The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case L • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Differe Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Info Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Iss and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of W Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Import Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Sup Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Cu State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullw Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Manage Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Redu the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Saf and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 140 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprise Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Med Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Constructio Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review o Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strat • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case L • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Differe Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Info Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Iss and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of W Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Import Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Sup Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Cu State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullw Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Manage Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Redu the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Saf and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 140 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprise Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Med Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Constructio Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review o Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strat Volume XXXIX Number 1, Spring 2013 Number 2, Fall 2013 Technology Promoting Excellence in Preparation and Excellence in Practice Studies The Journal of Technology Solving Today’s Technological Issues with Cognitive Solutions The International Honor Society for Professions in Technology. A refereed publication of
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Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies • Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools • The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio • Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1 • A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications • Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies
Volume XXXIXNumber 1, Spring 2013
Number 2, Fall 2013
TechnologyPromoting Excellence in Preparation and Excellence in Practice
Studies
The Journal of
TechnologyTechnology BuildingBowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, OH 43403-0296
Address Service Requested
Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage
PAIDMinster, OHPermit No. 2 The Journal of Technology Studies
Volum
e XX
XIX
, 2013 N
o. 1 Spring 2013 N
o. 2 Fall 2013 Solving Today’s Technological Issues with Cognitive Solutions
The International Honor Society for Professions in Technology.A refereed publication of
The Journal of Technology Studies (JTS) (ISSN 1071-6048) is the flagship, peer -reviewed journal of Epsilon Pi Tau, Inc., a nonprof it, academic and professional honorsociety. Headquar ters and editorial of fices are located at the Technology Building,Bowling Green State Uni versity, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0296. Use this address [email protected] for subscription matters or purchases.
Copyright 2013 by Epsilon Pi Tau, Inc.
The opinions expressed by the jour nal’s authors are not necessaril y those of the Boardof Directors, staff, or members of Epsilon Pi Tau.
Two print issues per y ear are mailed to all members of the society upon request and toacademic and general libraries around the globe. Issues that are pub lished online only,the aforementioned printed issues, and past issues are a vailable online atscholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTS.
The jour nal is cur rently inde xed in Cur rent Inde x to Jour nals of Education (USA),International Bib liography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) (UK), and the Inter nationalVocational Education and Training and Research Database at h ttp://www.ncver.edu.au(Australia).
Separate articles or complete issues are also a vailable in a variety of media forms fromNational Archive Pub lishing Compan y, P.O. Bo x 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346,EBSCO Publishing, 10 Estes Street, Ips wich, MA 01938-0682, USA, and ERIC, 65515th Street NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005, USA.
The JTS welcomes original manuscripts from scholars worldwide focused on the depthand breadth of technology as practiced and understood past, present, and future. EpsilonPi Tau, as perhaps the most comprehensive honor society among the technology profes-sions, seeks to provide up-to-date and insightful infor mation to its increasingly diversemembership as well as the broader public. Authors need not be members of the societyin order to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contrib utions from both academicsand practitioners are equally welcome.
A general guide to the breadth of topics of potential interest to our readers can be gainedby consideration of the 17 subclasses within “Technology” of the classif ication schemeof the Librar y of Cong ress, USA <lcw eb.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco_t.pdf>. Thisincludes engineering and allied disciplines, infor matics in its man y manifestations,industrial technology, and education in and about technology.
Authors are strongl y urged to consult the jour nal’s “Guidelines for Authors,” included in this pub lication, or a vailable at the society’ s w eb site (www .epsilonpitau.org) o r provided upon request. It pro vides additional details on the breadth and nature of topicsof interest, the jour nal’s scholarly writing standards, submission guidelines, and re viewand publication processes.
Printed in the United States of America by Post Printing Company, Minster, Ohio.
A refereed publication of The International Honor Society for Professions in Technology.Jerry Streichler, Founding Editor and Publisher from 1977-2006
The Journal of Technology Studies
EditorMarvin SarapinDepartment Head,
Computer Graphics TechnologyCollege of Technology
Purdue University
Co-EditorMihaela Vorvoreanu
Computer Graphics TechnologyCollege of Technology
Purdue University
David BattsEast Carolina University230 Slay BuildingGreenville, NC [email protected]
Karen BirchRepresenting the Board of DirectorsCT Community CollegesCollege of Technology/RegionalCenter for Next GenerationManufacturing61 Woodland St.Hartford, CT 06105860.244.7608
Aaron C. ClarkDepartment of Math, Science &Technology EducationNorth Carolina State UniversityBox 7801, 510K Poe HallRaleigh, NC [email protected]
Jenny DaughertyTechnology Leadership and InnovationPurdue UniversityErnest C Young Hall, Room 443West Lafayette, IN [email protected]
Jeremy V. ErnstDepartment of Teaching and LearningVirginia Polytechnic Institute and StateUniversity315 War Memorial HallBlacksburg, VA 24061540.231.2040 [email protected]
Ivan T. Mosley, Sr.2 Pipers Glen Vt.Greensboro, NC 27406Phone: (336) [email protected]
Luke J. SteinkeSchool of TechnologyEastern Illinois University600 Lincoln AvenueCharleston, IL [email protected]
Shawn StrongTechnology and ConstructionManagement DepartmentMissouri State University901 S. National Rd.Springfield, MO [email protected]
Jeffery M. UlmerUniversity of Central MissouriGrinstead 014AWarrensburg, MO [email protected]
Staff for this Issue
EditorialConsultantLee Meiser
PublisherEpsilon Pi Tau
Office ManagerSusan Pickens
Art & Layout Unigraphics
Board of Directors
Region 1 (The nations of Europe, theEastern Provinces of Canada, and theNortheastern United States)Thomas P. BellDepartment of Industry and TechnologyP.O. Box 1002Millersville UniversityMillersville, PA 17551717.871.2301fax: [email protected]
Region 2 (The nations of Africa, theCaribbean Islands, and the SoutheasternUnited States)Eric F. ReichardDepartment of Technology and EnvironmentalDesignAppalachian State UniversityKatherine Harper HallASU Box 32122Boone, NC 28608Phone: (828) 262-6360Fax: (828) [email protected]
Region 3 (All members-at-large, theCanadian Province of Ontario, andthe North Central United States)Todd D. MyersRuss College of Engineering Technology and Management DepartmentOhio University124b Stocker CenterAthens, OH [email protected]
Region 4 (The nations of Central andSouth America, the Northern Territory and Central Provinces of Canada, and the Central United States)Charles V. SchwabIowa State UniversityAgricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Department220 Industrial Education IIAmes, IA 50011-3130515.294.4131fax: [email protected]
Region 5 (Australia, the island nations ofthe Pacific and Indian Oceans, the nationsof Asia, the Yukon Territory and WesternProvinces of Canada, and the WesternUnited States)Sam C. ObiDepartment of Aviation and TechnologySan Jose State UniversityOne Washington SquareSan Jose, CA 95192408.924.3218fax: [email protected]
Two-Year Institutional Director(Representing all Community andTechnical Colleges)Karen Wosczyna-Birch CT Community CollegesCollege of Technology/Regional Center for NextGeneration Manufacturing61 Woodland St.Hartford, CT 06105860. [email protected]
Executive DirectorKevin R. Howell Department of TechnologyAppalachian State UniversityBoone, NC 28608Phone: 828.262.3114
Editorial Board
Note: Editorial queries should be directed to: The Editor, Journal of TechnologyStudies, Technology Bldg., Bowling Green State University, Bowling GreenOhio, 43403, email: [email protected]
The Journal of Technology Studies(JTS) (ISSN 1071-6048) is the flagship, peer-reviewed journal of Epsilon Pi Tau, Inc., a nonprofit, academic and professional honor society. Headquarters and editorial offices are located at the Technology Building, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0296. Use this address or [email protected] for subscription matters or purchases.Copyright 2013 by Epsilon Pi Tau, Inc.The opinions expressed by the journal’s authors are not necessarily those of the Board of Directors, staff, or members of Epsilon Pi Tau.Two print issues per year are mailed to all members of the society upon request and to academic and general libraries around the globe. Issues that are published online only, the aforementioned printed issues, and past issues are available online at scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTS.The journal is currently indexed in Current Index to Journals of Education (USA),International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) (UK), and the International Vocational Education and Training and Research Database at http://www.ncver.edu.au (Australia).Separate articles or complete issues are also available in a variety of media forms from National Archive Publishing Company, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346,EBSCO Publishing, 10 Estes Street, Ipswich, MA 01938-0682, USA, and ERIC, 65515th Street NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005, USA.The JTS welcomes original manuscripts from scholars worldwide focused on the depth and breadth of technology as practiced and understood past, present, and future. EpsilonPi Tau, as perhaps the most comprehensive honor society among the technology professions, seeks to provide up-to-date and insightful information to its increasingly diverse membership as well as the broader public. Authors need not be members of the society in order to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions from both academicsand practitioners are equally welcome.A general guide to the breadth of topics of potential interest to our readers can be gained by consideration of the 17 subclasses within “Technology” of the classification scheme of the Library of Congress, USA <lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco_t.pdf>. This includes engineering and allied disciplines, informatics in its many manifestations, industrial technology, and education in and about technology.Authors are strongly urged to consult the journal’s “Guidelines for Authors,” included in this publication, or available at the society’s web site (www.epsilonpitau.org) or provided upon request. It provides additional details on the breadth and nature of topics of interest, the journal’s scholarly writing standards, submission guidelines, and review and publication processes.Printed in the United States of America by Post Printing Company, Minster, Ohio.
The Journal of Technology Studies
1Table of ContentsVolume XXXIX, Number 1, Spring 2013
2 Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management Tools By Karen Waldenmeyer and Nathan Hartman
14 The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio By Alan Atalah and Aaron Seymour
28 Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law By Tyler S. Love
42 A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Certifications ByEliKofiAbaandM.AffanBadar
52 Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering Strategies ByM.AffanBadar,ShyamsundarreddySammidi,andLeslieGardner
65 Table of Contents, Volume XXXIX, Number 2 Fall 2013
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Small & Medium Enterprises- Their Views of Product Data Management ToolsBy Karen Waldenmeyer and Nathan Hartman
ABSTRACT Thisstudywasconductedasameanstodiscovercommontraitsassociatedwithsmallandmediummanufacturers,especiallyoneswhohaveadoptedproductdatamanagement(PDM)systemsasamethodtocontrolengineeringdesignandmanufacturingdata.Afterqualitativeinterviewswereconductedwithleadingexpertsacrossindustrysectors,asurveywasdevelopedandsenttosmallandmediummanufacturersintheUnitedStates.ThestudyconcludesanumberofinterestingfindingsaboutthestateofPDMusagewithinvarioussegmentsoftheindustry,includinggeneralusesforengineeringdesignsystems,levelofdataexchangewithcustomersandsuppliers,andsatisfactionlevelswithinformationquerying,concurrentengineeringcontributions,andimposedrestrictions.Thestudyconcludesthatthereareafewmajorfactorsthatdetermineacompany’ssuccesswithusingdesignanddatamanagementsystems,includingfrequencyofdataexchange,datareuse,digitaldataformatsused,andemployeecountsandlocations. Keywords: Product data management (PDM); product lifecycle management (PLM); data exchange; small and medium enterprises; computer-aided design (CAD)
INTRODUCTION Smallengineeringfirmsusuallyoperateinchallengingenvironments–manyaresubjecttothewhimsoftheircustomers,whoaretypicallylarger,morewell-knownmanufacturers(Towers&Burnes,2008).Thischangesthenormaldesignprocessmodel,wherethecompanymust“talktocustomers”andmakesuretheyareproducingaproduct“thatcustomerswant.”Instead,thesesmallandmediumenterprises(SMEs)areusuallygivenveryspecificdetailstowhichtheirproductmustconforminordertomeettheircustomer’sspecifications(Arendt,2006).SometimesthisrequiresSMEstobeveryflexibleintheirchoiceofproductlifecyclemanagement(PLM)tools,basedonhowmanydifferentcustomerstheyareserving.
