Pre‐College Engineering Studies: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Pre‐college Engineering Studies and Student Achievement in Science and Mathematics

Background The U.S. has experienced a shift from a manufacturing‐based economy to one that overwhelmingly provides services and information. This shift demands that technological skills be more fully integrated with one's academic knowledge of science and mathematics so that the next generation of engineers can reason adaptively, think critically, and be prepared to learn how to learn. Purpose (Hypothesis ) Project Lead the Way (PLTW) provides a pre‐college curriculum that focuses on the integration of engineering with science and mathematics. We documented the impact that enrollment in PLTW had on student science and math achievement. We consider the enriched integration hypothesis, which states that students taking PLTW courses will show achievement benefits, after controlling for prior achievement and other student and teacher characteristics. We contrast this with alternative hypotheses that propose little or no impact of the engineering coursework on students' math and science achievement (the insufficient integration hypothesis), or that PLTW enrollment might be negatively associated with student achievement (the adverse integration hypothesis). Design/ Method Using multilevel statistical modeling with students (N = 140) nested within teachers, we report findings from a quantitative analysis of the relationship between PLTW enrollment and student achievement on state standardized tests of math and science. Results While students gained in math and science achievement overall from eighth to tenth grade, students enrolled in PLTW foundation courses showed significantly smaller math assessment gains than those in a matched group that did not enroll, and no measurable advantages on science assessments, when controlling for prior achievement and teacher experience. The findings do not support the enriched integration hypothesis. Conclusions Engineering education programs like PLTW face both challenges and opportunities to effectively integrate academic content as they strive to prepare students for college engineering programs and careers.     

The skills and practices of engineering designers now and in the future

An attempt is made to show the skills and practices needed for mechanical engineering design in an advanced field of engineering as a guide to the education of engineers in the future, and particularly design engineers.     

工程制图多媒体CAI课件的设计与开发

通过对工程制图 CAI课件设计和开发的实践 ,阐述工程制图 CAI课件设计的基本思路和实现要求 ,为课件的设计制作提供参考     

台湾地区印刷高等教育人才培养特色与借鉴

台湾地区是亚洲印刷业的中心之一。由于起步早,其印刷技术和印刷高等教育在亚洲都处于领先水平。通过对台湾地区印刷高等教育的科系定位、校企产学合作、研究生教育教学精英化培养、课程设置改革、教师结构多元等方面的初步探析,从而给大陆地区印刷高等教育的发展提出参考建议。     

Effects of group size and learning on manual assembly performance: an experimental study

In variable manual assembly production of highly customised products, effective allocation of workers to products is required. To support decision-making here, industrial managers should be aware of the performance effects of the number of workers and learning within individual products. Evidence on such fundamental effects requires laboratory studies with products similar to those in real assembly industries. Because of the lack of such studies, this paper studies experimentally the effects of group size (one to four workers) and learning (up to four repetitions per group) on the performance of product assembly. The product, built for the purpose of the present study, consists of representative elements from real products in the mechanical engineering industry. A total of 68 undergraduate students participated in the experiments. The results from the experiments are in line with the hypotheses that the mean assembly time decreases at a decelerating rate as a function of both group size and repetitions, and that productivity per worker decreases as a function of group size. The results are explained in more detail through the experiences of the participants. Managerial implications and aspects for future research are also discussed.     

生物医学工程研究生培养新模式探索

生物医学工程是一门整合物理、数学、工程技术、生物医学科技与临床应用的跨领域工程科学,培养能够适应生物医学工程发展需要、熟悉国际规则和惯例、对生物医学产业发展具有影响力的国际化研究型、具有实践能力和创新精神的高素质复合型人才不仅符合生物医学工程专业的特点,对于满足就业市场的需求也具有十分重要的意义。研究以东北大学生物医学工程专业为例,通过生物医学工程专业研究生培养新模式的探索,找出优化的研究生培养规律和教育教学模式,在此过程中,揭示创新型人才培养的机制、方法,从而提高研究生教育的理论水平,提高教学质量和人才培养质量。     

