Showing papers on "Engineering education published in 2004"

Engineering Change: A Study of the Impact of EC2000*

Abstract: This paper summarizes the research design, sampling plan, and instrument development for the Engineering Change (EC) Project, a three-year research activity that examines the impact of ABET’s EC2000 on engineering education. The project assumes that, if EC2000 has been effective, evidence of change in ABET-accredited programs will be linked to changes in engineering student outcomes. The primary focus of the EC Project, thus, is on student learning. Compared to engineers prepared under previous guidelines, engineers educated in EC2000 accredited programs should exhibit higher levels of achievement in the 11 learning outcomes identified in the accreditation standards, Criterion 3, a‐k. The EC Project includes a secondary focus on curricular modifications and instructional practices, on institutional policies and reorganization, and on faculty cultures and attitudes that may, in turn, have affected student learning. Thus, the following evaluation questions guide the EC Project: What impact, if any, has EC2000 had on student learning outcomes in ABET-accredited programs and institutions? What impact, if any, did EC2000 have on organizational and educational policies and practices that may have led to improved student learning outcomes? To address these research questions, we developed a project evaluation plan that contains the following elements: conceptual framework, research design, sampling strategy, and instrument development.

EPICS: engineering projects in community service

Abstract: Multidisciplinary, multi-semester design projects with real customers and a compelling context create a rich environment for engineering, technology and computer science students to learn about design, teamwork and experience the need for the professional skills that can be difficult to teach in traditional classes. Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) is a model for implementing these characteristics within a service-learning framework where community service providers serve as the "customers". The application of design to community issues can broaden students' understanding of their discipline and has the potential to increase participation of underrepresented populations. This interactive workshop will introduce participants to the EPICS model of service-learning design; explore the educational needs and resources of the participants' institutions and the potential for implementing similar programs at their own institutions.

Does academic dishonesty relate to unethical behavior in professional practice? An exploratory study

Abstract: Previous research indicates that students in engineering self-report cheating in college at higher rates than those in most other disciplines. Prior work also suggests that participation in one deviant behavior is a reasonable predictor of future deviant behavior. This combination of factors leads to a situation where engineering students who frequently participate in academic dishonesty are more likely to make unethical decisions in professional practice. To investigate this scenario, we propose the hypotheses that (1) there are similarities in the decision-making processes used by engineering students when considering whether or not to participate in academic and professional dishonesty, and (2) prior academic dishonesty by engineering students is an indicator of future decisions to act dishonestly. Our sample consisted of undergraduate engineering students from two technically-oriented private universities. As a group, the sample reported working full-time an average of six months per year as professionals in addition to attending classes during the remaining six months. This combination of both academic and professional experience provides a sample of students who are experienced in both settings. Responses to open-ended questions on an exploratory survey indicate that students identify common themes in describing both temptations to cheat or to violate workplace policies and factors which caused them to hesitate in acting unethically, thus supporting our first hypothesis and laying the foundation for future surveys having forced-choice responses. As indicated by the responses to forced-choice questions for the engineering students surveyed, there is a relationship between self-reported rates of cheating in high school and decisions to cheat in college and to violate workplace policies; supporting our second hypothesis. Thus, this exploratory study demonstrates connections between decision-making about both academic and professional dishonesty. If better understood, these connections could lead to practical approaches for encouraging ethical behavior in the academic setting, which might then influence future ethical decision-making in workplace settings.

Bringing Engineering to Elementary School

Abstract: Incorporating engineering in the elementary school curriculum provides students with ways of connecting, applying, and reinforcing knowledge in math, science, and design. To bring what is essentially a new discipline to K-12 education means developing and supporting new tools for the classroom, additional curriculum, teacher training, and support resources. Using LEGO materials and the ROBOLAB software as the toolset, Tufts University?s Center For Engineering Educational Outreach has had significant success with our efforts to bring engineering into a number of schools and classrooms. Examining the classroom results these efforts have yielded highlights the problems and obstacles, a significant potential for expansion, as well as a number of effective practices and strategies.

