Academic Technology Research Articles

Academic Technology Experience and Preference on Online Learning in Higher Education Institutions: Students' Perspectives

Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic, most higher education institutions have shifted to online learning to sustain the existence of the universities. However, the readiness and effectiveness of private higher education institutions in Indonesia, especially in Kalimantan, are still questionable. This study focused on analyzing and understanding the academic technology experience and preference for online learning in Indonesian higher education institutions from the students' perspectives. A survey of 302 respondents from private higher education institutions was corroborated with semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the majority of the respondents have limited access to technology devices and ownership. Most of them need academic features integrated into the learning management system for their successful study. The majority of the respondents preferred to have a completely face-to-face class, but they are receptive to online learning. However, they need to get situated in academic situations that facilitate their technology literacies and skills. Also, the institutions and lecturers should go in the same direction. Therefore, the data sources can contribute meaningful insights for policy-makers to design accessible and adaptive online learning for the students.

Engineering Academics' Strategies of Teaching Mathematical Modelling in Antenna Theory and Design

The poor performance of electronics engineering students in modelling their mathematical concepts when learning a practical antenna theory & design course is of concern. Despite the fact that these future engineers have been taught major aspects of prerequisite mathematics, some still find it difficult to interpret and incorporate it in an antenna theory & design course. Possible reasons that contribute to conceptual difficulties have been traced to their inability to model and blend mathematical theories, concepts with systems’ applications, and also to the disjointedness and lack of explicit teaching and learning approaches implemented in some universities. In this regard, the study takes its point of departure that the modelling of mathematical theories and concepts with clear strategies still remain an important area for engineering educational research and implementation of updated pedagogy. This study critiques the current teaching strategies and competencies of mathematical modelling in an electronics engineering department. It focuses on how engineering academics teach mathematical modelling in prerequisite mathematical courses for preparation of antenna theory & design. A qualitative approach was adopted to get the naturalistic views of the engineering academics on the strategies of mathematical modelling they use in teaching. Existing mathematical modelling models formed the major theoretical framework that guided the study. The study reports the strategies that are commonly used by engineering academics teaching mathematical modelling in prerequisite mathematical courses related to an antenna theory & design course. The significant result of the study is a contextual and practical pedagogical mathematical model which can be implemented in teaching and learning antenna theory & design courses.

Collaborative Annotation: Tools for Enhancing Learning and Scholarly Communication

Annotation is an centuries old method of communicating, organizing, and synthesizing information that becomes increasingly valuable the more widely it is shared. This article examines the growing demand for collaborative annotation technologies in the academic community, tools and technologies that enable collaborative annotation, and various projects that have implemented it in public forums.

Self- Regulated Learning (SRL) Strategies on Engineering Faculty Members, Executives, And Students

The Indian engineering faculty members need to be exposed to self-regulated learning strategies and adult learning methods to plan effective competency development programs for the engineering graduates. The engineering students need to be informed on the industry needs and the performance desired in the workplaces. Without a focus on improving skills analysis, planning, design concepts, and high-order cognitive skills, problemsolving abilities and critical thinking skills, many engineering students performed poorly in the basic and core engineering courses. Some of the students displayed a negative response for a few applied science courses. These are due to their self-regulated learning system. In this research, six batches of engineering faculties have been trained to focus on the students' self-regulated thinking, acting, behaving, and engaging in purposeful activities. The impact is that the engineering students actively manage their metacognition, motivation, and behavior after passing through the self-regulatory process. The trained faculties prepared their instructional design on the needs of the contextual knowledge and their utility onprofessional development. The increase in pass percentage after redesign improved to 16.17% in the basic courses, 17.37% in the core courses, and 5.99% in the advanced courses. When the faculty members are trained in the appropriate instructional design to meet the demands of the fast-growing and knowledgebased economy, this resulted in unprecedented students' success not only in their examinations but also in their performances in the workplace. Further, the executive and employee development programs are to be carefully planned and implemented to get maximum return on the investment (ROI) in the fastchanging manufacturing technology. Keywords: Self-Regulated Learners (SRL), Performance Management, Faculty Development Programs (FDP), Planning Executive Development Programs (EDP), Metacognition, & Intrinsic Motivation.

