaknesses and to provide examples of use. Discussion Qualitative description is a useful qualitative method in much medical research if you keep the limitations of the approach in mind. It is especially relevant in mixed method research, in questionnaire development and in research projects aiming to gain firsthand knowledge of patients', relatives' or professionals' experiences with a particular topic. Another great advantage of the method is that it is suitable if time or resources are limited. Summary As a consequence of the growth in qualitative research in the health sciences, researchers sometimes feel obliged to designate their work as phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography or a narrative study when in fact it is not. Qualitative description might be a useful alternative approach to consider. PMID:19607668

The promises of qualitative inquiry.

PubMed

Gergen, Kenneth J; Josselson, Ruthellen; Freeman, Mark

2015-01-01

We address the significance and implications of the formal entry of qualitative inquiry into the American Psychological Association. In our view, the discipline is enriched in new and important ways. Most prominently, the qualitative movement brings with it a pluralist orientation to knowledge and to practices of inquiry. Adding to the traditional view of knowledge as empirically supported theory are research practices congenial with varying accounts of knowledge, including, for example, knowledge as hermeneutic understanding, social construction, and practice-based experience. Added to the goal of prediction are investments in increasing cultural understanding, challenging cultural conventions, and directly fostering social change. The qualitative movement also enriches the discipline as a whole through the special ways in which it inspires new ranges of theory, fosters minority inclusion, and invites interdisciplinary collaboration. Finally, the movement holds promise in terms of the discipline's contribution to society at large. Here we focus on the advantages of knowing with others in addition to about them, and on ways in which qualitative work enhances communication with the society and the world. Realizing these potentials will depend on developments in responsible research and reporting, academic and journal policies, along with the discipline's capacities for appreciating a more comprehensive orientation to inquiry. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

A demonstration of expert systems applications in transportation engineering : volume I, transportation engineers and expert systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1987-01-01

Expert systems, a branch of artificial-intelligence studies, is introduced with a view to its relevance in transportation engineering. Knowledge engineering, the process of building expert systems or transferring knowledge from human experts to compu...

A Mission in the Desert: Albuquerque District, 1935-1985

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

Engineers came into New Mexico in 1935 to construct its first project near Tucumcari, the Engineers began to develop a knowledge of the political...agency, as a local unit of the federal gov- ernment in cases of civil emergency, and as a source of engineering knowledge for Southwest engineering...the magnitude of this book could reach completion without the involvement of many people at every stage of development. The assistance and knowledge

Relating GTE and Knowledge-Based Courseware Engineering: Some Epistemological Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Diana, Italo P. F.; Ladhani, Al-Noor

1998-01-01

Discusses GTE (Generic Tutoring Environment) and knowledge-based courseware engineering from an epistemological point of view and suggests some combination of the two approaches. Topics include intelligent tutoring; courseware authoring; application versus acquisition of knowledge; and domain knowledge. (LRW)

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 used to convey knowledge to engineers beyond the classrooms. This instructional module can also be used as a workbench to assess parameters on engineering education such as time on task, assessment media, and long-term retention among others.

Where Is the Engineering I Applied For? A Longitudinal Study of Students' Transition into Higher Education Engineering, and Their Considerations of Staying or Leaving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmegaard, Henriette Tolstrup; Madsen, Lene Møller; Ulriksen, Lars

2016-01-01

This paper presents results from a qualitative longitudinal study of students' transition into higher education engineering. The study aims at comparing upper-secondary school students' expectations of engineering with their actual experiences when encountering the engineering programme. It explores how this encounter provides a platform for…

Context Matters: Using Qualitative Inquiry to Inform Departmental Effectiveness and Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Elizabeth A.; Stassen, Martha L. A.

2017-01-01

This chapter describes efforts to gather and utilize qualitative data to maximize contextual knowledge at one university. The examples provided focus on how academic departments use qualitative evidence to enhance their students' success as well as how qualitative evidence supports the institution's broader strategic planning goals.

An engineering paradigm in the biomedical sciences: Knowledge as epistemic tool.

PubMed

Boon, Mieke

2017-10-01

In order to deal with the complexity of biological systems and attempts to generate applicable results, current biomedical sciences are adopting concepts and methods from the engineering sciences. Philosophers of science have interpreted this as the emergence of an engineering paradigm, in particular in systems biology and synthetic biology. This article aims at the articulation of the supposed engineering paradigm by contrast with the physics paradigm that supported the rise of biochemistry and molecular biology. This articulation starts from Kuhn's notion of a disciplinary matrix, which indicates what constitutes a paradigm. It is argued that the core of the physics paradigm is its metaphysical and ontological presuppositions, whereas the core of the engineering paradigm is the epistemic aim of producing useful knowledge for solving problems external to the scientific practice. Therefore, the two paradigms involve distinct notions of knowledge. Whereas the physics paradigm entails a representational notion of knowledge, the engineering paradigm involves the notion of 'knowledge as epistemic tool'. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Knowledge engineering for temporal dependency networks as operations procedures. [in space communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fayyad, Kristina E.; Hill, Randall W., Jr.; Wyatt, E. J.

1993-01-01

This paper presents a case study of the knowledge engineering process employed to support the Link Monitor and Control Operator Assistant (LMCOA). The LMCOA is a prototype system which automates the configuration, calibration, test, and operation (referred to as precalibration) of the communications, data processing, metric data, antenna, and other equipment used to support space-ground communications with deep space spacecraft in NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). The primary knowledge base in the LMCOA is the Temporal Dependency Network (TDN), a directed graph which provides a procedural representation of the precalibration operation. The TDN incorporates precedence, temporal, and state constraints and uses several supporting knowledge bases and data bases. The paper provides a brief background on the DSN, and describes the evolution of the TDN and supporting knowledge bases, the process used for knowledge engineering, and an analysis of the successes and problems of the knowledge engineering effort.

A knowledge engineering framework towards clinical support for adverse drug event prevention: the PSIP approach.

PubMed

Koutkias, Vassilis; Stalidis, George; Chouvarda, Ioanna; Lazou, Katerina; Kilintzis, Vassilis; Maglaveras, Nicos

2009-01-01

Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) are currently considered as a major public health issue, endangering patients' safety and causing significant healthcare costs. Several research efforts are currently concentrating on the reduction of preventable ADEs by employing Information Technology (IT) solutions, which aim to provide healthcare professionals and patients with relevant knowledge and decision support tools. In this context, we present a knowledge engineering approach towards the construction of a Knowledge-based System (KBS) regarded as the core part of a CDSS (Clinical Decision Support System) for ADE prevention, all developed in the context of the EU-funded research project PSIP (Patient Safety through Intelligent Procedures in Medication). In the current paper, we present the knowledge sources considered in PSIP and the implications they pose to knowledge engineering, the methodological approach followed, as well as the components defining the knowledge engineering framework based on relevant state-of-the-art technologies and representation formalisms.

CONFIG: Qualitative simulation tool for analyzing behavior of engineering devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Basham, Bryan D.; Harris, Richard A.

1987-01-01

To design failure management expert systems, engineers mentally analyze the effects of failures and procedures as they propagate through device configurations. CONFIG is a generic device modeling tool for use in discrete event simulation, to support such analyses. CONFIG permits graphical modeling of device configurations and qualitative specification of local operating modes of device components. Computation requirements are reduced by focussing the level of component description on operating modes and failure modes, and specifying qualitative ranges of variables relative to mode transition boundaries. Simulation processing occurs only when modes change or variables cross qualitative boundaries. Device models are built graphically, using components from libraries. Components are connected at ports by graphical relations that define data flow. The core of a component model is its state transition diagram, which specifies modes of operation and transitions among them.

The Development of a Web-Based Virtual Environment for Teaching Qualitative Analysis of Structures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Dwyer, D. W.; Logan-Phelan, T. M.; O'Neill, E. A.

2007-01-01

The current paper describes the design and development of a qualitative analysis course and an interactive web-based teaching and assessment tool called VSE (virtual structural environment). The widespread reliance on structural analysis programs requires engineers to be able to verify computer output by carrying out qualitative analyses.…

Voice-enabled Knowledge Engine using Flood Ontology and Natural Language Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sermet, M. Y.; Demir, I.; Krajewski, W. F.

2015-12-01

The Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS) is a web-based platform developed by the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) to provide access to flood inundation maps, real-time flood conditions, flood forecasts, flood-related data, information and interactive visualizations for communities in Iowa. The IFIS is designed for use by general public, often people with no domain knowledge and limited general science background. To improve effective communication with such audience, we have introduced a voice-enabled knowledge engine on flood related issues in IFIS. Instead of navigating within many features and interfaces of the information system and web-based sources, the system provides dynamic computations based on a collection of built-in data, analysis, and methods. The IFIS Knowledge Engine connects to real-time stream gauges, in-house data sources, analysis and visualization tools to answer natural language questions. Our goal is the systematization of data and modeling results on flood related issues in Iowa, and to provide an interface for definitive answers to factual queries. The goal of the knowledge engine is to make all flood related knowledge in Iowa easily accessible to everyone, and support voice-enabled natural language input. We aim to integrate and curate all flood related data, implement analytical and visualization tools, and make it possible to compute answers from questions. The IFIS explicitly implements analytical methods and models, as algorithms, and curates all flood related data and resources so that all these resources are computable. The IFIS Knowledge Engine computes the answer by deriving it from its computational knowledge base. The knowledge engine processes the statement, access data warehouse, run complex database queries on the server-side and return outputs in various formats. This presentation provides an overview of IFIS Knowledge Engine, its unique information interface and functionality as an educational tool, and discusses the future plans for providing knowledge on flood related issues and resources. IFIS Knowledge Engine provides an alternative access method to these comprehensive set of tools and data resources available in IFIS. Current implementation of the system accepts free-form input and voice recognition capabilities within browser and mobile applications.

Relationship of prior knowledge and working engineers' learning preferences: implications for designing effective instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baukal, Charles E.; Ausburn, Lynna J.

2017-05-01

Continuing engineering education (CEE) is important to ensure engineers maintain proficiency over the life of their careers. However, relatively few studies have examined designing effective training for working engineers. Research has indicated that both learner instructional preferences and prior knowledge can impact the learning process, but it has not established if these factors are interrelated. The study reported here considered relationships of prior knowledge and three aspects of learning preferences of working engineers at a manufacturing company: learning strategy choices, verbal-visual cognitive styles, and multimedia preferences. Prior knowledge was not found to be significantly related to engineers' learning preferences, indicating independence of effects of these variables on learning. The study also examined relationships of this finding to the Multimedia Cone of Abstraction and implications for its use as an instructional design tool for CEE.

Understanding the leaky engineering pipeline: Motivation and job adaptability of female engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraswathiamma, Manjusha Thekkedathu

This dissertation is a mixed-method study conducted using qualitative grounded theory and quantitative survey and correlation approaches. This study aims to explore the motivation and adaptability of females in the engineering profession and to develop a theoretical framework for both motivation and adaptability issues. As a result, this study endeavors to design solutions for the low enrollment and attenuation of female engineers in the engineering profession, often referred to as the "leaky female engineering pipeline." Profiles of 123 female engineers were studied for the qualitative approach, and 98 completed survey responses were analyzed for the quantitative approach. The qualitative, grounded-theory approach applied the constant comparison method; open, axial, and selective coding was used to classify the information in categories, sub-categories, and themes for both motivation and adaptability. The emergent themes for decisions motivating female enrollment include cognitive, emotional, and environmental factors. The themes identified for adaptability include the seven job adaptability factors: job satisfaction, risk- taking attitude, career/skill development, family, gender stereotyping, interpersonal skills, and personal benefit, as well as the self-perceived job adaptability factor. Illeris' Three-dimensional Learning Theory was modified as a model for decisions motivating female enrollment. This study suggests a firsthand conceptual parallelism of McClusky's Theory of Margin for the adaptability of female engineers in the profession. Also, this study attempted to design a survey instrument to measure job adaptability of female engineers. The study identifies two factors that are significantly related to job adaptability: interpersonal skills (< p = 0.01) and family (< p = 0.05); gender stereotyping and personal benefit are other factors that are also significantly (< p = 0.1) related.

Engineering Knowledge for Assistive Living

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Liming; Nugent, Chris

This paper introduces a knowledge based approach to assistive living in smart homes. It proposes a system architecture that makes use of knowledge in the lifecycle of assistive living. The paper describes ontology based knowledge engineering practices and discusses mechanisms for exploiting knowledge for activity recognition and assistance. It presents system implementation and experiments, and discusses initial results.

Developing an Engineering Design Process Assessment using Mixed Methods.

PubMed

Wind, Stefanie A; Alemdar, Meltem; Lingle, Jeremy A; Gale, Jessica D; Moore, Roxanne A

Recent reforms in science education worldwide include an emphasis on engineering design as a key component of student proficiency in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics disciplines. However, relatively little attention has been directed to the development of psychometrically sound assessments for engineering. This study demonstrates the use of mixed methods to guide the development and revision of K-12 Engineering Design Process (EDP) assessment items. Using results from a middle-school EDP assessment, this study illustrates the combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques to inform item development and revisions. Overall conclusions suggest that the combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence provides an in-depth picture of item quality that can be used to inform the revision and development of EDP assessment items. Researchers and practitioners can use the methods illustrated here to gather validity evidence to support the interpretation and use of new and existing assessments.

Qualitative Contrast between Knowledge-Limited Mixed-State and Variable-Resources Models of Visual Change Detection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nosofsky, Robert M.; Donkin, Chris

2016-01-01

We report an experiment designed to provide a qualitative contrast between knowledge-limited versions of mixed-state and variable-resources (VR) models of visual change detection. The key data pattern is that observers often respond "same" on big-change trials, while simultaneously being able to discriminate between same and small-change…

Do we need methodological theory to do qualitative research?

PubMed

Avis, Mark

2003-09-01

Positivism is frequently used to stand for the epistemological assumption that empirical science based on principles of verificationism, objectivity, and reproducibility is the foundation of all genuine knowledge. Qualitative researchers sometimes feel obliged to provide methodological alternatives to positivism that recognize their different ethical, ontological, and epistemological commitments and have provided three theories: phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography. The author argues that positivism was a doomed attempt to define empirical foundations for knowledge through a rigorous separation of theory and evidence; offers a pragmatic, coherent view of knowledge; and suggests that rigorous, rational empirical investigation does not need methodological theory. Therefore, qualitative methodological theory is unnecessary and counterproductive because it hinders critical reflection on the relation between methodological theory and empirical evidence.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

Milestones in Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering History: A Comparative Review

PubMed Central

del Águila, Isabel M.; Palma, José; Túnez, Samuel

2014-01-01

We present a review of the historical evolution of software engineering, intertwining it with the history of knowledge engineering because “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This retrospective represents a further step forward to understanding the current state of both types of engineerings; history has also positive experiences; some of them we would like to remember and to repeat. Two types of engineerings had parallel and divergent evolutions but following a similar pattern. We also define a set of milestones that represent a convergence or divergence of the software development methodologies. These milestones do not appear at the same time in software engineering and knowledge engineering, so lessons learned in one discipline can help in the evolution of the other one. PMID:24624046

Milestones in software engineering and knowledge engineering history: a comparative review.

PubMed

del Águila, Isabel M; Palma, José; Túnez, Samuel

2014-01-01

We present a review of the historical evolution of software engineering, intertwining it with the history of knowledge engineering because "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This retrospective represents a further step forward to understanding the current state of both types of engineerings; history has also positive experiences; some of them we would like to remember and to repeat. Two types of engineerings had parallel and divergent evolutions but following a similar pattern. We also define a set of milestones that represent a convergence or divergence of the software development methodologies. These milestones do not appear at the same time in software engineering and knowledge engineering, so lessons learned in one discipline can help in the evolution of the other one.

Using social media to facilitate knowledge transfer in complex engineering environments: a primer for educators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Glen; Salomone, Sonia

2013-03-01

While highly cohesive groups are potentially advantageous they are also often correlated with the emergence of knowledge and information silos based around those same functional or occupational clusters. Consequently, an essential challenge for engineering organisations wishing to overcome informational silos is to implement mechanisms that facilitate, encourage and sustain interactions between otherwise disconnected groups. This paper acts as a primer for those seeking to gain an understanding of the design, functionality and utility of a suite of software tools generically termed social media technologies in the context of optimising the management of tacit engineering knowledge. Underpinned by knowledge management theory and using detailed case examples, this paper explores how social media technologies achieve such goals, allowing for the transfer of knowledge by tapping into the tacit and explicit knowledge of disparate groups in complex engineering environments.

New Challenging Approaches to Engineering Education: Enhancing University-Industry Co-Operation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korhonen-Yrjanheikki, Kati; Tukiainen, Taina; Takala, Minna

2007-01-01

Globalization, accelerated time-based competition, qualitative dynamics, rapid development of technology and especially Information and Communications Technology (ICT) developments challenge engineering education and capability development of each engineer. The success and the competitiveness of companies are increasingly based on their employees.…

The relevance of qualitative research for clinical programs in psychiatry.

PubMed

Goering, Paula; Boydell, Katherine M; Pignatiello, Antonio

2008-03-01

It is time to move beyond education about qualitative research theory and methods to using them to understand and improve psychiatric practice. There is a good fit between this agenda and current thinking about research use that broadens definitions of evidence beyond the results of experiments. This paper describes a qualitative program evaluation to illustrate what kind of useful knowledge is generated and how it can be created through a clinician-researcher partnership. The linkage and exchange model of effective knowledge translation described involves interaction between clinicians and researchers throughout the research process and results in mutual learning through the planning, disseminating, and application of existing or new qualitative research in decision making.

Investigating the Extent That an Integrative Learning Module Broadens the Perception of First-Year Students about the Engineering Profession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singer, Kerri Patrick; Foutz, Tim; Navarro, Maria; Thompson, Sidney

2015-01-01

Engineers today need both engineering knowledge and social science knowledge to solve complex problems. However, most people have a traditional view of engineering as a field dominated by math and science foci, with little social consequence. This study examined and compared perceptions about engineering from Freshmen taking three different First…

Learning about Ecological Systems by Constructing Qualitative Models with DynaLearn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leiba, Moshe; Zuzovsky, Ruth; Mioduser, David; Benayahu, Yehuda; Nachmias, Rafi

2012-01-01

A qualitative model of a system is an abstraction that captures ordinal knowledge and predicts the set of qualitatively possible behaviours of the system, given a qualitative description of its structure and initial state. This paper examines an innovative approach to science education using an interactive learning environment that supports…

Learning to Appraise the Quality of Qualitative Research Articles: A Contextualized Learning Object for Constructing Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chenail, Ronald J.

2011-01-01

Helping beginning qualitative researchers critically appraise qualitative research articles is a common learning objective for introductory methodology courses. To aid students in achieving competency in appraising the quality of qualitative research articles, a multi-part activity incorporating the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme's (CASP)…

What’s in a Prerequisite? A Mixed-Methods Approach to Identifying the Impact of a Prerequisite Course

PubMed Central

Sato, Brian K.; Lee, Amanda K.; Alam, Usman; Dang, Jennifer V.; Dacanay, Samantha J.; Morgado, Pedro; Pirino, Giorgia; Brunner, Jo Ellen; Castillo, Leanne A.; Chan, Valerie W.; Sandholtz, Judith H.

2017-01-01

Despite the ubiquity of prerequisites in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula, there has been minimal effort to assess their value in a data-driven manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we examined the impact of prerequisites in the context of a microbiology lecture and lab course pairing. Through interviews and an online survey, students highlighted a number of positive attributes of prerequisites, including their role in knowledge acquisition, along with negative impacts, such as perhaps needlessly increasing time to degree and adding to the cost of education. We also identified a number of reasons why individuals do or do not enroll in prerequisite courses, many of which were not related to student learning. In our particular curriculum, students did not believe the microbiology lecture course impacted success in the lab, which agrees with our analysis of lab course performance using a previously established “familiarity” scale. These conclusions highlight the importance of soliciting and analyzing student feedback, and triangulating these data with quantitative performance metrics to assess the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula. PMID:28232587

Knowledge mobilized by a critical thinking process deployed by nursing students in practical care situations: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Lechasseur, Kathleen; Lazure, Ginette; Guilbert, Louise

2011-09-01

This paper is a report of a qualitative study of mobilization of knowledge within the critical thinking process deployed by female undergraduate nursing students in practical care situations. Holistic practice is based on variety of knowledge mobilized by a critical thinking process. Novices and, more specifically, students experience many difficulties in this regard. Therefore, a better understanding of the knowledge they mobilize in their practice is important for nurse educators. A qualitative study, guided by grounded theory, was carried out. Sixteen nursing students, registered in an undergraduate programme in an Eastern Canadian university, were recruited. Descriptions of practical care situations were obtained through explicitation interviews in 2007. A sociodemographic questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and field notes were also used. Data were analysed using an approach based on grounded theory. An additional stage of analysis involved data condensation. Various types of knowledge guide nursing students' practice. These include intrapersonal, interpersonal, perceptual, moral/ethical, experiential, practical, scientific and contextual knowledge. The mobilization of these types of knowledge is only possible when the process of critical thinking has attained a higher level, giving rise to a new knowledge that we have termed combinational constructive knowledge rather than aesthetic knowledge. Clarification of the types of knowledge guiding the practice of student nurses and of the role of critical thinking in their mobilization could lead to innovative educational strategies. The findings provide guidance for the revision and development of both academic and clinical training programmes. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Culture, social networks, and information sharing: An exploratory study of Japanese aerospace engineers' information-seeking processes and habits in light of cultural factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Yuko

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of culture and language on Japanese aerospace engineers' information-seeking processes by both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The Japanese sample consisted of 162 members of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences (JSASS). U.S. aerospace engineers served as a reference point, consisting of 213 members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The survey method was utilized in gathering data using self-administered mail questionnaires in order to explore the following eight areas: (1) the content and use of information resources; (2) production and use of information products; (3) methods of accessing information service providers; (4) foreign language skills; (5) studying/researching/collaborating abroad as a tool in expanding information resources; (6) scientific and technical societies as networking tools; (7) alumni associations (school/class reunions) as networking tools; and (8) social, corporate, civic and health/fitness clubs as networking tools. Nine Japanese cultural factors expressed as statements about Japanese society are as follows: (1) information is neither autonomous, objective, nor independent of the subject of cognition; (2) information and knowledge are not readily accessible to the public; (3) emphasis on groups is reinforced in a hierarchical society; (4) social networks thrive as information-sharing vehicles; (5) high context is a predominant form of communication in which most of the information is already in the person, while very little is in the coded, transmitted part of the message; (6) obligations based on mutual trust dictate social behaviors instead of contractual agreements; (7) a surface message is what is presented while a bottom-line message is true feeling privately held; (8) various religious beliefs uphold a work ethic based on harmony; (9) ideas from outside are readily assimilated into its own society. The result of the investigation showed that culture and language affect Japanese aerospace engineers' information-seeking processes. The awareness and the knowledge of such effects will lead to improvement in global information services in aerospace engineering by incorporating various information resource providing organizations.

Stennis Space Center's approach to liquid rocket engine health monitoring using exhaust plume diagnostics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, D. G.; Tejwani, G. D.; Bircher, F. E.; Loboda, J. A.; Van Dyke, D. B.; Chenevert, D. J.

1991-01-01

Details are presented of the approach used in a comprehensive program to utilize exhaust plume diagnostics for rocket engine health-and-condition monitoring and assessing SSME component wear and degradation. This approach incorporates both spectral and video monitoring of the exhaust plume. Video monitoring provides qualitative data for certain types of component wear while spectral monitoring allows both quantitative and qualitative information. Consideration is given to spectral identification of SSME materials and baseline plume emissions.

A Framework for Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data in Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Studies: A Case Study of Pesticide Usage in Eastern Uganda

PubMed Central

Muleme, James; Kankya, Clovice; Ssempebwa, John C.; Mazeri, Stella; Muwonge, Adrian

2017-01-01

Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) studies guide the implementation of public health interventions (PHIs), and they are important tools for political persuasion. The design and implementation of PHIs assumes a linear KAP relationship, i.e., an awareness campaign results in the desirable societal behavioral change. However, there is no robust framework for testing this relationship before and after PHIs. Here, we use qualitative and quantitative data on pesticide usage to test this linear relationship, identify associated context specific factors as well as assemble a framework that could be used to guide and evaluate PHIs. We used data from a cross-sectional mixed methods study on pesticide usage. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 167 households representing 1,002 individuals. Qualitative data were collected from key informants and focus group discussions. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis was done in R 3.2.0 as well as qualitative thematic analysis, respectively. Our framework shows that a KAP linear relationship only existed for households with a low knowledge score, suggesting that an awareness campaign would only be effective for ~37% of the households. Context specific socioeconomic factors explain why this relationship does not hold for households with high knowledge scores. These findings are essential for developing targeted cost-effective and sustainable interventions on pesticide usage and other PHIs with context specific modifications. PMID:29276703

A Framework for Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data in Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Studies: A Case Study of Pesticide Usage in Eastern Uganda.

PubMed

Muleme, James; Kankya, Clovice; Ssempebwa, John C; Mazeri, Stella; Muwonge, Adrian

2017-01-01

Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) studies guide the implementation of public health interventions (PHIs), and they are important tools for political persuasion. The design and implementation of PHIs assumes a linear KAP relationship, i.e., an awareness campaign results in the desirable societal behavioral change. However, there is no robust framework for testing this relationship before and after PHIs. Here, we use qualitative and quantitative data on pesticide usage to test this linear relationship, identify associated context specific factors as well as assemble a framework that could be used to guide and evaluate PHIs. We used data from a cross-sectional mixed methods study on pesticide usage. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 167 households representing 1,002 individuals. Qualitative data were collected from key informants and focus group discussions. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis was done in R 3.2.0 as well as qualitative thematic analysis, respectively. Our framework shows that a KAP linear relationship only existed for households with a low knowledge score, suggesting that an awareness campaign would only be effective for ~37% of the households. Context specific socioeconomic factors explain why this relationship does not hold for households with high knowledge scores. These findings are essential for developing targeted cost-effective and sustainable interventions on pesticide usage and other PHIs with context specific modifications.

DAWN (Design Assistant Workstation) for advanced physical-chemical life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rudokas, Mary R.; Cantwell, Elizabeth R.; Robinson, Peter I.; Shenk, Timothy W.

1989-01-01

This paper reports the results of a project supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (NASA-OAST) under the Advanced Life Support Development Program. It is an initial attempt to integrate artificial intelligence techniques (via expert systems) with conventional quantitative modeling tools for advanced physical-chemical life support systems. The addition of artificial intelligence techniques will assist the designer in the definition and simulation of loosely/well-defined life support processes/problems as well as assist in the capture of design knowledge, both quantitative and qualitative. Expert system and conventional modeling tools are integrated to provide a design workstation that assists the engineer/scientist in creating, evaluating, documenting and optimizing physical-chemical life support systems for short-term and extended duration missions.

Knowledge engineering in volcanology: Practical claims and general approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pshenichny, Cyril A.

2014-10-01

Knowledge engineering, being a branch of artificial intelligence, offers a variety of methods for elicitation and structuring of knowledge in a given domain. Only a few of them (ontologies and semantic nets, event/probability trees, Bayesian belief networks and event bushes) are known to volcanologists. Meanwhile, the tasks faced by volcanology and the solutions found so far favor a much wider application of knowledge engineering, especially tools for handling dynamic knowledge. This raises some fundamental logical and mathematical problems and requires an organizational effort, but may strongly improve panel discussions, enhance decision support, optimize physical modeling and support scientific collaboration.

Qualitative research with small connected communities: generating new knowledge while upholding research ethics.

PubMed

Damianakis, Thecla; Woodford, Michael R

2012-05-01

Qualitative researchers have a dual mission: to generate knowledge through rigorous research and to uphold ethical standards and principles. Qualitative researchers often conduct studies with small connected communities in which relationships exist among community members. When engaging such communities, researchers might face ethical issues in upholding confidentiality standards while they work to achieve their dual mandate. Qualitative scholars have paid little attention to the ethical challenges that might arise in this context. Drawing on our experiences conducting studies with such communities, we expand the dialogue concerning qualitative research ethics by making explicit conceptual and practical tensions that emerge at various stages of the research process; articulating our respective reflective processes; and exploring issues associated with strategies for upholding confidentiality. We conclude with lessons learned to guide researchers who might face similar challenges.

Individual Differences in Students' Knowing and Learning about Fractions: Evidence from an In-Depth Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bempeni, Maria; Vamvakoussi, Xenia

2015-01-01

We present the results of an in-depth qualitative study that examined ninth graders' conceptual and procedural knowledge of fractions as well as their approach to mathematics learning, in particular fraction learning. We traced individual differences, even extreme, in the way that students combine the two kinds of knowledge. We also provide…

Knowledge-based personalized search engine for the Web-based Human Musculoskeletal System Resources (HMSR) in biomechanics.

PubMed

Dao, Tien Tuan; Hoang, Tuan Nha; Ta, Xuan Hien; Tho, Marie Christine Ho Ba

2013-02-01

Human musculoskeletal system resources of the human body are valuable for the learning and medical purposes. Internet-based information from conventional search engines such as Google or Yahoo cannot response to the need of useful, accurate, reliable and good-quality human musculoskeletal resources related to medical processes, pathological knowledge and practical expertise. In this present work, an advanced knowledge-based personalized search engine was developed. Our search engine was based on a client-server multi-layer multi-agent architecture and the principle of semantic web services to acquire dynamically accurate and reliable HMSR information by a semantic processing and visualization approach. A security-enhanced mechanism was applied to protect the medical information. A multi-agent crawler was implemented to develop a content-based database of HMSR information. A new semantic-based PageRank score with related mathematical formulas were also defined and implemented. As the results, semantic web service descriptions were presented in OWL, WSDL and OWL-S formats. Operational scenarios with related web-based interfaces for personal computers and mobile devices were presented and analyzed. Functional comparison between our knowledge-based search engine, a conventional search engine and a semantic search engine showed the originality and the robustness of our knowledge-based personalized search engine. In fact, our knowledge-based personalized search engine allows different users such as orthopedic patient and experts or healthcare system managers or medical students to access remotely into useful, accurate, reliable and good-quality HMSR information for their learning and medical purposes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationship of Prior Knowledge and Working Engineers' Learning Preferences: Implications for Designing Effective Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baukal, Charles E.; Ausburn, Lynna J.

2017-01-01

Continuing engineering education (CEE) is important to ensure engineers maintain proficiency over the life of their careers. However, relatively few studies have examined designing effective training for working engineers. Research has indicated that both learner instructional preferences and prior knowledge can impact the learning process, but it…

A Survey of Cooperative Engineering Education. Bulletin, 1949, No. 15

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Armsby, Henry H.

1949-01-01

Engineers are increasingly being called to occupy positions of leadership in which they need knowledge of society and of social processes sometimes to a greater degree than they need engineering skill. Many educators are deeply concerned over the question of how engineering students may acquire this knowledge in addition to the technical knowledge…

A scalable architecture for incremental specification and maintenance of procedural and declarative clinical decision-support knowledge.

