The role of language in engineering competence

The behaviour of engineered products is becoming less evident from their outward appearance. Thus many current engineered products have unseen properties that become evident only after protracted investigation, analysis or use. Nevertheless marketing staff, potential users, disposal experts, financiers and so on will wish to make informed decisions about products and commonly their choices will be based on more accessible descriptions, explanations, scenarios and accounts of a products use rather than their direct experience. Engineers usually work with others in enterprises that produce things or provide services. The engineer rarely provides the service or makes the goods but, as a professional, the engineer guides the rest of the enterprise and persuades others to take particular courses of action. It is clear that an engineer's central interest is the artefact. Interestingly the artefact may be in the process of design or the subject of a feasibility study and hence will have no material existence, but it will be circumscribed by a wide variety of texts including specifications, technical reports and standards. Using their specialist language and analytical techniques, the individual engineer will gain assurance about his or her view of the artefact through discussions with fellow engineers, but at some point they will have to convey that view to non-technical specialists. Within the enterprise the engineer will become either an advocate or an adversary of the artefact faced by other individuals or groups who because of their professional or cultural background will value things in different way. The role of the engineer is then as a protagonist or opponent of the artefact within, using Bruno Latour’s evocative phrase, a “Parliament of Things”. And competent engineers, as competent advocates of artifacts, need fluent linguistic and rhetorical skills as well as analytical proficiency and the knowledge that will give them the confidence to project their views. The paper examines the implications for engineering education

Аналіз змісту та організації підготовки фахівців з програмної інженерії в університетах США

The paper deals with the problems of software engineer training at the advanced universities of the USA. Modern statistical data proving the popularity and high demand for a software engineer (a software developer) profession in the world are presented. Some ranking data related to countries of the world and numbers of best universities providing the best IT-education are demonstrated. It is focused that there are 63 universities from the USA in the Academic Ranking of World Universities in Computer Science – 2015 (Shanghai Ranking). It is noted that in the USA educational establishments offer different degrees: Associate’s Degree in Software Engineering, Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering, Master’s Degree in Software Engineering and PhD in Software Engineering. Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Software Engineering developed by international organisations (Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS), their content and peculiarities are analysed. It is shown that in university curricula much attention should be given not only to technical and professional knowledge, but to interpersonal relations, communication and problem-solving skills. Software engineering curricula of leading American universities (Rochester Institute of Technology and José State University) are compared. Similar aspects in software engineering curricula of these universities are highlighted. It was shown that professional training, liberal arts and sciences, natural sciences, wellness education and language knowledge are important for software engineers. It is emphasized that it is necessary to study, adapt and implement the positive experience of software engineer training of American universities to Ukrainian higher educational establishments.Key words: professional training, software engineering, curriculum, software engineer, software engineering education knowledge (SEEK).У статті висвітлюються питання підготовки фахівців з програмної інженерії у провідних університетах Сполучених Штатів Америки. Представлено статистичні дані щодо популярності та затребуваності професії інженера-програміста у світі. Проаналізовано рекомендації для розробки навчальних планів підготовки бакалаврів та асоціатів з програмної інженерії, розроблені Міжнародними організаціями Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) та IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS) у рамках Навчального плану з комп’ютеризації, їх структуру та відмітні особливості. Порівняно навчальні плани підготовки фахівців з програмної інженерії у провідних університетах США (Рочестерському технологічному інституті та Державному університеті Сан Хосе). Висвітлено спільні аспекти у навчальних планах з програмної інженерії у вищезазначених університетах. Акцентовано увагу на необхідності вивчення, адаптації та впровадження позитивного досвіду університетів США щодо підготовки фахівців з програмної інженерії в университетах України. Ключові слова: професійна підготовка, програмна інженерія, навчальний план, інженер-програміст, освітні знання з програмної інженерії

