Exploring the self-efficancy of engineering students : findings of a longitudinal study relating to student recruitment, development, retention and success

Published ArticleEngineering is regarded as a scarce and critical skill in South Africa, and the shortage of South African engineers represents a capacity and scare-skills crises for the country. A further problem facing the country is the shortage of woman engineers. Further to encouraging and supporting women entering the field of engineering, a South African university established the Women in Engineering Leadership Association (WELA) in 2011. In 2013, WELA embarked on a longitudinal study to establish the impact of the association on WELA members, and to determine the differences in self-efficacy between male and woman engineering students. The research instrument used for the purpose of the study was an adapted version of the Longitudinal Assessment of Engineering Self-Efficacy as developed by Marra and Bogue from the Assessing Women in Engineering (AWE) project. The findings presented in this article are the results of the first round of questionnaires, which highlighted findings relating to student recruitment, development, retention and success. The results of the first round of the study identified that co-curricular interventions were important to prepare students for the world of work, that international partnerships played a potentially powerful role in developing students, that role models were important especially to female engineering students and that technology was an important tool to recruit students. The aim of this article is to assist engineering faculties to understand possible gender differences and self-efficacy issues that could influence course selection, success, development and retention rates of male and woman engineering students. The study also envisions that other universities concerned with student development, success and retention would be able to duplicate some of the findings described

Embryotemperatuur betere maat voor controleren broedproces

De embryotemperatuur in de broedeieren is een betere maat voor het controleren van het broedproces dan de machinetemperatuur. Variaties in de embryotemperatuur kunnen namelijk een groot effect hebben op de uiteindelijke resultaten. Dat blijkt uit het promotieonderzoek van ASG-onderzoeker Sander Lourens. De eischaaltemperatuur blijkt een goede graadmeter te zijn voor het bepalen van de embryotemperatuu

Broedeieren wassen en ontsmetten: middelen en methoden

De effectiviteit van een broedeiontsmetting wordt niet alleen bepaald door het ontsmettingsmiddel. De methode waarop het middel op de eieren wordt gebracht is van minstens even groot belang. Hierbij is het ook belangrijk dat het ontsmettingsmiddel overal in gelijke mate bij kan komen. Het wassen van grondeieren wordt afgeraden, omdat deze eieren vaak meer barsten en haarscheuren vertonen dan nesteieren. Het wassen van eieren met mindere schaalkwaliteit (denk ook aan leeftijd ouderdieren) is dan schadelijker dan niet wassen

A cointegration model for search equilibrium wage formation

In flow models of the labor market, wages are determined by negotiations between workers and employers on the surplus value of a realized match. From this perspective, this paper presents an econometric analysis of the influence of labor market flows on wage formation as an alternative to the traditional specification of wage equations in which unemployment represents Phillips-curve or wage-curve effects. The paper estimates a dynamic wage equation for the Netherlands using a cointegration approach. It finds that labor flows, and notably flows from outside the labor market, are important determinants of both short-run and long-run wage setting.wage curve, labor market flows, cointegration model

Towards a computational model for stimulation of the Pedunculopontine nucleus

The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) has recently been suggested as a new therapeutic target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, particularly those with severe gait and postural impairment [1]. Stimulation at this site is typically delivered at low frequencies in contrast to the high frequency stimulation required for therapeutic benefit in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) [1]. Despite real therapeutic successes, the fundamental physiological mechanisms underlying the effect of DBS are still not understood. A hypothesis is that DBS masks the pathological synchronized firing patterns of the basal ganglia that characterize the Parkinsonian state with a regularized firing pattern. It remains unclear why stimulation of PPN should be applied with low frequency in contrast to the high frequency stimulation of STN. To get a better understanding of PPN stimulation we construct a computational model for the PPN Type I neurons in a network

Engineering judgment and small area flood peaks

April 1967.Bibliography: page 28

Assessing Depression Improvement with the Remission Evaluation and Mood Inventory Tool (REMIT)

Objective The Remission Evaluation and Mood Inventory Tool (REMIT) was developed as a brief complementary measure to provide a more robust assessment of depression improvement than tracking DSM-V symptom improvement alone. This study provides further validation of the REMIT tool and examines its utility in predicting depression improvement. Methods The sample comprised 294 primary care patients enrolled in a telecare trial of pain plus depression and/or anxiety. Assessments collected included: REMIT, PHQ-9 and measures assessing anxiety, pain, sleep, fatigue, somatization, health-related quality of life and disability. Data was analyzed to assess the REMIT's validity, its minimally important difference (MID), and its utility in predicting 6-month depression improvement. Results Convergent and construct validity of REMIT was supported by moderate correlations with mental health measures and weaker correlation with physical health measures. MID of approximately 2 points for REMIT was estimated by two metrics: 0.5 standard deviation and 1 standard error of measurement. Both baseline and 3-month change in REMIT scores predicted depression improvement at 6 months. Indeed, REMIT was as good or better predictor than the PHQ-9. Conclusion The REMIT measure is a brief 5-item tool that augments core DSM-V symptom-oriented metrics in assessing and predicting recovery from major depression

Meat Juice serology underestimates prevalence of Salmonella in pig herds

Salmonella serology is used for classifying pig herds in risk categories in several national quality programs. Meat juice is used as test matrix in most of these programs. Two studies were done to compare the salmonella ELISA test results from meat juice with blood serum as a reference. Pig blood and meat samples for these studies were collected in one slaughterhouse. ELISA tests were done with a commonly applied commercial test. In the first study paired blood serum and meat juice samples from 182 pigs were collected and tested in two different laboratories. In the second study meat and blood samples were collected from 470 herds, over 20.000 samples for each matrix

Veelbelovend alternatief voor formaline ontsmetting broedeieren

Al jaren wordt gezocht naar een alternatief voor het gebruik van formaline. Momenteel staan waterstofperoxide, ozon en perazijnzuur in de belangstelling. Dit onderzoek is een vervolg op een oriënterende proef, die aangaf dat Cid 2000 in combinatie meteen ultrasoon fogapparaat veelbelovende perspectieven biedt