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1 – 10 of over 172000

Abstract

Details

Knowledge Translation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-889-3

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Xiaowei Zhou, Yousong Wang and Enqin Gong

Given the increasing importance of engineering insurance, it is still unclear which specific factors can enhance the role of engineering insurance as a risk transfer tool. This…

Abstract

Purpose

Given the increasing importance of engineering insurance, it is still unclear which specific factors can enhance the role of engineering insurance as a risk transfer tool. This study aims to propose a hybrid approach to identify and analyze the key determinants influencing the consumption of engineering insurance in mainland China.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis utilizes provincial data from mainland China from 2008 to 2019. The research framework is a novel amalgamation of the generalized method of moments (GMM) model, the quantile regression (QR) technique and the random forest (RF) algorithm. This innovative hybrid approach provides a comprehensive exploration of the driving factors while also allowing for an examination across different quantiles of insurance consumption.

Findings

The study identifies several driving factors that significantly impact engineering insurance consumption. Income, financial development, inflation, price, risk aversion, market structure and the social security system have a positive and significant influence on engineering insurance consumption. However, urbanization exhibits a negative and significant effect on the consumption of engineering insurance. QR techniques reveal variations in the effects of these driving factors across different levels of engineering insurance consumption.

Originality/value

This study extends the research on insurance consumption to the domain of the engineering business, making theoretical and practical contributions. The findings enrich the knowledge of insurance consumption by identifying the driving factors specific to engineering insurance for the first time. The research framework provides a novel and useful tool for examining the determinants of insurance consumption. Furthermore, the study offers insights into the engineering insurance market and its implications for policymakers and market participants.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 February 2024

Khameel B. Mustapha, Eng Hwa Yap and Yousif Abdalla Abakr

Following the recent rise in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, fundamental questions about their wider impacts have started to reverberate around various…

Abstract

Purpose

Following the recent rise in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, fundamental questions about their wider impacts have started to reverberate around various disciplines. This study aims to track the unfolding landscape of general issues surrounding GenAI tools and to elucidate the specific opportunities and limitations of these tools as part of the technology-assisted enhancement of mechanical engineering education and professional practices.

Design/methodology/approach

As part of the investigation, the authors conduct and present a brief scientometric analysis of recently published studies to unravel the emerging trend on the subject matter. Furthermore, experimentation was done with selected GenAI tools (Bard, ChatGPT, DALL.E and 3DGPT) for mechanical engineering-related tasks.

Findings

The study identified several pedagogical and professional opportunities and guidelines for deploying GenAI tools in mechanical engineering. Besides, the study highlights some pitfalls of GenAI tools for analytical reasoning tasks (e.g., subtle errors in computation involving unit conversions) and sketching/image generation tasks (e.g., poor demonstration of symmetry).

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study presents the first thorough assessment of the potential of GenAI from the lens of the mechanical engineering field. Combining scientometric analysis, experimentation and pedagogical insights, the study provides a unique focus on the implications of GenAI tools for material selection/discovery in product design, manufacturing troubleshooting, technical documentation and product positioning, among others.

Details

Interactive Technology and Smart Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-5659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 February 2024

Pooja Purang, Archita Dutta and Sailee Biwalkar

This study aims to focus on understanding the work–family conflict of Indian women engineers through the lens of identity conflict.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to focus on understanding the work–family conflict of Indian women engineers through the lens of identity conflict.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 Indian women engineers working in India and abroad of varying ages and work experience helped in understanding the types, sources and coping decisions about work–family conflicts experienced by them. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the qualitative data.

Findings

The findings reveal that as women engineers negotiate their “engineering” and “woman” identities, work–family conflict manifests as a battle of time and responsibilities, psychological strain and behaviour-based conflict. Furthermore, self-expectations and negative social sanctions play an important role in augmenting the experiences of these conflicts. The results also reveal how women re-strategize their career decisions to conciliate their conflicting identities.

