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This paper discusses the proposed quantitative analyses of phosphate along selected sites of the Yangtze River (the Shanghai tributary). Phosphates are major nutrients in the eco-system; consequently, excessive phosphates result in algal bloom that changes dissolved oxygen levels in the aquatic system. The research initiative identifies five sites selected for their differences in population densities and land utilization. Samples from each site will be analyzed for phosphate content to ascertain if there are correlations between population densities and land utilization with respect to phosphate content. Samples were acquired from sparsely populated environments, industrial environments, and densely populated area. The samples were en-route to the United States; consequently, analyses of the sample started early February and have been performed for phosphates during February which are included in this paper. The early research projects of this nature / type during the freshman year of the student college-years motivates and increases the student's interest in science and engineering disciplines and encourages them to pursue further education in these fields. This paper will focus on the Preliminary Phosphate Study (FIA) and discuss the results of the experiments and the detection conditions performed. Future work would involve measurement of other nutrients such as nitrate and potassium levels and comparisons made to see if there is correlation between the nutrients and the sites tested so far in this work. Also future paper would discuss and present how this type of early research study increases interest, teamwork, leadership abilities in the freshman minority and international students. Background: The study presented in this paper discusses the research performed by an international student dealing with the data collected from his hometown, while studying science and engineering at a College in the USA, performing the research under the direction and guidance of the faculty at the college in the USA. The research project involves an international student from China, studying the amount of phosphates and any other toxic material in Zhejiang River (within 10-20 miles of Shanghai, China) and its environmental impact on rural and urban areas, and any other possible unforeseen and unexpected impacts. Food and its availability is of major concern in various regions of the world, especially in the underdeveloped communities. Furthermore if the water is used downstream for farming, there might be additional concerns. This also impacts the quality and life of aquatic creatures (especially fish) and wildlife. The water samples are taken at various locations of the river. They are then shipped to the college in the USA. The laboratory experiments are performed to analyze each sample at this college. The laboratory results are analyzed and conclusions are drawn based on the data from the lab experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While a primary goal of education research is discovering and disseminating scholarly knowledge, traditional dissemination alone is insufficient to foster sustainable educational change. Journals and conferences target a particular audience invested in a specific topic; it is often not practical for stakeholders to engage with research outside of their specific areas of specialization. Thus, the research-to-practice gap continually widens as education research findings fail to influence wider audiences. Purpose: In this paper, we highlight audio as a promising alternative format for dissemination. Audio dissemination has the potential to multiply the impacts of qualitative research by disseminating findings with more immediacy and accessibility than traditional research publications. Approach: We summarize one specific audio narrative dissemination approach conducted as part of the pilot phase of the Audio for Inclusion Project, a recent National Science Foundation-funded project to foster inclusive understandings for engineering faculty. We organize the discussion around orienting goals and challenges encountered, as well as lessons learned and suggestions for future improvements. Findings: Lessons learned for audio narrative dissemination include paying close attention to creating a coherent and cohesive narrative by removing distracting details, and aligning student actors with participants so that the tone, affect, and emphasis remain true to the participant. Implications: This paper presents new possibilities for qualitative researchers on broadening participation, to repurpose their interview content to form practical resources and training that can improve faculty's knowledge, empathy, and understanding of students' diverse and marginalized backgrounds. Additionally, these findings will be useful for all researchers seeking new methods of translating research findings into actionable impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how employer attractiveness has been affected by developments in the attitudes, values, and goals of Generation Z (born between 1995-2010) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research shows the challenging environment for employers who are increasingly facing a ‘war for talent’ and the need to focus on generational needs and expectations. Work concepts in many cases have been adapted to Generation Y, but a revision of strategies is needed for the newest generation on the labour market. The insurance industry has long struggled to attract young talent and along with retail, logistics, tourism, and banking has been ranked the lowest in employer attractiveness by Generation Z. This is corroborated by the fact that larger corporations are also often perceived as unattractive by young people. While many industries have struggled with the consequences and challenges of the pandemic, the insurance sector can be seen as having mastered the crisis comparatively well. This paper questions whether the relative job security offered by the insurance sector, can be increasingly influential in post pandemic job choices. Since Generation Z was already described as securityoriented before the pandemic, this is expected to have increased as a result of COVID-19 and be reflected in their career and employer choices. The perspectives of Generation Z and employers from the German insurance industry are compared through survey and interview data. The young cohort suspects a worsening of their situation particularly in job offerings and security. At the same time, the insurance industry positions itself well in exactly these areas. Furthermore, the aspirations and expectations of Generation Z towards the professional world coincide strongly with the offerings of insurers as employers. However, the respondents see the sector’s image as a deterrent. Although this paper focuses on the insurance industry, strategic recommendations given on how the sector can position itself, are relevant for other sectors facing the challenge of attracting Generation Z employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of the relationships between personal characteristics, thinking preferences and learning activities on academic achievements in creativity studies for innovation management. Development of theory related reflexivity on creative experiences and competence as well as training of required skills in innovation processes needs to activate both the pre-requisites and predictors of creativity (OECD, 2019). Statistical analysis of quantitative data and qualitative data collected within the framework of a course aiming to develop competence and skills for creativity in innovation processes' is presented. The results are related in the model for covarying creativity constructs based on the statistical correlation and regression analyzes. Based on this developed understanding consequences for developing creativity competences and considerations for assessment and grading of academic achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, the field of education in the world began to develop technology-based learning. Teachers are also supposed to be skillful in combining technology into learning activities. Technology can also help teachers improve students' cognitive aspects and attitudes, especially nationalism. This paper will review the effectiveness of using infographics to increase nationalism attitudes in 4th-grade learning activities in elementary schools. This interactive infographic media is accessed online and takes advantage of existing technology. Students can learn independently or with the teacher in a fun and flexible way. This study utilized experimental research methods and a pre-test and post-test control group design. The population group consists of 75 students from 4th grade4th-grade schools in the Ki Hajar Dewantara Cluster, Pulo Gadung Village. The number of samples in this study was 64 people. The collected data was anywhere through a t-test. This study concludes that interactive infographic media postpositively affects' nationalistic