INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION DIGEST

 

July 2007

Copyright © 2007 World Expertise LLC – All rights reserved

A periodic electronic newsletter for engineering education leaders,

edited by Russel C. Jones, Ph.D., P.E., and Bethany S. Jones, Ph.D.

 

CONTENTS

1 - International developments

2 - US developments  

3 - Technology

4 - Students, faculty, education

5 - Employment, competitiveness

6 – Journals

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1 - International developments

STEM education in twelve countries is subject of major report – The July 6 edition of Science contains a special section on “The World of Undergraduate Education,” edited by Jeffrey Mervis.  Twelve faculty working in STEM disciplines in different countries around the world were interviewed about issues related to teaching science and technology to undergraduates.  Despite being from countries with very different higher education systems, cultural and economic dynamics, and student profiles (Australia, Russia, South Korea, the US, Brazil, Austria, China, South Africa, France, the UK, India and Japan), the educators spoke of common concerns such as the falling interest in science among their students (and among the general population as well), poor preparation, weak budgets and heavy workloads for faculty.  There was striking resilience among the group, however: everyone was actively working to make their discipline more comprehensible to students and to foster an environment where the joys of scientific discovery could be made apparent.  (See http://www.sciencemag.org)

Egypt moves to reform its scientific research system – After long years of neglect, Egypt ’s government is moving to restructure its scientific research system, writes Robert in the July 6 issue of Science. Despite the country’s well developed system of research networks, with its science and technology funding at .2% of GDP, far below the GDP in developing countries, with registered patents low and with its share of scientific publications still dropping, several steps need to be taken.  One of the first moves will be to install a competitive funding program.  Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif will himself chair a new S&T Council made up of scientists, cabinet ministers who themselves have research experience, and representatives from industry – a model similar to that in Japan.  That council will be charged with developing a recovery plan that would lead to a rapid increase of the research budget to 1% of GDP.  The existing Academy of Scientific Research and Technology would likely no longer be in charge of grant distribution, that function passing over to a new Egyptian National Funding Agency. (See http://www.sciencemag.org)

Sarkozy plans to reform France ’s universities – New French President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to reform the country’s universities, by giving them more autonomy and focusing more on research excellence.  France ’s universities have not ranked highly in international evaluations: its best, the University of Paris VI , camein at 45th place in Shanghai ’s Jiao Tong University ’s annual report, writes John Thornhill in the July 4 edition of the Financial Times as reported by MSNBC.com.  University reform is part of a larger effort to restructure France ’s labor market and to encourage longer work hours by providing incentives.  Any reforms, however, will take place under the watchful eyes of students, who are a powerful political force and will likely resist stronger admission standards and the imposition of tuition fees. (See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19591238/)

India has joined the Washington Accord – This past June, the Washington Accord, made up of the engineering accreditation organizations of twelve countries, voted to make India the thirteenth member.  The American Society for Engineering Education had endorsed that move, and has itself formed the Indo US Collaboration for Engineering Education.  For several years the All India Council for Technical Education has made significant moves to upgrade the quality of engineering education in India , including cutting seats at engineering colleges which did not meet minimum standards for quality instruction, writes Shailaja Neelakantan in the July 13 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. (See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i45/45a03104.htm)

Science gets new home in UK government – Science appears to have a more prominent role in the British government after the reshuffle that followed the handover of power from Prime Minister Tony Blair to his successor Gordon Brown. According to a note in the July 6th Science by Daniel Clery, one of Brown’s first acts was to create a new ministry whose responsibility includes both research and higher education. The new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) will control both arms of the “dual support” funding system – competitive grants provided by the research councils and direct funding to university science departments – previously administered by separate departments of the government. (See http://www.sciencemag.org)

India ’s higher ed system severely critiqued by Prime Minister Singh – The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, used an address at the University of Mumbai to express his deep dissatisfaction with the quality of his country’s institutions of higher education, and with the low levels of participation.  Fewer than 50% of secondary school graduates enter into post-secondary education of any sort, and the quality of about two thirds of the universities and 90% of the degree granting colleges is too low. These statistics come from a confidential report issued by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, reports Shailaja Neelakantan in the June 25 on-line education of The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Other weaknesses reveals in the report are that about 25% of faculty positions in universities are vacant, and there is only one computer for every 229 students in the colleges.  PM Singh recommended that India ’s institutions collaborate with the best universities around the world to learn from them.  And he revealed concerns about corruption and about politicized appointments of university officials. (See http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/06/2007062507n.htm)

