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Engineers of the 21st century will spend appreciable portions of their careers in environments rich with global connections. Therefore, engineering colleges and universities must develop strategies that provide the global perspectives and international experiences that will help their graduates excel in this new world order. The current paper presents some European and American approaches to creating multi-organizational, international partnerships of academic and industrial organizations that emphasize collaborative educational programmes and research efforts that meet the globalization needs of faculty members, students, and industry.

The findings reported in this paper are based on surveys of U.S. high school students who registered and managed their science and engineering fair (SEF) projects through the online Scienteer website over the three years 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/22. Almost 2500 students completed surveys after finishing all their SEF competitions. We added a new question in 2019/20 to our on-going surveys asking the students whether their high school location was urban, suburban, or rural. We learned that overall, 74% of students participating in SEFs indicated that they were from suburban schools. Unexpectedly, very few SEF participants, less than 4%, indicated that they were from rural schools, even though national data show that more than 20% of high school students attend rural schools. Consistent with previous findings, Asian and Hispanic students indicated more successful SEF outcomes than Black and White students. However, whereas Asian students had the highest percentage of SEF participants from suburban vs. urban schools- 81% vs. 18%, Hispanic students had the most balanced representation of participants from suburban vs. urban schools- 55% vs. 39%. Differences in students' SEF experiences based on gender and ethnicity showed the same patterns regardless of school location. In the few items where we observed statistically significant (probability < .05) differences based on school location, students from suburban schools were marginally favored by only a few percentage points compared to students from urban schools. In conclusion, based on our surveys results most students participating in SEFs come from suburban schools, but students participating in SEFs and coming from urban schools have equivalent SEF experiences, and very few students participating in SEFs come from rural schools., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Grinnell et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The sustainability of a competitive, national economy depends largely on the ability of companies to deliver innovative knowledge-intensive goods and services to the market. These are the ultimate outputs of a scientific knowledge system. Ideas flow from the critical, identifiable phases of (a) the discovery, (b) the development, (c) the deployment and (d) the delivery of end products. In order to develop a successful ten-year strategic framework for investment in science and innovation, the UK government will need to prioritize and secure contributions to economic development and public service. One particular goal of the framework would be to identify the desirable attributes of a knowledge system that could achieve these ambitions. The Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI) interviewed US stakeholders in science and innovation to gather insights on the UK's potential for long-term, scientific innovation, and the critical processes that fuel it. This paper reviews high-level observations, proposes a model for a scientific knowledge system and outlines its critical attributes. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

At present, value management (VM) is struggling to survive amidst other management fads. The problem is that it is still not recognized as a professional or academic discipline. There is no sound academic base and a lack of understanding by the public, owners and corporate organizations. The future survival of VM is therefore always being questioned. This study adopts a quantitative approach, trying to gaze through a "crystal ball" to look at current practices and forecast the future courses and directions of VM by considering different aspects such as education, research, practice, VM societies and promotional activities. Various influences on VM development are also examined. The survey sample was taken from the membership directories of SAVE International, USA, and the Institute of Value Management, UK. Forty per cent of the members were selected for the study on a random basis, and the response rate was 23%. From the survey findings, each of the different aspects will be examined in detail. In addition, the paper introduces a building engineering and management programme on offer in Hong Kong, which integrates the VM topic into the syllabus of a course in engineering economics. (Contains 17 tables.)

The author notes that the sciences are now something one must latch onto early and successfully as a teenager, and endure against all odds. This pivotal point requires maturity and even myopia--delayed gratification and voluntary dorkiness--traits not common in the young. As a nation, Americans are losing their hegemony in the sciences. In just the past decade, China quintupled its number of doctorates in engineering and the sciences, Korea and Taiwan doubled theirs, but the U.S. stayed stable. As individuals, Americans operate more and more contraptions, but understand them less and less. While there is no single solution to the problems of the STEM pipeline--where scientific interest is squelched over time and newcomers are barred from entry--the author offers a few thoughts.