Do Engineering Educators Read?: Appraising a University Reading Program

Abstract: This paper sought to find out how effective implementing a reading program called Project Read Everything About your Field, Digest, and Share (Project READS) among the School of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology Education (SEAITE) faculty members of the University of Saint Louis, Philippines, because of the underutilization of library resources. As it has been five years since its implementation, the need to find out how well the Project Implementation was necessary. This descriptive study then presents the evaluation of the Project READS program of the among full-time and part-time engineering educators. The results reveal that most of them are engaged in professional readings along their field of specialization. Moreover, Project READS is effective and sustainable. Suggestions to further improve the Project's implementation are also advanced to fully appreciate this professional reading project's effect on engineering educators and learners. Keywords: Project READS, Reading program, Effectiveness of a Reading Program in Engineering and Architecture

Technological structure network analysis to explore the hotspots of academic patents in international technology transfer

Abstract International technology transfer is a determinant of a country’s national revenue and economic growth. Technology exported through international technology transfer can be the factor that gives a country a competitive edge. Therefore, investigation of international technology transfer has become essential. With the role of universities in innovation changing, academic patents have increased significantly over the past 10 years. Thus, this study used academic patents involved in international technology transfer as a basis for analysis and attempted to identify technological hotspots through a technological structure network analysis. The results indicated that key technologies in academic patent–based international technology transfer networks were mainly concentrated on measurement, nanotechnology, medical technology, biotechnology, and electric digital data processing. An academic patent technological hotspot network model was established to serve as a reference for academic technology transfers as well as for governments in their promotion of emerging technologies.

The Making of Engineering Technicians: Ontological Formation in Laboratory Practice

Technicians are largely invisible in everyday life, as are their contributions to science and engineering. In this study, I address the issue of technicians’ invisibility in engineering education. The laboratory plays a central and distinctive role in engineering education, but the role of laboratory technicians in educational contexts is largely absent from the research literature. Technicians are generally not considered to be instructors, even in programs that qualify technicians. I argue that the roles of laboratory technicians, with regard to the induction of students into technical engineering practice, should be reconsidered, and address the question: What do technicians in undergraduate laboratories do, and what do they know? The walking methodology approach was adapted in order to study interactions between technicians and students in undergraduate laboratories. The findings showed that laboratory technicians inducted, guided and supported students in technical practices. In particular, I identified a pedagogy of practice in which laboratory technicians demonstrated expert artisanal techniques, shared their skillful practice and practical knowledge, and made connections between practice and abstract theoretical knowledge. The study contributes an understanding of how engineering technicians, who occupy laboratory technician roles in academic engineering departments, induct student technicians into technical engineering practice.

A Review on the Some Issues of Multiphase Flow with Self-Driven Particles

Multiphase flow with self-driven particles is ubiquitous and complex. Exploring the flow properties has both important academic meaning and engineering value. This review emphasizes some recent studies on multiphase flow with self-driven particles: the hydrodynamic interactions between self-propelled/self-rotary particles and passive particles; the aggregation, phase separation and sedimentation of squirmers; the influence of rheological properties on its motion; and the kinematic characteristics of axisymmetric squirmers. Finally, some open problems, challenges, and future directions are highlighted.

Exploring Faculty Perspectives during Emergency Remote Teaching in Engineering at a Large Public University

In Spring 2020, the College of Engineering at San José State University (SJSU) conducted a comprehensive analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on faculty who were forced to transition to an online learning environment. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of COVID-19 on faculty teaching methods, assessment methods, and personal well-being. The study was a combination of a quantitative survey and a qualitative study using interviews of engineering faculty teaching in Spring 2020. In the first part, we surveyed all faculty teaching during Spring 2020 in the SJSU College of Engineering about their experiences after the move to 100% online instruction in March 2020. In the second part of the research, we interviewed 23 faculty members to obtain a more in-depth understanding of their experiences during the move online in Spring 2020. Overall, 98 faculty participated in the survey: lecturers (58), tenure-track (18), tenured (13), adjunct (1), and Teaching Associates (1). The faculty reported being worried about their family and their students’ well-being. In addition, 65% of faculty members reported either a moderate or a great deal of stress related to the shelter in place, and this percentage was higher for female faculty (74%) and for tenure-track faculty (83%). Overall, faculty members felt that they had their classes under control most of the time and that the transition to online teaching was positive, even if they felt they had too much work to do and felt always in a hurry and under pressure. From a teaching perspective, the interviews highlight that faculty members’ main concerns focus on testing and assessment and students’ engagement. Overall, SJSU College of Engineering faculty members felt under stress in the transition to online teaching, especially the tenure-track faculty members, but were able to transition their classes with ease.

The Effect of Women Academic Leaders on Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Professors

Using a sample of women natural sciences and engineering (NSE) faculty members from 13 Canadian universities, we investigated the impact of women academic leaders on women professors’ perceptions of gender bias. Logistic regression analyses indicated that professors who perceived more workplace gender bias were more likely to feel that they needed to work harder to be seen as legitimate scholars than those who perceived less gender bias. However, professors who perceived that women were better represented amongst their faculty/college and university leadership were significantly less likely to feel that they needed to work harder for legitimacy than those who perceived greater gender bias in leadership. These results suggest that addressing gendered university hierarchies may moderate the impact of gender bias on women in NSE units.