Productsareincreasinglybeingdesignedwiththree-dimensional(3D)toolsthatenableahostofdifferentanalyses,simulations,anddesignchanges.Unfortunately,thesoftwarethatenablesthisnewdesignmethodologyisnotnearlyasaccessibletoSMEsasitistolarger,morerobustmanufacturers.Althoughtheircustomersmostlikelyhavecreatedtherequisitenetworkinfrastructurefortheir3Dproductdataduetothesheervolumeandbreadthofthedata,manySMEshavenotyetadoptedanyformalstrategyformanagingtheirproductdatafortheirownsmaller,yetcomplex,designmethods(Hicks,Culley,&McMahon,2006).ThismainimpetusofthisstudywastoexaminetheinexperienceofSMEsintheuseof3Dproductdesignanddatamanagementtools,tounderstandthechallengeSMEsfacewithregardtodatamanagementduetotheirinexperience,toidentifytheircommonproductdatamanagementneeds,andtobetteraligntechnologywiththeircorebusinessgoals. Themainresearchfocusofthisstudywasinproductdatamanagement(PDM),whichisatechnologythatseekstomanage,secure,control,andacceleratetheproductdevelopmentprocessbyensuringthatallproductdata,particularlyproductdefinitiondata,isstoredinonesecure,easilyaccessibleandmanageablelocation.ManyPDMsystemscanbedifficultandcostlytoinstallandimplement,particularlyinSMEsthathavelimitedresourcesandpotentiallyhighervulnerabilitytoimplementationfailures(Chen,Huang,Yang,Lin,&Chen,2007).AlongwiththeuseofthesesystemscomemanyorganizationalchangestowhichSMEsmaybeunaccustomed,suchasincreasedcollaborationbetweenareasofthebusinessandentitiesoutsidethebusiness.However,theirsmallersizetendstoallowtheSMEstobesomewhatflexibleintheirtechnologyimplementations.
SMEsaretypicallyclassifiedasemployinglessthan500peopleeach,andtheyemployedapproximately6.1millionU.S.citizensin
32006inthemanufacturingindustryalone(StatisticsaboutBusinessSizefromtheCensusBureau,n.d.).Atthesametime,SMEshavetocompeteforresourcesandmarketshareinamanufacturingindustrythatisstrugglingtostayafloatsincetheunstableeconomicenvironmentof2008topresent.ManufacturingSMEsareinaparticularlyuniquesituationbecauseoflimitedresources,increasedlevelofflexibility,highamountofpersonalrelationshipswithinthecompany,andrelativelylowlevelsofbureaucracy,amongotherthings(Marri,Gunasekaran,&Grieve,1998).Thesecompanieshavebeenrelativelyslowtoadoptnewdesigntechnologieslike3DCAD,productlifecyclemanagementphilosophies,andproductdatamanagementtechnology(Walters,2007).ManymanufacturinganddesignSMEsstillhavenotupdatedtheirsystemsandprocessesforreasonssuchascost,havingsimplerproductlines,orsimplynotneedingtobecauseofthespecificproductorproductlinesthattheymanufactureandsell(Ayyagari,Beck,&Demirguc-Kunt,2007).However,manySMEshavemovedtowardnewmethodsofproductdesignbydoingthebulkofthedesignworkwith3DCADtools,anditisimportanttopinpointtheexactreasonswhytheseorganizationsareupdatingandwhatlevelsofsuccesstheyhavehad(Dibrell,Davis,&Craig,2008).
ThroughPLManorganizationinthemanufacturingsectorisencouragedtoconsiderworkintermsofaproduct,insteadofaprocess(Ameri&Dutta,2005).Thisusuallymeansareorganizationtodistanceitselffroma“departmental”environmentwhereeachdepartmentislikeanisolatedislandandcommunicationisdeemed“overthewall”toanewer,moreflexibledesignprocessthatfocusesonasingleproductorfamilyofthem,withspecialistsfromdifferentbackgroundscollaboratingtogetherfromthebeginningoftheproduct’sdesignphaseallthewaythroughitsdisposal(Sääksvuori,&Immonen,2005).Thus,itisusefultogetabetterpictureofwhatdrovemanufacturingSMEstomakesuchdrasticchangestotheirbusinessprocesses,adoptnewPDMtechnologytomanageallthenewlygenerateddata,andhowthisworkedout.Thisresearchcanbeagoodresourceforsmallcompanieswhoareconsideringthesameprocessestoremaincompetitiveintheirindustry.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY InanefforttoinvestigatethetransitionofSMEstowardintegratedproductlifecycletechnologiesandsystems,twosimpleresearchquestionsweredeveloped.Whatarethecommontraitsofsmallandmediummanufacturingbusinessesthathaveadoptedadigitalproductdatamanagement(PDM)system?Furthermore,howhasthisPDMtechnologyaffectedthem?Thisstudyusedmixed-methoddatacollectionschemesbecauseofthecomplexnatureoftheresearchquestionsandthenumberofvariables.Becausethesubjectsarecompanies,whichevenonasmallscalecanbeincrediblycomplex,acombinationofpreliminaryinterviewfeedbackandbroadersurveymethodsprovedtobethemostusefulstrategytoemploy.ThestudyconsistedoffourpreliminaryinterviewswithtargetedPDMexpertsthatcoveredbroaderPDMissuesrelativetocommunicationwithsuppliersandcustomers;italsoconsideredhowPDMtechnologyhasaffectedthoseprocesses.Fromtheseinterviews,asurveywasdeveloped,whichwasvalidatedbyaPDMexpertintheaerospaceindustrybecauseoftheindustry’sexposuretosupplychainvariationandsmallandmediumenterprises.Thesurveyincludedfive-pointLikertscaleandmultiplechoicequestions,aswellasfree-responsequestions(Dillman,2007).TheresponsestothesequestionstendedtoillustratetheaspectsofPDMimplementationthatSMEsbenefitfrom,aswellastheelementsthattheytendedtohavemoredifficultygettingthrough.Fromtheseresponses,conclusionsweremadeabouttheexperiencesSMEshavehadrelativetoimplementingandusingPDM.
BecauseoftherelativelackofpreviousliteratureexaminingmanufacturingSMEsintheUnitedStates,ashortinterviewwasheldwithfourdifferentexpertsinPDMimplementationandmanagementincompanieswherethishasbecomeprevalent(Myers&Newman,2007).Althoughnotallofthesubjectmatterexpertswereemployedbysmallormediumcompanies(intermsofthedefinitionforthisstudy)theywereaskedwhattheirrelationshipswerewiththeirsuppliers,whotendedtobesmallormediumcompanies,andhowtheydealtwiththedifferencesinPDMcapability.Aftertheinterviewrecordingswerefullytranscribed,qualitativediscourseanalysismethodswereusedtoextractthemainideathreadsfromthe
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dialogue(Strauss&Corbin,1998).Thebasicstrategyforcodingthetranscribedinterviewswastosummarizegeneralideas,organizeandranktheseconceptsbasedonfrequency,andthencreatebasicconceptsforwhichquantitativesurveyquestionswouldbebased(Glaser&Strauss,1967).Thisrequiredapproximatelythreetofourpassesthroughthetranscripttobothgeneratecodesandgroupthemappropriately.Majorthemesthatemergedfromtheseinterviewtranscriptswereissuesarounddataretrieval,exchange,andformatting;PDMasatechnology;andtheinformationtechnologyresourcesnecessaryforPDMcareandmaintenance;userinteractionbarriers;andlevelsoffinancialinvestmentrequiredtosupportthePDMenvironment.ThesemainideaswereusedtocreatesurveyquestionsthatwouldbestidentifytheimportanttraitsforSMEsthatwereeithercontemplatingorcurrentlyusingengineeringdesignsystemstechnology.Forthepurposesofthisstudy,thelabel“engineeringdesignsystem”wasusedinthesurveytodescribeadigitalsystemthatisusedtotrack,control,and
secureproductdefinitiondata.Thischoicewasmadeforseveralreasons:(a)theterm“PDM”isnotcommonwithintheSMEspace,(b)toreduceconfusionbetweentheterms“PDM”and“PLM”andtheiruseintheSMEspace,and(c)topreventrespondentsfromdiscountingtheirsystemifithappenedtobeinformalorinternallydeveloped.
Surveyquestionsweredevelopedbasedonthesethemes.Theinitialsubsetofsurveyquestionsweremeanttoformaframeworkforthecharacteristicsofasmallmanufacturer.Questionssuchasnumberofemployees,industry,andlevelofdigitaldesignweremeanttogivebackgroundforeachcompanyandgivestatisticsonthetruecharacteristicsofthesamplerespondingtothesurvey.Questionsalsoincludedwhetherornotacompanyhadasystemsetupspecificallyforhandlingengineeringdesigndata.Ifarespondentreportedthatthecompanydidnot,thatpersonwasautomaticallytakentotheendofthesurveyandthankedfortheirtime.Iftherespondentansweredthatthe
Figure 1. Industry Sectors Represented in This Study
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Figure 2. Size of Companies Responding to the Survey
companydidhaveanengineeringdatasystemofsomesort,thatpersoncontinuedwiththesurvey.Questionswerealsoaddedtogiveamoreaccurateportrayaloftheexpertiseofthesurveytakerbyaskingwhattheirlevelofinvolvementwaswiththedatamanagementsystem.Otherquestionswerebasedonthebroaderthemesthatweredrawnfromthequalitativeinterviews,suchasmethodologiesforusingthePDMsystem,workflowusage,opinionsonhowthePDMhasaffectedthedesignprocess,andinvestmentcharacteristics.Anothermajorthemethatgeneratedafewdifferentquestionswasthelevelofsystemintegrationbetweenboththesmallmanufacturersandtheircustomers/suppliers,aswellaswithintheirownorganizations.
DESCRIPTIONS OF SURVEY RESPONSES Duetothenatureofthedata,theanalysisincludesdiscretemeasures(averagesandpercentagesofscoresandfrequencyanalyses).Thelargepartoftheanalysisofquantitativedataisthesearchforvariablerelationships
andcomparingandcontrastingdatabetweencompanies.ThiswasaccomplishedusingPearsonchi-squaretestsbycomparingresponselevelsbetweentwoindependentvariables,suchascompanysizeandPDMuse.TheoverallgoalofthisresearchwastoconfirmsimilarstudiestoadegreewhileatthesametimeexploringcriticalfactorsaboutPDMimplementationthathavenotyetbeenexplored,specificallyintheUnitedStates.Therefore,asurveywasthemostexpeditiousmethodtogainusefulinformationfromsmallmanufacturers.Theinitialcontactemailwassentoutto2,200potentialparticipantsacrosstheUnitedStates.Themajorityofsurveyresponsescameduringthefirsttwodaysthatthesurveywasopened.Withintwoweeks,100completedresponsesand40partialresponseswerereceived.Theinitialpartofthesurveyaskedgeneralquestionsabouttherespondents’company’scharacteristics.Figure1explainstheindustrysectordistributionforthisstudy,andFigure2detailsthesizeofthecompaniesthatrespondedtothesurvey.
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Respondentswhoreportedmorethan500employeesintheirbusinesseswereremovedfromthesample.Ofthecompletedresponses,42respondentsstatedthatthecompanyusedanengineeringdesign(PDM)system.Despitetherelativelylownumberofrespondentsforthisportionofthesurvey,anumberofinterestingrelationshipswerefoundthatwillbeexplored.
Itisimportanttofirstdiscussthebusinessdemographicsfromthesurveysamplebecausethisprovidesacontextfortheresults.ThesewerenotmultinationalcompanieswithsubstantialITresources.ThesewerecompaniesthatoftenhavepeopleperformingmorethanoneorganizationalrolewithoutdedicatedITsupport.Itquicklybecameclearthatthemajorityofthesmallmanufacturersclassifiedthemselvesasbeingintheindustrialequipmentindustry.Theywereaboutevenlysplitbetweenhavinganengineeringdesign(PDM)systemandnothavingone,butthevastmajorityofthemhadfewerthan50employees,versussomeoftheotherindustriessuchascompaniesintheautomotiveandothercategories,whichweremoreevenlydispersedintermsofemployeecounts.ThisisreflectiveofthemanufacturingindustryintheUnitedStatesingeneral;whereaslargercorporationsmakeupthemajorityoftheindustrybysheeremployeecounts,therearefarmoreindividualsmallercompaniesthanlargeones,andthusitmakessensethatmoresmallcompaniesrespondedtothesurvey.
Variable 1 Variable 2 Chi-‐square
Industry .583
# of Employees .098
# of Locations .44
Digital format used .071
OEM/Supplier/Both
Presence of an engineering
design system
.722
Thefinalquestiontargetedattheentiresampleofsurveyrespondentsalsocausedthesampletobesplitintotwospecificgroups:companiesthathaveadigitaldesignsystemofsomesort,andthosethatdonot.Respondentsansweringthisquestionwitha“no”weretakentotheendofthesurveyandthankedfortheirtime,sincethesubsequentquestionswouldbeaboutasystemtheydidnothave.Table1representstherelationshipbetweenpresenceofanengineeringdesignsystemandbasiccompanycharacteristics.Thechi-squarevaluesindicatethattherewerenosignificantrelationshipsbetweencompanycharacteristicsandwhetherthecompanyusedanengineeringdesignsystem.
COMPARISONS OF COMPANIES WITH ENGINEERING DESIGN SYSTEMS Severalgeneralfindingswerediscoveredfromthedata,asdescribedinFigure3.Accordingtothesurveyrespondents,theyusedneutralfileformatsfrequentlyandtendedtogettheirsoftwarefromdifferentvendors.Theirdesignsystemsdidnotposeanymajorrestrictionsontheirengineeringprocesses,andtheirsystemsgenerallymettheirexpectations.Inmanyinstances,theuseofneutralfilesindataexchangeandtheuseofmultiplesoftwaretools(andtheaccompanyingdiscontinuityofdatausage)hadadirecteffectonthesuccessofcollaborativeactivitiesusingdigitalproductdata.
