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The article announces that authors Kathleen M. Leonard and Gillian M. Nicholls have received the Best Paper Award for 2013.

Engineering graduates require high-level cognitive abilities such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation to fulfill their obligations to society. But universities have not always been successful in developing such abilities. This paper questions whether engineering students in a civil engineering degree program at a university in South Africa are being adequately prepared to engage in higher-order cognitive activities such as reasoning, predicting, analyzing, and problem solving. The paper deploys the structure of the observed learning outcome (SOLO) taxonomy to classify assessment questions according to cognitive demand and compares first- and second-year students' abilities to deal with questions of varying cognitive complexity. The results show that the second-year cohort performed substantively better on questions requiring mathematical calculation but not in other question types. In fact, they performed slightly worse on high-cognitive-demand questions and substantially worse on questions requiring visual identification of problems. This may imply that the additional year of higher education serves to equip students with improved mathematical abilities but does little to enhance their ability to engage in high-cognitive-demand activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation engineering curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels are critical to the development of technical competency in future transportation engineering professionals--those who will be responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of safe and efficient transportation systems. This paper provides an analytic review of journal articles and refereed conference papers addressing how transportation engineering curricula have changed over time. The literature review found 51 articles for analysis, with an increased frequency of those publications over time. Curriculum issues described in these papers include how transportation fits broadly within engineering programs and, more specifically, within civil engineering programs, which topics are addressed in transportation courses, and how these courses attend to stakeholder needs. This analytic review of the literature provides a resource for transportation engineering educators, administrators, and researchers to consider how transportation curricular issues have been treated in the literature historically as the community continues to develop and implement the transportation engineering curricula of the future. The findings will inform transportation engineering educators of the state of the practice in transportation engineering curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning ability is one of the most distinctive characteristics that make humans social creatures. Numerous research has found that individuals learn in different ways, so every student has a different, individual learning style. The more instructors understand the learning differences of their students, the better their chances of success in civil engineering education. Therefore, determining the learning styles of civil engineering students is an important factor in their academic success. The research reported in this paper aims to explore the learning styles of civil engineering students in Turkey, and correlate their learning styles with success in construction management courses, gender, age, type of university, and year of engineering study. Data were collected using the Kolb Learning Style Inventory II, from civil engineering students in undergraduate programs at four different universities. The questionnaire was administered to students by direct contact, and 227 items of data were collected. At the end of the research reported in this paper, it was revealed that there is a correlation between learning styles and management success, age, year of civil engineering education, and type of university, but not gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Washington Accord is one of seven mutual recognition agreements managed by the International Engineering Alliance. Its signatories recognize the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by the signatory bodies, and they agree to make every reasonable effort to ensure that licensing boards in their respective countries recognize this. Despite 25 years of the Washington Accord, however, only a minority of U.S. state licensing boards acknowledge it in their statutes. This paper compares Engineering Council (EC) guidelines for accreditation with those of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). It concludes that there are substantial similarities in the EC and ABET accreditation criteria. This should encourage U.S. state licensing boards to acknowledge EC-accredited programs in their statutes explicitly if not through the Washington Accord. A number of key differences in EC and ABET accreditation criteria are also highlighted. Both the ABET and the EC accredit programs at various levels. This paper recommends that the International Engineering Alliance clarify the correspondence between the various levels of accredited programs of the Washington Accord signatories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption has been identified as the greatest obstacle to economic and social development. Public construction projects, in particular, face high corruption risk as public construction sector has been consecutively deemed as the most corrupt one. Despite considerable efforts have been undertaken to measure corruption at a nation level, few researchers focus on the measurement of corruption in construction projects. This paper develops a fuzzy measurement model for the potential corruption in public construction projects in China. Through semistructured interviews with 14 experts, and then a questionnaire survey with 188 respondents, 24 measurement items of corruption were identified and further categorized into five constructs. The fuzzy set theory was then adopted to quantify each measurement item, construct, and the overall corruption level. This model can facilitate in evaluating, revealing, and monitoring corruption in public construction projects. Although this paper focuses on measuring corruption in public construction projects in China, similar research methods can be applied in other countries around the world and thus contribute to the global body of knowledge of corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to establish clients' perception of the performance of architects on building projects in Ghana. It reports on a survey of both public and private clients of recently completed building projects in two major metropolitan areas of the country. Data from the survey were analyzed by first computing performance indexes and subsequently comparing similarities and differences between results obtained for the two sector clients. The results showed that private sector clients are likely to be more concerned with cost, while public sector clients are more concerned with buildability of design. A total of 71% of the 28 architect performance assessment criteria identified from literature were similarly selected by both sectors with respect to importance of the criteria. Using these, both public and private sector clients were asked to assess the performance of their architects. The results showed