This paper seeks to examine how federal financial support of academic scientists shapes their collaborative behavior. More specifically, it investigates two questions: (i) are there threshold sizes of federal grants that have effects on collaboration? and (ii) do the threshold sizes differ by discipline? To test and model these questions, this paper uses data collected in a 2004-2005 survey by the Research Valuing Mapping Project (a project based at Georgia Tech and led by Barry Bozeman) of 2,086 academically based research scientists and engineers. The analysis in this paper reaffirms the positive relationship between federal funding and collaboration seen in previous works, but the findings suggest that there is in fact a threshold effect-as the positive relationship has a diminishing influence. The findings of this paper are more limited with respect to how academic disciplines' threshold levels differ. The results indicate a difference in the threshold levels between disciplines for three of the eight models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe specific techniques of "inquiry-based learning" employed by three instructors in Engineering schools, one in Europe and two in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – Theorists such as Bransford et al. argue that twenty-first century educators need to teach students to do more than simply remember and repeat information. Engineering educators Prince and Felder critique traditional methods of teaching in which instructors focus on mathematics and theory, but fail to convey practical applications of that knowledge. They advocate moving students to a higher level of learning – past the stage of memorizing and reciting data – to more sophisticated methods of analysis, synthesis, and application of knowledge. To enact such transformations, Prince and Felder recommend "inductive teaching methods," including "inquiry-based learning," in which students learn through engaging with challenges and a series of questions. The paper provides examples of inquiry-based learning activities from each of the authors. The paper then discusses the cross-pollination of ideas and describes how the authors have shared inquiry-based teaching strategies and collaborated to develop new and relevant assignments and approaches to teaching. Findings – The willingness of learners to discuss a range of pedagogical topics, from specific practices to shared experiences and readings, led to an exchange of ideas, and also to deeper reflections on current practices. The cross-pollination of assignments and techniques resulted in well-structured, stimulating, and relevant research projects that engage engineering students from Texas to Portugal, and from communication to technical classes. Research limitations/implications – The use of inquiry-based learning activities and the sharing of resources across continents aimed at improving learning and teaching requires expanding upon and further development. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the use of cross-pollination of ideas, development of assignments and improved approaches to teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers updates concerning the publication "IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and CyberneticsߞPart B: Cynbernetics" in the U.S. It is stated that the publication processed 1,093 papers and project over 1,300 research in 2008. The development resulted in a larger pool of high-quality research under consideration of the publication policy. The Technical Correspondences, special class of papers in the publication, are not simply short papers but still represent significant contributions on par with regular papers. The authors are encouraged to use the National Library of Medicine vocabulary in order to help better disseminate their work in the publication.

This paper offers the first systematic historical evidence on the role of a central actor in modern growth theory: the engineer. We construct a database on the share of engineers in the labor force during the Second Industrial Revolution (1870–1914) at the county level for the United States and the state and national levels for the Americas. These measures are robustly correlated with income today after controlling for literacy, other types of higher-order human capital (college graduates, lawyers, physicians, patenting) and demand-side factors, as well as after instrumenting engineering using the 1862 US Land Grant Colleges program. Differences in engineering density in 1880 accounted for 10% of the higher US county incomes today, while national disparities in engineering density can explain approximately a quarter of the income divergence in the Americas. To document the mechanisms through which engineering density works, we show how it is correlated with higher rates of technology adoption and structural transformation across intermediate time periods and with numerous measures of the knowledge economy today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain-diverse research, that research which involves more than one domain of knowledge, has driven significant advances in science and technology. Recent interest has been shown in the United States for identifying and generalizing techniques