PubMed

Hatsek, Avner; Shahar, Yuval; Taieb-Maimon, Meirav; Shalom, Erez; Klimov, Denis; Lunenfeld, Eitan

2010-01-01

Clinical guidelines have been shown to improve the quality of medical care and to reduce its costs. However, most guidelines exist in a free-text representation and, without automation, are not sufficiently accessible to clinicians at the point of care. A prerequisite for automated guideline application is a machine-comprehensible representation of the guidelines. In this study, we designed and implemented a scalable architecture to support medical experts and knowledge engineers in specifying and maintaining the procedural and declarative aspects of clinical guideline knowledge, resulting in a machine comprehensible representation. The new framework significantly extends our previous work on the Digital electronic Guidelines Library (DeGeL) The current study designed and implemented a graphical framework for specification of declarative and procedural clinical knowledge, Gesher. We performed three different experiments to evaluate the functionality and usability of the major aspects of the new framework: Specification of procedural clinical knowledge, specification of declarative clinical knowledge, and exploration of a given clinical guideline. The subjects included clinicians and knowledge engineers (overall, 27 participants). The evaluations indicated high levels of completeness and correctness of the guideline specification process by both the clinicians and the knowledge engineers, although the best results, in the case of declarative-knowledge specification, were achieved by teams including a clinician and a knowledge engineer. The usability scores were high as well, although the clinicians' assessment was significantly lower than the assessment of the knowledge engineers.

NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 31: The information-seeking behavior of engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Bishop, Ann P.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

Engineers are an extraordinarily diverse group of professionals, but an attribute common to all engineers is their use of information. Engineering can be conceptualized as an information processing system that must deal with work-related uncertainty through patterns of technical communications. Throughout the process, data, information, and tacit knowledge are being acquired, produced, transferred, and utilized. While acknowledging that other models exist, we have chosen to view the information-seeking behavior of engineers within a conceptual framework of the engineer as an information processor. This article uses the chosen framework to discuss information-seeking behavior of engineers, reviewing selected literature and empirical studies from library and information science, management, communications, and sociology. The article concludes by proposing a research agenda designed to extend our current, limited knowledge of the way engineers process information.

Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.

PubMed

Carriger, John F; Dyson, Brian E; Benson, William H

2018-01-15

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social-environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the U.S. Gulf Coast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Knowledge management in the engineering design environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briggs, Hugh C.

2006-01-01

The Aerospace and Defense industry is experiencing an increasing loss of knowledge through workforce reductions associated with business consolidation and retirement of senior personnel. Significant effort is being placed on process definition as part of ISO certification and, more recently, CMMI certification. The process knowledge in these efforts represents the simplest of engineering knowledge and many organizations are trying to get senior engineers to write more significant guidelines, best practices and design manuals. A new generation of design software, known as Product Lifecycle Management systems, has many mechanisms for capturing and deploying a wider variety of engineering knowledge than simple process definitions. These hold the promise of significant improvements through reuse of prior designs, codification of practices in workflows, and placement of detailed how-tos at the point of application.

A Capstone Wiki Knowledge Base: A Case Study of an Online Tool Designed to Promote Life-Long Learning through Engineering Literature Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, James B.; Coyle, James R.

2011-01-01

This article reports the results of a case study in which an experimental wiki knowledge base was designed, developed, and tested by the Brill Science Library at Miami University for an undergraduate engineering senior capstone project. The wiki knowledge base was created to determine if the science library could enhance the engineering literature…

Intelligent wear mode identification system for marine diesel engines based on multi-level belief rule base methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Xinping; Xu, Xiaojian; Sheng, Chenxing; Yuan, Chengqing; Li, Zhixiong

2018-01-01

Wear faults are among the chief causes of main-engine damage, significantly influencing the secure and economical operation of ships. It is difficult for engineers to utilize multi-source information to identify wear modes, so an intelligent wear mode identification model needs to be developed to assist engineers in diagnosing wear faults in diesel engines. For this purpose, a multi-level belief rule base (BBRB) system is proposed in this paper. The BBRB system consists of two-level belief rule bases, and the 2D and 3D characteristics of wear particles are used as antecedent attributes on each level. Quantitative and qualitative wear information with uncertainties can be processed simultaneously by the BBRB system. In order to enhance the efficiency of the BBRB, the silhouette value is adopted to determine referential points and the fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm is used to transform input wear information into belief degrees. In addition, the initial parameters of the BBRB system are constructed on the basis of expert-domain knowledge and then optimized by the genetic algorithm to ensure the robustness of the system. To verify the validity of the BBRB system, experimental data acquired from real-world diesel engines are analyzed. Five-fold cross-validation is conducted on the experimental data and the BBRB is compared with the other four models in the cross-validation. In addition, a verification dataset containing different wear particles is used to highlight the effectiveness of the BBRB system in wear mode identification. The verification results demonstrate that the proposed BBRB is effective and efficient for wear mode identification with better performance and stability than competing systems.

Examination of Mathematics Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Probability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danisman, Sahin; Tanisli, Dilek

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore the probability-related pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of secondary school mathematics teachers in terms of content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, student knowledge, and knowledge of teaching methods and strategies. Case study design, a qualitative research model, was used in the study, and the…

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Science to Improve Student Content Knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephenson, Robert L.

The majority of Grade 5 students demonstrate limited science knowledge on state assessments. This trend has been documented since 2010 with no evidence of improvement. Because state accountability formulas include proficiency scores and carry sanctions against districts that fail to meet proficiency thresholds, improved student performance in science is an important issue to school districts. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers' perceptions about their students' science knowledge, the strategies used to teach science, the barriers affecting science teaching, and the self-efficacy beliefs teachers maintain for teaching science. This study, guided by Vygotsky's social constructivist theory and Bandura's concept of self-efficacy, was a bounded instrumental case study in which 15 participants, required to be teaching K-5 elementary science in the county, were interviewed. An analytic technique was used to review the qualitative interview data through open coding, clustering, and analytical coding resulting in identified categorical themes that addressed the research questions. Key findings reflect students' limited content knowledge in earth and physical science. Teachers identified barriers including limited science instructional time, poor curricular resources, few professional learning opportunities, concern about new state standards, and a lack of teaching confidence. To improve student content knowledge, teachers identified the need for professional development. The project is a professional development series provided by a regional education service agency for K-5 teachers to experience science and engineering 3-dimensional learning. Area students will demonstrate deeper science content knowledge and benefit from improved science instructional practice and learning opportunities to become science problem solvers and innovative contributors to society.

Why They Stay: Women Persisting in US Engineering Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buse, Kathleen; Bilimoria, Diana; Perelli, Sheri

2013-01-01

Purpose: Women remain dramatically underrepresented in the engineering profession and far fewer women than men persist in the field. This study aims to identify individual and contextual factors that distinguish women who persist in engineering careers in the US. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research was conducted based on…

Status of Social Engineering Awareness in Business Organizations and Colleges/Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauser, Deanna Mae

2017-01-01

Social engineers manipulate individuals into divulging confidential information or compromising personal or organizational security. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the potential lack of social engineering awareness that affects employees at companies in southeastern Michigan. The research method consisted of interviews…

Teaching Problem-Solving Skills to Nuclear Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waller, E.; Kaye, M. H.

2012-01-01

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…

Uncovering Black Womanhood in Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Sheree L.; Espino, Michelle M.

2016-01-01

Despite the growing research that outlines the experiences of Blacks and women undergraduates in engineering, little is known about Black women in this field. The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover how eight Black undergraduate women in engineering understood their race and gender identities in a culture that can be oppressive to…

Engineering Resistors: Engineering Latina/o Students and Emerging Resistant Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Revelo, Renata A.; Baber, Lorenzo D.

2018-01-01

This qualitative study examined how Latina/o engineering students, members of a student organization, used their emergent resistant capital in their academic trajectories. Their emergent resistant capital, as evident by three main themes, was characterized as a movement from conformist resistance toward transformative resistance. This study finds…

Russian Engineering Education in the Era of Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vladimirovich Pukharenko, Yurii; Vladimirovna Norina, Natalia; Aleksandrovich Norin, Veniamin

2017-01-01

The article investigates modern issues of engineering education in Russia related to introduction of the Bologna system. The author shows that the situation in the education in general gives reasons for concern; the issue of qualitative enrolment of students for engineering specialties escalates; graduates with masters and bachelors' degrees are…

Investigating Student Motivation and Performance in Electrical Engineering and Its Subdisciplines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley, Justin M.; Daly, Shanna; Lenaway, Catherine; Phillips, Jamie

2016-01-01

Factors influencing choice of major in electrical engineering and later curricular and professional choices are investigated. Studies include both quantitative and qualitative analyses via student transcripts, surveys, and focus groups. Student motivation for choosing an electrical engineering major and later subdiscipline in the field is…

Future Cities Engineering: Early Engineering Interventions in the Middle Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCue, Camille; James, David

2008-01-01

This paper describes qualitative and quantitative research conducted with middle school students participating in a Future Cities Engineering course. Insights were sought regarding both affective and cognitive changes which transpired during the one-semester schedule of activities focused on modeling the infrastructure of a city built 150 years in…

Engineering: Defining and differentiating its unique culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilotte, Mary K.

The world of work for engineering professionals is changing. At a rapid pace, experienced engineers are exiting the workforce due to retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, while at the same time the problems facing engineers are increasingly complex and frequently global in nature. For firms to protect their knowledge assets, they must ensure that acquired understandings are shared among their engineering work groups. Engineering teaching and learning in the workplace (i.e., knowledge sharing), is a social activity that resides in a social context governed by the professional engineering culture. This quantitative study uses Hofstede's Organizational Cultural Values Model (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv, & Sanders, 1990) to examine dimensions of engineering culture in the workplace, producing a central tendency profile of engineering's cultural practices. Further, it explores through hypotheses if demographic differentiators, including birth generation, gender, race, industry sector of employment, and engineering discipline, play roles in forming engineering cultural practices. Results both corroborate aspects of Hofstede's model and assert new understandings relative to factors influencing dimensions of engineering practice. Outcomes are discussed in terms of their potential impact on industrial knowledge sharing and formation of beneficial engineering cultures.

Kuwaiti Engineers' Perspectives of the Engineering Senior Design (Capstone) Course as Related to Their Professional Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

AlSagheer, Abdullah

2010-01-01

This study looks into transfer of learning and its application in the actual employment of engineering students after graduation. At Kuwait University, a capstone course is being offered that aims to ensure that students amalgamate all kinds of engineering skills to apply to their work. Within a basic interpretive, qualitative study-design…

A comparative study on first-time and experienced project-based learning students in an engineering design module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chua, K. J.

2014-09-01

This study aims to compare and evaluate the learning ability and performance differences between two groups of students undergoing project-based learning (PjBL), with one group having prior PjBL experience, while the other group is being freshly exposed to PjBL. More specifically, it examines if there are significant differences in knowledge score, problem-solving ability, and eventual project-deliverable outcomes between the two sets of students. Performances were compared via qualitative and quantitative analyses. Key findings have indicated a significant increase in fundamental formative knowledge; enhanced problem-solving abilities; and production of better performing artefacts with regard to the set of design skills between experienced and first-time PjBL groups. This study also highlighted that experienced PjBL students have less conflicts within their groups, and are more receptive to PjBL compared to first-time PjBL students. Results from this study provide a starting point for educators to seek new learning/facilitating strategies that are relevant based on the experience and learning styles of students.

The structural approach to shared knowledge: an application to engineering design teams.

PubMed

Avnet, Mark S; Weigel, Annalisa L

2013-06-01

We propose a methodology for analyzing shared knowledge in engineering design teams. Whereas prior work has focused on shared knowledge in small teams at a specific point in time, the model presented here is both scalable and dynamic. By quantifying team members' common views of design drivers, we build a network of shared mental models to reveal the structure of shared knowledge at a snapshot in time. Based on a structural comparison of networks at different points in time, a metric of change in shared knowledge is computed. Analysis of survey data from 12 conceptual space mission design sessions reveals a correlation between change in shared knowledge and each of several system attributes, including system development time, system mass, and technological maturity. From these results, we conclude that an early period of learning and consensus building could be beneficial to the design of engineered systems. Although we do not examine team performance directly, we demonstrate that shared knowledge is related to the technical design and thus provide a foundation for improving design products by incorporating the knowledge and thoughts of the engineering design team into the process.

Enhancing Knowledge Sharing Management Using BIM Technology in Construction

PubMed Central

Ho, Shih-Ping; Tserng, Hui-Ping

2013-01-01

Construction knowledge can be communicated and reused among project managers and jobsite engineers to alleviate problems on a construction jobsite and reduce the time and cost of solving problems related to constructability. This paper proposes a new methodology for the sharing of construction knowledge by using Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology. The main characteristics of BIM include illustrating 3D CAD-based presentations and keeping information in a digital format and facilitation of easy updating and transfer of information in the BIM environment. Using the BIM technology, project managers and engineers can gain knowledge related to BIM and obtain feedback provided by jobsite engineers for future reference. This study addresses the application of knowledge sharing management using BIM technology and proposes a BIM-based Knowledge Sharing Management (BIMKSM) system for project managers and engineers. The BIMKSM system is then applied in a selected case study of a construction project in Taiwan to demonstrate the effectiveness of sharing knowledge in the BIM environment. The results demonstrate that the BIMKSM system can be used as a visual BIM-based knowledge sharing management platform by utilizing the BIM technology. PMID:24723790

Enhancing knowledge sharing management using BIM technology in construction.

PubMed

Ho, Shih-Ping; Tserng, Hui-Ping; Jan, Shu-Hui

2013-01-01

Construction knowledge can be communicated and reused among project managers and jobsite engineers to alleviate problems on a construction jobsite and reduce the time and cost of solving problems related to constructability. This paper proposes a new methodology for the sharing of construction knowledge by using Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology. The main characteristics of BIM include illustrating 3D CAD-based presentations and keeping information in a digital format and facilitation of easy updating and transfer of information in the BIM environment. Using the BIM technology, project managers and engineers can gain knowledge related to BIM and obtain feedback provided by jobsite engineers for future reference. This study addresses the application of knowledge sharing management using BIM technology and proposes a BIM-based Knowledge Sharing Management (BIMKSM) system for project managers and engineers. The BIMKSM system is then applied in a selected case study of a construction project in Taiwan to demonstrate the effectiveness of sharing knowledge in the BIM environment. The results demonstrate that the BIMKSM system can be used as a visual BIM-based knowledge sharing management platform by utilizing the BIM technology.

From Knowing-About to Knowing-To: Development of Engineering Pedagogical Content Knowledge by Elementary Teachers through Perceived Learning and Implementing Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Yan; Strobel, Johannes

2014-01-01

The present study sought to reveal how elementary teachers develop their engineering pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) after leaving professional development programs to practice engineering teaching in real classroom settings. Participants of this study were the elementary teachers who received one-week training of engineering education…

Qualitative Methods to Advance Care, Diagnosis, and Therapy in Rheumatic Diseases.

PubMed

Saketkoo, Lesley Ann; Pauling, John D

2018-05-01

This article provides an overview of the basis, usefulness, and validity of qualitative methods in research. It is aimed to enhance the understanding of a broad spectrum of readers, ranging from those mystified by such approaches, to those wanting a better critical knowledge to apply to literature review, and for health care providers considering developing an interest in the field. Qualitative research is crucial in augmentation of disease knowledge as well as the development of incremental care strategies and operational aspects of care that improves health outcomes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching qualitative research to BSW students through exposure to aging.

PubMed

Sidell, Nancy L

2007-01-01

This article describes one rural program's efforts to expose students to gerontology through teaching qualitative research methodology. A collaborative research pilot project was developed with a local nursing home. BSW students worked in two groups to conduct and present qualitative research projects by the course's completion. This article describes the research project and evaluates the project's success from student and instructor viewpoints. Significant differences were found in self-reported student knowledge of key concepts at the project's completion, compared with pre-test knowledge. Student comments revealed value in this teaching approach. Implications for further engaging students in gerontological research are discussed.

A study of mapping exogenous knowledge representations into CONFIG

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayfield, Blayne E.

1992-01-01

Qualitative reasoning is reasoning with a small set of qualitative values that is an abstraction of a larger and perhaps infinite set of quantitative values. The use of qualitative and quantitative reasoning together holds great promise for performance improvement in applications that suffer from large and/or imprecise knowledge domains. Included among these applications are the modeling, simulation, analysis, and fault diagnosis of physical systems. Several research groups continue to discover and experiment with new qualitative representations and reasoning techniques. However, due to the diversity of these techniques, it is difficult for the programs produced to exchange system models easily. The availability of mappings to transform knowledge from the form used by one of these programs to that used by another would open the doors for comparative analysis of these programs in areas such as completeness, correctness, and performance. A group at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) is working to develop CONFIG, a prototype qualitative modeling, simulation, and analysis tool for fault diagnosis applications in the U.S. space program. The availability of knowledge mappings from the programs produced by other research groups to CONFIG may provide savings in CONFIG's development costs and time, and may improve CONFIG's performance. The study of such mappings is the purpose of the research described in this paper. Two other research groups that have worked with the JSC group in the past are the Northwest University Group and the University of Texas at Austin Group. The former has produced a qualitative reasoning tool named SIMGEN, and the latter has produced one named QSIM. Another program produced by the Austin group is CC, a preprocessor that permits users to develop input for eventual use by QSIM, but in a more natural format. CONFIG and CC are both based on a component-connection ontology, so a mapping from CC's knowledge representation to CONFIG's knowledge representation was chosen as the focus of this study. A mapping from CC to CONFIG was developed. Due to differences between the two programs, however, the mapping transforms some of the CC knowledge to CONFIG as documentation rather than as knowledge in a form useful to computation. The study suggests that it may be worthwhile to pursue the mappings further. By implementing the mapping as a program, actual comparisons of computational efficiency and quality of results can be made between the QSIM and CONFIG programs. A secondary study may reveal that the results of the two programs augment one another, contradict one another, or differ only slightly. If the latter, the qualitative reasoning techniques may be compared in other areas, such as computational efficiency.

A sociocultural analysis of Latino high school students' funds of knowledge and implications for culturally responsive engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mejia, Joel Alejandro

Previous studies have suggested that, when funds of knowledge are incorporated into science and mathematics curricula, students are more engaged and often develop richer understandings of scientific concepts. While there has been a growing body of research addressing how teachers may integrate students' linguistic, social, and cultural practices with science and mathematics instruction, very little research has been conducted on how the same can be accomplished with Latino and Latina students in engineering. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in the literature by investigating how fourteen Latino and Latina high school adolescents used their funds of knowledge to address engineering design challenges. This project was intended to enhance the educational experience of underrepresented minorities whose social and cultural practices have been traditionally undervalued in schools. This ethnographic study investigated the funds of knowledge of fourteen Latino and Latina high school adolescents and how they used these funds of knowledge in engineering design. Participant observation, bi-monthly group discussion, retrospective and concurrent protocols, and monthly one-on-one interviews were conducted during the study. A constant comparative analysis suggested that Latino and Latina adolescents, although profoundly underrepresented in engineering, bring a wealth of knowledge and experiences that are relevant to engineering design thinking and practice.

Using Qualitative Research Methods to Assess the Degree of Fit between Teachers' Reported Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Their Practical Knowledge during Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyatt, Mark

2015-01-01

There is a need for qualitative research into teachers' self-efficacy beliefs so that the relationship between these beliefs and other cognitions possessed by teachers, including their practical knowledge, can be better understood by teacher educators. Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs may need supporting if they seem too low or challenging if they…

Knowledge representation and qualitative simulation of salmon redd functioning. Part II: qualitative model of redds.

PubMed

Guerrin, F; Dumas, J

2001-02-01

This paper describes a qualitative model of the functioning of salmon redds (spawning areas of salmon) and its impact on mortality rates of early stages. For this, we use Qsim, a qualitative simulator, which appeared adequate for representing available qualitative knowledge of freshwater ecology experts (see Part I of this paper). Since the number of relevant variables was relatively large, it appeared necessary to decompose the model into two parts, corresponding to processes occurring at separate time-scales. A qualitative clock allows us to submit the simulation of salmon developmental stages to the calculation of accumulated daily temperatures (degree-days), according to the clock ticks and a water temperature regime set by the user. Therefore, this introduces some way of real-time dating and duration in a purely qualitative model. Simulating both sub-models, either separately or by means of alternate transitions, allows us to generate the evolutions of variables of interest, such as the mortality rates according to two factors (flow of oxygenated water and plugging of gravel interstices near the bed surface), under various scenarios.

Troubling objectivity: the promises and pitfalls of training Haitian clinicians in qualitative research methods.H.

PubMed

Minn, Pierre

2015-01-01

Building research capacity is a central component of many contemporary global health programs and partnerships. While medical anthropologists have been conducting qualitative research in resource-poor settings for decades, they are increasingly called on to train "local" clinicians, researchers, and students in qualitative research methods. In this article, I describe the process of teaching introductory courses in qualitative research methods to Haitian clinicians, hospital staff, and medical students, who rarely encounter qualitative research in their training or practice. These trainings allow participants to identify and begin to address challenges related to health services delivery, quality of care, and provider-patient relations. However, they also run the risk of perpetuating colonial legacies of objectification and reinforcing hierarchies of knowledge and knowledge production. As these trainings increase in number and scope, they offer the opportunity to reflect critically on new forms of transnational interventions that aim to reduce health disparities.

Institutional Memory Preservation at NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coffey, J.; Moreman, Douglas; Dyer, J.; Hemminger, J. A.

1999-01-01

In this era of downsizing and deficit reduction, the preservation of institutional memory is a widespread concern for U.S. companies and governmental agencies. The National Aeronautical and Space Administration faces the pending retirement of many of the agency's long-term, senior engineers. NASA has a marvelous long-term history of success, but the agency faces a recurring problem caused by the loss of these engineers' unique knowledge and perspectives on NASA's role in aeronautics and space exploration. The current work describes a knowledge elicitation effort aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of preserving the more personal, heuristic knowledge accumulated over the years by NASA engineers, as contrasted with the "textbook" knowledge of launch vehicles. Work on this project was performed at NASA Glenn Research Center and elsewhere, and focused on launch vehicle systems integration. The initial effort was directed toward an historic view of the Centaur upper stage which is powered by two RL-10 engines. Various experts were consulted, employing a variety of knowledge elicitation techniques, regarding the Centaur and RL-10. Their knowledge is represented in searchable Web-based multimedia presentations. This paper discusses the various approaches to knowledge elicitation and knowledge representation employed, and assesses successes and challenges in trying to perform large-scale knowledge preservation of institutional memory. It is anticipated that strategies for knowledge elicitation and representation that have been developed in this grant will be utilized to elicit knowledge in a variety of domains including the complex heuristics that underly use of simulation software packages such as that being explored in the Expert System Architecture for Rocket Engine Numerical Simulators.

Situating Second-Year Success: Understanding Second-Year STEM Experiences at a Liberal Arts College

PubMed Central

Gregg-Jolly, Leslie; Swartz, Jim; Iverson, Ellen; Stern, Joyce; Brown, Narren; Lopatto, David

2016-01-01

Challenges particular to second-year students have been identified that can impact persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. We implemented a program to improve student success in intermediate-level science courses by helping students to feel they belonged and could succeed in STEM. We used survey measures of perceptions and attitudes and then qualitative measures to characterize the impact of support strategies, including peer mentoring, a second-year science student retreat, learning and advising support resources, and department-specific activities. Analysis of registration and transcript information revealed underperformance by students of color (SOC) and first-generation (FG) students in 200-level science courses. Comparison of these data before and during programming revealed significant improvement in success rates of these students in 200-level biology and chemistry courses, but success rates of SOC and FG students remain lower than the overall rate for 200-level science courses. Contemporaneous with the program, qualitative and quantitative measures of student attitudes revealed a high level of belongingness and support. The results suggest that a focus on students’ metacognition about their own abilities and strategic knowledge of how to succeed may be a fruitful direction for future research. PMID:27587855

Engineering Problem-Solving Knowledge: The Impact of Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolff, Karin

2017-01-01

Employer complaints of engineering graduate inability to "apply knowledge" suggests a need to interrogate the complex theory-practice relationship in twenty-first century real world contexts. Focussing specifically on the application of mathematics, physics and logic-based disciplinary knowledge, the research examines engineering…

Applying Knowledge of Qualitative Design and Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baskas, Richard S.

2011-01-01

This study compared and contrasted two qualitative scholarly articles in relation to their research designs. Their designs were analyzed by the comparison of research references and research specific vocabulary to describe how various research methods were used. When researching and analyzing qualitative scholarly articles, it is imperative to…

Design Knowledge Management System (DKMS) Beta Test Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-11-01

design process. These problems, which include knowledge representation, constraint propagation, model design, and information integration, are...effective delivery of life-cycle engineering knowledge assistance and information to the design/engineering activities. It does not matter whether these...platfomi. 4. Reuse - existing data, information , and knowledge can be reused. 5. Remote Execution -- automatically handles remote execution without

Middle-School Teachers' Understanding and Teaching of the Engineering Design Process: A Look at Subject Matter and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hynes, Morgan M.

2012-01-01

This paper reports on research investigating six middle school teachers without engineering degrees as they taught an engineering unit on the engineering design process. Videotaped classroom sessions and teacher interviews were analyzed to understand the subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge the teachers used and developed as they…

Understanding the Experience of Women in Undergraduate Engineering Programs at Public Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez, Jessica Ohanian

2017-01-01

Women earn bachelor's degrees in engineering at a rate of less than 17% at public universities in California. The purpose of this study was to understand how women experience undergraduate engineering programs at public universities. To understand this lack of attainment, a qualitative methodology and Feminist Poststructuralist perspective were…

A Qualitative Study of African American Women in Engineering Technology Programs in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blakley, Jacquelyn

2016-01-01

This study examined the experiences of African American women in engineering technology programs in community colleges. There is a lack of representation of African American women in engineering technology programs throughout higher education, especially in community/technical colleges. There is also lack of representation of African American…

Engineering Education through the Latina Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villa, Elsa Q.; Wandermurem, Luciene; Hampton, Elaine M.; Esquinca, Alberto

2016-01-01

Less than 20% of undergraduates earning a degree in engineering are women, and even more alarming is minority women earn a mere 3.1% of those degrees. This paper reports on a qualitative study examining Latinas' identity development toward and in undergraduate engineering and computer science studies using a sociocultural theory of learning. Three…

Practicing Engineers' Perspective on Mathematics and Mathematics Education in College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tosmur-Bayazit, Nermin; Ubuz, Behiye

2013-01-01

This paper reports on a qualitative study focusing on engineers' point of view in regard to university mathematics and mathematics education. An individual interview was conducted with three electrical and two mechanical engineers between the ages of 25-40, all engaged in successful careers. The subjects were requested to reflect upon themselves…

An Examination of Computer Engineering Students' Perceptions about Asynchronous Discussion Forums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozyurt, Ozcan; Ozyurt, Hacer

2013-01-01

This study was conducted in order to reveal the usage profiles and perceptions of Asynchronous Discussion Forums (ADFs) of 126 computer engineering students from the Computer Engineering Department in a university in Turkey. By using a mixed methods research design both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Research…

Understanding the Leaky Engineering Pipeline: Motivation and Job Adaptability of Female Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saraswathiamma, Manjusha Thekkedathu

2010-01-01

This dissertation is a mixed-method study conducted using qualitative grounded theory and quantitative survey and correlation approaches. This study aims to explore the motivation and adaptability of females in the engineering profession and to develop a theoretical framework for both motivation and adaptability issues. As a result, this study…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Lived Experiences and Perceptions on Mentoring among Latina Scientists and Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

San Miguel, Anitza M.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to reveal the lived mentoring experiences of Latinas in science and engineering. The study also sought to understand how Latina scientists and engineers achieved high-level positions within their organizations and the impediments they encountered along their professional journey. The theoretical framework…

"I Don't Want to Be an Almost Engineer": Women's Voices of Persistence in Undergraduate Engineering Degrees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yates, Heather N.

2012-01-01

This narrative qualitative study focused on the experiences of four women pursuing undergraduate engineering degrees and how the experiences affect their self-efficacy and in turn persistence in the degree. The use of narrative methodologies allowed the addition of the voice of the women engineering students to the study providing a more robust…

[Information about electroconvulsive therapy on the internet].

PubMed

Degraeve, G; Van Heeringen, C; Audenaert, K

2006-01-01

This article aims to provide a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the information about electroconvulsive therapy that is currently available on the internet. We carried out a quantitative assessment by entering five search terms into eight (meta)search engines. We achieved our qualitative assessment by visiting the first twenty websites generated by each search on one of the search engines, in particular Google (www.google.com), and by scoring these websites with an adapted Sandvik-score. We conclude that the scored websites are technically sound but are incomplete as far as content is concerned.

The correlation between academic achievements, self-esteem and motivation of female seventh grade students: A mixed methods approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henman, Karen

During the early grades, female students generally display enthusiasm for learning science. As these same students go though school, however, their level of motivation changes. Once female students reach high school, many lack the confidence to take chemistry and physics. Then, in college they lack the background necessary to major in chemistry, physics, and engineering. This study used quantitative data to investigate the correlation between female students' motivation, self-esteem, and standards-based state science achievement tests combined with a qualitative survey of student's perceptions of parents' attitudes toward science. The Children's Science Motivation Inventory (CAIMI) determined students' levels of motivation toward science. The Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory (CSEI) ascertained female students' overall self-esteem. The ISTEP+ exam given in the 6th grade measured the students' academic achievement in science. Trained examiners who interviewed students comprised the qualitative component of the study. Each examiner elaborated on selected questions from the CSEI and CAIMI to determine the students' perceptions of parental attitudes toward science. A multiple regression was used to determine the correlation between self-esteem, motivation, and achievement in science. The correlation was strongest between motivation. Interviews revealed parents and teachers had the most influence on students' perception of science. In understanding the correlation between female students' motivation, achievement, and self-esteem, schools will gain further knowledge into how students relate to the academic field of science and can thus promote females' participation in more science courses in high school. This then will provide females the necessary background knowledge to pursue a greater number of science majors in college.

The approach to engineering tasks composition on knowledge portals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novogrudska, Rina; Globa, Larysa; Schill, Alexsander; Romaniuk, Ryszard; Wójcik, Waldemar; Karnakova, Gaini; Kalizhanova, Aliya

2017-08-01

The paper presents an approach to engineering tasks composition on engineering knowledge portals. The specific features of engineering tasks are highlighted, their analysis makes the basis for partial engineering tasks integration. The formal algebraic system for engineering tasks composition is proposed, allowing to set the context-independent formal structures for engineering tasks elements' description. The method of engineering tasks composition is developed that allows to integrate partial calculation tasks into general calculation tasks on engineering portals, performed on user request demand. The real world scenario «Calculation of the strength for the power components of magnetic systems» is represented, approving the applicability and efficiency of proposed approach.

Characteristics and determinants of knowledge transfer policies at universities and public institutions in medical research--protocol for a systematic review of the qualitative research literature.

PubMed

Jahn, Rosa; Müller, Olaf; Bozorgmehr, Kayvan

2015-08-19

Universities, public institutions, and the transfer of knowledge to the private sector play a major role in the development of medical technologies. The decisions of universities and public institutions regarding the transfer of knowledge impact the accessibility of the final product, making it easier or more difficult for consumers to access these products. In the case of medical research, these products are pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, or medical procedures. The ethical dimension of access to these potentially lifesaving products is apparent and distinguishes the transfer of medical knowledge from the transfer of knowledge in other areas. While the general field of technology transfer from academic and public to private actors is attracting an increasing amount of scholarly attention, the specifications of knowledge transfer in the medical field are not as well explored. This review seeks to provide a systematic overview and analysis of the qualitative literature on the characteristics and determinants of knowledge transfer in medical research and development. The review systematically searches the literature for qualitative studies that focus on knowledge transfer characteristics and determinants at medical academic and public research institutions. It aims at identifying and analyzing the literature on the content and context of knowledge transfer policies, decision-making processes, and actors at academic and public institutions. The search strategy includes the databases PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest, and DiVa. These databases will be searched based on pre-specified search terms. The studies selected for inclusion in the review will be critically assessed for their quality utilizing the Qualitative Research Checklist developed by the Clinical Appraisal Skills Programme. Data extraction and synthesis will be based on the meta-ethnographic approach. This review seeks to further the understanding of the kinds of transfer pathways that exist in medical knowledge transfer as well as what factors lead to the adoption of one pathway over another. The aim is to provide evidence for political and academic actors designing policies for the translation of medical knowledge and public-private cooperation. PROSPERO CRD42015014241 .

