Essentials in Ontology Engineering: Methodologies, Languages, and Tools

In the beginning of the 90s, ontology development was similar to an art: ontology developers did not have clear guidelines on how to build ontologies but only some design criteria to be followed. Work on principles, methods and methodologies, together with supporting technologies and languages, made ontology development become an engineering discipline, the so-called Ontology Engineering. Ontology Engineering refers to the set of activities that concern the ontology development process and the ontology life cycle, the methods and methodologies for building ontologies, and the tool suites and languages that support them. Thanks to the work done in the Ontology Engineering field, the development of ontologies within and between teams has increased and improved, as well as the possibility of reusing ontologies in other developments and in final applications. Currently, ontologies are widely used in (a) Knowledge Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, (b) applications related to knowledge management, natural language processing, e-commerce, intelligent information integration, information retrieval, database design and integration, bio-informatics, education, and (c) the Semantic Web, the Semantic Grid, and the Linked Data initiative. In this paper, we provide an overview of Ontology Engineering, mentioning the most outstanding and used methodologies, languages, and tools for building ontologies. In addition, we include some words on how all these elements can be used in the Linked Data initiative.

Integrated learning of computer applications for production engineering

A high productivity rate in Engineering is related to an efficient management of the flow of the large quantities of information and associated decision making activities that are consubstantial to the Engineering processes both in design and production contexts. Dealing with such problems from an integrated point of view and mimicking real scenarios is not given much attention in Engineering degrees. In the context of Engineering Education, there are a number of courses designed for developing specific competencies, as required by the academic curricula, but not that many in which integration competencies are the main target. In this paper, a course devoted to that aim is discussed. The course is taught in a Marine Engineering degree but the philosophy could be used in any Engineering field. All the lessons are given in a computer room in which every student can use each all the treated software applications. The first part of the course is dedicated to Project Management: the students acquire skills in defining, using Ms-PROJECT, the work breakdown structure (WBS), and the organization breakdown structure (OBS) in Engineering projects, through a series of examples of increasing complexity, ending up with the case of vessel construction. The second part of the course is dedicated to the use of a database manager, Ms-ACCESS, for managing production related information. A series of increasing complexity examples is treated ending up with the management of the pipe database of a real vessel. This database consists of a few thousand of pipes, for which a production timing frame is defined, which connects this part of the course with the first one. Finally, the third part of the course is devoted to the work with FORAN, an Engineering Production package of widespread use in the shipbuilding industry. With this package, the frames and plates where all the outfitting will be carried out are defined through cooperative work by the studens, working simultaneously in the same 3D model. In the paper, specific details about the learning process are given. Surveys have been posed to the students in order to get feed-back from their experience as well as to assess their satisfaction with the learning process. Results from these surveys are discussed in the paper

Training project management complexity in postgraduate and continuing education programs: a learning strategy in the eshe (European Space of Higher Education) framework

The objective of this paper is to address the methodological process of a teaching strategy for training project management complexity in postgraduate programs. The proposal is made up of different methods —intuitive, comparative, deductive, case study, problem-solving Project-Based Learning— and different activities inside and outside the classroom. This integration of methods motivated the current use of the concept of ―learning strategy‖. The strategy has two phases: firstly, the integration of the competences —technical, behavioral and contextual—in real projects; and secondly, the learning activity was oriented in upper level of knowledge, the evaluating the complexity for projects management in real situations. Both the competences in the learning strategy and the Project Complexity Evaluation are based on the ICB of IPMA. The learning strategy is applied in an international Postgraduate Program —Erasmus Mundus Master of Science— with the participation of five Universities of the European Union. This master program is fruit of a cooperative experience from one Educative Innovation Group of the UPM -GIE-Project-, two Research Groups of the UPM and the collaboration with other external agents to the university. Some reflections on the experience and the main success factors in the learning strategy were presented in the paper.

A portable NIR device for the optical supervision of milk coagulation process

The coagulation of milk is the fundamental process in cheese-making, based on a gel formation as consequence of physicochemical changes taking place in the casein micelles, the monitoring the whole process of milk curd formation is a constant preoccupation for dairy researchers and cheese companies (Lagaude et al., 2004). In addition to advances in composition-based applications of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), innovative uses of this technology are pursuing dynamic applications that show promise, especially in regard to tracking a sample in situ during food processing (Bock and Connelly, 2008). In this way the literature describes cheese making process applications of NIRS for curd cutting time determination, which conclude that NIRS would be a suitable method of monitoring milk coagulation, as shown i.e. the works published by Fagan et al. (Fagan et al., 2008; Fagan et al., 2007), based in the use of the commercial CoAguLite probe (with a LED at 880nm and a photodetector for light reflectance detection).