that architects were perceived to perform better on public sector building projects than on private sector ones. Their performance on 25% of the performance assessment criteria employed was indicated as being statistically different. The study also revealed that clients expected their architects to improve their performance significantly in approximately 82% of the 28 performance assessment criteria used in the study. The results from this study provide vital feedback to architects on their perceived performance on building projects in Ghana. On a broader level, the paper offers practicing architects some useful feedback that will allow for correction of misconceptions about their true role so as to improve on their relationship with project clients for improved project delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the research reported in this paper is to design and systematically assess the effectiveness of a collaborative contextaware mobile augmented reality tool (CAM-ART) in construction and civil engineering curriculum. To achieve this goal, an augmented reality (AR)-based information delivery tool, CAM-ART, was implemented in classroom-scale experiments to enhance traditional lecture- based instruction and information delivery methods. In the research reported in this paper, the contents of an ordinary textbook were enhanced using computer-generated three-dimensional (3D) objects and other virtual multimedia (e.g., sound, video, and graphs), and delivered to students through an AR application running on their smartphones or tablet computers. The sample consisted of construction and civil engineering students, who were randomly assigned to Group A (control group) and Group B (test group). The designed learning tool was tested in a collaborative and interactive environment, preperformance and postperformance data was collected, and student perception of using the AR-based tool was elicited through a feedback questionnaire. Data analysis showed that CAM-ART had a measurable and positive impact on students' learning both in short-term and long-term. Moreover, results of the feedback questionnaire indicated that students found CAM-ART to be an interesting, helpful, and motivational approach in the classroom that helped them gain more in-depth and long-lasting knowledge beyond what is normally expected from traditional lecture-based teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a teaching approach aiming to give students the chance of applying theoretical concepts in virtual environments, thereby overcoming limitations in overcrowded classes or in large groups of engineering undergraduates using available testing equipment. The proposed approach deals with enhancing self-learning of one of the most common tests used in materials engineering and/or civil engineering, namely, the compression test of concrete samples. To achieve this goal, two didactic-propose computational tools were developed: a virtual laboratory (VL) and video tutorials (VTs). Furthermore, two different teaching/learning experiences are compared in this paper: (1) using actual laboratory after using both virtual environments (VL and VTs); and (2) using only virtual environments. In both cases the use of these virtual tools improves the student learning outcomes, especially when these resources fulfill a lack of real equipment. Besides, the results of survey questions show the high motivation that virtual environments awake, and the assessment results reflect an increase in the students' marks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ASCEs' Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice has reached 60 years of publication. Taking a detailed look at the content and authorship during that time period provides insights into the journal's history and its progression. The authors of this article employed qualitative and quantitative investigation techniques to answer the single research question: "How has the journal changed since its inception?" Data were collected via semistructured interviews, database assimilation, and the review and evaluation of 1,573 articles. Findings generated during this study address publication rates, citation rates, article subject area trends, keyword usage, author affiliations, impact factor rankings, international collaborations, and scholarship standards. A significant number of conclusions are offered, but the primary conclusion is that the journal has increased its publication of high-quality scholarly research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering mechanics (EM) is considered one of the most difficult introductory courses in undergraduate education in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and material science and engineering. Built on the foundation and framework of mathematics and physics, the course requires students to have not only strong abstract thinking and reasoning skills, but also solid spatial abilities. However, the role of spatial ability in learning engineering mechanics has not been investigated adequately in the literature. This paper serves four purposes. First, it presents a critical analysis of findings from an extensive literature review regarding the role of spatial ability in solving physics problems and makes connections to relevant problems of engineering mechanics. Second, this paper applies theories from cognition science and psychology to interpret the role of spatial ability in learning abstract concepts and complex motions in an engineering mechanics course. Third, this paper introduces intervention strategies that EM instructors may use to develop students' spatial abilities. Finally, this paper provides engineering instructors and researchers with the implications for future research and instructional practices to help students succeed in this important introductory course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction accidents, injuries, and fatalities have not declined significantly, despite arduous efforts of researchers, safety professionals, and strongly-enforced safety laws. Safety education is crucial in promoting safe and healthy construction work environments; however, current pedagogical methods and tools at the tertiary level do not sufficiently engage students or provide practical experience to support the acquisition of safety knowledge. This paper aims to address the problem by proposing a novel approach that integrates safety with construction materials and methods education. A system is proposed comprising of three sequential modules: (1) safety and hazard lecture (SHL) module; (2) hazard identification game (HIG) module; and (3) student evaluation and assessment (SEA) module. The pedagogical suitability of the system is evaluated by a series of trials where students interacted with instructors. Interim results indicate that the system offers an innovative medium for experientially improving hazard identification ability, transferring safety knowledge, and engaging students. Insights of matching safety with construction methods are also discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results from a qualitative analysis study conducted on the integration of structure in a building. If integration is to become more of a priority, what does this mean to structural engineers, and how do they add value? Eighty-five total participants--38 architects, 46 structural engineers, and one practicing as both--were interviewed in four major U.S. cities to record their experiences. The practitioners identified