Considerations for a design and operations knowledge support system for Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, Jon D.; Crouse, Kenneth H.; Wechsler, Donald B.; Flaherty, Douglas R.

1989-01-01

Engineering and operations of modern engineered systems depend critically upon detailed design and operations knowledge that is accurate and authoritative. A design and operations knowledge support system (DOKSS) is a modern computer-based information system providing knowledge about the creation, evolution, and growth of an engineered system. The purpose of a DOKSS is to provide convenient and effective access to this multifaceted information. The complexity of Space Station Freedom's (SSF's) systems, elements, interfaces, and organizations makes convenient access to design knowledge especially important, when compared to simpler systems. The life cycle length, being 30 or more years, adds a new dimension to space operations, maintenance, and evolution. Provided here is a review and discussion of design knowledge support systems to be delivered and operated as a critical part of the engineered system. A concept of a DOKSS for Space Station Freedom (SSF) is presented. This is followed by a detailed discussion of a DOKSS for the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and Work Package-2 portions of SSF.

Knowledge-based environment for optical system design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, R. Barry

1991-01-01

Optical systems are extensively utilized by industry government and military organizations. The conceptual design engineering design fabrication and testing of these systems presently requires significant time typically on the order of 3-5 years. The Knowledge-Based Environment for Optical System Design (KB-OSD) Program has as its principal objectives the development of a methodology and tool(s) that will make a notable reduction in the development time of optical system projects reduce technical risk and overall cost. KB-OSD can be considered as a computer-based optical design associate for system engineers and design engineers. By utilizing artificial intelligence technology coupled with extensive design/evaluation computer application programs and knowledge bases the KB-OSD will provide the user with assistance and guidance to accomplish such activities as (i) develop system level and hardware level requirements from mission requirements (ii) formulate conceptual designs (iii) construct a statement of work for an RFP (iv) develop engineering level designs (v) evaluate an existing design and (vi) explore the sensitivity of a system to changing scenarios. The KB-OSD comprises a variety of computer platforms including a Stardent Titan supercomputer numerous design programs (lens design coating design thermal materials structural atmospherics etc. ) data bases and heuristic knowledge bases. An important element of the KB-OSD Program is the inclusion of the knowledge of individual experts in various areas of optics and optical system engineering. This knowledge is obtained by KB-OSD knowledge engineers performing

Influence of Prior Knowledge and Interest on Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Passage Comprehension on the Qualitative Reading Inventory-4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Mary Kristen; Kamhi, Alan G.

2014-01-01

Purpose: In 2 experiments, we examined the influence of prior knowledge and interest on 4th- and 5th-grade students' passage comprehension scores on the Qualitative Reading Inventory-4 (QRI-4) and 2 experimenter constructed passages. Method: In Experiment 1, 4th- and 5th-grade students were administered 4 Level 4 passages or 4 Level 5…

An assessment of the HIV/TB knowledge and skills of home-based carers working in the North West province in South Africa: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Engelbrecht, Justin G; Letsoalo, Mabjala R; Chirowodza, Admire C

2017-04-19

Home-based carers (HBCs) play a critical role in ensuring the success of the primary health care re-engineering strategy in South Africa. Their role includes ensuring improved access to and delivery of primary health care at the household level, and better co-ordination and improved linkages between community and health facilities for HIV/TB services. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, skills, challenges and training needs of HBCs involved in HIV/TB care in one sub-district in the North-West province of South Africa. We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study in which 157 HBCs were interviewed to assess their knowledge and skills regarding HIV and TB. Data were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using SPSS statistical software and thematic analysis respectively. One hundred and forty-four (92%) of the interviewees were female and 13 (8%) were male. The median age of the participants was 35 years (interquartile range (IQR): 22-27). The median score for knowledge of both HIV and TB questions was 66% (IQR: 57-75). In general, HIV knowledge scores were higher than TB knowledge scores (73% versus 66%). A significant association was found between knowledge scores and formal training (p < 0.05), and knowledge scores and highest educational levels (p < 0.05). Irrespective of knowledge, HBCs reported providing a variety of services to support HIV/TB services in the communities in which they worked. HBCs also reported facing various challenges in their jobs related to stigma and the social contexts in which they work. The study showed that the overall knowledge of HBCs was limited, given the skills required and the services they provide. Given the increasing role of HBCs in various health initiatives, targeted interventions are required to support and improve their competencies and service provision.

Automation based on knowledge modeling theory and its applications in engine diagnostic systems using Space Shuttle Main Engine vibrational data. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Jonnathan H.

1995-01-01

Humans can perform many complicated tasks without explicit rules. This inherent and advantageous capability becomes a hurdle when a task is to be automated. Modern computers and numerical calculations require explicit rules and discrete numerical values. In order to bridge the gap between human knowledge and automating tools, a knowledge model is proposed. Knowledge modeling techniques are discussed and utilized to automate a labor and time intensive task of detecting anomalous bearing wear patterns in the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) High Pressure Oxygen Turbopump (HPOTP).

Designing Computer Learning Environments for Engineering and Computer Science: The Scaffolded Knowledge Integration Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linn, Marcia C.

1995-01-01

Describes a framework called scaffolded knowledge integration and illustrates how it guided the design of two successful course enhancements in the field of computer science and engineering: the LISP Knowledge Integration Environment and the spatial reasoning environment. (101 references) (Author/MKR)

Understanding women's choices to enroll in engineering: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Eileen

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) college programs is a troublesome local, national and global phenomenon. The topic of this doctoral thesis specifically focused on the underrepresentation of women in the field of engineering and more specifically on the factors that women may perceive as chiefly motivating them to choose engineering as a college major. By not choosing to major in engineering, women forego intellectual opportunities and the financial rewards that engineering careers can provide. Their absence means that the field of engineering also suffers from the lack of contributions from a diverse workforce. Women who graduated from a specific community college's engineering program in the United States were the focus of this qualitative study. Grounded in achievement motivation theory, and in particular expectancy-value theory of academic and career choice, this research was guided by two questions: How do women perceive their academic self-efficacies and expectations for success as influencing their decisions to enroll in engineering? How do women perceive their subjective task values as influencing their decisions to enroll in engineering? This single, holistic case study with one main unit of analysis incorporated a written questionnaire, individual interviews and a focus group meeting as the three instruments used to collect data. The qualitative data, cyclically coded, shed light on the complex mechanisms of academic and career choice.

Holistic Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grasso, Domenico; Martinelli, David

2007-01-01

In this article, the authors discuss how to prepare high-quality engineers who are better equipped to serve in the changing global marketplace, and suggest educators in pursuing the holistic concept of the "unity of knowledge" that will yield a definition of engineering more fitting for the times ahead. The unity of knowledge is fundamentally…

"Frankenstein" Goes to Engineering School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winkelman, Paul

2006-01-01

The development of an engineering curriculum assumes a body of knowledge that students, as future engineers, will need to know. Students acquire this body of knowledge through lectures, laboratories, projects and assignments and other means. The question then arises, how does one select the content and processes that are appropriate for the…

Work-Based Higher Degrees: Responding to the Knowledge Needs of Chemical Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winberg, Christine

2007-01-01

University-workplace partnerships are strategies increasingly called for in higher education. This article reports on collaborative knowledge production between employed professional chemical engineers (registered for higher degrees) and their university-based supervisors (researchers in the field of chemical engineering). The study draws on a…

The number processing and calculation system: evidence from cognitive neuropsychology.

PubMed

Salguero-Alcañiz, M P; Alameda-Bailén, J R

2015-04-01

Cognitive neuropsychology focuses on the concepts of dissociation and double dissociation. The performance of number processing and calculation tasks by patients with acquired brain injury can be used to characterise the way in which the healthy cognitive system manipulates number symbols and quantities. The objective of this study is to determine the components of the numerical processing and calculation system. Participants consisted of 6 patients with acquired brain injuries in different cerebral localisations. We used Batería de evaluación del procesamiento numérico y el cálculo, a battery assessing number processing and calculation. Data was analysed using the difference in proportions test. Quantitative numerical knowledge is independent from number transcoding, qualitative numerical knowledge, and calculation. Recodification is independent from qualitative numerical knowledge and calculation. Quantitative numerical knowledge and calculation are also independent functions. The number processing and calculation system comprises at least 4 components that operate independently: quantitative numerical knowledge, number transcoding, qualitative numerical knowledge, and calculation. Therefore, each one may be damaged selectively without affecting the functioning of another. According to the main models of number processing and calculation, each component has different characteristics and cerebral localisations. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Disability and poverty – Reflections on research experiences in Africa and beyond

PubMed Central

Ingstad, Benedicte

2013-01-01

Background Whilst broadly agreed in the literature that disability and poverty are closely interlinked, the empirical basis for this knowledge is relatively weak. Objectives To describe and discuss the current state of knowledge and to suggest the need for further generation of knowledge on disability and poverty. Method Two recent attempts at statistically analysing the situation for disabled people and a series of qualitative studies on disability and poverty are applied in a discussion on the state of current knowledge. Results Firstly, the surveys confirm substantial gaps in access to services, and a systematic pattern of lower levels of living amongst individuals with disability as compared to non-disabled. Existing surveys are however not originally set up to study the disability – poverty relationship and thus have some important limitations. Secondly, the qualitative studies have shown the relevance of cultural, political and structural phenomena in relation to poverty and disability, but also the complexity and the contextual character of these forces that may sometimes provide or create opportunities either at the individual or the collective level. Whilst not establishing evidence as such, the qualitative studies contribute to illustrating some of the mechanisms that bring individuals with disability into poverty and keep them there. Conclusions A longitudinal design including both quantitative and qualitative methods and based on the current conceptual understanding of both disability and poverty is suggested to pursue further knowledge generation on the relationship between disability and poverty. PMID:28729985

Qualitative Discovery in Medical Databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maluf, David A.

2000-01-01

Implication rules have been used in uncertainty reasoning systems to confirm and draw hypotheses or conclusions. However a major bottleneck in developing such systems lies in the elicitation of these rules. This paper empirically examines the performance of evidential inferencing with implication networks generated using a rule induction tool called KAT. KAT utilizes an algorithm for the statistical analysis of empirical case data, and hence reduces the knowledge engineering efforts and biases in subjective implication certainty assignment. The paper describes several experiments in which real-world diagnostic problems were investigated; namely, medical diagnostics. In particular, it attempts to show that: (1) with a limited number of case samples, KAT is capable of inducing implication networks useful for making evidential inferences based on partial observations, and (2) observation driven by a network entropy optimization mechanism is effective in reducing the uncertainty of predicted events.

Research-IQ: Development and Evaluation of an Ontology-anchored Integrative Query Tool

PubMed Central

Borlawsky, Tara B.; Lele, Omkar; Payne, Philip R. O.

2011-01-01

Investigators in the translational research and systems medicine domains require highly usable, efficient and integrative tools and methods that allow for the navigation of and reasoning over emerging large-scale data sets. Such resources must cover a spectrum of granularity from bio-molecules to population phenotypes. Given such information needs, we report upon the initial design and evaluation of an ontology-anchored integrative query tool, Research-IQ, which employs a combination of conceptual knowledge engineering and information retrieval techniques to enable the intuitive and rapid construction of queries, in terms of semi-structured textual propositions, that can subsequently be applied to integrative data sets. Our initial results, based upon both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the efficacy and usability of Research-IQ, demonstrate its potential to increase clinical and translational research throughput. PMID:21821150

High School Student Perceptions of the Utility of the Engineering Design Process: Creating Opportunities to Engage in Engineering Practices and Apply Math and Science Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berland, Leema; Steingut, Rebecca; Ko, Pat

2014-01-01

Research and policy documents increasingly advocate for incorporating engineering design into K-12 classrooms in order to accomplish two goals: (1) provide an opportunity to engage with science content in a motivating real-world context; and (2) introduce students to the field of engineering. The present study uses multiple qualitative data…

Hidden Expert Knowledge: The Knowledge That Counts for the Small School-District Superintendent

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyle, Adrienne E.; Ivory, Gary; McClellan, Rhonda L.

2010-01-01

Using Bereiter and Scardamalia's (1993) hidden expert knowledge, we explored what knowledge counts from the perspectives of working small school-district superintendents and the ways in which they gain that knowledge. This qualitative study used focus groups as its primary data collection method. Participants were 37 superintendents of districts…

Multidimensional Knowledge Structures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuh, Kathy L.

Multidimensional knowledge structures, described from a constructivist perspective and aligned with the "Mind as Rhizome" metaphor, provide support for constructivist learning strategies. This qualitative study was conducted to seek empirical support for a description of multidimensional knowledge structures, focusing on the…

Women of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: A Qualitative Exploration into Factors of Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olund, Jeanine K.

2012-01-01

Although the number of women entering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has increased in recent years, overall there are still more men than women completing four-year degrees in these fields, especially in physics, engineering, and computer science. At higher levels of education and within the workplace, the…

Physiology and the Biomedical Engineering Curriculum: Utilizing Emerging Instructional Technologies to Promote Development of Adaptive Expertise in Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Regina K.

2013-01-01

A mixed-methods research study was designed to test whether undergraduate engineering students were better prepared to learn advanced topics in biomedical engineering if they learned physiology via a quantitative, concept-based approach rather than a qualitative, system-based approach. Experiments were conducted with undergraduate engineering…

Gendered Practices of Constructing an Engineering Identity in a Problem-Based Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Du, Xiang-Yun

2006-01-01

This article examines the learning experiences of engineering students of both genders in a problem-based and project-organized learning environment (PBL) at a Danish university. This study relates an amalgam of theories on learning and gender to the context of engineering education. Based on data from a qualitative study of an electrical and…

Experiential and Contextual Factors That Shape Engineering Interest and Educational Decision-Making Processes among Female Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swan, Amy

2015-01-01

This qualitative study explores the formation of educational and vocational goals among female first-year engineering students at two community colleges and one four-year institution, as well as contextual influences on this process. Participants' pathways to college are also explored, as well as their pathways into engineering. The findings…

What Do I Need to Succeed: The Case of Arab Engineering Graduate Students' Self-Perceptions of Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellmann, Katherine

2013-01-01

Through a sociocultural lens, this study examines five Saudi Arabian engineering graduate students' valuation of English writing, their self-perceptions of writing, what promoted the development of those self-perceptions and how their self-perceptions compare with engineering industry writing standards. The data collected for this qualitative case…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Student Chemical Engineering Reflective ePortfolios--ChE Student Perceptions of Learning from Reflective ePortfolio Creation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherrstrom, Catherine A.; Raisor, Cindy; Fowler, Debra

2015-01-01

Engineering educators and employers value and prioritize communication skills, but developing and assessing such skills in engineering programs is challenging. Reflective ePortfolios provide opportunities to enhance communication skills. The purpose of this three-­year qualitative case study was to investigate the use of reflective ePortfolios in…

Women in Engineering in Turkey--A Large Scale Quantitative and Qualitative Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Alice E.; Dengiz, Berna

2010-01-01

The underrepresentation of women in engineering is well known and unresolved. However, Turkey has witnessed a shift in trend from virtually no female participation in engineering to across-the-board proportions that dominate other industrialised countries within the 76 years of the founding of the Turkish Republic. This paper describes the largest…

An application of object-oriented knowledge representation to engineering expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Logie, D. S.; Kamil, H.; Umaretiya, J. R.

1990-01-01

The paper describes an object-oriented knowledge representation and its application to engineering expert systems. The object-oriented approach promotes efficient handling of the problem data by allowing knowledge to be encapsulated in objects and organized by defining relationships between the objects. An Object Representation Language (ORL) was implemented as a tool for building and manipulating the object base. Rule-based knowledge representation is then used to simulate engineering design reasoning. Using a common object base, very large expert systems can be developed, comprised of small, individually processed, rule sets. The integration of these two schemes makes it easier to develop practical engineering expert systems. The general approach to applying this technology to the domain of the finite element analysis, design, and optimization of aerospace structures is discussed.

Teaching Complicated Conceptual Knowledge with Simulation Videos in Foundational Electrical Engineering Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Baiyun; Wei, Lei; Li, Huihui

2016-01-01

Building a solid foundation of conceptual knowledge is critical for students in electrical engineering. This mixed-method case study explores the use of simulation videos to illustrate complicated conceptual knowledge in foundational communications and signal processing courses. Students found these videos to be very useful for establishing…

An Educational Program of Mechatronics for Multidisciplinary Knowledge Acquisition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanuki, Keiichi; Kojima, Kazuyuki

Recently, as the technologies surrounding mechanical engineering have improved remarkably, the expectations for students who graduate from departments of mechanical engineering have increased. For example, in order to develop a mechatronics system, a student needs to integrate a wide variety of technologies, such as mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, and information technology. Therefore, from the perspective of educators, the current education system, which stresses expertizing each technology, should be replaced by an education system that stresses integrating multidisciplinary knowledge. In this paper, a trial education program for students of the department of mechanical engineering in our university, in which students are required to integrate multidisciplinary knowledge in order to develop a biologically-based robot, is described. Finally, the efficacy of the program is analyzed.

Engineering Education for a New Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohgaki, Shinichiro

Engineering education is composed of five components, the idea what engineering education ought to be, the knowledge in engineering fields, those who learn engineering, those who teach engineering and the stakeholders in engineering issues. The characteristics of all these five components are changing with the times. When we consider the engineering education for the next era, we should analyze the changes of all five components. Especially the knowledge and tools in engineering fields has been expanding, and advanced science and technology is casting partly a dark shadow on the modern convenient life. Moral rules or ethics for developing new products and engineering systems are now regarded as most important in engineering fields. All those who take the responsibility for engineering education should understand the change of all components in engineering education and have a clear grasp of the essence of engineering for sustainable society.

A knowledge-based approach to identification and adaptation in dynamical systems control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, B. J.; Wong, C. M.

1988-01-01

Artificial intelligence techniques are applied to the problems of model form and parameter identification of large-scale dynamic systems. The object-oriented knowledge representation is discussed in the context of causal modeling and qualitative reasoning. Structured sets of rules are used for implementing qualitative component simulations, for catching qualitative discrepancies and quantitative bound violations, and for making reconfiguration and control decisions that affect the physical system. These decisions are executed by backward-chaining through a knowledge base of control action tasks. This approach was implemented for two examples: a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and a two-phase thermal testbed. Results of tests with both of these systems demonstrate that the software replicates some or most of the functionality of a human operator, thereby reducing the need for a human-in-the-loop in the lower levels of control of these complex systems.

Stakeholder challenges in purchasing medical devices for patient safety.

PubMed

Hinrichs, Saba; Dickerson, Terry; Clarkson, John

2013-03-01

This study identifies the stakeholders who have a role in medical device purchasing within the wider system of health-care delivery and reports on their particular challenges to promote patient safety during purchasing decisions. Data was collected through observational work, participatory workshops, and semi-structured qualitative interviews, which were analyzed and coded. The study takes a systems-based and engineering design approach to the study. Five hospitals took part in this study, and the participants included maintenance, training, clinical end-users, finance, and risk departments. The main stakeholders for purchasing were identified to be staff from clinical engineering (Maintenance), device users (Clinical), device trainers (Training), and clinical governance for analyzing incidents involving devices (Risk). These stakeholders display varied characteristics in terms of interpretation of their own roles, competencies for selecting devices, awareness and use of resources for purchasing devices, and attitudes toward the purchasing process. The role of "clinical engineering" is seen by these stakeholders to be critical in mediating between training, technical, and financial stakeholders but not always recognized in practice. The findings show that many device purchasing decisions are tackled in isolation, which is not optimal for decisions requiring knowledge that is currently distributed among different people within different departments. The challenges expressed relate to the wider system of care and equipment management, calling for a more systemic view of purchasing for medical devices.

Experiences From Creating the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) v. 1.0

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

00-00-2013 to 00-00-2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Experiences From Creating the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) v. 1.0 5a...external sources, was not easy to achieve. SE Literature: The most comprehensive source of SE knowledge today is the Systems Engineering Handbook [3...recommended for further reading - SEBoK v. 1.0 includes 224 primary references; and (3) Additional references include other related literature that are good

NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report Number 14. Engineering Work and Information Use in Aerospace: Results of a Telephone Survey

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-10-01

and superficial. The results of engineering information studies have not accumulated to form a significant body of knowledge that can be used to...Aerospace Kmowledge Diffits1ion. Studies indicate that timely access to STI can increase productivity and innovation and help aerospace engineers and...scientists maintain and improve their professional skills. These same studies demonstrate, however, how little is known about aerospace knowledge diffusion or

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) Level 3 Package: Qualitative Models, Version 1, Release 1.

PubMed

Chaouiya, Claudine; Keating, Sarah M; Berenguier, Duncan; Naldi, Aurélien; Thieffry, Denis; van Iersel, Martijn P; Le Novère, Nicolas; Helikar, Tomáš

2015-09-04

Quantitative methods for modelling biological networks require an in-depth knowledge of the biochemical reactions and their stoichiometric and kinetic parameters. In many practical cases, this knowledge is missing. This has led to the development of several qualitative modelling methods using information such as, for example, gene expression data coming from functional genomic experiments. The SBML Level 3 Version 1 Core specification does not provide a mechanism for explicitly encoding qualitative models, but it does provide a mechanism for SBML packages to extend the Core specification and add additional syntactical constructs. The SBML Qualitative Models package for SBML Level 3 adds features so that qualitative models can be directly and explicitly encoded. The approach taken in this package is essentially based on the definition of regulatory or influence graphs. The SBML Qualitative Models package defines the structure and syntax necessary to describe qualitative models that associate discrete levels of activities with entity pools and the transitions between states that describe the processes involved. This is particularly suited to logical models (Boolean or multi-valued) and some classes of Petri net models can be encoded with the approach.

Learning the Concept of Researcher as Instrument in Qualitative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Mengxuan Annie; Storr, Gail Blair

2012-01-01

The authors describe the process whereby a student with a background in economics was guided to understand the central role in qualitative research of the researcher as instrument. The instructor designed a three-part mock research project designed to provide experiential knowledge of the enterprise of qualitative research. Students, as neophyte…

Exploring Performativity and Resistance in Qualitative Research Interviews: A Play in Four Acts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaunae, Cathrine; Wu, Chiu-Hui; Koro-Ljungberg, Mirka

2011-01-01

This play describes how the authors become aware of the complexities of resistance and performativity in the qualitative interview process. It also illustrates how this awareness and subsequent acquisition of knowledge changed and informed the way they viewed qualitative research interviewing. More specifically, performativity is put into work in…

The Use of a Checklist and Qualitative Notebooks for an Interactive Process of Teaching and Learning Qualitative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frels, Rebecca K.; Sharma, Bipin; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Leech, Nancy L.; Stark, Marcella D.

2011-01-01

From the perspective of doctoral students and instructors, we explain a developmental, interactive process based upon the Checklist for Qualitative Data Collection, Data Analysis, and Data Interpretation (Onwuegbuzie, 2010) for students' writing assignments regarding: (a) the application of conceptual knowledge for collecting, analyzing, and…

[Qualitative research methodology in health care].

PubMed

Bedregal, Paula; Besoain, Carolina; Reinoso, Alejandro; Zubarew, Tamara

2017-03-01

Health care research requires different methodological approaches such as qualitative and quantitative analyzes to understand the phenomena under study. Qualitative research is usually the least considered. Central elements of the qualitative method are that the object of study is constituted by perceptions, emotions and beliefs, non-random sampling by purpose, circular process of knowledge construction, and methodological rigor throughout the research process, from quality design to the consistency of results. The objective of this work is to contribute to the methodological knowledge about qualitative research in health services, based on the implementation of the study, “The transition process from pediatric to adult services: perspectives from adolescents with chronic diseases, caregivers and health professionals”. The information gathered through the qualitative methodology facilitated the understanding of critical points, barriers and facilitators of the transition process of adolescents with chronic diseases, considering the perspective of users and the health team. This study allowed the design of a transition services model from pediatric to adult health services based on the needs of adolescents with chronic diseases, their caregivers and the health team.

Economically Disadvantaged Minority Girls' Knowledge and Perceptions of Science and Engineering and Related Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Hui-Hui; Billington, Barbara L.

2016-01-01

This article addresses economically disadvantaged minority girls' knowledge and perceptions of science and engineering and the influence of their experiences with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) on their choices for future careers. We interviewed three girls who participated in a 4-H-led gender-inclusive STEM program. Our…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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)

Examining the Relationship between Resistance to Change and Undergraduate Engineering Students' Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyehouse, Melissa; Weber, Nicole; Fang, Jun; Harris, Constance; David, Ray; Hua, Inez; Strobel, Johannes

2017-01-01

Engineering professional associations identified environmental sustainability as a key responsibility of the educated engineer. Data from national surveys of the general public demonstrate low environmental knowledge levels and a high level of resistance when it comes to environmental behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the…

Representing Human Expertise by the OWL Web Ontology Language to Support Knowledge Engineering in Decision Support Systems.

PubMed

Ramzan, Asia; Wang, Hai; Buckingham, Christopher

2014-01-01

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) often base their knowledge and advice on human expertise. Knowledge representation needs to be in a format that can be easily understood by human users as well as supporting ongoing knowledge engineering, including evolution and consistency of knowledge. This paper reports on the development of an ontology specification for managing knowledge engineering in a CDSS for assessing and managing risks associated with mental-health problems. The Galatean Risk and Safety Tool, GRiST, represents mental-health expertise in the form of a psychological model of classification. The hierarchical structure was directly represented in the machine using an XML document. Functionality of the model and knowledge management were controlled using attributes in the XML nodes, with an accompanying paper manual for specifying how end-user tools should behave when interfacing with the XML. This paper explains the advantages of using the web-ontology language, OWL, as the specification, details some of the issues and problems encountered in translating the psychological model to OWL, and shows how OWL benefits knowledge engineering. The conclusions are that OWL can have an important role in managing complex knowledge domains for systems based on human expertise without impeding the end-users' understanding of the knowledge base. The generic classification model underpinning GRiST makes it applicable to many decision domains and the accompanying OWL specification facilitates its implementation.

Integrating ergonomics knowledge into business-driven design projects: The shaping of resource constraints in engineering consultancy.

PubMed

Hall-Andersen, Lene Bjerg; Neumann, Patrick; Broberg, Ole

2016-10-17

The integration of ergonomics knowledge into engineering projects leads to both healthier and more efficient workplaces. There is a lack of knowledge about integrating ergonomic knowledge into the design practice in engineering consultancies. This study explores how organizational resources can pose constraints for the integration of ergonomics knowledge into engineering design projects in a business-driven setting, and how ergonomists cope with these resource constraints. An exploratory case study in an engineering consultancy was conducted. A total of 27 participants were interviewed. Data were collected applying semi-structured interviews, observations, and documentary studies. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and categorized into themes. From the analysis five overall themes emerged as major constituents of resource constraints: 1) maximizing project revenue, 2) payment for ergonomics services, 3) value of ergonomic services, 4) role of the client, and 5) coping strategies to overcome resource constraints. We hypothesize that resource constraints were shaped due to sub-optimization of costs in design projects. The economical contribution of ergonomics measures was not evaluated in the entire life cycle of a designed workplace. Coping strategies included teaming up with engineering designers in the sales process or creating an alliance with ergonomists in the client organization.

Theory and interpretation in qualitative studies from general practice: Why and how?

PubMed

Malterud, Kirsti

2016-03-01

In this article, I want to promote theoretical awareness and commitment among qualitative researchers in general practice and suggest adequate and feasible theoretical approaches. I discuss different theoretical aspects of qualitative research and present the basic foundations of the interpretative paradigm. Associations between paradigms, philosophies, methodologies and methods are examined and different strategies for theoretical commitment presented. Finally, I discuss the impact of theory for interpretation and the development of general practice knowledge. A scientific theory is a consistent and soundly based set of assumptions about a specific aspect of the world, predicting or explaining a phenomenon. Qualitative research is situated in an interpretative paradigm where notions about particular human experiences in context are recognized from different subject positions. Basic theoretical features from the philosophy of science explain why and how this is different from positivism. Reflexivity, including theoretical awareness and consistency, demonstrates interpretative assumptions, accounting for situated knowledge. Different types of theoretical commitment in qualitative analysis are presented, emphasizing substantive theories to sharpen the interpretative focus. Such approaches are clearly within reach for a general practice researcher contributing to clinical practice by doing more than summarizing what the participants talked about, without trying to become a philosopher. Qualitative studies from general practice deserve stronger theoretical awareness and commitment than what is currently established. Persistent attention to and respect for the distinctive domain of knowledge and practice where the research deliveries are targeted is necessary to choose adequate theoretical endeavours. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Self-calibrating models for dynamic monitoring and diagnosis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuipers, Benjamin

1994-01-01

The present goal in qualitative reasoning is to develop methods for automatically building qualitative and semiquantitative models of dynamic systems and to use them for monitoring and fault diagnosis. The qualitative approach to modeling provides a guarantee of coverage while our semiquantitative methods support convergence toward a numerical model as observations are accumulated. We have developed and applied methods for automatic creation of qualitative models, developed two methods for obtaining tractable results on problems that were previously intractable for qualitative simulation, and developed more powerful methods for learning semiquantitative models from observations and deriving semiquantitative predictions from them. With these advances, qualitative reasoning comes significantly closer to realizing its aims as a practical engineering method.

Changes in physiotherapy students' knowledge and perceptions of EBP from first year to graduation: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

McEvoy, Maureen P; Lewis, Lucy K; Luker, Julie

2018-05-11

Dedicated Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) courses are often included in health professional education programs. It is important to understand the effectiveness of this training. This study investigated EBP outcomes in entry-level physiotherapy students from baseline to completion of all EBP training (graduation). Mixed methods with an explanatory sequential design. Physiotherapy students completed two psychometrically-tested health professional EBP instruments at baseline and graduation. The Evidence-Based Practice Profile questionnaire collected self-reported data (Terminology, Confidence, Practice, Relevance, Sympathy), and the Knowledge of Research Evidence Competencies instrument collected objective data (Actual Knowledge). Focus groups with students were conducted at graduation to gain a deeper understanding of the factors impacting changes in students' EBP knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and competency. Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, 95% CI and effect sizes (ES) were used to examine changes in outcome scores from baseline to graduation. Transcribed focus group data were analysed following a qualitative descriptive approach with thematic analysis. A second stage of merged data analysis for mixed methods studies was undertaken using side-by-side comparisons to explore quantitatively assessed EBP measures with participants' personal perceptions. Data were analysed from 56 participants who completed both instruments at baseline and graduation, and from 21 focus group participants. Large ES were reported across most outcomes: Relevance (ES 2.29, p ≤ 0.001), Practice (1.8, p ≤ 0.001), Confidence (1.67, p ≤ 0.001), Terminology (3.13, p ≤ 0.001) and Actual Knowledge (4.3, p ≤ 0.001). A medium ES was found for Sympathy (0.49, p = 0.008). Qualitative and quantitative findings mostly aligned but for statistical terminology, participants' self-reported understanding was disparate with focus group reported experiences. Qualitative findings highlighted the importance of providing relevant context and positive role models for students during EBP training. Following EBP training across an entry-level physiotherapy program, there were qualitative and significant quantitative changes in participants' knowledge and perceptions of EBP. The qualitative and quantitative findings were mainly well-aligned with the exception of the Terminology domain, where the qualitative findings did not support the strength of the effect reported quantitatively. The findings of this study have implications for the timing and content of EBP curricula in entry-level health professional programs.

