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This study examined a civil engineering capstone course that embedded a sophisticated simulation-based task within instruction. Students (n=28) were required to conduct a hazardous waste site investigation using simulation software designed specifically for the course (Interactive Site Investigation Software) (ISIS). The software simulated physical processes as well as real-world engineering processes. The main research question focused on how ISIS impacted students learning of course-related content, ability to handle complex, open-ended problems, attitudes toward ISIS and the course, and use of teamwork processes. Evidence was also gathered on the validity of knowledge mapping for advanced students. Assessment of student outcomes was based on the use of constructed-response knowledge maps to measure content understanding and surveys to measure student attitudes, use of cognitive processes, and use of teamwork processes. Students reported very positive attitudes toward the ISIS experience, demonstrated significant gains in knowledge across the course of ISIS use, and perceived the ISIS activity as being generally effective in improving their skills in handling complex projects linking theory to real-world applications, and improving their problem solving performance. The assessment of student outcomes was a successful first attempt, but more work is needed to validate the measures with advanced students, particularly when the task is complete and requires interdisciplinary knowledge and teamwork skills. Nines appendixes contain the study instruments. (Contains 18 tables and 39 references.) (Author/SLD)

The literature on women in science and engineering is extensive and addresses such issues as early education, decision to study and pursue careers in science, and how women fair in their jobs. This review used the literature on the careers of women scientists and engineers employed in academia to examine how women in these disciplines fare compared with their male counterparts. The women represented in this review have mostly completed their formal educations and have made the decision to pursue academic careers in science and engineering. Taken as a whole, the body of literature reviewed provides evidence that women in academic careers are disadvantaged compared with men in similar careers. Women faculty earn less, are promoted less frequently to senior academic ranks, and publish less frequently than their male counterparts. (Author/MVL)

Learning in the first professional job was examined in a study of 40 nurses, 27 engineers, and 16 accountants who were in their first full year of full-time employment after college in hospitals and firms located in the United Kingdom. Data were collected through the following activities: (1) interviews with the respondents; (2) 1- to 2-day visits to their workplaces; and (3) interviews with their managers/mentors and significant others in their workplaces. The first few months of full-time employment presented very different challenges and experiences across the three sectors. The accountants had 3-year contracts that included both training for professional examinations and work-based induction into the profession through a tightly structured apprenticeship system. Although the nurses had already qualified for their profession, they still faced a difficult transition because of their sudden assumption of extensive responsibility and immersion into a highly demanding, high-pressure environment with a very heavy workload. The engineers' workplaces all had accredited graduate training schemes. Across the occupations, informal support proved more important than formal support and social relationships were a significant factor in learning. (The bibliography lists 13 references. Appendixes constituting approximately 50% of the document contain excerpts from the field notes on and discussions of the experiences of new accountants, nurses, and graduate engineers.) (MN)

This report is about both progress in increasing the representation of Hispanics in the science and engineering professions and the many efforts that are needed to continue that progress towards more equal representation in these important professions. The supply side throughout the education pipeline is examined from early childhood education through elementary and secondary school, to high school completion and enrollment in--and completion of--college, and on to graduate education. The need for assistance of various kinds along the way and the importance of persistence of Hispanic youth in completing their education and continuing on at critical points in the education pipeline is discussed. Looking into this future requires examining the demand and anticipated supply for these important occupations and addressing the question of whether the economy can absorb an increased supply of Hispanic scientists and engineers. (Author/MVL)

The everyday mathematics processes of structural engineers were studied and analyzed in terms of abstraction. A main purpose of the study was to explore the degree to which the notion of a gap between school and everyday mathematics holds when the scope of practices considered "everyday" is extended. J. Lave (1988) promoted a methodology that treats person-in-activity as an integral whole. Laves approach was used as the researcher conducted 70 hours of ethnographic observation of structural engineers in two firms as they went about their usual work. The four tasks observed involved multiple engineers of varying experience. Findings show that structural engineers practice in a world of quantities, units, procedures, and concepts, some of which exhibit concrete qualities, some of which appear more abstract, and some of which defy placement in either camp. Engineering expertise appears two-pronged, involving an increased amount of personal, concrete meaning associated with particular quantities and concepts, and at the same time, greater facility with abstract methods and theory. Findings support classroom methods that encourage students to construct their own meanings of mathematical concepts and quantities, and suggest that constructivism may describe the knowledge acquisition of adults no longer in classroom situations. (Contains 7 figures and 25 references.) (SLD)