Originality/value

This study furthers the literature on resolving work–family conflict by taking an identity perspective. Recommendations in literature such as work flexibility and part-time work, place the onus on women to increase their capacities to perform different roles better. Examining work–family conflict from an identity perspective allows us to look at the psychological processes underlying the challenges women face in balancing work and home in a male-dominated profession. These give insights into the need to go beyond accommodations in the workplace to redefine gender roles and relations for equal participation of women in the modern workforce.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 8 February 2024

Van Thien Ngo

This study aims to examine the perceptions of students about learning science and physics using the engineering design process (EDP).

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the perceptions of students about learning science and physics using the engineering design process (EDP).

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed a mixed-methods research design: The quantitative session features a pre–post-test control group study. In the qualitative aspect, the study conducted semistructured interviews for data collection. In the experimental group, the flipped classroom (FC) model and an instructional design are combined to design, develop and implement a physics course using the steps of the EDP, while the conventional method was applied to the control group. The respondents are students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Cao Thang Technical College in Vietnam for the academic year 2022–2023. The control and experimental groups are composed of 80 students each. An independent sample Mann–Whitney U test is applied to the quantitative data, while thematic analysis is employed for the qualitative data.

Findings

The results demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of perceptions about learning science and physics using the EDP, which, when combined with a FC, enhances physics learning for engineering students.

Research limitations/implications

This study implemented the EDP in teaching physics to first-year engineering students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering using the combined FC and instructional design models. The results revealed that a difference exists in the perception of the students in terms of integrating the EDP into learning physics between the experimental and control groups. The experimental group, which underwent the EDP, obtained better results than did the control group, which used the conventional method. The results demonstrated that the EDP encouraged the students to explore and learn new content knowledge by selecting the appropriate solution to the problem. The EDP also helped them integrate new knowledge and engineering skills into mechanical engineering. This research also introduced a new perspective on physics teaching and learning using the EDP for engineering college students.

Practical implications

The research findings are important for teaching and learning physics using EDP in the context of engineering education. Thus, educators can integrate the teaching and learning of physics into the EDP to motivate and engage student learning.

Originality/value

Using the EDP combined with a FC designed under stages of the analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate (ADDIE) model has enhanced the learning of physics for engineering college students.

Details

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2397-7604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 January 2024

Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent, Dolors Gil-Doménech and Alba Manresa

This study addresses the challenge of integrating entrepreneurial competences development into the traditionally structured engineering curriculum, recognizing its potential…

Abstract

Purpose

This study addresses the challenge of integrating entrepreneurial competences development into the traditionally structured engineering curriculum, recognizing its potential contribution to job creation. Specifically, this study proposes a course design that intersects project management and entrepreneurial disciplines, adopting a challenge-based learning approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Considering a list of common features that entrepreneurs and engineers—in the role of project managers—should excel at, and building upon the principles of experiential learning, this study proposes and describes a course design that is expected to help engineering students develop entrepreneurial competences. Through a series of assessment instruments and descriptive statistics, the study evaluates its implementation in a pilot test applied in a Project Management course at a Spanish university.

Findings

The results demonstrate a significant improvement in students' entrepreneurial competences after completing the course. Noteworthy variations in receptiveness to skill development among different personality profiles are observed. Gender differences are minimal, with the exception of women exhibiting heightened self-perception in the autonomy dimension.

Originality/value

This study explores the common features shared by two often-disconnected disciplines, namely engineering and entrepreneurship. It suggests that integrating both perspectives through a challenge-based course design can enhance entrepreneurial competences among engineering students without compromising the specific knowledge gained from engineering programs. Engaging students in such pedagogical experiences not only fosters entrepreneurial competences but also contributes to their professional and personal growth.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 66 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1968

The engineering profession has been bitterly attacked by many technical college teachers (myself included) for the crude restrictive practices it maintains in engineering