Qualitative Methods Used in the Assessment of Engineering Education

Abstract: This article clarifies key concepts that undergird qualitative research, which is being used increasingly as engineering educators improve classrooms, programs, and institutions. The paper compares quantitative and qualitative research, describes some qualitative data collection strategies used in engineering education, addresses methods for establishing trustworthiness, and discusses strategies for analyzing qualitative data. Also included are illustrative examples of recent engineering education research that features qualitative data analysis and mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) approaches.

Communication Patterns of Engineers

Abstract: Acknowledgements. Introduction. Communication Models. An Engineers' Communication Framework. The Engineering Profession and Communication. Information Seeking and Use. Information Output by Engineers. Engineering Education and Communication Skills. The Engineering Scholarly Journal Channel. Engineering Communication Patterns Compared with Science and Medicine. The NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Bibliography.

Increasing the number of African American PhDs in the sciences and engineering: a strengths-based approach.

Abstract: Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, the percentage of African American students who receive PhDs in natural science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields remains disappointingly low. A multifaceted, strengths-based approach to intervention and research that holds great promise for increasing the number of African American students who achieve at the highest levels academically is described. This work began in 1988 with the development of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program for undergraduate minority STEM majors at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). If current PhD receipt rates of program graduates continue, UMBC will in all likelihood become the leading predominantly White baccalaureate-origin university for Black STEM PhDs in the nation. The program is described and outcome and process findings from its ongoing evaluation are highlighted. The parenting practices that helped these youths to overcome the odds and achieve at the highest levels prior to coming to college are also examined.

Understanding K–12 Engineering Outreach Programs

Abstract: The United States relies on technology. To continue the development of new and the expansion of existing technologies requires a strong background in science, math, and engineering. Because student...

Information Seeking and Students Studying for Professional Careers: The Cases of Engineering and Law Students in Ireland.

Abstract: This paper reports the results of two empirical studies which explored the information seeking behaviour of engineering and law students in Ireland. Findings reveal similar patterns in the information seeking behaviour between students studying to become professionals and information seeking patterns of these groups identified in the Leckie et al. model. Students learned their information seeking strategies, including effective and less effective approaches, from educators. Mis-perceptions of the role and value of libraries and information professionals in their studies were common, and as a result, students often adopted information seeking strategies that excluded libraries and library staff. The two studies suggest that engineering and law students in Ireland could benefit from greater information literacy training and awareness, enabling them to acquire the information skills they need to function effectively and efficiently in their future professional work lives.

A framework for posing open-ended engineering problems: model-eliciting activities

Abstract: Integrating more engineering contexts, introducing advanced engineering topics, addressing multiple ABET criteria, and serving under-represented student populations in foundation engineering courses are some of the opportunities realized by the use of a new framework for developing real-world client-driven problems. These problems are called model-eliciting activities (MEAs), and they are based on the models and modeling perspective developed in mathematics education. Through a NSF-HRD gender equity project that has funded the development, use, and study of MEAs in undergraduate engineering courses for increasing women's interest in engineering, we have found that the MEA framework fosters significant change in the way engineering faculty think about their teaching and their students. In this paper, we will present the six principles that guide the development of an MEA, detail our motivation for using the MEA framework to construct open-ended problems, and discuss the opportunities and challenges to creating, implementing, and assessing MEAs.

The Dilemma of Ethics in Engineering Education

Abstract: This paper briefly summarizes current thinking in engineering ethics education, argues that much of that ethical instruction runs the risk of being only superficially effective, and explores some of the underlying systemic barriers within academia that contribute to this result. This is not to criticize or discourage efforts to improve ethics instruction. Rather it is to point to some more fundamental problems that still must be addressed in order to realize the full potential of enhanced ethics instruction. Issues discussed will include: intellectual engagement versus emotional engagement; the gravitational pull of curricular structures; the nature of engineering faculty; and the “engineer-ization” of ethics.

Major challenges to engineering education for sustainable development: What has to change to make it creative, effective, and acceptable to the established disciplines?

