Homework Assignment for Engineering Concepts 20-ENFD-116

For this assignment you will work in your same group as for the last assignment. Your group will find information on a topic chosen from the list at the bottom of this assignment description. As a team you will find the materials in the library and its online resources (a book, a reference book, one journal article) and find information on the web. Write a short, group paper (less than one page) on the topic. References must be included.

Submit your group's assignment to Dr. Clarson via Blackboard by class time on Tuesday, November 15, 2005.

You will need UCLID (UC's online catalog) to complete the assignment.
Access UCLID through
           your laptop, or
           six workstations in the Engineering Library, or
           sixteen workstations in the Information Commons, or
           the Engineering PC and Unix labs.

Assignment

1. Choose a topic from the list below.

2. Find a book with information on topic.

• Connect to UCLID from the Engineering Library homepage.
• Search by keyword for your topic.  Use the help information at the bottom of the search page.
• Browse the list of books found and select the most appropriate records for review.
• Find a book on the shelf or online and read pages with information on your topic.
• Hint: email the UCLID record to yourself for printing or editing.  It has all the information you need for citing it for the paper.  Select Export this Record, then View Marked Records. Choose Full Display format.

3. Find a reference book:

• From the Engineering Library homepage click on the link called Reference Guides select an appropriate subject area.
• Review the titles listed in the section of the guide entitled HANDBOOKS and ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
• Use the call numbers provided to find the books in the Engineering Reference collection, or click on links to online reference works.
• Find specific sections or pages in the Reference book with relevant information.
• You may also try Knovel handbooks online.

4. Find an article on your topic in a journal (magazine, periodical).    Choose one of the following three sources.

• Applied Science and Technology Abstracts
• From the Engineering Library homepage, select Databases Online - A, then Applied Science and Technology Abstracts.
• Search by keyword or subject for your topic.
• Choose the record that is most appropriate. Use the "Find a copy" feature to find the article.   Read the article.
• If you want to export the record to your email, mark and store, then email using the brief format (for citing) or full format (to examine subject headings).
  The "Appears in" information shows the journal title and issue that your article is in.  This information is essential for citing your reference properly.

OR

• LexisNexis Academic
• From the Engineering Library homepage,  select Databases Online - L - LexisNexis Academic .
• Select News - General News. Set Source to Major Newspapers or Magazines and Journals.  Read article.
• OR select Business - Industry & Market - choose an industry from the Industry pull-down menu.  Read article.

OR

• Academic Search Complete
• From the Engineering Library homepage, select Databases Online - A - Academic Search Complete .
• Find your terms using the Default Fields. Read full-text of article.

OR

• Electronic Journal Center  (EJC)
• From the Engineering Library homepage, select EJC in the Expresslinks.
• Find your terms using the EJC search feature. Read full-text of article.

5. To find a website:

• Choose a search engine such as "Google," "Alta Vista," or even "Dogpile" for a metasearch engine.
• Search for your topic. (Use the Help or Advanced Search for details on forming a search query.  For example in a Google Advanced Search you can designate synonyms or phrases, limit to .edu domains, etc. In AltaVista you can use quotation marks to identify a phrase, a "+" sign before a word or phrase to ensure it will be included, and domain:edu to limit to educational sites only.)
• Select non-commercial sites with current pages and clear authorship. There is a lot of wrong information on the  web!

6. Write up your group's findings.

• Write a short, group summary on the topic based on your findings.  DO NOT cut and paste information from the abstracts or articles you found.  Without proper citing of quoted material, this would constitute plagiarism.
• At the end, cite each source (books, journal article and web site) your group used in preparing the summary.  Use the AIAA format to cite your sources.  To cite a web site provide the person or organization responsible for the page, the title of the web page, the location of publication or organization responsible if any, the date if any, and [URL beginning with http:// and the date accessed in brackets].  (Use the same style as for the other references.)
• Be sure to include page numbers for the reference book and journal article. 

Topics to research

• Nanotechnology and ethics
• Nanobiology
• Nanoelectronics
• Nanophotonics
• Nanofabrication
• Nanomanufacturing
• Nanomembranes
• Fuel cells
• Hydrogen economy
• alternate fuel sources
• Ethics in genetic engineering
• Ethics in cloning

05enfd116.html
10/31/05
updated 7/20/07

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