Implementation of the challenge-based learning approach in Academic Engineering Programs

Implementation of the challenge-based learning approach in Academic Engineering Programs

EMI as a performative technology of acceleration in higher education contexts: academics and administrators’ perspectives

ABSTRACT This paper argues that reading English Medium Instruction (EMI) as a performative technology of acceleration in the highly competitive conditions of today’s global higher education (HE) contexts is one way to gain insights into present-day realities of EMI orientations, experiences, and practices. In so doing, it examines the interplay of EMI, HE, and Tomlinson's [2007. The Culture of Speed: The Coming of Immediacy. London: Sage] three cultural narratives of speed. A Saudi HE institution, Sroor University (SU; a pseudonym), is used as a case example study to explore how the cultural narratives of speed have been experienced by language teachers, administrators, and engineering faculty members. The findings of this interview-led study show that a sense of urgency, active control, and an overwhelming tendency to direct all its educational efforts towards the needs of industry is prevalent in the operations of the university. It was also found that the culture of speed has brought about excitement, pleasure, pains, and risk to the academics in their everyday EMI practices. It concludes that reading these complex constellations of experiences through temporal perspectives allows us to capture not only the effects of the culture of speed but also how unequal power relations are played out among social actors within and across individual contexts.

Cover Image

Cover illustration designed by Mark Huerta, Lecturer in the Fulton Schools of Engineering Academic and Students Affairs at Arizona State University, and Martin Beagley, Graphics Manager in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences at Clemson University, based on content in “Inner Engineering: Evaluating the utility of mindfulness training to cultivate intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies among first‐year engineering students” by Mark Huerta, Adam R. Carberry, Teri Pipe, and Ann McKenna.

Comparative analysis of students enrolled in administrative and IT study areas in the TecNM tutoring program in the Comarca Lagunera

The object of this research was the comparative analysis of the students assisted by the Institutional Tutoring Program (PIT) of the Tecnologico Nacional de Mexico and who are enrolled in different academic engineering studies. The research was done in three technological institutes in the Comarca Lagunera. A comparative study with t-test was carried out between the administrative and IT study areas, with a confidence level of 97%. Among the findings, it is worth noting that the tutored students of administrative careers are more sociable than their peers in the IT area, but these students have more confidence in their tutor to talk about their personal problems; students who use institutional support services perceive that their participation in the tutorial program improves their grades, they ask their tutor for help and are more willing to listen to his advice and recommendations. Regarding the type of family, students who live in families with both parents are more daring than those who come from another family type.

The role of digital scholarship in academic libraries, the case of university of cape coast: opportunities and challenges

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to assess the role of academic libraries in digital scholarship at the University of Cape Coast. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and used teaching staff (lecturers) as the population of the study.Design/methodology/approachA sample size of 278 was used for the study. The study used questionnaires to obtain data from participants. The study revealed that faculty members appreciate digital scholarship through the services offered by Sam Jonah Library are relevant to the current higher education context, reliable information, preservation of information resources and facilitating the integration of library services into the learning process are closely integrated into the library service, transform scholarly communication, teaching and learning style and research paradigm.FindingsThe study revealed that digital scholarship contributes to faculty members' delivery at the University of Cape Coast through the provision of information literacy training for new students, provision of reference lists of materials available in the library and provision of lists of new materials. The study revealed that faculty members face inadequate facilities to enhance digital scholarship, inadequate open access to reading materials (articles, books, etc.), inadequate platforms or suite of tools for librarians to take faculty.Practical implicationsThe application of digital scholarship provides an expansion to the core competitiveness of librarians new services which enables innovativeness and transformation of libraries. Students will be equipped with digital literacy skills; it affords instructors to approach teaching with innovation and scholars are also engaged to perform novel practices in scholarship acquisition. Digital scholarship is the umbrella under which all academic technologies comes under to foster collaboration and better learning experience.Originality/valueThis paper offers an insight of the role digital scholarship in promoting and advancing scholarship in the academic environment. It highlights a number of digital scholarship platform available in the library. It is observed that digital scholarship practices must be encouraged in the library because it facilitates the role of academic library which is to support teaching, learning and research.

A Decade of CRISPR Gene Editing in China and Beyond: A Scientometric Landscape.