for promoting success with such work. In this paper, an exemplar history of domain-diverse research is presented. Next, several forms of domain-diverse research are identified. A spotlight is cast on a particular type, known as "convergence". Convergence is a problem-solving approach that focuses on integrating the life sciences and medicine on the one hand, with the physical sciences and engineering on the other. Next, the design process is proposed as an organizing framework for domain-diverse teamwork. Finally, the need for research and training in the forming and running of such project groups is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature argues for the urgent need to improve workplace and professional communication in the engineering field across the world. This paper reports on a study examining Chinese/English bilingual engineers' translanguaging practices in their communications in English-speaking high-tech corporations in the United States. Evidence showed that bilingual engineers translanguaged extensively to construct meaning to meet the diverse communication needs at their workplace, which enables them to demonstrate their professional talents and skills. However, when English was the sole language for the interaction, they struggled to sound like English native speakers to convey their ideas and present their work, which disadvantaged them professionally, socially and emotional as professionals. Therefore, this study calls for a creation of a translanguaging space in the workplace to empower bilingual engineers and also a need to modify engineering education programs that recognize multilingual competence of bilinguals and enhance the development of their English professional communication ability (speaking and writing) in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how professional engineers recognize and make sense of product defects in their everyday work. Such activities form a crucial, if often overlooked, part of professional engineering practice. By detecting, recognizing and repairing defects, engineers contribute to the creation of value and the optimization of production processes. Focusing on early-career engineers in an advanced steel mill in the United States, we demonstrate how learning specific ways of seeing and attending to defects take shape around the increasing automation of certain aspects of engineering work. Practices of sensing defects are embodied, necessitating disciplined eyes, ears, and hands, but they are also distributed across human and non-human actors. We argue that such an approach to technical work provides texture to the stark opposition between human and machine work that has emerged in debates around automation. Our approach to sensing defects suggests that such an opposition, with its focus on job loss or retention, misses the more nuanced ways in which humans and machines are conjoined in perceptual tasks. The effects of automation should be understood through such shifting configurations and the ways that they variously incorporate the perceptual practices of humans and machines.

The article offers announcements related to engineering in the United States. The terms progressive and disproportionate collapse of buildings are discussed. The 2005 Outstanding Paper "Membrane and Flashing Defects in Low-Slope Roofing: Causes and Effects on Performance," by David M. Bailey and Dane Bradford, which was selected by the American Society of Civil Engineers, is published in this journal. The author called for nominations for the 2006 Outstanding Paper Award.

Addressing racism is key in moving forward as a nation and creating a more equitable environment. Within this paper, Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. describes the critical need to shift from diversity, inclusion, and equity (D.I.E.) to inclusion, diversity, equity, anti-racism, and learning (I.D.E.A.L.).

Owing to the increased reliance on software applications and the need to evaluate and conduct projects in a timely manner with required results, the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) has become essential to achieving the right products in the requisite period. The military carries out various projects ranging from hardware military equipment to software applications. The paper focuses on the application of SDLC in the military sector. In order to achieve this, secondary research was carried out to get a view of solutions used in the military sector. The authors aim to highlight the common SDLC models and their applications in the military subdivision. This is followed by a review of literature on the militaries' take on SDLC and the preferred approaches, with a brief look at the Business Capability Lifecycle (BCL). The BCL was noted to be the best SDLC model for military hardware and software applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Striving to remain a global leader in innovation, the United States continues prioritizing broadening participation in engineering and other STEM fields. For this reason, STEM outreach programs are increasingly popular and vital. However, few programs offer such outreach experiences at a large, national scale and intentionally situate those experiences in locations that enable access for African