This paper discusses innovations developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) librarians to reduce the information query cycle time for teams planning low-cost, planetary missions. The first section provides background on JPL and its library. The second section addresses the virtual information environment, including issues of access, content, and online requests. The third section discusses knowledge management projects, including: the Information Providers Directory; JPL Know Who, a directory of skills and knowledge at JPL; JPL Taxonomy for the Portal (i.e., a replacement for the JPL Intranet Web site); JPL Stories series, a monthly story-telling event; several small projects to capture and communicate tacit knowledge; metadata standards; a catalog of JPL authors and publications; and the Document Information Management System. The fourth section describes the relationship between the JPL Technical Library and the Flight Systems Engineering Section, including a survey to identify the information needs of systems engineers, organizing the collection in the Flight Systems Section electronic library, and implementation of the library. (MES)

A study examined the types of role models who influence career choice in young women planning traditional (education) careers in math- and science-related fields or nontraditional (engineering) careers. The hypothesis was that nontraditional women would be more likely to cite the influence of male role models or influences on career selection than women planning to enter traditional fields. The Career Values Questionnaire, developed for the study, was completed by 150 female students enrolled in either a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program, master's in teaching program in math/science, or a junior, senior, or graduate level engineering program at a large, urban research university. Findings indicated nontraditional women were more likely to cite male role models as influencing their career choice; women following a traditional career path identified teachers and professors as most influential; and both traditional and nontraditional women cited their mothers as having influenced their choice of career, but nontraditional women were more likely to mention their fathers as a career influence. (Contains 14 references and 2 tables.) (YLB)

This document contains three papers from a symposium on different ways of learning. "How Engineers Learn in the Face of Organizational Change" (Robert Reardon) reports on a qualitative study during which nine engineers described how they learned to perform their altered roles after a major reorganization. The study findings supported current theory related to informal learning in the workplace and expanded on that theory by providing a new conceptualization of informal learning and the impact of organization structure on informal learning used by the engineers. "How Lesbians Have Learned to Negotiate the Heterosexism of Corporate America" (Julie Gedro, Ronald M. Cervero, Juanita Johnson-Bailey) examines the informal and incidental learning that 10 self-identified practicing lesbians experienced when dealing with human resource departments, during committee and group work, and at social/corporate events. "Internationalization: Learning Processes in a Greek Manufacturing Group" (Patricia S. Sherrer) discusses a qualitative study of the following topics: ways individuals learn cultures that are not their own; ways actual versus expected career path influences members of an organization that is undergoing internationalization; ways organizations undergoing internationalization use the learning of their own members for competitive advantage; and factors that align all elements of an organization with its international environment. All three papers include substantial bibliographies. (MN)

In computer-based simulations, students must bring a wide range of relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities to bear jointly as they solve meaningful problems in a learning domain. To function effectively as an assessment, a simulation system must additionally be able to evoke and interpret observable evidence about targeted knowledge in a manner that is principled, defensible, and suited to the purpose at hand (e.g., licensure, achievement testing, coached practice). This study focused on the grounding for a simulation-based assessment of design and troubleshooting in the domain of computer networks. The application was designed as a prototype for assessing these skills in an instructional program, as interim practice tests and as chapter or end-of-course assessments. An evidence-centered assessment design framework was used to guide the work. An important part of this work is a cognitive task analysis, designed to tap the knowledge network engineers and students use when they design and troubleshoot networks and elicit behaviors that manifest this knowledge. There were 24 participants at 3 levels of ability in this early phase of the research. After summarizing the results of the analysis, the paper discusses implications for designing psychometric models, automated scoring algorithms, and task frameworks, and for the capabilities required for the simulation environment itself. (Contains 6 figures and 24 references.) (Author/SLD)