The effects of workforce heterogeneity on productivity in an experiential learning environment

This paper investigates the effects of heterogeneity in various workforce learning/forgetting characteristics on productivity. An important aspect of this study is that worker heterogeneity is specifically modeled and examined by including the variance of key parameters as controlled experimental factors in addition to these parameters’ means. Initially, we analytically investigate the impact of heterogeneity in each of the four parameters in the learning/forgetting model used in this study. The analytical results are subsequently verified and further investigated using computer simulation. Specifically, seven macro-level factors are investigated including the rate of turnover, the mean and variance of the latent initial expertise existing in the workforce for the tasks to be performed, the mean and variance of worker steady-state productivity levels, the variance of the rate of worker learning, and the variance of working forgetting. The simulation models were developed and informed by empirical data from industry. The results indicate significant effects for mean initial expertise, mean steady-state productivity, the variance of initial expertise, the variance of the rate of worker learning, and the variance of worker forgetting. Results have managerial implications in the comparison and selection of various workforce populations for production systems.     

Detection of interferences in an additive manufacturing process: an experimental study integrating methods of feature selection and machine learning

Additive manufacturing becomes a more and more important technology for production, mainly driven by the ability to realise extremely complex structures using multiple materials but without assembly or excessive waste. Nevertheless, like any high-precision technology additive manufacturing responds to interferences during the manufacturing process. These interferences – like vibrations – might lead to deviations in product quality, becoming manifest for instance in a reduced lifetime of a product or application issues. This study targets the issue of detecting such interferences during a manufacturing process in an exemplary experimental setup. Collection of data using current sensor technology directly on a 3D-printer enables a quantitative detection of interferences. The evaluation provides insights into the effectiveness of the realised application-oriented setup, the effort required for equipping a manufacturing system with sensors, and the effort for acquisition and processing the data. These insights are of practical utility for organisations dealing with additive manufacturing: the chosen approach for detecting interferences shows promising results, reaching interference detection rates of up to 100% depending on the applied data processing configuration.     

三峡工程坝址区主要工程地质问题研究

简要介绍了工程坝址区最为关键的坝基深层抗滑稳定、永久船闸高坡稳定、地下电站主厂房围岩块体稳定、断裂构造等几个工程地质问题研究过程、方法、工作内容及基本结论,并结合工程施工、监测及运行有关情况对各专题进行全面总结与评价。     

The effects of an exercise program on several abilities associated with driving performance in older adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of participation in an exercise program on several abilities associated with driving performance in older adults. Thirty-two subjects were randomly assigned to either an exercise group (60-81 years, n = 16) or a control group (60-82 years, n = 16). The exercise program was planned to stress perceptive, cognitive, and physical abilities. It lasted 12 weeks with a periodicity of three sessions of 60 min per week. Assessments were conducted before and after the intervention on behavioral speed (in single- and dual-task conditions), visual attention, psychomotor performance, speed perception (time-to-contact), and executive functioning. Significant positive effects were found at 12-week follow-up resulting from participation in the exercise program. Behavioral speed improvements were found in reaction time, movement time, and response time (both in single- and dual-task conditions); visual attention improvements took place in speed processing and divided attention; psychomotor performance improvements occurred in lower limb mobility. These results showed that exercise is capable of enhancing several abilities relevant for driving performance and safety in older adults and, therefore, should be promoted.     

The moderating effect of slack resources on the relation between quality management and organisational learning

Recent literature in the field of strategic management suggests that firms must learn to combine internal competencies and resources in order to achieve competitive advantages. This paper examines how firms employ slack resources to enhance the relationship between quality management (QM) and organisational learning to obtain sustainable competitive advantages. The findings use empirical data gathered from 202 quality managers to support the hypotheses that: (1) there is a strong connection between organisational learning and QM; and (2) the relation between organisational learning and QM is moderated by slack resources.     

