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1 – 10 of 10J.W. Spronck, M.H. El‐Husseini, L. Jabben, P.M. Overschie, D.G.E. Hobbelen, P. du Pau, H. Polinder and J. van Eijk
Mastering high‐density optical disks, like the Blu‐ray™ disk, requires new equipment design. Active magnetic bearing technology seem well suitable for this purpose, but challenges…
Abstract
Mastering high‐density optical disks, like the Blu‐ray™ disk, requires new equipment design. Active magnetic bearing technology seem well suitable for this purpose, but challenges arise in obtaining the required extreme accuracy. Creating a very low mechanical coupling between the system and the external world is the potential solution to this challenge pursued in this paper. Design considerations on actuators, amplifiers, sensors and overall design are discussed and the system performance is predicted using an error‐budgeting estimation. This prediction indicates the feasibility of the concept, while the first prototype has been assembled and is being tested.
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Gábor Király, Zsuzsanna Géring, Alexandra Köves, Sára Csillag and Gergely Kováts
The chapter aims to reflectively discuss a participatory research project concerning the future of higher education in Hungary. This project can be understood as an ongoing…
Abstract
The chapter aims to reflectively discuss a participatory research project concerning the future of higher education in Hungary. This project can be understood as an ongoing methodological experiment which attempts to engage teachers and students, in order to reveal how key stakeholders think about the future of higher education. In line with this, this methodologically oriented chapter shows how different participatory methodologies can be combined in a so-called backcasting framework. This approach starts by describing the present situation, then moves beyond the present conditions so as to identify the cornerstones of an ideal future state. On the one hand, the chapter gives a detailed introduction to how our participatory research process was set up and what particular methodologies we used during this process. On the other hand, it critically reflects on the methodological and ethical challenges involved.
Criminal proceedings can only follow the commission of an offence, made so by statute. If an act is not unlawful, it matters little with what motives a person commits it or the…
Abstract
Criminal proceedings can only follow the commission of an offence, made so by statute. If an act is not unlawful, it matters little with what motives a person commits it or the consequences; he is outside the law, i.e. criminal law; civil law might have a remedy, but criminal law does not. Even when a criminal offence is committed, it may contain ingredients without which, what would otherwise be a punishable act, becomes guiltless. Most qualifications to guilt are of longstanding, used by parliamentary draftsmen in a wide range of statutes and have acquired reasonably precise judicial meaning. Most relate to intention—wilfully, intentionally, knowingly—and in a few, judicial extension of the popular meaning and usage of the term has occurred to prevent an innocent stance being simulated by a guilty party. “Knowledge” is such an example. The term has been deliberately widened to cover persons who “shut their eyes” to an offence; where a person deliberately refrains from making enquiries, the results of which he would not care to know, this amounts to having such knowledge— constructive knowledge.
Md. Arman Arefin, Md. Nurun Nabi, Saalem Sadeque and Prasad Gudimetla
Literature limited in scope regarding the incorporation of sustainability into engineering curriculum encouraged authors to look at the current approaches of universities to the…
Abstract
Purpose
Literature limited in scope regarding the incorporation of sustainability into engineering curriculum encouraged authors to look at the current approaches of universities to the integration of sustainability into university curricula. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the literature published and analyse the university secondary data (information published on the university websites and magazines and programme catalogues) to understand the current status of Australian universities regarding the integration of sustainability in engineering.
Design/methodology/approach
Articles and reports from different trustworthy sources have been analysed in this study. A text mining methodology was used to gather information from websites, magazines and programme catalogues.
Findings
Obtained information and data indicate that the universities are considering sustainability seriously with both internal and external stakeholders of universities working towards embedding sustainability in engineering curricula. Most of the Australian universities have successfully implemented sustainable engineering education and the rest are focussing on integrating sustainability into their engineering education curriculum.
Originality/value
This is the first review, which focusses on incorporating sustainability into the engineering education of Australian universities. However, considering current progress and also some drawbacks of the universities regarding the integration of sustainability into engineering curriculum, 15 future research questions have been developed, which should be considered to make the integration process more efficient and equip engineers who would be able to engage and tackle the environmental, personal, social and economic challenges of the twenty-first century.
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Grecia Alarcon-Pereira, Izabela Simon Rampasso, Francisco J. Tapia-Ubeda, Karol Rojas-Aguilar and Carolina Rojas-Córdova
Considering the relevance of education for sustainable development (SD) to enhancing engineers’ abilities to contribute towards sustainability-related issues, this study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Considering the relevance of education for sustainable development (SD) to enhancing engineers’ abilities to contribute towards sustainability-related issues, this study aims to help understand the global context of the insertion of SD into engineering education and to provide guidelines to further evolve research and efforts towards implementing Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (EESD).
Design/methodology/approach
This study performed a longitudinal analysis using bibliometrics and a content analysis via Conceive–Design–Implement–Operate standards. SciMAT software was used to support the bibliometric analysis.
Findings
In addition to an increase in the practical aspects presented due to a change in the approaches taken to examine key topics, evidence on important concepts such as “life cycle assessment” and “digitalisation” increased in more recent years. However, it was possible to show that, despite the evolution observed throughout the years, several important opportunities exist for engineering programmes to improve and, for researchers, to fill the related gaps in the research.
Originality/value
This study can be used as a guide for future research and as a source of insights for EESD implementation and improvement.
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Johan Holmén, Tom Adawi and John Holmberg
While sustainability-oriented education is increasingly placing importance on engaging students in inter- and transdisciplinary learning processes with societal actors and…
Abstract
Purpose
While sustainability-oriented education is increasingly placing importance on engaging students in inter- and transdisciplinary learning processes with societal actors and authentic challenges in the centre, little research attends to how and what students learn in such educational initiatives. This paper aims to address this by opening the “black box” of learning in a Challenge Lab curriculum with transformational sustainability ambitions.