attitudes. Moreover, students can also be interested in learning, more easily understand the material, dare to explore knowledge independently, and feel that learning media interactive infographics is more fun. So learning becomes meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retention and graduation rates are lower for engineering institutions compared to their peers in other fields across the United States. While graduation rates are improving slowly over time due to enrichment programs (such as summer bridge program, research experience, and living learning community), not all groups have performed well; this is especially true of underrepresented minority and first generation (FG) students. Literature suggests that the FG students enter college with "distinct disadvantages" as compared to their peers in many ways including academic preparation and basic knowledge about the college education; this makes their transition from the high school to college environment a difficult process. Two key factors for lack of persistence in this population are widely cited: college adjustment and lack of selfefficacy. FG students benefit from additional support as compared to their non-FG counterparts because they do not matriculate with prior knowledge on how the academic process works. To that end, effective mentoring and counselling can help them through the transitional process. In this paper, a case study of a mentoring program that is specifically designed to help FG engineering students at a major university is presented. The paper discusses the implementation process of the mentoring program including recruiting of faculty/staff mentors, student peer mentors, the mentoring relationship management platform, and the connection plan at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. The paper also presents the survey results of the "initial experience" of mentees and mentors and how that has informed the future strategies to sustain and grow the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper entitled above gives trace on simulation model for finding Personal Characteristics and Banking Behavior of Customers. This study examines the extent to which customers' personal characteristics have influence on the banking behavior of customers. The study uses primary data which was collected from 550 responders. The responders are taken from different profession and different age group. The bank can offer different kind of services like ATM, Net banking, Mobile banking and so on. The main objective of the paper is to find the result of customer satisfaction. The result is found by chi-Square test. The result of study indicates both positive and negative influence on banking customer behavior. The feedback of customers include the demand for additional facilities, upgrading modern technologies, provision of quick and of international-class services, transparency in transactions with the customers, opening branches/ATM in closures /strikes like situation, solving cash shortage problems that occurs on some specific occasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resurgence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) raises concerns related to the risk of introducing opaque solutions and deferring responsibility to black-boxed systems. This paper suggests re-contextualising extant sociotechnical design principles to deliver AI-infused systems that enhance human agency without removing human responsibility. Specifically, Cherns' principles for regulating variance, boundaries and authority and Clegg's principles for coordinating tasks, processes and attitudes are used. These principles are introduced in an empirical study within a public service organization in Norway that is exploring artificial intelligence to deliver more efficient services to citizens while being committed to doing it responsibly. The design principles can support practitioners engaged in the introduction of AI in organisations, and serve researchers that aim to conceptualize and develop processes for accountability by design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the music industry continues to undergo through significant revolution, the last few years show that growth in freemium music streaming services continue to be noteworthy, in particular, in the American music industry. The research aspires to gain insights into individual’s intention to subscribe to freemium music streaming services. This paper reports a research in progress. The research integrates the Theory of Reasoned Action, Dual Mediation Hypothesis, Motivation Theory, and Social Identity Theory to develop a conceptual framework toward explaining individual’s intention to subscribe to freemium music streaming services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrapreneurship is considered as a contemporary concept to drive innovation inside an organization and achieve a competitive advantage in a complex and ever-changing business environment. Technology firms are particularly on the cutting edge not only to cope with the rapid changes in technology development but to lead the creation of innovative products and technological advancement. In such firms, engineers are expected to contribute significantly to the innovation process within organizations and bring real values to the marketplace. Technology firms are increasingly demanding their engineers to perform beyond their defined stereotypical responsibilities and operate actively as intrapreneurs. These organizations seek to promote intrapreneurship as a core business strategy and facilitate a supportive culture to enhance engineers' intrapreneurial behavior. However, researchers have not explored how engineers engage with intrapreneurship and how firms can develop the intrapreneurial capabilities of their engineers. The purpose of this paper is to explore how organizations can utilize engineers and drive their innovative initiatives so as to facilitate effective intrapreneurship. This study uses semi-structured interviews with engineers who are involved in innovative activities within their roles and work in different industrial sectors in the UK. The results indicate that engineers who are intrapreneurs show high motivation in their roles, demonstrate risk-taking in their strategies, and consider collaboration as a key approach for success. The findings re-emphasize the crucial role of engineers in providing alternative, valuable and robust solutions that shape the internal innovation of the company. Their proactive attitude towards organizational responsibilities and abilities to identify future opportunities are critical for sustaining innovation. Their intrapreneurial behavior depends on organizational factors and management support that shape their intrapreneurial attitudes and initiatives. The findings will help firms to get an understanding of the intrapreneurial potential of engineers and how to harness their capabilities by providing a supporting organizational framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing number of major industrial accidents nowadays had eventually uplifted high possibilities of hazardous scenarios even at public facilities. In the present paper, knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) on emergency response preparedness among public facilities staff was examined thoroughly. The research was conducted at two public facilities in different prone areas in Malaysia. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the obtained data thoroughly. A set of questionnaires which consist of two parts was distributed to the selected respondents. A total of 80 respondents in different education levels participated in the study. Furthermore, the feedback from the focus groups regarding familiarity, use and barriers to emergency response preparedness also studied. The results showed that knowledge, attitude, and practices are significantly associated with the staff readiness involving emergency response preparedness activities. However, the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices among staff towards emergency response and preparedness were identified significantly different between the selected public facilities. Therefore, knowledge, attitudes and practices play as main indicators in developing the readiness of staff to react towards emergency or crisis scenarios. In conclusion, the public facilities staff are comfortable and ready to some extent to deal with emergency or crisis scenarios at the early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Simulation-based labs has been gaining currency in the domains of engineering technology and IT programs. In Simulation-based teaching, various feedback mechanism play a vital role for improving student learning as it guides and refines learning through scaffolding. A number of studies in literature have shown that students' learning is enhanced in Simulation context when feedback is incorporated How effective is simulation-based teaching methodology in comparison to traditional hands-on activity based labs? This paper compares the findings of two studies conducted to determine the effectiveness of simulation-based, hands-on and feedback mechanism on students learning by answering the following questions: 1). Does the use of simulation improve students'learning outcomes? 