structural integration as being multifaceted, and the scope of structural integration is bigger and broader than what has been presented previously. Due to the need to understand the perspectives for each of the fields individually and the large number of responses, the analysis presented here encapsulates the responses from only the structural engineering professionals. Engineering practitioners incorporate aspects of time, professional relationships, and a collaborative environment with structural integration. Integration also includes working toward goals such as technical innovation, constructability, architectural design, combining structures with other systems, and ensuring that the owner's needs are met. Both the process and the aims lead to the physical articulation of the structure through its expression, detailing, and construction. A proposed framework for structural integration has been constructed from the responses to expand the current definition. With the changing practice environment, structural engineers need to consider what integrated design means to their profession, and this paper is intended to aid this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guanxi is the Chinese word for personal relationships or connections. Infrastructure project procurement in China is dominated by the government, and the entire tendering and bidding process is subject to administrative control in which business-to-government (B2G) guanxi is thought to have a significant impact. To date, however, little is known of its impact and perception in infrastructure procurement. This paper aims to bridge this research gap through a questionnaire survey of 149 contractors' and consultants' perceptions of B2G guanxi in terms of its importance, mode of establishment, and impact on infrastructure bidding in China's eastern coastal cities. The results indicate that over half of the respondents surveyed consider B2G guanxi to have important benefits for current practice whereas others hold different perceptions. Four groups of perspectives are identified by K-means cluster analysis, ranging from a low/moderate perception of B2G guanxi (48%) to passive-high/positive-high (52%). A chi-square test suggests the differences between groups is attributable to the types of organizations involved, with contractors and quantity surveying consultant organizations placing significantly more emphasis on the benefits and establishment of B2G guanxi. Finally, the current informal tendering and bidding processes in China are questioned as a contributing factor and suggestions are made for increased government and legislative intervention, leading to a greater emphasis by bidders on improving their technical and management capacity in order to develop their competitive advantage in the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building information modeling (BIM) and mobile technology have become an important aspect of managing successful construction companies. In order to ensure that students graduating from construction programs are prepared to serve the industry, it is necessary for universities to include construction technology in their curricula. These curricula have to serve both the industry's needs and the students' expectations in preparing students for the workforce. This paper outlines the processes taken to identify learning objectives that would support both. The research was conducted in three parts: a literature analysis to identify relevant BIM competencies and teaching practices, interviews with industry BIM experts to identify their needs in new hires, and surveys to students to document their expectations for BIM in the classroom. With the exception of a few additions, the competencies of BIM identified within the literature align with the topics identified through the industry interviews and student surveys. Finally, the paper discusses specific learning objectives identified to support students in the construction science and management curriculum in learning the validated competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unbalanced bidding continues to be a controversial issue in the literature as well as in actual competitive bidding practices. Although a considerable amount of the past research advocated unbalanced bidding and viewed it as a legitimate bidding strategy, public bidding regulations discourage this practice and may disqualify unbalanced bids as nonresponsive offers. In an attempt to ease the controversy and present for the first time a balanced perspective on unbalanced bidding, this paper examines the two conflicting perspectives and conducts a review of the literature reflecting the owners' and the contractors' perspectives and an analysis of the conflicting impacts of bid unbalancing on the owner and the contractor. The root causes of disagreement around this practice are discussed and criteria are suggested that draw a line between acceptable and unacceptable bid unbalancing. The proposed criteria seek equitable risk-sharing between owners and contractors and are expected to minimize the ambiguity in evaluating unbalanced bids and while preserving the integrity of the competitive bidding process, as all bidders will know in advance how their offers are going to be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas usage has increased steadily over the past decades, in line with society's demands for this resource. In turn, allied industries face the challenge of meeting construction needs for required structures, including product facilities, pipe lines, on/offshore plat- forms, and marine jetties. Subsequently, these structures require huge amounts of scaffolding to facilitate their construction and maintenance. As such, this research project focused on the opportunity for the civil/construction discipline to cooperate with natural gas facility construction, more specifically productivity studies on their scaffolding operations. The productivity study in this paper presents an investigation of the effect of resource configurations on on-site measures during a scaffolding operation on an actual liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant construction, which, in turn, aims for the continuous improvement of relevant worker performance. The discussion details the quantified effect of different scaffold logistics: (1) scaffolding types, (2) scaffolding dimensions, and (3) material resource types. For instance, the system scaffolding as one of the material resource types shows less time spent than the conventional scaffolding's performance (95.1-85.2 1/4 9.9 min=m²) during the erection phase. Finally, the research findings highlight the civil/construction engineers' obligations in LNG plant projects with an emphasis on its scaffolding needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ASCE Body of Knowledge and the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission have emphasized a broad set of competencies required by 21st century civil engineers. In addition to competencies that are traditionally technical, these organizations recognize that professional competencies such as leadership, the ability to design sustainable systems, effective communication, and interdisciplinary teamwork are among the many skills required by engineers of the future. To develop and enhance all of these proficiencies within the undergraduate curriculum, there is a need to take an approach that interconnects all of these outcomes throughout the curriculum, or a "networked" approach. This