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Developing a knowledge of design and construction technology and engineering is often overlooked in favour of 'digital' technology such as tablets and computers. By taking children outdoors into nature, removing tablets and computers as well as artificial and synthetic materials and replacing them with only what nature provides, children become attuned to developing STEM knowledge through play with natural materials. This knowledge often develops through teacher support and at times by default, as children experience the constantly changing landscape of the natural environment. The development of children's understandings of 'nature's' technology and engineering provides an opportunity for further investigation of nature-based early childhood education and care settings. Through research conducted at four Australian bush kindergartens, this paper presents data from photographs, interviews and observations undertaken of twelve teachers and over one hundred and twenty children. It responds to the research question, how do early years learners develop their understanding of technology and engineering by engaging in nature-based learning? The research was undertaken using ethnography, a useful method in nature settings as the approach enables a deep understanding of how children develop their understandings of applying technology and engineering over time. The data demonstrate the benefits preschool children can gain from learning and being 'in' and 'with' nature and the important role bush kinders play in supporting children's technological and engineering literacy. Findings reveal that through their participation in bush kinder, children can develop technological and engineering knowledge.

It is well documented that engineering practice is as much social as it is technical. Providing accurate course mapping and supporting teaching staff to scaffold engineering practice learning through whole of programme curriculum are key challenges. This study proposes a conceptual framework for engineering professional practice in an Australian context that is constructed through the triangulation of data collected from practitioner perspectives, literature, and reflection upon both authors' industry experiences. This employability skill development framework describes six key themes as graduate-level learning outcomes aligned to Australian accreditation requirements in a format that readily supports explicit inclusion of engineering professional practice in curriculum design. These key themes are illustrated along a continuum of personal, interpersonal, and contextual competencies and attitudes to communicate the interrelated nature of engineering employability skills. While this paper does not attempt to propose a universal framework, its potential broader relevance, future refinement, and evaluation are discussed.

The traditional approach to formulating building codes often is slow and labor-intensive, and may struggle to keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology and domain findings. Overcoming such challenges necessitates a methodology that streamlines the modernization of codal provisions. This paper proposes a machine learning (ML) approach to append a variety of codal provisions, including those of empirical, statistical, and theoretical natures. In this approach, a codal provision (i.e., equation) is analyzed to trace its properties (e.g., engineering intuition and causal logic). Then a ML model is tailored to preserve the same properties and satisfy a collection of similarity and performance measures until declared equivalent to the provision at hand. The resulting ML model harnesses the predictive capabilities of ML while arriving at predictions similar to the codal provision used to train the ML model, and hence it becomes possible to use in lieu of the codal expression. This approach was examined successfully for seven structural engineering phenomena contained within various building codes, including those in North America and Australia. The findings suggest that the proposed approach could lay the groundwork for implementing ML in the development of future building codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article undertakes a cross-national comparison of the aerospace sectors in two 'liberal' countries, the UK and Australia, examining how several multinational firms engage with engineering skill institutions: regulation of entry to profession, entry-level and ongoing training. The paper empirically demonstrates and theoretically argues that the social partners and employment protection institutions can in certain contexts play an important role in professional skill development. Institutional legacy matters, shaping multinational responses and providing distinct resources for various actors including unions. Tension between existing skill institutions ('country' or 'sector' effects) and the capacity of multinationals (MNCs) to shape practices are addressed. Both country cases demonstrate how MNCs may be able to shape practices in such a way that they create 'MNC' effects, defined as a combination of large firm/subsidiary, and 'corporate' effects, that affect engineering skill development for other firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of road freight around the world, alongside limited funding on bridge infrastructure, demands objective and accurate safety assessments for greater loads to achieve better utilization of existing aging bridges. Probability-based bridge assessment (PBBA) is already recommended around the world as a higher-tier assessment beyond current deterministic methods. However, its uptake in international practice lags behind that merited. The promotion of PBBA in practice hinges on four aspects: (i) justification, through proof of concept; (ii) accessibility, through integration into current practice; (iii) effectiveness, through utilizing state-of-the-art tools, and; (iv) familiarity, through clear communication and education. This paper describes a recent Austroads research project that has developed solutions to these aspects to promote the adoption of PBBA in Australia. The experience gained in developing the freely available guideline is described in this paper to support the promotion of PBBA adoption in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthcare relies upon the accurate and safe delivery of patient care. This is only achievable when systems are developed to ensure high quality, robust outcomes, for instance quality management systems. The concept of quality management can take on a different meaning depending on the context in which it is found. To add complication, the amount of education required for quality management will vary depending on one's exposure to the implementation of quality systems. In part to address these issues, the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) Queensland Branch held a quality management webinar for members and non-members across Australia and New Zealand. The purpose of the webinar was to educate and facilitate discussion regarding the application of quality management principles for the ACPSEM profession. In conjunction, a pre- and post-webinar survey was conducted to gain an insight into existing knowledge and attitudes within the professions governed by the ACPSEM and students undertaking related studies. This paper authored by the webinar speakers reintroduces the quality management principles that were discussed in webinar, exemplifies the importance of quality management skills within the ACPSEM professions and presents the results of the surveys, promoting the need for more educational resources on quality management tools., (© 2022. Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine.)

Women's representation in construction and engineering continues to be low. Drawing on the stewardship theory, we investigated how women in the top management team and women in management drive the appointment and promotion of women at management and nonmanagement levels, respectively. We used a time lag research design and archival data from 495 construction and engineering organizations operating in Australia. The results of structural equation modeling suggest positive relationships between women's representation in management and both the appointments and promotions of women in nonmanagement roles. The findings also suggest some unpredicted relationships: women's representation in management is linked to the appointments of women managers, and hiring more female managers is linked to the promotion of more female managers. Together, these findings suggest that female managers act as "stewards" in their individual capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel way to support change and development in a country's education system is to send teachers abroad on a professional learning program, so that they become immersed in a different culture, language and education system. The focus of this study was to investigate the supports and tensions created during a professional learning and leadership development program, in which teachers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (n = 45) lived in Australia for one year. A multiple case study approach was used to report on the analysis of individual interviews with the KSA teachers (n = 5) and their capstone projects. Drawing on the 2019 study of McChesney and Aldridge,, we report on findings related to the teachers' evolving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) integration and leadership skills. Findings indicated that there were both tensions and supports for the KSA teachers. Tensions existed as the teachers were developing their English language proficiency and learned more pedagogical ideas about the integration of STEM into the curriculum. Furthermore, the KSA teachers benefitted from mentor teachers' support in schools and modelling of leadership practices with respect to planning and through completion of a capstone project. Implications concerning an international immersion program are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her Keynote address, Professor Ana Deletic focused on how the participation of women in engineering practice is one of the lowest of all the professions. She led the development of a number of green nature-based water treatment systems which are now widely adopted in Australia and abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]