Graduate Research and Education for Appropriate Technology

尽管工程师和科学家自愿提供技能开发“适当技术”以解决人道主义关切(例如，发展中社会或贫穷社区的需要)的传统由来已久，但将其主要专业或学术活动定位于这类工作的相对较少。伟大的想法将进行研究，以确定可能解释这一现象的态度和环境。伟大的想法还将开发新的教育组成部分，以激励和培训研究生在分析、开发和实施适当技术方面追求研究和职业生涯。为了研究研究生和教职员工的态度，将制定一项详细的调查，将在美国、波多黎各和西班牙的机构广泛传播。这项调查将要求受访者确定并评论他们如何看待自己工作的目的，他们在多大程度上扮演着将工作引向自己选择的事业的“代理人”，以及他们直接将自己的工作应用于适当技术的倾向或劝阻。这项调查旨在补充和扩展这一领域以前的研究。在教育方面，将在调查员的家乡机构波多黎各大学马亚格斯分校(UPRM)开发和教授新的课程和研讨会。这些课程和研讨会将面向研究生和高级本科生，并将提供与适当技术相关的问题、最佳实践和职业机会。学生将开展服务学习和参与性行动研究，包括论文，这些研究将服务于波多黎各和加勒比邻国的社区。为此，调查员与下列组织建立了合作伙伴关系，以协助确定社区和适当的技术项目：大学改善准入中心(CUA)，其组织从UPRM到为经济困难学生服务的当地学校的外联活动；社区发展研究所(IUDC)，其组织服务性学习项目；以及青年海地，其协助海地的可持续发展。该项目的成果将包括设计和开发一个网站，作为整个项目的门户；研究成果的出版和展示，包括对工程师和科学家如何理解他们工作目的的进一步洞察；与适当技术有关的新的研究生水平课程和研讨会，其材料将公开提供；完成适当技术的直接服务学习和论文项目。更广泛地说，由伟大想法支持的活动将促进研究生和教职员工的自我反思，并将为希望将他们的专业和学术服务献给人道主义事业和适当技术的工程师和科学家培养新的职业道路。此外，由于这些项目将发生在加勒比地区的社区并为其服务，该项目将涉及并服务于西班牙人、法国人和土著/土著后裔的人民和文化。

Despite a long tradition of engineers and scientists volunteering their skills to develop "appropriate technology" to address humanitarian concerns (e.g., needs of developing societies or poor communities), relatively few have oriented their primary professional or academic activities to such work. GREAT IDEA will conduct research to determine attitudes and circumstances that might explain this phenomenon. GREAT IDEA will also develop new educational components to inspire and train graduate students to pursue research and careers in the analysis, development, and implementation of appropriate technology.To research attitudes of graduate students and faculty, a detailed survey will be developed that will be widely circulated at institutions in the US, Puerto Rico, and Spain. The survey will ask respondents to identify and comment on how they perceive the purpose of their work, the degree to which they act as "agents" to direct their work to causes of their choosing, and their inclinations or dissuasions to apply their work directly in appropriate technology. The survey will be designed to complement and extend prior research in this area.Educationally, new courses and seminars will be developed and delivered at the investigator's home institution, the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (UPRM). These courses and seminars will aimed at graduate students and advanced undergraduates, and will provide exposure to issues, best practices, and career opportunities related to appropriate technology. Students will conduct service learning and participatory action research, including theses, that will serve communities in Puerto Rico and neighboring countries in the Caribbean. Toward this end, the investigators have established partnerships with the following organizations to assist with identifying communities and appropriate technology projects: the Centro Universitario para el Access/University Center for Increased Access (CUA), which organizes outreach activities from UPRM to local schools that serve economically disadvantaged students; the Instituto Universitario para el Desarrollo de las Comunidades/University Institute for Community Development (IUDC), which organizes service learning projects; and YouthHaiti, which assists sustainable development in Haiti.Outcomes of this project will include the design and development of a website that will serve as a gateway to the entire project; the publication and presentation of research findings, including further insights as to how engineers and scientists understand the purpose of their work; new graduate level courses and seminars related to appropriate technology, the materials of which will be publicly available; and the completion of direct service learning and thesis projects in appropriate technology.More broadly, the activities supported by GREAT IDEA will foster self-reflection among graduate students and faculty, and will foster new career pathways for engineers and scientists who wish to devote their professional and academic services toward humanitarian causes and appropriate technology. Moreover, because the projects will occur in and serve communities in the Caribbean, this project will involve and serve peoples and cultures of Spanish, French, and native/aboriginal descent.