paper discusses service learning as a potential approach for facilitating the broad set of foundational, technical, and professional learning outcomes cited by ASCE and ABET, by investigating two case studies within the Engineering Projects in Community Service program at Purdue University. The case studies are two service-learning projects from one large, multidisciplinary, vertically integrated student design team. One project focuses on sustainable and energy efficient housing for Habitat for Humanity (HFH) in Indiana, whereas the other project focuses on affordable houses for HFH in Haiti. The current analysis of these cases suggest that service-learning projects can provide a unique learning experience for the students to develop and synthesize the broad set of foundational, technical, and professional skills by integrating learning outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most university students now have access to wireless devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, or laptops). By using an online student response systems (OSRS), students can use those wireless devices to respond to questions and quizzes posted by the instructor. Those questions may have different styles such as multiple-choice, true/false, and open-ended questions. This paper assesses different effects of implementing OSRS on students' engagement and performance when taking an engineering ethics course by comparing selected measures of effectiveness of an experimental group of students (where OSRS has been implemented) with those of a control group (where OSRS has not been implemented). It was found that implementing OSRS significantly increased students' attendance rate and ability to function in a group. However, implementing OSRS in an engineering ethics course was found to have no significant effect on improving students' performance or their level of achieving the course's learning outcomes or performance indicators. It was also found that students tend to dedicate less time studying for an engineering ethics course than for other typical engineering courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of globalization and the rapid advancement of technology, researchers and employers agree that the 21st-century engineer must have a set of skills (e.g., teamwork, communication, and management) that were not emphasized in the past. In response, many universities have started to implement program changes in order to graduate well-rounded engineers. As an attempt to assess the gap between what universities are exposing their engineering students to and the requirements of the industry, this paper examines the perceptions of a sample of engineering students about the importance of various soft skills and how well their universities have prepared them in gaining the associated abilities. Students were also surveyed about their career aspirations in an attempt to determine whether these aspirations affect their perceptions. The results revealed that, although the students showed a significant understanding of the importance of soft skills, some of these perceptions can be attributed to their career aspirations. This finding implies that universities need to play a stronger role in strengthening students' nontechnical skills in specific areas such as oral communication skill [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many universities are embracing service learning due to the demand by the current generation of students for these types of programs and the opportunity to provide experience with team-building, multidisciplinary work, and cross-cultural communication. In response to student interest, the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin developed a curriculum-based program, Projects with Underserved Communities (PUC), in which student teams select, design, and implement projects in rural low-income communities abroad. In contrast to conventional design courses, a design and build program like PUC involves complex team organization, interaction with many stakeholders, and careful selection of a project to optimize the chances of successful implementation. A new course was developed that focused on these issues. In this paper, a case study of PUC is discussed with particular emphasis on the elements of this first course. One team, which worked on a project in Guatemala, is discussed to illustrate how the learning materials are used. Lessons learned from the first 8 years of PUC are presented, as well as results of a participant survey on skills acquired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Washington Accord known as a mutual recognition agreement between national engineering regulatory bodies was signed in 1989 by six founding signatories. Through this mutual recognition agreement the signatories recognize that the formal educational programs accredited by the respective signatories are substantially equivalent. The stated objective of the Washington Accord is to ease the path of engineering graduates to professional registration or licensing in different jurisdictions. Since 1989, the signatories to theWashington Accord has increased threefold with an additional five countries as currently provisional signatories. This rapid expansion is a reflection of the need for international recognition of educational qualifications and competency across borders in an increasingly globalized world. Engineering accreditation bodies, particularly in developing countries, are proactively seeking recognition and mobility of their graduates. Within this context, theWashington Accord celebrates 25 years and charts a course for the next 25 years. This paper examines in detail the position of the U.S. licensing boards on the Washington Accord. It is concluded that with respect to the U.S. licensing boards, the Washington Accord has made only modest inroads in its first 25 years and needs to set a much more ambitious path for the next 25 to achieve truly reciprocal mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation is a psychological construct shown to influence an individual's success. Researchers have focused on factors affecting student motivation but have neglected to address the temporal changes in student motivation and the effects of these changes on academic performance. The purpose of this paper is to answer three main questions: What variables motivate students? Do the motivational variables change over time? And is there a relationship between the motivational variables that influence students and their academic performance as measured in grade point average (GPA)? Using a questionnaire survey approach, this study explores self-determinacy theory to evaluate students' progression over a three-year enrollment in an undergraduate civil and environmental engineering degree. The evaluation showed that internal factors are the primary motivators of students with high GPA. Also, students' quality and the quantity of motivation decreased with time in pursuit of a constant goal. Gender differences highlighted that females had superior self-regulatory practices to males. By setting intermediate report deadlines with performance feedback, educators would improve male students' self-regulatory practices through an improvement of their organization and goal setting skills. These findings provide a better understanding of student attrition than previously acknowledged in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to infrastructure and regulatory controls, safe drinking water systems