Engineering Commons^™

The Bamboo Ceiling: A Study Of Barriers To Asian American Advancement, Emily Cheng

Undergraduate Research Posters

The idea of cultural diversity in the workplace is a popular one, generating much discussion about the inclusion of and affirmative action toward minorities. However, these conversations rarely involve Asian Americans, who despite above-average levels of educational achievement, household income, and employment, find themselves underrepresented in and shut-out of upper-level management positions. In this project, I investigated the stereotype of East-Asian Americans as a model minority (created by non-Asians) to find out why East-Asian Americans are underrepresented in upper-level management in corporate workplaces, a phenomenon known as the “bamboo ceiling.” I explored a variety of scholarly sources that analyzed the …

Adaptive Environments For Enabling Senior Citizens: An Holistic Assessment Tool For Housing Design And Iot-Based Technologies, Matteo Zallio, Damon Berry, Niccolò Casiddu

Conference papers

The population of older adults will continuously increase over the coming decades. As they get older, people will require assistance and regular monitoring, with higher costs for welfare system and families. Two vital aspects of a healthy lifestyle, are domestic autonomy and maintenance of relationships within the neighborhood. This leads to an interesting research issue: “Could houses and appliances have the potential to improve autonomy and quality of life of citizens? Which methods and tools could enhance wellbeing and healthy conditions? The house has the potential to be a safe, adaptive environment, integrated with technologies for life support. This work …

Photovoltaic Cooking In The Developing World, Tyler Watkins, Christopher O'Day, Omar Arriaga

Mechanical Engineering

The challenge of clean cooking is faced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. We present a cooking technology consisting of a solar panel directly connected to an electric heater in a well-insulated chamber. Assuming continued decrease in solar panel prices, we anticipate that in a few decades Solar Electric Cooking technologies will be the most common cooking technology for the poor. Appropriate use of insulation reduces the power demand making low-power Insulated Solar Electric Cooking systems already cost competitive.

Design And Plan Of A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container For Research, John A. Houtman

Open Access Theses

As the world’s population continues to increase, food production will need to increase in order to meet the predicted rise in food demand. However, with increased pressure on cropland available from environmental effects and urbanization, new innovative methods of crop production need to be researched in order to increase agricultural production with limited land. This research focuses on the design of a single form of urban agriculture that is considered Zfarming and has the potential to produce quality urban agricultural produce through ground-based measures. This project produced detailed step-by-step analysis of the design process, develop variability within the modified hydroponic …

A Unicorn's Tale: Examining The Experiences Of Black Women In Engineering Industry, Monique S. Ross

Open Access Dissertations

Black women have recently been identified as the most educated demographic in the United States, and yet they are grossly underrepresented in engineering. They comprise 6.4 % of the U.S. population and only 0.72 % of engineering industry. Meanwhile, engineers have been identified as the key to the United States’ ability to maintain its prominence and leadership in a competitive global economy due to their contribution to maintaining and improving our infrastructures and standard of living. This significance to society has spawned national initiatives geared towards broadening participation in engineering. This research study was designed to explore the experiences of …

Eveleth, Minnesota: A Portrait Of My Home Town, Judith I. Luna

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This 30-minute documentary film provides snapshots of the small northeastern iron mining town of Eveleth, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Iron Range. It uses a two-pronged approach: 1) a first-person return to the town by the filmmaker almost 50 years after graduating from high school to see how the town may have changed, 2) a look at some historical and cultural factors which made the town what it was when the filmmaker was growing up and what continues to animate the town in the face of iron mining’s decline and rebirth. The latter include the immigrant experience and influence as the …

Harmonic Scale Transformations, John H. Chalmers

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

My artwork derives from a project to delineate the transformations certain types of harmonic musical scales undergo as the sizes of their generating intervals vary over the space of the octave.

Housing In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Supply And Condition: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Conclusion

Most rural Nebraskans own their home. And, when asked about housing programs or priorities they would support in their community, most rural Nebraskans support programs that help seniors age in their homes, programs that would help upgrade the condition of existing homes and providing affordable rental housing. They are less likely to support organizing volunteer efforts to maintain existing housing stock, but still one-half support this option as well.