The usefulness of the curriculum vita (CV) as a data source for examining the career paths of scientists and engineers was studied. CVs were obtained in response to an e-mail message sent to researchers working in the area of biotechnology who were funded by the National Science Foundation (55 responses) or listed as authors (industry only) in the "Science Citation Index" (19 responses). In addition, CVs were obtained passively from a search of the Internet (30 CVs). Methodological issues and problems of this data collection strategy are discussed, along with the results of an exploratory analysis. In sum, despite difficulties with coding and variation in CV formats, this collection strategy seems to hold much promise for examining career paths. An appendix describes a coding experiment performed to investigate ways to code CVs for data collection. A second appendix lists coding items that were not found to be reliable. (Author/SLD)

The Technical Chamber (TEE) is the professional organization of Greek engineers as well as the consultant of the Government to technical issues. Besides central services in Athens, TEE has 15 regional sections and most of them have small libraries to serve the local engineering community. All libraries are connected online to TEE network and use an integrated library system installed in Athens. This paper examines the needs and behavior of three types of technical libraries users: User A: remote online user who has online access to library services through the network; User B: remote not online user who communicates by surface mail, telephone, or fax; and User C: visitor of the physical library. A questionnaire was sent to a small number of engineers, containing general questions on the use of computers, Internet, and libraries, to test a service model incorporating the three user types. The paper concludes that the overall issue to be further investigated is the balance between personal and virtual communication among users and staff. (AEF)

The National Science Board (NSB), charged with advising the President and Congress on national science policy, urges a nationwide consensus on a core of knowledge and competency in mathematics and science. The Board believes it is both possible and imperative to develop national strategies that serve the national interest while respecting local responsibility for K-12 teaching and learning. This report draws on research and analysis that shows how stakeholders working in their home communities can converge on what matters most in promoting student achievement. It is further suggested that the science and engineering communities--both individually and through their institutions--represent a special resource for local schools, teachers, and students. The NSB centers its recommendations on instructional materials, teacher preparation, college admissions, and research. (WRM)

Knowledge production and learning in engineering is a local, situated, negotiated, and thoroughly social process. Although engineering work entails the construal, production, and application of artifacts and technical devices belonging to the "object world," the process of designing is a process of achieving consensus among real or virtual participants with different interests in the design, and those interests are vested in the local social practices of the involved engineers. The establishment of consensus is a "social world" activity that can be described as a collective learning achievement, and when this "social world" activity aims at establishing a consensus about technical devices, the generation and manufacture of "object world" phenomena are also rooted in social interest. Evidence supporting this thesis exists in discussions of the sociology of scientific knowledge and in empirical investigations of the learning processes that occurred as a team of seven engineers employed by a high-tech telecommunication company worked on a design project for the development of new facilities for telephone centrals. The investigation documented how the engineers were embedded in organizational culture stressing commercial aspects while being simultaneously united by their technical interests and problem-solving methods in a complex and self-referential system of shared values, commitments, beliefs, and emotions. (MN)

This data brief features statistical data related to total science and engineering graduate enrollment in the United States for the year 1997. Featured are data on enrollment by enrollment status: 1975-1997; by sex, citizenship, and race/ethnicity: 1990-1997; and by field: 1990-1997. (DDR)

This paper presents the results of a study undertaken in Portugal to determine the influence of different factors on students' (n=499) decisions to study or refuse to study in one of the physical sciences or engineering. Some influencing factors are related to what goes on in school and during science lessons, and other factors are related to the status of science and engineering careers. Other factors are dependent on individual students themselves, their aptitudes, abilities, and home backgrounds. Some significantly different influences were detected between male and female students and between future scientists and non-scientists. (Author/WRM)

This paper examines the kinds of persons that engineering education produces, focusing on cultural identities related to gender issues. It is based on survey questionnaires, interviews, and observations of 274 first-year and fourth-year engineering students at a state university known for its concern about the education of women engineers. The study found numerous instances of engineering being conceived of by students as a male profession, with women marginalized for not appearing to conform to the culture of the profession. Three cultural-identity categories emerged in the cultural model underpinning student engineers' talk at the university: Greeks, academic achievers, and nerds. Within these categories, few terms could be applied to female students in a positive light, and female students were often thought of by many male students in pejorative terms. The paper goes on to describe the interactions of male and female students in small-group activities, and provides examples of sexist attitudes and behaviors among male students. It argues that the status hierarchy among engineering students has led to the near-invisibility of women within the engineering community. (Contains 35 references.) (MDM)

