scholarly journals Social Electrical Engineering: A Pathway for Better Undergraduate Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Amilton Costa Lamas ◽  
Anderson Gomes Domingues
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Cyclic Process ◽  
Communication Analysis ◽  
Professional Recognition ◽  
Electrical Engineers ◽  
White Cane ◽  
Social Capitals ◽  
High Level

As engineering skills becomes a commodity, electrical engineers’ programs are urged to adapt their pedagogical strategies do better prepared their graduates. The 21st century engineers are expected to have a strong technical background while being capable to work with people with different kinds of intellectual and social capitals, and to have a high level of cognitive flexibility. This article reports on the application of an information appropriation method, adopted by the Department of Electrical Engineering at PUC-Campinas, where activities on extension projects are simultaneously conducted along with the regularly schedule classes. The study case is related to the coplanning and cocreation of a technological white cane (proof of connect) between electrical engineering students, social technicians and the visually impaired. In the present case, the technicians were led to reinterpret, adapt and reinvent technology while contributing to the design and build of a low cost adaptive electronic sensing aid attachable to a white cane. The collaborative method, applied during conversation rounds, is based on a virtuous cyclic process which includes steps like information capture, validation, guidance and feedback. The engineering students, on the other hand, have the opportunity to develop their communication, analysis and interpretation skills in a way not available in the classroom. They also experience solving conflict situations and find creative uses and applications for they knowledge not otherwise foreseen. The participating students transformed information into knowledge through a dialogical experience with people having a contrasting technological background to its own. Through this experience the engineering graduates emerged with a greater sense of responsibility with the society and a better understanding of what means to be an engineer. Participation in the Extension Project also brought up several opportunities of professional recognition by the technicians and the visual impaired themselves, which stimulated the students do achieve better performance in the course.

Temperature and Heat Flux Data-Logger for Use in Tunnel Ovens: An International Partnered Project

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Watt ◽  
Jason Wichert ◽  
Justine Staniszewski ◽  
Nathaniel Nakles ◽  
Yvonne English ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Data Logging ◽  
Data Logger ◽  
City College

The Grove City College (GCC) European Study Center (ESC) is a program that allows mechanical and electrical engineering students to study abroad in the junior and senior year fall semester, respectively, and graduate in four years. The ESC is activity partners with a local institution called Oniris, which specializes in food science engineering, and veterinary science (an affiliate with the French Ministry of Agriculture). Electrical engineering students that participate in the program carry out their yearlong capstone design project (Senior Experience in Electrical Design (SEED)) in partnership with Oniris. For the 2016–2017 academic year, participating electrical engineering students completed a project titled Ultra-Low-Cost Flexible Sensor Array, or “Low-Cost Array” (LCA), designed for commercial tunnel-style ovens. The LCA features low cost ($200), flexible programmability, and ease of use (based on the widely available Arduino). The purpose of the project was to develop a low-cost data-logger to operate inside tunnel-style ovens to record temperature from thermocouples (and other analog signals, i.e. heat flux) for thirty minutes in an environment up to 250 °C. This study evaluates the LCA compared to other data-logging systems, and its performance in high temperature environments by a series of experiments. In addition, an idea of its commercialization potential was explored by interviewing industrialists and academics on-site. Experimental results showed that: (1) data logged from the system were close to values recorded by current systems used for both temperature and heat flux measurements, and (2) the system performed well at 240 °C for thirty minutes (maximum temperature of oven). In addition, the interviews revealed that although most interest was in a tunnel-style oven data-logger, it seems feasible to incorporate changes to satisfy needs for other markets, especially those of a general-purpose data-logger.

scholarly journals Understanding Power Quality using IoT-based Smart Analyzers and Advanced Software Tools

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 356-361
Author(s):  
A. Alcayde ◽  
◽  
F.G. Montoya ◽  
F.M. Arrabal-Campos ◽  
Jesús González ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Quality ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Software Tools ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Smart Meters ◽  
Electronic Engineering ◽  
Waveform Distortions ◽  
High Level

Power Quality is an important topic for undergraduate electrical engineering students around the world. In addition to the theoretical contents prepared and explained by the lecturer to their students, this matter has an important practical focus. In this paper, a framework for teaching power quality in laboratories using IoT-based smart analyzers and advanced software tools is developed to provide the students the opportunity of studying real data with a high level of detail. In particular, practical lessons have been designed in such a way that the students are trained in the use of well-known commercial smart meters (like the Circutor MYeBOX 1500) or opensource systems (like the openZmeter) to acquire energy and power quality data from real world measurements and to analyze the data collected using advanced software tools (like PowerVision). The results obtained from several courses of electrical and electronic engineering show that the students acquire practical skills that allow them to reinforce their knowledge regarding power quality concepts, including harmonics, and power quality events such as voltage sag/swell, flicker, or waveform distortions. Therefore, this methodology can be applied for teaching power quality in undergraduate and graduate electrical engineering courses.