Support for one of the programs differs by community size. Persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to support …

Making Scholarly Activity Available To The Masses: The Scaffolding Of Scholarship Throughout The Undergraduate Curriculum, Michael Savarese, Trent R. Brown, Carolyn Culbertson, Anna Carlin

Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices in Undergraduate Research

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) focuses on improving student critical thinking, information literacy, and written communication. Rather than developing these skills through traditional methods (e.g., through senior-level, independent research), these learning outcomes are practiced through scholarly experiences. Traditional undergraduate scholarship manifests itself through terminal, senior capstone or research experiences. These, because of the economy of scale, typically reach a minority of students, often just honors students or those approached by faculty mentors. At FGCU, however, scholarly experiences are a part of the curriculum throughout the program of study, and scaffolded to build greater depth and sophistication. Presented …

Drive Time

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

The Vocational Training Council, HKDI's parent body, has recently formed an alumni association that includes Chelsia Lau, a graduate of Lee Wai Lee Technical Institute who has become one of the world's most accomplished automotive designers. She talked to Summer Cao about her twenty years with the Ford Motor Company.

Learning Form And Function By Dance-Dramatizing Cultural Legends To Drum Rhythms Wearing Student-Made Animal Masks, Phyllis Gray, Audrey C. Rule, Gloria Kirkland Holmes, Stephanie R. Logan, Andrea L. Alert, Cynthia A. Mason

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This study examined the self-efficacy in science, art, dance, and music; attitudes concerning contributions of people of various ethnic/cultural groups; and science learning of students involved in an after-school arts-integrated science enrichment project. Students dramatized three traditional animal legends from African, Native American, and Mexican cultures to drum beats while wearing student-made papier-mâché helmet crest masks of the animal characters. They learned the structure and functions of the featured animals through slide shows, embedded explanations in the play scripts, and hands-on form and function analogy materials that related the form and function of animal body parts to manufactured items. Although …

Third Graders Explore Sound Concepts Through Online Research Compared To Making Musical Instruments, Kyrie D. Borsay, Page Foss

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This study is an exploration of several lessons on sound taught to third grade students using one of the Next Generation Science Standards (3-5-ETS1) and arts integration. A counterbalanced, pretest- posttest- distal posttest design experiment was conducted to compare student knowledge and attitudes between the control and experimental conditions. Control activities included learning about either stringed or percussion instruments (whichever not addressed in the experimental condition) through online searches for information and writing a factual paragraph; experimental activities included creating a percussion or stringed instrument using classroom art materials purchased with an imaginary budget. One group experienced the experimental condition …

Shadow Puppet Plays In Elementary Science Methods Class Help Preservice Teachers Learn About Minority Scientists, Phyllis Gray, Audrey C. Rule, Anneliese Gentzsch, Denise Tallakson

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This practical article describes an arts-integrated project with engineering design and science concepts from the Next Generation Science Standards, art principles from the National Arts Standards, as well as ideas under the theme of “Culture” from the National Council for the Social Studies Standards. Preservice teachers in an undergraduate science methods class researched the background, life, and accomplishments of a minority scientist by reading books and articles about the person. They created a script to present the experiences and contributions of the scientist to other preservice teachers and, eventually, elementary students. Shadow puppets were constructed out of cardboard to portray …

Detangling The Interrelationships Between Self-Regulation And Ill-Structured Problem Solving In Problem-Based Learning, Xun Ge, Victor Law, Kun Huang

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

One of the goals for problem-based learning (PBL) is to promote self-regulation. Although self-regulation has been studied extensively, its interrelationships with ill-structured problem solving have been unclear. In order to clarify the interrelationships, this article proposes a conceptual framework illustrating the iterative processes among problem-solving stages (i.e., problem representation and solution generation) and self-regulation phases (i.e., planning, execution, and reflection). The dynamics of the interrelationships are further illustrated with three ill-structured problem-solving examples in different domains (i.e., information problem solving, historical inquiry, and science inquiry). The proposed framework contributes to research and practice by providing a new lens to examine …