高等职业教育推行研究性学习的探索与实践

为了进一步理解和把握高等职业教育研究性学习的本质和内涵,以正确引导其实践,文章着重探索了它的“一个前提,两个目的,三个内涵,四个原则,五个过程”等理念;介绍了在高职教育“计算机绘图”教学中推行研究性学习的实践。教学实践表明:在高职教育中推行研究性学习,不但是非常必要的——更容易培养学生的创新精神和实践能力,而且是完全可行的——学生更容易掌握所学的知识,更节省课时。     

数学专业方向设置的问题初探——基于广东工业大学数学专业优化与调整的七年实践

通过在广东工业大学数学专业7年的专业调整实践，探索了广东工业大学应用数学学院以信息科学、统计科学为数学专业方向的社会时代背景，说明了各个专业方向培养的侧重点和就业前景，阐明了传统学科专业与新增专业方向的联系与区别。     

The Effect of Social Presence on Affective and Cognitive Learning in an International Engineering Course Taught via Distance Learning

Background Distance learning course formats can alter modes of information exchange and interpersonal interaction relative to traditional course formats. Purpose (Hypothesis ) To determine the effect of a distance course format on the knowledge acquisition (cognitive learning) and satisfaction (affective learning) of students, we investigated student learning responses and social presence during a graduate‐level engineering course taught via traditional (i.e., professor present in the classroom) and synchronous distance‐learning formats. Design /Method Direct quantification of participation, academic performance assessment based on homework and exam scores, and survey‐based assessments of student perceptions of the course were collected. Based on these data, cognitive and affective learning responses to different technological and interaction‐based aspects of the course were determined for each course format. Results We show that while affective learning decreased for students in the distance format course relative to the traditional format, cognitive learning was comparable. Our results suggest that loss of satellite connection and audio losses had a stronger negative effect on student perceptions than video disturbances, and that participation was the most important factor influencing affective learning. Conclusions While our findings do not suggest that cognitive learning is strongly affected by social presence, implementing strategies to enhance social presence may improve the overall learning experience and make distance learning more enjoyable for students.     

The effects of race-track and DRAKON configurations on MHD equilibria and stabilities in toroidal devices

Based on a three-dimensional (3-D) code which instead of treating the full magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations directly, the effects of race-track and DRAKON (a Russian acronym for long equilibrium configuration) configurations on MHD equilibria and stabilities in toroidal devices are studied numerically. The equilibria are calculated by applying the method of steepest descent to the variational principle for the plasma and vacuum potential energy, stabilities can be answered by examining the asymptotic behavior of solutions for large artificial time. Numerical results show that as the ratio of length to width (that is, elongated ratio) of the race-track increases the degree of distortion of magnetic surfaces increases until the nested system breaks down, and loses its equilibrium. For DRAKON configurations, it is found that the distortion of magnetic surfaces becomes more severe with an increasing ratio of length to width and finally the nested system breaks down and the equilibria disappear eventually.     

The effects of Cr2O3 nanoparticles on strength assessments and water permeability of concrete in different curing media

In this study, the effect of limewater on strength assessments and percentage of water absorption of concrete incorporating Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles has been investigated. Portland cement was partially replaced by Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles with the average particle size of 15 nm and the specimens were cured in water and saturated limewater for specific ages. The results indicate that Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles up to 2.0 wt% could produce concrete with improved strength and water permeability when the specimens cured in saturated limewater while this content is 1.0 wt% for the specimens cured in tap water. Although the limewater reduces the strength of concrete without nanoparticles when compared with the specimens cured in water, curing the specimens bearing Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles in saturated limewater results in more strengthening gel formation around nanoparticles causing improved permeability together with high strength. In addition, Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles are able to act as nanofillers and recover the pore structure of the specimens by decreasing harmful pores. Accelerated peak appearance in conduction calorimetry tests, more weight loss in thermogravimetric analysis and more rapid appearance of peaks related to hydrated products in X-ray diffraction results, all indicate that Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles could improve mechanical and physical properties of the specimens.