require effective institutional arrangements and governance to sustain services and guard against failures. Providing these arrangements involves a complex array of legal, political, and cultural factors that confront engineers and managers with responsibility for the systems. These factors do not fit into a neat package for inclusion in educational programs, but they are of critical importance in the planning and management of complex infrastructure systems. An explanation of institutional issues is explained in the context of the 2015 Flint, Michigan, drinking water crisis, which serves as an object lesson to identify lessons learned and the need for explanation in engineering curricula. The crisis offers riveting lessons about failed water governance management systems and how a sociotechnical system failed, including the infrastructure, management, and governance systems. The focus of the paper is on tools for institutional analysis that go beyond technical topics. Current recommendations for the bachelor's degree in engineering do not address greater training in institutional analysis to any great extent. As a minimum, engineering educators can use case analysis to explain to students about the broader impacts of systems they will plan, design, and manage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In engineering, traditional approaches aimed at teaching concepts of dynamics to engineering students include the study of a dense yet sequential theoretical development of proofs and exercises. Structural dynamics are seldom taught experimentally in laboratories since these facilities should be provided with expensive equipment such as wave generators, data-acquisition systems, and heavily wired deployments with sensors. In this paper, the design of an experimental experience in the classroom based upon digital fabrication and modeling tools related to structural dynamics is presented. In particular, all experimental deployments are conceived with low-cost, open-source equipment. The hardware includes Arduino-based open-source electronics whereas the software is based upon object-oriented open-source codes for the development of physical simulations. The set of experiments and the physical simulations are reproducible and scalable in classroom-based environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new ASCE Vision and Body of Knowledge embraces the attitude toward and skills of lifelong learning, indicating the need of acquiring self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. Although civil engineering education has primarily focused on instilling technological knowledge to students, less attention has been paid toward offering deliberate training for nurturing such required high-order skills based on how people learn. This paper introduces the theoretical construct of SRL and the effective pedagogies of cultivating SRL skills from educational research findings, presents a novel instructional framework and its procedures to support students' SRL skill development, and reports its implementation outcomes in civil engineering curricula at a minority-serving institution. The key instructional strategy is to integrate the prompted self-assessment with the course learning tasks into the students' learning processes. Its effect has been evaluated through the feasible assessment practice. Assessment results reveal that the presented framework may benefit students' learning performance, and the majority of students perceived the importance of SRL skills and were interested in developing SRL skills. The limitations of this study and future improvement are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The keys to capital facility project success are developing a sound project plan or schedule and then carrying out the project according to the plan. The construction industry, however, has major difficulties accomplishing schedule goals, and construction professionals struggle to develop reasonable baseline schedules. The objective of this paper is, by applying the industry-recognized schedule quality metrics to baseline schedules used for higher-education capital facility projects at the University of Texas at Austin, to understand the current quality of baseline schedule, identify problems, and provide recommendations for future higher-education capital facility projects. The evaluation results show that among 49 collected industry-recognized metrics, all the projects passed 27 metrics, with one project failing to pass all of the remaining 22 of the 49 metrics. The industry should pay particular attention to the following commonly occurring issues when developing a baseline schedule: (1) dividing up activities that exceed 30 working days; (2) creating or managing a schedule containing multiple lags; (3) initially using unique task names; (4) assigning at least one predecessor and successor to an activity or a milestone; and (5) developing a schedule mainly through a Finish to Start relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineers that are actively engaged with both the social and technical dimensions of engineering work--socially engaged engineers--offer diversity in skill sets, values, and characteristics to the engineering workforce. This diversity can help the engineering profession better address complex global challenges. Despite the value of socially engaged engineers, the field lacks understanding about the career interests and experiences of these engineers. This study investigates EWB-USA members as a case of socially engaged engineers to explore engineering students' career interests and practicing engineers' career intentions and experiences. Using mixed-methods and a lens of meaningful work, this study compares differences between EWB-USA members and nonmembers. Findings indicated two main trends among EWB-USA members: females' disillusionment with community development engineering work and practitioners' strategies to find more personally meaningful work. This paper discusses why and how these findings should serve as a miner's canary--a warning to the engineering field about the dangers of socially engaged engineers' potential misalignment with current engineering careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of transportation engineering has become more sustainable as challenges of the twenty-first century continue. Sustainable mobility topics such as pedestrian and cycling travel, smart growth development, and transit-oriented design are being adopted and implemented. As a result, there is the need for higher-education curriculum on transportation engineering to adapt as well. Efforts to integrate sustainable and multimodal design into introductory transportation courses have emerged, as well as new courses in the transportation field. This paper describes the development and implementation of an upper-level course, Sustainable Transportation Planning, at Bucknell University. Course objectives, pedagogical tools, activities, and assessment methods are discussed in depth to provide insight into how other institutions can adopt a similar course. An emphasis is placed on active learning techniques and the need to balance the three components of sustainability (environment, economy, and society) into the course material. Courses such as this can expose students to transportation planning challenges and inspire them to pursue careers in sustainable transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A successful civil engineering project is often a highly collaborative