Table 1. Comparison of Company Demographics to Presence of Design System
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Thoughimportantconclusionscanbereachedbasedonbasicmetrics,therearealsorelationshipsbetweendifferentvariables,suchaslevelofinvolvementinthesystemwhencomparedwiththeperceivedeffectonthetimeittakestofindinformationtoperformatask.Otherrelationshipsincludethefrequencyofexchangingdatawithoutsideentitiesversushowthesystemhascontributedtoconcurrentengineering,andtheuseofneutralfileformatsversustheorganizationalgroupthatmanagesthedesignsystem.Table2representsthecharacteristicsofcompaniesthatrespondedtothesurveyashavinganengineeringdesignsystem.Itisasubsetofthecompanies
Figure 3. General Response Characteristics of Small and Medium Manufacturers
representedinTable1.Basedontheamountofresponsesreturnedandthenumberofvariablesexamined,Table2includesthosevariablesthatformedastatisticallysignificantrelationshipbasedontheirchi-squarevalues.
Aninterestingrelationshipwasfoundbetweeninvolvementlevelandattitudestowardhowthesystemenablesthefindingofinformation.AsseeninTable2,Itappearsthatuserswhoratedthemselvesas“veryinvolved”tendtofeelthatthesystemmakesfindinginformationslightlyfaster,whereasthosewhoratedthemselvesas“extremelyinvolved”feelthesystemmakesfindinginformationmuchfaster.
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Variable 1 Variable 2 Chi-‐square
Digital Design Format Industry .060 Engineering Design Locations # of Employees .000 OEM, Supplier, or both # of Employees .118 OEM, Supplier, or both Digital design format .200 System maintenance group Neutral file format usage .013 System meets expectations Involvement Level .156 System meets expectations Restrictions on design methods .090 System meets expectations Contribution to concurrent engineering .004 System meets expectations Data exchange frequency .046 Contribution to concurrent engineering Data exchange frequency .052 Restrictions on design methods Data exchange frequency .000 Effect on informational retrieval time Effect on design task time .018 Effect on information retrieval time Involvement Level .025 Effect on information retrieval time Data sharing beyond Engineering .027 Workflow usage Data sharing beyond Engineering .136 Workflow usage Data entry point during design .065 System upgrades Data entry point during design .115
Table 2. Characteristics of Those Companies with Design Systems
oftheirdesignsystemsavethemtimeinotherwaysthataffecthowrespondentsfeelabouttherestrictionsthesystemputsonthem,ortherecouldbeotherreasonsforthiscorrelation.
Anothercorrelationbetweenvariableswastheonebetweenthelevelofconcurrentengineeringthesedesignsystemstendtocreate,andhowthesystemsmetexpectations(χ²=.004).Itappearsthatassystemstendtocontributemoretoconcurrentengineering,respondentsfeltthesystemsmetmoreandmoreoftheirexpectations.That’spartiallytobeexpectedconsideringthatproductlifecyclemanagementasaconceptisbasedontheideaofconcurrentengineeringandproductfocusratherthanprocessfocus.
DISCUSSION Severalcompellingfindingsweregleanedfromthedata,suchasthattheprimaryusage
Anotherinterestingcorrelation(χ²=.027)thatprovedtobesignificantwastheconnectionbetweenwhetheranengineeringdesignsystemsharesdatabeyondjustengineering,andhowmucheffectthesystemhasonfindinginformationforatask.Respondentswhosedesignsystemsharesdatatendtostronglyfeelthesystemmakesfindinginformationfortheirtasksfaster,eitherslightlyormuchfaster.Thismayduetothefactthatthedesigntasksinanintegrateddesignsystemmustpullinformationfrommoresources,andthusacentralizedlocationfordatamadefindinginformationeasier. Italsoappearsthatrespondentswhosecompaniesfrequentlyexchangedatawiththeircustomersandsuppliers–morethanafewtimeseachweek–tendtofeelthattheirengineeringdesignsystemsdonotplacemanyrestrictionsontheirengineeringdesignprocess(χ²=.000).Thiscouldbebecausethedataexchangecapabilities
9ofengineeringdesignsystemsisthestorageofmanufacturinginformationforthesesmallbusinesses,andtheyuseneutralfileformatsfrequently.Theyalsotendtogettheirsoftwarefromdifferentvendors,butbelievethattheirdesignsystemsdonotposeanymajorrestrictionsontheirengineeringprocessesandtheirsystemsgenerallymeettheirexpectations.Therealsoseemstobeinteractionsbetweendifferentvariables,suchaslevelofinvolvementinthesystemwhencomparedwiththeperceivedeffectonthetimeittakestofindinformationtoperformatask.Othersincludethefrequencyofexchangingdatawithoutsideentitiesversushowthesystemhascontributedtoconcurrentengineering,andtheusageofneutralfileformatsversustheorganizationalgroupthatmanagesthedesignsystem. Twovariablesinparticularstoodoutashavingsomeeffectonwhetherornotacompanyadoptedadigitalengineeringdesignsystem:numberofemployees(χ²=.098),andthetypeofdigitalformatsusedtodefinedesign(χ²=.071).Itmakessensethatbothofthesevariablesareconnectedtothepresenceofadesignsystembecausetypicallyacompanythathasadopteddigitalformatsasamethodtodefinedesignneedsplacestostore,manage,andarchiveallthisdataovertime.Softwarevendorsthatsell2Dand3Ddesigntoolsalsooftenhavefilemanagementtoolsofsomesortthattheymayoffertocompaniesforalowerpricewhenbundledwiththedesigntoolitself.Also,companiesthatuse3Dtoolsweremorelikelytohaveasystemversuscompaniesthanused2Dtools.Thisisaninterestingdistinction,whichcanbestbeexplainedbythefactthat3Dsoftwarevendorsmoreoftenhaveasystemthatcanbebundledwiththe3Dtoolitselfthatwasdesignedtobeintegratedtogether.The2Dtoolsmaylackassociativepartmanagement,which,foracompanythatdoesnotnecessarilyneedtomaintainreferentialintegritybetweenpartfiles,couldmakeaseparatedigitalsystemforstoringandmanaging2Dpartfilesseemlikeawasteofresources. Over75%ofrespondentstothesecondpartofthesurveyaboutengineeringdesignsystemsreportedthattheywereveryorextremelyinvolvedinthesystemattheircompany.Thisisagenerallygoodmarkerthattherestof
theanswerswererelativelyreliable,becauseitmeansthatrespondentsweremostlikelygenerallyknowledgeableaboutthesystemsusedattheircompaniesandtheiranswerswouldbecredible.Respondentsalsoreportthattheyusedtheirsystemsprimarilytostoremanufacturinginformation,andthenasageneralrepositoryfordataandproductstructuremanagementandbillsofmaterials.Thisindication,thatthemainuseofengineeringdesignsystemsistostoremanufacturinginformation,isaninterestingresultgiventhatthetraditionalPDMtoolisbuiltmostlyforengineeringdesignitselfandtypicallymustbemodifiedoraddedtobettersupportmanufacturinginformation.Italsoshowsthatthesesmallmanufacturersarenotinthe“PLM”mindset,inthattheywerefocusedmoreontheirprocessesthantheproductitself,whichmaybeagoodthingforthematthepresenttime,butinthelongtermitmaynotbeconducivewithgrowth,giventheadvanceoftechnologyandcompetition.
Thespeedoftasks,particularlydoingadesigntaskandfindinginformation,isusuallythemajorbenefitcitedbycompanieswhohaveadoptedarobustPDMsystem(Philpotts,1996).Thisbenefitisalsoreflectedinthisstudy’ssampleofsmallmanufacturers,wherethemajorityofrespondentsreportedthattheirsystemmakesdesigntasksfasterorhasnoeffect,andfindinginformationinparticulariseitherslightlyormuchfaster.
Becausethesesmallmanufacturershaverelationshipswithmultiplesuppliersandcustomers,theyhappentoexchangedatawiththeseoutsideentitiesonarelativelyfrequentbasis:mostcompaniesexchangedataatleastafewtimesaweek,ifnotdaily.Thisshowsthatthesesmallermanufacturersareinconstantcontactwiththeirsuppliersandcustomers,whichcanhelptoavoidunplannedcostsandmiscommunicationerrors.However,eventhoughtheyfrequentlyexchangedatawithoutsideentities,onlyafewusetheirdesignsystemstointerfacedirectlywiththecustomerorsupplier.Thismaybeduetothelackofintegrationbetweensystems,orinsomecases,thereissimplynoneedtohaveanautomatedprocesstoexchangedatabetweencompanies.Allintervieweesduringthefirstpartofthestudycitedhighcostsassociatedwithintegrating
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surveydealtwithhowengineeringdesignsystemsaffectedcollaborativeengineering,theuseofclearlydefineddesignprocesses,andwhetherornotthesystemmettheexpectationsoftherespondent.Inasmallercompany,eachemployeehasagreaterchancetointeractwiththeengineeringdesignsystemeverydaythanmightbeseeninalargercorporation,andthatleveloffamiliaritymayaffectattitudesandimpressionsofthesystemitself.Mostrespondentsfeltthattheirdesignsystemhadcontributedtoconcurrentengineering,whichisoneofthemaingoalsofPDMsystemsingeneral.Butasanintervieweeinthefirstpartofthestudypointedout,itisquitepossibletousePDMsystemsinamannerthatonlyfurtherexacerbatestheover-the-wallengineeringproblem.However,mostrespondentsbelievedthattheirsystemsmadeamoderateorhighercontributiontocollaborativeengineering,showingthatthesesmallmanufacturersindeedusetheirsystemsastheywereintendedtobeused.
CONCLUSIONS Giventhefindingsinthisstudy,someconclusionscanbemadeaboutcommontraitsofsmallmanufacturerswhohaveimplementedPDM-likesystems.First,membersofcompanieswhohaveimplementedPDMsystemsaregenerallyhappywiththewaythesesystemshaveworkedforthem.Theybelievedtheirdesignsystemscontributedtoconcurrentengineering,poselittleornorestrictionontheirdesignmethod,andmetmostexpectationsforwhattheyshouldbeabletodo.Locatinginformationissignificantlyfaster,andthesystemmakesdoingadesigntaskfasteraswell,althoughtoalesserextent.Mostofthesmallmanufacturersinthesampleexchangeddatawithoutsidesuppliersandcustomersatleastafewtimesperweek,butthisexchangeisgenerallyamanualprocess.Theexchangedoesuseneutralfileformatsextensively,thatis,eitherneutral3Dor2Dfileformats.Insidethebusiness,companiessharedatafromtheirengineeringdesignsystemwithmanufacturingsystemsandpurchasingsystems,butmostdonotuseworkflowsasawaytoautomatetheflowofdatawithinthedesignsystem.Theytendtoupgradetheirsoftwareeithereveryyearorevery2-4years,mostlikelydependingonthenatureoftheirlicensingagreementwiththecommercialsoftware
suppliersintotheirsystem,andlikewisesomesurveyrespondentscitedhighcoststomaintainfullyintegratedsystemswiththeircustomers.However,thesesmallbusinessesarestilloperatingasislandsofdatawithmanual,morecloselyscrutinizedexchangesofdatawithoutsidecompanies.
AlthoughnewresearchsuggeststhatPDMimplementationismostsuccessfulwhenitoriginatesandismanagedbytheITgroupinalargercorporation,mostgroupsinthesamplereportedthattheirengineeringdesignsystemsaremanagedbytheirengineeringgroups(Jackson,2010).ThismaybebecausespecificgroupsofemployeesdedicatedtoIT,especiallyincompanieswithfewerthan50people,aredifficulttofind.However,thismayalsobeadisadvantagebecausepeoplewhoarenotexpertsinsystemmanagementandprojectmanagementareinchargeofsuchabusiness-criticalsystem.Itisimportanttomentionhere,too,thatmorethanafewrespondentsreportedthattheirdesignsystemswerewrittenandmaintainedinternally,implyingthattheircompaniesdonotbuyspeciallydesignedsystemsoftwaretohandleengineeringdata,butinsteadtheywritetheirownusingMicrosoftAccessorothereasilyavailablesoftwaredevelopmenttools.Thisisaninterestingphenomenonthatwouldprobablynotbeseenoutsidethesmallbusinessarena.
