Gender Disparity in Engineering as a Function of Physics Enrollment and Its Implications for Civil Engineering

Despite tremendous advances by women in the natural and applied sciences, where in selective fields women have surpassed men in the earning of doctoral degrees for more nearly 20?years, female enrollment levels in engineering continue to be a fraction of male enrollment. Gender disparities of more than 60% persist in undergraduate engineering enrollments and have recently worsened. As American female civil engineering enrollment has been flat for over 25?years, efforts must be taken to understand this stasis. This paper focuses primarily on secondary education preparation in terms of both attitudes toward and enrollment levels in preengineering courses such as calculus, chemistry, and physics. Additional consideration is given to enrollment and achievement in advanced placement courses, as reflected in national examination rates. This paper concludes that secondary school participation and achievement in physics courses is a critical differential factor as one explanatory element of female engineering enrollment levels and provides specific recommendations as to how to increase interest, enrollment, and achievement in physics, including the segregation of entry-level engineering courses based on previous experience.     

Recruiting and hiring women in STEM fields.

The number of women earning advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has increased, yet women remain underrepresented at all ranks of the academic hierarchy in these fields. To help explain this pattern, we explored mechanisms in the recruitment and hiring process at the level of the department that hinder or promote the hiring of women into tenure-track positions. Using a unique data set of the entire pool of applicants to tenure-track STEM faculty positions over a 6-year period at a large public research university, we identified strategies that universities and academic departments can use to increase women's representation in tenure-track positions, including placing greater emphasis on increasing the number of women applicants and placing advertisements in venues that specifically target women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cancer mortality and asbestos deposits

Asbestos deposits are found in many parts of the United States. In this paper the question is asked: Is there an increase in risk from cancer associated with naturally-occurring asbestos? In an attempt to control for the urban effect, geographic gradient and socioeconomic class, each county in the United States with asbestos deposits was matched for percent of area that was urban and for median years in school with two nearby counties that did not have known asbestos deposits. The study of cancer mortality rates in these matched counties provides no evidence that naturally-occurring asbestos is a great hazard to the general population of counties with asbestos depostis.     

Integrating Sustainable Design into Architectural Engineering Education: UNL-AE Program

Given the profound impact of the built environment on the resources of the earth, a growing number of institutions of higher education are preparing engineers to make sustainable design a standard in the construction industry. This paper looks at the diverse ways in which education in sustainable design can be integrated into engineering curricula using the architectural engineering (AE) program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) as a case study example. The UNL program is unique in that it prepares students for careers in sustainable development through a curriculum that promotes both traditional and hands-on, experiential learning. Through coursework, research, workshops, student competitions, and even interaction with the UNL engineering facility, students learn how to make our built environment more sustainable. A key facet of this program is to connect the institution with the local community and industry to give students an opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to real-world problems in professional settings. Hence, this “green” integration actually takes place on two levels, within the UNL curriculum itself and within the larger context of the community and industry. Together, academia, the industry, and the community are preparing engineers to help ensure a more sustainable future for our world.     

Increasing the Number of African American PhDs in the Sciences and Engineering A Strengths-Based Approach.

Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, the percentage of African American students who receive PhDs in natural science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields remains disappointingly low. A multifaceted, strengths-based approach to intervention and research that holds great promise for increasing the number of African American students who achieve at the highest levels academically is described. This work began in 1988 with the development of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program for undergraduate minority STEM majors at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). If current PhD receipt rates of program graduates continue, UMBC will in all likelihood become the leading predominantly White baccalaureate-origin university for Black STEM PhDs in the nation. The program is described and outcome and process findings from its ongoing evaluation are highlighted. The parenting practices that helped these youths to overcome the odds and achieve at the highest levels prior to coming to college are also examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Digital Image Analysis in Geotechnical Engineering Education

Existing research has shown that visual input significantly contributes to learning, therefore, it is paramount to use visual tools to help demonstrate engineering concepts. One of these tools, digital image analysis, can help effectively communicate complex concepts to students in a simple and understandable format as a supplement to traditional lecturing, while simultaneously enabling students to have hands-on experience. This note describes a series of activities to incorporate digital image analysis into engineering education. The undergraduate students worked in research projects that involved image-based analysis of geomaterials. Based on these activities and the students’ response to a questionnaire, it was recognized that digital image analysis can enhance the understanding of engineering phenomena for undergraduate students. The hands-on experience and visual demonstration improved the students’ grasp of fundamental concepts in research projects. The research experience allowed the students to build a connection between the classroom and the solution of state-of-the-art engineering scientific problems. It also taught them about cooperation and teamwork, as well as academic independence.     