China increases its ties to African universities – Although small when compared with Western efforts, China is aggressively ratcheting up its involvement with African universities, reports Megan Lindow in the June 26 on-line edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Much of China ’s motivation is to obtain natural resources required to sustain its own economic growth.  Initiatives include establishing new programs, building facilities, teaching Mandarin and funding student exchanges. (See http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/06/2007062607n.htm)

Australia moves to winnow down its programs abroad – In the aftermath of the collapse of a University of New South Wales branch campus in Singapore , Australian universities are now seen to be generally trending downward in their involvement elsewhere overseas, reports David Cohen in the July 9 on-line issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Of 200,000 foreign students enrolled in Australia ’s universities, about 60,000 are in one of 1500 offshore programs, mostly in Southeast Asia .  Criticisms of lax standards and insufficient financial controls have been persistent.  And the UNSW’s decision to close its new program in Singapore came only after 18 of its 20 international programs had already been closed in the past five years. The University of Southern Queensland , Curtin University of Technology and Central Queensland University all are cited as already having reduced their existing commitments overseas.  Those close to the process think that poor business planning, coupled with a greater sophistication about off-shore programming, are leading to this shake-down. (See http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/07/2007070908n.htm)

Asian and Latin American research universities are subject of new study – On the occasion of the publication of World Class Worldwide: Transforming Research Universities in Asia and Latin America, edited by Philip G. Altbach and Jorge Balán, Scott Jaschik in the July 13 edition of Inside Higher Education interviewed the two editors.  From the discussion, we read that while Asia’s leaders have accepted enthusiastically the “Anglo-Saxon models” of higher education and research, Latin American leaders are less willing to accept increased influence from the north, but that both regions operate in similar environments characterized by rapid escalation of enrollments, lack of shared academic values, and pressures from competing internal and external demands.  The editors pointed out that despite some rapid improvements in higher education in places like China and India , with the exception of a very few top institutions, the quality does not compare even with that of average US universities.  What is lacking is often a commitment to “an academic culture of meritocracy,” they say, to combat favoritism in admission and research funding, corruption, and the lack of academic freedom.  The article ends with the naming of some top universities which Americans, say Altbach and Balán, should watch: the University of Tokyo in Japan , Peking , Tsinghua and Fudan Universities in China , and the Asian Institute of Technology , Thailand .  (See http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/07/13/world.)

IIE leading major effort to rescue Iraqi scholars – The Institute of International Education ’s Scholar Rescue Fund is taking the unusual step of attempting to rescue hundreds of Iraqi academics, reports Elizabeth Redden in the July 17 edition of Inside Higher Education.  The last time such an undertaking occurred was in the 1930s, when hundreds of European scholars were taken to the US . This time, the rescue would be in the form of two year fellowships awarded to 200 senior scholars, allowing them to work in the Middle East and North Africa and to maintain contact with their students through distance education.  The Iraqi minister of higher education has the names of hundreds of scholars who have received death threats and is cooperating with the IIE in this effort. It appears that terrorists are aiming deliberately at killing off the intelligentsia of the country: estimates of around 300 professors having been killed since 2003 may be low. (See http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/07/17/iraq)

Saudis offer scholarship support at new science and technology institution – The initial recruitment effort of Saudi Arabia ’s new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is to offer students from around the world opportunities to complete for merit-based scholarships which would permit them to complete their undergraduate studies wherever they are currently studying.  Included in the funding would be full tuition, living expenses, textbooks and computer stipend, and travel costs to participate in KAUST’s enrichment programs.  Upon completion of their undergraduate studies, students would receive admission into a master’s degree program at KAUST after satisfying admissions requirements.  Support at the graduate level would include tuition, housing and travel.  This information came from the IIE Network.  (See http://www.iienetwork.org)

Report features info about higher education in Africa – The June 2007 on-line edition of World Education News and Reviews includes a section on Africa with news from Gambia , Kenya , Rwanda , South Africa and Uganda .  In Uganda , for example, the New Vision was cited as the source of a report that the country has made good progress in battling corruption in its education system according to UNESCO. (See http://www.wes.org/ewenr)

 