Abstract: Scholars and professionals committed to fostering sustainable development have urged a re‐examination of the curriculum and restructuring of research in engineering‐focused institutions of higher learning. This article will address the following themes and questions: How can multi‐ and trans‐disciplinary teaching and research coexist in a meaningful way in today's university structures? Does education relevant to sustainable development require its own protected incubating environment to survive, or will it otherwise be gobbled up and marginalized by attempting to instil it throughout the traditional curriculum? What roles can national and EU governments have in accelerating the needed changes? How can it be made safe for courageous students to take educational paths different from traditional tracks, even if technical options exist to do so? What can one learn from comparative analysis of universities in different nations and environments?

An emerging research framework for studying informal learning and schools

Abstract: In recognition of the fact that science centers and other informal educational institutions can play a role in the reform of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, several major research and professional programs are currently underway. This article discusses one such effort, the Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS), a collaboration of the Exploratorium, the University of California, Santa Cruz, and King's College, London and the need for a theoretical framework based on socio-cultural theory to link discussion of varied efforts characterizing science learning in informal settings. The article discusses two key problematics related to developments in the science education field of the past decade: (1) integrating studies that are undertaken from multiple disciplinary perspectives, namely, science education, developmental psychology, and cultural studies, and (2) characterizing critical properties of informal learning in museums. It reviews work that has been conducted in nonschool settings and, using examples from research conducted by the Center for Informal Learning and Schools, it reviews questions currently under investigation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed88(Suppl. 1):S71–S82, 2004

Engineering Subject Centre Guide: learning and teaching theory for engineering academics

Abstract: Why should an engineering lecturer want to know about the theory of learning and teaching? This Engineering Subject Centre guide aims to help engineering academics acquire sufficient knowledge about the subject to support learning and teaching and ultimately benefit students. Seven topics are covered under the general headings of Concepts about learning and teaching, Learning styles, and Intended learning outcomes.

Making The Strange Familiar: Creativity and the Future of Engineering Education

Abstract: Why does the perception persist that engineers are uncreative, or worse, do not need to tap into creativity when most engineering projects demand creative or innovative approaches in the design of equipment, systems, and facilities? With the complexity surrounding every engineering project mounting as natural resources dwindle, the world population increases, and the global infrastructure and economy grow ever more intertwined, the creativity and innovation necessary to address the big issues facing civilization— maintaining the infrastructure; providing food, water, shelter, and power to the population; and growing sustainably and safely—will only increase in importance. But what is creativity and how can you teach it to engineering students? This paper examines these questions to make the case that fostering creativity knowledge, skills, and attitudes is vital for the future of engineering and engineering education. In so doing, the authors survey how creativity and innovation are approached (or not) in the classroom and offer strategies to make creativity a part of every engineering curriculum and course.

Integrating SD into engineering courses at the Delft University of Technology: the individual interaction method

Abstract: When sustainable development (SD) is only taught in specific courses, it is questionable if engineering students are able to integrate it into their engineering practices and technical designs. For this reason, sustainability should also be integrated into regular engineering courses, e.g. design courses, materials courses or processing technology. The SD education plan adopted by the board of Delft University of Technology (DUT) in 1998 was based on this philosophy. It consists of three interconnected activities for all engineering curricula: the implementation of an elementary course “Technology in sustainable development”; the development of a graduation program in sustainable development for students who want to specialize; and the integration of sustainable development in all regular courses, wherever applicable. This paper describes various activities that the project group carried out to stimulate and support the third strategy: SD integration. It turned out that top‐down attempts to influence the content of courses often triggered resistance among lecturers, as they feared the intermingling of laymen into their scientific/engineering discipline. Interaction was important but was often impossible by lack of mutual understanding. Participation in a national project aimed to stimulate discussion by making disciplinary sustainability reviews of academic/engineering disciplines. This approach was promising as it created the base for serious discussions. However, the reports often ended in the bureaucracies of the departments. More positive results were achieved with a semi‐consultant approach directed at discussing SD issues with individual lecturers. Many lecturers were willing to discuss their courses, and were interested in practical ideas to integrate sustainability. This interactive approach is promising because it does not conflict with academic culture and keeps the lecturer in charge of his own course.

Effects of a Problem-Based Learning Program on Engineering Students' Academic Achievements in a Mexican University.

