Date of Award

1975

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (BS)

Abstract

Origins of the Study

As an engineering student in the Honors Program, I am continually faced with the stereotype of engineering students as people with no interest in social or cultural affairs and no consideration of things which cannot be tied down and measured. I decided to test this conception as best I could, even to comparing engineering students quantitatively to natural resources, history, and business majors. I attempted to get number comparisons for the index of relative awarenesses of culture. I suppose that only an engineering student would have the temerity to try to attach numerical values to something as nebulous as cultural awareness, but this seemed to me to be the only way to really compare engineering students to others.

Proposed Methods of Measurement

Several methods were proposed to me by various people for measuring cultural awareness, such as correlating ticket sales for Fine Arts events with majors, but no record is kept of who buys tickets, so this proved impossible. Finally I decided that a questionnaire was the only feasible method.

I undertook a minor literature survey on this project, only to discover that nothing has been done in this area other than editorials or other expressions of opinion. To the best of my knowledge, there has not been a questionnaire or similar instrument ever copyrighted in the U.S. that would have been of any assistance to me in designing mine.

Included in

Engineering Commons

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Faculty Mentor

Nick Eastman