Contrarytopopularbelief,asmallmajorityofrespondentsreportedthattheirdesignsystemsoftware,including3D/2Ddesigntools,wasnotwrittenbythesamesoftwarevendor.Thismaybeduetotherelativelyslowprocessofadoptingtechnologyatsmallmanufacturersandalackofsystemplanningduetoapiecemealimplementationofdifferentbusinesssystems(Lee,Bennett,&Oakes,2000).Itcouldalsobebecausetheengineeringsoftwareindustryhasyettoproduceatrulyintegrated,cohesivepackageofsoftwarethatservestheneedsofsmallandmediummanufacturerswithoutbeingtoocomplicatedorexpensive.
HowPDMsystemschangethebusinessisoneofthemostimportantfactorswhentryingtodecipherhowtheuseofthesetypesofsystemshaveaffectedthecompaniesthathaveadoptedthem,whichispartoftheresearchquestionforthisstudy.Thelastthreequestionsinthe
11provider,orwhethertheyhavecreatedtheirownhomegrownsystemformanagingengineeringdata.Mostcompaniesenterdataintotheirdesignsystemsasearlyaspossibleanduseitthroughoutthedesignphaseoftheirproducts.
Inreviewingthisstudy,theresearchercameacrossaninterestingrevelation:smallmanufacturersareveryenthusiasticaboutwhattheydo.Aftertheinitialsurveywassentout,theresearcherreceivedseveralemailsfrommanagersandownersofsmallbusinesseswhowerecuriousabouttheresultsofthisstudy.Theyseemedgenuinelyinterestedinthistopicbecauseitisanissuetheystrugglewitheveryday,butinsomerespectstheyfeltdisenfranchisedbecausetheyrarelyhavetheresourcestocommittoanextremelyrobustsystem.Theywritetheirownsystems,theydomuchoftheirdatamanagementmanually,andattimestheyseemtobeoutoftheloopoftheever-advancingmanufacturingindustryandallitsleading-edgetechnology.Alternatively,theyfeelthattheyareatthemercyoftheirlargeroriginalequipmentmanufacturer(OEM)customerstoconformtowhatthecustomerrequests,oftenahugeinvestmentinsysteminfrastructurethatisburdensometothem.But,theyarealsothesamesuppliersandsmallOEMsthatenablelargerOEMstofocustheirmanufacturingeffortsonotherthings.Atthefederalandacademiclevels,manyprogramsareinplacetohelpthesesmallbusinessesthrive,becausetheytrulyareoneofthedrivingforcesintheU.S.economy.Atthesametime,thereisanacutelackofacademicresearchonthesesamebusinesses,includingwhattheyarecurrentlydoing,whattheywanttodointhefuture,andwheretheyfitintothegranderschemeofmanufacturingeconomics.ThisstudywasmainlyconcernedwithwhatSMEsarecurrentlydoingtomanagedatainanincreasinglydigitalworldwhereforcesbeyondtheircontrolhavestartedtomakethemcarryouttheirdesignandmanufacturinginnewways.However,therealquestioniswhatthissegmentofthemanufacturingindustrywilldointhefuture.HowcansmallmanufacturersbeenabledtostepintotheworldofPLMandPDMinawaythatiscosteffectiveforthembutwillencouragegrowthandchangewhileusingtheiruniqueadvantagestohelpthemgetahead?Finally,moreresearchshouldbeconductedthatwillilluminatemore
traitsofsmallmanufacturersandfindbettersolutionstohelpaddresstheiruniqueneeds.
Karen Waldenmeyer is currently a Cloud Automation Engineer at General Electric based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a member of Gamma Rho chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau.
Nathan Hartman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University and Director of the Purdue University PLM Center of Excellence. He is also Director of the strategic research area in Advanced Manufacturing in the College of Technology. He is a member of Gamma Rho chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau
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ReferencesAmeri,F.,&Dutta,D.(2005).Productlifecyclemanagement:Closingtheknowledgeloops. Computer-Aided Design & Applications,2,577-590.Arendt,R.J.(2006).SME-supplierallianceactivityinmanufacturing:contingentbenefitsand perceptions.Strategic Management Journal,27(8),741-763.doi:10.1002/smj.538Ayyagari,M.,Beck,T.,&Demirguc-Kunt,A.(2007).Smallandmediumenterprisesacrosstheglobe. Small Business Economics,29(4),415-434.doi:10.1007/s11187-006-9002-5Chen,S.,Huang,J.,Yang,C.,Lin,W.,&Chen,R.(2007).Failureevaluationandtheestablishment ofanimprovementmodelforproductdatamanagementintroducedtoenterprises. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,35(1),195-209. doi:10.1007/s00170-006-0705-1Dibrell,C.,Davis,P.S.,&Craig,J.(2008).Fuelinginnovationthroughinformation technologyinSMEs*.Journal of Small Business Management,46(2),203-218.doi:10.1111/ j.1540-627X.2008.00240.xDillman,D.A.(2007).Mail and Internet surveys (2nded.).Hoboken,NJ:JohnWiley&Sons.Glaser,B.G.,&Strauss,A.L.(1967).The discovery of grounded theory.Chicago:AldineTransaction.Hicks,B.,Culley,S.,&McMahon,C.(2006).Astudyofissuesrelatingtoinformationmanagement acrossengineeringSMEs.International Journal of Information Management,26(4),267-289.Jackson,C.(2010).The CIO’s role in PLM.AberdeenBusinessReview.AberdeenGroup.Lee,G.,Bennett,D.,&Oakes,I.(2000).Technologicalandorganisationalchangeinsmall-to medium-sizedmanufacturingcompanies:Alearningorganisationperspective. International Journal of Operations & Production Management,20(5),549-572. doi:10.1108/01443570010318922Marri,H.B.,Gunasekaran,A.,&Grieve,R.J.(1998).Aninvestigationintotheimplementationof computerintegratedmanufacturinginsmallandmediumenterprises.The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,14(12),935-942.doi:10.1007/BF01179084Myers,M.D.,&Newman,M.(2007).ThequalitativeinterviewinISresearch:Examiningthecraft. Information and Organization,17(1),2-26.doi:10.1016/j.infoandorg.2006.11.001Philpotts,M.(1996).Anintroductiontotheconcepts,benefitsandterminologyofproductdata management.Industrial Management & Data Systems,96(4),11-17. doi:10.1108/02635579610117467Sääksvuori,A.,&Immonen,A.(2005).Product lifecycle management.Basel,Switzerland:Birkhäuser.StatisticsaboutBusinessSizefromtheCensusBureau.(n.d.).RetrievedFebruary24,2009,from http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/smallbus.htmlStrauss,A.,&Corbin,J.(1998).Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory(2nded.).ThousandOaksCA:SagePublications.Towers,N.,&Burnes,B.(2008).Acompositeframeworkofsupplychainmanagementandenterprise planningforsmallandmedium-sizedmanufacturingenterprises.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,13,349-355.doi:10.1108/13598540810894933Walters,A.(2007).Challengesinmanagingtheconvergenceofinformationandproductdesign technologyinasmallcompany.ManagementofEngineeringandTechnology,Portland InternationalCenterfor,799-806.doi:10.1109/PICMET.2007.4349397
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The Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In OhioBy Alan Atalah and Aaron Seymour
ABSTRACT Constructionprojectsareincreasinglygettingcomplexandfragmentedinnature,yetcontractorspersistentlyfaceshortenedprojectdurationsandreducedbudgets.Timelydeliveryofaccurateandreliableinformationamongallprojectparticipantsiscriticalandimportantbecauseinformationisthefoundationuponwhichdecisionsaremadeandprojectsareestimated,planned,monitored,andcontrolled.Recentdevelopmentsintechnologypromisetointroduceefficienciesthatwerenotpreviouslyavailabletotheindustry.Thisstudyseekstoidentifythecurrentstateofwirelessinformationtechnologythroughtheanalysisofquantitativedatafromaweb-basedsurveythatrepresentstheviewsoftherespondentsontheusageandinterestinwirelesstechnology.
Thestudysuggeststhatthelevelofinterestinwirelesstechnologyismuchhigherthanthelevelofuse.Wirelesstechnologyenhancedtheskills,productivity,andcustomerserviceoftheparticipants,butdidnotimprovetheirabilitytonegotiateprojectsandmonitorprojectcosts.Therespondentsbelievethatthereturnoninvestmentisnotabarrier;slowdownloadspeedsanddurabilityarethelargestbarrierskeepingpeoplefromusingwirelesstechnology. Keywords: Mobile devices, Web-based project management,
INTRODUCTION TheInternetunquestionablyrepresentsoneofthemostimportanttechnologicaldevelopmentsinrecenthistory.Ithasrevolutionizedthewaypeoplecommunicatewithoneanother,obtaininformation,andhascreatedanunimaginablevarietyofcommercialandleisureactivities(Yoo,2010).Communicationtechnologiesthatintimidatedmanyofusjustafewyearsagoarenowapartofourdailylives.ThewideuseofcellphoneandtheInternetintheearlynineties,Hotmailin1997,Skypein2004,TwitterandFacebookin2007arejustafewexamplesofthechangesinthewayweconductourpersonalandprofessional
lives(Marston,2011).Technologicalchangeincreasesproductivityandeconomicgrowth,andthefocusshouldbeonhownewcommunicationtechnologiesaffectbusiness(Wallsten,2010).Informationisthecornerstoneofanybusinessprocess(Stewart&Mohamed,2004).Duringthelasttwodecades,awiderangeofindustriesexperiencedsignificantproductivityimprovementsbecauseofthetechnologicaladvancementininformationtechnology,whichhasprovidedtheseindustrieswithgreatadvantagesinspeedofoperation,inconsistencyofdatageneration,andinaccessibilityandexchangeofinformation(Mohamed&Stewart,2003).Themajorityofconstructionbusinessprocessesrelyheavilyontraditionalmeansofcommunicationsuchasface-to-facemeetingsandtheexchangeofpaperdocumentsintheformoftechnicaldrawings,specifications,andsiteinstructions(Deng,H.Li,Shen,&Love,2001).Wastedtimeandcostinconstructionprojectscan,moreoftenthannot,betracedbacktoinadequate,late,orinconsistenthandlingofinformation(Mohamed&Stewart2003).Constructionprojectsoftengenerate1to2millionpagesofdocumentsthroughoutthecourseofajob.Withoutthepropermeans,retrievingpertinentinformationfromthesedocumentsisatime-consumingprocessforanyoneinvolvedwithaproject(Zack,2002).
Theindustryrecognizestheneedtoincreasetheefficiencyofitsprocessesviaexchangingmassivevolumesofinformationathighspeedandatrelativelylowcost(Dengetal.,2001).Althoughconstructioncompaniesseeknewsolutionstoremaincompetitiveinthemarketplace,theuseofinformationtechnology(IT)inconstructionhasnotprogressedtothelevelthatcanbeseeninotherindustries(Flanagan,Ingram,&Marsh,1998).Thisisduetoanumberofhistorical,industrial,andmarketforcesthathaveperpetuatedtheindustry’scultureandaffectedtheadoptionofITinday-to-daybusinessprocesses(Baldwin,Thorpe,&Carter,1999).
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ManydevelopmentstowardtheconvergenceofwirelesscommunicationsandInternet-basedtechnologieshaveemerged.Mobilecollaborationusingwirelessnetworkingcanbeveryeffectiveatminimizingtheimpactofthephysicaldispersionofprojectmanagersandsitesupervisors(Anumba,Aziz,Bouchlaghem,Carillo,&Ruikar,2006).Researchsuggeststhatreductionsinprojectdeliverytimeof20to50%arepossiblewhenenablingtechnologyimprovescommunicationbetweenprojectparticipants(Wood&Alvarez,2005).
Knowledgehasbeenidentifiedtobeasignificantorganizationalresource,whichifusedeffectivelycanprovideacompetitiveadvantage.Thefragmentationoftheconstructionindustry(CI)andadhocnatureofconstructionprojectsprovidesachallengeforoperationalcommunicationandinformationprocesses.Ultimately,theineffectivecaptureandreuseofvaluableknowledgegatheredduringaconstructionprojectinadvertentlycontributestoprojectcostincreasesandtimedelays.Giventhenatureofconstructionprojects,collaborativeknowledgemanagementseemstobethemostappropriatesolutiontocaptureproject-basedknowledge.Informationandcommunicationtechnologiesofferanumberofsolutionstoimplementcollaborativeknowledgemanagementsolutions.ItissuggestedthatconstructionbusinessesmustcommunicateandexchangeinformationmoreeffectivelybyadoptingIT;theadoptionofITreducesprojectcosts,whichinturnprovidescompetitiveadvantage(Love,Irani,Li,Cheng,&Tse,2001).
