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Cultural considerations in service learning with American Indian Reservation community stakeholders | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Cultural considerations in service learning with American Indian Reservation community stakeholders


Abstract:

In the process of designing engineered systems, it is not uncommon for engineers to underestimate or altogether ignore the societal and cultural context of the problem. T...Show More

Abstract:

In the process of designing engineered systems, it is not uncommon for engineers to underestimate or altogether ignore the societal and cultural context of the problem. This is particularly true when designs are developed to solve world problems; a lack of societal consideration leads to implementation failures when engineers from developed countries attempt to design solutions "for" people in developing countries rather than working with them. It has been increasingly recognized in literature that stakeholder participation is critical for designing sustainable solutions. However, translating social and cultural values and stakeholder participation into engineering education remains an elusive challenge for educators. A similar challenge exists with engineering design for American Indian Reservations; however, this challenge is amplified due to a long history of racial tensions, biases, and political oppression that leads to American Indian distrust of mainstream engineers. This work in progress describes an ongoing engineering design project that is designed to meet the needs of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (PRIR) while: (a) challenging students at a mainstream university to design within an appropriate cultural context, (b) incorporating stakeholder participation and (3) increasing opportunities and interest in Native American participation in engineering. Dialogue between community members of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (PRIR, where OLC is located), faculty and students of the Oglala Lakota College (OLC) Tribal College, and faculty and students at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT) have identified that the PRIR community is interested in collaborating on the design, research, and testing of a sustainable, renewable-energy based food production system. The system should not only to meet the community needs for safe and healthy foods, but also serve as a potential source of economic development for the community. This project include...
Date of Conference: 22-25 October 2014
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 19 February 2015
Electronic ISBN:978-1-4799-3922-0

ISSN Information:

Conference Location: Madrid, Spain

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