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Models of self-regulation describe how individuals engage deliberately and reflectively in goal-directed action in order to achieve valued goals. Studies have found that the consistent use of self-regulation in an academic setting is highly correlated with student achievement. Self-regulation plays a critical role in problem-solving, particularly when unraveling ill-structured problems as is required in engineering design. The primary research question: How did engineering students perceive their self-regulation activities while engaged in a design project? A total of 307 students from three higher education institutions working on their capstone engineering design projects participated in the study. The study evaluated students' self-regulation in relation to both design and project management skills. We used a self-regulation in engineering design questionnaire (EDMQ) to assess students' approaches to self-regulation. Quantitative data were analyzed in two parts using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings suggested that: (1) Students focused more consistently on task interpretation than other self-regulatory strategies, particularly during design; (2) Students lacked awareness of the essential need to develop a method to assess the design deliverables; (3) Self-regulation gaps were found during early design phases, but as the design process progressed, a more balanced approach to self-regulation was apparent. Given the importance of task interpretation to successful performance, students attended to identifying tasks during both the design process and project management. However, they did not report engaging in planning, implementing, and monitoring and fix-up strategies as consistently, even when those processes were relevant and called for. Implications are drawn for research, theory, and practice.

This paper reviews many of the observed characteristics and study habits of first-year students in Iowa State University's electrical engineering programme (Ames, Iowa, USA). The studying and problem-solving practices of the students are discussed to identify salient traits, strengths and weaknesses, and critical symptoms thereof, which can affect learning in technical fields, as well as life-long learning. The effects the Internet and the use of computer games have on student thinking and problem-solving approaches are also discussed.

A tractable method for accurately predicting the parasitic capacitance of a field coil as part of an all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometric switch based on Faraday rotation is reported. The effects of the wire insulation layer, inter-turn air gap as well as capacitive coupling to the four nearest adjacent turns are considered in predicting the effective parasitic capacitance for single-layer coils. The complex distributed capacitance network that results is resolved using Kron reduction to yield the equivalent shunt capacitance. Several coil configurations were designed and compared to experimental results. This new approach can be used in conjunction with existing expressions for inductance and loss to enable the complete and accurate a priori design of field generating coils. Index Terms--All-fiber devices, coils, Faraday rotation, magneto-optic switching.

An approach to describe the behavior of superconducting transmission line using the magnetic vector potential (A) is presented and examined. The results suggest that for device level formulation, the magnetic vector potential is a mathematically simpler quantity to deal with than the combination of magnetic flux density and electric field intensity and still contains all the electromagnetic information of the junction under construction.

A finite element analysis of multilevel acoustic Fresnel lenses (MAFL) predicts ultrasonic wave propagation and describes diffraction profiles. MAFLs can be used, instead of conventional spherical lenses, for focusing ultrasonic waves in acoustic microscopy systems. The analysis serves as a valuable tool for lens design and simulation before fabrication. The method overcomes the limitations of scalar theory, which is inadequate for determining field profile and other optical properties.

This paper introduces some physical layer requirements of electro-optical as well as all optical networking. Due to the huge volume of data that is transmitted on these networks, there is a need for high-speed switching with effective switching in the nanosecond regime or better. While such switches exist for electronic media, they have been challenging for optical applications. Taking the recent developments in magneto-optical switches into consideration, there is a pressing need for fast switching of highly inductive loads. The state-of-the-art as well as the trends and needs for high speed switching in optical networks are presented. Some of the newest developments in the small-scale high-speed switching for electro-optical and all optical light path applications will also be presented. Experimental results of the newly developed switches at our program are presented and discussed. Based on the results, system requirements are identified and some shortcomings of the initial system are addressed. Possible improvements to the overall light-trail system are proposed and discussed. Index Terms--Faraday effect, magnetic switches, optical communication, optical switches.

An all-fiber interferometric switch based on Faraday rotation exhibited by magneto-optic materials in the presence of an external magnetic field is reported. The interferometer is Mach-Zehnder type and the related phase shift was obtained by the rotation of the state of polarization of a linearly polarized optical signal. The operation of the switch is demonstrated experimentally. The effect of the optical beam size on the achievable Faraday rotation is also investigated. Hysteresis is avoided as the magnetic field required for switching is much lower than the saturation field. Index Terms--All-fiber devices, Faraday rotation, fiber-based magneto-optics, Mach-Zehnder interferometer, optical beam size, optical switches.

Magneto-optical switching using Faraday rotation is investigated for optical fiber networks. Nonlinearity of the Faraday rotation was measured, and the optical switch was designed accordingly. The device was implemented experimentally with promising results. Index Terms--All-fiber switch, Faraday effect, magneto-optic switching.