Microsoft,Oracle,Sage,Meridian,Autodesk,HCSSandmanyothersfirmshavedevelopedweb-basedconstructionprojectmanagementapplicationsforthearchitectureengineeringconstruction(AEC)industrytocollaborate,integrate,communicate,andcoordinateconstructionprojectsduringthelastdecade.However,manyconstructionorganizationsstillfacecollaborationchallenges,includinghowtobringextendedprojectteamstogetheracrossgeographicallocations,inonlineandofflineenvironments,andacrossdifferenttechnologysystemsanddevices.ByprovidingarichWeb-baseduserinterfaceonapowerfulWebservicesplatform,Web-basedprojectmanagement(WPM)applicationsallowthe
projectteamtocollaboratemoreefficientlyandgiveusersflexiblechoicesinhowtheyaccesscriticalprojectdata. Electronicdocumentandprojectmanagementsolutionshaveincreasedinpopularityasaresultofthesecircumstances.Web-basedprojectmanagement(WPM)allowsprojectparticipantstoaccessrelevantdocumentsthroughtheInternetfromvirtuallyanylocationthathasWebaccess.However,thewiredaccesspointsthatareavailablethroughtheclients’InternetserviceproviderlimitthebenefitsofWPM.ThefunctionalityofWPMandotherinformationtechnologycanbegreatlyimprovedbyincreasingthemobileabilityoftheInternetthroughtheuseofwirelessinformationtechnology(WIT).
WITconsistsofnetworkinghardwareandsoftwarethatsignificantlyincreasethemobileaccesstotheInternetbyeliminatingtheneedforwiredaccess.Thiscanbedoneeitherthroughacellphonenetworkwithdatacapabilitiesorawirelesslocalareanetwork(WLAN)onlocalmodemorWi-Fihotspot.Thefutureofdigitalcommunicationismobile;anythingandeverythingwillbemobile/wireless(FleishmanHillard,2009).Aconstructionworkforcethatisoutfittedwithwirelesstechnologycouldgainmobileaccesstovariouscriticalapplications,suchasconstructionmanagement(CM)programs,schedules,costaccounting,anddocumentationmanagement.Severalsoftwareprovidershaveadaptedconstructionprojectmanagementsoftwaretorunonhandheldcomputingdevices,allowingthewirelesstransmissionofdatafromnearlyanylocationthathasaccesstoawirelessdatanetwork.
RecentpricereductionsandimprovementsininformationtechnologyandnetworkspeedhaveallowedmanyprogressivecontractorstoadoptwirelesscommunicationsandInternet-basedtechnologiesinanattempttoimprovecommunicationbetweentheoffice,thejobsite,andtheclient(Anumbaetal.,2006).SmallbusinessestodaycangetbroadbandInternetservicefrommanycommunicationcompanies,forexample,VerizonCommunications,TimeWarner,Comcast,AT&T,andothers,for$30to$90,dependingonthespeedandtheamountofdatatraffic.VerizonCommunications,Time
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Warner,Comcast,AT&T,andothersofferbusinesseswirelessdataplansthatcostlessthan$10/GB.ThesebusinessescanbundleInternetserviceswithmanyothercommunicationservicesformoresavings(VerizonCommunications,2012)(AT&T,2012).Inaddition,awirelessmodematthejob-siteofficereliablyandsecurelyprovidescosteffectivewirelessdatacommunicationtothemachinesonthejobsiteorintheoffice.
Thesepricesaresignificantlylessthanwhattheywereafewyearsback,andthistrendisexpectedtocontinueintothefuture.Asthecompetitionamongtechnologygiants,suchasApple,Microsoft,Google,Samsung,andothersheatsupandproductionexceedsdemand,thecostoftheirdeviceswillbeloweredandtheircapabilitieswillincrease.Thesamecompetitivepressureamongtheretailgiants,suchasWal-Mart,BestBuy,andAmazonwilllowerthecostofthesedevices(Arora,2012;Smith,2012;Zeitlin,2012).Thecompetitivepressureamongcommunicationgiants,suchasTimeWarner,Comcast,AT&T,andVerizonwilllowerthecostoftransferringdataamongthesedevices.
TherecentreleaseoftheNationalBroadbandPlanbytheFederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC)hasfocusedtheattentionofindustryleaders,academics,andordinarycitizensonhavingsufficientbandwidthavailableanytimeandanyplacetosupportagrowingarrayofbroadbandservices.BroadbandservicesincludebothwiredandwirelessaccesstotheInternetandthedeliveryofhigh-definition,even3-D,television(Hatfield,2010).TheFCC’sNationalBroadbandPlanrecommendsthat500MHzofspectrumbemadeavailableforbroadbandwithin10years,ofwhich300MHzshouldbemadeavailableformobileusewithin5years(Hatfield,2010).
Manyresearchstudiessupporttheenhancedcommunication,fasterdecisionmaking,andcostsavingsthatresultafterinitiatinginformationtechnologysolutions(Mohamed&Stewart,2003).SuccessfullyimplementingwirelesstechnologyintheCIcouldstreamlinemanyoperationsofthebuildingprocessbytranscendingphysicaldistancewhenaccessingormanipulatinginformation.Significantproductivityimprovementsandshortenedproject
durationscouldberealizedasaresult(Menzel&Rebolj,2004).
Mostimportantly,adoptingWITcangreatlyimprovetheservicethatisdeliveredtotheownersofprojects,astheyultimatelyreceivethebenefits.ImprovedcustomerservicecanberealizedthroughcustomizableWebinterfacesthataresetupspecificallyfortheprojectownertoreviewupdateddrawings,changesintheschedule,andotherprojectdata.Theowners’demandforthetechnologyisanimportantfactorintherateofadoptionacrosstheindustry.Ifownersbeginregularlyrequestingadvancedtechnology,thentheindustrywillfollow(El-Dirabyetal.,2004).Researchshouldfocusontheeconomiceffectsthatdigitalcommunicationshaveonspecificindustries,whicharemorelikelytobeidentifiableandmeasurable(Wallsten,2010);inourcase,itistheconstructionindustry.
TheuseofITinconstructionhasnotprogressedtothelevelseeninotherindustries(Mohamed&Stewart,2003)likelybecausethedecision-makingprocessbehindinvestingtimeandmoneyintowirelesscommunicationtechnologiesispoorlyunderstood(Bernold,Lu,&Williams,2006).Afteranalyzingresultsofsimilarstudies,onecouldinferthatutilizinganefficientandconvenientprocessofaccessingdatabymeansofmobilecomputingcanoften-timesbeoverlooked.
AECindustryprofessionalsmaybereluctanttoconsideremergingtechnologyasawaytoimprovethebottomlineforseveralreasons.Constructioncompanieswithaccountingorprojectmanagementsoftwarealreadyinplacemaybehesitanttomakealargeinvestmentintonewsoftwarewithwirelesscapabilitiesthathasnotbeenproventoprovidecost-savingbenefitswithintheirorganization.Somemaybedissuadedbytheperceivedbarrierofentrythatcouldexistduetoadditionaltraining,softwaresupport,andhardwarepurchases.Othersmaybeunwillingbecauseoftheapparentlegalandsecuritycomplicationsthatcouldresultfromthelackofretaininghardcopydocumentationwithsignaturesofchangeordersorapprovals(Alshawi&Ingirige,2003).However,contractorsmustrealizethatwirelesscommunicationtechnologyhasbecomeextremelyfeasiblewithregardtobothsetup
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andcost,andareturnontheirinvestmentcanbeachievedinrelativelylittletime(Emborg&Olofsson,2004).Inaddition,recentcourtrulingsdeterminedthatanofficialdocumentcreated,stored,ortransmittedelectronicallycanbesubmittedandverifiedasevidenceinatrial(Zack,2002). ThemainobjectiveofthestudywastoidentifyWITutilizationamongtheemployersofthegraduatesoftheCMprogramatBowlingGreenStateUniversity(BGSU).Theimprovementsincost,security,reliability,availability,andcapabilityofmobilecommunicationtechnologyareexpectedtoincreasetheutilizationlevelsignificantlyinthenearfuture.
Asstatedpreviously,therecentadvancementinWITintermsofreliability,speed,andaffordabilityenabledmanyindustriesandbusinessestoachievehigherefficiency,costsavings,andprofitability.However,theAECindustryhasbeenslowerthanotherindustriesintheutilizationoftheseadvancements(Mohamed&Stewart,2003).LearninghowtheAECindustryuseswirelesscommunicationtechnologies,whichonesusethem,andtheobstaclestousingthem,willbenefitboththeAECindustryandtheWITindustry.TheauthorsaimtohelpAECcompaniesbypresentingkeyfactorsthatshouldbeconsideredpriortoasuccessfulinvestmentandimplementation.SoftwareandhardwaredeveloperscanbenefitbygaininginsightintotheAECusersofWITforcontinuedproductdevelopmentandimprovement.
RESEARCH DESIGN TheemployedresearchinstrumentwasanelectronicsurveytopreselectedprofessionalsintheCI.ThestudypopulationconsistedofconstructionprofessionalsthatemployedthestudentsandgraduatesoftheCMdepartmentintheCollegeofTechnologyatBGSU.Theparticipantsworkedforgeneralcontractors,sub-contractors,andCMfirms,andtheyreflecttheconstructionindustryinbothOhioandUnitedStates.ThesubjectswerefamiliarwiththeCMdepartment,andagoodpercentageofthemweregraduatesofthedepartment.Therespondents’participationinthestudywaskeptcompletelyanonymous,andtheywerefreetowithdrawat
anytime.Theresultswerethenanalyzedwithbothdescriptiveandinferentialstatistics.
DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT TheprimarydatacollectioninstrumentofthisstudywasthevoluntaryWeb-basedsurvey,whichisshowninAppendixA.Theauthors,whoareactivemembersoftheconstructionindustry,formulatedthequestionnairesafterconductinganextensivereviewofliteratureandsurveyingtheavailabletechnologyinthemarketplaceandthetechnologiesusedintheconstructionindustry.TheHumanSubjectsReviewBoard(HSRB)atBGSUapprovedthesurveypriortoconductingtheresearch.Bybeginningthesurvey,thesubjectsweregivingconsenttoparticipateinthestudy,andtheywerepermittedtoskipquestionsordiscontinueparticipationatanytime.TheelectronicsurveyserviceanonymouslyrecordedIPaddressestoensureeligibleparticipationandtoallowthetrackingofuniqueaccesswithoutplacingaburdenontheparticipant.
Motivatingrespondentswasanimportantaspectofthisstudy,andtheresearcherstookseveralstepsinordertomaximizetheresponserateandensureanadequatesamplesize.Inanefforttokeepthesurveyasbriefaspossibleandaidinthefinalanalysisofresults,therewerenoopen-endedquestions.Theinvitationtofillinthesurveyindicatedthatthesurveywouldtakeonly10-15minutes.Thequestionsweredesignedtobeansweredwithaminimumamountofeffortandtimefortherespondents.Thequestionnaireconsistedofselected-responsequestionswithmanyincludingLikert-typeratingscalesforanswersthatrangedfromstronglydisagreetostronglyagreeaswellasnumeri-calrankingscalesthatrangedfrom1(least)to5(most).Thequestionnairewaswordedtobeasbriefaspossibleandsoughttodeterminetheparticipants’opinionofthecurrentstateofWITforconstructionprojectsinwhichtheyhadbeeninvolved.Thesurveyincludedquestionsregard-ingdemographics,industrytype,andprimaryoccupationwithintheirconstructioncompany.
Fourindustryprofessionalswerecalledupontoparticipateinapilottestofthesurvey.Thetestsamplewasaskedtoidentifyanyvagueorunclearwordinginthedocumentandnotesuggestionsandperformanceratingsinan
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evaluationformthatwasdistributedwiththetestsurvey.TheelectronicWebsurveywasalsoassessedtoensureproperfunctionalityamongthosewhomaynotbecompletelyfamiliarwithnavigatingelectronicsurveys.Attheconclusionofthepilottest,theresearchersanalyzedtheevaluationtoidentifythenecessaryenhancementandeliminateanyambiguityfromthefinalinstrument.
Aweekafterthelaunchingofthesurvey,afollow-upreminderwassenttoanyonewhohadnotyetcompletedthesurvey.Thetotalnumberofsubjectswhoreceivedthesurveyrequestwas298;62completedthesurvey,foraresponserateof20.8%.AnonymousInternetProtocol(IP)addresseswerecollectedandanalyzedalongwiththequestionnaireresults.Itwasdeterminedthateachresponsewasunique.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA TheresultsoftheWeb-basedsurveywerecompiledandexportedintoMicrosoftExcelforformattingandchartingpurposespriortousingStatisticalAnalysisSystem(SAS)softwareto
Table 1
The primary business of the subjects Response Count Response Rate % General Contracting 39 62.9% Construction Management 6 9.7% Subcontractor 6 9.7% Other 11 17.4% Total 62 100%
completeadvancedstatisticalanalyses.TheCenterforBusinessAnalyticsatBGSUwasinstrumentalinrunningaseriesofinferentialstatisticalanalysessuchasthechi-squaretestofindependenceandFisher’sexacttesttoinvestigatetherelationshipsamongthecategoricalvariables.Theconfidenceintervalof95%wasselected,whichistypicalforthistypeofstudy(Devore,2011).