scholarly journals The development of, and response to, an academic writing module for electrical engineers at the University of Bath

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda Armstrong ◽  
Jackie Dannatt ◽  
Adrian Evans
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Principal Direction ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Electrical Engineers ◽  
The University

The academic writing module for electrical engineering students, offered at the University of Bath, is the result of collaboration between the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE) and the English Language Centre (ELC) and is currently designed to deliver academic writing support to undergraduate students embarking on their engineering studies at Bath. The need for the course arose from subject tutor recognition of the students’ lack of awareness of the genre within which they were expected to write, suggesting that not only the subject content but also the expression of that content needed input and support. This paper presents details of the academic writing input provided by the University of Bath English Language Centre, the background to the module and ongoing development based on feedback from students, academic staff and EAP (English for Academic Purposes) tutors. Feedback indicates that the course succeeds in supporting students in their writing. The principal direction for future development lies in tailoring the course to fit the modular nature of students’ degrees, addressing issues connected to language proficiency and the nature of assessment.

An Educational Low Cost Framework to Assist Learning Process of Fresnel Zones and Basic Radio Link Projects for Electrical Engineering Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Alexandre Gouvea da Silva ◽  
Edson Leonardo dos Santos ◽  
Douglas Antonio Firmino Pelacini ◽  
Cristiano Osinski ◽  
Allan Christian Krainski Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Radio Link ◽  
Fresnel Zones

scholarly journals Hybrid mosquitoes? Evidence from rural Tanzania on how local communities conceptualize and respond to modified mosquitoes as a tool for malaria control

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marceline F. Finda ◽  
Fredros O. Okumu ◽  
Elihaika Minja ◽  
Rukiyah Njalambaha ◽  
Winfrida Mponzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Malaria Control ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
Community Perceptions ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Control Programmes ◽  
High Level ◽  
Interpretive Frames

Abstract Background Different forms of mosquito modifications are being considered as potential high-impact and low-cost tools for future malaria control in Africa. Although still under evaluation, the eventual success of these technologies will require high-level public acceptance. Understanding prevailing community perceptions of mosquito modification is, therefore, crucial for effective design and implementation of these interventions. This study investigated community perceptions regarding genetically-modified mosquitoes (GMMs) and their potential for malaria control in Tanzanian villages where no research or campaign for such technologies has yet been undertaken. Methods A mixed-methods design was used, involving: (i) focus group discussions (FGD) with community leaders to get insights on how they frame and would respond to GMMs, and (ii) structured questionnaires administered to 490 community members to assess awareness, perceptions and support for GMMs for malaria control. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the findings and thematic content analysis was used to identify key concepts and interpret the findings. Results Nearly all survey respondents were unaware of mosquito modification technologies for malaria control (94.3%), and reported no knowledge of their specific characteristics (97.3%). However, community leaders participating in FGDs offered a set of distinctive interpretive frames to conceptualize interventions relying on GMMs for malaria control. The participants commonly referenced their experiences of cross-breeding for selecting preferred traits in domestic plants and animals. Preferred GMMs attributes included the expected reductions in insecticide use and human labour. Population suppression approaches, requiring as few releases as possible, were favoured. Common concerns included whether the GMMs would look or behave differently than wild mosquitoes, and how the technology would be integrated into current malaria control policies. The participants emphasised the importance and the challenge of educating and engaging communities during the technology development. Conclusions Understanding how communities perceive and interpret novel technologies is crucial to the design and effective implementation of new vector control programmes. This study offers vital clues on how communities with no prior experience of modified mosquitoes might conceptualize or respond to such technologies when deployed in the context of malaria control programmes. Drawing upon existing interpretive frames and locally-resonant analogies when deploying such technologies may provide a basis for more durable public support in the future.

scholarly journals Cloud-based virtual labs vs. low-cost physical labs: what engineering students think.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Slamnik-Krijestorac ◽  
Raf Van den Langenbergh ◽  
Thomas Huybrechts ◽  
Sergio Martin Gutierrez ◽  
Manuel Castro Gil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Virtual Labs

scholarly journals The Sound of Silence?

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 392-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Hassall ◽  
J. Joyce ◽  
M.D. Bramhall ◽  
I.M. Robinson ◽  
J.L. Arquero
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Communication Apprehension ◽  
Vocational Choice ◽  
Communication Performance ◽  
Vocational Skills ◽  
Communication Development ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
High Level

Employers often consider graduates to be unprepared for employment and lacking in vocational skills. A common demand from them is that the curriculum should include ‘communication skills’, as specific skills in their own right and also because of the central role that such skills can play in developing other desirable attributes. Current thinking in communication has indicated a split between communication apprehension and communication development. There are indications that techniques designed to develop communication skills will not resolve communication apprehension and that, if an individual has a high level of communication apprehension, these techniques will not result in improved communication performance. This paper compares and contrasts the levels and profiles of communication apprehension exhibited by accounting and engineering students. The implications of the findings are then discussed and the need for further research in the area of vocational choice is identified.

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