Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Ethics As Practical Reflection In A Project-Based Engineering Course, Marcel Krüger, Michael Jäckle, Felix Pfaff

Practice Papers

The implementation of ethics in engineering courses often faces several intertwined problems. For example, there is widespread moral relativism, ethics is often confused with moralism on the one hand and with pro-contra discussions on the other, there are difficulties with the degree of abstraction being too high, or ethics is relativised as one method for decision-making among many others. Furthermore, in many cases, ethics is suspected of being artificially introduced into engineering. In the context of a project-based course at a German university, we took up these challenges and developed an innovative teaching format whose focus is not on theories …

First Steps Towards Gamification Of Online Physics And Mathematics Assignments, Paula Immonen, Juho Ratava, Johanna K Naukkarinen, Ayesha Sadiqa, Jukka V Paatero, Markku Kuosa, Aleksi Mankonen, Barkat Bhayo, Mikko Äijälä

Practice Papers

The objective of this practice paper is to describe and analyse the use of online learning tasks on engineering mathematics and physics courses. The development of learning tasks was inspired by the promising effects of gamification techniques in higher education. Hence, some gamification elements, such as bonus points and immediate feedback were integrated into the learning tasks. Course results and student feedback demonstrate the positive impact of gamification of online learning tasks on students’ motivation and learning. In the end, further possibilities of increasing the number and repertoire of gamification techniques in engineering mathematics and physics courses are discussed.

Conceptual Modelling As An Overarching Research Skill In Engineering Education, Mieke Boon

Practice Papers

Today’s society is impacted by complex, fast and continuously changing problems. These need to be tackled inter-, multi and transdisciplinary. At the University of Twente, we have developed a new CBL minor Intelligence, creativity, and responsible technological innovation in societal transformations, (ICR&TIST), which focuses on research skills in complex socio-technological problem-solving contexts. The design of this minor has been guided by new insights from long-running research aimed at developing a Philosophy of Science for the Engineering Sciences and extensive experiences with engineering education in project-based learning (PjBL). Education in scientific research tends to focus on academic contexts, while scientific research …

Engagement And Solidarity While Learning, Deolinda Maria L. Dias Rasteiro, Cristina M. R. Caridade, Ascensión Hernandez Encinas, Araceli Queiruga-Dios, Ion Mierlus

Practice Papers

2020 and 2021 were difficult years for students attending higher education and secondary education especially if they were preparing to enter higher education. Teaching was adapted, and assessments were the possible ones according to what we lived and experienced. Thus, students need innovative and stimulating teaching and learning practices that motivate and involve them in the teaching/learning processes. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and digital platforms have seen their indiscriminate use, not without sometimes, teachers and students questioning whether they were being used in the best conceivable way or taken full advantage of. Face-to-face group work and involvement with the …

Defining A European Engineer Profile Within A European University Alliance, Morris Villarroel, Nilüfer Ülker, Pascal Bigey, Pierre Bertrand, Ramón Martínez, Sophie Griveau, Philippe Barboux, Alberto Garrido

Practice Papers

The world needs more engineers and Europe provides a rich and diverse environment to train them, including shared values of sustainability and interculturalism. In this paper we attempt to build a profile for a “European engineer” based on skills and competences acquired in a European University Alliance centred around engineering education (EELISA, European Engineering Learning Innovation Alliance). We carried out an on-line survey for students and staff of partner universities as well as nine indepth interviews (50 min) with relevante stakeholders. The questions included in the survey are described as well as general results from 75 respondents. The overall results …

Eelisa Credential: The Recognition Of Commitment And Impact In The Addressing Of Societal Challenges In The Eelisa Alliance, Ramón Martínez Rodríguez-Osorio, Thibaut Skrzypek, Sophie Griveau, Tamás Lovas, Nilüfer Ülker, Eike Trost, Mariana Mocanu, Piero Castoldi, Claudia Giua, Ignacio González Tejada, Sofía D'Aguiar, Daniel Chaparro

Practice Papers

EELISA Credential is a unique recognition process provided to EELISA students, professional and alumni who are part of the mission-driven EELISA communities and reflects the commitment and impact level achieved in the addressing of a societal challenge.

