Researcher_D

Assignment 2 – Engineering

Disasters

ENGG 123

Assignment 2 – Engineering Disasters

• Posted online

• Formal report

• Note the formatting instructions

– 10-12 pages in length for the body of the paper

– includes abstract, ToC, List of Figures and Tables

– requires proper referencing using APA style

– list of prohibited topics

– must relate to an engineering failure

Deciding on a disaster

• When you are deciding which disaster to choose, be sure that the disaster was related to an engineering failure (e.g. a flaw in the design) as opposed to a poor ethical choice that caused the disaster (e.g. a company knowingly does not fully disclose information that ultimately causes bodily harm).

• As well, be sure to avoid disasters that were more accidental in nature (e.g. Japan nuclear accident in 2011 due to the tsunami – in this case, a severe natural event caused the disaster).

Questions to ask yourself • How is it an engineering disaster? • Which particular aspects of the disaster are the result of a poor

engineering choice or practice? • How is it relevant to the study and practice of engineering? • Who was at fault? What caused the accident? • What future precautions are recommended? • Were any new laws, practices, or regulations implemented as a

result of the disaster? • What was the overall impact on engineering practice? • Did the accident change engineering practice (either in general or

in a particular field)? e.g. The Challenger disaster lead to significant policy changes at NASA and ultimately to Whistleblower legislation.

• NOTE: all of these questions pertain to the analysis of the disaster – not a description of the disaster

• You are expected to demonstrate critical thinking skills through this report and clearly communicate your analysis to the reader

Objective of your paper • The majority of your paper should focus on

the analysis of why the accident was an engineering disaster, how it occurred, and how it is relevant to the study and practice of engineering. Do not spend more than a couple of pages describing the actual disaster. Your focus is not on describing the disaster, but rather, you are to focus on analyzing the disaster as it relates to engineering and what the engineering cause was for the disaster.

Sources of Information • Use appropriate academic sources. Most

engineering disasters have been officially investigated, and thus, there are reports that are frequently published and available on the Internet or through the library. Be sure to use credible sources and reference it properly.

• The book “When Technology Fails” is available at the library on reserve. You can sign it out at the reserve desk. Additionally, there are several other books on engineering disasters in the library.

• It is expected that for this assignment, you will have sources of information found online. Be sure they are credible and referenced properly.

Read the instructions carefully, several times!

• The result of this assignment, which you will submit through www.turnitin.com, will be a formal research paper. It is expected that you will use the tools you have learned in class that are related to: outlining, referencing, writing style, organization, and academic writing expectations.

• This paper is a research report, and not an essay. You are expected to demonstrate your ability to critically think when analyzing the disaster as it relates to engineering.

• Due: Oct 20 & 21 for sections 1 & 2, respectively

Suggested Outline • The following outline is a guideline you may use in writing your

report and it is recommended that you include each of the sections.

• It is expected that you will personalize it through sub-sections, additional sections, etc., in order to meet the needs of your report.

 Title Page  Abstract  Table of Contents  List of Tables (if required)  List of Figures (if required)  Introduction  Relevant body sections

 sections and sub-sections might include: analysis of cause, impacts on engineering practice, recommendations for future practice, etc.

 Conclusion  References (using APA referencing format)  Appendices (if any)

Formatting • The body of the paper should be 10-12 pages in length, double

spaced. This length is for the content (from Introduction to Conclusion) and does not include the abstract, table of contents, references, appendices, or list of tables and figures.

• The font should be 12 point, Times New Roman. • The margin should be one inch (or 2.54 cm) on top, bottom and both

sides. • It is expected that you number the pages, since you will include a

table of contents. • Paragraphs should be separated from each other with a blank line

(i.e. double spaced between paragraphs). • It is also expected that you number your sections (and sub-sections)

that are within the body of your paper (and then use these labels in your Table of Contents) – (e.g. 1.0 Introduction... 1.1 Objective... 1.2 Scope of topic... 2.0 The

Sinking of the Titanic... 2.1 The Design of the Titanic... 2.2 Impacts of the accident... etc.)

Grading

• You will be graded based on the following: – content

– thoroughness of analysis

– writing quality and style

– use of language and communication: clarity, grammar, spelling, etc.

– formatting

– originality

– appropriate use of references in the text (in-text citations) and reference list

– correct formatting of references

– quality of references (are they credible?)

U of R Grading Descriptions • You may wish to consult the University of Regina

Undergraduate Calendar section on Grading Descriptions for more information about performance criteria in each of the following categories. Outstanding performance (90-100%)

Very Good performance (80-89%)

Above Average performance (70-79%)

Satisfactory and Adequate performance (60-69%)

Barely Acceptable performance (50-59%)

Unacceptable performance (0-49%)

Referencing Websites

• The following website gives a wide range of examples for referencing electronic material (which includes online sources) – https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

• Webpages

– When multiple webpages are referenced, reference the homepage

• e.g. Statistics New Zealand. (2007). New Zealand in profile 2007. Retrieved from http://www.stats.govt.nz

• For websites, the Author could be organization or company name, the Date is either date of publication or latest update, the document title is in italics, date retrieved if contents are likely to change, URL

• In this example, the content from a report that profiled New Zealand isn’t likely to change, so the date retrieved isn’t included. However, a company that updates their product information regularly might change the website content, and thus the date retrieved becomes important. For documents published online that won’t be changing, the retrieved date is unnecessary.