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to report on a three‐year follow‐up evaluation of an experimental problem‐based learning (PBL) integrated curriculum directed to second‐year engineering students. The PBL curriculum brought together the contents of physics, mathematics and computer science courses into a single course. Instead of the students having to enroll in each course separately, they had the opportunity to enroll in a single course in which they learned the contents of those subjects by solving real‐life engineering problems. In order to evaluate the effects of the program on the students’ academic achievement, three data sources were taken: pre‐test–post‐test scores on two physics tests: students’ grade point average (GPA); and students’ grades in advanced engineering courses. With respect to the first source of data, results showed that while PBL students’ improvements in scores were significantly higher than control students’ improvements on the Mechanics Baseline Test, improvements were similar in both ...

Embedding remote experimentation in power engineering education

Abstract: Engineering education by its nature is a costly program in university environments. Perhaps the most costly component is the laboratory facility, usually consisting of specialized equipment. Effective instruction of some topics in power engineering education requires experience with actual equipment, rather than small-scale replicas or simulation. In this paper, a new laboratory approach is described, as implemented in a virtual, Internet-based, experimentation platform. This virtual laboratory (VLab) utilizes real equipment distributed among multiple universities from which remotely located students can perform experiments. The software solution is a multiuser, client-server architecture developed in the LabVIEW environment. Implementation details including video, chat, archiving, and the hardware and software platforms are presented in the paper. An example presented herein is the study of current and voltage waveforms while controlling relays and low-voltage contactors. The applications have been tested with student teams enrolled in the electrical engineering department of Politehnica University of Bucharest and the power engineering program at Arizona State University.

Analysis of the First Ten Years of the Journal of Engineering Education

Abstract: The analysis of the Journal of Engineering Education (JEE) is extended to the ten year period from 1993 through 2002. The most common keywords remain teaching, computers and design although “assessment” and “ABET” became popular from 1998 to 2002. The most cited reference and author are ABET Criterion 2000 and Richard Felder, respectively. The median number of JEE citations of articles published in JEE during 1993 and 1994 is one. The number of papers with financial support increased by over 80 percent. NSF is the dominant source of support. Comparing the second five-year period to the first five-year period, there were increases in the percentages of papers reporting data, doing assessment, and using educational or learning theories. These results are consistent with a journal that is becoming more research oriented.

Fire-fighting mobile robotics and interdisciplinary design-comparative perspectives

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of an autonomous fire-fighting robot design competition as an effective tool for undergraduate education. It presents experiences at the United States Air Force Academy, USAF Academy, CO; Pennsylvania State University-Abington; and Trinity College, Hartford, CT, together with the results of the contest surveys conducted in collaboration with The Technion*Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa. The primary goal of the design project is to create an autonomous mobile robot that navigates through a maze searching for a fire (simulated by a burning candle), detects the candle's flame, extinguishes the flame, and returns to a designated starting location in the maze. The fire-fighting design contest promotes interdisciplinary design and teamwork. To accomplish the stated goal, students must integrate knowledge gained from such classes as engineering design, circuits, controls, signals and systems, computer programming, mathematics, and engineering mechanics. Within the three institutions, the contest has been successfully utilized as a foundation for a wide range of educational goals. These activities include freshman design, robotics courses, K-12 outreach, senior design projects, and undergraduate research.

The Effect of an Entrepreneurship Program on GPA and Retention

Abstract: There is a small but growing body of evidence that entrepreneurship programs add value to students, the degree programs in which they are housed, and the institutions that host them. The Engineering Entrepreneurs Program at North Carolina State University, a program in which undergraduate students participate in design teams formed around technology start-up company themes, was started with funding from the NSF-sponsored SUCCEED (Southeastern Universities and Colleges Coalition for Engineering Education) Coalition primarily to improve the confidence and retention of engineering students. Multiple assessment approaches including surveys, focus groups, interviews, longitudinal assessment of retention and academic performance, and anecdotal evidence triangulate on the success of this program at meeting its primary objectives and others. Particularly, the longitudinal study revealed that program participants had higher engineering retention rates (70 percent vs. 51 percent) and GPAs (3.08 vs. 2.83) than a matched set of non-participants. The program and its rigorous assessment serve as models for the engineering entrepreneurship community.

