scholarly journals Actor-networking engineering design, project management and education research: a knowledge management approach

10.5772/9536 ◽  
2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Figueiredo



2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oenardi Lawanto ◽  
Andreas Febrian ◽  
Deborah Butler ◽  
Mani Mina

Models of self-regulation describe how individuals engage deliberately and reflectively in goal-directed action in order to achieve valued goals. Studies have found that the consistent use of self-regulation in an academic setting is highly correlated with student achievement. Self-regulation plays a critical role in problem-solving, particularly when unraveling ill-structured problems as is required in engineering design. The primary research question: How did engineering students perceive their self-regulation activities while engaged in a design project? A total of 307 students from three higher education institutions working on their capstone engineering design projects participated in the study. The study evaluated students’ self-regulation in relation to both design and project management skills. We used a self-regulation in engineering design questionnaire (EDMQ) to assess students’ approaches to self-regulation. Quantitative data were analyzed in two parts using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings suggested that: (1) Students focused more consistently on task interpretation than other self-regulatory strategies, particularly during design; (2) Students lacked awareness of the essential need to develop a method to assess the design deliverables; (3) Self-regulation gaps were found during early design phases, but as the design process progressed, a more balanced approach to self-regulation was apparent. Given the importance of task interpretation to successful performance, students attended to identifying tasks during both the design process and project management. However, they did not report engaging in planning, implementing, and monitoring and fix-up strategies as consistently, even when those processes were relevant and called for. Implications are drawn for research, theory, and practice.





2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq A. Oun ◽  
Timothy D. Blackburn ◽  
Bill A. Olson ◽  
Paul Blessner


Author(s):  
Patricia Kristine Sheridan ◽  
Jason A Foster ◽  
Geoffrey S Frost

All Engineering Science students at the University of Toronto take the cornerstone Praxis Sequence of engineering design courses. In the first course in the sequence, Praxis I, students practice three types of engineering design across three distinct design projects. Previously the final design project had the students first frame and then develop conceptual design solutions for a self-identified challenge. While this project succeeded in providing an appropriate foundational design experience, it failed to fully prepare students for the more complex design experience in Praxis II. The project also failed to ingrain the need for clear and concise engineering communication, and the students’ lack of understanding of detail design inhibited their ability to make practical and realistic design decisions. A revised Product Design project in Praxis I was designed with the primary aims of: (a) pushing students beyond the conceptual design phase of the design process, and (b) simulating a real-world work environment by: (i) increasing the interdependence between student teams and (ii) increasing the students’ perceived value of engineering communication.





2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan Alghail ◽  
Liu Yao ◽  
Mohammed Abbas ◽  
Yahia Baashar

Purpose The reasons behind the project management failure of higher education institutions (HEIs) have been researched for the past few years. One of the reasons is the lack of tools to integrate their knowledge process capabilities (KPC) with their project management (PM) to measure maturity by assessing these capabilities. Various project management maturity (PMM) models exist. Yet, there is a limited number of empirical studies that support the four integrations of KPC and PMM. Therefore, this study aims to propose a new heretical model, namely, KPC-knowledge management (KM) and evaluates a research model that includes the four KPC as an antecedent to PMM. Design/methodology/approach The suggested research model is assessed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Furthermore, the study's hypotheses were examined based on a sample of 352 respondents from the project management departments in 10 public universities in Yemen. Findings Analysis revealed that the derived PMM status could be benchmarked with the project management maturity model. Also, the study found that integrating the KPC into PM enables the institutions to perform critical tasks and value chain activities and enhance the PM maturity level as well. In contrast, if one of the capabilities does not positively impact PMM, it affects the maturity level of the entire project. Research limitations/implications The findings are obtained concerning data collected from public universities and represent the Yemeni context, limiting the generalization on a different geographical area. Also, this proposed model can be evaluated in a practical way like conducting a focus group, a set of interviews with specialists, a case study or action research. The qualitative research will help academics to validate our proposal for future research purposes. Practical implications The proposed approach may be adapted to the characteristics of organizations involved in projects as external performers (project-based organizations) and not just the HEIs projects. This study provides managers and policymakers with insights into assessing PMM and improving their organizational effectiveness when deciding which KPCs to focus on in the future. Social implications This study contributes to the current PM awareness in Yemen and facilitates its success using the knowledge processes capabilities in Yemen's HEIs. It encourages organizations to take this opportunity to revive the projects and achieve a maximum level of maturity. Originality/value This study provides new insights into two domains through the link between knowledge management and PM. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is among the first to empirically study the impact of the four KPC toward PMM. It enriches the theoretical perspective of PM. Also, it contributes to the literature on the success factor of KPC, which can be considered to improve organizational performance.



2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 5035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Matturi ◽  
Chris Pain

Over the last number of decades there has been a tendency within the international development sector to privilege the management of projects in a siloed manner. This translates to projects managed in a narrow way according to pre-defined parameters of say the education or health sectors. As a project manager you are held accountable for delivering education or health outputs. A shift in donor funding to focus on development projects that are considered easy to administer partly explains this siloed approach to project management within the development sector. However, there is a gradual kick back against the siloed project management approach. Instead we are seeing a return to an integrated managerial approach.An integrated managerial approach involves bringing together various technical specialists to work on common objectives in a coordinated and collaborative manner. A growing number of development actors such as Concern Worldwide are embracing this ‘new approach’. For Concern Worldwide integrated projects are interventions which address multiple needs through coordination across a variety of sectors and with the participation of all relevant stakeholders to achieve common goals. Integrated projects are about sector projects working together with the same target group in the same area in a coordinated manner. This paper reflects on Concern’s experience and evidence to date with integration drawing on the agency’s work in Zambia. The Realigning Agriculture to Improve Nutrition project in Zambia highlights the practical challenges and lessons of managing an integrated project.   



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