2). How do faculty members perceive the use and effectiveness of simulation in the delivery of technical course content? 3). How do students perceive the instructional design features embedded in the simulation program such as exploration and scaffolding support in learning new concepts? 4.) What is the effect of feedback mechanisms on students' learning in the use of simulation-based labs? The paper also discusses the other aspects of findings which reveal that simulation by itself is not very effective in promoting student learning. Simulation becomes effective when it is followed by hands-on activity and feedback mechanisms. Furthermore, the paper presents recommendations for improving student learning through the use of simulation-based, hands-on, and feedback-based teaching methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper will explore the importance of material cultural heritage as a factor of an area's tourism development. Zenica-Doboj Canton is located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Canton's development of its tourist offer could be based on its material cultural and historical heritage and tourism in that area could take place throughout the year if other offers of services and products enabled it. This paper has a theoretical and an empirical value since both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used. Methodology -- In addition to this, desk research of the existing literature will be carried out and the secondary data will be used to analyze the current state of tourism. Furthermore, authors will conduct an empirical research using qualitative methods of analysis. The empirical research is based on a structured questionnaire. More precisely, the local population of the Zenica-Doboj Canton will be questioned by using a sampling method in order to determine their role and importance in the product of cultural tourism. Based on the conducted survey through the SWOT analysis, the advantages and disadvantages of cultural tourism will be determined. Findings -- The positive conclusion of the survey is that residents see cultural tourism as the most representative form of tourism in the Zenica-Doboj Canton whose development could significantly improve the economic situation of this particular area. A model for a product development will be presented in this paper on the basis of the obtained results. Contribution -- It is concluded that the population's interest opens up the possibility of adapting the offer to tourists. Therefore, it is necessary to include the local population in the product formation because they are part of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the methodology for assessing interactions between eye movements and induced emotional level was present. It was found during analyzes the bio-behavior of young people some corresponding changes in eye movements when they are surprised by the positive or negative emotions. This behavioral change is accentuated and manifests itself on the eye level but also by changing the biomechanical postural stability. By this research was developed a procedure for evaluating the postural response correlated with ocular motility recordings and facial temperature variations, when subjects were induced them, in separate way, the same positive / negative emotions. In the first part they are analyzed static and dynamic characteristics of the human body (stability, posture) to establish normal bio-behavior and also the facial temperature variations in normal environmental conditions. Also was analyzed the eye movement and facial temperature variations in the same conditions. In the second part of the paper, the experimental setup and recordings are developed and presented. Experimental tests conducted on a sample of 16 young human subjects, according to the procedure and methodology developed is presented in the third part of the paper. The paper presents some important aspects of the experimental use assessment methodology and also results on a sample of young people to understand and to correlate the eye movements with the postural bio-behavior during induced emotions (calculus of correlation index in different emotional situation). At the end of the work are reviewed and analyzed primary results shown, during recordings as the basis for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents preliminary findings from an in-depth, exploratory study aimed at gathering an understanding of mobile knowledge workers' information practices, which are presumed distinct from those of non-mobile, stationary, centrally located workers. Its focus arises from a need to understand more, from an empirical standpoint, about the information practices of this increasingly visible yet understudied population. Semi-structured interviews with sixteen mobile knowledge workers suggest that this demographic hones distinct but intertwined practices around dealing with information. Five of these are discussed here; together, they compose a broader mobile knowledge work 'deportment' of sorts. Mobile knowledge workers also appear to use bottom-up technological infrastructures to mediate their information practices, ones that are enacted independently of any organization for which they may work. This is discussed as a ripe area for further research. This paper's findings are relevant for advancing research around mobile knowledge work and information practices generally, and for organizations seeking to better support the work of their own mobile employees specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper describes a challenging and enjoyable undergraduate student project that details the process of configuring a Raspberry Pi into an advanced multimedia player as a headless system controllable by infrared remote or secure shell (SSH) protocol. This paper provides a methodological, step-by-step set of specific instructions on how to replicate this project. The undergraduate student applied concepts from operating systems (OS), networks, and electronics into practical steps to exploit readily available open-source software packages and highly-customizable hardware components. Electronic components were soldered to build a modified printed circuit board (PCB) with a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and push-buttons, and were successfully combined with an external sound card, wireless universal serial bus (USB) card, and an infrared (IR) receiver into a fully assembled, affordable, and reliable device. This developed device can be controlled using any IR-capable remote, is capable of playing high-quality audio, and circumvents advertisements on the free audio streaming web service Pandora Radio using a pre-existing free or paid account. Using this device improves the user's experience of Pandora Radio in several ways while keeping this device portable and preserving all functionality of the Raspberry Pi itself. The goal of this project is to use available tools and integrate various technological fields into a deliverable consumer product. Consumer electronics continue to place increasing emphasis on supporting open-source hardware and software, and the Raspberry Pi provides an affordable, flexible, multi-purpose platform for both beginners and experts to personalize into a wide range of useful and specialized products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roadway capacity is often calculated with consideration mainly on roadway physical conditions. Yet, the current driver factor contributes on roadway capacity calculation, particularly aggressive driving behavior. To identify the significance of the driver factors particularly driving behavior plays a role in capacity calculation, several parameters should be measured correctly. The result from measured parameters related to driving behavior is then analyzed further to determine roadway capacity and compare it with theoretical road capacity. The paper will provide a tool to identify the driving behavior characteristic in specified road segment by listing sets of questions gathered from literature study for the respondents (driver on the specified road segment) and conducting initial survey to test the validity and reliability of questionnaire using CVI Index and Alpha Cronbach's Method respectively. The test shows that CVI Index is 1.0 and scored 0.821 on Alpha Cronbach's scale hence the developed questionnaire is both valid and reliable, and ready to launch in field survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an evidence-based practice paper whose purpose is to analyze the impact of servicelearning in a first-year engineering course on students who choose to enroll in these sections. The paper will also look at the level of engagement the students experience and their connection to an urban community. Past literature revealed that students understand an