2 - US developments  

Using tax credits to stave off state-to-state brain drain – A dedicated group of activist students, helped along by supportive state legislators, have succeeded in having passed a college loan forgiveness program for the state of Maine, reports Scott Jaschik in the July 3 issue of Inside Higher Education. Maine residents who graduate from either public or private colleges, undergraduate or community colleges, who accumulate loans at part of their financial aid package, will be eligible for up to $2100 per years in state tax credits for ten years.  Supporters hope that this will prevent brain drain by students seeking elsewhere for better paying jobs than are available in Maine .  Skeptics, some of them experts on student aid, are not sure that tax credit plans can ever do much to stave off outward migration of graduates.  One university official thinks that the biggest impact will be felt on students aiming at employment in human services, where low salaries are common. (See http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/07/03/maine)

Supreme Court decision scrutinized by university officials – US university officials have been looking carefully at the recent Supreme Court decision on elementary school desegregation in Louisville and Seattle , trying to determine how much impact it has on their own attempts at affirmative action, writes Scott Jaschik in the June 29 edition of Inside Higher Education. William Thro, solicitor general of Virginia , concludes that the wording of the decision tells colleges that they must define diversity as comprising much more than race if they want to use race as a factor in admissions or financial aid.  He suspects that at many institutions, race and gender still are the dominant factors in diversity considerations, rather than the broader gamut of elements that might be included.  Some opponents of affirmative action are pleased with the court’s decision about Louisville and Seattle , suggesting that they are preparing evidence to prove that the admissions practices at many colleges and universities are illegal.  Some supporters of affirmation action are pleased that the court’s wording includes statements about the unique position of institutions of higher education, distinguishing them from elementary and secondary schools.   (See http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/29/affirm)

NSF urged to narrow the focus of its materials science centers – The National Research Council has issued a report calling upon the National Science Foundation to consolidate its focus on materials science or risk lowering the quality of the work being done, reports Jeffrey Brainard in the June 25 on-line edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.  The NSF began the Materials-Research-Science and Engineering Centers program in 1994, and by 2006 was supporting 29 centers for $53 million.  Current funding on average allows centers to support only about 70% of the research conducted in 1996. Over time, NSF has required the centers to expand their activities to include seeking industry partnerships and elementary and secondary school outreach.  The NRC report says that the educational efforts were not well organized or evaluated, and recommends that non-research activities at the centers be eliminated. (See http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/06/2007062502n.htm)

What color is chemistry on your campus? – While campuses in the US are turning various shades of green, in some universities the curriculum is changing color, too.  The “green chemistry” movement appears to be slowly benefiting from the widespread and growing interesting in sustainability, according to adherents who have been working for many years with little support.  Green chemistry refers to “. . . the infusion of an environmental ethic regardless of what topic . . . is being taught or studied,” writes Elizabeth Redden in the June 25 edition of Inside Higher Education.  Faculty at the University of Oregon began their efforts in 1996, and are now joined by colleagues at Hendrix College , the University of Massachusetts at Lowell , and elsewhere.  They are encouraged, but still see that green chemistry is too often relegated to a “special topics” portion of their discipline, rather than being a fundamental approach to the science of chemistry.  (See http://insidehighered.com/2007/06/25/chemistry)

American science plateau – The US National Science Foundation has released a pair of reports about the decline in the American share of published articles in science and engineering worldwide. According to an article in the July 20th Inside Higher Ed by Andy Guess, that observation in not surprising in light of the growing influence of scientists from Asia and Europe . But in addition to the decrease in relative share of journal articles, there has been a slowdown in absolute numbers as well. This decrease began in the early 1990’s and stands in marked contrast to at least the two previous decades worth of American research. The flattening of growth in science and engineering publishing is surprising in light of the observation that there has been no corresponding decrease in research inputs, such as funding and research staff, which might stunt American output in scholarly journals. Possible explanations are pressures on American universities to increase quality rather than quantity, the increased pressure to write grant proposals with available time, additional time spent in complying with new government regulations, and the increased cost of the equipment and technology needed for research. (See http://insidehighered.com)

New science and technology advisor at State Department – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has named Nina Fedoroff to be her new science and technology advisor, according to a news release from the National Academies. Fedoroff, a geneticist and molecular biologist, is a Life Sciences Professor to Pennsylvania State University . She is an active member of the National Academy of Sciences. The position of science and technology advisor was created in 2000 based on recommendations from a National Research Council report that urged the Secretary of State to appoint a highly qualified senior advisor to provide advice on science, technology and health, and to draw upon the resources of the American technical community as appropriate. Fedoroff will be the third scientist to hold this position. President Bush announced this week that Fedoroff is among eight recipients of the 2006 National Medal of Science, a top award for lifetime achievement in scientific research. (See http://www.news.national-academies.org)   