Descriptive Statistical Analysis GeneralContractorsrepresented62.9%oftherespondentsasshowninTable1.
ThesubjectswhoseprimarytypeofconstructionwasCommercial/Industrialrepresented56.5%ofrespondentsasshowninTable2.
Fifty-threeofthe62respondentsspentthemajorityoftheirtimeintheoffice,representingthelargestresponserateat85.5%.Thosewhospentmoretimeinthefieldrepresented14.5%asshowninTable3.
Table 2
Company’s primary construction focus Response Count Response Rate % Heavy/Civil 21 33.9% Commercial/Industrial 35 56.5% Residential/Multifamily 6 9.7% Total 62 100%
Table 3
Majority of time spent in field or office Response Count Response Rate % Field 9 14.5% Office 53 85.5% Total 62 100%
Table 1. The Primary Business of the Subjects
Table 2. Company’s Primary Construction Focus
Table 3. Majority of Time Spent in Field or Office
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Table 4
Respondent’s age Response Count Response Rate % 18-35 21 33.9% 36-55 35 56.5% 56+ 6 9.7% Total 62 100%
Table 5
Level of interest in wireless devices
Level of interest in Score Tablet PCs with mobile construction apps (i.e., iPad, Galaxy, ToughBook, etc.) 4.03 Smartphones with mobile construction apps 4.15 Cellular wireless network hardware for laptops (hotspots, wireless cards, etc.) 4.31 Web-based Project Management software 3.90 GPS Tracking Software and Hardware (Location, Speed, etc.) 3.46 RFID Tags (Radio Frequency Identification for tracking materials) 2.88
Table 6
Frequency of accessing project management software from a wireless device Response Count Response Rate % Extremely often (multiple times per day) 10 16.9% Very often (multiple times per week) 10 16.9% Moderately often (a few times per month) 10 16.9% Slightly often 5 8.6% Not at all 24 40.7% Total 59 100%
Outofthe62respondents,themajority(35)werebetweentheagesof36-55,whichrepre-sented56.5%ofthesamplepopulation.Only6respondentswereabovetheageof56.Table4summarizestheresponseratebyage.
Table5presentstherespondents’levelofinterestintabletPCs(i.e.,iPad,Galaxy,ToughBook,MSSurface,etc.)withmobileconstructionapplications;Smartphoneswithmobileconstructionapps;cellularwirelessnetworkhardwareforlaptops(hotspots,wirelesscards,etc.);Web-basedprojectmanagementsoftware;GPStrackingsoftwareandhardware(location,speed,etc.);andRFIDtags(radiofrequencyidentificationfortrackingmaterials).
TheparticipantswerequestionedonhowoftentheyaccessedWeb-basedprojectmanagementsoftwarefromawirelessdevice.Ofthe59respondents,thosewhoselectednotatallrepresentedthemajority,witha40.7%response
rateasshowninTable6.Thirty-fourpercentofthesubjectsusedprojectmanagementsoftwarefromawirelessdevicefrequently.
Thenextquestion,relatedtothetypeofbusinessinformation/applicationsthatthesubjectsusedwithaSmartphoneorTabletPC,showedthat94.7%oftherespondentsselectedemail;49.1%and40.4%oftherespondentsselecteddrawingsandproductinformation/specifications,respectivelyasshowninFigure1.How-toinformationandvideosrepresentedthelowestresponserate.
Respondentswerequestionedregardinghowmanyhourstheyspentaccessingconstruction-relatedcontentonasmartphoneortabletPConaweeklybasis.Table7showsthat42.4%indicatedthattheyspent1-4hoursperweekworkingonconstruction-relatedcontent.Figure2showsthepercentageoftherespondentswhousedadvancedwirelesstechnologies
Table 4. Respondent’s Age
Table 5. Level of Interest in Wireless Devices
Table 6. Frequency of Accessing Project Management Software from a Wireless device
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mobileassetmanagement(toolsandequipmenttracking),wirelesssecurity/alarmmonitoring,andmaterialmanagementwithRFID.
Figure 1. Types of business information/applications accessed by respondents (n = 57).
94.7%
49.1% 40.4% 36.8%
31.6% 29.8% 26.3% 26.3% 21.1%
10.5%
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Table 7
Hours per week spent on a wireless device Response Count Response Rate % None 11 18.6 1-4 25 42.4 5-9 14 23.7 10+ 9 15.3 Total 59 100%
Figure 2 The percentage of the respondents who used advanced wireless technologies
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Field BIM (Building Information Modeling)
Digital Signature Capture Wireless Security/Alarm monitoring
suchasFieldBIM(BuildingInformationModeling),ahandheldwirelessscannerwithRFIDcapabilities,digitalsignaturecapture,
Figure 1. Types of Business Information/Applications Accessed by Respondents (n=57).
Table 7. Hours Per Week Spent on a Wireless Device
Figure 2. The Percentage of the Respondents Who Used Advanced Wireless Technologies
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Table 8
Barriers to using wireless technology Answer Options Average score
Little return on investment 3.66 Required training 3.23 Lack of a clean and stable environment 3.23 High cost 3.19 Steep learning curve 3.14 Price of additional wireless service plans 3.05 Lack of security 3.03 High risk of breaking (durability) 2.79 Slow download speed 2.60
Table 9
Areas of improvement caused by Smartphone or Tablet PC My Smartphone or Tablet PC improves my Average score Productivity 3.45455 Customer responsiveness 3.32727 Collaboration 3.05455 Ability to meet tight deadlines 2.94444 Problem-solving skills 2.87273 Decision making process 2.81482 Subcontractor/labor management 2.78182 Material management 2.76364 Change order management 2.64815 Ability to monitor project cost 2.6 Ability to negotiate/win projects 2.50909
Table 10
Level of interest in construction functions for which they will use mobile devices Answer Options Average Score Daily reports 3.931034 Safety checklists 3.844828 Quality checklists 3.724138 Punch lists 3.607143 Drawing review/annotation 3.578947 RFI submission 3.464286 Submittal Review and Approval 3.22807 Timesheet tracking 3.192982
Thenextquestionsoughttoidentifytherespondents’opinionofthebarrierstousingwirelesstechnology.Table8representstheaveragescoreontheLikertscaleoftheirresponses,whichsuggeststhatthereturnoninvestmentandlackofacleanandstableenvironmentarethemainbarriers,buttheywerenotveryhighbarriers.Pleasenotethathighcost,requiredtraining,steeplearningcurve,andthepriceofadditionalwirelessserviceplansaresubcomponentsofthereturnoninvestment.
Table9showstheaveragescoreforareasofimprovementcausedbyusingasmartphoneor
tabletPConascaleofonetofour;itindicatesthatthesubjectsstronglyagreedthattheiruseofsmartphoneortabletPCimprovedproductivity,customerresponsiveness,andcollaboration.However,improvingtheirabilitytomeettightdeadlines,solveproblems,makedecisions,managesubcontractor/labor,managematerial,managechangeorders,andmonitorprojectcostgotanaveragescorebetween2.60and3.00.
Table10showstheaveragescoreinresponsetothequestionrelatedtolevelofinterestinconstructionfunctionsforwhichtheywillusemobiledevices.
Table 8. Barriers to Using Wireless Technology
Table 9. Areas of Improvement Caused by Smartphone or Tablet PC
Table 10. Level of Interest in Constructions for Which They Will Use Mobile Devices
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Figure4showstheconstructionapplicationsforwhichthesubjectsusedsmartphonesortabletPCs;theymostlyusedthemforemail,documentmanagement,anddailyreports
Figure 3 Expectation to purchase more, less or the same dollar amount of the following items during 2012 versus 2011.
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Figure 4 The construction applications for which the respondents used a smartphone or tablet PC
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Figure3showstheresponsesregardingtheirexpectationsofpurchasingwirelesssoftwareorhardwarein2012relativeto2011.Thegraphsuggeststhatthehighestinvestmentisgoingtowardsmartphones,tabletPCs,andconstruction-relatedmobileapplications.
Figure 3. Expectation to Purchase More, Less or the Same Dollar Amount of the Following Items During 2012 Versus 2011
Figure 4. The Construction Applications for Which the Respondents Used a Smartphone or Tablet PC
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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Whileinterestlevelsamongrespondentswerehigh,theresultsoftheresearchstudyrevealedseveralareasthatshouldbeimprovedbeforesignificantprogresscanbeachieved.Insummary,72.1%ofrespondentsindicatedahighlevelofinterestintabletPCs,smartphones,andwirelesshotspots;59.3%ofrespondentsindicatedhighinterestinmobileapplicationsthatcancompletedailyreports,safetychecklists,andqualitychecklists.TheanalysissuggestsadiscrepancybetweentheinterestandusabilityofWPMsoftware;67.2%ofrespondentsindicatedahighinterestinusingWPMsoftwareonawirelessdevice,but66.1%areonlyaccessingprojectmanagementinformationfromwirelessdevicesafewtimespermonthornotatall.Wirelesstechnologywasfoundtoenhancetheskills,productivity,andcustomerserviceoftheparticipants,butitdidnotimprovetherespondents’abilitiestonegotiateprojectsandmonitorprojectcosts.
TherespondentsshedsomelightonthebarrierstowiderimplementationofwirelesstechnologyintheCI.Slowdownloadspeedsanddurabilityintheroughconstructionenvironmentwerethelargestbarriersthatkeptpeoplefromusingwirelesstechnology.Itisanticipatedthatthewidespreaduseof4GLTEandprotectivegear(suchasruggedizedcases)willalleviatethesebarriers.Therespondentsindicatedthatareturnontheirinvestmentinwirelesstechnologywasnotaprimarybarrier.Interactive,onlinecollaborationwillsomedaybecommonplaceamongprojectteams,andcompanieswillneedtocreatemoreflexibleorganizationalroles.
Theanalysisoftheresultsshowednosignificantdifferenceinthelevelofinterestamongtheparticipantswhoseprimarybusinesswasheavy,commercial,orresidentialconstruction.However,individualsintheheavy/civilspecializationreportedastatisticallysignificanthigheruseofmobiletechnology.Therewasnotastatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenthelevelofinterestanduseamongthefieldandofficesubjects.Asexpected,therespondentsintheagegroupof18-35usedwirelesstechnologymorethanthegroupofindividualsovertheageof36;however,therewasnosignificantdifference
betweenthesegroupswhencomparedagainsttheirinterestinwirelesstechnologies.Thissuggeststhattechnologyinterestanduseisbecominglessdependentuponage.Asexpected,therespondentswhospentmoretimeperweekontheirwirelessdevicerealizedanimprovedsynergisticeffectonproductivityandcustomerserviceskillsthanthegroupwhospentlesstimeontheirwirelessdevice.
Tabletswilloutselllaptopsin2013,withover240millionunitstobesoldworldwide,asitisnolongertheexclusivedomainofApple.Lenovo,Samsung,Toshiba,andmanyotherleadingfirmsintroducedtheirowntablets.ThereareinterestingbattlesbrewingonwhetherthetabletswillbepoweredbyARM,Intel,orAMDprocessorsandwhethertheoperatingsystemwillbeAppleiOS,GoogleAndroid,orMicrosoftWindows.Thesechoicesaregoodforbuyersasthetabletsbecomemoreoptimizedforspecificusessuchasretailpointofsale(POS)orenterprisesalesforcetools(Ellett,2013).DevelopersofWPMandotherconstructionmanagementsoftwareneedtocreatearesponsivedesigntomaketheseprogramsaccessibleanduserfriendlyonbothtabletsandPCs. Thefollowingrecommendationsforfuturestudyareoffered: • Thisstudyshouldberepeatedperiodi callytoevaluatetheimpactoffuture developmentsinwirelesstechnologyon theCI. • Someopen-endedquestionsshouldbe incorporatedintoaquestionnairetogain abetterunderstandingofthemotiva tionsbehindtheanswers.
• TheCMdepartmentsatBGSUand otheruniversitiesshouldadjust,if needed,theconstructioncurriculumto preparethestudentsbetterforthefuture digitalconstructionworld.
• Additionalsurveyresearchshouldbe conductedonabiggersampleofre spondentsthatincluderepresentative ofdifferenttypesofconstruction,geo graphicallocations,salesvolumes,field professionals,andsoforth.
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Dr. Alan Atalah is the Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs at Bowling Green State University, Ohio where he teaches construction management. He is a member of the Alpha Gamma Chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau.
Mr. Aaron Seymour is a Project Coordinator at The Douglas Company, Toledo, OH. He is a member of the Alpha Gamma Chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau.
