{"id":27,"date":"2022-01-13T03:23:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T03:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/me270baughman\/chapter\/micro-economy-kit-overview\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T13:57:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:57:44","slug":"micro-economy-kit-overview","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/me270baughman\/chapter\/micro-economy-kit-overview\/","title":{"raw":"Micro-economy Kit Overview","rendered":"Micro-economy Kit Overview"},"content":{"raw":"<h2><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><strong>Student Design Team Goal in ME 2700: Create a micro-economy kit (design project)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<span class=\"tight\">As an engineer, you directly touch people's lives by being instrumental in designing products! <\/span><span class=\"tight\">In ME 2700, students work in teams and\u00a0<strong>engaged in creating a micro-economy kit (project) that encourages\/promotes self-sustainability and economic growth for underdeveloped\/developing nations.<\/strong> In order to accomplish this task, your design team must:<\/span>\n<ol>\n \t<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Perform research in order to identify a region\/country<\/strong> and <strong>target population<\/strong> who are experiencing a basic need shortcoming\/issue\/concern.\n<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Design an engineering solution (a product or process)<\/strong> that would help the target population, and:<\/span>\n<ul>\n \t<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Will allow them to redirect time and resources<\/strong> to a different activity that positively impacts quality of life<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Meets<\/strong> a basic need in a developing\/underdeveloped nation\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Will<\/strong> <strong>improve<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>create<\/strong> a self-sustaining economic activity\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Will be made from<\/strong> a low cost kit, maximizing \"local content\/materials\"\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Can be<\/strong> sold and serviced by local artisans<\/span><\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Promotes and integrates<\/strong> sustainability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><strong>Start simple. <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><strong>Use resources immediately available to you. Befriend Google, the ISU Library, and search the following:<\/strong><\/span>\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_26\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"235\"]<img class=\"wp-image-26\" src=\"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/01\/villigers.png\" alt=\"Photo of two men hooking up 12 Volt batteries\" width=\"235\" height=\"221\"> Villagers in Nana Kenieba hook up 12 V batteries for lighting.[\/caption]\n\nReview summaries at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">World Bank<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Nations<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.who.int\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">World Health Organization<\/a>, etc.\n\n&nbsp;\n<ol>\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TED videos<\/a> can be inspiring<\/li>\n \t<li>Competitions (e.g., <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dell.com\/learn\/us\/en\/uscorp1\/corp-comm\/cr-social-innovation-competition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dell Social Innovation Challenge<\/a>) or Foundations (e.g., the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gatesfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gates Foundation<\/a>).<\/li>\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Data sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cia.gov\/library\/publications\/the-world-factbook\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the CIA World Factbook<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.globalissues.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Global Issues<\/a>, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\">Recommendations<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Choose something inspiring that excites your team.<\/li>\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Perform research.<\/li>\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Select and target ONE region with a focused scope. Not the entire world, but a target customer.<\/li>\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left;\">learn about the regions of your interest. Become familiar with their history, culture, geography, economy and find more specific resources<\/li>\n \t<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Things won't be perfect the first time, iteration is to be expected, and is a beneficial learning process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><span class=\"tight\">Dos and Don'ts of Your Team's Engineering Design Project:<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<table class=\"lines aligncenter\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 268px; overflow: scroll;\" tabindex=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<thead>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #c4d7ef; height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 40px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>DOS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 0.5%; height: 40px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>DON'TS<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 60px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Include moving parts<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 60px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Do not select a project that is \"TOO easy\" (such as a stove, grain storage, etc)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #c4d7ef; height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 60px; width: 50%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Design must involve experimentation via testing and learning<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 60px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 120px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 80px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Design MUST fit in the provided totes(assembled OR disassembled) as a SCALED down functional prototype of a larger product<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 80px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><span class=\"very-tight\"><span class=\"tight\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Water treatment\/filtration (DIFFICULT and expensive to test functionality, so not feasible in this course)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">Practice Exercise<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.<\/div>\n<\/div>","rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><strong>Student Design Team Goal in ME 2700: Create a micro-economy kit (design project)<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"tight\">As an engineer, you directly touch people&#8217;s lives by being instrumental in designing products! <\/span><span class=\"tight\">In ME 2700, students work in teams and\u00a0<strong>engaged in creating a micro-economy kit (project) that encourages\/promotes self-sustainability and economic growth for underdeveloped\/developing nations.<\/strong> In order to accomplish this task, your design team must:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Perform research in order to identify a region\/country<\/strong> and <strong>target population<\/strong> who are experiencing a basic need shortcoming\/issue\/concern.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Design an engineering solution (a product or process)<\/strong> that would help the target population, and:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Will allow them to redirect time and resources<\/strong> to a different activity that positively impacts quality of life<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Meets<\/strong> a basic need in a developing\/underdeveloped nation\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Will<\/strong> <strong>improve<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>create<\/strong> a self-sustaining economic activity\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Will be made from<\/strong> a low cost kit, maximizing &#8220;local content\/materials&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"tight\"><strong>Can be<\/strong> sold and serviced by local artisans<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Promotes and integrates<\/strong> sustainability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><strong>Start simple. <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><strong>Use resources immediately available to you. Befriend Google, the ISU Library, and search the following:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26\" src=\"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/01\/villigers.png\" alt=\"Photo of two men hooking up 12 Volt batteries\" width=\"235\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/me270baughman\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/01\/villigers.png 238w, https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/me270baughman\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/01\/villigers-65x61.png 65w, https:\/\/libraryresources.nse.org.ng\/me270baughman\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/01\/villigers-225x212.png 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Villagers in Nana Kenieba hook up 12 V batteries for lighting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Review summaries at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">World Bank<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Nations<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.who.int\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">World Health Organization<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ted.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TED videos<\/a> can be inspiring<\/li>\n<li>Competitions (e.g., <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dell.com\/learn\/us\/en\/uscorp1\/corp-comm\/cr-social-innovation-competition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dell Social Innovation Challenge<\/a>) or Foundations (e.g., the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gatesfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gates Foundation<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Data sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cia.gov\/library\/publications\/the-world-factbook\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the CIA World Factbook<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.globalissues.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Global Issues<\/a>, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\">Recommendations<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Choose something inspiring that excites your team.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Perform research.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Select and target ONE region with a focused scope. Not the entire world, but a target customer.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">learn about the regions of your interest. Become familiar with their history, culture, geography, economy and find more specific resources<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Things won&#8217;t be perfect the first time, iteration is to be expected, and is a beneficial learning process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #1b3b80;\"><span class=\"tight\">Dos and Don&#8217;ts of Your Team&#8217;s Engineering Design Project:<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<table class=\"lines aligncenter\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 268px; overflow: scroll;\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<thead>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #c4d7ef; height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 40px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>DOS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 0.5%; height: 40px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>DON&#8217;TS<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 60px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Include moving parts<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 60px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Do not select a project that is &#8220;TOO easy&#8221; (such as a stove, grain storage, etc)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #c4d7ef; height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 60px; width: 50%; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Design must involve experimentation via testing and learning<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 60px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 120px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 80px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\">Design MUST fit in the provided totes(assembled OR disassembled) as a SCALED down functional prototype of a larger product<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 80px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;\" colspan=\"2\"><span class=\"very-tight\"><span class=\"tight\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Water treatment\/filtration (DIFFICULT and expensive to test functionality, so not feasible in this course)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">Practice Exercise<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. 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