The Education of Future Aeronautical Engineers: Conceiving, Designing, Implementing and Operating

This paper will outline answers to the two central questions regarding improving engineering education: (1) What is the full set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that engineering students should possess as they leave the university, and at what level of proficiency? (2) How can we do better at ensuring that students learn these skills? The suggested answers lie within an innovative educational framework, the CDIO (conceive–design–implement–operate) Initiative. This initiative will be described along with the needs it meets, its goals, context, vision and pedagogical foundation. The first question is answered by the CDIO Syllabus and the process for reaching stakeholder consensus on the level of proficiency that students should attain in a given program. The second question is addressed through a best practice framework, which discusses curriculum design, design-implement experiences, teaching and learning, student assessment, program evaluation and faculty competence. Examples are provided of the implementation of best practices within the CDIO program in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Reprinted with the permission from International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) www.icas.org This paper was originally presented at ICAS 2006 Congress in Hamburg, Germany and included in the congress proceedings.     

科学纵横谈

在我驻匈外交任期届满于1996年1月回国时,一位在匈牙利原子能委员会工作的科学计量学家布衣多寿物理学博士为我提供了美籍匈裔物理学家爱德华·泰勒(匈文名TellerEde1908—2003)1991至1994年多次访匈时的报刊访谈录的复印件。一方面表明了他很重视这些言论,另一方面也有向我推荐之意,以彰显他的同胞泰勒先生的广博见识和机敏谈吐之风采。1996年退休后,在自学研读的过程中逐渐把它们都译出来了。后因个人研习重点转向,这些译稿就压了起来,不但未曾发表,也从未示人。     

Unbonded beams on a two-parameter foundation

Unbonded beams supported by a foundation are studied. The foundation is assumed that tensile stresses cannot be transmitted across the interface between beams and their supporting subgrade. The subgrade is characterized by a two-parameter model proposed by Vlasov and Leont'ev, Pasternak and Filonenko-Borodich. Thus the shear strength of the foundation material is taken into account. With a suitable choice of parameters, analytical solutions are obtained and compared to experimental results reported by Durelli et al. The effects of the “lift up” of the beam and a discussion of the foundation parameters are also presented.     

“What is a good digital library?” – A quality model for digital libraries

In this article, we elaborate on the meaning of quality in digital libraries (DLs) by proposing a model that is deeply grounded in a formal framework for digital libraries: 5S (Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, and Societies). For each major DL concept in the framework we formally define a number of dimensions of quality and propose a set of numerical indicators for those quality dimensions. In particular, we consider key concepts of a minimal DL: catalog, collection, digital object, metadata specification, repository, and services. Regarding quality dimensions, we consider: accessibility, accuracy, completeness, composability, conformance, consistency, effectiveness, efficiency, extensibility, pertinence, preservability, relevance, reliability, reusability, significance, similarity, and timeliness. Regarding measurement, we consider characteristics like: response time (with regard to efficiency), cost of migration (with respect to preservability), and number of service failures (to assess reliability). For some key DL concepts, the (quality dimension, numerical indicator) pairs are illustrated through their application to a number of “real-world” digital libraries. We also discuss connections between the proposed dimensions of DL quality and an expanded version of a workshop’s consensus view of the life cycle of information in digital libraries. Such connections can be used to determine when and where quality issues can be measured, assessed, and improved – as well as how possible quality problems can be prevented, detected, and eliminated.     

Global R&D activities of Japanese MNCs in the US: A triangulation approach

We examined 79 Japanese MNCs’ R&D subsidiaries in the US from the knowledge-based view. We found: (1) subsidiaries’ R&D strategies generally encouraged knowledge flows; (2) subsidiaries’ R&D alliances promoted knowledge flows; (3) R&D subsidiaries with process-oriented incentives promoted vertical knowledge flows; (3) autonomous R&D subsidiaries promoted knowledge flows from the local environments to the subsidiary; (4) R&D subsidiaries with a high level of knowledge flows accumulated a high level of knowledge; and (5) R&D subsidiaries with a high level of accumulated knowledge achieved high overall performance. Our interviews with 30 R&D subsidiaries and 10 parent companies supplement these findings.     

All Things Considered: Educational Radio as the First MOOCs

Those who do not learn history, even educational technology history, are doomed to repeat it. Every windshield has a rear-view mirror: using historical trends can yield lessons and guidance as we navigate the future. Take for instance MOOCs and their relatively rapid rise to popularity and fame in practice, predictions, and scholarship. Existing literature on MOOCs generally does not predate 2008 in terms of historical foundations. However, this approach fails to look beyond the immediate past, assuming a brave new world in massive, open, distance learning which actually has existed for over a century. To address this shortsighted view, we present a brief history of educational radio, making the case for this medium as the first MOOCs and draw upon the literature around this medium to present a cautionary tale and lessons from which we might learn going forward.     

An approach to investigate anxiety and hostility in consultee-centered consultation

This paper presents an approach to investigating affect in the process of consultee-centered consultation. The anxiety and hostility of three consultants and consultees was assessed from an intensive analysis of their verbal behavior during consultation. Comparisons to normative data suggested that the anxiety and hostility expressed by consultees was high, relative to that expressed under more neutral conditions, and a relationship was observed between consultee anxiety and consultation outcome. It was concluded that this provides a potentially productive direction for future research in consultation.     

Behavioral objectives for psychological consultation in the school as evaluated by teachers and school psychologists

A set of behavioral objectives was developed for the consultant role of the school psychologist, based on Meyers' consultation model. A Likert-type questionnaire was developed to assess the degree to which teachers and school psychologists agreed upon the desirability and the actual accomplishment of these objectives. Based on a sample of 120 teachers and 83 school psychologists, it was found that both groups perceived a difference between the “desired” role and the role that school psychologists actually fulfill. However, there were also significant differences between teachers' and school psychologists' rating of the “actual” role, the school psychologists' rating agreeing more with the consultation model. Examination of individual items showed greater acceptance of objectives relating to Meyers' level of indirect service to the child, and less acceptance of Meyers' levels of direct service to the teacher and service to the school system.