Since its Nobel Prize-winning breakthrough in 2012, CRISPR-Cas-based gene-editing system has emerged as one of the most promising biotechnologies in decades. In this article, we present an objective and comprehensive evaluation of CRISPR-based gene-editing technologies, including base editing and prime editing, based on the bibliometric analysis of 22,902 published records. We also assessed the status of CRISPR gene-editing technologies in academia from 2010 to 2020 globally, with respect to countries, institutions, and researchers, and used text clustering methods to assess technical trends and research hotspots. Our results indicate, not surprisingly, that this is a thriving and prominent area of research. By comparing the relevance and growth of CRISPR gene-editing technologies in China with other countries by several metrics, we show that the Chinese scientific community attaches considerable importance to the field of plant genome engineering, with more scholars from agricultural sectors than other sectors.

Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Vaccination Among People Living With HIV and AIDS in China: A Nationwide Online Survey

Background: People living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) could benefit from COVID-19 vaccination. There is a dearth of evidence on willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination (WTR) among PLWHA.Methods: The study is a multicenter cross-sectional online survey conducted in eight conveniently selected Chinese metropolitan cities between January and February 2021. Participants were PLWHA aged 18-65 years and living in the study cities. Eight community-based organizations (CBO) providing services to PLWHA, one in each city, facilitated the recruitment through their networks. Eligible PLWHA completed an online survey developed using Golden Data, a widely used encrypted web-based survey platform in China. Logistic regression models and path analysis were used in data analysis.Findings: Out of 10,845 PLWHA approached by the CBO, 2740 completed the survey. This analysis was performed among 2570 participants who had never received COVID-19 vaccination. Over half of the participants reported WTR (57·2%, 1470/2570). After adjusting for potential confounders, all four constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) were significantly associated with WTR, including positive attitudes (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 1·11, 95%CI: 1·09, 1·12), negative attitudes (aOR: 0·96, 95%CI: 0·94, 0.97), perceived support from significant others (perceived subjective norm) (aOR: 1·53, 95%CI: 1·46, 1·61), and perceived higher behavioral control (aOR: 1·13, 95%CI: 1·11, 1·14). At the interpersonal level, receiving advice supportive of COVID-19 vaccination from doctors (aOR: 1·99, 95%CI: 1·65, 2·40), CBO staff (aOR: 1·89, 95%CI: 1·51, 2·36), friends and/or family members (aOR: 3·22, 95%CI: 1·93, 5·35), and PLWHA peers (aOR: 2.38, 95%CI: 1·85, 3·08) were associated with higher WTR. Overall opinion supporting COVID-19 vaccination for PLWHA on Internet or social media was also positively associated with WTR (aOR: 1·59, 95%CI: 1·31, 1·94). Path analysis indicated that interpersonal-level variables was indirectly associated with WTR through TPB-related perceptions (β=0·43, 95% CI=0·37, 0·51).Interpretation: PLWHA in China reported a relatively low WTR. Interpersonal communication and Internet/social media may be the major sources to convey information and promote COVID-19 vaccination in the population.Funding Statement: This work was supported by the Academic technology leader project of Changzhi Medical College (Grant No. XSQ201902), he Beijing Excellent Talent Plan (2018000021223ZK04) and the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R34MH119963.Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.Ethics Approval Statement: The Institutional Review Boards of Changzhi Medical College (RT2021003) approved this study.

Discussion of the requirements, challenges and processing adaptions involved in an academic technology transfer of neo-antigen peptide pulsed dendritic cells

Discussion of the requirements, challenges and processing adaptions involved in an academic technology transfer of neo-antigen peptide pulsed dendritic cells

Embedded Experts Supporting Instructional Practice of Faculty Transitioning from Industry to Academia

The transition from industry to academia can present unique challenges for new faculty members in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Considering high drop, fail, withdraw (DFW) rates in undergraduate STEM courses and the need to increase the number of well-prepared graduates in these areas, it is important to better understand the needs of early-career faculty transitioning from outside of academia in order to support their development as effective scholars and educators. This study, which utilizes a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) framework, focuses on the experiences, views, and needs of two engineering faculty members who have recently moved from industry to academia. Findings inform practice and indicate a common lack of knowledge about new faculty’s teaching requirements, a need for personalized support structures for incoming faculty members, and a shift toward active approaches to teaching students when such supports are provided. In this process, leveraging an embedded experts model and acknowledging and understanding students’ needs through active listening emerged as important factors in faculty’s growth and personal development during their first semester in academia.

From Negotiator to Note-Taker: The Role of Women Leaders and Academic Technology Cultures

For years, there has been a perceived inaccessibility of the field of Information Technology, centering on an organizational culture of “men and their machines” (Clark, 2012). This paper examines the role of women who lead technology initiatives in higher education and presents the experiences of these women leaders and their collision of organizational cultures as part of a comparative case study of two public institutions. Findings suggest elements of culture within the IT field that contribute to the experiences of women leaders in IT, and illuminate that leading a technology project may add a layer of gender expectations and gender roles that are more entrenched in the IT world than in other areas of higher education.