Knowledge Cultures and the Shaping of Work-Based Learning: The Case of Computer Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nerland, Monika

2008-01-01

This paper examines how the knowledge culture of computer engineering--that is, the ways in which knowledge is produced, distributed, accumulated and collectively approached within this profession--serve to construct work-based learning in specific ways. Typically, the epistemic infrastructures take the form of information structures with a global…

A Knowledge Discovery framework for Planetary Defense

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Y.; Yang, C. P.; Li, Y.; Yu, M.; Bambacus, M.; Seery, B.; Barbee, B.

2016-12-01

Planetary Defense, a project funded by NASA Goddard and the NSF, is a multi-faceted effort focused on the mitigation of Near Earth Object (NEO) threats to our planet. Currently, there exists a dispersion of information concerning NEO's amongst different organizations and scientists, leading to a lack of a coherent system of information to be used for efficient NEO mitigation. In this paper, a planetary defense knowledge discovery engine is proposed to better assist the development and integration of a NEO responding system. Specifically, we have implemented an organized information framework by two means: 1) the development of a semantic knowledge base, which provides a structure for relevant information. It has been developed by the implementation of web crawling and natural language processing techniques, which allows us to collect and store the most relevant structured information on a regular basis. 2) the development of a knowledge discovery engine, which allows for the efficient retrieval of information from our knowledge base. The knowledge discovery engine has been built on the top of Elasticsearch, an open source full-text search engine, as well as cutting-edge machine learning ranking and recommendation algorithms. This proposed framework is expected to advance the knowledge discovery and innovation in planetary science domain.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 50: From student to entry-level professional: Examining the role of language and written communications in the reacculturation of aerospace engineering students

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Keene, Michael L.; Kennedy, John M.; Hecht, Laura F.

1995-01-01

When students graduate and enter the world of work, they must make the transition from an academic to a professional knowledge community. Kenneth Bruffee's model of the social construction of knowledge suggests that language and written communication play a critical role in the reacculturation process that enables successful movement from one knowledge community to another. We present the results of a national (mail) survey that examined the technical communications abilities, skills, and competencies of 1,673 aerospace engineering students, who represent an academic knowledge community. These results are examined within the context of the technical communications behaviors and practices reported by 2,355 aerospace engineers and scientists employed in government and industry, who represent a professional knowledge community that the students expect to join. Bruffee's claim of the importance of language and written communication in the successful transition from an academic to a professional knowledge community is supported by the responses from the two communities we surveyed. Implications are offered for facilitating the reacculturation process of students to entry-level engineering professionals.

Patterns of informal reasoning in the context of socioscientific decision making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Zeidler, Dana L.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study is to contribute to a theoretical knowledge base through research by examining factors salient to science education reform and practice in the context of socioscientific issues. The study explores how individuals negotiate and resolve genetic engineering dilemmas. A qualitative approach was used to examine patterns of informal reasoning and the role of morality in these processes. Thirty college students participated individually in two semistructured interviews designed to explore their informal reasoning in response to six genetic engineering scenarios. Students demonstrated evidence of rationalistic, emotive, and intuitive forms of informal reasoning. Rationalistic informal reasoning described reason-based considerations; emotive informal reasoning described care-based considerations; and intuitive reasoning described considerations based on immediate reactions to the context of a scenario. Participants frequently relied on combinations of these reasoning patterns as they worked to resolve individual socioscientific scenarios. Most of the participants appreciated at least some of the moral implications of their decisions, and these considerations were typically interwoven within an overall pattern of informal reasoning. These results highlight the need to ensure that science classrooms are environments in which intuition and emotion in addition to reason are valued. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

A critical Action Research approach to curriculum development in a laboratory-based chemical engineering course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Scott R.

This dissertation is a report of an attempt to critically evaluate a novel laboratory course from within the context of a chemical engineering curriculum. The research was done in a college classroom-laboratory setting, entrenched in the everydayness of classroom activities. All of the students, instructors, and educational researchers were knowing participants in this Action Research study. The students, a mixture of juniors, seniors, & graduate students, worked together on semester-long projects in groups that were mixed by age, gender and academic level. Qualitative techniques were used to gather different forms of representations of the students and instructors' experiences. Emergent patterns from the data gave strength to emergent knowledge claims that informed the instructors and the researcher about what the students were learning about performing experimental work and communicating results with their peers and instructor. The course challenged and in some cases changed the conceptions of instruction previously held by the students and the instructors. The course did not proceed without problems, yet the majority of these problems were overcome by the design of the course. Assertions and recommendations for improvement and application to other educational contexts are suggested.

Psychological tools for knowledge acquisition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rueter, Henry H.; Olson, Judith Reitman

1988-01-01

Knowledge acquisition is said to be the biggest bottleneck in the development of expert systems. The problem is getting the knowledge out of the expert's head and into a computer. In cognitive psychology, characterizing metal structures and why experts are good at what they do is an important research area. Is there some way that the tools that psychologists have developed to uncover mental structure can be used to benefit knowledge engineers? We think that the way to find out is to browse through the psychologist's toolbox to see what there is in it that might be of use to knowledge engineers. Expert system developers have relied on two standard methods for extracting knowledge from the expert: (1) the knowledge engineer engages in an intense bout of interviews with the expert or experts, or (2) the knowledge engineer becomes an expert himself, relying on introspection to uncover the basis of his own expertise. Unfortunately, these techniques have the difficulty that often the expert himself isn't consciously aware of the basis of his expertise. If the expert himself isn't conscious of how he solves problems, introspection is useless. Cognitive psychology has faced similar problems for many years and has developed exploratory methods that can be used to discover cognitive structure from simple data.

"They're Not Girly Girls": An Exploration of Quantitative and Qualitative Data on Engineering and Gender in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnard, S.; Hassan, T.; Bagilhole, B.; Dainty, A.

2012-01-01

Despite sustained efforts to promote engineering careers to young women, it remains the most male-dominated academic discipline in Europe. This paper will provide an overview of UK data and research on women in engineering higher education, within the context of Europe. Comparisons between data from European countries representing various regions…

First-Hand Experience with Engineering Design and Career Interest in Engineering: An Informal STEM Education Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayar, Mehmet C.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to present students' experiences, interest in engineering, and personal narratives while participating in a robotics summer camp in a metropolitan city in Turkey. In this study, I used qualitative data collection methods such as interviews, field notes, and observations. I used the four principles of Engle and Conant…

Identifying the Barriers upon Development of Virtual Education in Engineering Majors (Case Study: The University of Isfahan)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nikoonezhad, Sepideh; Nili, Mohammadreza; Esfahani, Ahmadreza Nasr

2015-01-01

The present study aims at investigating barriers upon development of virtual education in engineering majors at the University of Isfahan. The study has applied a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) and its population consists all of the department members of the technical and engineering majors at the University of Isfahan including 125…

Digital controls for gas turbine engines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robinson, K.

1987-01-01

This paper begins by first describing the simplistic requirements of a gas turbine engine; how these requirements are best satisfied, frequently with the aid of electronic control systems; what the trade-off between integrity and reliability means; and finally, but forming a major section, this paper describes in qualitative detail a few of the current programmes for Full Authority Digital Engine Controls (FADEC).

Challenges and Promises of Overcoming Epistemological and Methodological Partiality: Advancing Engineering Education through Acceptance of Diverse Ways of Knowing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglas, Elliot P.; Koro-Ljungberg, Mirka; Borrego, Maura

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore some challenges and promises when the epistemological diversity embedded in qualitative research traditions is introduced to research communities with one dominant research paradigm, such as engineering education. Literature is used from other fields and empirical data are used from engineering education,…

Birds of a Feather Do Not Always Flock Together: A Critical Analysis of Latina Engineers and Their Involvement in Student Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banda, Rosa M.; Flowers, Alonzo M., III

2017-01-01

While an abundance of literature addresses undergraduate students' lack of success in engineering programs, fewer studies examine the persistence of minority females, especially of Latinas. This study employed a qualitative method of inquiry to gain insight into the reasons why Latina undergraduate engineering majors sought membership in student…

Effects of MicroCAD on Learning Fundamental Engineering Graphical Concepts: A Qualitative Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leach, James A.; Gull, Randall L.

1990-01-01

Students' reactions and performances were examined when taught engineering geometry concepts using a standard microcomputer-aided drafting software package. Two sample groups were compared based on their computer experience. Included are the methodology, data analysis, and conclusions. (KR)

Research Methods Tutorial

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aguilera, Frank J.

2015-01-01

A guiding principle for conducting research in technology, science, and engineering, leading to innovation is based on our use of research methodology (both qualitative and qualitative). A brief review of research methodology will be presented with an overview of NASA process in developing aeronautics technologies and other things to consider in research including what is innovation.

STEM Education Related Dissertation Abstracts: A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banning, James; Folkestad, James E.

2012-01-01

This article utilizes a bounded qualitative meta-study framework to examine the 101 dissertation abstracts found by searching the ProQuest Dissertation and Theses[TM] digital database for dissertations abstracts from 1990 through 2010 using the search terms education, science, technology, engineer, and STEM/SMET. Professional search librarians…

Employee motivation of senior engineers in aerospace companies in southern California: A qualitative case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banh, My-Le

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the lack of motivation of engineers with more than 15 years of experience working in aerospace companies in southern California. The sample size for this study consisted of 18 senior engineers. These participants held either a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering fields. Participants were recruited through networking with colleagues and snowball sampling. The data was collected through face-to-face and phone interviews. Participants also had the opportunity to review their responses after the interview. The data analysis resulted in 12 themes regarding the participants' perception of motivation. The top six predominant themes were (1) challenging and new assignments, (2) commitment, (3) opportunity, (4) supporting from managers, (5) team spirit, and (6) open communication. The study resulted in an in-depth understanding of how important motivation is to senior engineers. Based on the findings, leaders should create opportunities for senior employees to work on challenging assignments, acquire autonomy, and obtain more responsibilities. Providing such opportunities may motivate employees to perform well and committee with the organizations.

Ready for a paradigm shift? Part 1: introducing the philosophy of qualitative research.

PubMed

Petty, Nicola J; Thomson, Oliver P; Stew, Graham

2012-08-01

The manual therapy professions have almost exclusively focused on the use of quantitative research to help inform their practices. This paper argues that a greater use of qualitative research will help develop a more robust and comprehensive knowledge base in manual therapy. The types of knowledge used in practice and generated from the two research paradigms are explored. It is hoped that an understanding of the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of qualitative research may encourage more manual therapists to value and use this approach to help further inform their practice; for some, this may involve a paradigm shift in thinking. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Integrated Science, Technology, and Engineering Education on Elementary Students' Knowledge and Identity Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, So Yoon; Dyehouse, Melissa; Lucietto, Anne M.; Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.; Capobianco, Brenda M.

2014-01-01

This study examines the effects of integrated science, technology, and engineering (STE) education on second-, third-, and fourth-grade students' STE content knowledge and aspirations concerning engineering after validation of the measures. During the 2009-2010 school year, 59 elementary school teachers, who attended a week-long engineering…

Identifying and Verifying Earthquake Engineering Concepts to Create a Knowledge Base in STEM Education: A Modified Delphi Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavlazoglu, Baki; Stuessy, Carol L.

2017-01-01

Stakeholders in STEM education have called for integrating engineering content knowledge into STEM-content classrooms. To answer the call, stakeholders in science education announced a new framework, Next Generation Science Standards, which focuses on the integration of science and engineering in K-12 science education. However, research indicates…

The founding of ISOTT: the Shamattawa of engineering science and medical science.

PubMed

Bruley, Duane F

2014-01-01

The founding of ISOTT was based upon the blending of Medical and Engineering sciences. This occurrence is portrayed by the Shamattawa, the joining of the Chippewa and Flambeau rivers. Beginning with Carl Scheele's discovery of oxygen, the medical sciences advanced the knowledge of its importance to physiological phenomena. Meanwhile, engineering science was evolving as a mathematical discipline used to define systems quantitatively from basic principles. In particular, Adolf Fick's employment of a gradient led to the formalization of transport phenomena. These two rivers of knowledge were blended to found ISOTT at Clemson/Charleston, South Carolina, USA, in 1973.The establishment of our society with a mission to support the collaborative work of medical scientists, clinicians and all disciplines of engineering was a supporting step in the evolution of bioengineering. Traditional engineers typically worked in areas not requiring knowledge of biology or the life sciences. By encouraging collaboration between medical science and traditional engineering, our society became one of the forerunners in establishing bioengineering as the fifth traditional discipline of engineering.

Knowledge Preservation for Design of Rocket Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moreman, Douglas

2002-01-01

An engineer at NASA Lewis RC presented a challenge to us at Southern University. Our response to that challenge, stated circa 1993, has evolved into the Knowledge Preservation Project which is here reported. The stated problem was to capture some of the knowledge of retiring NASA engineers and make it useful to younger engineers via computers. We evolved that initial challenge to this - design a system of tools such that, with this system, people might efficiently capture and make available via commonplace computers, deep knowledge of retiring NASA engineers. In the process of proving some of the concepts of this system, we would (and did) capture knowledge from some specific engineers and, so, meet the original challenge along the way to meeting the new. Some of the specific knowledge acquired, particularly that on the RL- 10 engine, was directly relevant to design of rocket engines. We considered and rejected some of the techniques popular in the days we began - specifically "expert systems" and "oral histories". We judged that these old methods had too high a cost per sentence preserved. That cost could be measured in hours of labor of a "knowledge professional". We did spend, particularly in the grant preceding this one, some time creating a couple of "concept maps", one of the latest ideas of the day, but judged this also to be costly in time of a specially trained knowledge-professional. We reasoned that the cost in specialized labor could be lowered if less time were spent being selective about sentences from the engineers and in crafting replacements for those sentences. The trade-off would seem to be that our set of sentences would be less dense in information, but we found a computer-based way around this seeming defect. Our plan, details of which we have been carrying out, was to find methods of extracting information from experts which would be capable of gaining cooperation, and interest, of senior engineers and using their time in a way they would find worthy (and, so, they would give more of their time and recruit time of other engineers as well). We studied these four ways of creating text: 1) the old way, via interviews and discussions - one of our team working with one expert, 2) a group-discussion led by one of the experts themselves and on a topic which inspires interaction of the experts, 3) a spoken dissertation by one expert practiced in giving talks, 4) expropriating, and modifying for our system, some existing reports (such as "oral histories" from the Smithsonian Institution).

A Conversational Model for Qualitative Research: A Case Study of Clergy and Religious Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roland, Daniel; Wicks, Don A.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the qualitative research interview as a conversation designed to gain understanding of the world of research informants. It illustrates the potential of the qualitative research interview when the researcher is able to enter into and maintain a conversation with the research informant as an insider in the latter's community.…

Towards a Critical Health Equity Research Stance: Why Epistemology and Methodology Matter More than Qualitative Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowleg, Lisa

2017-01-01

Qualitative methods are not intrinsically progressive. Methods are simply tools to conduct research. Epistemology, the justification of knowledge, shapes methodology and methods, and thus is a vital starting point for a critical health equity research stance, regardless of whether the methods are qualitative, quantitative, or mixed. In line with…

Using Topdown Conceptual Analysis To Accelerate The Learning Of New Domains For Knowledge Engineers & Domain Experts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xuan, Albert L.; Shinghal, Rajjan

1989-03-01

As the need for knowledge-based systems increases, an increasing number of domain experts are becoming interested in taking more active part in the building of knowledge-based systems. However, such a domain expert often must deal with a large number of unfamiliar terms concepts, facts, procedures and principles based on different approaches and schools of thought. He (for brevity, we shall use masculine pronouns for both genders) may need the help of a knowledge engineer (KE) in building the knowledge-based system but may encounter a number of problems. For instance, much of the early interaction between him and the knowl edge engineer may be spent in educating each other about their seperate kinds of expertise. Since the knowledge engineer will usually be ignorant of the knowledge domain while the domain expert (DE) will have little knowledge about knowledge-based systems, a great deal of time will be wasted on these issues ad the DE and the KE train each other to the point where a fruitful interaction can occur. In some situations, it may not even be possible for the DE to find a suitable KE to work with because he has no time to train the latter in his domain. This will engender the need for the DE to be more knowledgeable about knowledge-based systems and for the KE to find methods and techniques which will allow them to learn new domains as fast as they can. In any event, it is likely that the process of building knowledge-based systems will be smooth, er and more efficient if the domain expert is knowledgeable about the methods and techniques of knowledge-based systems building.

An atom is known by the company it keeps: Content, representation and pedagogy within the epistemic revolution of the complexity sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blikstein, Paulo

The goal of this dissertation is to explore relations between content, representation, and pedagogy, so as to understand the impact of the nascent field of complexity sciences on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning. Wilensky & Papert coined the term "structurations" to express the relationship between knowledge and its representational infrastructure. A change from one representational infrastructure to another they call a "restructuration." The complexity sciences have introduced a novel and powerful structuration: agent-based modeling. In contradistinction to traditional mathematical modeling, which relies on equational descriptions of macroscopic properties of systems, agent-based modeling focuses on a few archetypical micro-behaviors of "agents" to explain emergent macro-behaviors of the agent collective. Specifically, this dissertation is about a series of studies of undergraduate students' learning of materials science, in which two structurations are compared (equational and agent-based), consisting of both design research and empirical evaluation. I have designed MaterialSim, a constructionist suite of computer models, supporting materials and learning activities designed within the approach of agent-based modeling, and over four years conducted an empirical inves3 tigation of an undergraduate materials science course. The dissertation is comprised of three studies: Study 1 - diagnosis . I investigate current representational and pedagogical practices in engineering classrooms. Study 2 - laboratory studies. I investigate the cognition of students engaging in scientific inquiry through programming their own scientific models. Study 3 - classroom implementation. I investigate the characteristics, advantages, and trajectories of scientific content knowledge that is articulated in epistemic forms and representational infrastructures unique to complexity sciences, as well as the feasibility of the integration of constructionist, agent-based learning environments in engineering classrooms. Data sources include classroom observations, interviews, videotaped sessions of model-building, questionnaires, analysis of computer-generated logfiles, and quantitative and qualitative analysis of artifacts. Results shows that (1) current representational and pedagogical practices in engineering classrooms were not up to the challenge of the complex content being taught, (2) by building their own scientific models, students developed a deeper understanding of core scientific concepts, and learned how to better identify unifying principles and behaviors in materials science, and (3) programming computer models was feasible within a regular engineering classroom.

A qualitative examination of the nature and impact of three California minority engineering programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christie, Barbara A.

According to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), the national retention rate of engineering students is 68% and the national retention rate for underrepresented minority engineering students (African American, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islanders) is 37%. In response to the severity of retention issues concerning underrepresented minority students, colleges and universities across the United States have developed special programs known as minority engineering programs (MEP). MEPs are designed to provide academic support, personal counseling, social networking, career counseling and professional development as a means to improve retention. In order to provide a detailed description of the MEPs, the research method selected is a case study. This case study is an examination of the nature and impact of three MEPs in California. This study is also an analysis of the lack of participation by freshmen and sophomore students who qualify for these programs. Methodology included extensive surveys and interviews of students, faculty and staff, site visits, and examination of documents. Over 500 students were surveyed during lower division engineering courses. The qualifying students who gave permission for further interviews were provided with questions about their participation or nonparticipation and the reasons for their behavior. Faculty members were interviews about their knowledge and personal involvement with the minority engineering program on their campuses. Program directors were interviewed to discuss program design and implementation. A categorical method was used to separate the different groups within the study. Of the 509 respondents, 132 were classified as qualifier/nonparticipant freshman and sophomore engineering students. The results demonstrated that a high percentage of the qualifier/nonparticipants are unaware of the programs and events on their campuses. During the interviews the students stated they are very interested in academic enrichment, social networking and professional development. The students also stated they feel the faculty should provide information on enrichment programs available on campus. Conversely, during the faculty interviews, they stated that it is not their responsibility to inform students and were unfamiliar with the minority engineering programs on their campuses. These results concurred with works of Raymond Landis and Elaine Seymour.

District nurses' knowledge development in wound management: ongoing learning without organizational support.

PubMed

Friman, Anne; Wahlberg, Anna Carin; Mattiasson, Anne-Cathrine; Ebbeskog, Britt

2014-10-01

The aim of this study was to describe district nurses' (DNs') experiences of their knowledge development in wound management when treating patients with different types of wounds at healthcare centers. In primary healthcare, DNs are mainly responsible for wound management. Previous research has focused on DNs' level of expertise regarding wound management, mostly based on quantitative studies. An unanswered question concerns DNs' knowledge development in wound management. The present study therefore intends to broaden understanding and to provide deeper knowledge in regard to the DNs' experiences of their knowledge development when treating patients with wounds. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Subjects were a purposeful sample of 16 DNs from eight healthcare centers in a metropolitan area in Stockholm, Sweden. The study was conducted with qualitative interviews and qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. The content analysis resulted in three categories and 11 sub-categories. The first category, 'ongoing learning by experience,' was based on experiences of learning alongside clinical practice. The second category 'searching for information,' consisted of various channels for obtaining information. The third category, 'lacking organizational support,' consisted of experiences related to the DNs' work organization, which hindered their development in wound care knowledge. The DNs experienced that they were in a constant state of learning and obtained their wound care knowledge to a great extent through practical work, from their colleagues as well as from various companies. A lack of organizational structures and support from staff management made it difficult for DNs to develop their knowledge and skills in wound management, which can lead to inadequate wound management.

A Probabilistic Ontology Development Methodology

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

Test, and Evaluation; Acquisition; and Planning and Marketing ," in Handbook of Systems Engineering and Management .: John Wiley & Sons, 2009, pp...Intelligence and knowledge management . However, many real world problems in these disciplines are burdened by incomplete information and other sources...knowledge engineering, Artificial Intelligence and knowledge management . However, many real world problems in these disciplines are burdened by

The Significance of Content Knowledge for Informal Reasoning regarding Socioscientific Issues: Applying Genetics Knowledge to Genetic Engineering Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadler, Troy D.; Zeidler, Dana L.

2005-01-01

This study focused on informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues. It sought to explore how content knowledge influenced the negotiation and resolution of contentious and complex scenarios based on genetic engineering. Two hundred and sixty-nine students drawn from undergraduate natural science and nonnatural science courses completed a…

A Knowledge Engineering Approach to Developing Educational Computer Games for Improving Students' Differentiating Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Sung, Han-Yu; Hung, Chun-Ming; Yang, Li-Hsueh; Huang, Iwen

2013-01-01

Educational computer games have been recognized as being a promising approach for motivating students to learn. Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that without proper learning strategies or supportive models, the learning achievement of students might not be as good as expected. In this study, a knowledge engineering approach is proposed…

Mitigating the Mathematical Knowledge Gap between High School and First Year University Chemical Engineering Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basitere, Moses; Ivala, Eunice

2015-01-01

This paper reports on a study carried out at a University of Technology, South Africa, aimed at identifying the existence of the mathematical knowledge gap and evaluating the intervention designed to bridge the knowledge gap amongst students studying first year mathematics at the Chemical Engineering Extended Curriculum Program (ECP). In this…

Education Program for Ph.D. Course to Cultivate Literacy and Competency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokono, Yasuyuki; Mitsuishi, Mamoru

The program aims to cultivate internationally competitive young researchers equipped with Fundamental attainment (mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, and fundamental social sciences) , Specialized knowledge (mechanical dynamics, mechanics of materials, hydrodynamics, thermodynamics, design engineering, manufacturing engineering and material engineering, and bird‧s-eye view knowledge on technology, society and the environment) , Literacy (Language, information literacy, technological literacy and knowledge of the law) and Competency (Creativity, problem identification and solution, planning and execution, self-management, teamwork, leadership, sense of responsibility and sense of duty) to become future leaders in industry and academia.

Workplace Learning: The Roles of Knowledge Accessibility and Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jessica; Brake, Gary; Champion, Angeline; Fuller, Tony; Gabel, Sandy; Hatcher-Busch, Lori

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how knowledge management systems have been used by the studied organizations to improve knowledge accessibility and knowledge sharing in order to increase workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies on a qualitative multisite case study method. Data were obtained from five…

School Management Related Knowledge Levels of Primary School Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ugurlu, Celal Teyyar

2013-01-01

The knowledge levels of the teachers affect the qualifications of operations and transactions in schools. School management related knowledge of the teachers is an essential tool to reach the targets of the school. The objective of this study was to determine the school management related knowledge levels of the teachers. Qualitative and…

Tacit Knowledge Flows and Institutional Theory: Accelerating Acculturation

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

sustainable competitive advantage , but different kinds of knowledge affect competitive advantage differently. This applies especially to the...such qualitative fieldwork and informs theory and practice alike. 1. Introduction Knowledge is key to sustainable competitive advantage ...4,8,19]. Knowledge enables effective action; effective action drives superior performance; and superior performance supports competitive advantage

Exploring the Malaysian Rural School Teachers' Professional Local Knowledge in Enhancing Students' Thinking Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jamil, Hazri; Arbaa, Rohani; Ahmad, Mohamad Zohir

2017-01-01

This paper discussed a qualitative research findings on the case of Malaysian teachers employed their professional local knowledge for enhancing students' thinking skills in classroom practices. In this paper, a teacher's professional local knowledge is viewed as a teacher's professional knowledge and skills developed through the combination of…

Status of the Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering (BKCASE (trademark)) Project

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

Systems engineer- ing knowledge has also been documented through the standards bodies, most notably : • ISO /IEC/IEEE 15288, Systems Engineer- ing...System Life Cycle Processes, 2008 (see [10]). • ANSI/EIA 632, Processes for Engineering a System, (1998) • IEEE 1220, ISO /IEC 26702 Application...tion • United States Defense Acquisition Guidebook, Chapter 4, June 27, 2011 • IEEE/EIA 12207 , Software Life Cycle Processes, 2008 • United

Enhancing Systems Engineering Education Through Case Study Writing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevens, Jennifer Stenger

2016-01-01

Developing and refining methods for teaching systems engineering is part of Systems Engineering grand challenges and agenda for research in the SE research community. Retention of systems engineering knowledge is a growing concern in the United States as the baby boom generation continues to retire and the faster pace of technology development does not allow for younger generations to gain experiential knowledge through years of practice. Government agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), develop their own curricula and SE leadership development programs to "grow their own" systems engineers. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) conducts its own Center-focused Marshall Systems Engineering Leadership Development Program (MSELDP), a competitive program consisting of coursework, a guest lecture series, and a rotational assignment into an unfamiliar organization engaged in systems engineering. Independently, MSFC developed two courses to address knowledge retention and sharing concerns: Real World Marshall Mission Success course and its Case Study Writers Workshop and Writers Experience. Teaching case study writing and leading students through a hands-on experience at writing a case study on an SE topic can enhance SE training and has the potential to accelerate the transfer of experiential knowledge. This paper is an overview of the pilot experiences with teaching case study writing, its application in case study-based learning, and identifies potential areas of research and application for case study writing in systems engineering education.

Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.

PubMed

Carriger, John F; Dyson, Brian E; Benson, William H

2018-05-01

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision-making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social-environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the US Gulf Coast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:381-394. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Constructing engineers through practice: Gendered features of learning and identity development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonso, Karen L.

How do women and men student engineers develop an engineering identity (a sense of belonging, or not), while practicing "actual" engineering? What are the influences of gender, learning and knowledge, relations of power, and conceptions of equality on cultural identity development? I studied these issues in reform-minded engineering design classes, courses organized around teaching students communications, teamwork, and practical engineering. Engineering-student cultural identity categories revealed a status hierarchy, predicated on meeting "academic" criteria for excellence, and the almost total exclusion of women. While working as an engineering colleague on five student teams (three first-year and two senior) and attending their design classes, I documented how cultural identities were made evident and constructed in students' practical engineering. Design projects promoted linking academic knowledge with real-world situations, sharing responsibilities and trusting colleagues, communicating engineering knowledge to technical and non-technical members of business communities, and addressing gaps in students' knowledge. With a curriculum analysis and survey of students' perceptions of the differences between design and conventional courses, I embedded the design classes in the wider campus and found that: (1) Engineering education conferred prestige, power, and well-paying jobs on students who performed "academic" engineering, while failing to adequately encourage "actual" engineering practices. High-status student engineers were the least likely to perform "actual" engineering in design teams. (2) Engineering education advanced an ideology that encouraged its practitioners to consider men's privilege and women's invisibility normal. By making "acting like men act" the standards to which engineering students must conform, women learned to put up with oppressive treatment. Women's accepting their own mistreatment and hiding their womanhood became a condition of women's belonging. (3) Despite all of the pressures to do otherwise, (some) teams of students (at all levels) carved out small oases where "actual" engineering prevailed and women's participation was robust. Students--not faculty, not progressive pedagogy, not "reformed" courses--disrupted prevailing norms. However, two women engineering students, one on each senior team, performed fabulous "actual" engineering, yet neither of them had a job when they graduated--the only two senior students on my teams without jobs.

Methodological Problems of Nanotechnoscience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorokhov, V. G.

Recently, we have reported on the definitions of nanotechnology as a new type of NanoTechnoScience and on the nanotheory as a cluster of the different natural and engineering theories. Nanotechnology is not only a new type of scientific-engineering discipline, but it evolves also in a “nonclassical” way. Nanoontology or nano scientific world view has a function of the methodological orientation for the choice the theoretical means and methods toward a solution to the scientific and engineering problems. This allows to change from one explanation and scientific world view to another without any problems. Thus, nanotechnology is both a field of scientific knowledge and a sphere of engineering activity, in other words, NanoTechnoScience is similar to Systems Engineering as the analysis and design of large-scale, complex, man/machine systems but micro- and nanosystems. Nano systems engineering as well as Macro systems engineering includes not only systems design but also complex research. Design orientation has influence on the change of the priorities in the complex research and of the relation to the knowledge, not only to “the knowledge about something”, but also to the knowledge as the means of activity: from the beginning control and restructuring of matter at the nano-scale is a necessary element of nanoscience.

A Qualitative Study on Knowledge Transfer among Members of the United States Intelligence Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keshavarz-Nia, Navid R.

2011-01-01

This study sought to examine the relationship between social interaction and tacit knowledge transfer, as a dyadic exchange of critical knowledge between a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and a Knowledge Recipient (KR). Knowledge was defined as information and know-how, not merely as organized data or a system, but an active social process that was…

Knowledge synthesis methods for integrating qualitative and quantitative data: a scoping review reveals poor operationalization of the methodological steps.

PubMed

Tricco, Andrea C; Antony, Jesmin; Soobiah, Charlene; Kastner, Monika; MacDonald, Heather; Cogo, Elise; Lillie, Erin; Tran, Judy; Straus, Sharon E

2016-05-01

To describe and compare, through a scoping review, emerging knowledge synthesis methods for integrating qualitative and quantitative evidence in health care, in terms of expertise required, similarities, differences, strengths, limitations, and steps involved in using the methods. Electronic databases (e.g., MEDLINE) were searched, and two reviewers independently selected studies and abstracted data for qualitative analysis. In total, 121 articles reporting seven knowledge synthesis methods (critical interpretive synthesis, integrative review, meta-narrative review, meta-summary, mixed studies review, narrative synthesis, and realist review) were included after screening of 17,962 citations and 1,010 full-text articles. Common similarities among methods related to the entire synthesis process, while common differences related to the research question and eligibility criteria. The most common strength was a comprehensive synthesis providing rich contextual data, whereas the most common weakness was a highly subjective method that was not reproducible. For critical interpretive synthesis, meta-narrative review, meta-summary, and narrative synthesis, guidance was not provided for some steps of the review process. Some of the knowledge synthesis methods provided guidance on all steps, whereas other methods were missing guidance on the synthesis process. Further work is needed to clarify these emerging knowledge synthesis methods. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Photolithography diagnostic expert systems: a systematic approach to problem solving in a wafer fabrication facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weatherwax Scott, Caroline; Tsareff, Christopher R.