Energy Department creates three new centers for research into biofuels – The US Department of Energy has announced the creation of three new centers to focus research on bioenergy, reports Matt Petrie in the June 27th on-line edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.  The University of Wisconsin at Madison, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee , and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California will each have academic and corporate partners to study how to produce biofuels such as ethanol.  Each center will receive $125 million over five years.  Timothy Donahue, PI for the Wisconsin center, describes the research to be conducted as “bioprospecting.”  (See http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/06/2007072701n.htm)

 

3 - Technology

A “neighbor-navigator” helps South Koreans surf the web – South Korea ’s dominant Internet search engine is called Naver.com, a name combining the English words neighbor and navigator. It has a US$ 8 billion market value and handles about 110 million queries each day from about 16 million people, in a country whose population is 48 million, 70% of whom use the Internet. Yahoo and Google barely appear on the horizon. Naver was created in 1999 by NHN, a gaming company, reports Choe Sang-Hun in the July 5 on-line edition of The New York Times. The need arose because there was little Korean language content on-line, prompting NHN to create its own database of information.  “Knowledge iN” is Naver’s real-time Q & A service, which draws upon the South Korean’s affinity for human interaction and sense of helpfulness.  Queries range from the mundane to the academic and receive appropriate replies.  While Naver differs from Wikipedia in not employing full-time editorial staff, the quality of material is generally high, thanks to devoted volunteer contributors.  (See http://nytimes.com)

Manufacturers attempt to offer greener hi-tech gadgets – Consumer technology companies are taking some steps to make their products free of toxic materials, more easily recyclable and more energy efficient, and at the same time to make their own offices and factories more green.  PCs, mobile phones, televisions and other products produced by both large and small companies are changing as a result of current interest in sustainability.  But these efforts have not produced large-scale modifications in consumer behavior: customers probably don’t keep in mind the environment when purchasing a new laptop. And some of the technical challenges are enormous, such as trying to live up to a commitment to make laptops without PVC, a plastic that is toxic when burned, but which is well suited to fire-proofing cables.  And outsourcing of parts has made it nearly impossible to determine the conditions under which those individual parts are manufactured.  This article was written by Michelle Kessler for USA Today, and published on page 46 of the July 19 print-edition of the Khaleej Times.   

New high-tech IPOs, without the insanity – The dot.com boom days have not returned, but in the last three months 27 venture-capital backed technology companies made public offerings, reported Brad Stone in the June 29 on-line edition of The New York Times.  That is more than in any quarter since the late 1990s with the exception of the late 2004 Google IPO.  The general consensus is that there is venture capital available to companies that have annual revenues of at least $100 million, a positive cash flow and a roadmap to profitability.  These standards do not mark a change as much as a return to the sanity which prevailed pre-dot.com boom. (See http://nytimes.com) 

“Usability experts” are in growing demand – The usability industry is an expanding field where good jobs are available, according to Barbara Whitaker, writing in the July 8 on-line edition of The New York Times. With technology becoming more sophisticated and at the same time more accessible to a wide range of users, there is room for experts who bridge the gap between hardware and software and the people who are expected to use them.  Usability experts, who have their own professional group – the Usability Professionals’ Association – come from a wide range of professional backgrounds, including linguistics, cognitive psychology, geophysics, and anthropology, but receive most of their training in the workplace. As the profession matures and demand for expertise grows, universities have now begun offering degrees in human factors, human computer interaction, and accessible Web design.  (See http://nytimes.com)

 

4 - Students, faculty, education

“A rose by any other name . . .” – The Educational Testing Service initially called the new product they have under development a “Standardized Letter of Recommendation,” a tacit acknowledgement that traditional letters of recommendation written by faculty in support of their students’ admission into graduate school were frequently content-free.  But realizing how that first name sounded, ETS now is piloting a “Personal Potential Index,” a series of questions which referees answer about candidates focusing on such traits as resilience, communication skills, and integrity.  These ratings, submitted on-line, would then be compiled into summary scores and become part of the package of information used by graduate programs to admit new students.  While the scores would be numerical, there would also be room for referees to explain or add narratives, all of which would be appended to the scores.  The Index is ETS’s response to a request of the advisory board for the Graduate Record Exam, and is an attempt to grasp a fuller picture of the non-cognitive competencies of candidates.  It is also, reports Scott Jaschik in the July 6 edition of Inside Higher Education, seen by some as ETS’s attempt to position itself as a leader in measurement of non-cognitive abilities, after years of ignoring this domain. (See http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/0706/ppi)