engineering design process better when the practice is implemented in a service learning environment. The focus of this research is to see if these findings hold true at Northeastern University, if service learning efforts have enhanced or detracted from students' engineering education as a whole in comparison to their non-service learning peers, and if the practices and outcomes of these sections create new trajectories and plans for students, specifically whether it enhances future involvement in community outreach efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a call for education initiatives targeted to refugee camps. In 2017, Purdue University and the University of Geneva implemented an engineering course that responded to these concerns by empowering learners to not only address challenges in their communities but also develop engineering thinking. The pedagogical core of this course was grounded in the principles of a democratic learning space. The purpose of this work-in-progress is to describe our approach and illustrate artifacts from the pilot course. In doing so, we address three key objectives: 1. What aspects of the introductory engineering course (intended outcomes, assessments, and activities) were contextually aligned to opportunities and constraints in the Azraq refugee camp? 2. How did the introductory engineering course foster students' social responsibility to the local community of Azraq? 3. In what ways can the final course outcomes be aligned with social responsibility?. Azraq hosts the second largest camp community of refugees in Jordan, representing a total of 53,833 people of concern originally from Syria. As the conflict in Syria has continued, the size of the Syrian population forced into refugee conditions has increased. The United Nations called for immediate action to assist people in Syria, considering the fact that over half the country's population have fled their homes, and 4.8 million people are refugees in the region and beyond [1]. Given this ongoing crisis, we designed the course to enable learners to learn technical engineering skills and provide access to higher education by awarding academic credits at the end of the program. We used a combination of remote and local staff as facilitators in addition to technology tools for online and active learning. The overall structure of our course is set up as an active, blended, collaborative, and democratic learning space. In light of the unique educational context, we describe in this paper our course design process, and then we explore student artifacts, interviews, observations, and surveys to answer our three objectives. In doing so, we believe this research and application example can contribute to the literature by understanding an implemented course structure and the development of students' technical and non-technical skills, sense of community, social responsibility, and sense of independence in refugee settings. This paper is structured as follows. First, we present the overall motivation prior literature about educational initiatives addressed to refugee contexts. Next, we describe our course context and teaching and learning strategies we adopted. We then address our research objectives by linking each research goal to our findings regarding content, assessment, and pedagogy. Finally, we present our discussion and future work related to future courses and implications from this pilot study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contends that although fraud is a global issue that exists in different cultures, fraud triggers are not universal. Drawing on the triangle of fraud and the theory of planned behavior, the paper proposes a conceptual model of consumer fraudulent behavior and suggests that fraud can be motivated by different motives and influenced differently by the societal-level of culture (individualism /collectivism) as well as the individual-level of cultural values (idiocentrism/allocentrism). Thus, understanding cultural variability in fraud could enrich our knowledge about how and why fraud occurs, how it can be better detected and how it can be controlled. Cultural differences are emphasized throughout the main body of the discussion. The article concludes with salient issues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While significant work in recent years has begun exploring the structure and teaching practices of project-based courses and design environments e.g.,1, 2-6, less work has been done to explore how students experience these practices. Data from studies that examine faculty beliefs suggest that faculty are intentional and passionate about their work in mentoring design teams, making choices to explicitly foster specific skills and promote students professional development. But what do students experience? How do they perceive and respond to teaching and learning in project-based environments? To address this question, this paper presents initial findings from case studies conducted at multiple universities. Each case includes observations of classroom practices, interviews with faculty, and interviews or focus groups with students. Observation data was collected via detailed field notes, while interview and focus group data was audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using qualitative analytic techniques 7, 8. For each case, the observation data was used to help guide the interviews and focus groups, which followed a semi-structured protocol. The paper presents findings from two cases studies. Preliminary analysis suggests that while students identify many of the same practices faculty describe (including coaching, role modeling, being pushed to explain plans and decisions), they also tend to place more emphasis on the rapport they are able to develop with their mentors and the encouragement and affirmation they receive, but may be less aware of the ways in which faculty mentors seek to protect students from both project failures and learning failures. The findings thus provide rich insights into how students experience teaching and learning in design environments, what they value about those experiences, and, perhaps most importantly, what dimensions of mentoring are more and less visible as meaningful supports. By better understanding students' experiences and perceptions, the findings from this study can help design educators better address student needs, refine their project mentoring to more effectively achieve core learning goals, and support students' professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which explored the integration of an art museum and its collection into an engineering curriculum. Particular focus is given to the Grohmann Collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. Also discussed are student reflections on the art component of a humanities seminar and use of art as a starting point in exploring the relationship between engineering solutions and society.

This paper addresses a widely ignored fact, "Engineering professors ARE English teachers!" They do not teach literature or the structure of the novel. They do not provide grammar quizzes every Friday. And they certainly don't give popular movie reviews of all the shows they watched on a given weekend. On the other hand, they spend a great deal of their professional lives writing journal articles and conference papers, reviewing articles written by other faculty, and being the mentors for untold numbers of theses and dissertations. Life as an engineering faculty member requires the writing and review of two major documents in their own lives: the thesis and the dissertation. Even the youngest assistant professor has been closely connected to writing a spectacular document and what it means to do so. It would be an interesting study to see how many faculty members never made a comment on the theses and dissertations of their own students. Faculty members should think beyond the technical assignments that are given to students to issues that are raised in their own writing and speaking. These activities are important to students so that they can see the necessity of communicating well for their future success. Students will more readily accept the premise that communication is a vital part of an engineer's life if they are given that information along with their technical material and in the context that college professors have to spend a great amount of time writing, too. This paper will look at the kinds of information that can be imparted to undergraduates through surveys of faculty on the variety of items that require change in those graduate theses and dissertations. Surveys will also be provided to address the students' attitudes toward being given communication suggestions from engineering faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faculty professional development activities and technical currency play an important role in promoting student learning and success. Especially for non-research institutions that offer technology driven programs, one of the most important factors determining student success is the technical currency of faculty members. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and regional accreditation bodies place strong emphasis on the technical currency of faculty, and require institutions to provide opportunities for faculty to keep abreast of technological advances. This paper presents the findings of a faculty survey conducted during December 2013 using the ASEE ETD listserv. ETD has a membership of more than 4000 faculty members and professionals belonging to 1000 institutions from all 50 U.S. states and 57 countries. The intent of the survey was to gauge the status of professional development activities vis-a-vis faculty technical currency at personal, departmental, and institutional levels in the domains of engineering technology. The survey also explores faculty input regarding the importance of technical currency and its relationship to student learning and success. Finally, the paper compares the current status of faculty scholarship vis-à-vis faculty technical currency to the results obtained through earlier studies (2003 & 2007). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative research paper examines the meaning and enactment of critical thinking for engineering undergraduate students. Though critical thinking is considered an important topic in the engineering community, research on the topic is limited to mostly measuring critical thinking in the classroom and definitions used are not empirically based. Thus, in this paper we seek to provide an initial exploration of what critical thinking is in engineering. We address the following research question: How do undergraduate engineering students perceive and enact critical thinking? Semi-structured interviews were conducted on the enactment of critical thinking and analyzed using a thematic analysis. Main themes that arose from the interviews included: difficulty articulating critical thinking ideas, relating critical thinking to engineering course concepts (especially problem solving), communicating with others, disposition to think critically, metacognition, challenges of critical thinking in the classroom, and critical thinking varying in other disciplines and majors. Problem solving concepts prevailed in the many of the themes. Although themes connected with many of the ideas present in current definitions of critical thinking, most students did not mention concepts of clarification, credibility, generalization, or recognizing assumptions. Participants also emphasized a broader idea of communication and stronger reliance on real world context in critical thinking than previously established by critical thinking definitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses how educators can apply transformative learning theories to catalyze social entrepreneurial behaviour amongst undergraduate business students. Transformative learning theory suggests that such transformation often begins with a 'disorienting dilemma', followed by cycles of critical reflection, which ultimately lead to perspective transformation. While transformative learning is not a new concept, its utilisation in the arena of social entrepreneurship education is less-developed. Indeed it is arguable that the deeper social and community-oriented purposes underlying social entrepreneurship make this an area of study uniquely well suited to facilitating such a transformative shift in outlook and perspective among business students as such courses seek to get to learner to understand how entrepreneurship can be adopted in a wide variety of economic and social circumstances. This paper uses case studies from the United States and Ireland to explore how transformative learning pedagogies can be applied to enhance entrepreneurial cognition, cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, and achieve deeper social and personal impacts specifically amongst students of social entrepreneurship, although the article will also offer insights on its application to other educational programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking at the effects of globalization from numerous perspectives: economic, spatial, cultural, and environmental; it has become abundantly clear that today's students must possess geographic knowledge and associated skills to be prepared for civic life and informed decision-making. Yet, the current state of geographic proficiency among U.S. youth remains a concern. The amount of geography instruction that students receive, the preparation of their teachers to teach geography, and the quality of instructional materials are inadequate to prepare students for the demands of the modern world. This study intends to contribute to the research literature in geography education using game-based learning to develop geographic literacy. Its design calls for the modification of commercial board games aligned with state standards, game play with third grade students and data collected based on geographic concepts taught in the game. The primary research question is, Does the use of geography games influence the development of geographic literacy of third grade students? A secondary research question was, After modifying a game to meet state standards and leading a game with elementary students, do teacher candidates see value in using games as teaching and learning tools? The paper describes the requirements of a game task and provides a review of games modified by teacher candidates to develop third grade students' (8-9 years of age) geographic knowledge and skills, specifically in the content area of space and place. It provides a view of teacher candidates' attitudes about game modification and use for teaching and learning. The empirical portion of the study, originally planned for April 2020 was placed on temporary hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now scheduled for Fall 2020 or Spring 2021. The subsequent analysis of what third graders learned through this intervention will be added at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of teaching about race and ethnicity in a context where white students are generally unaware of and frequently resistant to the role that race plays in the life chances of individuals in American society. Using data from a convenience sample collected at a primarily white college in the Western United States, we investigate the attitudes of students toward race and ethnicity in general and more specifically, the attitudes of students toward the coverage of issues dealing with race and ethnicity in the college classroom. Our focus is on the attitudes of white students who do not believe that race impacts life chances, who we analyze from a perspective of white privilege. We present preliminary findings in this paper and begin a discussion of pedagogical strategies to address the need to break through the resistance of many white students to learning about race and ethnicity. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper on gender attitudes, Rosenstein (2005) finds that an interaction exists between individual and group threat, such that when only one type of threat is included in a model, it acts as a proxy for the omitted threat. Consequently, when a model includes only one type of threat, the findings may lead to erroneous conclusions. The frequent use of threat in studies of racial attitudes requires that we determine if a similar phenomenon occurs in this context. The models presented in this paper demonstrate that such interactions are relevant in the context of race. This leads to the conclusion that any analysis of racial attitudes that includes one type of threat should also include the other type of threat. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although boys engage in more fights than girls, there has been a growing amount of research devoted to understanding the aggressive and antisocial behavior of girls. Unlike boys, girls tend to engage in relational aggression, which includes anything from name-calling to spreading rumors to violent threats. Because of the elusive nature of this type of aggression, it may be less easily quantifiable. This paper interrogates girl fighting from a qualitative approach to help better understand the meaning of girl violence in public high schools, and to examine the perception that (despite statistics) "girls are worse." This research reveals how fighting among girls can sometimes be a site for reinforcing a normative feminine role of the overly "emotional" girl, at the same time it can be constructed as a transgression of such ideals, where girl fighters are "tomboys" and "tough girls." This is often intricately connected to sexuality, where girls who fight are sometimes perceived to be "gay girls." This kind of homophobic name-calling may in turn work to reinforce heterosexism and homophobia in schools. This paper also examines how fights are tied to race, where the construction of "ghetto girls" can work to reinforce racist ideologies about violence in schools. Finally, this paper suggests that girl fighting can also be a site of situated agency, where girls fight to gain a sense of power and respect among their cohorts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the assumption that survey items that are equivalently worded are understood in the same way in different settings. The paper uses Item Response Theory (IRT) to identify items about attitudes towards family dissolution that have measurement variant characteristics (i.e. differential item functioning) across groups. The data are from the comparative project "Status of Women and Fertility" conducted in communities in India, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Philippines. The results indicate that most or all of the studied items have the same meaning within similar cultural/ linguistic countries (e.g. Pakistan) but not within heterogeneous settings (e.g. India and Malaysia).The paper also shows that respondents use different criteria in responding to attitude questions depending on the sex of the object item (i.e. whether the husband is leaving the spouse or vice versa). Pakistani, Indian, and ethnic Malay women are significantly less likely to approve of separation if the wife is leaving the spouse. Such pattern of responses is much less prevalent among men respondents. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physicians exhibit great reluctance to care for 90 million Americans who are uninsured or on Medicaid, citing concerns about litigation, reimbursement, and complexities inherent in treating indigent patients. This paper uses qualitative data from a nationally-representative group of 275 doctors to explore physician attitudes about working with indigent patients, focusing on their perceptions of the indigent, and the strategies they use in caring for this population. This work moves beyond prior studies through its revelation of negative physician views about the medically indigent, critical of patient spending habits, health decisions, and "abuse" of the system. This paper argues that despite these negative perceptions of the underserved, physicians engage in innovative strategies to assist indigent patients by distinguishing between the deserving and the undeserving poor. This distinction, based on physician perceptions of the constraints and choices in patients' lives, enables physicians to exercise agency in choosing who and how to serve. Physician perceptions of patients as active agents stand in stark contrast to views of their own actions, which are seen as dictated by rules of medical practice. This work adds critical insight to our understanding of relational power and the recursive nature of structure and agency between multiple actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the interactive influence of two group context variables on employee attitudes and behaviors. The results indicated that group power distance orientation moderated the relationship between procedural justice climate and individual level outcomes (organizational commitment and organization-directed citizenship behavior). More specifically, group power distance orientation was found to attenuate the positive cross-level effects of procedural justice climate on these outcomes. Implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussing politics for many people is a daily event. Personal interactions seem to influence individuals' attitudes and behavior. Does the role of interpersonal discussion on politics certainly have an impact on our attitudes toward political issues? This paper is to answer this question by looking into the relationship between discussing politics with weak tie discussants, e.g. friends and coworkers, and the expression of political tolerance, which is an important orientation of democracy and social pluralism. Based on the survey data of 2000 American National Election Research in the presidential election season, the results of logistic regression analysis show that the impact of political discussion and the impact of weak-tie networks on both general moral tolerance and specific tolerance toward homosexual groups are not as significant as expected. Although the proposed relationship is not significant, the author argues that missing values of survey data can decrease the significance of relationships between variables. In the second part of the paper, he further compares the original results derived from ANES dataset from that derived from same dataset but with the problem of missing values fixed. Finding that missing values in this case did cause different results, the author concludes that the impact of interpersonal political discussion needs more examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper argues that strong member identification with their organization can be an obstacle to major change implementation. Major planned change implies a destruction and reconstruction of some of the central aspects of organizational identity. When members identify strongly with past organizational attributes that must be transformed, they are likely to resist the change. To align members with the new, desired or reconstructed organizational attributes, managerial elites attempt to influence members to dissociate themselves from past undesirable attributes and to re-associate with, and appropriate, the desired ones. The paper provides a conceptual framework for the study of the discursive communication strategies used by management to induce member dis-identification and re-identification. It further argues that destruction of organizational identity and dis-identification inducement, like re-construction of organizational identity and re-identification inducement, hardly ever occur in wholesale fashion, neither would such occurrence be desirable. Maintaining some links to a positive past can provide members with a sense of security and consistency which, in turn, increases the likelihood that members will accept major changes in some aspects of the organization. This sense of consistency is established in part through management communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies negotiation slowdowns and the role of impatience. Specifically, it predicts and finds that when negotiators with explicit pacing preferences encounter unwanted delays, they often experience negative emotional responses and over-react behaviorally. Study 1 finds that fast-paced negotiators, who experience unwanted delays, systematically underperform both slow-paced and fast-paced negotiators who do not experience unwanted delays. Furthermore, this underperformance is significantly correlated with impatient emotional responses. Study 2 demonstrates that these emotional and behavioral reactions are unaffected by changes in actual monetary costs associated with delay. Results from both studies are discussed in the broader context of how various cognitive processes affect responses to delay in negotiation contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bayesian Network (BN) has been regarded as a successful representation of inter-relationship of factors affecting human behavior during an emergency. This paper is an extension of earlier work of quantifying the variables involved in the BN model of human behavior during an evacuation using a well-known direct probability elicitation technique. To overcome judgment bias and reduce the expert's burden in providing precise probability values, a new approach for the elicitation technique is required. This study proposes a new fuzzy BN approach for quantifying human behavior during an evacuation. Three major phases of methodology are involved, namely 1) development of qualitative model representing human factors during an evacuation, 2) quantification of BN model using fuzzy probability and 3) inferencing and interpreting the BN result. A case study of three inter-dependencies of human evacuation factors such as danger assessment ability, information about the threat and stressful conditions are used to illustrate the application of the proposed method. This approach will serve as an alternative to the conventional probability elicitation technique in understanding the human behavior during an evacuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of pre-professional identity (PPI) for emerging professionals is explored in this paper through an examination of student nurse accounts of their decisions to either report or remain silent on matters of poor care or practice. One major aspect of PPI is self-awareness and the ability to reconcile personal values with those of his/her intended profession. The ethics of care is s central aspect of the nursing professional role and identity and is something that all nurses are expected to uphold. However, this is not easy for undergraduates who encounter tension and conflict while speaking up and yet it is vital for their learning as critical and reflective practitioners. The paper re-examines interview data from a larger study with respect to the ways in which student nurses explain and justify their decisions regarding reporting instances or poor care. These accounts are examined in the light of their developing PPI and what it means to them