A motivational model of rural students' intentions to persist in, versus drop out of, high school.

Using self-determination theory, the authors tested a motivational model to explain the conditions under which rural students formulate their intentions to persist in, versus drop out of, high school. The model argues that motivational variables underlie students' intentions to drop out and that students' motivation can be either supported in the classroom by autonomy-supportive teachers or frustrated by controlling teachers. LISREL analyses of questionnaire data from 483 rural high school students showed that the provision of autonomy support within classrooms predicted students' self-determined motivation and perceived competence. These motivational resources, in turn, predicted students' intentions to persist, versus drop out, and they did so even after controlling for the effect of achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orthodontic care provided by general practitioners and specialists in three Swedish counties with different orthodontic specialist resources

Three counties in Sweden (A, G, and W) with free orthodontic care and different orthodontic resources and geographic structures were studied in 1987. Samples of totally 942 young adults (mean age 18.8 years, SD 0.44) were examined concerning malocclusions and all orthodontic treatment provided by general practitioners or by orthodontic specialists. The care in a rural area (county G) with abundant specialist resources was based on specialist treatments easy assessable to the patients and supplemented by treatments, mainly without appliances and provided by general practitioners. There was a generous attitude of consultation with specialists and of providing treatment. The sparsity of specialist resources had in an urban area (county A) resulted in a greater restriction on providing treatments. The treatments were performed in a higher age and were, to a greater extent, not completed by the age of 19, and a smaller percentage of individuals were treated than in the other two counties. The care in a large rural area (county W) with long distances to the only specialist clinic was based on treatments provided by general practitioners. In spite of the few specialist resources there was a generous attitude of providing treatments. Interceptive methods were used to a great extent, and later completed with appliance therapy. According to a treatment priority index 44% of the untreated individuals in the three counties had malocclusions and an objective treatment need, and there were no significant differences between the counties. Regardless of differences in specialist resources and structure of the free public orthodontic care, a substantial and equal proportion of the untreated individuals in the counties had malocclusions with treatment need, but they had no treatment desire.     

Enhancing school performance of youth with severe emotional disorder: Initial results from system of care research in three California counties.

Presents initial school attendance and educational achievement results from youth with severe emotional disturbance who were served in innovative systems of care. These school performance findings are from an evaluation of efforts to implement the California System of Care Model in 3 California counties. One of the important care system goals is to enhance school attendance and educational achievement of youth with severe emotional disorder. Results show that youth enrolled in specialized school-mental health programs are showing improvements in achievement test scores in 2 of the counties. In the 3rd county, only a subgroup of the youth are showing improvements in achievement test scores. Attendance in these programs in all 3 counties is high. Findings are interpreted within the context of the 4 major demonstration goals and other information about the counties and the youth enrolled in the systems of care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Malleability in communal goals and beliefs influences attraction to stem careers: Evidence for a goal congruity perspective.

The goal congruity perspective posits that 2 distinct social cognitions predict attraction to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. First, individuals may particularly value communal goals (e.g., working with or helping others), due to either chronic individual differences or the salience of these goals in particular contexts. Second, individuals hold beliefs about the activities that facilitate or impede these goals, or goal affordance stereotypes. Women's tendency to endorse communal goals more highly than do men, along with consensual stereotypes that STEM careers impede communal goals, intersect to produce disinterest in STEM careers. We provide evidence for the foundational predictions that gender differences emerge primarily on communal rather than agentic goals (Studies 1a and 3) and that goal affordance stereotypes reflect beliefs that STEM careers are relatively dissociated from communal goals (Studies 1b and 1c). Most critically, we provide causal evidence that activated communal goals decrease interest in STEM fields (Study 2) and that the potential for a STEM career to afford communal goals elicits greater positivity (Study 3). These studies thus provide a novel demonstration that understanding communal goals and goal affordance stereotypes can lend insight into attitudes toward STEM pursuits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diverse faculty in STEM fields: Attitudes, performance, and fair treatment.

In an attempt to address concerns regarding the experiences of academic faculty who are members of often-marginalized groups (e.g., women and ethnic/racial minorities), a climate survey of faculty members at a large public university was developed as part of a larger effort to improve aspects of the policies, procedures, and work climate. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed differences in performance-related variables and equality of treatment for women and racial/ethnic minorities working in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Women in STEM fields and racial/ethnic minority non-STEM faculty generally reported more negative experiences, while ethnically diverse STEM faculty generally reported more positive experiences. The differential composition of the racial/ethnic minority STEM and non-STEM groups is thought to explain the discrepant findings between these 2 groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of integrated instruction on motivation and strategy use in reading.