First steps in the discovery of patterns in the academic results of telecommunication engineering students in the subjects Analysis of Circuits and Mathematics

In this paper, the results of six years of research in engineering education, in the application of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) to improve the performance of the students in the subject Analysis of Circuits of Telecommunication Engineering, are analysed taking into consideration the fact that there would be hidden variables that both separate students into subgroups and show the connection among several basic subjects such as Analysis of Circuits (AC) and Mathematics (Math). The discovery of these variables would help us to explain the characteristics of the students through the teaching and learning methodology, and would show that there are some characteristics that instructors do not take into account but that are of paramount importance

Researching in ancient engineering physical and chemical analysis in hidraulic roman mortars

Around ten years ago investigation of technical and material construction in Ancient Roma has advanced in favour to obtain positive results. This process has been directed to obtaining some dates based in chemical composition, also action and reaction of materials against meteorological assaults or post depositional displacements. Plenty of these dates should be interpreted as a result of deterioration and damage in concrete material made in one landscape with some kind of meteorological characteristics. Concrete mixture like calcium and gypsum mortars should be analysed in laboratory test programs, and not only with descriptions based in reference books of Strabo, Pliny the Elder or Vitruvius. Roman manufacture was determined by weather condition, landscape, natural resources and of course, economic situation of the owner. In any case we must research the work in every facts of construction. On the one hand, thanks to chemical techniques like X-ray diffraction and Optical microscopy, we could know the granular disposition of mixture. On the other hand if we develop physical and mechanical techniques like compressive strength, capillary absorption on contact or water behaviour, we could know the reactions in binder and aggregates against weather effects. However we must be capable of interpret these results. Last year many analyses developed in archaeological sites in Spain has contributed to obtain different point of view, so has provide new dates to manage one method to continue the investigation of roman mortars. If we developed chemical and physical analysis in roman mortars at the same time, and we are capable to interpret the construction and the resources used, we achieve to understand the process of construction, the date and also the way of restoration in future.

A model for evaluation of generic competences in engineering: application to the problem. Solving competence at the technical University of Madrid.

The competence evaluation promoted by the European High Education Area entails a very important methodological change that requires guiding support to help teachers carry out this new and complex task. In this regard, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM, by its Spanish acronym) has financed a series of coordinated projects with a two-fold objective: a) To develop a model for teaching and evaluating core competences that is useful and easily applicable to its different degrees, and b) to provide support to teachers by creating an area within the Website for Educational Innovation where they can search for information on the model corresponding to each core competence approved by UPM. Information available on each competence includes its definition, the formulation of indicators providing evidence on the level of acquisition, the recommended teaching and evaluation methodology, examples of evaluation rules for the different levels of competence acquisition, and descriptions of best practices. These best practices correspond to pilot tests applied to several of the academic subjects conducted at UPM in order to validate the model. This work describes the general procedure that was used and presents the model developed specifically for the problem-solving competence. Some of the pilot experiences are also summarised and their results analysed

A model for evaluation of generic competences in engineering: application to the problem-solving competence at UPM.

The competence evaluation promoted by the European High Education Area entails a very important methodological change that requires guiding support to help teachers carry out this new and complex task. In this regard, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM, by its Spanish acronym) has financed a series of coordinated projects with a two-fold objective: a) To develop a model for teaching and evaluating core competences that is useful and easily applicable to its different degrees, and b) to provide support to teachers by creating an area within the Website for Educational Innovation where they can search for information on the model corresponding to each core competence approved by UPM. Information available on each competence includes its definition, the formulation of indicators providing evidence on the level of acquisition, the recommended teaching and evaluation methodology, examples of evaluation rules for the different levels of competence acquisition, and descriptions of best practices. These best practices correspond to pilot tests applied to several of the academic subjects conducted at UPM in order to validate the model. This work describes the general procedure that was used and presents the model developed specifically for the problem-solving competence. Some of the pilot experiences are also summarised and their results analysed

Student Reciprocal Peer Teaching as a Method for Active Learning: An Experience in an Electrotechnical Laboratory

Active learning is one of the most efficient mechanisms for learning, according to the psychology of learning. When students act as teachers for other students, the communication is more fluent and knowledge is transferred easier than in a traditional classroom. This teaching method is referred to in the literature as reciprocal peer teaching. In this study, the method is applied to laboratory sessions of a higher education institution course, and the students who act as teachers are referred to as ‘‘laboratory monitors.’’ A particular way to select the monitors and its impact in the final marks is proposed. A total of 181 students participated in the experiment, experiences with laboratory monitors are discussed, and methods for motivating and training laboratory monitors and regular students are proposed. The types of laboratory sessions that can be led by classmates are discussed. This work is related to the changes in teaching methods in the Spanish higher education system, prompted by the Bologna Process for the construction of the European Higher Education Area

Final year project: students and instructors perceptions as a competence-strengthening tool for engineering students

This work indicates the importance of the Final Year Project (FYP) in the strengthening of competences of engineering students. The study also shows which personal competences of students are reinforced most during the FYP process,including the preparation, elaboration, presentation and defence stages. In order to gather information on this subject, a survey was conducted at two different Spanish technical universities—one public and one private—and a comparative analysis was performed of the questionnaires collected. The competence model considered is that used by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), since the official title of the public university has been accredited by this model. The results indicate which personal and professional competences of students are reinforced well by undertaking the FYP. Any significant differences in response by university are explained in the study. For validation purposes, the results were contrasted with the instructor’s perspective using the triangulation methodology. Finally, the conclusions drawn will permit the design of new study plans to cope more effectively with the challenges of the FYP in the new Bologna framework.