Dependable and Certifiable Real-World Systems – Issue of Software Engineering Education

Embedded software and dedicated hardware are vital elements of the modern world, from personal electronics to transportation, from communication to aerospace, from military to gaming, from medical systems to banking. Combinations of even minor hardware or software defects in a complex system may lead to violation of safety with or even without evident system failure, a major problem that the computing profession faces is the lack of a universal approach to unite the dissimilar viewpoints presented by computer science, with its discrete and mathematical underpinnings, and by computer engineering, which focuses on building real systems and considering spatial and material constraints of space, energy, and time. Modern embedded systems include both viewpoints: microprocessors running software and programmable electronic hardware created with an extensive use of software. The gap between science and engineering approaches is clearly visible in engineering education. This survey paper focuses on exploring the commonalities between building software and building hardware in an attempt to establish a new framework for rejuvenating computing education, specifically software engineering for dependable systems. We present here a perspective on software/hardware relationship, aviation system certification, role of software engineering education, and future directions in computing

Human-Computer Music Performance: From Synchronized Accompaniment to Musical Partner

Live music performance with computers has motivated many research projects in science, engineering, and the arts. In spite of decades of work, it is surprising that there is not more technology for, and a better understanding of the computer as music performer. We review the development of techniques for live music performance and outline our efforts to establish a new direction, Human-Computer Music Performance (HCMP), as a framework for a variety of coordinated studies. Our work in this area spans performance analysis, synchronization techniques, and interactive performance systems. Our goal is to enable musicians to ncorporate computers into performances easily and effectively through a better understanding of requirements, new techniques, and practical, performance-worthy implementations. We conclude with directions for future work

Integrating a nanologic knowledge module Into an undergraduate logic design course

This work discusses a knowledge module in an undergraduate logic design course for electrical engineering (EE) and computer science (CS) students, that introduces them to nanocomputing concepts. This knowledge module has a twofold objective. First, the module interests students in the fundamental logical behavior and functionality of the nanodevices of the future, which will motivate them to enroll in other elective courses related to nanotechnology, offered in most EE and CS departments. Second, this module can be used to let students analyze, synthesize, and apply their existing knowledge of the Karnaugh-map-based Boolean logic reduction scheme into a revolutionary design context with majority logic. Where many efforts focus on developing new courses on nanofabrication and even nanocomputing, this work is designed to augment the existing standard EE and CS courses by inserting knowledge modules on nanologic structures so as to stimulate student interest without creating a significant diversion from the course framework

A Prototype Curriculum For The Study Of Software Management

The discipline of Software Management, which is a new and potentially meaningful direction for information technology (IT) education, is presented for the first time in this article.  Software Management is a curriculum model, which specifically addresses the productivity and quality issues that have arisen in IT.  It is distinguished from the traditional disciplines of Computer Science, Software Engineering and Information Science by its body of knowledge, which focuses explicitly on building strategic governance infrastructures rather than technical artifacts.  This article presents curricular recommendations for each traditional discipline and uses these to illustrate Software Management’s unique role and value.  It also presents a conceptual framework and justification, which will assist educators in curriculum development and design issues

Investigating the Entrepreneurial Mindset of Engineering and Computer Science Students

In recent years, numerous engineering programs around the country have introduced curricular revisions and co-curricular activities to develop entrepreneurial skills in students. The primary motivation of these efforts is to graduate engineering students who can rapidly contribute to the economic growth of the nation through entrepreneurship and innovation. A precursor to launching startups or creating new products or services is the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. Efforts focused on developing an entrepreneurial mindset in engineering students through curricular and co-curricular activities are emerging from the many partner institutions of the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). As these efforts strengthen, approaches to assess the entrepreneurial mindset have also been developed. A popular approach is the use of survey instruments. We have developed a rigorously validated assessment instrument to explore the entrepreneurial mindset of engineering and computer science students. This instrument was developed based on a framework in which an entrepreneurially minded engineer is defined as one who possesses curiosity about our changing world, habitually makes connections to gain insight from many sources of information, and focuses on creating value for others. The italicized words, referred to as the 3C’s, form the core of this framework which was developed by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN)1. The instrument consists of 50 questions loaded on 14 factors that are associated with learning outcomes based on the 3C’s. The instrument was administered to first-year and senior engineering students in two consecutive years and 394 valid samples were collected. Statistical analyses were performed to answer the following research questions: 1. How diversified is the entrepreneurial mindset of first-year students when they enter the university? 2. How diversified is the entrepreneurial mindset of seniors when they complete their program? 3. How does the entrepreneurial mindset of students evolve through traditional engineering and computer science undergraduate experiences? 4. Are there differences in the entrepreneurial mindset between male and female students? 5. How does family background influence the entrepreneurial mindset? By investigating the answers to these research questions, we hope to answer the broader question: How can engineering and computer science undergraduate programs be revised to enhance entrepreneurial mindset growth as we strive to meet the challenges of “Educating the Engineer of 2020”

A constraint framework for analysis of engineering systems

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 87).This thesis presents the design and implementation of a constraint framework for use in analyzing engineering systems. This framework extends the Engineering Systems Matrix to allow the definition of quantitative relationships between model objects. The addition of formal quantitative constraints allows analysts to make use of new techniques and simplifies maintenance of the data model.by Shannon Jun Ho Iyo.M.Eng

The ethics of curriculum development:Engineers and technicians in a context of development: Engineers and technicians in a context of development

South African higher education has, for the last twenty years, attempted to confront the legacy its past, particularly the lack of access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based (STEM) education by the vast majority of potential students. The current policy environment is dominated by a drive towards high skills jobs and innovation that links research to new forms of production and new services. With the promulgation of a new "Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework" (HEQSF, 2013) in South Africa there has been considerable curriculum development work across a number of fields and disciplines to enable the "high skills" agenda. Many programs that served as entry qualifications to employment as computer engineering technicians have been subject to upward re-curriculation towards engineering programs. A concern is the lack of clarity around appropriate qualifications and skills levels for a developing country and what might differentiate engineering technician programs from professional engineering programs. There are deep concerns in South Africa about the need to transform society, in particular to ensure that the legitimate aspirations of black South Africans are met and that talented young citizens are able to access higher education and obtain qualifications that enable them to enter the workplace and contribute meaningfully to development. In this paper we discuss the ethics of curriculum development, and argue for an ethical framework to assist institutions to guide curricular decision-making in engineering. A methodology for curricular comparison was developed from the work of Karl Maton on "semantic waves" that was used to construct a systematic comparison between a technician and engineering programme in the field of computer engineering. We show distinct knowledge differences between two programs, one a technician's diploma and the other an professional engineering degree program. We use the findings to illustrate wider concerns about the ethics of/in engineering curriculum development in South Africa as a developing country with a transformation agenda

Computational ethics

Technological advances are enabling roles for machines that present novel ethical challenges. The study of 'AI ethics' has emerged to confront these challenges, and connects perspectives from philosophy, computer science, law, and economics. Less represented in these interdisciplinary efforts is the perspective of cognitive science. We propose a framework – computational ethics – that specifies how the ethical challenges of AI can be partially addressed by incorporating the study of human moral decision-making. The driver of this framework is a computational version of reflective equilibrium (RE), an approach that seeks coherence between considered judgments and governing principles. The framework has two goals: (i) to inform the engineering of ethical AI systems, and (ii) to characterize human moral judgment and decision-making in computational terms. Working jointly towards these two goals will create the opportunity to integrate diverse research questions, bring together multiple academic communities, uncover new interdisciplinary research topics, and shed light on centuries-old philosophical questions.publishedVersio