Effects of instructional context on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have been examined with a variety of studies. This quasi experiment compared students receiving an instructional intervention designed to increase intrinsic motivation with students receiving traditional instruction. Concept-oriented reading instruction (CORI) integrated reading and language arts with science inquiry. It emphasized learning goals, real-world interaction (hands-on science activities), competence support (strategy instruction), autonomy support (self-directed learning), and collaboration. Traditional classrooms had the same content objectives and comparable teachers but different pedagogy. Children in CORI classrooms scored higher on motivation than did children in traditional classrooms, with effect sizes of 1.94 for curiosity and 1.71 for strategy use. Grade-level differences were found for recognition and competition. The results show that classroom contexts can be constructed to influence motivational outcomes positively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Avoiding Change Orders in Public School Construction

Increased student enrollment and the current poor state of the educational infrastructure require the construction of more school buildings and the renovation of many of the existing ones. The large number and magnitude of change orders in these projects constitute an impediment to the rapid and economic delivery of these projects. A total of 6,585 change orders filed in a school district’s projects in the 5 1/2 year period from 1999 to 2004 were analyzed in five categories including owner-directed changes, code compliance issues, errors/omissions in contract documents, discovered or changed conditions, and others. The results of the study indicate that the dollar value of change orders relative to the original contract can be reduced if preventive measures are taken. These measures include choosing the right construction management firm, emphasizing the definition of project scope early in the project, and effectively managing the precontract activities by conducting value engineering and constructability reviews. The results indicate that school projects can be completed with change orders not exceeding 5% of the contract value if these measures are taken. This study is of relevance to practitioners involved in school design and construction projects.     

Endomyocardial biopsy--helpful in differential diagnosis between myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy. A case report

OBJECTIVES: Inadequate prenatal care is thought to be a major modifiable risk factor for preterm birth, the leading cause of neonatal mortality. To improve high-risk women's financial access to prenatal care, the U.S. Medicaid program underwent major expansions during the 1980s. We evaluated these expansions over the nine-year period 1983 to 1991 in Tennessee to determine their effects on Medicaid enrollment, use of prenatal care, and preterm birth. METHODS: We used linked birth certificates, Medicaid data, and U.S. Census files to identify 610,056 singleton births to African-American or Caucasian women in Tennessee whose last menstrual period was between 1983 and 1991. These were classified by maternal characteristics to identify groups with the greatest postexpansion increases in Medicaid enrollment, which should have benefited most from the policy changes. Study outcomes were Medicaid enrollment by delivery, enrollment in the first trimester, inadequate prenatal care (modified Kessner index), and preterm (< 37 weeks) birth. We calculated the changes (delta expressed as births per 100) between 1983 and 1991 in percentages of births with each of these outcomes. RESULTS: The expansions led to pronounced increases in maternal Medicaid enrollment by delivery (21% of births in 1983 to 51% by 1991) and in the first trimester (from 10% to 37%). Married women with < 12 years of education, < 25 years of age, and < $12,500 mean neighborhood incomes (group 1) had the greatest increase, where enrollment and first-trimester enrollment increased from 24% to 86% and 7% to 68%, respectively. In group 1, the percentages of births with inadequate maternal use of prenatal care decreased substantially, from 12.8% in 1983 to 6.4% in 1991, a reduction of 6.4 births per 100 (95% confidence intervals [CI] = -7.6, -5.3). However, the preterm birth rate did not decrease (9.1% in 1983, 9.4% in 1991, change of 0.3[-0.7 to 1.2] births per 100). For other births, there were lesser increases in Medicaid enrollment, correspondingly lesser decreases in inadequate use of prenatal care, but no reductions in preterm birth rates. CONCLUSIONS: In Tennessee, the Medicaid expansions materially increased enrollment and use of prenatal care among high-risk women, but did not reduce the likelihood of preterm birth.     

The social context of risk: Status and motivational predictors of alienation in middle school.