team-based activity, and the engineering education community must therefore prepare graduates to work in this type of environment. A large body of research has demonstrated the considerable benefits and minor organizational problems of collaborative work in higher education. However, there are only a few case studies reported in the literature that evaluate the positive and negative experiences encountered by students when undertaking group projects, and these invariably focus on first-year students. This paper contributes to this limited literature by assessing previously existing methodologies applied to group projects in the final year of an engineering degree, and compares the results with those obtained for students with no experience in collaborative work. The methodology was tested on a survey sample of 105 students enrolled in the Roads module of the new Civil and Territorial Engineering degree at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). Although the results highlight the extremely positive effects of group projects on the students' perceptions, certain deficiencies were also detected relating to the lack of previous collaborative work in the students' background, an area which requires further research [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries where workers are frequently involved in accidents. These accidents can be reduced by following good safety practices that need to be identified along with their strengths and weaknesses. This study presents the strengths and weaknesses in the current safety practices within the framework of safety benchmarking to improve safety performance in construction. This study is conducted by administering a questionnaire survey comprising of 60 safety practices. Data were collected from 54 construction sites located in 16 different cities in Pakistan. Additionally, interviews were conducted to supplement and validate the findings of the survey. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Safety practices were ranked based on their safety performance index values. Results identify the strengths of current safety practices, which include: (1) inspection of hoists and cranes before their operation; (2) fastening of objects before lifting them; (3) sufficient lighting arrangements being made where required; (4) supply of adequate quantity of water for drinking and washing; and (5) ensuring of ventilation in confined spaces. The weaknesses of safety practices requiring special emphasis are documented. Benchmarking of safety practices was carried out at the ongoing construction projects. Insights and discussions are given in this paper for improving safety performance in the construction industry. The results and the methodology used in this work provide practical knowledge to project managers and construction safety educators and practitioners in order to make construction sites safer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptual questions can be used to improve student's understanding through interactive engagement and formative assessment; however, there is a lack of developed conceptual questions in transportation engineering. This paper reports on the development, implementation, refinement, and evaluation of conceptual questions about traffic signals that include students rating of confidence in their solution. Based on student and practicing engineer traffic signal misconceptions, 94 conceptual questions were developed and implemented by 10 public university instructors. Five patterns of student responses were identified in terms of correctness and student confidence: all correct, all confident, all lack confidence, correct-confident combined with incorrect-lacks confidence, and correct-lacks confidence combined with incorrect-confident. Furthermore, the experiences of instructors using conceptual questions with students were considered through semi-structured interviews. Conceptual questions about fundamental aspects of traffic engineering were most frequently selected, conventional multiple choice questions were the most popular type of questions, and enriching exam materials or creating challenging discussions were the primary goals of implementation. While every participant expressed that they will use the material again in the future, potential barriers to adoption remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious labor shortages in the construction industry have emerged in China in recent years. This has led to a significant need for the industry to improve the poor accommodations and inferior conditions of living quarters for migrant workers by applying both technical and management methods. In order to address the problem of improving the accommodations for rural migrant construction workers in urban China, this paper uses modular construction technology to develop an innovative integrated prefabricated (prefab) accommodation system for construction workers on site. The current status of the traditional construction workers' quarters is investigated to reveal the most urgent problems in terms of health, safety, and environmental considerations. By analyzing barriers that block innovation to improved workers' quarters, the integrated prefab accommodation system is proposed in detail, with the quarters' design and operational management mode taken into account. The developed system can provide more comfortable accommodations and living conditions for migrant on-site workers, with a lower residential density and a cleaner, safer, and higher-quality lifestyle. A case study of a real-world pilot project in China is studied to validate the economic feasibility and applicability of the innovative integrated prefab quarters system. Results indicate that migrant workers should only pay about 2-3 Yuan per day, which is 1-1.5% of their daily income, for the use of the integrated prefab quarter system. The developed system provides a novel construction management mode for practitioners in the industry and can further increase the productivity of a project due to reduced physical and mental health problems of migrant workers. It is suggested that the developed system and the business mode are promoted in regions where there are large numbers of migrant construction workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing consensus in the literature on how to improve the quality of learning suggests that adaptions to problem-based learning (PBL) methods could firstly improve learning experiences, problem solving, skill acquisition and a reasonable level of skill transfer from a student perspective, and secondly develop better professional competence and preparation in these needed highway capacity analysis skills. This paper describes the educational basis of problem-oriented and project-based learning (POPBL) approaches that have been developed as an integral part of a four-year undergraduate engineering degree program at the University of Delaware and incorporated into the transportation curriculum, using real world cases to teach students how to think like expert practitioners. A seven-phase POPBL conceptual framework and the experiences of employing POPBL are presented to demonstrate how it operates in transportation engineering education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative education (co-op) is a program in which participating students typically alternate between full-time study and paid full-time employment. Choosing to participate in a co-op program usually delays the student's graduation by up