American youth. In this paper, we present a logic model that showcases the resources and components that can expand the reach of an effective program, outlining the programmatic components involved in executing the National Society of Black Engineers' Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) program, which has effectively scaled to cities across the United States. Using SEEK as an instrumental case, we highlight what goes into offering a large-scale community-based STEM outreach program, emphasizing aspects that are most important to preserve during expansion into underserved communities. Key findings illustrate that maximizing the potential of recruiting and engaging youth from underserved populations may hinge on the ability of established programs to scale up their initiatives while establishing appropriate assessment plans to measure effectiveness. Additionally, embracing the ideals of collective impact provides an opportunity for such programs to progress their initiatives by replicating program designs in more communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender differences in science and engineering (S&E) have been studied in various countries. Most of these studies find that women are underrepresented in the S&E workforce and publish less than their male peers. The factors that contribute to gender differences in experience and performance in S&E careers can vary from one country to another, yet they remain underexplored. This paper is among the first to systematically compare gender differences in the publication productivity of academic scientists and engineers with doctoral degrees in the U.S. and China. Findings from negative binomial regressions show that women publish less than their male counterparts in science but not in engineering in the U.S. In China, women do not differ from men in publication productivity in science but publish more than their male counterparts in engineering. In addition, we find that some background variables affect men's and women's publication productivity differently. The findings are analyzed in the context of the different cultures of the two fields (science vs. engineering) and of the two countries (the U.S. and China). Limitations and policy implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides fresh insights into the life of Henry L. Gantt by examining the papers of Duncan C. Lyle (1847-1938), Grant's confidant, friend, and former teacher at the McDonogh's School in Maryland. Lyle's papers at the McDonogh School include previously unrecorded articles and personal letters of Gantt's along with articles about him. These materials reveal new information about Gantt during his collaboration with Frederick W. Taylor and during his later years when he acted independently. Of particular interest are items pertaining to Gantt's involvement with a group called The New Machine and the question of Gantt's sanity in his later years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health has always been, and remains, an interdisciplinary field, and engineering was closely aligned with public health for many years. Indeed, the branch of engineering that has been known at various times as sanitary engineering, public health engineering, or environmental engineering was integral to the emergence of public health as a distinct discipline. However, in the United States (U.S.) during the 20th century, the academic preparation and practice of this branch of engineering became largely separated from public health. Various factors contributed to this separation, including an evolution in leadership roles within public health; increasing specialization within public health; and the emerging environmental movement, which led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with its emphasis on the natural environment. In this paper, we consider these factors in turn. We also present a case study example of public health engineering in current practice in the U.S. that has had large-scale positive health impacts through improving water and sanitation services in Native American and Alaska Native communities. We also consider briefly how to educate engineers to work in public health in the modern world, and the benefits and challenges associated with that process. We close by discussing the global implications of public health engineering and the need to re-integrate engineering into public health practice and strengthen the connection between the two fields.

In this article, the author discusses the released report entitled, "Doctorate Recipients From United States Universities: Summary Report 2005," which is based on the annual Survey of Earned Doctorates. According to the report, the number of earned doctorates awarded by American universities rose 2.9 percent in 2005. Doctorates in science and engineering rose even more, climbing 6.5 percent in a single year and passing the previous high mark set in 1998. The author argues that these increases do not tell the entire story. Instead, the number of U.S. citizens getting doctorates has decreased, and the substantial increases in degrees awarded to international students account for the growth. Here, he presents some highlights which the survey found. (Contains related materials table.)