as they become socialised into the nursing role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of life research is a phenomenon of humanities-oriented research. Quality of life is explored in a variety of consequences, from different perspectives, with emphasis on different aspects and determinants. In this paper we focus on the social dimension of quality of life. One determinant is the attitude of the majority towards people with visual impairment. The paper is focused on identifying opinions and attitudes of the majority population towards persons with visual impairment and their quality of life. On the basis of the defined objectives of the research, corresponding to the research realized in Slovak Republic, we chose a quantitative research strategy implemented through a questionnaire survey. The research is intended to analyze, evaluate and compare the level of the general public opinions on the quality of life of people with visual impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents assessment study results addressing the question: Do students treat elapsed time problems differently if phrased as "half an hour" versus "thirty minutes"? A paper-and-pencil assessment was given to second (n=292) and fourth (n=205) grade students in six New England elementary schools. I compare responses on tasks presented in hour units and minute units. Results indicate that children respond differently to elapsed time questions as a function of the units provided in the question (half hour or thirty minutes) depending on the provided starting time (e.g., on the half hour versus on the second half of the clock). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low throughput of accounting students constitutes a major challenge at the University of South Africa (Unisa), a distance education institution, and in particular, to Law students who need to pass a basic introductory Accounting module as part of their Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. As this module normally involves these students' first encounter with accounting concepts, it was evident that a different learning approach was needed from that used for their Law subjects. In South Africa, where internet connectivity remains an obstacle for synchronous learning, distance-learning institutions are constantly being challenged to lessen the negative effect of distance on the students' learning experience. Therefore, asynchronous online student support is often used at Unisa to improve current distance-learning practices as such support also has the potential to enhance students' learning outcomes. To assist these LLB students, lecturers in the Accounting module incorporated various asynchronous online learning tools. By combining online self-assessment assignments, regular e-mail notifications and discussion forum communication, lecturers encouraged the students to work progressively through their study material and to do regular tasks. The instant feedback provided by the online self-assessment assignments assisted students in resolving problem areas before their work was formally assessed. As time issues and self-pacing play an important role in distance education courses, use was made of regular e-mail notifications and reminders on the module's discussion forum to aid the students with their time management and study planning. It was noted that students regularly engaged with the study material during the semester as well as by participating in the online discussions. This paper gives examples of the online self-assessment assignment questions used and reports on the students' perceptions and experiences of these. The qualitative data provided insight into how the LLB students perceived the use of online learning tools to assist them in grasping the various accounting concepts and in guiding them through the syllabus. Based on the evidence provided, it was evident that these interventions supported the learning experience of these students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the Comparative Candidate Survey is to collect data about the behavior and attitudes of parliamentary candidates regarding an array of political economic and social issues. This international project aims to study their opinions and characteristics and to illustrate similarities and differences based on their demographic and social characteristics. In Greece, the research has taken place since 2007 by the laboratory of Applied Political Research of the department of Political Science of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.TH). The surveys are mainly conducted online (combination of web surveys with personal interviews - mixed-mode). The rapid development of technology in combination with the increasing use of the Internet in Greece during the last decade, allow us to utilize the latter for research purposes permitting us to conduct political surveys based exclusively on web tools. This paper intends to explore ways that will lead to the improvement of research achieving increase of the response rate of the candidates and making the sample more representative. For this reason an experiment is implemented in order to investigate techniques which could reduce the number of questionnaires that are abandoned before completion, the so-called drop-outs. Therefore, we examine if the duration of the survey constitutes an inhibiting or stimulating factor for completing the questionnaire and for the participation in the survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The category of drugs around which this paper is built, the psychoactive drugs, also belongs to the category of synthetic drugs. Etnobotanical substances began to appear only in the years 2000-2005 and in Romania they appeared in 2008. The phenomenon had been preceded by the emergence of the term "etnobotanica" (etnobotanical substance) in the year 2000 in the Romanian Dictionary of Neologisms. Etnobotany is a branch of etnobiology and it refers to the mutual relations of the man with the plant environment, including plants with psychoactive or hallucinogenic effects. However, etnobotanical substances that we have heard so much through the media, but also fromour friends, colleagues etc. do not have very much to do with the plants used in those rituals. Indeed, the composition of etnobotanical substances includes different plants, mostly known as herbs, such as sage, lion's tail, artichokes, etc., but laboratory studies have proved that these products are not pure plants. In creating the famous etnobotanical substances chemicals such as synthetic cannabinoids or PFA (phenethylamine) are also used. In fact, these substances are "some stranded synthetic drugs, which at the time of discovery were not considered good enough (few positive effects and much many negative effects)"(http://www.cristianmargarit.ro/2010/02/urban-living/planteetnobotanice- de-origine-vegetala) [1] This paper aims to identify which the actual dimensions are, the danger of etnobotanical substances consumption and how it primarily affects the young population, which are the long-term effects and whether the Romanian society is ready to face this new challenge. The research is based on this study combines quantitative research data, which were developed especially after the year 2009 in Romania, with qualitative data obtained by the author through semi-structured interviews method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the frequently encountered problem of estimating the probabilities of future events when there are no appropriate historical data with which to compute the probabilities. If adequate data were available, the estimation of probability distributions would be obtained from histograms or relative frequency counts. But in many instances the necessary historical data are not available, and the needed information must be obtained from estimates provided by knowledgeable experts. We include in this paper an approach for obtaining these subjective estimates. The strategy is based on the results of the research work of a number of investigators who have studied this problem, and it differs from the strategy that one might be tempted to use on intuitive grounds. In dealing with this subject, quite unfamiliar and therefore suspect to most readers, we have referenced some of the relevant psychological research. In particular we have drawn heavily upon the reviews by Peterson and Beach (1967). Heinrich (1971), and Slovic and Lichtenstein (1971). Two questions arise: Are subjective probabilities accurate? How can subjective probabilities be obtained? In this paper we examined some practical suggestions for obtaining subjective probabilities. We feel confident, if we may use such a casual phrase in the context of the present paper, that subjective probabilities will be much more frequently used by consultants in the near future than they are now. Our reasons are the following: (1) The days when people forced the problem to fit the technique are gone, and since many problems are probabilistic and do not fit the classical OR techniques. we will see much greater use of techniques that require probability distributions. (2) The rate of social and technological change is accelerating, and thus historical data bases appropriate for estimating probabilities of future events will be less frequently encountered. (3) More and more professionals are accepting t... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper posits that sustainable management and accounting are in fact applied ethics. Some companies currently reporting on sustainability entitle their report as a "Good Citizenship Report." Good citizenship, safeguarding the environment, giving back to the community, promoting workforce health and safety, and 'doing the right thing' are all examples of ethical behavior. Sustainability reporting focuses on corporate accountability or stewardship. Accounting as a profession has often been characterized as the watchdog of business, ensuring reporting that is fairly presented, reflecting economic reality. Accountants and auditors are bound by their professional code of ethical conduct to protect the public interest. Accountants and auditors are ethical detectives holding businesses to ethical standards of honesty, neutrality, completeness and representational faithfulness. So grounded, accounting is the provider of one of the essential checks and balances on commerce. This paper explores a holistic definition of sustainability as viewed through the lens of contemporary ethical theory, stakeholder theory, and accountability theory. The role of accounting and auditing as related to sustainability measurement and reporting is also examined. Accounting is often considered as applied ethics. Accountants and auditors are the gatekeepers of business ethics. Contemporary ethical models are applied to the accounting profession and to sustainability. This paper posits that sustainability is applied ethics. This paper contributes to the definition of sustainability, and to the literature relative to the integration of sustainable imperatives within the business entity and how to account for sustainable performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, students' perceptions, on the use of Virtual Environments (VEs) as learning aids, were explored in a pilot study with students in a final year undergraduate Algorithms course. Students in the course were exposed to three VEs during the course of the semester and a sample of 23 were surveyed at the end of the course. Generally, there was agreement that using VEs can assist learning, reduce feelings of apprehension and boredom, are well suited for presenting material of varying levels of difficulty, and that they are well suited for tutorial and lab sessions. However, students generally disagreed with the view that VEs are best suited for teaching males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to address the question of how success is viewed today as a result of individual behavior, in terms of internal motives and external factors leading to the adoption of certain attitudes for successful people to reach. Success is closely linked to the effort, leaders say, this is the attitude that each person should adopt in order to fully realize what he wants and to reach this state, being covered by every person access to education (Ilut, P. 2004, p. 31). To this end, we conducted three surveys that we've applied to a sample of 180 subjects, so that we can draw some conclusions regarding the importance of motivation and attitude to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering faculty have many types of relations with their students. In class, they are primarily the facilitators of learning. Also, they act as advisors guiding students through their years of education. In some cases, the relationship between the student and the professor evolves into a mentoring relationship -which is the topic of this paper. This paper takes a practical look at the challenges and rewards of experienced engineers and educators becoming mentors for students or young practicing engineers. The author recommends an approach to mentoring that is deep in self-evaluation, one that considers the intellectual, social, cultural, and professional development needs of students and young professionals, and the need for taking little steps - one step at a time - that may make a big difference in student's performance and attitudes towards learning. It is argued that such an approach to mentoring will help encourage more underrepresented groups, such as women and minorities, to pursue careers in engineering. The paper, also, describes some attributes of mentoring and suggests how a faculty member might become a good mentor to students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering employers, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the engineering accreditation agency ABET continue to identify communication and teamwork as essential for engineering graduates going into professional practice. The desire for students to enhance these and other professional skills has led to an increase in the number of team projects and communication assignments included within engineering courses. However, educational researchers and educators alike know comparatively little about the beliefs and values of current engineering faculty with respect to communication and teamwork, or about how these faculty epistemologies affect approaches to incorporating and evaluating these skills. To address this gap, this paper analyzes data from interview with engineering faculty in light of published criteria for communication and teamwork. As our benchmark for this initial study, we use the VALUE rubrics developed by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU). Preliminary analysis of a subset of the data suggests areas of both alignment and disparity between engineering faculty and the VALUE rubrics. In particular, engineering faculty beliefs align with the rubrics' emphasis on context and purpose and content development in written communication, but reflect less attention to disciplinary genre conventions and sources. In the teamwork domain, engineering faculty recognize the importance of conflict resolution, but offer few other criteria included in the VALUE rubric. At the same time, faculty emphasize the importance of distributing workload and managing the project effectively, an area not well- represented by the rubrics. These findings, once refined through analysis of the full data set, offer areas for faculty development, but also suggest important discipline-specific adaptations of the broad-based VALUE rubrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the learning outcomes of an introductory level engineering course and compares the assessment data of these outcomes to student self-evaluation of the achievement of outcomes. The introductory course is designed to contribute toward the achievement of four ABET1 student outcomes. Assessment of outcomes is performed through direct measurements of student performance in multiple assignments and three team projects. The data from the direct assessment is compared with the student perceptions of the achievement of these outcomes. Statistical analysis and correlation analysis are used to compare the two data sets. Student perceptions are quantified through data collected from surveys conducted in three sections of the course taught by two different instructors during Fall 2013 with the use of a 1-5 Likert scale. The surveys are conducted at the end of the semester. The surveys are designed such that each outcome can be mapped to multiple questions in order to avoid possible inconsistencies in student responses, and in order to build some redundancies in the survey instrument. Comparison of the two data sets yields important information about the achievement of learning outcomes (called student outcomes in the ABET1 literature) from a student's perspective. The student surveys are also used to quantitatively and subjectively evaluate the student response toward the project-based learning (PBL) model that has been integrated in this course, as well as student responses to other aspects of PBL such as teamwork, open-ended problem solving, etc. The analysis of the learning outcomes and student self-assessment provides useful feedback about the course content of a required introductory course for engineering freshmen. This feedback can be used to improve curriculum and enhance student engagement. Students are known to find the transition from high school to a demanding major such as engineering very challenging. This study provides some insight into the student opinion about this transition. Furthermore, the findings from this study can be used to improve the delivery of follow-up introductory courses and enhancement of metacognitive development. The assessment of learning outcomes through multiple measures provides a means of understanding the usefulness of laboratory and project content in meeting outcomes, and also allows a comparison of the findings with the data in the existing literature.2, 3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]