REFERENCES
Alshawi,M.,&Ingirige,B.(2003).Web-enabledprojectmanagement:Anemergingparadigmin construction.Automation in Construction,349-364.Anumba,C.,Aziz,Z.,Bouchlaghem,D.,Carillo,P.,&Ruikar,D.(2006).Intelligentwirelessweb servicesforconstruction–Areviewoftheenablingtechnologies.Automation in Construction, 113-123.Arora,N.(2012,December17).Wal-Mart tosses Apple into The discount bin.Retrievedfrom http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/12/17/wal-mart-tosses-apple-into-the-dis count-bin/AT&T.(2012).Data & Internet Services.Retrievedfromhttp://www.att.com/shop/wireless/services/ data-internet.htmlBaldwin,A.,Thorpe,A.,&Carter,C.(1999).Theuseofelectronicinformationexchangeon constructionallianceprojects.Automation in Construction,651-662.Bernold,L.,Lu,H.,&Williams,T.(2006).The state-of-practice and the future of information technology in construction 2005. ASCE-CI Committee on Wireless Construction,Retrievedfrom http://www.constructioninst.org/committee/?ode=SVhDTTYwMDeng,Z.,H.Li,C.T.,Shen,Q.,&Love,P.(2001).Anapplicationofinternet-basedproject managementsystem.Automation in Construction,239–246.Devore,J.L.(2011).Probability and statistics for engineering and the sciences(8thed.). DuxburyPress.El-Diraby,T.,Froese,T.,Mora,R.,MunirGill,S.,O’Reilly,T.,Rivard,H.,...Waugh,L.(2004). CasestudiesontheuseofinformationtechnologyintheCanadianconstructionindustry.Journal of Information Technology in Construction,9,19-34.Ellett,J.(2013).CES highlight #2: Tablets.RetrievedfromForbes.comLLC™:http://www.forbes. com/sites/johnellett/2013/01/10/ces-highlight-2-tablets/Emborg,M.,&Olofsson,T.(2004).FeasibilitystudyoffieldforceautomationintheSwedish constructionsector.Journal of Information Technology in Construction,285-295.Flanagan,R.,Ingram,I.,&Marsh,L.(1998).A bridge to the future: Profitable construction for tomorrow’s industry and its customers.London:ThomasTelford.FleishmanHillard.(2009,May15).My half time pep talk for 2009/The future of digital communications.Retrieved1fromhttp://innovation.fleishmanhillard.com/index.php/2009/05/15/ my-half-time-pep-talk-for-2009the-future-of-digital-the-greatest-innovation-of-all-time/
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Hatfield,D.N.(2010).Thechallengeofincreasingbroadbandcapacity.Federal Communications Law Journal,43-63.RetrievedfromTimeWarnerCableResearchProgramon DigitalCommunications.Love,P.,Irani,Z.,Li,H.,Cheng,E.,&Tse,R.(2001).Anempiricalanalysisofthebarriersto implementinge-commerceinsmall-mediumsizedconstructioncontractorsinthestateofVictoria, Australia.Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management,1(1),pp.31-41.Marston,L.(2011,May26).The future of digital communications.Retrievedfrom http://www.nesta.org.uk/assets/blog_entries/the_future_of_digital_communicationMenzel,K.,&Rebolj,D.(2004).Semanticwebbasedservicesforintelligentmobileconstruction collaboration.Journal of Information Technology in Construction,9,367.Mohamed,S.,&Stewart,R.A.(2003).Anempiricalinvestigationofusers’perceptionsofweb-based communicationonaconstructionproject.Automation in Construction,12(1)43-53.Smith,D.(2012,December18).Apple iPhone 5 price drops To $127 at Walmart; iPad 3 selling with $100 Discount.Retrievedfromhttp://www.ibtimes.com/apple-iphone-5-price-drops-127-walmart- ipad-3-selling-100-discount-945104Stewart,R.,&Mohamed,S.(2004).Evaluatingweb-basedprojectinformationmanagementin construction:Capturingthelong-termvaluecreationprocess.Automation in Construction,13(4), 469-479.VerizonCommunications.(2012).Verizon Wireless Business Plans.Retrievedfromhttp://business. verizonwireless.com/content/b2b/en/shop-business-products/business-plans.htmlWallsten,S.J.(2010).The future of digital communications research and policy.Washington,DC: TechnologyPolicyInstitute.Wood,C.,&Alvarez,M.(2005).Emerging construction technologies: A FIATECH catalogue. Gaithersburg,Md.:NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology.Yoo,C.S.(2010).ThechangingpatternsofInternetusage.Federal Communications Law Journal, 68-86.Zack,J.G.(2002).Electronicprojectdocumentation:Legalandpracticalproblems.AACE International Transactions,pp.CDR.06.1-CDR.06.6.Zeitlin,M.(2012,December18).Behind Apple’s big stock decline.Retrievedfromhttp://www.thedai lybeast.com/articles/2012/12/18/behind-apple-s-big-stock-decline.html
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Appendix A Survey – Current State of Wireless Technology
1. Please indicate your company’s primary business? o General Contracting o Construction Management o Architectural/Engineering o Subcontractor
2. Please indicate your company’s primary construction focus? (please check one) o Heavy/Civil o Commercial/Industrial o Residential/Multifamily 3. Is the majority of your time spent in the field or in the office? o Field o Office 4. How old are you? o 18-35 o 36-55 o 56+ 5. How much interest do you have in using the following wireless technologies using a scale of 1 (least) to 5(most)? If no interest or previously unaware of the product, please check "N/A." If you already own a product, please mark "Own." • Tablet PCs with mobile construction apps (iPad, Galaxy, ToughBook, etc.)
1(least) 2 3 4 5 N/A Own
• Smartphones with mobile construction apps • Cellular wireless network hardware (hotspots, wireless cards, etc.) • Web-based Project Management software • GPS Tracking Software and Hardware (Location, Movement, Speed, etc.)
• RFID tags (Radio Frequency Identification for tracking materials 6. How often do you access web-based project management software from a wireless device? o Extremely often (Multiple Times per day) o Very Often (Multiple Times per week) o Moderately Often (A few times per month) o Slightly Often o Not at all o 7. What type of Business information/applications are you accessing with a Smartphone or Tablet PC? (please check all that apply) o Email o Web-based Project Management software o Productivity applications o Drawings o Product information/specifications o How-to information o Video o Business articles o Social media (Business Purposes Only) o Other________________________________ 8. How many hours/week do you spend accessing construction content on a smartphone or Tablet PC? o None o 1-4 o 5-9 o 10+ 9. Please indicate the severity of barriers to using Wireless Technology on a scale of 1 (is a significant barrier to use) to 5 (not a barrier at all) for each of the following:
1(barrier) 2 3 4 5(not a barrier) • High cost • High risk of breaking (durability) • Slow download speed • Steep learning curve • Lack of security • Required training • Little return on investment
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1(barrier) 2 3 4 5(not a barrier) • Lack of a clean and stable environment • Price of additional wireless service plans
10. My Smartphone or Tablet PC improves my Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree • Productivity • Problem-Solving skills • Material management • Subcontractor/Labor Management • Decision-making process • Ability to meet tight deadlines • Collaboration • Customer Responsiveness • Ability to Negotiate/Win Projects • Ability to Monitor project cost • Change Order Management 11. During 2012, do you expect to purchase/receive more, less or the same dollar amount of the following items? (versus the same period in 2011): More Less The Same • Tablet PCs • Smartphones • Construction related Mobile Applications • Mobile Asset Management • Mobile Field Operations Management Solutions • Location-Based Services for Construction 12. On a scale of 1 (least) to 5 (most), how much interest would you have in using the following mobile apps? 1(least) 2 3 4 5(most) • Timesheet tracking • Punch Lists • RFI submission • Submittal Review and Approval • Daily Reports • Quality Checklists • Safety Checklists • Drawing Review/Annotation 13. I have used a smartphone or Tablet PC for the following: (please check all that apply) o Sales Presentations o Document Management o Email o Web-based Project Management software o Punch Lists o Daily Reports o None of the above o 14. I have used the following advanced wireless technology (please check all that apply) o Mobile Asset Management (tools and equipment tracking) o Material Management with RFID o Handheld wireless scanner with RFID capabilities o Field BIM (Building Information Modeling) o Wireless Security/Alarm monitoring o Digital Signature Capture o None of the above o
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Addressing Safety and Liability in STEM Education: A Review of Important Legal Issues and Case Law1
By Tyler S. Love
ABSTRACTLabsoftodayarelesssafe,studentsare
inadequatelyinstructedinsafety,andfacultymembersdonothaveadequateexperiencetoleadstudentssafely(Haynie,2008).Technologyeducation,careerandtechnicaleducation(CTE),industrialeducation,engineeringeducation,andscienceeducationlaboratoriesarepotentiallydangerousplaces,whichiswhyfacultymembersworkingintheseareasmustnotonlybeconcernedwithstudentandfacultysafety,butalsoprotectionagainsttheirownliability(Gathercoal&Stern,1987;Frantz,Friedenberg,Gregson,&Walter,1996;Hall&Marsh,2003;Toglia,2009).Injuriesresultingfromschoollaboratoryactivitiesareaharshrealityduetothehands-ondesign-basedlearningthatisthecornerstoneofscience,technology,engineering,andmathematics(STEM)education.Despitepotentialinjuries,STEMeducatorscannotfearliabilityandsacrificetheadvantagesoflaboratoryexperiencesthatfosterinquiry-basedscienceandareessentialtostudentlearning(Zirkel&Barnes,2011).
Studyingandfollowingdevelopingcaselawcanserveasaviablemeansforinstitutions,administrators,andfacultymemberspotentiallytopreventanaccidentandtoavoidbeingfoundliable.STEMeducationteacherpreparationprogramsmustadequatelypreparepre-serviceandin-serviceteachersandadministratorsthroughcoursework,professionaldevelopment,anddevelopingcaselaw.Beingproactiveaboutpotentiallitigationwillsavetime,money,andothercostlymeasuresthatareimportantconsideringtoday’stightbudgetsandtryingtopreventlosses(Janosik,2005).ThisarticleexaminescurrentlegalcasesregardingclassroomandlaboratorysafetyissuesforgradesP-16STEMeducationprograms.Inaddition,strategiesformanagingtheserisksandreducingliabilitywillbediscussed.
Keywords: STEM education, liability, case law, safety, technology education
BACKGROUNDIntegrativescience,technology,
engineering,andmathematics(STEM)educationisdefinedas,“theapplicationoftechnological/engineeringdesignbasedpedagogicalapproachestointentionallyteachcontentandpracticesofscienceandmathematicseducationconcurrentlywithcontentandpracticesoftechnology/engineeringeducation.IntegrativeSTEMeducationisequallyapplicableatthenaturalintersectionsoflearningwithinthecontinuumofcontentareas,educationalenvironments,andacademiclevels”(Wells&Ernst,2012,para.2).Therefore,inthisarticletechnology,engineering,anddesigneducation(TED)willencompasstechnologyeducation,CTE,andindustrialeducationtorepresenttheTinSTEMduetotheirconsiderableamountof(intentionally)integrativeinstruction(Herschbach,2011),theircurricularalignmentwithSTEMinitiatives(Asunda,2011),andtheirhighriskofliability(Frantzetal.,1996).ThisarticleexaminescurrentlegalcasesregardingclassroomandlaboratorysafetyissuesforgradesP-16STEMeducationprograms.Inaddition,strategiesformanagingtheserisksandreducingliabilitywillbediscussed.
TheUtahDepartmentofHealth(2007)
reportedthatonaverage,160studentsareinjuredand86schooldaysaremissedbecauseofschoolshop(laboratory)injurieseveryschoolyearinthestateofUtahalone.Themostcommonpieceofequipmentinvolvedinschoollaboratoryinjurieswasthebandsaw,whichaccountedfor13%ofthereportedinjuries(UtahDepartmentofHealth,2007).Also,laboratorysafetyextendsbeyondtheschoolbuildingtoworkplaceswherestudentsapplytheireducationalexperiences.Storm(1993)drewmanyparallelsbetweensafetyinschoollaboratorysettingsandindustry,specificallyfinancialandproductivitylossesresultingfromanaccident.TheNationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth(Bergesonetal.,2002)reportedthateveryyear6,000Americansdiefromworkplaceinjuries,6
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nmillionpeoplesufferfromnonfatalworkplaceinjuries,andinjuriesalonecosttheU.S.economymorethan$110million.Anincidentcouldoccuratanyinstitutionorschool;thus,itisabestpracticetoremainproactiveaboutlegalissues(Janosik,2005)relatedtoSTEMeducation.