Abstract  The use of empirical studies with students in software engineering helps researchers gain insight into new or existing techniques and methods. However, due mainly to concerns of external validity, questions have been raised about the value of these types of studies. The authors of this paper draw on their experiences of conducting a large number of empirical studies in university courses in three countries (Italy, Norway, and the United States) to address this important issue. This paper first identifies the requirements that research and pedagogy place on a valid empirical study with students. This information is then used as the basis for a checklist that provides guidance for researchers and educators when planning and conducting studies in university courses. The goal of this checklist is to help ensure that these studies have as much research and pedagogical value as possible. Finally, an example application of the checklist is provided to illustrate its use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focuses on developing a unified approach to define information specificities for key performance indicators (KPIs). Borrowing from the time-system theory, the paper defines different types of KPI and identifies that a KPI has two dimensions—knowledge specificity and time specificity. Different approaches are presented to analyze knowledge and time sensitivities. This paper addresses a key question related to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems applications in the engineering construction industry: what are the areas of business processes within the engineering construction industry where ERP cannot be used to collect KPIs related to business processes? The writers review empirical and specialized processes within the construction industry to identify business processes not covered by existing ERP systems. A survey focused on qualitative aspects of ERP systems implementation in engineering construction firms was conducted among ERP-enablers in the construction industry and provided a basis for the presented case study. Data collected are from major engineering and construction firms in the United States and therefore the results are relevant for researchers and industry practitioners concerned with application of enterprise management systems in the respective firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative analysis of three different infrastructure assessment tools currently used by the U.S. Army’s combat engineer small units (squad, platoon, company). The infrastructure assessment tools included one pen and paper checklist and two software-based tools based on specialized handheld hardware for data collection in combat conditions. Evaluation was conducted using macroergonomic and applied cognitive task analysis methods with soldiers of varying levels of infrastructure assessment expertise. Each assessment method was evaluated based on performance (time, errors, and accuracy) and usability (ergonomic and cognitive challenges). We found that soldiers documented more accurate data using handheld digital devices instead of pen-and-paper assessment forms, but there was little difference in time between the methods. Contrary to initial expectation, we also found that most soldiers prefer a slightly more difficult to use handheld assessment device with customized checklists rather than an easier to use, less restrictive device. Critiques developed by this research can be used to improve engineering and construction organizations as well as add to our design guidelines for portable infrastructure assessment tools and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After eminent thinkers in the 1960s submitted critical views on technology, some philosophers of technology extended their macro perspectives. Since then, many historians and sociologists of technology steadily marginalized their general claims through richly empirical, constructivist case studies of concrete engineering processes. Some recent efforts have begun to bridge these two diverging orientations. This paper participates in such efforts with a case study of relationships between macro cultures and engineering processes. It shows that behind the adoption of systems engineering by engineers and managers who led the Apollo programme was a macro current of social values in the USA. Post-war American society saw the rise of highly individualistic social norms that valued mobility, meritocracy and clear-cut contractual working relationships. Such norms triumphed most conspicuously in the federal government during the 1960s. Engineers and managers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters, who tended to share such values, refined the formalized, depersonalized methods of systems engineering, which enabled them to perfect space technology. In order to show such a correlation between macro values and micro practices, this paper draws a comparison between engineering communities in different cultural settings in the USA and Japan. This paper thus explores the macro social environment that gave rise to systems engineering, which, in turn, continues to function as a skeletal structure for our technological society today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pole building construction has gained popularity in the Midwestern United States due to its low cost and rapid construction applications. Farm and agricultural buildings, low-rise commercial units, and some storage facilities have utilized this type of construction technique. This paper reviews some common features of pole buildings and presents a case study for stricter construction supervision by design professionals, contractors, and building officials, alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No abstract received. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non heterosexual/cisgender identities) engineering students' navigation of engineering educational contexts and reported the impacts of the engineering educational culture on LGBTQ + students' well-being. Drawing from a sample of ten LGBTQ + university students in the United States, we found that students described cultural norms sustained through minimal tolerance for and the avoidance of identity talk or expression. Systemic homogeneous cultural norms redefine safety expectations for LGBTQ + engineering students while normalizing expectations that LGBTQ + students be silent and tolerate mistreatment. Participants also described the consequences of invisibility and identity conflict that they face for being different within an inequitable field. These findings bring attention to a culture within engineering programs that silences LGBTQ + expression and leaves students feeling isolated. Further research is needed to explore the effect of affirming communities on LGBTQ + engineering students' well-being. We conclude with research and clinical implications for working with LGBTQ + engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is engineering? What do engineers do? How is engineering related to, but distinct from, science? These questions all relate to the nature of engineering (NOE), and as engineering is incorporated into K‐12 education across the United States, the NOE is becoming increasingly important for students and teachers. While many policy documents call for students to learn more about the structure of the engineering discipline, little has been done to define the NOE construct. This paper presents key dimensions of the NOE via a framework synthesized from studies of the engineering discipline from philosophical, historical, and sociological perspectives, as well as perspectives from within the engineering field. The framework identifies and elaborates nine features of engineering, each of which capture an important aspect of the NOE. For teachers, these features serve as points of entry for discussing NOE ideas with students. For researchers, the features provide a set of constructs to guide future inquiries into teachers' and students' NOE knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent documents pertaining to K-12 education have fostered a connection between engineering and science education to help better prepare our students and future citizens to better meet the current and future challenges of our modern and technological society. With that connection, there has been a concerted effort to raise the visibility of engineering within K-12 science education, which is reflected in the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the recently released Next Generation Science Standards. As states look towards the adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, it is important to take a deeper look at the shift in K-12 science education that is being suggested by these documents and what that means in terms of the potential changes for states that have chosen to adopt these standards. The main research question that has guided the work for this paper is: What is the extent and quality of the engineering that is present in state science standards and the Next Generation Science Standards? This paper will present a detailed analysis of the landscape of engineering in K-12 policy before and after the release of the NGSS through a comparative case study of academic state science standards and Next Generation Science Standards. This comparison provides insight into what the widespread adoption of the NGSS would mean in terms of potential changes in the way we implement science education in the United States. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 296-318, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a program session that focused on publishers’ experiences launching Open Access (OA) journals and lessons learned. The speakers discussed the current journal marketplace, current journal business models, and the possible shape of the OA landscape and marketplace in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines professional identity construction within engineering. It is meant to contribute toward better understanding dynamics surrounding women's status within engineering in the United States, where women comprise only 11% of the engineering workforce and the culture has been described as gendered masculine. This article considers the multiple roles engineers enact at work and how the discourse surrounding these roles may help to maintain a gendered image of engineering despite the actual practice. Using interview data from women and men engineers, this paper identifies six different roles that the engineers enacted at work. These roles range from being more technical to more social and are not presented in an either/or fashion as the social/technical binary would expect. From the participants' narratives, I found that engineers manage these roles within the context of their professional identity using a process I call ‘role configuration,’ which takes three different forms: balancing, grafting, and swapping. Women and men alike were comfortable with their multi-faceted roles, yet at times participants discussed the roles in a gendered and stereotyped manner. This discourse may help to perpetuate the gendered masculine image of the engineering culture and work despite the actual practices in which engineers engage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 75 percent of U. S.-trained, noncitizen Ph Ds in science and engineering work in the United States after graduation, and 54 percent of those who stay take postdoctoral positions. The probability of postdoctoral participation is substantially higher for temporary visa holders than for permanent visa holders because of visa-related restrictions in the U. S. labor market. To identify the causal effects of visa status on entry into a postdoctoral position, this paper uses a unique shock to visa status generated by the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992. Eligibility for the act is used as an instrumental variable for visa status. Two-stage least-square estimates show that permanent visa holders are 24 percent less likely to take postdoctoral positions than temporary visa holders. The effects of a permanent visa vary considerably across research fields, but for most fields, it reduces postdoctoral participation significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses an all-encompassing approach to increase the number of students in engineering through innovative outreach, recruiting, and retention programs. Prior to adopting these programs, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Oklahoma (OU), Norman, experienced a reduction in engineering enrollment similar to the trend that has occurred across the U.S. over the last few years. As a result, the school investigated the key factors that influence selection of engineering as a career path and initiated a corrective program to reverse this trend. The