Science Fiction in the Engineering Classroom to Help Teach Basic Concepts and Promote the Profession

Although science fiction has appeared in science and physics education for many years, the genre has not been widely used to augment engineering education. Considering the potential for science fiction to help illustrate many common engineering concepts, while at the same time challenging the students to think about the many possibilities of design and technology, this exclusion represents a loss of a valuable resource. In order to begin utilizing this valuable resource, a new freshman‐level course was developed that uses science fiction films and literature to illustrate and teach basic engineering concepts. Central to the course delivery is “poking fun” at the disobedience of the laws of nature and misuse of engineering while at the same time teaching the correct behaviors. By illustrating basic engineering concepts in this fashion, students can hopefully develop lasting mental pictures of the way things function and the complexities of design. These images can in turn, help the students with core mechanics classes such as statics and dynamics, as well as help the creative design process. Moreover, by highlighting the valuable role engineering plays in transferring science theory to usable technology, the discussions may also help create a positive image of the profession that could aid recruitment and retention. Finally, the genre can also be used to illustrate the implications of technology and society, along with the many ethical considerations of engineering.     

数字技术融合儿童美育教育创新发展研究

目的 数字技术是连接科学技术、美学教育的重要纽带,运用数字技术融合儿童美育教育工作,提出科技与美育相融合的创新发展思路。在科普中注重美育,在美育中探索科学,为前沿数字技术与儿童科普美育教育协同创新发展提供新思路。方法 分析目前儿童科普美育教育的路径研究;以科普美育教育为主要研究内容,从数字技术的沉浸式、交互性、构想性出发进行分析;探索其对儿童科普美育教育中科学认知、趣味互动、审美素养等的有效影响。结果 数字技术运用在儿童科普美育教育过程中,能够有效促进儿童建立美学思维和科学意识,提高儿童在科普体验中的兴趣度与参与度,提升科普教育成效。结论 随着科学技术的不断深化,数字化教育已经成为儿童科普美育教育发展的重要途径。运用虚拟现实、增强现实等前沿技术,能够全方位、多角度、多感官地促进儿童美育教育工作,是对当代儿童科普美育教育工作方式的有效补充,有着长远的意义和引导作用。     

Brazilian scientific production in science education

In the present study we analyzed the Brazilian scientific production in the area of science education. The study was structured on: data by research groups registered in Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico; analysis of the post-graduate strictu sensu programs; analysis of theses and dissertations linked to post-graduate programs; and papers in international databases. Our research was conducted strictly via world wide web, from December 2009 to September 2010. It was found that both number of research groups, researchers, post-graduate programs, thesis, dissertations and papers presented a marked increase, especially in the last decade (from 2000 onwards). The major research centers were found to be located in public universities from Brazilian southeast and south regions. However, it was observed a tendency of decentralization, due to a recent investment in new public universities in the other Brazilian regions. So, this study sought to present an overview of the scientific production about science education and we expect that this information can help to expand the vision about the development of this research area in Brazil.     

理工科院校推进人文社会科学教育的若干问题探讨

人文社会科学教育的严重缺失已经成为理工科院校开展素质教育的一大“瓶颈”。理工科院校加强人文社会科学教育，需要在教育观念和认识上确立人文社会科学教育应有的地位，在课程结构体系和内容上强化人文社会科学教育的力度，在教学管理和制度上保障人文社会科学教育的实施，在课程教育和校园文化建设上要营造人文社会科学教育的氛围。     

Empirical Study on Standardization Curricula in Chinese Universities

This paper summarizes partial findings on education about standardization by CNIS in 2008.As of December 31,2008,21 universities and colleges in China had established a standardization curriculum.This paper deals with standardization education related to economic management,engineering,agriculture and science of law and summarizes respondents'opinions on teaching performances and design of teaching materials and curriculums.     

A comparative study of interdisciplinary changes between information science and library science

This study employs the method of direct citation to analyze and compare the interdisciplinary characteristics of the two disciplines of library science and information science during the period of 1978–2007. Based on the research generated by five library science journals and five information science journals, library science researchers tend to cite publications from library and information science (LIS), education, business/management, sociology, and psychology, while researchers of information science tend to cite more publications from LIS, general science, computer science, technology, and medicine. This means that the disciplines with larger contributions to library science are almost entirely different from those contributing to information science. In addition, researchers of library science frequently cite publications from LIS; the rate is as high as 65.61%, which is much higher than the rate for information science, 49.50%. However, a decreasing trend in the percentage of LIS in library science indicates that library science researchers tend to cite more publications from non-LIS disciplines. A rising trend in the proportion of references to education sources is reported for library science articles, while a rising trend in the proportion of references to computer science sources has been found for information science articles. In addition, this study applies an interdisciplinary indicator, Brillouin’s Index, to measurement of the degree of interdisciplinarity. The results confirm that the trend toward interdisciplinarity in both information science and library science has risen over the years, although the degree of interdisciplinarity in information science is higher than that in library science.     

