Exploring Engineering During Semester at Sea

Exploring Engineering During Semester at Sea: Reflections from the Library : 

Exploring Engineering During Semester at Sea: Reflections from the Library ELD Session 2641 ASEE, Portland, 2005 Kate Thomes, Bevier Engineering Library University of Pittsburgh, kthomes@pitt.edu

Summer 2004: 

Summer 2004

Outline:: 

Outline: Semester at Sea Heightened Awareness of Global Engineering Developing Partnerships with East Asian Librarians Engineering Librarians Role in Global Engineering Education

Semester at Sea Program: 

Semester at Sea Program Semester of undergraduate education Ship sails to various ports Courses mapped to the itinerary Multidisciplinary 400 students, 30 faculty, 40 staff, crew Introduced engineering in Summer 2004

Summer 2004 Itinerary: 

Summer 2004 Itinerary Sitka, Alaska Kodiak, Alaska Petropavlosk Russia Pusan, Korea Shanghai ,China Hong Kong Hanoi, Vietnam Keelung, Taiwan Kobe, Japan Seattle, Washington

Related Papers : 

Related Papers Bopaya Bidanda et al – “Current Topics in IE Education,” ASEE Session 1357, Portland 2005 Larry Shuman et al – “The Global and Societal Challenge…” ASEE Session 3430, Portland 2005 Kate Thomes Library Hi Tech News, v.21, no.9 2004. Describes library services.

Shipboard Library: 

Shipboard Library Library of ~6000 volumes + Reserves Most engineering material = Reserves Some business & statistical info in Reference Limited electronic resources Experiential Learning with limited support

Library Reference Service: 

Library Reference Service Not a Land Based Research Library Limited holdings Renewed Appreciation of Encyclopedias The right ones rock! Electronic Longings You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone

IE Courses: 

IE Courses “Global Manufacturing Systems Engineering - processes, principles, systems” “Manufacturing Cultures in the Pacific Rim - organizational dynamics” Both courses utilized on-site Plant Visits

IE Information Needs:Broad Topics: 

IE Information Needs: Broad Topics Demographics (#’s, ages, gender, location) Geography/Geology (urban centers, physical land issues) Infrastructure (transportation, power sources, water) Business/Engineering culture (anthropology) Government (who has power, regulatory environment)

IE Information Needs:Specific Issues: 

IE Information Needs: Specific Issues Work Ethic Level of Technical/Engineering education Economic Development Policies Availability of Raw materials Cyber infrastructure Education level of shop floor employees Environmental regulations Climate for entrepreneurship Familiarity with working in International Teams

Post Voyage, Back on Land, theFocus on Global Issues Remained: 

Post Voyage, Back on Land, the Focus on Global Issues Remained Not Just IE Anymore CEE Courses ChE courses MSE courses International Information Needed Across the Board

Land or Sea – What Resources Provide Global Engineering Info?: 

Land or Sea – What Resources Provide Global Engineering Info? Question lead to collaboration with University of Pittsburgh’s East Asian Library Focused on resources from China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea Asked librarians to investigate 5 questions on 1 company in each country

The Questions:: 

The Questions: Estimate labor costs at each company Transportation costs for their products to Los Angeles Company history Company's in-house expertise (engineering skills) Their reputation and credibility within their country.

The Companies:: 

The Companies: Kennametal (Shanghai), Shanghai, China Chroma ATE Inc., Taiwan, ROC Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ulsan Korea

The Results: No Silver Bullet: 

The Results: No Silver Bullet National Statistics Available, but … Organized differently, inconsistent categories Business Data – Hit & Miss Company websites useful, but doing PR Language of Resources can be a Barrier

Resources by Country: China: 

Resources by Country: China National Bureau of Statistics of China http://www.stats.gov.cn Ministry of Communications of the People’s Republic of China http://www.moc.gov.cn Subscription Databases China Data Online (China Data Center University of Michigan) http://chinadatacenter.org/ China INFOBANK (China INFOBANK Limited in Hong Kong) http://www.chinainfobank.com

Resources by Country: Japan: 

Resources by Country: Japan Statistics Bureau – Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications http://www.stat.go.jp/english/index.htm  Web Japan - Statistics http://web-jpn.org/stat/index.html Web Japan – Gateway for all Japanese Information http://web-jpn.org/index.html J-Stage, Japan Science and Technology Aggregator (scholarly articles/proceedings, some articles are bilingual) http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/ Japan Company Handbook http://www.toyokeizai.co.jp/english/jch/index.html

Resources by Country: Korea: 

Resources by Country: Korea Korea National Statistics Office http://www.nso.go.kr/eng/   Ministry of Labor http://152.99.129.57/eng/ (http://laborstat.molab.go.kr/eng)

Additional International Resources: 

Additional International Resources RBA (Rhodes-Blakeman Associates) http://www.rba.co.uk/ http://www.rba.co.uk/sources/country.htm (country specific information) This site links to various reports with country specific business information. Some of the sources listed are fee-based services, some are bilingual. Global Market Information Database (GMID) Business & Company Resources Center Business Source Premier

http://www.sois.uwm.edu/jeong/ceal/: 

http://www.sois.uwm.edu/jeong/ceal/

University of Pittsburgh East Asian Library: Serviceswww.library.pitt.edu/libraries/eal: 

University of Pittsburgh East Asian Library: Services www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/eal Gateway Service Center for Chinese and Korean Academic Journal Publications Japan Information Center

Engineering Trend Towards Globalism : 

Engineering Trend Towards Globalism As engineering continues to be an international activity, the need to obtain information from a variety of countries will increase. Librarians will need to assist patrons with issues of data standardization or lack of it, types of data collected, how it is organized, what is made public, what is proprietary.

“Globalism” Reference: Skill & Art: 

“Globalism” Reference: Skill & Art Vast numbers of Resources Business and Statistical sources Some resources very specialized Language barriers Cultivate Collaborations with Colleagues in East Asian, Areas Studies, and Business Libraries

Librarians’ Contribution to Globalism in the Engineering Curriculum: 

Librarians’ Contribution to Globalism in the Engineering Curriculum Increase awareness/knowledge of international information sources Help students gather and use resources from various countries Share information with colleagues to help engineering librarians’ skill set in this area grow

Special Thanks To:: 

Special Thanks To: Hong Xu, Head, Pittsburgh’s EAL Haihui Zhang-China specialist Yoko Hirose- Japan specialist Donghee Sinn & Joolynn Lee – Korea specialists

Slide28: 

Exploring Engineering During Semester at Sea: Reflections from the Library ELD Session 2641 ASEE, Portland, 2005 Kate Thomes, Bevier Engineering Library University of Pittsburgh, kthomes@pitt.edu