Abstract

The engineering profession has been bitterly attacked by many technical college teachers (myself included) for the crude restrictive practices it maintains in engineering education. Most of the criticisms of CEI's new policy on admission to corporate membership policy have not sufficiently recognized that the profession has a real problem: its educational standards are much too low for British engineers to be competitive in the international industrial scene. The Ministry of Technology has for several years given strong backing to the move to close the door to HNC entry to full professional status because it believes strongly that engineers trained in this way would cut a poor figure in the European Community which generally admits to the status of engineer only graduates of university courses considerably longer than the standard 3‐year course of British universities. And after meeting a continental engineer who not only has a mature understanding of modern mathematics and physics, but also a reasonable knowledge of economics and fluency in two or three languages, one is compelled to admit that they have a point. I taught HNC engineers for many years and have no illusions about the academic standards or professional adequacy of these courses but I am not convinced that many university courses are substantially better. Students spend far too much time practising routines and writing those endless dull laboratory reports that can bear little relationship to work in industry. The sheer tedium of engineering courses make; students into dull engineers and worst than that it keeps many bright people out of engineering. At a recent students' meeting I heard arts and social science student: protesting that engineering students did not participate in activities outside the classroom, that they tolerated any treat ment meted out to them and that then was little interest among engineers in cross‐disciplinary discussions. I was appalled that so many of the engineers seemed inclined to accept this evaluation of themselves and several times engineering students have explained to me that it is a fact of life that intelligent people avoid the study of engineering. The CEI is trying to improve the image of the engineer but, judging from the contemptuous references to ‘spanner men’ I have heard in several universities this year, they are not likely to achieve this merely by labelling as an outcast anyone who failed to get 2 A‐levels before he left school.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 10 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2001

Yvette James‐Gordon and Jay Bal

An investigation was conducted in the design department of a medium‐sized automotive company to establish engineers’ preferred learning styles. This was achieved by using two…

2904

Abstract

An investigation was conducted in the design department of a medium‐sized automotive company to establish engineers’ preferred learning styles. This was achieved by using two proven questionnaires followed by statistical analysis methods. The evidence showed that the engineers investigated have a significant visual learning style preference. This means that their learning is more effective by using diagrams, sketches, photographs, schematics, flow charts, pictures, videos, computer graphics, and demonstrations in training programmes and in their everyday working environment. The present computer‐aided design (CAD) training in the company does incorporate some of these visual techniques and so does satisfy the engineers’ visual learning style preference. Evidence also suggested that there is not a need to have different training and learning methods for design engineers and for managerial engineers such as project engineers and team leaders.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2009

James O. Uhomoibhi

The purpose of this paper is to report on the Bologna Process in the light of globalisation and examine how it affects curriculum and engineering education developments.

2173

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the Bologna Process in the light of globalisation and examine how it affects curriculum and engineering education developments.

Design/methodology/approach

The growing need for creative competitiveness and the striving for specific profiles of engineering qualifications that are of high quality whilst taking account of diversity, transparency have resulted in the declaration of the Bologna Process. The qualifications framework proposed involving the cycle systems are examined taking account of globalization, quality assurance, management and diversity of needs. The future opportunities are explored taking account of global expectations.

Findings

The present research reveals that the Bologna Process provides a means through which higher education institutions (HEIs) can be encouraged to provide more attractive curricula for the younger generation for differing cultures whilst catering for the broad range of engineering fields where they could become more active later. The point is made that it serves to re‐invent engineering to meet the needs of the twenty‐first century.

Research limitations/implications

The present investigation focuses on the Bologna Process and its implications on engineering education in Europe. Future work hopes to extend this to other disciplines and to examine global effects in diverse cultures and also from gender, economic and development perspectives.

Practical implications

This paper could provoke HEIs outside Europe to evaluating their policies, revise strategies and moderate existing provisions, thereby assessing impact of the Bologna Process on engineering education in different countries and cultures.

Originality/value

Account is taken of the diversity and transparency which have resulted in the declaration of the Bologna Process. The paper discusses and reports on developments, prospects and challenges faced in the engineering curriculum provision following the introduction of the Bologna Process in the culturally diverse European higher education area. The new field of process systems engineering is also reported.

Details

Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-497X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1978

It is important that aeronautical engineers are aware of submissions being made to the Finniston Committee

Abstract

It is important that aeronautical engineers are aware of submissions being made to the Finniston Committee

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 50 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

1 – 10 of over 172000