面向新冠疫情防控科普宣传的交互装置设计研究

目的 为进一步化解当前疫情防控中人们易于产生的焦虑情绪及遏制谣言传播,进行面向疫情防控科普宣传的交互装置设计,以此增强防疫科普的多维度体验感和情感交互性,提高受众学习的内驱力和对疫情防控的正向关注。方法 以“装置”为表达媒介作为防疫科普宣传的重要手段,探索了影像装置艺术与科普教育相融合的发展趋势,并分析了超声波测距传感器在触控交互界面设计中的应用,实现了“病.口”为题的新冠疫情防控科普装置设计探索,据此开展了疫情防控科普教育影像的交互展示。结论 建立了防疫科普影像装置系统,为大众开展防疫科学教育提供交互式学习手段,使受众感受到防疫科普宣传的新颖性,构建起防疫、科普、艺术的有机联系,为宣传防疫知识和开展防疫科普教育提供借鉴。     

Interdisciplinarity and insularity in the diffusion of knowledge: an analysis of disciplinary boundaries between philosophy of science and the sciences

Two fundamentally different perspectives on knowledge diffusion dominate debates about academic disciplines. On the one hand, critics of disciplinary research and education have argued that disciplines are isolated silos, within which specialists pursue inward-looking and increasingly narrow research agendas. On the other hand, critics of the silo argument have demonstrated that researchers constantly import and export ideas across disciplinary boundaries. These perspectives have different implications for how knowledge diffuses, how intellectuals gain and lose status within their disciplines, and how intellectual reputations evolve within and across disciplines. We argue that highly general claims about the nature of disciplinary boundaries are counterproductive, and that research on the nature of specific disciplinary boundaries is more useful. To that end, this paper uses a novel publication and citation network dataset and statistical models of citation networks to test hypotheses about the boundaries between philosophy of science and 11 disciplinary clusters. Specifically, we test hypotheses about whether engaging with and being cited by scientific communities outside philosophy of science has an impact on one’s position within philosophy of science. Our results suggest that philosophers of science produce interdisciplinary scholarship, but they tend not to cite work by other philosophers when it is published in journals outside of their discipline. Furthermore, net of other factors, receiving citations from other disciplines has no meaningful impact—positive or negative—on citations within philosophy of science. We conclude by considering this evidence for simultaneous interdisciplinarity and insularity in terms of scientific trading theory and other work on disciplinary boundaries and communication.     

在生命科学类公选课中开展素质教育

文章介绍了开设生命科学类公共选修课的必要性,重点论述了在公选课教学过程中,为强化学生的素质教育所实施的教学改革思想与方法.     

An Engineering Design Curriculum for the Elementary Grades

The United States has historically excelled in the design of products, processes and new technologies. Capitalizing on this historical strength to teach applied mathematics and science has many positive implications on education. First, engineering design can be used as a vehicle for addressing deficiencies in mathematics and science education. Second, as achievement in mathematics and science is enhanced, a greater number of students at an earlier age will be exposed to technical career opportunities. Third, enhancing elementary and secondary curricula with engineering design can attract underrepresented populations, such as minorities and females, to engineering as a profession. This paper describes a new and innovative engineering design curriculum, under development in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Austin, TX. The philosophic goals upon which the curriculum is based include: integrating the design problem-solving process into elementary schools, demonstrating the relationship of technical concepts to daily life, availing teachers with instructional strategies for teaching applied (as opposed to purely theoretical) science and mathematics, and teaching teamwork skills that are so greatly needed in industry and everyday life. Based on these goals, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade engineering design lessons have been piloted in AISD, in conjunction with a University of Texas program for teacher enhancement and preparation.     

Roland G. Rood

Abstract

Roland G. Rood (1863–1927) is an enigmatic, yet fascinating, figure in the history of American art criticism. Very little about his education and career is known. His published writings as well as unpublished drafts for essays on aesthetics, however, provide a comprehensive framework for his ideas. Dating or referring to the period 1904–1907, this body of work indexes a significant direction of change in the relationship of art to science. Featured in Alfred Stieglitz's avant-garde journal Camera Work, Rood's criticism also illuminates the probing, psychological, and intertextural nature of Stieglitz's modernism.     

