Senior Design Projects to Aid the Disabled at the University of Toledo: Community Outreach and Impact

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Samir Hefzy ◽  
Gregory Nemunaitis ◽  
Nagi Naganathan ◽  
Christine Smallman
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Physically Disabled ◽  
The Past ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Senior Students

Abstract This paper describes the community involvement and the impact that the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (MIME) at the University of Toledo (UT) has accomplished during the past six years with its senior students in developing custom devices for physically disabled individuals within the Toledo community. These projects assist disabled individuals to better enjoy life and realize their maximum potential. These projects significantly enhance the education of student engineers through the experience of designing and building devices to meet a real need with feedback on how well the device satisfies that need.

An Introduction to the Impact Behaviour of Polymer Composites Using Simplified Beam Models

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. W. Mines
Keyword(s):  
Composite Materials ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Progressive Collapse ◽  
Structural Response ◽  
Sandwich Beams ◽  
Three Point Bending ◽  
The Past ◽  
Structural Case ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The paper describes a final-year undergraduate course that has been taught at the University of Liverpool for the past three years. The main aims of the course are to introduce the student to the design of structures using multi-component (composite) materials and to the performance of such structures under impact loading. Given the complexity of generalized composite behaviour and of structural crashworthiness, a simple structural case is considered, namely, a beam subject to three-point bending. A feature of the course is that not only is linear structural response considered but also non-linear (progressive) structural collapse is covered. The course is split into four parts, namely: (i) analysis of composite laminae, (ii) analysis of laminated beams, (iii) local and global effects in sandwich beams, and (iv) post-failure and progressive collapse of sandwich beams. Static and impact loadings are considered. Comments are made on how the theories are simplified and communicated to the undergraduate students.

A Case Study of the Effects of Design Project Length on Team Collaboration and Leadership in Senior Mechanical Engineering Projects

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Righter ◽  
Andy Blanton ◽  
Hallie Stidham ◽  
Doug Chickarello ◽  
Joshua D. Summers
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Team Collaboration ◽  
Project Completion ◽  
Communication Structures ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Engineering Projects

This paper describes exploratory research regarding leadership and communication within undergraduate engineering design teams. The case study was performed on student design projects of one and two semester duration to begin to assess the impact of project length on leadership and communication within the design teams. Data was collected using a survey that was given to the participants in three capstone design projects in Clemson University’s senior design course. The survey was administered within one month of course and project completion. While there were differences in the communication and leadership patterns between the teams, there were other possible influences beyond the project length such as team size and organization, organizational and geographic distribution, and the nature of the product. As a result, further research is proposed to study leadership and communication structures within undergraduate teams and multi-team systems (MTS).

Senior Designs to Aid the Disabled: The UAB Experience

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan W. Eberhardt ◽  
Laura K. Vogtle ◽  
Gary Edwards
Keyword(s):  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
University Of Alabama ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
National Science ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The University

Abstract This paper presents a review of two years experience regarding senior design projects to aid persons with disabilities, for mechanical engineering students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The efforts are funded by the National Science Foundation and are aimed at developing alternative, low cost, custom devices to aid specific disabled individuals or targeted groups. A collaboration has been established with UAB Occupational Therapy and United Cerebral Palsy of Birmingham (UCP), who have provided projects which combine depth in both engineering and life sciences. The “UAB experience” described in the following includes project selection, development, student advising and overall significance. Completed designs are listed, along with efforts to bring the products to a marketable level.

Radiocarbon Dates and New World Chronology

Antiquity ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 35 (140) ◽  
pp. 286-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Bushnell
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
New World ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Past ◽  
University Of Cambridge ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

It is a commonplace of current archaeology that the publication of radiocarbon dates is revolutionizing our ideas of the past. Dr G. H. S. Bushnell, Curator of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in the University of Cambridge, England, has already published in ANTIQUITY and elsewhere some of his views on the impact of radiocarbon dating on New World chronology. Here he studies the whole problem in detail. He adopts the useful convention of referring to a date already fully published in the Radiocarbon Supplement to the American Journal of Science simply by its laboratory designation and number {thus K-554 is reading no. 554 of the Copenhagen Laboratory), but in some cases, where the date is not fully published, he gives fuller information.

Incorporation of Manufacturing Process Design Into the Senior Capstone Design Course

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas V. Gallagher ◽  
Ronald A. L. Rorrer
Keyword(s):  
Process Design ◽  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Cnc Machining ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
Solid Models ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
The University ◽  
Capstone Design

At the University Colorado Denver, a manufacturing process design course was specifically created to raise the level of the as constructed senior design projects in the department. The manufacturing process design course creates a feed forward loop into the senior design course, while the senior design course generates a feedback loop into the process design course. Every student and student project has the opportunity to utilize CNC mills and lathes where appropriate. Specific emphasis is placed upon the interfaces from solid models to CAM models and subsequently the interface from CAM models to the machine tool. Often the construction of many senior design projects approaches the level of blacksmithing due to time constraints and lack of fabrication background. Obviously, most engineering students have neither the time nor the ability to become expert fabricators. However, the wide incorporation of CNC machining in the program allows, an opportunity to not only raise the quality of their prototypes, but also to immerse in the hands on experience of living with the ramifications of their own design decisions in manufacturing. Additionally, some of the art of fabrication is turned into the science of fabrication. The focus of this paper will be primarily on examining the effect of formal incorporation of the manufacturing process in the capstone design course.