1990-06-01

One of the main goals of process engineering in the semiconductor industry is to improve wafer fabrication productivity and throughput. Engineers must work continuously toward this goal in addition to performing sustaining and development tasks. To accomplish these objectives, managers must make efficient use of engineering resources. One of the tools being used to improve efficiency is the diagnostic expert system. Expert systems are knowledge based computer programs designed to lead the user through the analysis and solution of a problem. Several photolithography diagnostic expert systems have been implemented at the Hughes Technology Center to provide a systematic approach to process problem solving. This systematic approach was achieved by documenting cause and effect analyses for a wide variety of processing problems. This knowledge was organized in the form of IF-THEN rules, a common structure for knowledge representation in expert system technology. These rules form the knowledge base of the expert system which is stored in the computer. The systems also include the problem solving methodology used by the expert when addressing a problem in his area of expertise. Operators now use the expert systems to solve many process problems without engineering assistance. The systems also facilitate the collection of appropriate data to assist engineering in solving unanticipated problems. Currently, several expert systems have been implemented to cover all aspects of the photolithography process. The systems, which have been in use for over a year, include wafer surface preparation (HMDS), photoresist coat and softbake, align and expose on a wafer stepper, and develop inspection. These systems are part of a plan to implement an expert system diagnostic environment throughout the wafer fabrication facility. In this paper, the systems' construction is described, including knowledge acquisition, rule construction, knowledge refinement, testing, and evaluation. The roles played by the process engineering expert and the knowledge engineer are discussed. The features of the systems are shown, particularly the interactive quality of the consultations and the ease of system use.

The Analysis of Sustainable Development Content in the Syllabus of Environmental Knowledge and Plants Ecology Lecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putra, A.; Rahmat, A.; Redjeki, S.

2017-09-01

This research aims to find out how much the content of sustainable development exist in the content of environmental knowledge and plant ecology courses. The focus indicators of sustainable development indicators is the environment. This research is a qualitative research type with qualitative descriptive approach. The analyzed variables are only 2 courses, which are environmental knowledge and plants ecology. The results showed that the syllabus contents analysis of environmental knowledge and plants ecology courses in private Lembaga Pendidikan Tenaga Kependidikan (LPTK) in the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat is already good enough and the sustainable development contents is very large, almost all syllabus contents has already prioritize the sustainable development load of both the subject of environmental knowledge and plants ecology, although there are still some syllabus contents that was not includes sustainable development load, but the percentage is quite small, especially in the course of Plant Ecology.

The Role of Functionality in the Mental Representations of Engineering Students: Some Differences in the Early Stages of Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Jarrod; Kotovsky, Kenneth; Cagan, Jonathan

2006-01-01

As engineers gain experience and become experts in their domain, the structure and content of their knowledge changes. Two studies are presented that examine differences in knowledge representation among freshman and senior engineering students. The first study examines recall of mechanical devices and chunking of components, and the second…

Expert systems in civil engineering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kostem, C.N.; Maher, M.L.

1986-01-01

This book presents the papers given at a symposium on expert systems in civil engineering. Topics considered at the symposium included problem solving using expert system techniques, construction schedule analysis, decision making and risk analysis, seismic risk analysis systems, an expert system for inactive hazardous waste site characterization, an expert system for site selection, knowledge engineering, and knowledge-based expert systems in seismic analysis.

Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management Practices and Firm's Performance: An Empirical Study of a Heavy Engineering Firm in India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jain, Ajay K.; Moreno, Ana

2015-01-01

Purpose: The study aims at investigating the impact of organizational learning (OL) on the firm's performance and knowledge management (KM) practices in a heavy engineering organization in India. Design/Methodology/Approach: The data were collected from 205 middle and senior executives working in the project engineering management division of a…

Changes in Transferable Knowledge Resulting from Study in a Graduate Software Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bareiss, Ray; Sedano, Todd; Katz, Edward

2012-01-01

This paper presents the initial results of a study of the evolution of students' knowledge of software engineering from the beginning to the end of a master's degree curriculum in software engineering. Students were presented with a problem involving the initiation of a complex new project at the beginning of the program and again at the end of…

The experiences of science teachers' particpation in an inquiry-based professional development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Emily A.

Once a leader in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, the United States (U.S.) is now far behind many countries. There is growing concern that the U.S. is not preparing a sufficient number of students in the areas of STEM. Despite advancement of inquiry learning in science, the extent to which inquiry learning has been implemented on a classroom level falls short. The purpose of this study was to learn about the experiences of science teachers' participation in an inquiry-based professional development. A mixed method research design was used for this study to collect data from ten Project MISE participants. The qualitative data was collected using semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews, focus group interviews, observations, and document analysis of teacher portfolios and analyzed using constant comparative method. The quantitative data were collected through administration of a pretest and posttest instrument that measures the content knowledge of the science teachers and analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-test. The participants of this mixed methods study provided compelling evidence that Project MISE has a profound impact on their instructional practice, networking abilities, opportunities for reflection, and content knowledge.

An integrated knowledge system for wind tunnel testing - Project Engineers' Intelligent Assistant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lo, Ching F.; Shi, George Z.; Hoyt, W. A.; Steinle, Frank W., Jr.

1993-01-01

The Project Engineers' Intelligent Assistant (PEIA) is an integrated knowledge system developed using artificial intelligence technology, including hypertext, expert systems, and dynamic user interfaces. This system integrates documents, engineering codes, databases, and knowledge from domain experts into an enriched hypermedia environment and was designed to assist project engineers in planning and conducting wind tunnel tests. PEIA is a modular system which consists of an intelligent user-interface, seven modules and an integrated tool facility. Hypermedia technology is discussed and the seven PEIA modules are described. System maintenance and updating is very easy due to the modular structure and the integrated tool facility provides user access to commercial software shells for documentation, reporting, or database updating. PEIA is expected to provide project engineers with technical information, increase efficiency and productivity, and provide a realistic tool for personnel training.

Knowledge management through the e-learning approach - a case study of online engineering courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aichouni, Mohamed; Benchicou, Soraya; Nehari, Dris

2013-06-01

Though it is universally accepted that the face-to-face approach is the best way for education and training, however, with the advent of the information and communication technologies (mainly the World Wide Web) it became possible to enhance further the methods we are using to teach our students and to share the teaching material within a broaden engineering, technical and business communities. This paper is dedicated to making a review of the basic concepts of knowledge management and e-learning and to show how these two modern concepts can be integrated into engineering education to produce knowledge, disseminate it and share it within virtual interest groups and networks of engineering students, academic teachers and industrial engineers and technicians and business managers. A practical case study will be presented and discussed.

Photographic characterization of spark-ignition engine fuel injectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evanich, P. L.

1978-01-01

Manifold port fuel injectors suitable for use in general aviation spark-ignition engines were evaluated qualitatively on the basis of fuel spray characteristics. Photographs were taken at various fuel flow rates or pressure levels. Mechanically and electronically operated pintle injectors generally produced the most atomization. The plain-orifice injectors used on most fuel-injected general aviation engines did not atomize the fuel when sprayed into quiescent air.

Knowledge Engineering as a Component of the Curriculum for Medical Cybernetists.

PubMed

Karas, Sergey; Konev, Arthur

2017-01-01

According to a new state educational standard, students who have chosen medical cybernetics as their major must develop a knowledge engineering competency. Previously, in the course "Clinical cybernetics" while practicing project-based learning students were designing automated workstations for medical personnel using client-server technology. The purpose of the article is to give insight into the project of a new educational module "Knowledge engineering". Students will acquire expert knowledge by holding interviews and conducting surveys, and then they will formalize it. After that, students will form declarative expert knowledge in a network model and analyze the knowledge graph. Expert decision making methods will be applied in software on the basis of a production model of knowledge. Project implementation will result not only in the development of analytical competencies among students, but also creation of a practically useful expert system based on student models to support medical decisions. Nowadays, this module is being tested in the educational process.

Chemistry Teachers' Knowledge and Application of Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Zuhao; Chi, Shaohui; Hu, Kaiyan; Chen, Wenting

2014-01-01

Teachers' knowledge and application of model play an important role in students' development of modeling ability and scientific literacy. In this study, we investigated Chinese chemistry teachers' knowledge and application of models. Data were collected through test questionnaire and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The result indicated…

Adolescents Searching for Health Information on the Internet: An Observational Study

PubMed Central

Derry, Holly A; Resnick, Paul J; Richardson, Caroline R

2003-01-01

Background Adolescents' access to health information on the Internet is partly a function of their ability to search for and find answers to their health-related questions. Adolescents may have unique health and computer literacy needs. Although many surveys, interviews, and focus groups have been utilized to understand the information-seeking and information-retrieval behavior of adolescents looking for health information online, we were unable to locate observations of individual adolescents that have been conducted in this context. Objective This study was designed to understand how adolescents search for health information using the Internet and what implications this may have on access to health information. Methods A convenience sample of 12 students (age 12-17 years) from 1 middle school and 2 high schools in southeast Michigan were provided with 6 health-related questions and asked to look for answers using the Internet. Researchers recorded 68 specific searches using software that captured screen images as well as synchronized audio recordings. Recordings were reviewed later and specific search techniques and strategies were coded. A qualitative review of the verbal communication was also performed. Results Out of 68 observed searches, 47 (69%) were successful in that the adolescent found a correct and useful answer to the health question. The majority of sites that students attempted to access were retrieved directly from search engine results (77%) or a search engine's recommended links (10%); only a small percentage were directly accessed (5%) or linked from another site (7%). The majority (83%) of followed links from search engine results came from the first 9 results. Incorrect spelling (30 of 132 search terms), number of pages visited within a site (ranging from 1-15), and overall search strategy (eg, using a search engine versus directly accessing a site), were each important determinants of success. Qualitative analysis revealed that participants used a trial-and-error approach to formulate search strings, scanned pages randomly instead of systematically, and did not consider the source of the content when searching for health information. Conclusions This study provides a useful snapshot of current adolescent searching patterns. The results have implications for constructing realistic simulations of adolescent search behavior, improving distribution and usefulness of Web sites with health information relevant to adolescents, and enhancing educators' knowledge of what specific pitfalls students are likely to encounter. PMID:14713653

Maturity Curve of Systems Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

b. Analysis of Data .......................................................... 41 4. Fuzzy Logic...the collection and analysis of data . (Hart, 1998) 13 1. Methodology Overview A qualitative approach in acquiring and managing the data was used...for this analysis . A quantitative tool was used to examine and evaluate the data . The qualitative approach was intended to sort the acquired traits

Qualitative Reasoning methods for CELSS modeling.

PubMed

Guerrin, F; Bousson, K; Steyer JPh; Trave-Massuyes, L

1994-11-01

Qualitative Reasoning (QR) is a branch of Artificial Intelligence that arose from research on engineering problem solving. This paper describes the major QR methods and techniques, which, we believe, are capable of addressing some of the problems that are emphasized in the literature and posed by CELSS modeling, simulation, and control at the supervisory level.

Practicing participative management in the clinical laboratory. Foster a productive and satisfying staff.

PubMed

Boissoneau, R; McPherson, J

1991-01-01

Employee participation and involvement are at the leading edge of management thinking today. Not only behaviorally oriented managers, but managers of all styles include personnel in decision-making. The purpose of this article is to communicate to clinical laboratory managers some recent developments in people management. Several suggestions for team building and the desired outcome of worker participation are included. Although employee participation has been a major issue in management for 10 years, many business schools still emphasize only the traditional quantitative subjects of accounting, finance, statistics, and systems engineering. Obviously, these subjects are important, but modern managers must learn qualitative or behavioral material as well. Students are affected by the lack of a notable behavioral emphasis. Unfortunately, some students think that learning in the behavioral domain is unimportant. Too often, these students encounter problems later in their careers with employees and can only wish for greater knowledge.

Exploring an experiential learning project through Kolb's Learning Theory using a qualitative research method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuk Chan, Cecilia Ka

2012-08-01

Experiential learning pedagogy is taking a lead in the development of graduate attributes and educational aims as these are of prime importance for society. This paper shows a community service experiential project conducted in China. The project enabled students to serve the affected community in a post-earthquake area by applying their knowledge and skills. This paper documented the students' learning process from their project goals, pre-trip preparations, work progress, obstacles encountered to the final results and reflections. Using the data gathered from a focus group interview approach, the four components of Kolb's learning cycle, the concrete experience, reflection observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation, have been shown to transform and internalise student's learning experience, achieving a variety of learning outcomes. The author will also explore how this community service type of experiential learning in the engineering discipline allowed students to experience deep learning and develop their graduate attributes.

[Qualitative analysis of organizational innovations in Spanish public hospitals].

PubMed

del Llano, J; Martínez-Cantarero, J F; Gol, J; Raigada, F

2002-01-01

To determine the opinion of chief executive officers (CEOs) and physicians in public hospitals concerning new managerial trends. We performed a qualitative study designed to determine the opinion of CEOs and physicians on the organizational innovations that affect more than one level of health management intervention. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify behavior, experiences, opinions, knowledge and other personal and institutional aspects related to the study's aim. Focus groups (two study groups and one control group) were also used. Interaction between groups was used to obtain different types of information on the development of ideas, operational capacity, and the degree of consensus and disagreement on the subjects discussed. Comparison between the control and the study groups revealed that the new management trends added value in the following areas: economy of contracts, delegation, administrative decentralization, incentives, risk avoidance, process re-engineering, heath care continuity, competitiveness, leadership, information systems and client centeredness. Physicians are showing increased interest in organizational innovations while CEOs are ambivalent about their changing role and respective responsibilities. There is evidence of resistance to change. There is no single institutional model; institutional design depends on internal factors (cohesion and leadership) and external factors (environment, size and technology). The incipient development of innovations reveals the need for changes in the style and characteristics of management structure (composition, functions, responsibilities).

Interactions among Knowledge, Beliefs, and Goals in Framing a Qualitative Study in Statistics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groth, Randall E.

2010-01-01

In the recent past, qualitative research methods have become more prevalent in the field of statistics education. This paper offers thoughts on the process of framing a qualitative study by means of an illustrative example. The decisions that influenced the framing of a study of pre-service teachers' understanding of the concept of statistical…

Using Green Chemistry and Engineering Principles to Design, Assess, and Retrofit Chemical Processes for Sustainability

EPA Science Inventory

The concepts of green chemistry and engineering (GC&E) have been promoted as an effective qualitative framework for developing more sustainable chemical syntheses, processes, and material management techniques. This has been demonstrated by many theoretical and practical cases. I...

Misconceptions about Sound among Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2012-01-01

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…

'It makes you think' - exploring the impact of qualitative films on pain clinicians.

PubMed

Toye, Francine; Jenkins, Sue

2015-02-01

Researchers need to consider the impact and utility of their findings. Film is an accessible medium for qualitative research findings and can facilitate learning through emotional engagement. We aimed to explore the usefulness of a short film presenting findings from a published qualitative synthesis of adults' experience of chronic musculoskeletal pain for pain education. In particular, we were interested in the impact of the film on clinician's understanding of patients' experience of chronic pain and how this knowledge might be used for improved healthcare for people with pain. Focus groups with healthcare professionals enrolled in a pain management foundation course explored healthcare professionals' experience of watching the film. A constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted by the researchers. This article presents one thematic exemplar from a wider study. Participants reflected upon the pitfalls of judging by appearances and the value of seeing the person beneath his or her performance. There is a danger that the impact of qualitative findings is under-valued in clinical education. We present one exemplar from a study exploring knowledge mobilisation, which demonstrates that qualitative research, specifically qualitative films, can make us think about the care that we provide to people with chronic pain.

Qualitative research and the epidemiological imagination: a vital relationship.

PubMed

Popay, J

2003-01-01

This paper takes as its starting point the assumption that the 'Epidemiological Imagination' has a central role to play in the future development of policies and practice to improve population health and reduce health inequalities within and between states but suggests that by neglecting the contribution that qualitative research can make epidemiology is failing to deliver this potential. The paper briefly considers what qualitative research is, touching on epistemological questions--what type of "knowledge" is generated--and questions of methods--what approaches to data collection, analysis and interpretation are involved). Following this the paper presents two different models of the relationship between qualitative and quantitative research. The enhancement model (which assumes that qualitative research findings add something extra to the findings of quantitative research) suggests three related "roles" for qualitative research: generating hypothesis to be tested by quantitative research, helping to construct more sophisticated measures of social phenomena and explaining unexpected research from quantitative research. In contrast, the Epistemological Model suggests that qualitative research is equal but different from quantitative research making a unique contribution through: researching parts other research approaches can't reach, increasing understanding by adding conceptual and theoretical depth to knowledge, shifting the balance of power between researchers and researched and challenging traditional epidemiological ways of "knowing" the social world. The paper illustrates these different types of contributions with examples of qualitative research and finally discusses ways in which the "trustworthiness" of qualitative research can be assessed.

Knowledge and attitude of key community members towards tuberculosis: mixed method study from BRAC TB control areas in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Paul, Sukanta; Akter, Rahima; Aftab, Afzal; Khan, Antora M; Barua, Mrittika; Islam, Shayla; Islam, Akramul; Husain, Ashaque; Sarker, Malabika

2015-01-31

Bangladesh National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Programme adopted a number of strategies to facilitate TB diagnosis and treatment. 'Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization' (ACSM) was one of the key strategies implemented by BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, a non-governmental development organization) TB control program. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the key community members (KCMs) participated in ACSM in BRAC TB control areas. This study combined quantitative and qualitative methods using a mixed method approach. KCMs in three districts with low TB case detection rates were targeted to assess the ACSM program. The quantitative survey using a multi-stage random-sampling strategy was conducted among 432 participants. The qualitative study included in-depth interviews (IDIs) of a sub sample of 48 respondents. For quantitative analysis, descriptive statistics were reported using frequencies, percentages, and Chi square tests, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative part. Most (99%) of the participants had heard about TB, and almost all knew that TB is a contagious yet curable disease. More than half (53%) of the KCMs had good knowledge regarding TB, but BRAC workers were found to be more knowledgeable compared to other KCMs. However, considerable knowledge gaps were observed among BRAC community health workers. Qualitative results revealed that the majority of the KCMs were aware about the signs, symptoms and transmission pathways of TB and believed that smoking and addiction were the prime causes of transmission of TB. The knowledge about child TB was poor even among BRAC health workers. Stigma associated with TB was not uncommon. Almost all respondents expressed that young girls diagnosed with TB. This study finding has revealed varying levels of knowledge and mixed attitudes about TB among the KCMs. It also provides insight on the poor knowledge regarding child TB and indicate that despite the significant success of the TB program stigma is yet prevalent in the community. Future ACSM activities should engage community members against stigma and promote child TB related information for further improvement of BRAC TB Control Programme.

Designing computer learning environments for engineering and computer science: The scaffolded knowledge integration framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linn, Marcia C.

1995-06-01

Designing effective curricula for complex topics and incorporating technological tools is an evolving process. One important way to foster effective design is to synthesize successful practices. This paper describes a framework called scaffolded knowledge integration and illustrates how it guided the design of two successful course enhancements in the field of computer science and engineering. One course enhancement, the LISP Knowledge Integration Environment, improved learning and resulted in more gender-equitable outcomes. The second course enhancement, the spatial reasoning environment, addressed spatial reasoning in an introductory engineering course. This enhancement minimized the importance of prior knowledge of spatial reasoning and helped students develop a more comprehensive repertoire of spatial reasoning strategies. Taken together, the instructional research programs reinforce the value of the scaffolded knowledge integration framework and suggest directions for future curriculum reformers.

I was told it restarts your brain: knowledge, power, and women's experiences of ECT.

PubMed

Ejaredar, Maede; Hagen, Brad

2014-02-01

A discrepancy exists between clinician-led studies of people's experience of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and consumer-led studies, with the former typically being much more positive about the efficacy and side effects of ECT compared with the latter. Qualitative in-depth explorations of people's experiences of ECT are relatively rare, particularly those looking specifically at women's experience of ECT. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore women's experiences of ECT, particularly their experience of knowledge and power related to ECT. Qualitative analysis of the interviews with nine women resulted in four main themes emerging from the interviews with the women: (i) "he really didn't say much," (ii) "I'm going to be very upset with you," (iii) "I was just desperate," and (iv) "it was like we were cattle." Overall, participants found their experiences with ECT to be quite negative, and characterized by a lack of knowledge during the procedure, and a lack of power throughout the entire process.

Quantitative and qualitative differences in the lexical knowledge of monolingual and bilingual children on the LITMUS-CLT task.

PubMed

Altman, Carmit; Goldstein, Tamara; Armon-Lotem, Sharon

2017-01-01

While bilingual children follow the same milestones of language acquisition as monolingual children do in learning the syntactic patterns of their second language (L2), their vocabulary size in L2 often lags behind compared to monolinguals. The present study explores the comprehension and production of nouns and verbs in Hebrew, by two groups of 5- to 6-year olds with typical language development: monolingual Hebrew speakers (N = 26), and Russian-Hebrew bilinguals (N = 27). Analyses not only show quantitative gaps between comprehension and production and between nouns and verbs, with a bilingual effect in both, but also a qualitative difference between monolinguals and bilinguals in their production errors: monolinguals' errors reveal knowledge of the language rules despite temporary access difficulties, while bilinguals' errors reflect gaps in their knowledge of Hebrew (L2). The nature of Hebrew as a Semitic language allows one to explore this qualitative difference in the semantic and morphological level.

System monitoring and diagnosis with qualitative models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuipers, Benjamin

1991-01-01

A substantial foundation of tools for model-based reasoning with incomplete knowledge was developed: QSIM (a qualitative simulation program) and its extensions for qualitative simulation; Q2, Q3 and their successors for quantitative reasoning on a qualitative framework; and the CC (component-connection) and QPC (Qualitative Process Theory) model compilers for building QSIM QDE (qualitative differential equation) models starting from different ontological assumptions. Other model-compilers for QDE's, e.g., using bond graphs or compartmental models, have been developed elsewhere. These model-building tools will support automatic construction of qualitative models from physical specifications, and further research into selection of appropriate modeling viewpoints. For monitoring and diagnosis, plausible hypotheses are unified against observations to strengthen or refute the predicted behaviors. In MIMIC (Model Integration via Mesh Interpolation Coefficients), multiple hypothesized models of the system are tracked in parallel in order to reduce the 'missing model' problem. Each model begins as a qualitative model, and is unified with a priori quantitative knowledge and with the stream of incoming observational data. When the model/data unification yields a contradiction, the model is refuted. When there is no contradiction, the predictions of the model are progressively strengthened, for use in procedure planning and differential diagnosis. Only under a qualitative level of description can a finite set of models guarantee the complete coverage necessary for this performance. The results of this research are presented in several publications. Abstracts of these published papers are presented along with abtracts of papers representing work that was synergistic with the NASA grant but funded otherwise. These 28 papers include but are not limited to: 'Combined qualitative and numerical simulation with Q3'; 'Comparative analysis and qualitative integral representations'; 'Model-based monitoring of dynamic systems'; 'Numerical behavior envelopes for qualitative models'; 'Higher-order derivative constraints in qualitative simulation'; and 'Non-intersection of trajectories in qualitative phase space: a global constraint for qualitative simulation.'

Undergraduate engineering students' experiences of interdisciplinary learning: a phenomenographic perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Ming-Chien

Engineers are expected to work with people with different disciplinary knowledge to solve real-world problems that are inherently complex, which is one of the reasons that interdisciplinary learning has become a common pedagogical practice in engineering education. However, empirical evidence on the impact of interdisciplinary learning on undergraduates is lacking. Regardless of the differences in the scope of methods used to assess interdisciplinary learning, frameworks of interdisciplinary learning are imperative for developing attainable outcomes as well as interpreting assessment data. Existing models of interdisciplinary learning have been either conceptual or based on research faculty members' experiences rather than empirical data. The study addressed the gap by exploring the different ways that undergraduate engineering students experience interdisciplinary learning. A phenomenographic methodological framework was used to guide the design, data collection, and data analysis of the study. Twenty-two undergraduate engineering students with various interdisciplinary learning experiences were interviewed using semi-structured protocols. They concretely described their experiences and reflected meaning associated with those experiences. Analysis of the data revealed eight qualitatively different ways that students experience interdisciplinary learning, which include: interdisciplinary learning as (A) no awareness of differences, (B) control and assertion, (C) coping with differences, (D) navigating creative differences, (E) learning from differences, (F) bridging differences, (G) expanding intellectual boundaries, and (H) commitment to holistic perspectives. Categories D through H represent a hierarchical structure of increasingly comprehensive way of experiencing interdisciplinary learning. Further analysis uncovered two themes that varied throughout the categories: (i) engagement with differences and (ii) purpose and integration. Students whose experiences lie outside of the hierarchical structure need to engage difference in a positive manner and also have a purpose in engaging differences in order to experience interdisciplinary learning in a more comprehensive way. The results offer insights into the design of curriculum and classroom interdisciplinary experiences in engineering education.

Effects of Information Technologies, Department Characteristics and Individual Roles on Improving Knowledge Sharing Visibility: A Qualitative Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Xi; Vogel, Douglas R.; Zhou, Zhongyun

2012-01-01

Knowledge sharing visibility (KSV) is a critical environmental factor which can reduce social loafing in knowledge sharing (KS). This is especially true in ICT [information and communication technology]-based KS in learning organisations. As such, it is imperative that we better understand how to design technology enabled knowledge management…

Issues on the use of meta-knowledge in expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Facemire, Jon; Chen, Imao

1988-01-01

Meta knowledge is knowledge about knowledge; knowledge that is not domain specific but is concerned instead with its own internal structure. Several past systems have used meta-knowledge to improve the nature of the user interface, to maintain the knowledge base, and to control the inference engine. More extensive use of meta-knowledge is probable for the future as larger scale problems are considered. A proposed system architecture is presented and discussed in terms of meta-knowledge applications. The principle components of this system: the user support subsystem, the control structure, the knowledge base, the inference engine, and a learning facility are all outlined and discussed in light of the use of meta-knowledge. Problems with meta-constructs are also mentioned but it is concluded that the use of meta-knowledge is crucial for increasingly autonomous operations.

Exploring the Relationships among Creativity, Engineering Knowledge, and Design Team Interaction on Senior Engineering Design Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibrahim, Badaruddin

2012-01-01

In the 21st century, engineers are expected to be creative and work collaboratively in teams to solve or design new products. Research in the past has shown how creativity and good team communication, together with knowledge, can impact the outcomes in the organization. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among creativity,…

Linguistic Model for Engine Power Loss

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-27

Intelligent Vehicle Health Management System (IVHMS) for light trucks. In particular, this paper is focused on the system architecture for monitoring...developed for the cooling system of a diesel engine, integrating a priori, ‘expert’ knowledge , sensor data, and the adaptive network-based fuzzy...domain knowledge . However, in a nonlinear system in which not all possible causes to engine power loss are considered and measured, merely relying

A Phenomenological Study of Financial Knowledge Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nduku, Enita Bernice

2012-01-01

The intent of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to explore the influence of financial knowledge application and financial debts or freedom of traditional Texas college students. The study identified how financial knowledge application influenced whether traditional Texas college students do or do not accumulate debt. The study…

Experiencing Collaborative Knowledge Creation Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jakubik, Maria

2008-01-01

Purpose: How people learn and create knowledge together through interactions in communities of practice (CoPs) is not fully understood. The purpose of this paper is to create and apply a model that could increase participants' consciousness about knowledge creation processes. Design/methodology/approach: This four-month qualitative research was…

Exploring EFL Teachers' CALL Knowledge and Competencies: In-Service Program Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Mei-Hui; Kleinsasser, Robert C.

2015-01-01

This article describes quantitative and qualitative data providing perspectives on how six English as a Foreign Language (EFL) vocational high school teachers perceived CALL knowledge and competencies in a yearlong technology-enriched professional development program. The teachers' developing technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and…

Using medical knowledge sources on handheld computers--a qualitative study among junior doctors.

PubMed

Axelson, Christian; Wårdh, Inger; Strender, Lars-Erik; Nilsson, Gunnar

2007-09-01

The emergence of mobile computing could have an impact on how junior doctors learn. To exploit this opportunity it is essential to understand their information seeking process. To explore junior doctors' experiences of using medical knowledge sources on handheld computers. Interviews with five Swedish junior doctors. A qualitative manifest content analysis of a focus group interview followed by a qualitative latent content analysis of two individual interviews. A focus group interview showed that users were satisfied with access to handheld medical knowledge sources, but there was concern about contents, reliability and device dependency. Four categories emerged from individual interviews: (1) A feeling of uncertainty about using handheld technology in medical care; (2) A sense of security that handhelds can provide; (3) A need for contents to be personalized; (4) A degree of adaptability to make the handheld a versatile information tool. A theme was established to link the four categories together, as expressed in the Conclusion section. Junior doctors' experiences of using medical knowledge sources on handheld computers shed light on the need to decrease uncertainty about clinical decisions during medical internship, and to find ways to influence the level of self-confidence in the junior doctor's process of decision-making.

Parents' and children's knowledge of oral health: a qualitative study of children with cleft palate.

PubMed

Davies, Karen; Lin, Yin-Ling; Callery, Peter

2017-07-01

Children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) are prone to poorer oral health outcomes than their peers, with serious implications for treatment. Little is known of the knowledge and practice of children with CLP in caring for teeth and how these contribute to oral health. To investigate (i) parents' and children's knowledge of oral health, (ii) how knowledge is acquired, and (iii) how knowledge is implemented. A qualitative design was used to investigate knowledge, beliefs, and practices reported by parents and children, age 5-11 years with CLP. Data were collected from 22 parents and 16 children and analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were derived as follows: (i) implicit knowledge: children express simple knowledge underpinned by basic rationales, (ii) situated knowledge: children gain skills as part of everyday childhood routines, (iii) maintaining good practice in oral health: parents take a lead role in motivating, monitoring, and maintaining children's toothbrushing, and (iv) learning opportunities: pivotal moments provide opportunities for children to extend their knowledge. Developers of oral health education interventions should take account of children's implicit knowledge and the transmission of beliefs between generations that influence toothbrushing behaviours. This could enhance interventions to support parents and children's practice. © 2016 BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Modeling software systems by domains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dippolito, Richard; Lee, Kenneth

1992-01-01

The Software Architectures Engineering (SAE) Project at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has developed engineering modeling techniques that both reduce the complexity of software for domain-specific computer systems and result in systems that are easier to build and maintain. These techniques allow maximum freedom for system developers to apply their domain expertise to software. We have applied these techniques to several types of applications, including training simulators operating in real time, engineering simulators operating in non-real time, and real-time embedded computer systems. Our modeling techniques result in software that mirrors both the complexity of the application and the domain knowledge requirements. We submit that the proper measure of software complexity reflects neither the number of software component units nor the code count, but the locus of and amount of domain knowledge. As a result of using these techniques, domain knowledge is isolated by fields of engineering expertise and removed from the concern of the software engineer. In this paper, we will describe kinds of domain expertise, describe engineering by domains, and provide relevant examples of software developed for simulator applications using the techniques.