program involves focusing on the present through retention, on the immediate future through recruiting, and on the distant future through outreach. The focus of all of these programs is to mobilize the OU-ECE faculty and student body to present advanced engineering technologies, innovative demonstrations, and hands-on activities at a level that the individual student can understand and appreciate. Student surveys and interviews are used to assess the program qualitatively, and OU-ECE enrollment numbers are used as a quantitative assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The globalization of complex engineering services has resulted in physically dispersed teams that can no longer rely on the traditional and familiar oral transmission of engineering expertise nor can they assume knowledge of their team members’ culture. Yet, such teams need to be able coordinate effectively the dispersed knowledge of team members. We know little about how cultural differences among engineering team members impact the coordination of dispersed knowledge, so called transactive memory systems (TMSs)—or “who knows what” and “who knows who knows what.” In this paper, we present a longitudinal case study of a dispersed, cross-cultural team involving U.S. and Romanian engineers. The cultural differences in values, practices, and institutions had a major impact on TMS indicators of specialization, coordination, and credibility. The paper demonstrates how the cultural differences impeded TMS development. The results provide insight into TMS as an implicit coordination mechanism in a global team. We provide advice in terms of interventions that can promote the development of TMS in a culturally diverse team. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses the social science and engineering dimensions of search and rescue (SAR) in collapsed buildings. First, existing information is presented on factors that influence the behaviour of trapped victims, particularly human, physical, socioeconomic and circumstantial factors. Trapped victims are most often discussed in the context of structural collapse and injuries sustained. Most studies in this area focus on earthquakes as the type of disaster that produces the most extensive structural damage. Second, information is set out on the engineering aspects of urban search and rescue (USAR) in the United States, including the role of structural engineers in USAR operations, training and certification of structural specialists, and safety and general procedures. The use of computational simulation to link the engineering and social science aspects of USAR is discussed. This could supplement training of local SAR groups and USAR teams, allowing them to understand better the collapse process and how voids form in a rubble pile. A preliminary simulation tool developed for this purpose is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perceptions young students have of engineers and scientists are often populated with misconceptions and stereotypes. Although the perceptions that young people have of engineers and of scientists have been investigated separately, they have not been systematically compared. The research reported in this paper explores the question “How are student perceptions of engineers and scientists similar and how are they different?” Approximately 1,600 middle school students from urban and suburban schools in the southeastern United States were asked to draw either an engineer or a scientist at work. Drawings included space for the students to explain what their person was doing in the picture. A checklist to code the drawings was developed and used by two raters. This paper discusses similarities and differences in middle school perceptions of scientists and engineers. Results reveal that the students involved in this study frequently perceive scientists as working indoors conducting experiments. A large fraction of the students have no perception of engineering. Others frequently perceive engineers as working outdoors in manual labor. The findings have implications for the development and implementation of engineering outreach efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests of up to three simultaneously firing 40-cm NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thrusters took place at NASA Glenn Research Center. In addition to numerous engineering tests, the experiment was instrumented to measure plasma properties in the interacting plumes, charge exchange return current to the active and dormant thrusters, and current and plasma properties at various locations. This paper describes the use of Nascap-2k to calculate plume potentials and charge exchange ion return currents to active and dormant ion optics and to diagnostic probes. Calculations were performed varying the numbers of active thrusters, thruster power levels, and gimbaling. The results were extrapolated to space conditions. Despite several simplifying assumptions, we obtained good agreement with experimental results. No major problems associated with multiple thruster operation were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the phenomenon of offshore outsourcing and relates it to the history and current state of engineering education and the engineering profession in Europe and the USA. In order to assess the climate affecting employment decisions by and about engineers we have used as sources mostly the serious press, with an emphasis on material dating from 2004 forward. The authors conclude that despite anxiety about the out-migration of engineering and technical jobs to places such as India and China, there is reason to see offshoring as the result of Western investment in capacity building in developing countries and to believe that the creation of new jobs will outpace the rate of job loss in Europe and the USA. The paper should serve as a prod to policy-makers and educators to set about creating an environment in which highly educated engineers and technical employees can continue a pattern of economic revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents upcoming meetings and calls for papers by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) in the U.S. from 2006 to 2008. 2006 TMS annual meeting on March 12 to 16 in San Antonio, Texas; 2006 Electronic Materials Conference on June 28 to 30 at University Park, Pennsylvania; 2008 TMS annual meeting on March 9 to 13 in New Orleans, Louisiana.