A Web-Based Online Collaboration Tool for Formulating Senior Design Projects

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sainath Varikuti ◽  
Jitesh H. Panchal ◽  
John M. Starkey
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Online Collaboration ◽  
Team Cohesiveness ◽  
Faculty Mentor ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
Project Outcome ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
The Impact

A well formed senior design project is known to have significant benefits in terms of project outcome, student motivation, team cohesiveness, engagement, and student learning. Defining a good problem statement, forming a team of compatible and appropriately skilled students, and selecting an appropriate faculty mentor are critical aspects of project formation. Therefore, students in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University are encouraged to suggest project ideas, form teams, and have them approved by the course coordinator before the semester starts. While there is significant literature on senior design projects, most of the existing work is focused on activities after the problem is defined and the teams are formed. There is a lack of mechanisms and tools to guide the project formation phase in senior design projects, which makes it challenging for students and faculty to collaboratively develop and refine project ideas and to establish appropriate teams. To address this challenge, we have implemented an online collaboration tool to share, discuss and obtain feedback on project ideas, and to facilitate collaboration among students and faculty prior to the start of the semester. Through an online survey and questionnaire to students, we are exploring the impact of the collaboration tool on the senior design project formation process. In this paper we present the design of the tool and the results from our ongoing study in the senior design class at Purdue Mechanical Engineering.

scholarly journals Reclaiming Our Time: A 21st-Century Response to Banks’ “Afro-American Scholars in the University”

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-266
Author(s):  
Richard J. Reddick
Keyword(s):  
Urban Education ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Predominantly White Institutions ◽  
Black Faculty ◽  
The Past ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Urban Educators ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

William Banks’ 1984 article “Afro-American Scholars in the University” situated Black faculty at predominantly White institutions in a milieu noting the uses and misuses of Black scholars, constituencies in conflict, the range of responses from Black scholars, and the standards and realities for their advancement in academia. Banks further discussed the stigma of affirmative action and the burden of symbolism for Black faculty. This article, written in the #BlackLivesMatter and Trump era, engages with the same questions that Banks raised 34 years prior. This response expands the context to the field of urban education, and Black urban educators in the academy particularly, through an analysis of community engagement experiences, the burdens of cultural taxation, and the impact of affirmative action in a post-Fisher political context. Incorporating events both inside and outside of academia, the author considers the centrality of creating spaces of resistance and leveraging the gains for Black academics over the past three decades to alter the standards of the academy to support Black scholars and their allies.

scholarly journals Making the mission visible: altmetrics and nontraditional publishing

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Bonnet ◽  
Marisa Méndez-Brady
Keyword(s):  
Community Outreach ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Scholarly Output ◽  
Scholarly Impact ◽  
Traditional Scholarship ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

PurposeWhereas traditional book and journal publishing remain the gold standard for many post-secondary institutions, nontraditional publishing is just as prolific at the flagship university in Maine. The university has strong land and sea grant missions that drive a broad research agenda, with an emphasis on community outreach and engagement. However, the impact of researchers’ contributions outside of academe is unlikely to be accurately reflected in promotion, tenure or review processes. Thus, the authors designed a series of altmetrics workshops aimed at seeding conversations around novel ways to track the impact of researchers’ diverse scholarly and creative outputs. Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case study of the instructional approach taken at the University of Maine library to facilitate discussions of alternative impact assessments that reach beyond traditional publications. FindingsEvaluations revealed an increased awareness of, and interest in, impact tracking tools that capture both traditional scholarship, like journal articles, and nontraditional scholarly and creative outputs, such as videos, podcasts and newsletters. The authors learned that altmetrics provides an entry point into a broader conversation about scholarly impact, and was best received by those whose scholarly output is not always captured by traditional metrics. Practical implications Scholars are equipped with novel methods for describing the value of their work and discovering a broader audience for their research. Future initiatives will target the needs identified through initial conversations around altmetrics. Originality/valueAltmetrics workshops provide spaces to explore the potential for new tools that capture a range of previously unconsidered measures of impact, and to discuss the implications of those measures.

scholarly journals The Impact Of Integration, Affirmative Action, And Diversity On Minority Student Recruitment At The University Of Alabama: A Longitudinal Perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
John L. Festervand ◽  
Troy A. Festervand
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Minority Student ◽  
Minority Faculty ◽  
University Of Alabama ◽  
Minority Representation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Diversity In Higher Education ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

This paper explores the University of Alabama's positions, actions, policies, and accomplishments over the past forty years with respect to minority representation among its students and faculty. The impact and progression of these initiatives by the University of Alabama demonstrates strides have been made. The paper also examines the University's recruiting efforts to attract more minority faculty and students. The transition from integration to affirmative action to diversity in higher education also are examined.

scholarly journals Warunki mieszkaniowe jako wyznacznik jakości życia osób niepełnosprawnych na przykładzie osób z dysfunkcją narządu wzroku

Ekonomia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Sadowa
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Important Place ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Housing conditions as a determinant of the quality of life of disabled people, based on the example of people with sight dysfunctionOne of the basic needs of a person is to have a place to live. Virtually everyone dreams of having their own place, to relax and feel safe. Such a space is an important place for people with disabilities, because it is often the only place that is tailored to their needs, where they feel safer than in any other spaces. Every citizen of the country has the right to housing, which is provided by numerous docu­ments and regulations.The purpose of this article is to evaluate the impact of housing conditions on the quality of life of people with disabilities. The following thesis has been formulated in the work: the disabled aim to improve the quality of their lives by changing housing conditions.Literature sources have been reviewed to define basic concepts, the results of previous studies have been correlated. After accessing the database, the results of the research carried out in March 2015 by the foundation “Nie widzę problemu” literally meaning “I do not see the problem” with involvement of employees and students of the University of Wroclaw have been compiled.The analysis shows that respondents most often live together with their parents and spend a large part of their income on purchases related to household appliances. As much as 60% of re­spondents do not own a flat. Approximately 68% find the buildings they live in are not suited to their needs, however only 23% of them try to get social housing.Translated by Karolina Riemel

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