The EELISA Credential is an individual, progressive environment on which students collect badges. These badges are acquired after verifying the achievement of an educational outcome level after participating in community's educational activities. A badge represents the unit of learning acquisition and impact that corresponds to an educational outcome. It is reflected in the EELISA Credential which itself refers to an impact level and …

Using Ict To Motivate And Achieve Learning Outcomes In Live Teaching Of 650 Students, Juraj Petrović, Predrag Pale

Practice Papers

This paper describes efforts and practices used in teaching a Communication skills course with two full time teachers to approximately 650 enrolled students. It is focused on issues including motivating students if they consider this course to be non-essential for their professional development and a nuisance in their study, achieving learning outcomes in an efficient way, and using of ICT for assessment and self-assessment of communication skills. The ways and means of leveraging ICT in achieving these goals are presented in the paper. The potential of ICT and multimedia to motivate, keep students on schedule, gain their attention in lectures …

Lmate: An Innovative Bachelor Degree Connecting Mathematics And Industry, Sandra Maria Aleixo, Sandra Gaspar Martins

Practice Papers

The bachelor degree in Mathematics Applied to Technology and Enterprise (LMATE) has an innovative structure, working in partnership with industry, involving a transdisciplinarity curriculum plan, with a solid mathematical base including extensive knowledge in statistics, optimization, modeling and programming (Python, R, etc.), along with training in engineering, physics and management. LMATE presents three differences in relation to other applied mathematics portuguese bachelors degrees: it was constructed upside down towards the usual, once partner entities (enterprises, public entities and research centers) were consulted on relevant mathematical contents to solve their problems, instead of being created exclusively by the academy; in its …

Exploring Strategies To Promote Engagement And Active Learning Through Digital Course Design In Engineering Mathematics, Fulya Kula, Erik M. Horstman, Lavinia S. Lanting, Linda R. Ten Klooster

Practice Papers

This research explores the strategies and techniques used to foster and promote the engagement and active learning of engineering students within a digital course. This digital course has been developed to address the varying levels of understanding of fundamental mathematics among first-year engineering students, who often have disparate levels of prior knowledge at their high school completion. We observe an increasing need to bridge the widening gap between high school and university mathematics in order to prevent engineering students from being hindered in their academic successes due to a lack of prior mathematical understanding. With a team of engineers and …

Critical Consciousness And Engineering Design Teaching Framework, Renata Alejandra Revelo Alonso, Joel Alejandro Mejia, Luis Montero Moguel, Alex Stutts

Practice Papers

Sustainability in engineering design is not just about the processes and practices established or the materials used and sourced, it is also about the mindset that engineers bring to design to carry forth solutions that promote a sustainable world. In this practice paper, we review a teaching framework for an engineering course on design with a contextual perspective. To contextualize engineering design, we incorporate critical consciousness topics to discuss alongside each design process topic. For example, during the unit when we discuss design alternatives in the engineering design process, we also discuss implicit bias and how implicit bias may impact …

The Art Of Repairing - Or How To Teach Engineering Students Sustainable Design Principles, Stefan Kühne, Christian Forbrig, Anja Marckwardt, Julian Kober, Juri Rappsilber, Dirk Oberschmidt

Practice Papers

Project-based learning bridges the gap between theoretical training and practical applications. The motivation of students to participate is increased especially by working out real-life problems. To provide this kind of practical learning experience, we are establishing a repair project for broken, otherwise discarded, lab equipment. It will not only help to reduce waste and save money by repairing research equipment, but will also encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. Providing a space to learn about the underlying functional properties of various often highly specialized lab instruments, students identify malfunctions, deepen understanding of vulnerable designs, and discuss and perform strategies for repairing …

Student Engagement In Sustainability Issues Through Video Production: A Multimodal Critical Consciousness-Based Approach To Engineering Education, Joel Alejandro Mejia, Luis Montero

Practice Papers

The formation of engineering students should prioritize both technical skills in engineering and a critical awareness of the designed world. This qualitative methods study aimed to analyze the extent to which a teaching approach, based on the in the integration of Freire’s critical pedagogy and Multimodal literacy frameworks, promotes first-year engineering students’ development of critical consciousness. Drawing from Paulo Freire’s work on critical pedagogy, the critical consciousness framework emphasizes that individuals and their practice in community awaken critical awareness of their surroundings, including the interconnectedness that exists between economic, social, political, cultural, historical, and environmental factors. To this end, we …

