According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), scientific leaders estimated in 1982 that between $1 and $4 billion was necessary to update university research equipment. Because of this large cost variance, GAO was requested to assess how well past studies have defined the nationwide deficiency in university research equipment and to suggest…

Expert reasoning in the natural sciences appears to make extensive use of a relatively small number of general principles and reasoning strategies, each associated with a larger number of more specific inference patterns. Using a dual declarative hierarchy to represent strategic and factual knowledge, a framework for a robust scientific reasoning…

About a quarter of all students who either intend to or actually attend college indicate their intention to pursue a major in science. From this group, there is a slow attrition from the science pipeline as students move along in their educational lives. The aim of the analyses for this project is to characterize the science-oriented behavior of…

This five-volume report details an effort undertaken by Ingersoll-Rand (IR) to restore a professional tool plant in Athens, Pennsylvania, as a viable asset to the IR corporation. Volume 1, the final report, presents a historical perspective of the Athens plant, discusses the major skill and knowledge issues facing the plant, and provides the…

In spring 1988, a telephone survey was conducted of students who had been enrolled in Howard Community College's (HCC's) Biomedical Engineering Technology (BMET) program between 1972 and 1987. The study sought to gather information for future student recruitment and program planning efforts. Responses were obtained from 43 (35%) of a potential…

The rapid progress in the biological sciences has resulted in many social, ethical, and legal issues. In medical practice, public health programs, research laboratories, law enforcement, insurance, the patenting process, agriculture, genetic counseling, and other fields, legal controversies and public policy debates have developed. Some of these…

The study of engineering can be likened to a game. To become a master student, one must not only play the game but devote time and energy to learning how to play it. The purpose of this book is to give students ideas and perspectives which must be addressed in order to be effective students. It focuses on the nonacademic aspects of being a…

This paper identifies two intellectual traditions that dominate professional education, one concentrating on content coverage and one concentrating on the profession's problem-solving processes. It then examines several fields of professional education, some of which have exclusively adopted one or the other of these traditions and some of which…

Based upon the premise that manufacturing, communications, and computers are the key to productivity, this hearing before the Technology Policy Task Force was held to examine how the federal government interacts with universities, engineering research centers, professional associations, and private businesses in these areas. This document contains…

The pre-college entrance variables of freshmen computer science majors (N=256) were reviewed to determine which variables were related to persistence in the major. Students who persisted in computer science, engineering, or another science differed from those students who left for an academically dissimilar goal in their SAT-Math and SAT-verbal…

Designed for use by individuals enrolled in vocational agricultural classes, these student materials deal with farm water supply, sanitation, and plumbing skills. Topics covered in the unit are maintaining the farm water supply; repairing faucets and valves, leaks in pipes and storage tanks, and water closets; clearing clogged drains and traps;…

This nine-paper collection from a June 1983 Open University (OU) campus workshop in Milton Keynes, England, describes an interactive video project developed for an OU undergraduate course, T252, Introduction to Engineering Materials, and discusses varied aspects of interactive videodisc program development. The following papers are included:…

These hearings focused on the impact of the United States decision to leave the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Included are prepared statements and/or testimony by: Congressman Jim Leach (Iowa); Jean Gerard (U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO); Paul Baker; William Nierenberg; Thomas Galvin; and A. K. Solomon.…

The analysis of data from the baseline cycle of the National Science Foundation instrumentation survey has two principal objectives, namely, to construct and examine a variety of quantitative statistical indicators describing major characteristics of the current national stock of academic research equipment and to document differences among…

Studies about engineering students and their success and attrition in college are numerous and diverse. One set of research efforts has focused on the differences between academically successful and unsuccessful engineering students. Personality characteristics, academic preparation, and work values are among the variables which have been analyzed…