This study investigated the relations among 2 sociological predictors of risk for school leaving (race and social class), motivational context, and behavioral indicators of withdrawal from school in a sample of 405 7th grade students. Students completed questionnaires to assess their perceptions of the 3 aspects of their school motivational context, including the academic expectations and support of teachers and peers and the economic opportunity structure. Behavioral indicators of alienation were teachers' ratings of engagement and students' disciplinary problems. Students with more indicators of potential risk (i.e., low-income, African American, or both) were less engaged, had more disciplinary problems, and perceived their motivational contexts as more negative than students with fewer risk factors. Motivational context variables were stronger predictors of alienation than were status variables and partially mediated the relations between status indicators of potential risk and signs of alienation from school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hands-On Engineering Experiments for Secondary School Students

A program entitled T4MS∕E, “Teaching Teachers to Teach Mathematics and Science via Engineering Activities” was initiated at the University of Toledo to attract secondary students (grades 6–12) to start along the academic path toward careers in engineering. T4MS∕E is a collaborative effort between several engineering and education professors, which targets secondary mathematics and science teachers and students. The core of T4MS∕E is a set of hands-on experiments that the teachers learned, practiced, and then took back to their classrooms, in order to excite their students about the engineering applications of basic mathematical and physical concepts and to start their students along the path towards engineering careers. Many of these teachers taught in schools with large minority populations.     

Earthbound Civil Engineering Experience for Space Applications

Since the dawn of civilization, the civil engineering profession has served mankind. Civil engineers have provided humanity with safe, reliable, and economical facilities and a livable environment. This paper seeks to outline the potential applications of various Earth‐based civil engineering fields for the engineering, construction, and operation of facilities in space stations in Earth orbit, bases on the Moon and Mars, and the exploration of other extraterrestrial bodies. On Earth, civil engineers have played a key role in design, construction, and operation of ground‐support facilities since the beginning of the space program. The vast and diverse Earth‐based knowledge and experience earned by civil engineers could be applied to create a suitable infrastructure in space to satisfy human needs. Therefore, civil engineers can play a significant role in the future expansion of human endeavors into space. The time has come for civil engineers throughout the world to come together; take the challenge posed by time, human needs, and ambition; and extend their joint expertise toward large‐scale projects in space for the benefit of all.     

Preparing for the WATERS Network: Engaging Middle-School Science Students in Environmental Engineering

An educational outreach program connecting middle-school students with the importance of water quality and the role of environmental engineers was designed, implemented, and assessed as part of the infrastructure preparation and future educational plan of the Water and Environmental Research Systems (WATERS) Network. The educational program included a set of laboratory protocols modified according to the time, space, safety, and teaching-level constraints of the middle-school classroom. Additionally, a CyberCollaboratory was specifically created to engage students with data interpretation, excite them about real-world engineering applications, and extend the learning from the individual to the entire classroom by connecting an entire classroom’s data and guiding them in drawing conclusions from a larger context. Through pretest and posttest assessments, it was shown that 50% of the students involved showed a marked improvement in scores and that the overall class average increased by 13%, illustrating that the outreach program as a whole effectively taught students about engineering and its relation to water quality, specifically pH and hardness. The program delineated here should serve as a model for future student interaction with the WATERS Network and should help the current planning committee for educational outreach make further strides forward in integrating the WATERS Network into classrooms nationwide.     

Risk/Reward Compensation Model for Civil Engineering Infrastructure Alliance Projects

A risk/reward model is described as that which aligns project participants’ behaviors toward the achievement of a project’s performance objectives through the use of incentives. A risk/reward model typically includes the following mechanisms: risk/reward shared percentages among nonowner participants, project cost risk/reward, noncost risk/reward, risk cap, and achievability of performance targets. This paper examines the influence of a risk/reward model on the behavior of project participants. Twenty-nine industry practitioners from eight civil infrastructure project alliances were interviewed. The interviews revealed that individual features of a risk/reward model identified had merits, but the achievability of performance targets model appeared to be the most appropriate for promoting positive behaviors within the project team. Additionally, it was found that all incentive aspects of the model examined led to positive and constructive behaviors occurring due to their perceived fairness and equity of payment structure. Participants indicated that having a commercial interest in an alliance’s performance outcomes ensured collaboration and engagement throughout the project’s life cycle. It is concluded that risk/reward sharing is pivotal to obtaining a successful project outcome for the procurement of civil engineering infrastructure projects when using an alliance.     

Capstone Course in an Integrated Engineering Curriculum

The Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the United States Air Force Academy has developed a capstone senior level integration experience that blends technical aspects of an engineering design with construction and realistic issues of modern society. Technical designs accomplished by the students, prior to taking the capstone course, form the technical basis of the capstone design experience. The students review the technical design and prepare the project for construction through incorporating engineering standards and considering realistic issues. Issues considered include economy, constructability, and environmental aspects, as well as ethical, health and safety constraints. The students prepare a final design report and make an oral presentation to an interdisciplinary panel of engineering faculty. This capstone course is the culmination of a total integration experience, which includes a hands-on field engineering course, and two years of a rigorous engineering design curriculum.