to one year, but may increase the student's job market prospects. This paper attempts to estimate the response of co-op participation to the engineering field-specific average wage for recent graduates. A relationship between wage growth, student ability, and co-op participation is investigated. Predictive modeling was performed using data obtained from the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD), as well as the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) Annual Report of Engineering Salaries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry co-op representatives to address supply and demand related questions. The authors found that a $10,000 real increase in the average initial wage causes a 5.4% decrease in co-op program participation. In addition, there is hetero- geneity in the response by student ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet clients' and owners' multidimensional and changing requirements, construction management consultants (CMCs) ought to possess a diverse and dynamic knowledge structure. In China, although the population of CMCs has grown to the point of their being indispensable in the industry, their knowledge structure has not been explored explicitly. The study presented in this paper investigated this by first conducting a comprehensive content analysis of the curricula of the highest ranked construction management university courses in China. This was followed by in-depth interviews with experts, resulting in the identification of 22 main knowledge areas that can be grouped into technology, economy, management, and law. A questionnaire survey was then conducted among 115 experienced CMCs to evaluate the current level of knowledge in these areas together with their importance and need for improvement. The main findings demonstrate the significance of the identified 22 knowledge areas, and they also need substantial improvement in practice. The research has practical implications for China's CMCs to develop necessary knowledge and the extent to which they need to be improved to provide a better quality of services in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flipped classroom is becoming increasingly popular at universities because of its perceived benefits in promoting active learning and decreasing educational costs. Studies have found positive benefits associated with flipped classrooms; however, many have failed to control for confounding factors. Examples of confounding factors include comparing courses taught by different instructors or across courses taught in different semesters using different quizzes. The objective of this paper is to compare the traditional and flipped classrooms in an undergraduate civil engineering course while controlling for potential confounding factors. The quasi-experimental study incorporates students' online behaviors, in-class performance, office hour attendance, and responses to both attitudinal and behavioral questions to assess student opinions and learning outcomes. It was found that student performance on quizzes was not significantly different across the traditional and flipped classrooms. A key shortcoming noted with the flipped classroom was students' inability to ask questions during lectures. Students in flipped classrooms were more likely to attend office hours compared to traditional classroom students, but the difference was not statistically significant. Future research should explore whether students' inability to ask questions when the material is presented in flipped classrooms affects learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International construction contractors are practitioners operating in a complex environment of uncertainty. To be successful, they must learn to effectively execute projects in multiple regions and societies with multinational/multiethnic teams. This paper compares the performance of international and local construction contractors in the context of the Saudi Arabia construction industry as an example of international construction practices. The research statistically quantifies the effects of company ownership upon thirteen project performance indicators. It concludes by pointing out that international contractors have not only overcome the common challenges of delivering projects outside their resident country, but seem to have found success in the unique Saudi Arabian construction environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry has been facing a paradigm shift to integrate new construction requirements, most notably the development of advanced technologies, such as environmental management, information technology, and building information modeling. Timely curriculum reform is therefore necessary for construction education to adapt quickly to the paradigm shift. The aim of this paper is to investigate the gaps between educational attainment and job requirements in the Australian construction industry, based on which further curriculum reform can be conducted. A survey is administered to 252 construction graduates. The results suggest that the most significant gaps are related to technical skills for construction and problem-solving skills. The gaps can be categorized into eight groups based on an exploratory factor analysis. The eight groups are construction technology, information technology, problem-solving skills, construction economics, risk management, basic theories, business management, and sustainability science. It is therefore recommended that curriculum reform be conducted to bridge the gaps between educational attainment and job requirements to prepare construction graduates for the competitive and fast-changing construction environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulations and classroom games are effective hands-on learning tools for construction management students and practitioners. This paper presents the background, methods and results of a new simulation management game called LEBSCO, which simulates aspects of the Last Planner System (LPS) and Lean Production principles. LPS is central to the implementation of Lean Construction, an increasingly popular management approach based on the Toyota Production System and Lean Production. LPS requires continuous and collaborative effort from all stakeholders for the planning and control of a construction project, making it especially appropriate for the experiential learning allowed by simulation. LEBSCO consists of the assembly of Lego™ pieces to form a schematic house, and it is played by teams meeting in rounds simulating weeks of work. Each team is composed of stakeholders, such as a planner, resource suppliers and trade foremen, mirroring the planning and control process of a typical construction project. Participants build the Lego houses first using a Traditional management approach and then using Lean-based approach. A graduate course in construction management at The University of Auckland, New Zealand, is used as a case study to test the effectiveness of LEBSCO as a teaching method. The implementation results of LESBCO demonstrated its capability to transfer and disseminate Lean-based knowledge into construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the field of civil engineering evolves to address twenty-first century challenges, the demand for creative and innovative thinking rises. Engineering institutions around the nation have begun to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. Topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship are highly correlated with sustainability goals; however, many times they are viewed as market or management-driven principles. The Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) Program was established to transform the U.S. workforce through equipping graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. This program is based on KEEN student outcomes (KSOs), which can be incorporated into department level, as well as course level, curricula. This paper focuses on the integration of KSOs into a senior civil engineering capstone course through two course activities over two years. KEEN rubrics are used to assess student achievement of the KSOs focused on innovative thinking and productive collaboration. The assessment results indicate that there are existing strengths as well as future opportunities to enhance student performance of innovative thinking and open-ended problem solving--skills that are essential to promoting sustainable design and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the application of a problem-based learning (PBL) teaching methodology to a course on engineering project scheduling, which introduces the critical path method (CPM). During this course, students solved real-life civil engineering problems using PBL to compare PBL with traditional problem-solving methods. In the experimental design, the students were randomly divided into two groups. Traditional teaching sessions were imparted to the first group, which was designated as the control group, whereas the CPM was taught to the second group via the PBL teaching methodology. After the classroom sessions, an evaluation tool was applied: responses were analyzed using Wilcoxon and Fisher statistics, and a set of open-ended questions were qualitatively analyzed via a pattern-matching technique. The results for the group that utilized PBL were favorable; this finding demonstrated the efficiency of this tool for teaching CPM. In addition, the results for the students that applied PBL methodology demonstrated a high degree of acceptance of the CPM methodology, which motivates its implementation into teaching other subjects related to project scheduling in civil engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past several decades, women have entered the engineering profession in larger numbers across the United States. Concurrently, a larger percentage of women have entered engineering academia, although they are still greatly outnumbered by male faculty. Although the numbers and progress of women in engineering academia are the subject of ongoing study, there was a lack of detailed analysis specifically of woman civil engineering faculty. One of the objectives of this study was to examine the perceptions of job satisfaction by woman civil engineering faculty relating to issues specific to academia to assess whether perceptions vary across the different academic ranks. Data were collected by designing a survey and distributing it to all woman civil engineering faculty from universities with ABET accredited civil engineering programs within the United States. The data collected included demographic variables, and perceptions of job satisfaction, available mentoring, academic climate, and sense of inclusion in an environment still largely led by male faculty. It was found that approximately 14.6% of the faculty in civil engineering departments surveyed were woman. This paper presents analysis of women faculty perceptions of the academic environment, support, and overall job satisfaction. Understanding these facets of job satisfaction is necessary to ensure that women in engineering academia have the proper tools, working conditions, and effective mentoring to successfully achieve promotion and tenure. Having more women successfully pursue careers in engineering academia provides additional role models for women engineering students and a clear example that engineering can be a rewarding career for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The launching of the European higher education area (EHEA) in 2010 has imposed new challenges on European universities. Traditional teaching methods, based on lectures and examinations, are no longer suited for the new EHEA educational approach, now focused on competences development. Instead, active learning methods as problem-based learning are far more appropriate. This paper examines the effect of a change to competence-based education through problem-based learning (PBL) in the field of structural engineering, carried out in a first year structures course. The structures program design is described with details of the PBL implementation. A program evaluation based on students' and faculty surveys is carried out. The evaluation results show that the program has been effective in the achievement of the proposed objectives. The benefits of the new approach include an increase in students' motivation and a better integration with other architecture disciplines. The main challenges encountered are the increase in faculty time commitment and the academic resistance to change. Extrapolation to other disciplines is possible, although it requires restructuring of subject knowledge and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As society and technology change the way public transit systems are perceived, contemporary professionals need to be equipped with the skills to manage transportation systems to keep up with modern demands and challenges. Information Communication Technologies and data ubiquity represent great potential advances in transport systems; however, the challenge of transferring the knowledge from research and academia remains a significant barrier. This paper contributes to the literature in two ways: it serves as a benchmark for the challenges in transit systems planning education today, and it is a reference guide for future educators to find resources to create and refine effective educational programs in this area. A case study of a sample teaching module for transit systems planning in the Greater Toronto Area is presented with guidelines to teach (1) models of data-driven flexible transit services; (2) technologies to integrate and visualize user and systems data; and (3) methodologies to evaluate demand for such services at a societal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the state of knowledge in relation to advances in education for sustainable development focused on higher education and in generic competencies, reviewing some of the existing proposals in the literature and analyzing other university approaches. It has focused on the curricula, applying a participatory methodology based on surveys and expert consultation for the identification and selection of generic competencies related to sustainability in a civil engineering degree at Universidad Europea (Spain). From the literature review, 17 generic competencies were preselected. A set of five weighted transversal competencies and their acquisition level have been obtained through surveys to stakeholders and interviews with experts. Critical thinking, adaptation to change, decision making, problem solving, and multidisciplinary team-working were chosen in order of importance. Competence acquisition level was addressed as not easy to rate or it seems to be exigent for graduate students. Problem-based learning is also selected as the best choice for the development of these sustainability generic skills in the entire civil engineering degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]