Community Satisfaction And Marketing In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Conclusion

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community favorably on its social dimensions: as friendly, trusting and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans say it would be difficult to leave their community. And, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

Across all years of this study, rural Nebraskans’ views about the change in their community have generally been positive. The proportion believing their community has changed for the better during the past year has usually been greater than the proportion believing it has changed for the …

Intellectual Property And The Protection Of Industrial Design: Are Sui Generis Protection Measures The Answer To Vocal Opponents And A Reluctant Congress?, Regan E. Keebaugh

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Risks Of Revolution: Ethical Dilemmas In 3d Printing From A Us Perspective, Erica L. Neely

Philosophy and Religion Faculty Scholarship

Additive manufacturing has spread widely over the past decade, especially with the availability of home 3D printers. In the future, many items may be manufactured at home, which raises two ethical issues. First, there are questions of safety. Our current safety regulations depend on centralized manufacturing assumptions they will be difficult to enforce on this new model of manufacturing. Using current US law as an example, I argue that consumers are not capable of fully assessing all relevant risks and thus continue to require protection any regulation will likely apply to plans, however, not physical objects. Second, there are intellectual …

Realizing Urban Water Pollution Impact In Melbourne, Australia Through Painting, Gregory Suplinskas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Throughout the month of November 2016, I undertook a creative environmental art project in Melbourne, Australia. I chose to create a water-soluble oil painting (dimensions 3 ft. x 4 ft.) that represents water pollution problems in the city of Melbourne, particularly in Port Phillip Bay. These problems include toxic stormwater runoff, plastics pollution and plastic nurdles, as well as nutrient buildup and algal overgrowth. The painting includes messages regarding sustainability; sustainable action limits the use of our natural resources so that humans can preserve the environment for future generations rather than degrade it. In the painting, I combine conceptual and …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 57 Number 4, Fall 2016, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

3 - MISSION MATTERS

4 - THE BEST RUGBY TEAM EVER. By Sam Scott '96.

6 - QUESTIONS

From Xst To F-117a, Alan Brown

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Learn the remarkable story of stealth technology from the man often referred to as “Mr. Stealth.” From 1975-1989 Alan Brown was a member of Lockheed “Skunk Works”, becoming program manager & chief engineer for the F-117A Stealth Fighter from initial concept until the first production aircraft was built, 1978 to 1982. Hear the inside story of the many challenges faced by the stealth program and how they were solved.

Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans’ Perceptions Of Local Schools: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L.J. Mcelravy, Jeanne Lorraine Surface

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Conclusion

Most rural Nebraskans have elementary, middle and high schools in their community or nearest community. Most of the schools available are public but many rural Nebraskans report having both public and private schools of each grade level. Persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to have each level of school in their community. And, persons living in or near the larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to have both public and private schools available.

When asked about priorities for their local …

Fall 2016

In The Loop

Dean David Miller and CDM Through the Years; The New ABCs of Digital Literacy; The Younger Generation: Computer Scientists of the Future; The Final Hurdle: Thesis Talk; Telling Stories in Cuba with Abbas Kiarostami with James Choi; Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition; TEDxDePaulUniversity Conference; Tim Nedow, Olympian; Omnibus Crowdfunded Game; News Briefs; The Social Technocrat: Andrew Ruginis; When Computing and Biology Collide; Tori Meschino: Campus Leader and All-Around Superstar; Degrees Offered at CDM

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 57 Number 3, Summer 2016, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

26 - CAN’T THREAD A MOVING NEEDLE To tackle sexual assault on college campuses, a playwriting project comes to the screen. By Danae Stahlnecker ’15.

28 - MISSION CRITICAL When three students fell ill from meningitis-causing bacteria—which can be fatal—it meant the clock was ticking. And to get through this, it would take everybody’s help. By Harold Gutmann.

36 - “WHERE ARE THEY TAKING US?” A journal from the front lines of the Syrian refugee crisis in Greece. By Colleen Sinsky ’10.