Making Meaning Together: An Autoethnography Study On Our Role In Ethics Education, Diana Bairaktarova, Lenka Lhotska, Amirouche Moktefi, Aive Pevkur, Constantin Vică

Practice Papers

Representation of diverse people’s perspectives, cultures, and ideas enriches societies. Equally important for communities to flourish is to have diverse perspectives on what good ethics education is. For 50 years the European Society of Engineering Education (SEFI) has been uniting and supporting engineering educators and researchers from around the globe and particularly from Europe. However, involvement from institutions in Eastern Europe is still very low. To diversify and strengthen the community by bringing perspectives from these countries, we engaged in an autoethnography study to share insights on participation barriers broadly and ethics education, more specifically. We choose autoethnography as this …

Automatically Scored, Multiple-Attempt, Recurring Weekly Exams In A Physics Course: Can They Improve Student Wellbeing And Learning Outcomes?, Sami Suhonen

Practice Papers

This paper describes the arrangements and assessment methods employed in the engineering physics online courses offered by Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The grading process involves the use of automatically assessed weekly online exams in Moodle, which comprise mostly numerical questions, as well as conceptual questions, force diagrams, and multiple-choice questions. Students are allowed to attempt each exam three times, and their best score is recorded. The questions and initial values were randomized for each try to reduce possibilities for trial-and-error method and copying from peers. By completing the week exams with enough points, the students were able to pass …

Are E-Assessments The Future Of Assessments For Engineering Students?, Zohaib Akhtar, Esther Perea Borobio

Practice Papers

Replacing traditional examinations with electronic assessments (e-assessments), also known as digital assessments, is gaining more popularity. However, it has become controversial as people have raised serious concerns about the limitations of these e-assessments, especially when the assessments have high stakes, like the end-of-term examinations. In this paper, we have evaluated whether e-assessments will replace the traditional end-of-term exams for engineering students in the future. Although this topic is equally valid for non-engineering fields, a few factors that make it unique to engineering are discussed. Different aspects of e-assessments are critically compared to paper-based (off-print) examinations based on existing literature and …

Using Systems Thinking To Design Education To Make A Difference – A Progress Report, Bruce J Elliott, Merve Ersoy, Zena Green

Practice Papers

The Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education (BCRRE) delivers research and education to benefit the international rail industry, including an MSc programme which is designed to equip students with the skills needed to lead multidisciplinary engineering projects. The authors are trying to apply some of the systems thinking taught in the programme to the programme itself. It is established practice to maintain learning outcomes for an educational programme and we do that, but we describe how we are trying to improve the information available to us about what the industry wants and the varying needs of our student population. …

Enhancing Engineering Students' Mathematics Learning Through Digitised Effective Feedback, Tugce Akkaya, Fulya Kula

Practice Papers

This practice paper explores the impact of effective digitised feedback on engineering students' mathematics learning in the digital environment. By using a schematic framework, an online repository will be developed to provide effective feedback to the first-year students taking mathematics courses. The repository takes into account calculus topics and focuses on providing guidance to students who give incorrect answers to questions by incorporating sub-questions based on Polya's heuristics. The sub-questions aim to motivate students to draw on simpler connections and stimulate learning by encouraging students to check their answers and reflect on their initial responses. This study is currently an …

Reshaping The Bio Medical Curriculum To Include Socialisation And Subjectification, Renate Gerarda Klaassen, Linette R.H. Bossen, Costanza Milano, Hans Hellendoorn

Practice Papers

University students are asked to become all-round human beings, knowing how to be engaged in Engineering in the future, as well as wholly socialised and going through personal development steps. However, how and where are the students supposed to acquire these skills? Do we already have them in the Higher Education programmes and curricula? This article explores low threshold steps that can be taken to tweak the curriculum and implicit professionalisation of staff towards incorporating transversal skills and reflective activities that allow students to develop to their full potential.. One is a roadmap Workshop identifying guiding principles and touchpoint activities …

Designing Of Curricula Of Environmental Engineering And Constructions Engineering For Sustainability, Enrica Caporali, Johann Antonio Facciorusso, Riccardo Gori, Elena Palmisano