Sharing the wealth of US public universities around the world – Public research universities in the US are slowly coming to acknowledge international activities as part of their missions and are attempting to shape the involvement of their faculty and students in order to maximize the benefits of global partnerships, reports Sara Hebel in the June 29 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.  This article focuses primarily on Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis , which enrolls about 30,000 students.  Since 1990 the University of Indiana School of Medicine has been involved with Moi University in Kenya , and now both partners benefit from a long and solid relationship.  Their Academic Model for the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS was even nominated this year for a Nobel Peace Prize.  Indiana-Purdue has a goal of establishing about ten strategic partnerships around the world, where they can engage in “multilayered” (multi-disciplinary) approaches to using their resources to benefit a specific region.  Problems exist: faculty reward systems are not geared to recognizing international efforts; funding takes time to apply for; some academics cannot see beyond their own research topics. But in the best case, both industry and local government are cooperative. (See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i43/43a03801.htm)

Education for a sustainable future – Sustainability is being integrated into higher-education institutions’ mission and planning, curricula, research, student life, and operations, according to an article in the July 20th Science by Debra Rowe. Students and staff at hundreds of campuses are engaged in sustainability committees and actions, including the following: learning to focus on acquiring sustainability knowledge and application skills; sustainability-oriented film festivals, speakers and other campus events; socially and environmentally responsible criteria for purchasing and endowments; infusion of sustainability into the general education core requirements, courses, disciplines, whole colleges, and specialized degrees; and regional and global approaches to sustainability in collaboration with businesses, government, NGOs and K-12 education. US business, architecture and engineering schools are in the forefront of sustainability education. (See http://www.sciencemag.org)

Pentagon looking for a few good ideas – This fall the US Department of Defense will launch a grants program to fund researchers and innovative ideas for tackling important security challenges, according to an article in the July 20th Science by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee. Agency officials hope that the program will foster research outside the bounds of pre-determined research questions, in fields such as: biometrics; social, cultural and behavioral modeling; tracking of enemy targets; countering improvised explosive devices; and extracting information about suspicious activities and events from large data sets. Applicants for the National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowships must be US citizens, and preference will be given to early-career researchers. (See http://www.sciencemag.org)

Study indicates engineering students complete Ph.Ds. relatively promptly – Preliminary data from the Council of Graduate Schools’ Ph.D. Completion Project contains information about engineering students.  The data were collected from 29 US institutions, both public and private.  We see that 19% of new Ph.D.s in engineering received loans for their studies, and 12% had at least $35,000 in loans.  This compares, for example, with 50% of social science doctoral graduates who had any loans, and 35% with at least $35,000 in loans.  The impact of finances on degree completion is one of the themes of interest to project director Daniel Denecke.  Taking the cohort of students beginning graduate studies in 1992-4, data show that 57.4% of those in engineering had completed their degrees by the sixth year, at which time only 29% of humanities candidates had finished.  Within engineering, civil engineers completed their degrees faster than electrical engineers.  This report was written by Scott Jaschik for the July 17 issue of Inside Higher Education. (See http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/07/17/phd)

 

5 - Employment, competitiveness

The newer face of off-shore outsourcing – In the continuing debate about offshore-outsourcing and its potential impact on employment in the US, I.B.M. has developed a business strategy to attract complex technology services projects, then orchestrate the employment of people worldwide with the various levels of expertise needed to get the projects accomplished.  Just as global manufacturing networks have been developed over the years, resulting in the parts of a single automobile being made in dozens of different places around the globe, I.B.M. is taking advantage of its networks of people capable of delivery technology services wherever they may be.  The example given in this article written by Steve Lohr and which appeared in the July 5 on-line edition of The New York Times, is I.B.M.’s work with CenterPointEnergy, a Texas utility, to set up a “smart grid” to enhance both service and conservation of energy.  This project engages the skills and expertise of research scientists in New York and Texas , software developers in Pune and Bangalore , India , providers in Miami and New York , and utility experts from Pennsylvania , California , Illinois , North Carolina and elsewhere. The software written for the project, and the skills acquired by the people, are reusable in other projects in the future, and I.B.M. is already seeing this as the basis for increased business opportunities worldwide.  (See http://nytimes.com)

