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Course Farewell

Eann Patterson makes some closing remarks in a closing video for The University of Liverpool's MOOC on Understanding Super Structures.
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Well that’s it. We have reached the end of our fairly high-speed tour of structural engineering. Thank you for staying with us to the end. We have enjoyed it and I hope you have too. In the last few steps, we have looked at some difficult ideas that have taken us into the realms of modern engineering and the philosophy of science. 00:27.500 –> 00:34.500 I hope that it will stimulate you to explore on your own and perhaps even to decide to pursue more advanced courses.
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However, for most of the last five weeks, we have tried to explain how the structures, that support everything around us, function; the stresses inside them caused by manufacturing, by service loads and by unexpected events. We have looked at how materials respond to stress and how they fail. 00:53.200 –> 00:57.000 We need energy in order for anything to happen at all;
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and, that’s why my first MOOC was about Energy and thermodynamics in everyday life. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, amongst the basic needs are shelter, food and water; and, to provide these we need structures. There is a saying that doctors cure, nurses care and teachers change lives, to which we can add engineers sustain society. I am a teacher and an engineer, so I hope that I have succeeded in making you think differently about the structures you see around you every day, in which case maybe this course will bring about a small change in your life. I write a weekly blog on these topics, so I hope you will consider following me at RealizeEngineering.WordPress.com. Congratulations on reaching the very end!
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Thank you, and good-bye.

The End! Eann reflects on the course and the role of teachers and engineers in our lives.

We have done quite a few things differently in this online course and Eann would appreciate any feedback on these innovations, such as the extensive use of audio instead of video clips or Clearscreen Technology for the worked examples.

Well done for getting to this point! We hope you have enjoyed the learning experience and look forward to seeing you on a University of Liverpool course in the future, either on-line or at one of our campuses in Liverpool, London or Suzhou, China.

We would appreciate some feedback on this course. Please complete the survey and in particular in response to the last question, please comment on our use of audio rather video clips in this course.

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Understanding Superstructures

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