International collaboration in higher education research: A gravity model approach

Although geographical distance has become less relevant in co–authorship for monodisciplinary fields such as economics, mathematics, and physics, little is known about international collaboration in multidisciplinary fields such as higher education. This paper studies collaboration patterns in higher education research using the Scopus database with the application of the gravity model. The results show that the intensity of collaboration is negatively associated with geographical distance and positively associated with linguistic commonality but these findings differ significantly between various world regions. European scholars appear to give preference to linguistically proximate partners over geographical neighbours. Although English is the lingua franca in science, language is not a significant factor for the formation of collaboration for North American and Asian researchers. These findings have policy implications for fostering multidisciplinary research in international partnerships.

     

The signs of science

Since theScience Citation Index emerged within the system of scientific communication in 1964, an intense controversy about its character has been raging: in what sense can citation analysis be trusted? This debate can be characterized as the confrontation of different perspectives on science. In this paper the citation representation of science is discussed: the way the citation creates a new reality of as well as in the world of science; the main features of this reality; and some implications for science and science policy.     

Using the Affinity Research Group Model to Involve Undergraduate Students in Computer Science Research*

The Affinity Research Group model is an attractive vehicle for involving undergraduates in research, retaining them, and fostering their interest in higher education. Using this model, students are given opportunities to develop, employ, and integrate knowledge and skills required for research with knowledge and skills required for cooperative work. Potential adopters of the model often inquire about the feasibility of applying the model in a field like computer science, in which it often is the case that a student must have a solid academic foundation in order to be involved in research. This paper addresses this question by illustrating how the model has been applied to computer science research projects that involve students with different skill levels and experience. In particular, the paper presents example structured tasks and related activities that demonstrate how students develop domain expertise, gain an understanding and appreciation of the research process and its practice, and acquire technical, team, communication, problem‐solving, and higher‐level thinking skills.     

Quantitative,Qualitative, and Mixed Research Methods in Engineering Education

The purpose of this research review is to open dialog about quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods in engineering education research. Our position is that no particular method is privileged over any other. Rather, the choice must be driven by the research questions. For each approach we offer a definition, aims, appropriate research questions, evaluation criteria, and examples from the Journal of Engineering Education. Then, we present empirical results from a prestigious international conference on engineering education research. Participants expressed disappointment in the low representation of qualitative studies; nonetheless, there appeared to be a strong preference for quantitative methods, particularly classroom‐based experiments. Given the wide variety of issues still to be explored within engineering education, we expect that quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches will be essential in the future. We encourage readers to further investigate alternate research methods by accessing some of our sources and collaborating across education/social science and engineering disciplinary boundaries.     

Research trends in gender differences in higher education and science: a co-word analysis

The aim of this study is to map and analyze the structure and evolution of the scientific literature on gender differences in higher education and science, focusing on factors related to differences between 1991 and 2012. Co-word analysis was applied to identify the main concepts addressed in this research field. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to cluster the keywords and a strategic diagram was created to analyze trends. The data set comprised a corpus containing 652 articles and reviews published between 1991 and 2012, extracted from the Thomson Reuters Web of Science database. In order to see how the results changed over time, documents were grouped into three different periods: 1991–2001, 2002–2007, and 2008–2012. The results showed that the number of themes has increased significantly over the years and that gender differences in higher education and science have been considered by specific research disciplines, suggesting important research-field-specific variations. Overall, the study helps to identify the major research topics in this domain, as well as highlighting issues to be addressed or strengthened in further work.     

论技术科学与工程科学

讨论了技术科学与工程科学之间的关系，认为技术科学就是应用科学，其内容属于应用基础研究的范围，而工程科学则是综合运用技术手段和管理手段解决工程问题的学科，其内容属于应用研究范围；提出了建立自然工程学的建议，并对已有和尚不存在的自然工程学科进行了分类，并讨论了系统科学与工程科学之间的关系。     

工科远程职业教育培训系统——基于远程服务系统的远程教育培训模型

讨论了工程学科的远程教育和培训工科远程教育的系统方案,工程科学教育对远程的要求及企业远程服务对工程教育和职业培训的影响,提出了一个工科远程教育培训系统的原型,在这个原型下,可以进一步地开发工科远程教育系统,借助远程服务网、INTERNET等先进的IT手段,改善工科教育的环境和资源利用水平,并使得企业远程服务网本身成为一个工科远程教育培训的教学模型。     

Materials science and materials engineering education

The report deals with the complex of problems concerning education of materials scientists and materials engineers. The development of materials science is described. It is attempted to estimate the future demand for materials scientists and materials engineers. Educational and organizational aspects of materials science and materials engineering in higher education are discussed. A selection of topics forming a possible core for materials science and materials engineering studies is presented. Finally, university-industry relations in the field of materials are discussed. A survey of materials programs in 133 higher education establishments in 13 countries has been made. The results of this survey are not included in the report, but they are available from OECD on request.