40 - NO STRANGERS HERE Refugees, home, and work by Ameera Naguib ’16 from Jordan to Silicon Valley. …

A Life Cycle Assessment Of A Uranium Mine In Namibia, Janine Lambert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Uranium mining and nuclear power is a controversial topic as of late, especially in light of the recent Fukushima event. Although the actual use of nuclear fuel has minimal environmental impact, its issues come at the very beginning and end of the fuel’s life cycle in both the mining and fuel disposal process. This paper focuses on a life cycle analysis (LCA) of uranium mine in the desert nation of Namibia in Southern Africa. The goal of this LCA is to evaluate the environmental effects of uranium mining. The LCA focuses on water and energy embodiment such that they can …

Preliminary Assessment Of And Lessons Learned In Pitch: An Integrated Approach To Developing Technical Communication Skills In Engineers, Nadiye O. Erdil, Ronald S. Harichandran, Michael A. Collura, Jean Nocito-Gobel, David J. Adams, Amanda Simson

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The Project to Integrate Technical Communication Habits (PITCH) has been implemented across seven engineering and computer science undergraduate programs starting in fall 2012. The overarching goal of PITCH is to develop written, oral and visual communication skills and professional habits in engineering students. PITCH activities begin in the very first semester and are reinforced and extended through all four years of each program. After three years of progressively more extensive development and deployment, a preliminary assessment of student writing over their first three years in programs was performed. In May 2016 the first cohort of students will have completed the …

The Impact Of Volunteering At A Girls Outreach Activity On Community Formation, Donna C. Llewellyn, Janet Callahan, Amy J. Moll, Catherine Rose Bates

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is focused on exploring the motivation for volunteering at an engineering outreach activity. The outreach activity itself involved a two day, overnight experience for 9th and 10th grade girls that started in 2005, and which has been held annually since that time. The outreach event takes place in Boise, Idaho, and at the time of its onset was the only outreach or camp activity in the state focused on girls or young women. Across ten years, 510 total girls have participated, with approximately 85% of them coming from the immediate metropolitan area. The program was developed with a …

Fiction As A Resource In Participatory Design, Eva Knutz, Tau U. Lenskjold, Thomas Markussen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In recent years, co-design research has moved into the heart of business and organisational matters of concern. As a consequence of that fact, the idea of what design is capable of evolves into something that does not only encompass product and service design, but also at the same time changes organisations’ way of doing things – or in other words, it challenges the organisational culture and the mindset of the decision-makers as a way towards the successful embedding of a project within the organisation. This paper investigates how the development of a new service design project together with integrated co-design …

Design For Resourceful Ageing: Intervening In The Ethics Of Gerontechnology, Elisa Giaccardi, Lenneke Kuijer, Louis Neven

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper discusses an innovative approach to the design of technologies for older people. The approach contains a critique of “gerontechnology” as taking decisions out of the hands of older people and materializing what it means to live healthily and well into “foolproof” designs that easily become inappropriate in the variety of situations in which older people end up using them. The proposed design approach focuses on re-delegating such ethical decisions to the point at which technology is used. It does so by considering technologies as resources that can complement the ageing competences of older people and adapt in a …

Perception, Meaning And Transmodal Design, Mathias Nordvall, Mattias Arvola

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Our perceptual system allows us to experience and make meaning of the world through different modalities. We can move between feeling, seeing and hearing things and still makes sense of our world. Our cognitive activities are transmodal. In interaction design this means that both our design processes and our users’ interactions are transmodal. We have gained insights into how transitions between modalities, both in the design context and in the users’ interaction context, modulate meaning and experience, by analysing three interactive systems: SimProv, VibEd, and Sightlence. We propose that a transmodal design approach facilitate designers to realize the communicative potential …

Modeling And Python Scripting In Maya For The Animation Short Style, Gilenn Emille G. Collado

Computer Engineering

The computer animation and graphics industry has dramatically improved over the years alongside the growth of technology. This paper discusses how that came about through a specific tool called Maya. It talks about its features and what it can create for you and the world. It also describes how scripting can simplify a job and make more of it. It highlights the effectiveness of the ability to manipulate code to create something amazing.