Practice Papers

The experience carried out at the University of Florence, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in designing two new undergraduate curricula in “Environmental Engineering” and “Civil and Building Engineering for sustainability”, is reported. The bachelor in Environmental Engineering aims to train engineers capable of working in the field of protection of environment, territory and natural resources. The bachelor in Civil and Building Engineering for sustainability aims to train engineers capable of working in the field of structures, infrastructures, and constructions in general, as well as management and safety of construction processes. The development of the two curricula was based preliminarily …

The Clinical Transferability Of Raman Micro-Spectroscopic Systems For Cervical Cytopathology, Rubina Shaikh Dr, Sarah Loughlin, Alison Malkin, John J. O'Leary, Cara M. Martin, Fiona Lyng

Conference papers

The clinical potential for Raman microscopic systems is well established for early diagnosis via cytology. Although Raman systems offer a complementary diagnostic tool providing molecular information, it is not yet utilised substantially in clinics. A few challenges for the clinical implementation of Raman spectroscopy are system and user variability. In this study, we asked how much variability occurs due to different Raman systems or users. To address these questions, we measured the same set of cells using two different Raman microscopes and by two different users. And classification models were generated using multivariate partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and …

The Use Of Transport Time Scales As Indicators Of Pollution Persistence In A Macro-Tidal Setting, Guanghai Gao, John J. O'Sullivan, Aisling Corkery, Zeinab Bedri, Gregory M.P. O'Hare, Wim G. Meijer

Articles

An understanding of water exchange processes is essential for assessing water quality management issues in coastal bays. This paper evaluates the impact of water exchange processes on pollution persistence in a macro-tidal semi-closed coastal bay through two transport time scales (TTS), namely residence time and exposure time. The numerical model was calibrated against field-measured data for various tidal conditions. Simulated current speeds and directions were shown to agree well with the field data. By considering different release scenarios of a conservative tracer by the refinement of an integrated hydrodynamic and solute transport model (the EFDC), the two TTS were used …

Design Of A D-Shaped Photonic Crystal Fiber-Based Plasmonic Sensor For Refractive Index Detection, Rayhan Habib Jibon, Zhe Wang, Anuradha Rout, Zhuochen Wang, Yuliya Semenova

Conference Papers

A novel design for a D-shaped photonic crystal fiber-based plasmonic sensor is proposed and its sensitivity and measurement resolution have been theoretically investigated for analytes with a wide range of refractive indices.

Islamic Studies Teachers' Perspectives Of Applying Technology In Saudi Arabia Elementary Schools, Amal Abdulmohsen Alsaif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the use of technology in education has been on the rise around the world, and Saudi Arabia is no exception. The integration of technology in Saudi education has the potential to enhance the quality of education, increase access to education, and provide students with the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world. It also has the potential to facilitate collaboration between students and teachers, both within and outside the classroom, and to promote lifelong learning.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate Islamic Studies teachers' perceptions of using technology in their classrooms …

Testing The Affect Of Modified Sense Of Place, Conservation Ethic, And Good Farmer Identity Measures On Predicting The Adoption Of Cover Crops In Working Landscapes In Iowa, Elizabeth A. Bennett, Morey Burnham, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, J. Gordon Arbuckle, Weston M. Eaton, Sarah P. Church, Francis R. Eanes, Jennifer Eileen Cross, Matthew A. Williamson

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

While sense of place (SOP) has been used in amenity landscapes to understand pro-environmental behavior, in working landscapes, SOP has not been a valid or reliable predictor for explaining conservation behavior. In this paper, we advance theory on SOP in working landscapes by assessing the relationship between several new and modified sense of place measures and farmer adoption of cover crops in Iowa. We used data from a 2018 survey of Iowa farmers and a Bayesian logistic regression, finding that physical dependence and economic dependence are distinct dimensions of SOP in working landscapes and the addition of a measure beyond …

Cyberinfrastructure Deployments On Public Research Clouds Enable Accessible Environmental Data Science Education, Tyler L. Mcintosh, Erick Verleye, Jennifer K. Balch, Megan E. Cattau, Nayani T. Ilangakoon, Nathan Korinek, R. Chelsea Nagy, James Sanovia, Edwin Skidmore, Tyson L. Swetnam, Ty Tuff, Nathan Quarderer, Carol A. Wessman