Design/methodology/approach
Realist evaluation was used as an analytical frame that takes social context into account to unpack learning mechanisms and associated learning outcomes. A socio-cultural perspective on learning was adopted, and ethnographic methods, including interviews and observations, were used.
Findings
Three context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations were identified, capturing what students placed value and emphasis on when developing capabilities for leading sustainability transformations: engaging with complex “in-between” sustainability challenges in society with stakeholders across sectors and perspectives; navigating purposeful and transformative change via backcasting; and “whole-person” learning from the inside-out as an identity-shaping process, guided by personal values.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper can inform the design, development, evaluation and comparison of similar educational initiatives across institutions, while leaving room for contextual negotiation and adjustment.
Originality/value
This paper delineates and discusses important learning mechanisms and outcomes when students act as co-creators of knowledge in a sustainability-oriented educational initiative, working with authentic challenges together with societal actors.
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Luís P. Amaral, Nelson Martins and Joaquim B. Gouveia
– The paper aims to deliver a general review of the methods used to pursue the concept of a “sustainable university”.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to deliver a general review of the methods used to pursue the concept of a “sustainable university”.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was Internet based, and it included research papers, books, conference proceedings, technical reports and Internet Web sites. The review was divided in two main parts: sustainability implementation methods and assessment and report tools. In turn, the practices used on universities to implement included more “traditional” environmental sustainability initiatives and a more updated sustainable management systems.
Findings
Because “traditional” sustainability environmental sustainability initiatives have flaws, more recent tools were developed to help manage sustainability. Two sustainability management systems specifically oriented to universities are outlined on this paper. They both highlight the advantage of disposing a systematized management system; the need of address environmental issues and putting special attention on the use of resources, especially energy, on campus buildings; the social responsibility of the institution; and educational and research sustainability activities that must be taken on universities. Managing sustainability in a university would be facilitated if the procedure used to implement sustainability is aligned with the tool used that assesses its performance.
Originality/value
The paper presents an updated review of the efforts that universities have made in contributing to a sustainable development. It includes methods and tools used to manage sustainability within a university, including the ones used to implement, assess and report it. The paper also intends to highlight the need of consistency and coherence between the implementation method and the assessment and report tools.
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Elif Küçüksayraç, Renee Wever and Han Brezet
This paper aims to investigate the intermediary role of universities in spreading design for sustainability into industry.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the intermediary role of universities in spreading design for sustainability into industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Three case studies were undertaken on Delft University of Technology, Design for Sustainability Program from The Netherlands; a center on sustainable consumption and production; and Prof. Göksel Demirer from Middle East Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department from Turkey.
Findings
The process and evolution of the intermediary roles of the cases are explained. Three types of structures, through which universities undertake intermediary role, are investigated via the cases studies, a program, a center and an individual scientist.
Originality/value
This study is a first attempt to investigate the intermediary role of universities in the design for sustainability field.
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Peter Fredriksson and Magnus Persson
It is widely acknowledged that aspects of sustainable development (SD) should be integrated into higher level operations management (OM) education. The aim of the paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
It is widely acknowledged that aspects of sustainable development (SD) should be integrated into higher level operations management (OM) education. The aim of the paper is to outline the experiences gained at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden from integrating aspects of SD into OM courses.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on the authors' experiences from teaching at Chalmers University of Technology, and the integration of SD into OM courses. The paper thus relies on an action research approach, similar in many ways to other papers in the field.
Findings
The paper outlines several similarities between the fields of SD and OM. Although the results show that several challenges must be overcome when integrating the fields in courses. The challenges – that are scrutinized through the use of existing literature – relate to the scope differences between the fields, lack of SD aspects in OM text books, and misfit between needs and teacher competence, support, and course structures.
Originality/value
The paper adds understanding by specifically addressing the integration of SD into OM courses. Universities and teachers within the field can consider the challenges outlined when integrating the two fields in courses.
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Karel F. Mulder, Didac Ferrer, Jordi Segalas Coral, Olga Kordas, Eugene Nikiforovich and Kateryna Pereverza
This paper aims at identifying factors that could contribute to the motivation of students in sustainable development (SD) education. The underlying idea of the paper is that SD…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at identifying factors that could contribute to the motivation of students in sustainable development (SD) education. The underlying idea of the paper is that SD education is not always as attractive among students and lecturers as many would like it to be.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper briefly reviews literature regarding behavioral change for long-term benefits. It identifies four motivators that could be effective to make people pursue longer-term objectives. It identifies if these motivators were present in five cases of successful SD education.
Findings
The four motivators for students that were identified in the literature review (a sense of autonomy, a challenge of reflection on the future role, connection with others, self-fulfillment, focus on the individual learning need) could be observed in the cases of successful SD education, although to various degrees. Individual autonomy in learning was not observed, but group autonomy was present in all cases.
Research limitations/implications
The case studies were all electives. It is unclear how the motivators could work out in mandatory courses. Moreover, the curriculum as a whole will affect the success of single courses. Successful courses being “the exception” of the curriculum might be judged differently if they would be part of the curriculum in which such courses would be the main stream. Further research is required to check if the motivators are effective in mandatory and not specifically SD-targeted courses. It is also not clear how various motivators could be applied most effectively in a curriculum.
Practical implications
The paper gives guidance to lecturers and educational managers to design attractive and effective SD education.
Originality/value
The paper treats SD education from a novel perspective: how to convey a credible behavioral message, and how to motivate students for education for SD.
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