Diffusion of Engineering Education Innovations: A Survey of Awareness and Adoption Rates in U.S. Engineering Departments

Background Despite decades of effort focused on improvement of engineering education, many recent advances have not resulted in systemic change. Diffusion of innovations theory is used to better understand this phenomenon. Purpose (Hypothesis ) Research questions include: How widespread is awareness and adoption of established engineering education innovations? Are there differences by discipline or institutional type? How do engineering department chairs find out about engineering education innovations? What factors do engineering department chairs cite as important in adoption decisions? Design /Method U.S. engineering department chairs were surveyed regarding their awareness and department use of seven engineering education innovations. One hundred ninety‐seven usable responses are presented primarily as categorical data with Chi square tests where relevant. Results Overall, the awareness rate was 82 percent, while the adoption rate was 47 percent. Eighty‐two percent of engineering departments employ student‐active pedagogies (the highest). Mechanical and civil engineering had the highest rates, in part due to many design‐related innovations in the survey. Few differences by institution type were evident. In the past, word of mouth and presentations were far more effective than publications in alerting department chairs to the innovations. Department chairs cited financial resources, faculty time and attitudes, and student satisfaction and learning as major considerations in adoption decisions. Conclusions The importance of disciplinary networks was evident during survey administration and in the results. Specific recommendations are offered to employ these networks and the engineering professional societies for future engineering education improvement efforts.     

Diversifying the U.S. Engineering Workforce: A New Model

Existing approaches to increasing diversity conceptually pose the problem as a leaky pipeline. Although the pipeline model has supported several types of interventions, the mental model oversimplifies complexities of the underlying processes, focuses interventions at points of unwanted leakage, and suggests that leaks need to be plugged instead of systems renewed. Analysis suggests that even if leak‐stopping interventions could be multiplied through significant increases in funding, they would remain insufficient to attain the goal of having student enrollments in engineering substantially reflect the demographics of the general population. Therefore, a new analogical model, which emphasizes flows of personal and interpersonal energy within the educational system, is offered to guide future interventions. Finally, suggestions for applying the model to increase diversity in engineering are proposed.     

美国高校工程图学教育特色分析

现代设计与制造技术、计算机技术的发展,给传统的工程图学教育提出了新的要求和挑战.美国各大学的工程图学教育注重图学内容与设计思维的结合,强调多种视觉表达方式的综合应用,强调学生表达技能的训练,强调实践性教学和学生的自主学习.从教学内容、教学方式、教学手段、教学组织及教材等方面,分析了当前美国工程图学教育的特色以及对我国工程图学教育的借鉴.     

来自德克萨斯的设计

黄汝修（Albert Y.Wong)出生于中国大陆，成长于香港。1970年获美国哥伦布艺术设计学院美术学士学位，1974年获美国俄亥俄肯州立大学美术硕士学位；1979年至1982年在伊利诺斯州立大学美术教育博士班学习。     

The Alumni Survey as an Effective Assessment Tool for Small Engineering Programs

An alumni survey can be crafted which will evaluate even a small engineering program's success in imparting the abilities enumerated in the Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC 2000) guidelines. The core of the survey consists in its analysis of alumni ranking of both the importance of, and preparation in, the eleven key desired outcomes. Its originality lies in its establishing certain threshold percentages in the difference in perception of importance and preparation which indicate a level of under‐preparedness demanding immediate attention, so that the survey can function as an objective assessment tool. The responses of specific aggregates can also be analyzed in this manner, providing insight on the different perspectives of alumni by degree program, career path, and other demographic groupings.     

LNG safety research in the U.S.A.

This paper describes recent LNG safety research activities in the United States. Most of these activities have been sponsored by the U.S. Department of1. Hazard assessment. These are projects aimed at the development of experimental data and analytical models to describe radiation from LNG spill f2. Accident prevention. These are studies directed toward the development of qualification tests and reliable data on the properties and behavior o3. Hazard control. These are projects which address the conceptual design, testing and engineering development of new or improved response technolo     

中国电影科研所赴美考察报告

中国电影科研所近期组团赴美进行了专题业务考察，此行主要目的是了解国际上在数字中间片技术、数字电影拍摄技术和数字影院技术方面的最新进展，就我所数字中间片实验室的建设和正在进行的相关研究项目与国外同行进行交流，顺便了解一些电影数字化修复工艺和技术的情况。     

Comparison of SeaWiFS measurements of the Moon with the U.S. Geological Survey lunar model

The Sea-Viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) has made monthly observations of the Moon since 1997. Using 66 monthly measurements, the SeaWiFS calibration team has developed a correction for the instrument's on-orbit response changes. Concurrently, a lunar irradiance model has been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from extensive Earth-based observations of the Moon. The lunar irradiances measured by SeaWiFS are compared with the USGS model. The comparison shows essentially identical response histories for SeaWiFS, with differences from the model of less than 0.05% per thousand days in the long-term trends. From the SeaWiFS experience we have learned that it is important to view the entire lunar image at a constant phase angle from measurement to measurement and to understand, as best as possible, the size of each lunar image. However, a constant phase angle is not required for using the USGS model. With a long-term satellite lunar data set it is possible to determine instrument changes at a quality level approximating that from the USGS lunar model. However, early in a mission, when the dependence on factors such as phase and libration cannot be adequately determined from satellite measurements alone, the USGS model is critical to an understanding of trends in instruments that use the Moon for calibration. This is the case for SeaWiFS.     

美国技术性贸易措施体系剖析

1.引言技术法规、技术标准与合格评定程序是保证产品满足消费者需求的基本技术性措施,当其用作国际货物贸易中产品市场准入的尺度时,则构成为技术性贸易措施。这些措施对各国间的货物贸易有着直接的影响。技术性贸易措施具有推动经济发展、加速科技成果转化成现实生产力、提升产业技术水平、保证产品质量、保护环境和保障人民生命安全等积极作用,只有当其被用作国际贸易中的保护主义工具时,才构成为技术性贸易壁垒。研究表明,世界上各经济体在制定和实施技术性贸易措施时,既不是局限于单一措施,也不是上述三种基本措施的简单加合,而是将这三…     

Comparison of U.S.S.R. Codes and U.S. Army Manual for design of foundations on permafrost

A comparative study was made of design criteria and analytical methods for footings and pile foundations on permafrost employed in U.S.S.R. Design Code SNiP II-18-76 (1977) and U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Special Report 80-34 developed in the early 1970s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and published in 1980. The absence of adequate constitutive equations for frozen soils and of rigorous solutions of the boundary problems has made it necessary to incorporate (explicitly or implicitly) various safety factors in the foundation analyses. From the review it is concluded that the principal difference between these practices is in the assessment and application of appropriate values of safety factors, which leads to a substantial discrepancy in the dimensions and costs of footings and pile foundations in permafrost.