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Modern science depends on computers, but not all scientists have access to the scale of computation they need. A digital divide separates scientists who accelerate their science using large cyberinfrastructure from those who do not, or who do not have access to the compute resources or learning opportunities to develop the skills needed. The exclusionary nature of the digital divide threatens equity and the future of innovation by leaving people out of the scientific process while over-amplifying the voices of a small group who have resources. However, there are potential solutions: recent advancements in public research cyberinfrastructure and resources developed …

Designing An Optimal Medicine Cocktail Is Np-Hard, Luc Longpre, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many cases, a combination of different drugs -- known as a medicine cocktail -- is more effective against a disease than each individual drug. It is desirable to find the most effective cocktail. This problem can be naturally formulated as a problem of maximizing a quadratic expression under the condition that all the unknowns (concentrations of different medicines) are non-negative. At first glance, it may seem that this problem is feasible -- since a similar economic problem of finding the optimal investment portfolio is known to be feasible. However, it turns out that the cocktail problem is different: it …

Chemometrics And Spectroscopic Analyses Of Peganum Harmala Plant’S Seeds By Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Tahani A. Alrebdi, Amir Fayyaz, Haroon Asghar, Asif Kamal, Javed Iqbal, Naveed K. Piracha

2023 Faculty Bibliography

In the present work, the rapid identification of elements and their relative chemical com‐ position in various Peganum harmala seed samples were investigated using a calibration‐free laser‐ induced breakdown spectroscopy technique (CF‐LIBS). A pulsed Nd:YAG laser‐source with a 5 ns pulse‐duration, and 10 Hz pulse repetition rates providing 400 and 200 mJ energy at 1064 and 532 nm wavelength, respectively, was focused on the Peganum harmala seed samples for ablation. A LIBS 2000+ spectrometer within the wavelength range (200 to 720 nm), emission‐spectra were recorded. The measured spectra of the Peganum harmala sample gives spectral lines of Carbon (C), Magnesium …

Glutathione And Glutaredoxin—Key Players In Cellular Redox Homeostasis And Signaling, Yuh-Cherng Chai, John J. Mieyal

2023 Faculty Bibliography

This Special Issue of Antioxidants on Glutathione (GSH) and Glutaredoxin (Grx) was designed to collect review articles and original research studies focused on advancing the current understanding of the roles of the GSH/Grx system in cellular homeostasis and disease processes. The tripeptide glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant non-enzymatic antioxidant/nucleophilic molecule in cells. In addition to various metabolic reactions involving GSH and its oxidized counterpart GSSG, oxidative post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins has been a focal point of keen interest in the redox field over the last few decades. In particular, the S-glutathionylation of proteins (protein-SSG formation), i.e., mixed disulfides …

Feedback In Batesian Mimetic Systems, David Kizirian Kizirian, Jose Manuel Padial, Nicole Povlikin, Isaac Overcast, Maureen A. Donnelly, Marta Quitian, Marion Segall, Arianna Kuhn, Gwyneth Campbell, Ralph Saporito

2023 Faculty Bibliography

We propose a feedback model for Batesian mimetic trophic system dynamics that integrates evolutionary and ecological processes including those not directly related to mimicry such as nutrient transfer. The proposed feedback circuit includes a previously overlooked link, specifically: selection for predation on the mimetic phenotype, which results when predators consume palatable mimics, and which perpetuates predation on the mimetic phenotype that drives mimicry. Preservation of variation throughout the feedback loop may also explain polymorphism, suboptimal mimicry, and other aspects of mimetic trophic system evolution.

Quality Investment As A Catalyst For Successful Performance-Based Contracts: A Relational View Perspective, Hasan Uvet, Saban Adana, Hasan Celik, Sedat Cevikparmak, Yavuz Idug

2023 Faculty Bibliography

Purpose Performance-based contracting (PBC) has been gaining popularity over the years. However, empirical studies investigating the impact of PBC features have been limited. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of PBC features leading to quality investment that fosters financial benefits. Design/methodology/approach After examining the validity and reliability of scale items through confirmatory factor analysis, this study tested hypotheses using covariance-based structural equation modeling of survey data from 381 supply, logistics and operations managers. Findings The findings reveal the impact of PBC features (joint knowledge generation, goal congruence and incentive alignment) on financial benefits and the …