Graduate Research and Education for Appropriate Technology

尽管工程师和科学家有着悠久的传统，他们自愿利用自己的技能开发“适当的技术”来解决人道主义问题（例如，尽管这些工作是为了满足发展中社会或贫穷社区的需要，但很少有人将其主要专业或学术活动导向此类工作。 GREAT IDEA将进行研究，以确定可能解释这一现象的态度和环境。 GREAT IDEA还将开发新的教育内容，以激励和培养研究生从事分析、开发和实施适当技术的研究和职业。为了研究研究生和教师的态度，将开发一份详细的调查，该调查将在美国、波多黎各和西班牙的机构中广泛分发。 调查将要求答卷人确定和评论他们如何看待其工作的目的，他们在多大程度上充当“代理人”，将其工作导向他们选择的事业，以及他们直接将其工作应用于适当技术的倾向或劝阻。 这项调查的目的是补充和扩大这一领域以前的研究，在教育方面，将在调查者的家乡机构-马亚圭斯的波多黎各大学-开设新的课程和举办研讨会。 这些课程和研讨会将针对研究生和高年级本科生，并将提供接触问题，最佳实践和就业机会有关的适当技术。 学生将进行服务学习和参与式行动研究，包括论文，这将服务于波多黎各和加勒比地区邻国的社区。 为此，调查人员与下列组织建立了伙伴关系，以协助确定社区和适当的技术项目：普及教育大学中心/大学促进普及教育中心，该中心组织了从统一政策审查机制到为经济困难学生服务的当地学校的外联活动;社区发展大学研究所，组织服务学习项目;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;发表和介绍研究成果，包括对工程师和科学家如何理解其工作目的的进一步见解;与适当技术有关的新的研究生课程和研讨会，其材料将向公众提供;以及完成适当技术的直接服务学习和论文项目。更广泛地说，GREAT IDEA支持的活动将促进研究生和教师的自我反思，并将为那些希望将其专业和学术服务奉献给人道主义事业和适当技术的工程师和科学家开辟新的职业道路。 此外，由于这些项目将在加勒比社区开展并为加勒比社区服务，因此该项目将涉及西班牙、法国和土著/原住民血统的人民和文化，并为这些人民和文化服务。

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.