Women's Experiences in the Engineering Laboratory in Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosaka, Masako

2014-01-01

This qualitative study aims to examine Japanese women undergraduate engineering students' experiences of interacting with departmental peers of the same year in the laboratory setting by using interview data of 32 final-year students at two modestly selective national universities in Japan. Expectation state theory that explains unequal…

Be(com)ing an Excellent Student: A Qualitative Study with Engineering Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monteiro, Sílvia; Almeida, Leandro S.; Vasconcelos, Rosa M.; Cruz, José Fernando A.

2014-01-01

This study explores the factors affecting the development of academic excellence on a group of 33 high-achieving engineering students. Participants were interviewed individually to explore several personal and contextual aspects of their past and current academic pathways. The results obtained reflect three main contributions to the…

The Burden of Being "Model": Racialized Experiences of Asian STEM College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGee, Ebony O.; Thakore, Bhoomi K.; LaBlance, Sandra S.

2017-01-01

This qualitative study used narrative methodology to investigate what becoming a scientist or engineer entails for Asian and Asian American college students stereotyped as "model minorities." We present the narratives of 23 high-achieving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college students who self-identified as…

Rurality as an Asset for Inclusive Teaching in Chemical Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gomez, Jamie; Svihla, Vanessa

2018-01-01

We developed and tested a pedagogical strategy--asset-based design challenges--to enhance diversity in early chemical engineering coursework. Using qualitative methods, we found first-year students justified high-cost solutions with ethical arguments; teams that included rural expertise argued instead for economically-viable solutions. In the…

Continuous Improvement in the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Programme at Kuwait University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aldowaisan, Tariq; Allahverdi, Ali

2016-01-01

This paper describes the process employed by the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering programme at Kuwait University to continuously improve the programme. Using a continuous improvement framework, the paper demonstrates how various qualitative and quantitative analyses methods, such as hypothesis testing and control charts, have been…

Employees' Perceptions of Barriers to Participation in Training and Development in Small Engineering Businesses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Susomrith, Pattanee; Coetzer, Alan

2015-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate barriers to employee participation in voluntary formal training and development opportunities from the perspective of employees in small engineering businesses. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative methodology involving data collection via site visits and in-depth semi-structured…

Qualitative Research in Educational Gerontology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Applewhite, Steven Lozano

1997-01-01

Quantitative methods such as logical positivism often view nondominant groups as deviant and purport to be objective. Qualitative methods such as ethnography help educational gerontologists understand diverse elderly populations and allow elders to participate in the process of defining reality and producing knowledge. (SK)

Qualitative methods: beyond the cookbook.

PubMed

Harding, G; Gantley, M

1998-02-01

Qualitative methods appear increasingly in vogue in health services research (HSR). Such research, however, has utilized, often uncritically, a 'cookbook' of methods for data collection, and common-sense principles for data analysis. This paper argues that qualitative HSR benefits from recognizing and drawing upon theoretical principles underlying qualitative data collection and analysis. A distinction is drawn between problem-orientated and theory-orientated research, in order to illustrate how problem-orientated research would benefit from the introduction of theoretical perspectives in order to develop the knowledge base of health services research.

Qualitative tools and experimental philosophy.

PubMed

Andow, James

2016-11-16

Experimental philosophy brings empirical methods to philosophy. These methods are used to probe how people think about philosophically interesting things such as knowledge, morality, and freedom. This paper explores the contribution that qualitative methods have to make in this enterprise. I argue that qualitative methods have the potential to make a much greater contribution than they have so far. Along the way, I acknowledge a few types of resistance that proponents of qualitative methods in experimental philosophy might encounter, and provide reasons to think they are ill-founded.

Developing knowledge intensive ideas in engineering education: the application of camp methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heidemann Lassen, Astrid; Løwe Nielsen, Suna

2011-11-01

Background: Globalization, technological advancement, environmental problems, etc. challenge organizations not just to consider cost-effectiveness, but also to develop new ideas in order to build competitive advantages. Hence, methods to deliberately enhance creativity and facilitate its processes of development must also play a central role in engineering education. However, so far the engineering education literature provides little attention to the important discussion of how to develop knowledge intensive ideas based on creativity methods and concepts. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to investigate how to design creative camps from which knowledge intensive ideas can unfold. Design/method/sample: A framework on integration of creativity and knowledge intensity is first developed, and then tested through the planning, execution and evaluation of a specialized creativity camp with focus on supply chain management. Detailed documentation of the learning processes of the participating 49 engineering and business students is developed through repeated interviews during the process as well as a survey. Results: The research illustrates the process of development of ideas, and how the participants through interdisciplinary collaboration, cognitive flexibility and joint ownership develop highly innovative and knowledge-intensive ideas, with direct relevance for the four companies whose problems they address. Conclusions: The article demonstrates how the creativity camp methodology holds the potential of combining advanced academic knowledge and creativity, to produce knowledge intensive ideas, when the design is based on ideas of experiential learning as well as creativity principles. This makes the method a highly relevant learning approach for engineering students in the search for skills to both develop and implement innovative ideas.

Welcoming speech from Dean Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UMP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taha, Zahari

2012-09-01

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. It is with great pleasure that I welcome the participants of the International Conference of Mechanical Engineering Research 2011. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said 'Acquire knowledge and impart it to the people.' (Al Tirmidhi). The quest for knowledge has been from the beginning of time but knowledge only becomes valuable when it is disseminated and applied to benefit humankind. It is hoped that ICMER 2011 will be a platform to gather and disseminate the latest knowledge in mechanical engineering. Academicians, Scientist, Researchers and practitioners of mechanical engineering will be able to share and discuss new findings and applications of mechanical engineering. It is envisaged that the intellectual discourse will result in future collaborations between universities, research institutions and industry both locally and internationally. In particular it is expected that focus will be given to issues on environmental and energy sustainability. Researchers in the mechanical engineering faculty at UMP have a keen interest in technology to harness energy from the ocean. Lowering vehicle emissions has been a primary goal of researchers in the mechanical engineering faculty and the automotive engineering centre as well including developing vehicles using alternative fuels such as biodiesel and renewable sources such as solar driven electric vehicles. Finally I would like to congratulate the organizing committee for their tremendous efforts in organizing the conference. As I wrote this in the Holy Land of Makkah, I pray to Allah swt that the conference will be a success. Prof. Dr. Zahari Taha CEng, MIED, FASc Dean, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Universiti Malaysia Pahang

Studies on Experimental Ontology and Knowledge Service Development in Bio-Environmental Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yunliang

2018-01-01

The existing domain-related ontology and information service patterns are analyzed, and the main problems faced by the experimental scheme knowledge service were clarified. The ontology framework model for knowledge service of Bio-environmental Engineering was proposed from the aspects of experimental materials, experimental conditions and experimental instruments, and this ontology will be combined with existing knowledge organization systems to organize scientific and technological literatures, data and experimental schemes. With the similarity and priority calculation, it can improve the related domain research.

The New Reality of International Telecommunications Strategy

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

telecommunications system has accelerated the spread of knowledge . • The capability of competitive nations to develop “leapfrog technologies” in...Commerce. It is a collaborative meeting of engineers, scientists, and academics interested in the general promotion of technical knowledge and the...popular democracy strikes me as unfounded in Chinese history or culture. 7 • Education of Chinese engineers abroad, who then return with new knowledge

A Collaborative Knowledge Management Process for Implementing Healthcare Enterprise Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Po-Hsun; Chen, Sao-Jie; Lai, Jin-Shin; Lai, Feipei

This paper illustrates a feasible health informatics domain knowledge management process which helps gather useful technology information and reduce many knowledge misunderstandings among engineers who have participated in the IBM mainframe rightsizing project at National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital. We design an asynchronously sharing mechanism to facilitate the knowledge transfer and our health informatics domain knowledge management process can be used to publish and retrieve documents dynamically. It effectively creates an acceptable discussion environment and even lessens the traditional meeting burden among development engineers. An overall description on the current software development status is presented. Then, the knowledge management implementation of health information systems is proposed.

Why do girls persist in science? A qualitative study of the decision-making processes of pre-adolescent and adolescent girls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, Holly Mcdonnell

2002-09-01

Girls are often found to drop out of science in greater numbers and sooner than boys. Because previous research has focused on gender differences, rather than examining differences and similarities among girls, little is known about why some girls choose to pursue science, particularly the physical sciences, rather than drop it. Specifically, little is known about how and why girls make their decisions to persist or not in specific science careers and the courses leading up to them. Through the use of semi-structured, in-depth, qualitative, interviews conducted over the span of a year, this thesis explored the choice of classes and career decisions of twelve elementary through high school girls who participated in an engineering camp. The purpose was to gain an understanding of why these girls chose to persist or not in a science and engineering career over time. Age-related differences were found in the reasons the girls gave for wanting to take future classes. The elementary school girls believed that interest would be their only reason while the high school girls gave multiple reasons, including interest, utility, perceptions of ability, and who would be teaching the class. The implications of these findings for Eccles' model of academic choice are discussed. Overall, the girls in this study liked their science classes because they involved hands-on activities. By high school they showed a preference for and a greater knowledge of biology rather than physics. All of the girls were unsure about what kinds of science information they would need to know for future jobs. Half of the girls were considering biology-based careers, such as doctors and veterinarians, because they wanted to help and take care of people and animals. Only one girl was considering engineering, a physics-based career, and only because her parents required it. Despite believing that they were doing well in school in general, at least half of the girls believed they were doing poorly in math because they found the concepts difficult to understand. The implications of these findings for promoting all girls' interest in the sciences, and particularly the physical sciences, are discussed.

The Academic Knowledge Management Model of Small Schools in Thailand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tumtuma, Chamnan; Chantarasombat, Chalard; Yeamsang, Theerawat

2015-01-01

The Academic Knowledge Management Model of Small Schools in Thailand was created by research and development. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected via the following steps: a participatory workshop meeting, the formation of a team according to knowledge base, field study, brainstorming, group discussion, activities carried out…

Knowledge Discovery in Textual Documentation: Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loh, Stanley; De Oliveira, Jose Palazzo M.; Gastal, Fabio Leite

2001-01-01

Presents an application of knowledge discovery in texts (KDT) concerning medical records of a psychiatric hospital. The approach helps physicians to extract knowledge about patients and diseases that may be used for epidemiological studies, for training professionals, and to support physicians to diagnose and evaluate diseases. (Author/AEF)

Deconstructing Content Knowledge: Coping Strategies and Their Underlying Influencers for Beginning Agriculture Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Amber H.; Kitchel, Tracy

2016-01-01

The purpose of this grounded theory qualitative study was to explore how beginning agriculture teachers break down content knowledge for student understanding. The overarching theme that emerged during data collection and analysis was beginning teachers' self-perceived content knowledge deficiency in various subjects within agriculture. This…

Calculus Instructors' Responses to Prior Knowledge Errors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talley, Jana Renee

2009-01-01

This study investigates the responses to prior knowledge errors that Calculus I instructors make when assessing students. Prior knowledge is operationalized as any skill or understanding that a student needs to successfully navigate through a Calculus I course. A two part qualitative study consisting of student exams and instructor interviews was…

Confronting "Difficult Knowledge": Critical Aesthetics and War in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heybach Vivirito, Jessica A.

2012-01-01

This qualitative multi-site case study explores critical aesthetic experiences in teacher education classrooms, and advocates for the inclusion of theoretical and practical knowledge of "difficult knowledge," visual culture, and critical aesthetics in the classroom. Social reality consists of a perpetual stream of tragic and horrific…

Documenting Reproduction and Inequality: Revisiting Jean Anyon's "Social Class and School Knowledge"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luke, Allan

2010-01-01

Jean Anyon's (1981) "Social Class and School Knowledge" was a landmark work in North American educational research. It provided a richly detailed qualitative description of differential, social class-based constructions of knowledge and epistemological stance. This essay situates Anyon's work in two parallel traditions of critical educational…

How District Leaders Use Knowledge Management to Influence Principals' Instructional Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGloughlin, Denise Marie

2016-01-01

The study of knowledge management, an integrated system of an organization's culture, conditions, and structure, as applied to educational institutions is limited. It was not known how district leaders use knowledge management to influence principals' instructional leadership performance. The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to…

Teachers' Professional Learning: The Role of Knowledge Management Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niehoff, Karissa

2010-01-01

This qualitative study explored the degree to which knowledge management strategies addressed teacher professional learning at the high school level. In the setting of a Connecticut public high school, interviews were conducted which explored teacher perceptions of knowledge sharing practices in the school and how those practices influenced their…

Intersecting Domains of Assessment Knowledge: School Typologies Based on Interviews with Secondary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley, Marged D.; Howley, Aimee; Henning, John E.; Gillam, Mary Beth; Weade, Ginger

2013-01-01

This study used qualitative interviewing with teachers at three high schools to answer research questions about teachers' assessment knowledge, school-specific assessment cultures, and teachers' perceptions of the assessment literacy of other key stakeholders. Data analysis revealed shared knowledge and practices across schools--use of formative…

Enhancing Professional Learning Communities through Knowledge Artefacts in Mainland China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qiao, Xuefeng; Yu, Shulin

2016-01-01

This qualitative case study examines the perspectives and experiences of seven Chinese primary teachers on the integration of shared knowledge artefacts into teaching in professional learning communities. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews and observation data revealed that using knowledge artefacts, such as preview sheets, flowing…

Towards a Deeper Assessment of Vocabulary Knowledge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Read, John

While interest in second language vocabulary knowledge has increased, vocabulary testing remains largely confined to the quantitative measurement of discrete items. More qualitative measures are needed to assess how well particular words are known. Research has characterized word knowledge in two ways: as a set of components or aspects, and as an…

Overview of qualitative research.

PubMed

Grossoehme, Daniel H

2014-01-01

Qualitative research methods are a robust tool for chaplaincy research questions. Similar to much of chaplaincy clinical care, qualitative research generally works with written texts, often transcriptions of individual interviews or focus group conversations and seeks to understand the meaning of experience in a study sample. This article describes three common methodologies: ethnography, grounded theory, and phenomenology. Issues to consider relating to the study sample, design, and analysis are discussed. Enhancing the validity of the data, as well reliability and ethical issues in qualitative research are described. Qualitative research is an accessible way for chaplains to contribute new knowledge about the sacred dimension of people's lived experience.

A Knowledge-Based System Developer for aerospace applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shi, George Z.; Wu, Kewei; Fensky, Connie S.; Lo, Ching F.

1993-01-01

A prototype Knowledge-Based System Developer (KBSD) has been developed for aerospace applications by utilizing artificial intelligence technology. The KBSD directly acquires knowledge from domain experts through a graphical interface then builds expert systems from that knowledge. This raises the state of the art of knowledge acquisition/expert system technology to a new level by lessening the need for skilled knowledge engineers. The feasibility, applicability , and efficiency of the proposed concept was established, making a continuation which would develop the prototype to a full-scale general-purpose knowledge-based system developer justifiable. The KBSD has great commercial potential. It will provide a marketable software shell which alleviates the need for knowledge engineers and increase productivity in the workplace. The KBSD will therefore make knowledge-based systems available to a large portion of industry.

A knowledge integration approach to flood vulnerability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazzorana, Bruno; Fuchs, Sven

2014-05-01

Understanding, qualifying and quantifying vulnerability is an essential need for implementing effective and efficient flood risk mitigation strategies; in particular if possible synergies between different mitigation alternatives, such as active and passive measures, should be achieved. In order to combine different risk management options it is necessary to take an interdisciplinary approach to vulnerability reduction, and as a result the affected society may be willing to accept a certain degree of self-responsibility. However, due to differing mono-disciplinary approaches and regional foci undertaken until now, different aspects of vulnerability to natural hazards in general and to floods in particular remain uncovered and as a result the developed management options remain sub-optimal. Taking an even more fundamental viewpoint, the empirical vulnerability functions used in risk assessment specifically fail to capture physical principles of the damage-generating mechanisms to the build environment. The aim of this paper is to partially close this gap by discussing a balanced knowledge integration approach which can be used to resolve the multidisciplinary disorder in flood vulnerability research. Modelling techniques such as mathematical-physical modelling of the flood hazard impact to and response from the building envelope affected, and formative scenario analyses of possible consequences in terms of damage and loss are used in synergy to provide an enhanced understanding of vulnerability and to render the derived knowledge into interdisciplinary mitigation strategies. The outlined formal procedure allows for a convincing knowledge alignment of quantified, but partial, information about vulnerability as a result of the application of physical and engineering notions and valuable, but often underspecified, qualitative argumentation strings emerging from the adopted socio-economic viewpoint.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 19: Computer and information technology and aerospace knowledge diffusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Bishop, Ann P.

1992-01-01

To remain a world leader in aerospace, the US must improve and maintain the professional competency of its engineers and scientists, increase the research and development (R&D) knowledge base, improve productivity, and maximize the integration of recent technological developments into the R&D process. How well these objectives are met, and at what cost, depends on a variety of factors, but largely on the ability of US aerospace engineers and scientists to acquire and process the results of federally funded R&D. The Federal Government's commitment to high speed computing and networking systems presupposes that computer and information technology will play a major role in the aerospace knowledge diffusion process. However, we know little about information technology needs, uses, and problems within the aerospace knowledge diffusion process. The use of computer and information technology by US aerospace engineers and scientists in academia, government, and industry is reported.

The Study on Collaborative Manufacturing Platform Based on Agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiao-yan; Qu, Zheng-geng

To fulfill the trends of knowledge-intensive in collaborative manufacturing development, we have described multi agent architecture supporting knowledge-based platform of collaborative manufacturing development platform. In virtue of wrapper service and communication capacity agents provided, the proposed architecture facilitates organization and collaboration of multi-disciplinary individuals and tools. By effectively supporting the formal representation, capture, retrieval and reuse of manufacturing knowledge, the generalized knowledge repository based on ontology library enable engineers to meaningfully exchange information and pass knowledge across boundaries. Intelligent agent technology increases traditional KBE systems efficiency and interoperability and provides comprehensive design environments for engineers.

Qualitative assessment of attitudes and knowledge on preterm birth in Malawi and within country framework of care

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The overarching goal of this study was to qualitatively assess baseline knowledge and perceptions regarding preterm birth (PTB) and oral health in an at-risk, low resource setting surrounding Lilongwe, Malawi. The aims were to determine what is understood regarding normal length of gestation and how gestational age is estimated, to identify common language for preterm birth, and to assess what is understood as options for PTB management. As prior qualitative research had largely focused on patient or client-based focused groups, we primarily focused on groups comprised of community health workers (CHWs) and providers. Methods A qualitative study using focus-group discussions, incidence narrative, and informant interviews amongst voluntary participants. Six focus groups were comprised of CHWs, patient couples, midwives, and clinical officers (n = 33) at two rural health centers referring to Kamuzu Central Hospital. Semi-structured questions facilitated discussion of PTB and oral health (inclusive of periodontal disease), including definitions, perception, causation, management, and accepted interventions. Results Every participant knew of women who had experienced “a baby born too soon”, or preterm birth. All participants recognized both an etiology conceptualization and disease framework for preterm birth, distinguished PTB from miscarriage and macerated stillbirth, and articulated a willingness to engage in studies aimed at prevention or management. Identified gaps included: (1) discordance in the definition of PTB (i.e., 28–34 weeks or less than the 8th month, but with a corresponding fetal weight ranging 500 to 2300 grams); (2) utility and regional availability of antenatal steroids for prevention of preterm infant morbidity and mortality; (3) need for antenatal referral for at-risk women, or with symptoms of preterm birth. There was no evident preference for route of progesterone for the prevention of recurrent PTB. Conclusions Qualitative research was useful in (1) identifying gaps in knowledge in urban and rural Malawi, and (2) informing the development of educational materials and implementation of programs or trials ultimately aimed at reducing PTB. As a result of this qualitative work, implementation planning was focused on the gaps in knowledge, dissemination of knowledge (to both patients and providers), and practical solutions to barriers in known efficacious therapies. PMID:24690288

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

PubMed

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.

Remediation of water and wastewater by using engineered nanomaterials: A review.

PubMed

Bishoge, Obadia K; Zhang, Lingling; Suntu, Shaldon L; Jin, Hui; Zewde, Abraham A; Qi, Zhongwei

2018-05-12

Nanotechnology is currently a fast-rising socioeconomic and political knowledge-based technology owing to the unique characteristics of its engineered nanomaterials. This branch of technology is useful for water and wastewater remediation. Many scientists and researchers have been conducting different studies and experiments on the applications of engineered nanomaterials at the local to international level. This review mainly aims to provide a current overview of existing knowledge on engineered nanomaterials and their applications in water and wastewater remediation. Furthermore, the present risks and challenges of nanotechnology are examined.

Engineering knowledge requirements for sand and dust on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, D. I.

1991-01-01

The successful landing of human beings on Mars and the establishment of a permanent outpost there will require an understanding of the Martian environment by the engineers. A key feature of the Martian environment is the nearly ubiquitous presence of sand and dust. The process which the engineering community will undertake to determine the sensitivities of their designs to the current level of knowledge about Mars sand and dust is emphasized. The interaction of the engineering community with the space exploration initiative (SEI) mission planners and management is described.

The integration of automated knowledge acquisition with computer-aided software engineering for space shuttle expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modesitt, Kenneth L.

1990-01-01

A prediction was made that the terms expert systems and knowledge acquisition would begin to disappear over the next several years. This is not because they are falling into disuse; it is rather that practitioners are realizing that they are valuable adjuncts to software engineering, in terms of problem domains addressed, user acceptance, and in development methodologies. A specific problem was discussed, that of constructing an automated test analysis system for the Space Shuttle Main Engine. In this domain, knowledge acquisition was part of requirements systems analysis, and was performed with the aid of a powerful inductive ESBT in conjunction with a computer aided software engineering (CASE) tool. The original prediction is not a very risky one -- it has already been accomplished.

Advancing intercultural competency: Canadian engineering employers' experiences with immigrant engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friesen, Marcia; Ingram, Sandra

2013-05-01

This paper explores Canadian engineering employers' perceptions of and experiences with internationally educated engineers (recent immigrants to Canada) employed in their organisations for varying lengths of time. Qualitative data were collected from employers using focus group methodology. Findings reflected employers' observations of culturally different behaviours and characteristics in their internationally educated employees, employers' reactions to cultural differences ranging from negative attributions to tolerance, and the implementation of largely ad hoc intra-organisational strategies for managing cultural differences in employer-employee relationships. Findings exposed the lack of corporate intercultural competency in the Canadian engineering profession. Equity and gatekeeping implications are discussed.

The use of engineering design scenarios to assess student knowledge of global, societal, economic, and environmental contexts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKenna, Ann F.; Hynes, Morgan M.; Johnson, Amy M.; Carberry, Adam R.

2016-07-01

Product archaeology as an educational approach asks engineering students to consider and explore the broader societal and global impacts of a product's manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal on people, economics, and the environment. This study examined the impact of product archaeology in a project-based engineering design course on student attitudes and perceptions about engineering and abilities to extend and refine knowledge about broader contexts. Two design scenarios were created: one related to dental hygiene and one related to vaccination delivery. Design scenarios were used to (1) assess knowledge of broader contexts, and (2) test variability of student responses across different contextual situations. Results from pre- to post-surveying revealed improved student perceptions of knowledge of broader contexts. Significant differences were observed between the two design scenarios. The findings support the assumption that different design scenarios elicit consideration of different contexts and design scenarios can be constructed to target specific contextual considerations.

Pedagogical content knowledge: Knowledge of pedagogy novice teachers in mathematics learning on limit algebraic function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma'rufi, Budayasa, I. Ketut; Juniati, Dwi

2017-02-01

Teacher is one of the key aspects of student's achievement. Teachers should master content material taught, how to teach it, and can interpret the students' thinking so that students easily understand the subject matter. This research was a qualitative research that aimed at describing profile of PCK's teachers in mathematics on limit algebraic functions in terms of the differences of teaching experience. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and understanding of teachers is defined as involving the relationship between knowledge of teaching materials, how to transfer the subject matter, and the knowledge of students in mathematics on limit algebraic functions that the subject matter may be understood by students. The PCK components in this research were knowledge of subject matter, knowledge of pedagogy, and knowledge of students. Knowledge of pedagogy defines as knowledge and understanding of teachers about the planning and organization of the learning and teaching strategy of limit algebraic function. The subjects were two mathematics high school teachers who teach in class XI IPS. Data were collected through observation of learning during five meetings and interviews before and after the lesson continued with qualitative data analysis. Focus of this article was to describe novice teacher's knowledge of student in mathematics learning on limit algebraic function. Based on the results of the analysis of qualitative data the data concluded that novice teacher's knowledge of pedagogy in mathematics on limit algebraic function showed: 1) in teaching the definitions tend to identify prior knowledge of the student experience with the material to be studied, but not in the form of a problem, 2) in posing the questions tend to be monotonous non lead and dig, 3) in response to student questions preservice teachers do not take advantage of the characteristics or the potential of other students, 4) in addressing the problem of students, tend to use the drill approach and did not give illustrations easily to understand by students, 5) in teaching application concepts, tend to explain procedurally, without explaining the reasons why these steps are carried out, 6) less varied in the use of learning strategies.

Capturing Crime: The Qualitative Analysis of Individual Cases for Advancing Criminological Knowledge.

PubMed

Wright, Kevin A; Bouffard, Leana A

2016-02-01

The qualitative analysis of individual cases has a prominent place in the development of criminological theory, yet progression in the scientific study of crime has largely been viewed as a distinctly quantitative endeavor. In the process, much of the theoretical depth and precision supplied by earlier methods of criminological knowledge production have been sacrificed. The current work argues for a return to our criminological roots by supplementing quantitative analyses with the qualitative inspection of individual cases. We provide a specific example of a literature (i.e., criminal specialization/versatility) that has become increasingly quantitative and could benefit from the use of the proposed approach. We conclude by offering additional areas of research that might be advanced by our framework presented here. © The Author(s) 2014.

Knowledge Engineering for Preservation and Future use of Institutional Knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moreman, Douglas; Dyer, John

1996-01-01

This Project has two main thrusts-preservation of special knowledge and its useful representation via computers. NASA is losing the expertise of its engineers and scientists who put together the great missions of the past. We no longer are landing men on the moon. Some of the equipment still used today (such as the RL-10 rocket) was designed decades ago by people who are now retiring. Furthermore, there has been a lack, in some areas of technology, of new projects that overlap with the old and that would have provided opportunities for monitoring by senior engineers of the young ones. We are studying this problem and trying out a couple of methods of soliciting and recording rare knowledge from experts. One method is that of Concept Maps which produces a graphical interface to knowledge even as it helps solicit that knowledge. We arranged for experienced help in this method from John Coffey of the Institute of Human and Machine Technology at the University of West Florida. A second method which we plan to try out in May, is a video-taped review of selected failed missions (e.g., the craft tumbled and blew up). Five senior engineers (most already retired from NASA) will, as a team, analyze available data, illustrating their thought processes as they try to solve the problem of why a space craft failed to complete its mission. The session will be captured in high quality audio and with at least two video cameras. The video can later be used to plan future concept mapping interviews and, in edited form, be a product in itself. Our computer representations of the amassed knowledge may eventually, via the methods of expert systems, be joined with other software being prepared as a suite of tools to aid future engineers designing rocket engines. In addition to representation by multimedia concept maps, we plan to consider linking vast bodies of text (and other media) by hypertexting methods.

Knowledge engineering for health: a new discipline required to bridge the "ICT gap" between research and healthcare.

PubMed

Beck, Tim; Gollapudi, Sirisha; Brunak, Søren; Graf, Norbert; Lemke, Heinz U; Dash, Debasis; Buchan, Iain; Díaz, Carlos; Sanz, Ferran; Brookes, Anthony J

2012-05-01

Despite vast amount of money and research being channeled toward biomedical research, relatively little impact has been made on routine clinical practice. At the heart of this failure is the information and communication technology "chasm" that exists between research and healthcare. A new focus on "knowledge engineering for health" is needed to facilitate knowledge transmission across the research-healthcare gap. This discipline is required to engineer the bidirectional flow of data: processing research data and knowledge to identify clinically relevant advances and delivering these into healthcare use; conversely, making outcomes from the practice of medicine suitably available for use by the research community. This system will be able to self-optimize in that outcomes for patients treated by decisions that were based on the latest research knowledge will be fed back to the research world. A series of meetings, culminating in the "I-Health 2011" workshop, have brought together interdisciplinary experts to map the challenges and requirements for such a system. Here, we describe the main conclusions from these meetings. An "I4Health" interdisciplinary network of experts now exists to promote the key aims and objectives, namely "integrating and interpreting information for individualized healthcare," by developing the "knowledge engineering for health" domain. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

International Immersion in Counselor Education: A Consensual Qualitative Research Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barden, Sejal M.; Cashwell, Craig S.

2014-01-01

This study used consensual qualitative research methodology to examine the phenomenon of international immersion on counselor education students' (N = 10) development and growth. Seven domains emerged from the data (cultural knowledge, empathy, personal and professional impact, process/reflection, relationships, personal characteristics, and…

Qualitative study on nutritional knowledge of primary-school children and mothers in Tehran.

PubMed

Abdollahi, M; Amini, M; Kianfar, H; Dadkhah-Piraghag, M; Eslami-Amirabadi, M; Zoghi, T; Assasi, N; Kalantari, N

2008-01-01

The nutritional education demands of primary-school children in Tehran were evaluated in a qualitative study, through 20 focus group discussions, 16 for children and 4 for mothers, among 128 children aged 6-11 years and 32 mothers in 8 primary schools in Tehran. Children knew about the advantages of different food groups, including helping digestion, growth and increasing intelligence. They obtained their knowledge mainly from their parents and television, as well as books, teachers and friends. Mothers thought the sources that had most effect on children's nutritional knowledge were television advertisements, parents and classmates. Most of the children claimed that they preferred to learn about nutrition from their parents and television, e.g. children's programmes and advertisements.

Designing a Better Experience: A Qualitative Investigation of Student Engineering Internships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paknejad, Mohammad R.

2016-01-01

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education play a very important role in preparing students with skills necessary to obtain better jobs, solve real-world challenges, and compete in the global economy. STEM education develops critical thinking and the ability to solve complex problems. Research showed that 8 out of 10 most…

Improving Electrical Engineering Education at the American University of Sharjah through Continuous Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Nashash, Hasan; Khaliq, Abdul; Qaddoumi, Nasser; Al-Assaf, Yousef; Assaleh, Khaled; Dhaouadi, Rached; El-Tarhuni, Mohamed

2009-01-01

The electrical engineering (ELE) program at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) is designed to fulfill the ABET criteria. Several assessment tools are used to qualitatively and quantitatively measure the level of achievement of the program's educational objectives and outcomes. These tools include alumni, employer, and graduate advisor…

Approaches to Learning in a Second Year Chemical Engineering Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Case, Jennifer M.; Gunstone, Richard F.

2003-01-01

Investigates student approaches to learning in a second year chemical engineering course by means of a qualitative research project which utilized interview and journal data from a group of 11 students. Identifies three approaches to learning: (1) conceptual; (2) algorithmic; and (3) information-based. Presents student responses to a series of…

Data Sharing in Interpretive Engineering Education Research: Challenges and Opportunities from a Research Quality Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walther, Joachim; Sochacka, Nicola W.; Pawley, Alice L.