William Wulf’s “ecology of innovation” – As William A. Wulf was leaving his post as President of the US National Academy of Engineering thus summer, he had opportunities to speak and write on one of his favorite topics, “the ecology of innovation,” made up of elements such as intellectual property laws, immigration laws, tax codes and the like.  While education and investment in research are critical, they need the proper ecology to support innovation.  Because of the pace of change, this ecology needs to be examined periodically and modified as needed.  For example, antitrust laws were enacted in the US in the nineteenth century, based on assumptions of the times.  But now many of those assumptions have changed, without the laws having been changed.  Wulf’s example is Microsoft Word, which, while not being necessarily the best or the cheapest, has the value of being ubiquitous.  Wulf also cites short-term tax credits for R & D as “idiocy.” Industry leaders, according to him, all say those credits are not a factor in decided about their investment in research.  The US has an opportunity to be a leader in “mass customization,” which is knowledge intensive, but Wulf fears that the country is not thinking about the ecology required to grow that kind of manufacturing.  This article was written by Cornelia Dean and appeared in the July 10 on-line edition of The New York Times. (See http://nytimes.com)

Economist believes productivity growth does trickle down – The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is a weekly electronic newsletter devoted to publishing short articles about international trends in entrepreneurship.  The July 9 – 15 edition includes a summary of Stephen Rose’s report, “Does Productivity Growth Still Benefit Working Americans?” published by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation June 2007.  In that report, economist Rose argues that while economic inequality is growing in the US , a correct reading of the data shows that average American workers have grown substantially wealthier, even while the proportion of the wealth going to the wealthy is somewhat higher. He also recommends that policy makers continue to support innovation and stimulate productivity. (See http://www/publicforuminstitute.org/nde/news/bde-news.htm)

Solving the innovation puzzle – As global competitiveness increases, state governments are placing big emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math. In an article in the July 2007 PE Magazine, Danielle Boykin explores whether their programs and policies will pay off. The National Governors Association has put a high priority on strengthening US global competitiveness and spurring innovation – believing that the states must play an essential role in setting the stage for broader economic growth, through targeted programs. Strategies include improving K-12 STEM education and supporting public universities and community colleges to increase the number of engineering degree recipients. The next challenge will be to determine how much such programs help the US to gain a more solid footing on the global playing field. (See http://www.nspe.org)

Green card hopes dashed by bureaucratic miscommunication – The US State Department is in charge of offering visas such as the permanent residence visas (green cards) granted for employment in highly skilled areas. The Citizenship and Immigration Services is a branch of the Department of Homeland Security that processes the visa applications.  In mid-June the State Department announced that green cards would be available on July 2 for people in high-skills categories, reported Julia Preston in the July 6 on-line edition of The New York Times.  But on July 2, after large numbers of well-educated, legal immigrants such as doctors and medical technicians had rushed to do the required paperwork and arranged to be in the States when the application process began, as mandated, the State Department announced that there were no more green cards available.  The two agencies attributed this to miscommunication, with State Department officials saying they were trying to prompt Immigration Services to make sure that no visas went un-used under the press of paperwork.  The American Immigration Lawyers Association plans to sue on behalf of their clients.  An Indian medical doctor caught in the slam, wondered whether he ought to have just slipped across the Rio Grande rather than spending twelve years working under a temporary visa as a legal immigrant. (See http://nytimes.com) In a turn-around, the government announced on July 17 that it will accept applications that it rejected earlier, writes Xiyun Yang in the July 18 on-line edition of the Washington Post. (See http://www.washingtonpost.com)

6 – Journals

Issues in Science and technology – The Summer 2007 issue includes four feature articles: Does Science Policy Matter; Water Scarcity; Community College; and The University as Innovator. In addition, there are two articles on policymaking: The Promise of Data-Drive Policymaking; and Using Transparency to Fight Climate Change. (See http://www.issues.org) 

Journal of Engineering Education – The July 2007 issue of this ASEE sponsored research journal contains eight articles on diverse topics: K-12 outreach; technical coordination in engineering practice; concept inventories; gender issues in design courses; evaluating student essays; parity of the sexes at the undergraduate level; student views on excellence in engineering education; and a longitudinal study on increased retention. (See http://www.asee.org)

 

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