Educating Engineers for the 21st Century

Abstract: Engineering education today does not appear to be keeping pace with the broader challenges facing practising engineers, in terms of the need to address not only technological change, but also the social, economic, environmental and sustainability aspects of engineering endeavours. This paper argues that engineering education is approached in terms of engineering science with an overemphasis on theoretical, scientific and technical aspects of engineering, at the expense of the development of capability in dealing with engineering problems in an increasingly complex world, and answering to an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders. The paper further argues that the emphasis on research in universities, and on promotion by research at the expense of teaching, is further exacerbating this inability of engineering academia to adapt to new methods of teaching that will result in the consideration of these wider perspectives of engineering in context. The paper suggests some ways forward, including a focus on industry placements for staff, and overseas experience for students in real engineering projects of benefit to the third world.

Delivering Engineering Content in Technology Education: Can the Technology Education Profession Deliver on the Promise of Technological Literacy for All While Preparing the Secondary School Student for Engineering Education?

Abstract: A Call for Change in Technology Education The technology education field has undergone numerous changes in scope, mission, and principles during its one hundred ten year history in America. From the late 1800s to today, technology education has transitioned through methodological and philosophical changes in an effort to meet the demands of an ever-changing technological society as well as to keep pace with industrial innovation and growth. The latest opportunity stems from suggestions for opportunities for greater alignment and closer relationships with the engineering community and the subsequent need for core principles and concepts that will aid that relationship while aligning with the standards. When Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology was released in March of 2000, it reflected the importance of technology to society and the urgency for students to receive an education that leads to technological literacy. It also set forth benchmarks and provided a vision as to what students should know and be able to do in order to be technologically literate. The engineering profession, along with others in the education community, played a role in the development of Standards for Technological Literacy. As evidence of the support from the engineering profession, the standards were endorsed by the National Academy of Engineering. The standards have provided an opportunity to move technology education and pre-engineering closer together and have helped to illustrate the mutual relationships and the benefits of technologically literate secondary students to the engineering profession (ITEA, 1996; ITEA, 2000/ 2002). Once again, the technology education profession is in transition--this time perhaps moving toward greater alignment with the engineering community. While technology education has evolved dramatically in the past few years, the engineering profession was undergoing substantial change as well. During most of the twentieth century, the rapid demand for engineering and scientific understanding led to increased growth in the field of engineering and greater awareness of health, safety, and environmental issues as well as an awareness of the potential negative impacts of technology. Over the span of four decades, between the 1950s and the 1990s, engineering became narrowly focused on scientific inquiry and mathematical/theoretical analysis. Dahir (1993) suggested that engineering education became more theoretical and scientific in its approach "at the expense of practical application" (p. 16). Additionally, Davis (1998) described this process of change by stating that engineering had gone from one extreme as "practical" (more trade-like) to "scientific" (more analytical/ mathematical). Over time, the notion of scientific inquiry and mathematical problem solving won over the practical and design/problem solving closer to the scientific extreme" (Davis, 1998, p. 28). Recently there has been dialog about aligning pre-engineering with technology education in order to help secondary students understand the impacts of engineering development and become literate about the technological world around them (NRC, 2002). With the attention and endorsements given to Standards for Technological Literacy by the National Academy of Engineering, it is clear that a closer relationship between technology education and engineering could develop. Additionally, with technology education moving to include more engineering design as well as its past dealing with practical problem solving, this alignment seems appropriate for both professions (ITEA, 2000/2002; NRC, 2002). Delivering Pre-Engineering in Technology Education As the technology education profession begins to transition toward a new mission of promoting and supporting the development of technological literacy in all students, the post-secondary engineering education profession has initiated a transition toward greater emphasis on creativity and engineering design in the curriculum. …

The Gendered Construction of the Engineering Profession in the United States, 1893–1920

Abstract: This article examines howU.S. engineers constructed their profession within the context of changing structural conditions and hegemonic masculinity between 1893 and 1920. The professionalization of engineering and the linkages between engineering practitioners and colleges were forged during this period. At the same time, conditions for the construction of a powerful masculine self-identity in the workplace were also changing. Engineers’reflective and informative writings about their field in the professional publication Engineering News, the Proceedings of the annual conferences of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, and two career guidance books (all from the 1893–1920 period) document how engineers constructed their profession as a masculine one.