2016-01-01

This article explores challenges and opportunities associated with sharing qualitative data in engineering education research. This exploration is theoretically informed by an existing framework of interpretive research quality with a focus on the concept of Communicative Validation. Drawing on practice anecdotes from the authors' work, the…

U.S. Engineering Degrees for Improving South Indian Graduate Students' Marriage and Dowry Options

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yakaboski, Tamara; Sheridan, Robyn Stout; Dade, Kristin

2014-01-01

The article examines improved marriage opportunities as an unexplored motivator for pursuing international education via U.S. graduate engineering degrees and stresses the need to centralize gender in analyzing academic mobility and international education. This interdisciplinary qualitative study explores how South Indian men and women's…

Recruiting Females into Male Dominated Programs: Effective Strategies and Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsui, Lisa

2009-01-01

This study examines the recruitment of women into a heavily male dominated field of study, in this case mechanical engineering. Qualitative data, in the form of interviews and focus groups, were gathered from six undergraduate mechanical engineering programs that enroll and graduate a relatively high proportion of women. Results revealed that (1)…

Perspectives on Peer-Mentoring from Taiwanese Science and Engineering Master's Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Yii-nii

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe the peer-mentoring experience from the perspective of 16 master's students majoring in science or engineering at a research-oriented university in Taiwan. Utilizing a qualitative method of phenomenology, these mentees shared their views about their peer-mentors through in-depth interviews. Participants…

How Does Service Learning Increase and Sustain Interest in Engineering Education for Underrepresented Pre-Engineering College Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosman, Lisa; Chelberg, Kelli; Winn, Ryan

2017-01-01

Many barriers exist for American Indian students pursuing STEM degree programs. However, federally recognized Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) are uniquely suited to overcome these barriers because of their shared mission to provide 21st Century educational opportunities for American Indian students. Qualitative and quantitative findings…

Active Ambiguity Reduction: An Experiment Design Approach to Tractable Qualitative Reasoning.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-04-20

Approach to Tractable Qualitative Reasoning Shankar A. Rajamoney t [ For Gerald F. DeJong Artificial Intelligence Research Group Coordinated Science...Representations of Knowledge in a Mechanics Problem- Solver." Proceedings of the Fifth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. Cambridge. MIA...International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. Tokyo. Japan. 1979. [de Kleer84] J. de Kleer and J. S. Brown. "A Qualitative Physics Based on

Dynamic Personal Identity and the Dynamic Identity Grid: How Theory and Concept Can Transform Information into Knowledge and Secure the American Homeland

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (Boston: Pearson, 2006), 1-592. 48 This project demanded the use of a primarily...enforcement practices. 200 Neuman, Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 152...www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/strucres.php (accessed July 12, 2008). 203 Neuman, Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 149. 204 Paul

‘It makes you think’ – exploring the impact of qualitative films on pain clinicians

PubMed Central

Jenkins, Sue

2015-01-01

Background: Researchers need to consider the impact and utility of their findings. Film is an accessible medium for qualitative research findings and can facilitate learning through emotional engagement. Aim: We aimed to explore the usefulness of a short film presenting findings from a published qualitative synthesis of adults’ experience of chronic musculoskeletal pain for pain education. In particular, we were interested in the impact of the film on clinician’s understanding of patients’ experience of chronic pain and how this knowledge might be used for improved healthcare for people with pain. Methods: Focus groups with healthcare professionals enrolled in a pain management foundation course explored healthcare professionals’ experience of watching the film. A constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted by the researchers. Findings: This article presents one thematic exemplar from a wider study. Participants reflected upon the pitfalls of judging by appearances and the value of seeing the person beneath his or her performance. Conclusion: There is a danger that the impact of qualitative findings is under-valued in clinical education. We present one exemplar from a study exploring knowledge mobilisation, which demonstrates that qualitative research, specifically qualitative films, can make us think about the care that we provide to people with chronic pain. PMID:26516558

49 CFR 240.123 - Criteria for initial and continuing education.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... that each engineer maintains the necessary knowledge, skill and ability concerning personal safety... both knowledge and performance skill testing; (3) Is conducted under the supervision of a qualified... whenever possible; (ii) Place the student engineer at the controls of a locomotive for a significant...

Broaden Engineering Technology students' knowledge through hands-on with motion robotics

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The skills and knowledge that employers value most are not always well-aligned with undergraduate engineering technology programs. With the support of a federal grant, we identify and propose to broaden the undergraduate student experience to include training in transferable skills with agricultura...

Genie Inference Engine Rule Writer’s Guide.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-01

33 APPENDIX D. Animal Bootstrap File.............................................................. 39...APPENDIX E. Sample Run of Animal Identification Expert System.......................... 43 APPENDIX F. Numeric Test Knowledge Base...and other data s.tructures stored in the knowledge base (KB), queries the user for input, and draws conclusions. Genie (GENeric Inference Engine) is

A top-down approach in control engineering third-level teaching: The case of hydrogen-generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiawan, Eko; Habibi, M. Afnan; Fall, Cheikh; Hodaka, Ichijo

2017-09-01

This paper presents a top-down approach in control engineering third-level teaching. The paper shows the control engineering solution for the issue of practical implementation in order to motivate students. The proposed strategy only focuses on one technique of control engineering to lead student correctly. The proposed teaching steps are 1) defining the problem, 2) listing of acquired knowledge or required skill, 3) selecting of one control engineering technique, 4) arrangement the order of teaching: problem introduction, implementation of control engineering technique, explanation of system block diagram, model derivation, controller design, and 5) enrichment knowledge by the other control techniques. The approach presented highlights hardware implementation and the use of software simulation as a self-learning tool for students.

ATK Launch Systems Engineering NASA Programs Engineering Examples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richardson, David

2007-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of the work done at ATK Launch Systems with and indication of how engineering knowledge can be applied to several real world problems. All material in the presentation has been screened to meet ITAR restrictions. The information provided is a compilation of general engineering knowledge and material available in the public domain. The presentation provides an overview of ATK Launch Systems and NASA programs. Some discussion is provided about the types of engineering conducted at the Promontory plant with added detail about RSRM nozzle engineering. Some brief examples of examples of nozzle technical issues with regard to adhesives and phenolics are shared. These technical issue discussions are based on material available in the public domain.

The International Congress of Mechanical Engineering and Agricultural Sciences - CIIMCA 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Remolina-Millán, Aduljay; Hernández-Arroyo, Emil

2014-06-01

The organizing committee of The International Congress of Mechanical Engineering and Agricultural Sciences - CIIMCA 2013 - are pleased to present CIIMCA-2013: the first international conference focused on subjects of materials science, mechanical engineering and renewable energy organized by Mechanical Engineering Faculty of the ''Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana'' in Bucaramanga, Colombia. This conference aims to be a place to produce discussions on whole topics of the congress, between the scientists of Colombia and the world. We strongly believe that knowledge is fundamental to the development of our countries. For that reason this multidisciplinary conference is looking forward to integrate engineering, agricultural science and nanoscience and nanotechnology to produce a synergy of this area of knowledge and to achieve scientific and technological developments. Agriculture is a very important topic for our conference; in Colombia, agricultural science needs more attention from the scientific community and the government. In the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering we are beginning to work on these issues to produce knowledge and improve the conditions in our country. The CIIMCA conference is a great opportunity to create interpersonal relationships and networks between scientists around the world. The interaction between scientists is very important in the process of the construction of knowledge. The general chairman encourages and invites you to make friends, relationships and participate strongly in the symposia and all program activities. PhD Aduljay Remolina-Millán Principal Chairman, International Mechanical Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Congress - CIIMCA Msc Emil Hernández-Arroyo Principal Chairman, International Mechanical Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Congress - CIIMCA Conference photograph Conference photograph 'Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana seccional Bucaramanga' host of the first International Mechanical Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Congress - CIIMCA 2013 - Floridablanaca, Colombia. Conference photograph Closure of CIIMCA 2013. Details of the editorial committee and acknowledgements are available in the PDF.

Engineering the Way to Becoming a Federal Engineer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgans, Carl J.

1991-01-01

Federal engineer tells engineering students how to become federal engineers and discusses the potential rewards and disadvantages of a civil service career. Notes that federal jobs are available for engineering graduates who are knowledgeable in the search process and who are persistent in seeking out such jobs. (NB)

The Roles of Engineering Notebooks in Shaping Elementary Engineering Student Discourse and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertel, Jonathan D.; Cunningham, Christine M.; Kelly, Gregory J.

2017-01-01

Engineering design challenges offer important opportunities for students to learn science and engineering knowledge and practices. This study examines how students' engineering notebooks across four units of the curriculum "Engineering is Elementary" (EiE) support student work during design challenges. Through educational ethnography and…

Examining Professional Development and Teacher's Learning about Literacy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxwell, Melanie

2017-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative case study (Merriam, 1988; Stake, 1994) was to understand how teacher perceptions of their knowledge, practice and students' knowledge change in a professional development learning opportunity that is based on their background knowledge in literacy instruction and what is determined to be their zone of proximal…

School Principals' Sources of Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, Arland Early

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine what sources of professional knowledge are available to principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district. Qualitative research methods were applied to gain an understanding of what sources of knowledge are used by school principals in 1 rural East Tennessee school district and the barriers they face…

Music Experience in Early Childhood: Potential for Emotion Knowledge?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vist, Torill

2011-01-01

Most cultures carry an idea of music being connected to emotion. New research suggests that we may also acquire emotion knowledge from our music experiences. This article investigates music experience as a mediating tool for emotion knowledge in early childhood, as revealed through qualitative interviews of adults. The interviewees describe music…

Lack of Set Theory Relevant Prerequisite Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dogan-Dunlap, Hamide

2006-01-01

Many students struggle with college mathematics topics due to a lack of mastery of prerequisite knowledge. Set theory language is one such prerequisite for linear algebra courses. Many students' mistakes on linear algebra questions reveal a lack of mastery of set theory knowledge. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative analysis of a…

Appraising the Qualities of Social Work Students' Theoretical Knowledge: A Qualitative Exploration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Bommel, Marijke; Boshuizen, Henny P. A.; Kwakman, Kitty

2012-01-01

Higher professional education aims to prepare students for entering practice with an adequate theoretical body of knowledge. In constructivist programmes, authentic learning contexts and self-directed learning are assumed to support knowledge learning and the transition from education to practice. Through an in-depth exploration, this case study…

The Heat is On! Confronting Climate Change in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, R.; Atwood-Blaine, D.

2008-12-01

This paper discusses a professional development workshop for K-12 science teachers entitled "The Heat is On! Confronting Climate Change in the Classroom." This workshop was conducted by the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), which has the primary goal to understand and predict the role of polar ice sheets in sea level change. The specific objectives of this summer workshop were two-fold; first, to address the need for advancement in science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and second, to address the need for science teacher training in climate change science. Twenty-eight Kansas teachers completed four pre-workshop assignments online in Moodle and attended a one-week workshop. The workshop included lecture presentations by scientists (both face-to-face and via video-conference) and collaboration between teachers and scientists to create online inquiry-based lessons on the water budget, remote sensing, climate data, and glacial modeling. Follow-up opportunities are communicated via the CReSIS Teachers listserv to maintain and further develop the collegial connections and collaborations established during the workshop. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation results indicate that this workshop was particularly effective in the following four areas: 1) creating meaningful connections between K-12 teachers and CReSIS scientists; 2) integrating distance-learning technologies to facilitate the social construction of knowledge; 3) increasing teachers' content understanding of climate change and its impacts on the cryosphere and global sea level; and 4) increasing teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about teaching climate science. Evaluation methods included formative content understanding assessments (via "clickers") during each scientist's presentation, a qualitative evaluation survey administered at the end of the workshop, and two quantitative evaluation instruments administered pre- and post- workshop. The first of these quantitative instruments measured teachers' efficacy beliefs about teaching climate science and the outcome expectancy they hold for student achievement. The second, a content test, measured the teachers' content knowledge of climate science and the cryosphere. Our results indicate that the teachers participating in the workshops showed significant increase in personal climate science teaching efficacy, outcome expectancy, and content knowledge of climate science, all at the p < 0.01 level. Interestingly, these results appear to be independent of each other. While one may think that changes in efficacy beliefs are caused by gains in content knowledge, our results show low correlation between these two factors.

Development of a Spacecraft Materials Selector Expert System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pippin, G.; Kauffman, W. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This report contains a description of the knowledge base tool and examples of its use. A downloadable version of the Spacecraft Materials Selector (SMS) knowledge base is available through the NASA Space Environments and Effects Program. The "Spacecraft Materials Selector" knowledge base is part of an electronic expert system. The expert system consists of an inference engine that contains the "decision-making" code and the knowledge base that contains the selected body of information. The inference engine is a software package previously developed at Boeing, called the Boeing Expert System Tool (BEST) kit.

Mapping of Mechanical Strains and Stresses around Quiescent Engineered Three-Dimensional Epithelial Tissues

PubMed Central

Gjorevski, Nikolce; Nelson, Celeste M.

2012-01-01

Understanding how physical signals guide biological processes requires qualitative and quantitative knowledge of the mechanical forces generated and sensed by cells in a physiologically realistic three-dimensional (3D) context. Here, we used computational modeling and engineered epithelial tissues of precise geometry to define the experimental parameters that are required to measure directly the mechanical stress profile of 3D tissues embedded within native type I collagen. We found that to calculate the stresses accurately in these settings, we had to account for mechanical heterogeneities within the matrix, which we visualized and quantified using confocal reflectance and atomic force microscopy. Using this technique, we were able to obtain traction forces at the epithelium-matrix interface, and to resolve and quantify patterns of mechanical stress throughout the surrounding matrix. We discovered that whereas single cells generate tension by contracting and pulling on the matrix, the contraction of multicellular tissues can also push against the matrix, causing emergent compression. Furthermore, tissue geometry defines the spatial distribution of mechanical stress across the epithelium, which communicates mechanically over distances spanning hundreds of micrometers. Spatially resolved mechanical maps can provide insight into the types and magnitudes of physical parameters that are sensed and interpreted by multicellular tissues during normal and pathological processes. PMID:22828342

Burning Down the Silos: Integrating new perspectives from the social sciences into human behavior in fire research.

PubMed

Kuligowski, Erica

2017-01-01

The traditional social science disciplines can provide many benefits to the field of human behavior in fire (HBiF). First, the social sciences delve further into insights only marginally examined by HBiF researchers, in turn, expanding the depth of HBiF research. In this paper, I present examples of studies from the fields of social psychology and sociology that would expand HBiF research into non-engineering or "unobservable" aspects of behavior during a fire event. Second, the social sciences can provide insight into new areas of research; in turn, expanding the scope of HBiF research. In this section, I introduce pre- and post-fire studies and explore potential research questions that fall outside of the response period of a fire, the phase upon which most focus is currently placed. Third, the social sciences elucidate the value of research methods available to study human behavior. Qualitative research methods are specifically highlighted. These three benefits will allow HBiF researchers to collect a wider range of data, further develop and expand current behavioral knowledge, and increase the impact of this research for both social and engineering applications. Finally, I end with a discussion on possible ways to better integrate the social sciences within human behavior in fire.

Solving ordinary differential equations by electrical analogy: a multidisciplinary teaching tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez Perez, J. F.; Conesa, M.; Alhama, I.

2016-11-01

Ordinary differential equations are the mathematical formulation for a great variety of problems in science and engineering, and frequently, two different problems are equivalent from a mathematical point of view when they are formulated by the same equations. Students acquire the knowledge of how to solve these equations (at least some types of them) using protocols and strict algorithms of mathematical calculation without thinking about the meaning of the equation. The aim of this work is that students learn to design network models or circuits in this way; with simple knowledge of them, students can establish the association of electric circuits and differential equations and their equivalences, from a formal point of view, that allows them to associate knowledge of two disciplines and promote the use of this interdisciplinary approach to address complex problems. Therefore, they learn to use a multidisciplinary tool that allows them to solve these kinds of equations, even students of first course of engineering, whatever the order, grade or type of non-linearity. This methodology has been implemented in numerous final degree projects in engineering and science, e.g., chemical engineering, building engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, architecture, etc. Applications are presented to illustrate the subject of this manuscript.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 teams required cultivation by the teacher as students negotiated spaces for collaboration through challenges of competition versus compromise; assumed versus assigned roles; management of verbal versus non-verbal communication; and shifts from teacher-as-authority-figure to peers as sources of knowledge and inspiration. The engineering design challenge provided an ideal context for broaching socio-scientific issues and attention to ethical considerations. Students made reference to their growing environmental awareness and developing moral reasoning in their definitions and reflections on green engineering. Throughout the course of the unit, successful students, struggling students, and students with uncertain trajectories established themselves as competent and efficacious engineers. Implications of the study include ways to assist teachers in recognizing and cultivating creativity and collaboration in addition to effectively incorporating socio-scientific issues as part of the engineering (and science) curriculum. I also present recommendations for promoting equity in classroom engineering, pre-service teacher initiatives, and strategies for capitalizing on the complementarity between science and engineering.

Expert Assessment of Human-Human Stigmergy

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-10-01

paradigm for marker based stigmergy is the use of pheromones by certain social insects to coordinate their actions. Most insect species use a few...dozen distinct pheromone “flavors,” and thus use qualitative as well as quantitative decision-making. In engineered systems, stigmergic markers can...Gradient following in a single pheromone field Ant cemetery clustering Qualitative Decisions based on combinations of pheromones Wasp nest

Qualitative tools and experimental philosophy

PubMed Central

Andow, James

2016-01-01

Abstract Experimental philosophy brings empirical methods to philosophy. These methods are used to probe how people think about philosophically interesting things such as knowledge, morality, and freedom. This paper explores the contribution that qualitative methods have to make in this enterprise. I argue that qualitative methods have the potential to make a much greater contribution than they have so far. Along the way, I acknowledge a few types of resistance that proponents of qualitative methods in experimental philosophy might encounter, and provide reasons to think they are ill-founded. PMID:28392629

Freshman-year experiences for African-American students in engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapple, Bernadette Maria

1998-12-01

The purpose of this study was to discover (a) why African American students choose to persist as an engineering major and (b) why students choose to leave engineering as a major. A total of 17 students from a large land-grant university participated in this study that was both quantitative and qualitative in design. This research will assist both the College of Engineering and the University in understanding the educational experiences of the matriculating African American pre-engineering student. In an effort to provide reasons and rationale for why African American engineering students choose to stay in this major and why other African American engineering student majors choose to leave, the researcher examined an undergraduate engineering program at a large land-grant institution in the South. The College of Engineering at this institution was able to institute several programs designed to increase the number of African American students choosing engineering as a major. Although initiatives for pre-collegiate students are important in the retention of African American students, it is the retention of those students once accepted into a program of study that the institution focuses on most. It is the intent of this study to offer a better understanding of such a retention initiative. Due to the decline of African American students pursuing majors in science and mathematics in general and in engineering in particular, an important research concern is to offer more insight into the experiences of the freshman engineering student in an attempt to develop fundamental reasons for why students remain in engineering and why some students leave. To assist the College of Engineering and the University in understanding the educational experiences of the matriculating African American pre-engineering student the data were collected from both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Results indicated that (a) students who chose to persist in the engineering program where highly committed and motivated to achieve their educational goals and (b) students who decided to switch out of the engineering curriculum simply felt unprepared for the demands of the engineering curriculum and, upon further exploration of the curriculum, discovered that engineering was not the career they initially desired.

Formative Qualitative Evaluation for "Exploratory" ITS Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Tom

1993-01-01

Discusses evaluation methods applicable to exploratory research areas, provides an overview of qualitative and formative methods for exploratory research on intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) and describes an exploratory study in ITS knowledge acquisition which involved working with three educators to build an ITS for high school physics.…

Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications

EPA Science Inventory

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision-making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a p...

The Knowledge Engineer as Student: Metacognitive Bases for Asking Good Questions

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-01-01

GROUP Learning. Knowledge Engineering, Knowledge Acquistion , / 05 09 Metaknowledge. - I-erigKnwde Eniae ing nweg cusin 19. ABSTRACT (Continue on...unusual for the CSF protein to be greater than 300? Why is belief concerning bacterial meningitis never greater than 0.4?) "* What accounts for zeroes ...Ad ir lt Research Establisha Portsdown, Portsmouth P06 4A Dipi. Pad . Michael W. Habon Dr. Jerome A. Feldman UNITED KINCDOM Universitat Dusseldorf

Knowledge Engineering for Young Scholars. Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nye, Gloria T.

The Knowledge Engineering for Young Scholars (KEYS) Program was a National Science Foundation (NSF) program conducted at Louisiana State University during 1989 and 1990. The program's goals were to increase 8th-12th grade students' exposure to science, acquaint them with university research, stimulate interest in science, and build their…

The Impact of New Learning Environments in an Engineering Design Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinsmore, Daniel L.; Alexander, Patricia A.; Loughlin, Sandra M.

2008-01-01

In this study, we investigated the effects of students' participation in a collaborative, project-based engineering design course on their domain knowledge, interests, and strategic processing. Participants were 70 college seniors working in teams on a design project of their choosing. Their declarative, procedural, and principled knowledge, along…

Bringing Knowledge Management into an Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winberg, S. L.; Schach, S. R.; Inggs, M. R.

2007-01-01

The use of effective knowledge management is becoming an essential part of technical development projects in order to enable developers to handle the growing complexity of these projects. In this article we discuss an innovative approach to address this concern from the perspective of an undergraduate engineering curriculum. Instead of adding…

Knowledge Engineering: The Interplay between Information and Historical Sciences in the Study of Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCrank, Lawrence J.

1992-01-01

Discusses trends in the fields of knowledge engineering and historical sciences to speculate about possibilities of converging interests and applications. Topics addressed include artificial intelligence and expert systems; the history of information science; history as a related field; historians as information scientists; multidisciplinary…

Using Concept Maps to Assess Interdisciplinary Integration of Green Engineering Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borrego, Maura; Newswander, Chad B.; McNair, Lisa D.; McGinnis, Sean; Paretti, Marie C.

2009-01-01

Engineering education, like many fields, has started to explore the benefits of concept maps as an assessment technique for knowledge integration. Because they allow students to graphically link topics and represent complex interconnections among diverse concepts, we argue that concept maps are particularly appropriate for assessing…

How can we establish more successful knowledge networks in developing countries? Lessons learnt from knowledge networks in Iran.

PubMed

Yazdizadeh, Bahareh; Majdzadeh, Reza; Alami, Ali; Amrolalaei, Sima

2014-10-29

Formal knowledge networks are considered among the solutions for strengthening knowledge translation and one of the elements of innovative systems in developing and developed countries. In the year 2000, knowledge networks were established in Iran's health system to organize, lead, empower, and coordinate efforts made by health-related research centers in the country. Since the assessment of a knowledge network is one of the main requirements for its success, the current study was designed in two qualitative and quantitative sections to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the established knowledge networks and to assess their efficiency. In the qualitative section, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were held with network directors and secretaries. The interviews were analyzed through the framework approach. To analyze effectiveness, social network analysis approach was used. That is, by considering the networks' research council members as 'nodes', and the numbers of their joint articles--before and after the network establishments--as 'relations or ties', indices of density, clique, and centrality were calculated for each network. In the qualitative section, non-transparency of management, lack of goals, administrative problems were among the most prevalent issues observed. Currently, the most important challenges are the policies related to them and their management. In the quantitative section, we observed that density and clique indices had risen for some networks; however, the centrality index for the same networks was not as high. Consequently the attribution of density and clique indices to these networks was not possible. Therefore, consolidating and revising policies relevant to the networks and preparing a guide for establishing managing networks could prove helpful. To develop knowledge and technology in a country, networks need to solve the problems they face in management and governance. That is, the first step towards the realization of true knowledge networks in health system.

Australian engineering educators' attitudes towards Aboriginal cultures and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldfinch, Thomas; Prpic, Juliana Kaya; Jolly, Lesley; Leigh, Elyssebeth; Kennedy, Jade

2017-07-01

In Australia, representation of Aboriginal populations within the engineering profession is very low despite participation targets set by Government departments, professional bodies and Universities. Progressing the Aboriginal inclusion agenda within Australian Engineering Education requires a clearer understanding of engineering educators' preparedness for increased numbers of students from this non-traditional cohort. This research stems from a recently completed project that explored Aboriginal perspectives in engineering education and proposed a model for embedding perspectives in curricula. Nine engineering academics were interviewed to explore attitudes towards Aboriginal perspectives in engineering and the viability of the proposed model. Results of the interviews indicate efforts to embed Aboriginal perspectives are starting from a small base of knowledge and experience. Individuals' motivations and values indicate that there is significant support for improving this, but that efforts can be hampered by conceptions of Aboriginal perspectives that do not consider how Aboriginal knowledges may change engineering itself.

Evolutionary engineering for industrial microbiology.

PubMed

Vanee, Niti; Fisher, Adam B; Fong, Stephen S

2012-01-01

Superficially, evolutionary engineering is a paradoxical field that balances competing interests. In natural settings, evolution iteratively selects and enriches subpopulations that are best adapted to a particular ecological niche using random processes such as genetic mutation. In engineering desired approaches utilize rational prospective design to address targeted problems. When considering details of evolutionary and engineering processes, more commonality can be found. Engineering relies on detailed knowledge of the problem parameters and design properties in order to predict design outcomes that would be an optimized solution. When detailed knowledge of a system is lacking, engineers often employ algorithmic search strategies to identify empirical solutions. Evolution epitomizes this iterative optimization by continuously diversifying design options from a parental design, and then selecting the progeny designs that represent satisfactory solutions. In this chapter, the technique of applying the natural principles of evolution to engineer microbes for industrial applications is discussed to highlight the challenges and principles of evolutionary engineering.

Knowledge Integration and Wise Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiu, Jennifer L.; Linn, M. C.

2011-01-01

Recent efforts in engineering education focus on introducing engineering into secondary math and science courses to improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education (NAS, 2010). Infusing engineering into secondary classrooms can increase awareness of and interest in STEM careers, help students see the relevance of science and…

Considerations on Educating Engineers in Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyle, Carol

2004-01-01

The teaching of sustainability to engineers will follow similar paths to that of environmental engineering. There is a strong feeling that environmental engineering is a discipline unto itself, requiring knowledge of chemistry, physics, biology, hydrology, toxicology, modelling and law. However, environmental engineering can also be encompassed…

The role of service-learning in college students' environmental literacy: Content knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singletary, Joanna Lynn Bush

This study evaluated the relationship of environmental service-learning on environmental literacy in undergraduates. The subjects were 36 undergraduates at a small liberal arts university enrolled in an environmental biology course. To determine the role of environmental service-learning on college students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and environmental literacy, this study utilized concurrent mixed methods approach for qualitative and quantitative analysis. A quasi-experimental repeated measures approach was the design of the quantitative component of the study. Data were collected on attitude, behavior, and content knowledge aspects of environmental literacy as measured by the Environmental Literacy Survey (Kibert, 2000). Hypotheses were tested by independent samples ttests and repeated measures ANOVA. Repeated measures ANOVA conducted on participants' three subscales scores for the Environmental Literacy Survey (attitude, behavior, and knowledge) indicated that students who participated in environmental service-learning scored statistically significantly higher than those that did not initially participate in service-learning. Qualitative data collected in the form of journal reflections and portfolios were evaluated for themes of environmental attitudes or affective statements, environmentally positive behaviors and skills, and ecological content. Quantitative and qualitative data support the positive role of environmental service-learning in the development of environmental literacy in undergraduate students.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 appear to contribute the most to an inhospitable atmosphere include subtle behaviors on the part of faculty and administrators and blatant sexist, derogatory and hostile comments and jokes on the part of male undergraduate students. Personal interview data indicate continued resistance among some male administrators, faculty and students to women pursuing majors in engineering.

Research MethodologyOverview of Qualitative Research

PubMed Central

GROSSOEHME, DANIEL H.

2015-01-01

Qualitative research methods are a robust tool for chaplaincy research questions. Similar to much of chaplaincy clinical care, qualitative research generally works with written texts, often transcriptions of individual interviews or focus group conversations and seeks to understand the meaning of experience in a study sample. This article describes three common methodologies: ethnography, grounded theory, and phenomenology. Issues to consider relating to the study sample, design, and analysis are discussed. Enhancing the validity of the data, as well reliability and ethical issues in qualitative research are described. Qualitative research is an accessible way for chaplains to contribute new knowledge about the sacred dimension of people's lived experience. PMID:24926897

Use of qualitative methods in published health services and management research: a 10-year review.

PubMed

Weiner, Bryan J; Amick, Halle R; Lund, Jennifer L; Lee, Shoou-Yih Daniel; Hoff, Timothy J

2011-02-01

Over the past 10 years, the field of health services and management research has seen renewed interest in the use of qualitative research methods. This article examines the volume and characteristics of qualitative research articles published in nine major health services and management journals between 1998 and 2008. Qualitative research articles comprise 9% of research articles published in these journals. Although the publication rate of qualitative research articles has not kept pace with that of quantitative research articles, citation analysis suggests that qualitative research articles contribute comparably to the field's knowledge base. A wide range of policy and management topics has been examined using qualitative methods. Case study designs, interviews, and documentary sources were the most frequently used methods. Half of qualitative research articles provided little or no detail about key aspects the study's methods. Implications are discussed and recommendations are offered for promoting the publication of qualitative research.

The Future of Qualitative Research in Psychology: Accentuating the Positive.

PubMed

Gough, Brendan; Lyons, Antonia

2016-06-01

In this paper we reflect on current trends and anticipate future prospects regarding qualitative research in Psychology. We highlight various institutional and disciplinary obstacles to qualitative research diversity, complexity and quality. At the same time, we note some causes for optimism, including publication breakthroughs and vitality within the field. The paper is structured into three main sections which consider: 1) the positioning of qualitative research within Psychology; 2) celebrating the different kinds of knowledge produced by qualitative research; and 3) implementing high quality qualitative research. In general we accentuate the positive, recognising and illustrating innovative qualitative research practices which generate new insights and propel the field forward. We conclude by emphasising the importance of research training: for qualitative research to flourish within Psychology (and beyond), students and early career researchers require more sophisticated, in-depth instruction than is currently offered.

[Feminism and qualitative nursing research].

PubMed

Yi, Myungsun; Yih, Bong-Sook

2004-06-01

The purpose of this article was to describe feminism and to propose the integration of a feminist method into qualitative nursing methodology in order to expand the body of nursing knowledge. The world view of feminism including philosophy, epistemology and methodology was outlined, and a feminist grounded theory and feminist ethnography were suggested as a way of strengthening nursing research methodology using literature review. Four different philosophical perspectives of feminism, that is, liberal feminism, radical feminism, Marxist feminism, and social feminism were described. Also epistemological perspectives including feminist empiricism, feminist standpoint, and postmodern feminism, were explained and were related to the methodology and methods of feminism. To enhance the strengths of nursing research within the feminist perspectives, feminist grounded theory and feminist ethnography were exemplified in the paradigm of qualitative nursing research. This paper suggested that incorporation of feminist approaches within nursing is a valuable attempt to expand the body of nursing knowledge and to enhance the quality of nursing care services by rectifying male-oriented knowledge and by empowering women in the care of other people as well as themselves.

Building inclusive engineering identities: implications for changing engineering culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atadero, Rebecca A.; Paguyo, Christina H.; Rambo-Hernandez, Karen E.; Henderson, Heather L.

2018-05-01

Ongoing efforts to broaden the participation of women and people of colour in engineering degree programmes and careers have had limited success. This paper describes a different approach to broadening participation that seeks to work with all students and develop inclusive engineering identities. Researchers worked with the instructors of two first-year engineering courses to integrate curriculum activities designed to promote the formation of engineering identities and build an appreciation for how diversity and inclusion strengthen engineering practice. Multilevel modelling results indicated positive effects of the intervention on appreciation for diversity but no effects on engineering identity, and qualitative results indicated students learned the most about diversity not through one of the intervention activities, but through team projects in the courses. We also describe lessons learned in how to teach engineering students about diversity in ways that are relevant to engineering.