Towards a software profession

An increasing number of programmers have attempted to change their image. They have made it plain that they wish not only to be taken seriously, but they also wish to be regarded as professionals. Many programmers now wish to referred to as software engineers. If programmers wish to be considered professionals in every sense of the word, two obstacles must be overcome: the inability to think of software as a product, and the idea that little or no skill is required to create and handle software throughout its life cycle. The steps to be taken toward professionalization are outlined along with recommendations

Learning theory and its application to female learner support in engineering

School of Engineering at Murdoch University is now in its fifth year: a new School sited on the new regional Campus. This environment enabled the staff to take an innovative approach to the School's development. One key issue addressed from the outset was that of women in a nontraditional area. Positive action was taken to attract high calibre female staff and as a consequence over 50% of the School's staff, academic and non-academic, are female. From the student perspective, issues confronting females studying in Engineering, which are reflected in international low recruitment and retention, continue to be addressed. Individuals are different and these differences affect how a student performs. In particular, gender differences in learning styles have been noted. This has directed us to administer, as part of a first year foundational unit, learning style inventories to all first year students, who then identify their self-reported learning styles. In this positive atmosphere many varied and successful initiatives, based on our learning style research, are being trialled to encourage female students into our programs and then support and retain them throughout their four years of study. This research discusses the initial learning style results and their application to our initiatives

Mapping the e-business profile and trends in cost management in the UK construction industry

The advancement of e-business applications and IT infrastructure has had massive impact on construction business processes over the last decade. The added effects of globalisation coupled with global economic recession have forced businesses to implement e-business applications within their organisations. It is clear in all industries, that e-business technologies have become a key strategic vehicle in improving performance. In Construction, e-business applications complement most of the business functions and have removed geographical boundaries resulting in a global construction market with increased competition, increased collaboration and have helped reducing the fragmentation of the industry. However, even though the successes are inevitable, it is scrutinized that the advancement is still constrained within the industry. Thus there is a need to undertake an analysis of current construction e-business usage and attitude of construction professionals towards e-business trends to ensure a productive and beneficial implementation of construction e-business tools within organisations. This study acknowledged the niche for research into current e-business usage in UK construction organisations and aimed to determine and map the use of ICT in construction cost management activities, and explore the attitudes of professionals towards e-business approaches. Initially a comprehensive literature review was carried out together with an online web search to identify what ICT and software packages are being used for construction cost management activities. Results from this review aided in developing the research questionnaire and a detailed an online structured survey was carried out using the chartered quantity surveying organisations within the UK. This paper presents the findings of the survey and discusses the ICT usage within construction organisations for cost management activities and the attitude of construction professionals towards BIM and construction e-business trends

BIMing the architectural curricula: integrating Building Information Modelling (BIM) in architectural education

Building Information Modelling (BIM) reflects the current heightened transformation within the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry and the Facilities and Management (FM) sector, offering a host of benefits from increased efficiency, accuracy, speed, co-ordination, consistency, energy analysis, project cost reduction etc to various stake holders from owners to architects, engineers, contractors and other built environment professionals. Many countries around the world are responding to this paradigm shift including the United Kingdom (UK). The Cabinet office took the decision in 2011 to make the use of collaborative 3D BIM technology mandatory for all public sector construction contracts by 2016 (Cabinet Office, 2011). According to Smith and Tardif, despite certain myths and misconceptions surrounding BIM, its rate of implementation has been much faster in comparison to the availability of professionals skilled in use of BIM, thus creating a skill gap in the design and construction industry (Smith and Tardif, cited in Barison and Santos, 2010a). This article aims at bridging the gap between the graduate skill sets and the changing needs of the profession. The research methodology adopted consists of thoroughly reviewing the existing literature in this subject area coupled with carrying out a survey of accredited Schools of Architecture in the UK. The analysis of the survey questionnaire results shows the extent to which BIM is currently being taught and identifies the barriers where its implementation has either been slow or not yet started. The paper highlights the fact that there has been considerable delay in the successful integration of BIM in the Schools of Architecture in the UK, thus emphasising the need for expeditiously training and preparing students in the use of BIM making them ready to effectively perform in a BIM enabled work arena