Developing model-eliciting activities for undergraduate students based on advanced engineering content

Abstract: Are you interested in creating open-ended, client-driven, realistic engineering tasks for undergraduate students that will introduce them to the world of engineering early in their academic careers? With the support of the National Science Foundation, model-eliciting activities (MEAs) were created and implemented with first-year engineering students at Purdue University. These tasks are open-ended modeling problems that introduce advanced engineering content yet are suitable for undergraduate engineering students. In this paper, we will give a personal account of the research and development of the nano roughness MEA. We will focus on the attainment of the six principles that guide the development of an MEA and the main development challenges: identifying aspects of an advanced engineering topic suitable for undergraduate students, making the task realistic, creating the need for team interaction, making the model reusable in similar situations, and preparing for task implementation in the classroom.

The Georgetown University Consortium Project: A Report from the Halfway Mark

Abstract: For those of us collaborating on the project, the Georgetown University Consortium Project (GCP) represents both an end and a beginning In its research design, this three-year assessment study is an end, the product of a series of conversations among education abroad professionals at Georgetown University, the University of Minnesota, Rice University and Dickinson College2 The study is a beginning as well, the start of a process that will allow us to shed light on what types of experiences abroad promote meaningful knowledge and skills, and thereby to improve study abroad programming at our institutions This report written at the half-way mark of the study—a year and a half into it— presents evaluative reflections on the progress and process of the GCP to date

A Report on a Four-Year Longitudinal Study of Intellectual Development of Engineering Undergraduates

Abstract: As part of an investigation into the effects of curricular reforms in the undergraduate program in the College of Engineering, a series of Perry-style interviews were conducted over a 4-year period. The study was undertaken in an attempt to assess the impact of collaborative design-based engineering courses that were being implemented. Students who completed the collaborative design course in their first year were higher on the Perry scale than their peers who did not. However, this effect was not sustained through the rest of the curriculum, as more traditional courses dominated. No statistically significant change in Perry position was observed for students in their 1st and 3rd years; however, a growth of approximately one Perry position was observed between the 3rd and 4th years. The relationship of current curricula to this pattern of intellectual development is discussed, and arguments for altering the curriculum to support intellectual development are made.

Assessment of Team-Based Projects in Project-Led Education.

Abstract: This paper describes the procedures used to assess the extent that a team of students, and the individual students in it, has mastered the competencies set for a student team-based open-ended project. The paper addresses questions such as: why examine team-based project work? What and when to examine? What are the essential regulations and boundary conditions? Who examines whom? The discussion is based mainly on practices followed in the University of Twente (the Netherlands) and elsewhere.

Robot contest as a laboratory for experiential engineering education

Abstract: By designing, building, and operating autonomous robots students learn key engineering subjects and develop systems-thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills Such events as the Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest (TCFFHRC) offer rich opportunities for students to apply their skills by requiring design, and implementation of autonomous robots that are tested during competition Started in 2003, the TCFFHRC Robotics Olympiad offers junior-high and high school students, working alone or in teams, to demonstrate their knowledge by taking a challenging 50-minute written examination in four key areas related to robotics: mechanics, sensors, software, and electronics The Olympiad comprises a second evaluation medium that supplements a regular contest survey, which has been in place since 1999 The contest survey solicits information about motivation and progress in subject areas from all contest participants--a large and diverse group that includes junior-high and high school students, working engineers, university students, and team supervisors/guides As a further evaluation step, we have conducted supplementary case studies of courses and curricula at Trinity College and at the Technion Assessment indicates that the TCFFHRC has achieved its primary goal: to foster and improve robotics education on an international scale

Multi-Level Assessment of Program Outcomes: Assessing a Nontraditional Study Abroad Program in the Engineering Disciplines.

Abstract: At Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) a Global Perspective Program (GPP) has evolved that provides an international experience for most graduates. Currently more than half of WPI students travel internationally to do academic work. The GPP grew from the basic project-based educational structure implemented over 30 years ago. In this paper, we describe the structure and operation but will emphasize the multilevel assessment process used to understand student learning and improve the program. Although our specifics are related to technical education, our assessment design and implementation may be useful to a much wider audience.