A qualitative study of epistemologies and pedagogies of environmental practitioners in Maui, Hawai'i

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buczynski, Sandra C.

This dissertation presents a discussion of the knowledge systems and teaching styles of five environmental practitioners in Maui, Hawaii. The voices of the informants illustrate the beliefs, values, and priorities relevant to local environmental knowledge production and exchange, and are also used to provide a framework for models of epistemological and pedagogical practices. In this qualitative research, several models of local environmental knowledge emerged. The models include local environmental knowledge as a semiotic system, knowledge given and received from narrative sources, experiential based knowledge, and place and plant priorities in seeking and dispensing environmental information. The notion of what constitutes environmental knowledge was expanded through careful interpretation of the informant's voice. Several broad conclusions concerning local environmental knowledge emerged from this research. First, local environmental knowledge is formed through a long-term relationship between the practitioner, the land, and natural resources. Secondly, each of the environmental practitioner's local environmental knowledge is dynamic, plural and hybrid. And finally, transmission of the environmental practitioner's local environmental knowledge is integral to the life of the community as well as a component of their personal identities. Through these local environmental practitioners, endemic knowledge is shared, indigenous species are spared, traditional practices are passed down, customary ways are preserved, and unique ways of knowing and teaching are appreciated. 'A'ohe papu ka 'ike i ka halau ho'okahi. All knowledge is not taught in the same school. One can learn from many sources (Pukui, 1983: 24).

Epistemological Development in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson-Meger, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Epistemological development is an important factor in facilitating learner identity and developing critical thinking aptitudes. This qualitative action research study explored undergraduate social work students' epistemological beliefs about knowledge, how knowledge is constructed, and implications for social work education. Data collection…

Examination of engineering design teacher self-efficacy and knowledge base in secondary technology education and engineering-related courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vessel, Kanika Nicole

2011-12-01

There is an increasing demand for individuals with engineering education and skills of varying fields in everyday life. With the proper education students of high-needs schools can help meet the demand for a highly skilled and educated workforce. Researchers have assumed the supply and demand has not been met within the engineering workforce as a result of students' collegiate educational experiences, which are impacted by experiences in K-12 education. Although factors outside of the classroom contribute to the inability of universities to meet the increasing demand for the engineering workforce, most noted by researchers is the academic unpreparedness of freshman engineering students. The unpreparedness of entering freshman engineering students is a result of K-12 classroom experiences. This draws attention not only to the quality and competence of teachers present in the K-12 classroom, but the type of engineering instruction these students are receiving. This paper was an effort to systematically address one of the more direct and immediate factors impacting freshman engineering candidates, the quality of secondary engineering educators. Engineers develop new ideas using the engineering design process, which is taught at the collegiate level, and has been argued to be the best approach to teach technological literacy to all K-12 students. However, it is of importance to investigate whether technology educators have the knowledge and understanding of engineering design, how to transfer that knowledge in the classroom to students through instructional strategies, and their perception of their ability to do that. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to show the need for examining the degree to which technology and non-technology educators are implementing elements of engineering design in the curriculum.

Persistence of community college engineering science students: The impact of selected cognitive and noncognitive characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatman, Lawrence M., Jr.

If the United States is to remain technologically competitive, persistence in engineering programs must improve. This study on student persistence employed a mixed-method design to identify the cognitive and noncognitive factors which contribute to students remaining in an engineering science curriculum or switching from an engineering curriculum at a community college in the northeast United States. Records from 372 students were evaluated to determine the characteristics of two groups: those students that persisted with the engineering curriculum and those that switched from engineering; also, the dropout phenomenon was evaluated. The quantitative portion of the study used a logistic regression analyses on 22 independent variables, while the qualitative portion of the study used group interviews to investigate the noncognitive factors that influenced persisting or switching. The qualitative portion of the study added depth and credibility to the results from the quantitative portion. The study revealed that (1) high grades in first year calculus, physics and chemistry courses, (2) fewer number of semesters enrolled, (3) attendance with full time status, and (4) not participating in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program were significant variables used to predict student persistence. The group interviews confirmed several of these contributing factors. Students that dropped out of college began with (1) the lowest levels of remediation, (2) the lowest grade point averages, and (3) the fewest credits earned.

A systematic review of qualitative research on the contributory factors leading to medicine-related problems from the perspectives of adult patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus

PubMed Central

Al Hamid, A; Ghaleb, M; Aljadhey, H; Aslanpour, Z

2014-01-01

Objectives To synthesise contributing factors leading to medicine-related problems (MRPs) in adult patients with cardiovascular diseases and/or diabetes mellitus from their perspectives. Design A systematic literature review of qualitative studies regarding the contributory factors leading to MRPs, medication errors and non-adherence, followed by a thematic synthesis of the studies. Data sources We screened Pubmed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, PsycInfo, International Pharmaceutical Abstract and PsycExtra for qualitative studies (interviews, focus groups and questionnaires of a qualitative nature). Review methods Thematic synthesis was achieved by coding and developing themes from the findings of qualitative studies. Results The synthesis yielded 21 studies that satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Three themes emerged that involved contributing factors to MRPs: patient-related factors including socioeconomic factors (beliefs, feeling victimised, history of the condition, lack of finance, lack of motivation and low self-esteem) and lifestyle factors (diet, lack of exercise/time to see the doctor, obesity, smoking and stress), medicine-related factors (belief in natural remedies, fear of medicine, lack of belief in medicines, lack of knowledge, non-adherence and polypharmacy) and condition-related factors (lack of knowledge/understanding, fear of condition and its complications, and lack of control). Conclusions MRPs represent a major health threat, especially among adult patients with cardiovascular diseases and/or diabetes mellitus. The patients’ perspectives uncovered hidden factors that could cause and/or contribute to MRPs in these groups of patients. PMID:25239295

Knowledge Gained from Practical Experience in the Designing of Aircraft Engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurtz, Oskar

1933-01-01

The present report examines a few important points of engine design such as: in-line water cooled engines, air-cooled in-line engines, and air-cooled radial engines. Subassemblies are also discussed like cylinder types, blower driving gears, pistons, valves, bearings, and crankshafts.

Environmental Engineering in Mining Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahamud-Lopez, Manuel Maria; Menendez-Aguado, Juan Maria

2005-01-01

In this paper, the current profile of the environmental engineer and the programming of the subject "Environmental Engineering and Technology" corresponding to the studies of Mining Engineering at the University of Oviedo in Spain, is discussed. Professional profile, student knowledge prior to and following instruction as well as…

A Qualitative Assessment of Weight Control among Rural Kansas Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ely, Andrea C.; Befort, Christie; Banitt, Angela; Gibson, Cheryl; Sullivan, Debra

2009-01-01

Objective: To explore weight control beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and practices among rural Kansas women, and to characterize the relationship of these women with their primary-care providers around weight control. Design: Qualitative research using focus groups. Setting: Three separate communities of rural Kansas. Participants: Six focus groups…

Qualitative Research on "Mediated Dialogism" among Educators and Pupils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansson, Thomas

2004-01-01

The relevance of qualitative research to virtual practices rests on subject knowledge and practical know-how on operations for exchange, growth, learning, and dialogue. Highlighting the discursive perspective, this paper covers theory on emerging didactics for online learning. In doing so, the contents show how computer-mediated learning…

Qualitative Research as Policy Knowledge: Framing Policy Problems and Transforming Education from the Ground Up

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dumas, Michael J.; Anderson, Gary

2014-01-01

As educational research becomes privatized, commodified and commercialized, research relevance increasingly means being incorporated into neoliberal ideological and economic agendas. Within this social context, qualitative research in particular is often deemed less relevant (if not irrelevant) because it does not provide prescriptions for best…

OMICS DATA IN THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MODE OF ACTION IN SUPPORT OF IRIS ASSESSMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

Knowledge and information generated using new tools/methods collectively called "Omics" technologies could have a profound effect on qualitative and quantitative characterizations of human health risk assessments.

The suffix "Omics" is a descriptor used for a series of e...

Gendered Transitions, Career Identities and Possible Selves: The Case of Engineering Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papafilippou, Vanda; Bentley, Laura

2017-01-01

This article, drawing upon the Paired Peers project, a longitudinal qualitative study (n = 90), examines how seven UK engineering graduates, four women and three men, construct their career identities during the transitionary period from university to work. It explores how gender and the occupational cultures that reside within the sector, and the…

Engineering Research Teams: The Role of Social Networks in the Formation of Research Skills for Postgraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sampson, Kaylene; Comer, Keith

2011-01-01

This study explores learner experiences regarding skills acquisition of a cohort of engineering doctoral students enrolled in a New Zealand university. Employing a qualitative methodology, we interviewed 28 PhD students about the range of experiences and exchanges that comprised their pathways to skill acquisition. Students reported that research…

Turnover Intentions: A Qualitative Analysis of Comments from Air Force Civil Engineering Company Grade Officers

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-22

this job exist outside the AF and there are benefits and drawbacks to military and civilian careers in the engineering field. What incentive do CE...like the AF at large doesnt appreciate my work anywhere. It’s personally disappointing, and somewhat depressing. It’s quite a pendulum swing from

From Rhetoric to Reality: Case Studies of Two Fifth Grade Science Teachers to Inform Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maynard, Kathie Jo

2013-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore two elementary teachers' implementation of engineering design over two academic years and to describe how their teaching practice changed over the two instructional cycles. This study used field notes and audio transcripts of the teachers during their engineering design teaching, written…

Successful Programs for Undergraduate Women in Science and Engineering: "Adapting" versus "Adopting" the Institutional Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Mary Frank; Sonnert, Gerhard; Nikiforova, Irina

2009-01-01

This article focuses upon programs for undergraduate women in science and engineering, which are a strategic research site in the study of gender, science, and higher education. The design involves both quantitative and qualitative approaches, linking theory, method, questions, and analyses in ways not undertaken previously. Using a comprehensive,…

E-Readers on Trial: Qualitative Results from an Academic Library Pilot Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemp, Jan; Lutz, Ellen; Nurnberger, Amy L.

2012-01-01

In 2010, the University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries opened a bookless satellite library, the Applied Engineering and Technology (AET) Library. AET librarians wanted to offer a new service: lending e-readers loaded with academic content and other e-books of interest to engineering and science students. Librarians chose three e-readers for the…

Learning English: Experiences and Needs of Saudi Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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…

Involvement of African-American Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nkere, Nsidi

2016-01-01

A qualitative case study was conducted by examining the perceptions of fifth-grade African American girls about their experiences with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and potential for STEM as a future career. As the United States suffers from waning participation across all demographics in STEM and a high level…

The Effects of Cooperative and Individualistic Learning Structures on Achievement in a College-Level Computer-Aided Drafting Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swab, A. Geoffrey

2012-01-01

This study of cooperative learning in post-secondary engineering education investigated achievement of engineering students enrolled in two intact sections of a computer-aided drafting (CAD) course. Quasi-experimental and qualitative methods were employed in comparing student achievement resulting from out-of-class cooperative and individualistic…

Peer Mentoring in Engineering: (Un)Shared Experience of Undergraduate Peer Mentors and Mentees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Jae Hoon; MacLeod, Bailey P.; Tkacik, Peter T.; Dika, Sandra L.

2017-01-01

In this qualitative study, we explored the experiences of 26 engineering student mentors and mentees in a peer mentoring program. We found that mentors and mentees exploited the mentoring program's fluid structure and situated social relationships to enact a specific type of academic/professional goal and identity conducive to their entry to one…

Investigating and Developing Engineering Students' Mathematical Modelling and Problem-Solving Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedelin, Dag; Adawi, Tom; Jahan, Tabassum; Andersson, Sven

2015-01-01

How do engineering students approach mathematical modelling problems and how can they learn to deal with such problems? In the context of a course in mathematical modelling and problem solving, and using a qualitative case study approach, we found that the students had little prior experience of mathematical modelling. They were also inexperienced…

Social Identities among Engineering Students and through Their Transition to Work: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jungert, Tomas

2013-01-01

This article draws on a longitudinal and qualitative study of students in a master's program in engineering. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze annual, semi-structured interviews with ten students, from the first semester until one year after graduation. The program enjoys a high status and has a reputation of being…

The relation between prior knowledge and students' collaborative discovery learning processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gijlers, Hannie; de Jong, Ton

2005-03-01

In this study we investigate how prior knowledge influences knowledge development during collaborative discovery learning. Fifteen dyads of students (pre-university education, 15-16 years old) worked on a discovery learning task in the physics field of kinematics. The (face-to-face) communication between students was recorded and the interaction with the environment was logged. Based on students' individual judgments of the truth-value and testability of a series of domain-specific propositions, a detailed description of the knowledge configuration for each dyad was created before they entered the learning environment. Qualitative analyses of two dialogues illustrated that prior knowledge influences the discovery learning processes, and knowledge development in a pair of students. Assessments of student and dyad definitional (domain-specific) knowledge, generic (mathematical and graph) knowledge, and generic (discovery) skills were related to the students' dialogue in different discovery learning processes. Results show that a high level of definitional prior knowledge is positively related to the proportion of communication regarding the interpretation of results. Heterogeneity with respect to generic prior knowledge was positively related to the number of utterances made in the discovery process categories hypotheses generation and experimentation. Results of the qualitative analyses indicated that collaboration between extremely heterogeneous dyads is difficult when the high achiever is not willing to scaffold information and work in the low achiever's zone of proximal development.

Contraceptive knowledge, perceptions, and concerns among men in Uganda.

PubMed

Thummalachetty, Nityanjali; Mathur, Sanyukta; Mullinax, Margo; DeCosta, Kelsea; Nakyanjo, Neema; Lutalo, Tom; Brahmbhatt, Heena; Santelli, John S

2017-10-10

Low contraceptive uptake and high unmet need for contraception remain significant issues in Uganda compared to neighboring countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Although prior research on contraceptive uptake has indicated that male partners strongly influence women's decisions around contraceptive use, there is limited in-depth qualitative research on knowledge and concerns regarding modern contraceptive methods among Ugandan men. Using in-depth interviews (N = 41), this qualitative study investigated major sources of knowledge about contraception and perceptions of contraceptive side effects among married Ugandan men. Men primarily reported knowledge of contraceptives based on partner's experience of side effects, partner's knowledge from health providers and mass media campaigns, and partner's knowledge from her peers. Men were less likely to report contraceptive knowledge from health care providers, mass media campaigns, or peers. Men's concerns about various contraceptive methods were broadly associated with failure of the method to work properly, adverse health effects on women, and severe adverse health effects on children. Own or partner's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status did not impact on contraceptive knowledge. Overall, we found limited accurate knowledge about contraceptive methods among men in Uganda. Moreover, fears about the side effects of modern contraceptive methods appeared to be common among men. Family planning services in Uganda could be significantly strengthened by renewed efforts to focus on men's knowledge, fears, and misconceptions.

Directed evolution and synthetic biology applications to microbial systems.

PubMed

Bassalo, Marcelo C; Liu, Rongming; Gill, Ryan T

2016-06-01

Biotechnology applications require engineering complex multi-genic traits. The lack of knowledge on the genetic basis of complex phenotypes restricts our ability to rationally engineer them. However, complex phenotypes can be engineered at the systems level, utilizing directed evolution strategies that drive whole biological systems toward desired phenotypes without requiring prior knowledge of the genetic basis of the targeted trait. Recent developments in the synthetic biology field accelerates the directed evolution cycle, facilitating engineering of increasingly complex traits in biological systems. In this review, we summarize some of the most recent advances in directed evolution and synthetic biology that allows engineering of complex traits in microbial systems. Then, we discuss applications that can be achieved through engineering at the systems level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conceptualising Knowledge for Access in the Sciences: Academic Development from a Social Realist Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellery, Karen

2017-01-01

Whilst arguing from a social realist perspective that knowledge matters in academic development (AD) curricula, this paper addresses the question of what knowledge types and practices are necessary for enabling epistemological access. It presents a single, in-depth, qualitative case study in which the curriculum of a science AD course is…

Investigating Student Perceptions of Knowledge Acquisition within a Role-Play Simulation of the Convention on Biological Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schnurr, Matthew A.; De Santo, Elizabeth M.; Green, Amanda D.; Taylor, Alanna

2015-01-01

This article investigates the particular mechanisms through which a role-play simulation impacts student perceptions of knowledge acquisition. Longitudinal data were mobilized in the form of quantitative and qualitative surveys to examine whether the simulation succeeded in increasing knowledge around both content and skills. It then delves deeper…

Academic Perspectives and Experiences of Knowledge Translation: A Qualitative Study of Public Health Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collie, Alex; Zardo, Pauline; McKenzie, Donna Margaret; Ellis, Niki

2016-01-01

This study explores the views and experiences of knowledge translation of 14 Australian public health academics. Capacity to engage in knowledge translation is influenced by factors within the academic context and the interaction of the academic and policy environments. Early and mid-career researchers reported a different set of experiences and…

Experienced EFL Teachers' Professional Practical Knowledge, Reasoning and Classroom Decision Making in Egypt: Views from the Inside Out

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdelhafez, Ahmed

2014-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the areas that constituted the professional practical knowledge of experienced English as a Foreign Language teachers in Egypt and how their knowledge informed their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 236 preparatory and secondary school teachers in 38 schools through…

Health Identity, Participation and Knowledge: A Qualitative Study of a Computer Game for Health Education among Adolescents in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grabowski, Dan

2013-01-01

Objective: To analyse the interrelated processes of identity, participation and knowledge in the context of the health educational Lifecalculator computer game. The analysis focuses on if and how this school-based health promotion initiative communicated relevant health knowledge to adolescents. Further development of the concept of health…

Middle Grades Students' Situation Definitions: Development of a Knowledge-Linking Inventory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuh, Kathy L.; Kuo, Yi-Lung; Knupp, Tawnya L.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop the Student Knowledge Linking Instrument (SKLI), an inventory for middle grades students that seeks to understand student knowledge construction processes. This study included 461 fifth and sixth grade students and follows from a series of qualitative studies that were used as a foundation for development…

The Application of SECI Model as a Framework of Knowledge Creation in Virtual Learning: Case Study of IUST Virtual Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosseini, Seyede Mehrnoush

2011-01-01

The research aims to define SECI model of knowledge creation (socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization) as a framework of Virtual class management which can lead to better online teaching-learning mechanisms as well as knowledge creation. It has used qualitative research methodology including researcher's close observation…

Teacher Knowledge Shaping the Teaching of Genetics: A Case Study of Two Underqualified Teachers in Malawi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mdolo, Margaret M.; Mundalamo, Fhatuwani J.

2015-01-01

This paper reports on the relationship between the subject matter knowledge of two underqualified teachers and their topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK) as they taught genetics at two community secondary schools in Malawi. The study was qualitative and used the multiple case study approach. The sample was purposefully chosen. Data…

The Genesis of Mentors' Professional and Personal Knowledge about Teaching: Perspectives from the Republic of Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Marie; Killeavy, Maureen; Moloney, Anne

2013-01-01

This study investigates the sources of mentors' knowledge about teaching. A mixed-method research design combining quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was used to examine this area. The findings of the study suggest that: mentors' knowledge about teaching is practice orientated and emerges from their professional experiences,…

STEMujeres: A case study of the life stories of first-generation Latina engineers and scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vielma, Karina I.

Research points to the many obstacles that first-generation, Latina students face when attempting to enter fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM. This qualitative, case study examined the personal and educational experiences of first-generation Latina women who successfully navigated the STEM educational pipeline earning bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in various fields of engineering. Three research questions guided the study: (1) How does a first-generation Latina engineer and scientist describe her life experiences as she became interested in STEM? (2) How does she describe her educational experiences as she navigated the educational pipeline in the physics, mathematics, and/or engineering field(s)? (3) How did she respond to challenges, obstacles and microaggressions, if any, while navigating the STEM educational pipeline? The study was designed using a combination of Critical Race Theory frameworks---Chicana feminist theory and racial microaggressions. Through a life history case study approach, the women shared their stories of success. With the participants' help, influential persons in their educational paths were identified and interviewed. Data were analyzed using crystallization and thematic results indicated that all women in this study identified their parents as planting the seed of interest through the introduction of mathematics. The women unknowingly prepared to enter the STEM fields by taking math and science coursework. They were guided to apply to STEM universities and academic programs by others who knew about their interest in math and science including teachers, counselors, and level-up peers---students close in age who were just a step more advanced in the educational pipeline. The women also drew from previous familial struggles to guide their perseverance and motivation toward educational degree completion. The lives of the women where complex and intersected with various forms of racism including gender, race, class, legality and power. In many instances, the women used their knowledge to help other STEMujeres advance.

[Nutritional self-care promotion in community-dwelling older people: a protocol of mixed method research].

PubMed

Raffaele, Barbara; Matarese, Maria; Piredda, Michela; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

2016-01-01

To describe a research protocol designed to promote nutritional self-care in older people. The aims of the research are: a) to evaluate the effectiveness of a nutritional education intervention in changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; b) to describe the nutritional self-care ability and activities; c) to identify the promoting factors and barriers that influence the changes in nutritional knowledge, behaviors and attitudes in home-dwelling older people. Sequential explanatory mixed method design. The study will enroll 50 people aged 65 years and over. In the first quantitative phase, a pre-test and post-test design will be used to deliver a nutritional intervention aimed to change knowledge, behaviors and attitudes toward nutrition. Using the quantitative study results, the qualitative study phase will be conducted by interviews in sub-groups of older people. In a third phase, the quantitative and qualitative study results will be integrated. Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and qualitative data will be analyzed through content analysis. The study will provide new knowledge on nutritional self-care in home-dwelling older adults and the factors promoting nutritional self-care. Nutritional self-care promotion is of pivotal importance for the nursing care provided to home-dwelling older people. Educational programs aimed at the maintenance of proper nutrition in the older adults may reduce malnutrition and the related diseases. Nutrition educational programs should be based on knowledge derived from research to tailor individualized nutritional interventions and to realize effective educational programs.

Environmental Engineering Curricula assessment in the global world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caporali, Enrica; Catelani, Marcantonio; Manfrida, Giampaolo; Valdiserri, Juna

2014-05-01

Environmental engineers are technicians with specific expertise on the sustainability of human presence in the environment. Among other global dilemmas, to the environmental engineers it is often demanded to be able in developing systematic, innovative solutions in order to simultaneously meet water and energy needs, to build resilience to natural and technological disasters, to more accurately gauge and manage countries' greenhouse gas emissions. The general objectives of the Environmental Engineers are to establish actions of environmental sustainability as well as to verify progress toward global goals or international commitments. The globalization of challenges and problems to be faced, leads, in general, to the globalization of the engineering profession. In particular, since the environmental issues are without boundaries, and many and different are the involved professions and the competences, the environmental engineer must have a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to adequately answer to the demand of technical innovative knowledge at global scale. The environmental engineers, more and more, are involved in international projects were the effective collaboration requires not only the capacity to communicate in a common technical language, but also the assurance of an adequate and common level of technical competences, knowledge and understanding. The Europe-based EUR ACE system, currently operated by ENAEE - European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education, can represent the proper framework and accreditation system in order to provide a set of measures to assess the quality of engineering degree programmes in Europe and abroad. In the global frame of the knowledge triangle: education-innovation-research, the accreditation and quality assurance of engineering curricula in Europe is discussed with reference to the Environmental engineering curricula, of the 1st and 2nd cycle, based on the European Credit Transfer System and in accordance with the Bologna Process, offered at School of Engineering, University of Firenze. The application of the accreditation model EUR-ACE to the multidisciplinary first cycle degree in Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering and the more specific second cycle degree in Environmental Engineering is discussed. Particularly, the critical issues to guarantee the quality and the status of environmental engineering graduates, in terms of applying knowledge capacities and technical innovative competences are examined. The expected learning outcomes of the quality assessment according the Dublin descriptors or the more engineering focused EUR-ACE skill descriptors, and at local and global scale are analysed. The system for educating engineers in communicating knowledge and understanding, making informed judgments and choices, capacities to lifelong learning is also assessed. The involvement of the professional working world in the definition of goals in skills, of typical expectations of achievements and abilities, and in general in comparing the teaching profile with the actual needs of the technical workforce, is described. With the aim to promote the innovative aspects related with the environmental engineering education, the important role that science and technology could play is also taken into consideration.

The development of a digital logic concept inventory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herman, Geoffrey Lindsay

Instructors in electrical and computer engineering and in computer science have developed innovative methods to teach digital logic circuits. These methods attempt to increase student learning, satisfaction, and retention. Although there are readily accessible and accepted means for measuring satisfaction and retention, there are no widely accepted means for assessing student learning. Rigorous assessment of learning is elusive because differences in topic coverage, curriculum and course goals, and exam content prevent direct comparison of two teaching methods when using tools such as final exam scores or course grades. Because of these difficulties, computing educators have issued a general call for the adoption of assessment tools to critically evaluate and compare the various teaching methods. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education researchers commonly measure students' conceptual learning to compare how much different pedagogies improve learning. Conceptual knowledge is often preferred because all engineering courses should teach a fundamental set of concepts even if they emphasize design or analysis to different degrees. Increasing conceptual learning is also important, because students who can organize facts and ideas within a consistent conceptual framework are able to learn new information quickly and can apply what they know in new situations. If instructors can accurately assess their students' conceptual knowledge, they can target instructional interventions to remedy common problems. To properly assess conceptual learning, several researchers have developed concept inventories (CIs) for core subjects in engineering sciences. CIs are multiple-choice assessment tools that evaluate how well a student's conceptual framework matches the accepted conceptual framework of a discipline or common faulty conceptual frameworks. We present how we created and evaluated the digital logic concept inventory (DLCI).We used a Delphi process to identify the important and difficult concepts to include on the DLCI. To discover and describe common student misconceptions, we interviewed students who had completed a digital logic course. Students vocalized their thoughts as they solved digital logic problems. We analyzed the interview data using a qualitative grounded theory approach. We have administered the DLCI at several institutions and have checked the validity, reliability, and bias of the DLCI with classical testing theory procedures. These procedures consisted of follow-up interviews with students, analysis of administration results with statistical procedures, and expert feedback. We discuss these results and present the DLCI's potential for providing a meaningful tool for comparing student learning at different institutions.

The Difference Engine: Computing, Knowledge, and the Transformation of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Provenzo, Eugene F.

2011-01-01

Since the 1960s, the rapid evolution of technology has created a new cultural geography--a virtual geography. "The Difference Engine: Computing, Knowledge and the Transformation of Learning" offers a conscious critique of this change and its effects on contemporary culture and education. This engaging text assumes that we are at a critical…

Using Social Media to Facilitate Knowledge Transfer in Complex Engineering Environments: A Primer for Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Glen; Salomone, Sonia

2013-01-01

While highly cohesive groups are potentially advantageous they are also often correlated with the emergence of knowledge and information silos based around those same functional or occupational clusters. Consequently, an essential challenge for engineering organisations wishing to overcome informational silos is to implement mechanisms that…

The Teaching Challenge: Science, Engineering and the Knowledge Economy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowling, Patrick

2001-01-01

Presents the presidential address delivered to the Association for Science Education (ASE) at its annual meeting held at the University of Surrey, January 2001. Consists of three sections: (1) science and engineering and the knowledge economy; (2) teaching challenge and the role of science teachers; and (3) partnerships to support science,…

Utilizing Civil Engineering Senior Design Capstone Projects to Evaluate Students' Sustainability Education across Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dancz, Claire L. A.; Ketchman, Kevin J.; Burke, Rebekah D.; Hottle, Troy A.; Parrish, Kristen; Bilec, Melissa M.; Landis, Amy E.

2017-01-01

While many institutions express interest in integrating sustainability into their civil engineering curriculum, the engineering community lacks consensus on established methods for infusing sustainability into curriculum and verified approaches to assess engineers' sustainability knowledge. This paper presents the development of a sustainability…

Application of Commercial Games for Home-Based Rehabilitation for People with Hemiparesis: Challenges and Lessons Learned.

PubMed

Valdés, Bulmaro A; Glegg, Stephanie M N; Lambert-Shirzad, Navid; Schneider, Andrea N; Marr, Jonathan; Bernard, Renee; Lohse, Keith; Hoens, Alison M; Van der Loos, H F Machiel

2018-06-01

To identify the factors that influence the use of an at-home virtual rehabilitation gaming system from the perspective of therapists, engineers, and adults and adolescents with hemiparesis secondary to stroke, brain injury, and cerebral palsy. This study reports on qualitative findings from a study, involving seven adults (two female; mean age: 65 ± 8 years) and three adolescents (one female; mean age: 15 ± 2 years) with hemiparesis, evaluating the feasibility and clinical effectiveness of a home-based custom-designed virtual rehabilitation system over 2 months. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data from therapists' weekly telephone interview notes, research team documentation regarding issues raised during technical support interactions, and the transcript of a poststudy debriefing session involving research team members and collaborators. Qualitative themes that emerged suggested that system use was associated with three key factors as follows: (1) the technology itself (e.g., characteristics of the games and their clinical implications, system accessibility, and hardware and software design); (2) communication processes (e.g., preferences and effectiveness of methods used during the study); and (3) knowledge and training of participants and therapists on the technology's use (e.g., familiarity with Facebook, time required to gain competence with the system, and need for clinical observations during remote therapy). Strategies to address these factors are proposed. Lessons learned from this study can inform future clinical and implementation research using commercial videogames and social media platforms. The capacity to track compensatory movements, clinical considerations in game selection, the provision of kinematic and treatment progress reports to participants, and effective communication and training for therapists and participants may enhance research success, system usability, and adoption.

Representational task formats and problem solving strategies in kinematics and work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Bashirah; Rebello, N. Sanjay

2012-06-01

Previous studies have reported that students employed different problem solving approaches when presented with the same task structured with different representations. In this study, we explored and compared students’ strategies as they attempted tasks from two topical areas, kinematics and work. Our participants were 19 engineering students taking a calculus-based physics course. The tasks were presented in linguistic, graphical, and symbolic forms and requested either a qualitative solution or a value. The analysis was both qualitative and quantitative in nature focusing principally on the characteristics of the strategies employed as well as the underlying reasoning for their applications. A comparison was also made for the same student’s approach with the same kind of representation across the two topics. Additionally, the participants’ overall strategies across the different tasks, in each topic, were considered. On the whole, we found that the students prefer manipulating equations irrespective of the representational format of the task. They rarely recognized the applicability of a “qualitative” approach to solve the problem although they were aware of the concepts involved. Even when the students included visual representations in their solutions, they seldom used these representations in conjunction with the mathematical part of the problem. Additionally, the students were not consistent in their approach for interpreting and solving problems with the same kind of representation across the two topical areas. The representational format, level of prior knowledge, and familiarity with a topic appeared to influence their strategies, their written responses, and their ability to recognize qualitative ways to attempt a problem. The nature of the solution does not seem to impact the strategies employed to handle the problem.

An exploratory investigation of teaching innovations and learning factors in a lean manufacturing systems engineering course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choomlucksana, Juthamas; Doolen, Toni L.

2017-11-01

The use of collaborative activities and simulation sessions in engineering education has been explored previously. However, few studies have investigated the relationship of these types of teaching innovations with other learner characteristics, such as self-efficacy and background knowledge. This study explored the effects of collaborative activities and simulation sessions on learning and the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs, background knowledge, and learning. Data were collected from two different terms in an upper division engineering course entitled Lean Manufacturing Systems Engineering. Findings indicated that the impact of collaborative activities and simulation sessions appears to be different, depending on the concepts being taught. Simulation sessions were found to have a significant effect on self-efficacy beliefs, and background knowledge had a mixed effect on learning. Overall the results of this study highlight the complex set of relationships between classroom innovations, learner characteristics, and learning.