In May 1972, 2,900 copies of a survey were distributed eliciting opinions about the meaning of some qualifying adjectives and phrases commonly used in "verbal communications." These same adjective phrases are commonly used in survey research. They include phrases such as "a few,""a majority,""nearly all," and other quantifiers. The 1972 survey had a 40% response rate, indicative of interest in the study. This study updates that 1972 study, reporting findings from different groups of subjects. Nine groups (graduate students in several disciplines, including education, undergraduates, and engineers and administrators) ranging in size from 3 to 20 members were surveyed. Results made it clear that individuals within different groups give different interpretations to quantifying phrases, and that differences also exist among groups. It is suggested that there is a need to study item reliability in surveys in more detail if words and phrases, such as the 22 identified in this study, are to be included in response options, narrative instructions in a survey, or reporting on the survey findings. Appendix A is the report from the 1972 survey, and Appendix B contains a copy of the original survey form. (Contains five tables, eight figures, and three references.) (SLD)

Despite receiving over 50% of associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in the United States in 1990, women earned only 15% of engineering bachelor's degrees. Polynesian and Filipino women compose an almost vanishing percentage of these engineering graduates. To make visible the social obstacles minority women engineers experience, this paper includes narratives from four women who are close to completing or have recently completed degrees in civil or mechanical engineering. Issues of power, identity, gender, and race emerged in these narratives. Each woman constructed multiple social identities reflecting the norms of her social group. Three believe success as an engineer requires conflicting identities and the fourth woman's story reveals how immersion in a girls' college preparatory academy shielded her from negative ethnic, class, and gender narratives. Contains 21 references. (Author/DDR)

This study extends the investigation of professionals' reasons for participation in continuing education beyond personal and practice-based factors into the arena of organizational structure and culture. The Participation Reasons Scale (PRS) and the Respondent Information Form (RIF) were used to examine the motives influencing Army Engineers (N=400) participation in voluntary, civilian continuing professional education (CPE). The study examined three questions: the subjects reasons for participating in voluntary continuing education; the extent to which these reasons differ according to selected personal and practice-based factors that have been the focus of previous research; and the influence of organizational factors on these reasons. Factor analysis identified five general reasons for participation similar to those in other professions: professional improvement and development, personal development and job security, improvement of service to customers, professional identity/perspective, and competence and collegial interaction. However, contrary to previous research, variables measuring educational preparation, roles, occupational specialization, and extraneous variables were not related to the engineers' reasons for participation. Subsequent interviews with 14 Army Engineers provided evidence that their reasons for participation were influenced by the effects of organizational and professional culture and changing workplace dynamics. General themes that emerged include: the influence of the military and Army Engineer culture; job competitiveness/career stability; and role diffusion. Further attention to internal and external organizational factors is recommended in future study of participation in CPE. (Contains 51 references.) (JT)

This document reports on the state of employment among individuals holding doctoral degrees in science and engineering. Definition of key terms, an executive summary, discussion of trends in doctoral science and engineering unemployment, examination of factors affecting unemployment in 1993, an exploration of changes in factors affecting unemployment since 1973, and a discussion of implications for future research are included. The appendices contain further information on unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, and involuntary out-of-field rates for selected subgroups within the doctoral science and engineering population in 1993; variables excluded from multivariate analysis; variables eliminated during the multivariate analysis for lack of statistical significance; other variables in the final model not discussed in the body of the report; and technical notes. Contains 22 references. (DDR)

This paper illuminates experiences related to introducing finite element methods (FEM) in mechanical and civil engineering courses at the University of Camaguey in Cuba and provides discussion on using FEM in postgraduate courses for industry engineers. Background information on the introduction of FEM in engineering teaching is focused on mechanical engineering and civil engineering. Links between FEM and other disciplines or subjects within the specialty are also outlined. Results suggest that: (1) universities should work together across national boundaries to develop and integrate FEM in the curriculum; (2) use of FEM can result in more efficient use of computational engineers; and (3) FEM should be employed more frequently in problem solving in engineering. (Contains a bibliography). (DDR)

This literature review examines the status of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; reasons women do not choose careers in these fields; and gender influences on technophobia. Concludes with strategies such as early exposure, supportive mentors and role models, information to enhance technological literacy, and ways to decrease gender bias. (SK)