Studies suggest that at engineering universities, where the percentage of males and engineering majors is high, pro-environmental attitudes are likely to be weak and may not change. The 15-item New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale was used to measure differences in student attitudes before and after an environmental studies course. Results revealed students held more pro-environmental attitudes about the validity of the ecological crisis, the existence of resource constraints, and the delicacy of nature's balance after the course. Students did not shift their views regarding the domination of humans over the environment or their belief in human ingenuity to overcome resource limits. Engineering majors showed weaker endorsement of the NEP compared to non-engineering majors, but the increase in their endorsement after the course was statistically significant.

Orchid Island (Lan-Yu) is off Taiwan's southeastern coast. It is mostly populated by an aboriginal people called the Tao (or Yami). Three thousand people inhabit the island with a unique human settlement, living culture, society system and natural landscape, which are explicitly different from the main Taiwan Island.For Orchid Island, in the past, the spatial change and environmental impact were inconspicuous. The Tao people remained the most primitive but sustainable of Taiwan's aboriginal community. Nowadays, when the traditional and indigenous culture, environment, and settlement are transformed by external culture, ecological invasion, and inappropriate policies; there is also rapid change of the characteristic living style and dwelling types. The traditional housing units seem in danger of extinction, replaced by government or self-built square concrete boxes. The old houses have nearly disappeared from several of the island's six villages.The goals of this study are, firstly, to observe the evolution processes of human settlement and to compare the traditional spatial forms and the transformed ones. Secondly, a goal is to emphasize the former attitude and to propose a sustainable strategy for developing the dwelling type by respecting and adopting the traditional culture and historic apologue. The concrete tactics for construction and architectural concepts are proposed in this paper.

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Orchid Island (Lan-Yu) is off Taiwan's southeast coast; it is mostly populated by an aboriginal people called the Tao. There are six tribes containing three thousand people who inhabit the island with a primitive but sustainable way with their own unique human settlement, living culture and society system. The subterranean building is the most particular architectural element of the island. Moreover, the typology, as well as the arrangement of such buildings, is highly efficient and practical, corresponding with the local environment and the landscape of the island.Although the space of settlement and the land use of the island changes gradually due to the socio-economic factor, the traditional subterranean buildings still survive and are used largely in the tribes of Langdau and Yehyin. However, we can explicitly recognize some physical differences of these buildings, such as the orientation, roof angles and even the space and site arrangement.The goal of this research is to specify the influencing factors of the mentioned differences of the buildings. The content of the research consists of: 1. a field investigation on the configuration of buildings and the difference between two tribes; 2. the correlation analysis and the comparison study between the settlement arrangement and the composition of traditional buildings. By means of document analysis and filed investigation, this research concludes that the geological or climatic conditions should be the main influencing factors of buildings. More scientific analysis and discussion should be systematically involved to clarify the goal of the research.

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