CurrentTEDlaboratoriesusesmallerscaleequipmentthatislesspowerfulandintimidatingthanmachinesusedduringtheindustrialartsera(Haynie,2009).Despitenotbeingaspowerfulorintimidating,facultymembers(alleducators)andstudentsmaynotbeproperlytrainedintheirsafeoperation,resultingininjuriesandlawsuits.Haynie(2008)believesthat“Thelabsoftodayarelesssafe,thestudentsoftodayareinadequatelyinstructedinsafety,andtheteachersoftodaysimplydonothaveadequateexperiencewithequipmenttoleadstudentssafely”(p.97).Thisriskposesathreattostudents,facultymembers,administrators,institutions,andschooldistricts.Toavoidbeingfoundliable,administratorsandfacultymembersinSTEMeducationteacherpreparationprogramsshouldstayinformedregardingthelatestlawsuitsoccurringinSTEMeducationclassroomsattheP-16gradelevels.
LITERATURE REVIEWThecommonmisconceptionof
administratorsandfacultymembersisthatthesetypeofaccidents(e.g.,eyeinjuries,lacerations,amputations,andotherpermanentinjuriesresultingfromSTEMeducationclassroomandlaboratoryactivities)willnothappentothemoroccurattheirschool(PennsylvaniaDepartmentofEducation[PDE],2012).Therealityisthattheseaccidentsoccuratalltypesofschoolsmoreoftenthanadministratorsandfacultywouldliketobelieve.In2007Barrios,Jones,andGallagherconductedastudyanalyzing455casesfrom1996-2002inwhichP-12schoolsorschooldistrictsweresuedforaninjurysustainedonschoolproperty.Theyfoundthatonaverage,casestooknearlyfouryearsfromincidenttotrialorsettlement.Approximatelytwothirdsofthecasesresultedinschoolspayinganawardbecauseofaverdictdirectedfortheplaintifforasettlement.Themeanawardwas$562,915,althoughBarriosetal.(2007)admittedthattheawardamountswerehighlyskewed.
Barriosetal.(2007)cautionedthatthepercentagesofinjuriesandsettlementsretrievedbytheirlegalresearchdatabasearelikelytobesmallerthanthepublishednumbersbecausemanycasesaresettledbeforebeingfiledwithacourt.Despitesettlementsbeingunderrepresented,theystillaccountforthemostcommonoutcomerepresentingthedecisionin40%ofthecases.Laboratoryorshopinjurieswerethesecondleastcommonactivitytocauseaninjurylawsuit,onlyaccountingfor7.6%ofthecases.Althoughthisnumberseemssmall,itstillaccountsforpermanentinjuriesandconsumptionoftimeandmoneyfortheschool,whichwasreportedinthemeanawardamount.Themajority,almost80%,oftheinjuriesoccurredtostudents.About58%ofthetimetheinjuryresultedfromthenegligencetoproperlysupervise.Barriosetal.(2007)reportedthatamputationresultedintheleastamountofcases,buthadameanawardofabout$1million.Tendon,cartilage,orligamentdamageoccurred5.9%ofthetime,withameanrewardofabout$300,000,andlacerationsoccurred10.6%oftime,resultinginameanawardofabout$230,000.AlthoughthisdatasummarizesinjurieswithinP-12schools,itshowsthesignificancetoproactivelypreparepre-serviceandin-serviceteacherstobeproperlytrainedinsafetyandliabilityissues.Despitethepermanentdamagetothestudent,itwillcostthedefendanthundredsofthousandsofdollars,sometimesmillions.Administratorsandfacultymemberscansavecountlesshours,headaches,anddollarsbyunderstandingthelawandresearchingcaselawtoimplementprecautionarysafetymeasures.
ThecurrenteducationalreformmovementhasbeencallingfortheintegrationofSTEMeducation(NationalCommissionofExcellenceinEducation[NCEE],1983;AmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScience[AAAS],1989;AAAS,1993;AAAS,2011;InternationalTechnologyAssociation[ITEA/ITEEA],2000/2002/2007;NationalResearchCouncil[NRC],2012).Arelatedquestionis,whoisadequatelytrainedtoteachthiscontentinasafeandintegrativemanner(Wells,2008)?Mostrecently,AFrameworkForK-12ScienceEducation:Practices,CrosscuttingConcepts,AndCoreIdeas(NRC,2012)explicitlycallsforintegratingengineeringconceptswithinthesciencecurriculum.Althoughhand
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andpowertoolsareroutinelyusedbyTEDteacherstoimplementengineeringconceptsinthecurriculum,scienceeducatorsneedmoreinstructioninhazardrecognitionandsafetytraining(Roy,2012)tosuccessfullyimplementdesign-basedengineeringcontentusingthesetools.
TEDeducatorsplayavitalroleindeliveringintegrativeinstruction(ITEA/ITEEA,2000/2002/2007),andSanders(2012)suggestedthattheyshouldplayaprominentroleindeliveringintegrativeSTEMliteracy.BecausemosteducatorsarenotadequatelypreparedtoteachSTEMeducationsimultaneously,collaborationamongSTEMeducationinstructorsisthemostpromisingapproachforimplementingintegrativepractices(Wells,2008).
Minors and Adults on College CampusesPayingattentiontochangesinthelawand
followingcaselawresultingfromemployeeandinstitutionalliabilityiscriticalinanticipatingandplanningforpotentialissues.EmployeesinhighereducationmayalsobenefitfromfollowinglitigationattheP-12level.Litigationbeginningatoneeducationallevelmayemergeorevolveintolegalissuesatanothereducationallevel.Figure1displaysthewaylegalissuescanstartat
oneleveloftheeducationalcontinuumandworkuptohighereducationordowntosecondaryandelementaryeducation(Janosik,2005).
Janosik(2005)cautionedhighereducationemployeestointerpretP-12caselawwithgreatcare.JudgeswilldrawdifferencesbetweenP-12childrenwhoarenormallyminorsandarerequiredtoparticipateinschoolinguntiltheageof16andcollegestudentswhoarelegaladultsif18yearsorolder.Studentswhoarelegaladultsareusuallydeemedabletothinkforthemselvesandcanexercisefreechoice(Janosik,2005).Thelinesbecomeblurredwhenacollegefreshmanis17yearsold(stillaminor)despitethemajorityofstudentsataninstitutionbeinglegaladults.Adifferentlegalprocessandcareofdutymaybeappliedtowardminors.
AttheP-121evel,facultymembersassumesomeoftherightsanddutiesoftheparents,alsoknownasinlocoparentis(Kigin,1983).Howeverinhighereducation,andsometimesinsecondaryeducation,inlocoparentisisnotapplicablebecauseoftheageandmaturityofthestudents(Hall&Marsh,2003).Payingattentiontothecaselawforbothminorsandadultsmayprovebeneficial.Knowingthelawforstudentswithdisabilitieswillalsobehelpful,because
SAFETY AND LIABILITY IN STEM EDUCATION 30
Example (Ochoa, 2007)
Section 504 and ADA Higher in Higher Education provide Education limited educational povisions
Secondary Education
IDEA in P-12 requires schools to
Elementary Education provide individualized instruction
Figure 1. Anticipating legal issues in education. Legal issues on the left can move up or down
the educational continuum in the triangle. The example on the right shows future implications to
provide more provisions for students with disabilities, which is slowly emerging from P-12 into
higher education. Adapted from personal communication with S. M. Janosik, September 13,
2012.
Figure 2. Addressing tort liability in STEM education.
Legal Issue
Tort Liability
Proactive (Risk Management)
Reactive (Defense)
Risk Avoidance
Risk Control
Risk Transfer
Risk Retention
Contributory Negligence
Comparative Negligence
Assumption of
Risk
Immunity
Figure 1. Safety and Liability in STEM Education
AnticipatinglegalissuesinEducation.Legalissuesontheleftcanmoveupordowntheeducational
continuuminthetriangle.Theexampleontherightshowsfutureimplicationstoprovidemore
provisionsforstudentswithdisabilities,whichisslowlyemergingfromP-12intohighereducation.
AdaptedfrompersonalcommunicationwithS.M.Janosik,September13,2012.
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nthesestudentsmayrequireacareofdutyregardlessofageandspecialaccommodation.LegalrulingsatthehighereducationlevelmaydifferfromthoseattheP-12level;however,importantinformationcanbedrawnfromexaminingrulingsatbothlevels.
Tort LiabilityInjuriestostudentsinaSTEMeducation
classroomareclassifiedastortliability,alsoreferredtoastortlaw.KaplinandLee(2007)definetortlawasfollows:
Acivilwrong,otherthanabreachofcontract,forwhichcourtswillallowaremedy.Atortclaimgenerallyinvolvesallegationsthattheinstitution,oritsagents,owedadutytooneormoreindividualstobehaveaccordingtoadefinedstandardofcarethatthedutywasbreached,andthatthebreachofthatdutycausedinjurytotheindividual(s)(p.87).
Althoughtortliabilityhasabroadrange,negli-genceisthemostcommonclaimbroughtagainstinstitutionsandfacultymembersforinjuriessustainedinaSTEMeducationclassroom(Toglia,2009).Inaddition,Ferguson,Ford,andBumgarner(2010)claimedthatcommontortcasesinvolvinghighereducationinstitutionsareinstructornegligenceinlaboratorysettings.Negligenceoccurswhenanemployeeorinstitu-tionbreachesthedutytoprotectstudentsfromforeseeableharm,ifanemployeeorinstitutionfailstoactonasituation,orifanemployeeorinstitution’sactionscontributedtotheplaintiff’sinjury(Owen,2007).Aninstitutionisgenerallyliablefortortiousactscommittedbyemployeesactingwithinthescopeoftheirjobresponsibili-ties.Forexample,ifastudent,anemployee,oraninvitee(anindividualthataninstitutionen-titlesorpermitstobeonitsproperty)isinjuredasaresultofacarelessorwrongfulactofanemployee,theinstitutionmaybeliable(Kaplin&Lee,2007).
Whenstudentsorotherinviteesareinjuredresultingfromon-campusinstructionalactivi-ties,theymayfilenegligenceclaimsagainsteithertheinstitutionortheemployee.Individualemployeesmaybeliableiftheycommittedthetortiousact,directedit,orparticipatedinitscommission.Boththeemployeeandinstitutionmaybeliableifanemployeecommitsatort
whilerepresentingtheinstitutionandisactingwithinthescopeoftheauthoritydelegatedbytheinstitution.However,anemployeemaybepersonallyliableandtheinstitutionnotliableiftheemployeecommittedatortwhileactingoutsidescopeofdelegatedauthority(Kaplin&Lee,2007).
Strictliabilityisanothertypeoftortthatcanbebroughtagainsteitheraninstitutionoritsemployees.Strictliabilityisdefinedas,“thelegalresponsibilityfordamages,orinjury,evenifthepersonfoundstrictlyliablewasnotatfaultornegligent”(Batten,2010,p.403).Thismeansthatthedefendant(institutionoremployee)couldbefoundnotresponsible,butaskedtopaytheplaintifftomakeupforthelossintheincident.
The Shotgun Theory of Litigation Inatortlawsuit,theplaintiff’sattorneywill
frequentlyuse“shotgunlitigation.”Inthiscase,theplaintiffwillfilesuitagainst“anyoneevenremotelyconnectedtoanincidenttoultimatelyfinda‘deeppocket’defendantliableortoforceasettlementfromthatdeeppocketevenwhenthereisnoliability”(Phillips,1986,p.699).Thiscouldinvolvebringingsuitagainsttheinstitution,administrators,employees,third-partycompanies(e.g.,machinemanufacturer),andpossiblyotherstudents.Thejudgewilldeterminewhocanbeputontrial.Themotiveforplaintiffstosueanyoneinvolvedistofindsomeonewhoisliableandwillowemoneytotheplaintiff.Administratorsoremployeesataninstitutionmayfindtheirnamesinalawsuiteveniftheywerenotdirectlyinvolved.Itisimportantforadministratorsandemployeestobeawareofwhatisgoingonattheirinstitutionsotheydonotendupbeingfoundliableforanincidentthattheycouldhaveprevented.
Immunity is Not Always an OptionImmunitymeansthattheinstitutionor
employeecannotbesuedaccordingtostatestatutes.Manyemployeesaremisledintobelievingthattheyareshieldedfromlawsuitsduetogovernmentalorsovereignimmunity.Immunityisnarrowlydefinedandhasnumerousexceptions(Toglia,2009).Eveninthecasewheregovernmentalimmunityisgrantedtoaninstitution,studentsmaystillsueindividualemployeesfortheirnegligence(Schimmel,Fischer,&Stelleman,2008).
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Forexample,undersection8541ofthePennsylvaniaJudicialCode(1980),localgovernmentagencies(suchasschools)aregenerallyimmunefromtortliability;however,thisisnotabsolute.Section8542ofthePennsylvaniaJudicialCode(1980)statesthataninjuredpartymayrecoverintortfromalocalagencyifthereisnegligenceinseveralareas.Oneofthoseareasisrealproperty,whichreferstothebuildingsorfixturesonthegovernmentagency’sproperty.FixturescansometimesrefertoequipmentinaSTEMeducationlaboratoryasisshowninthecasesdescribedlaterinthisarticle.Realpropertynegligenceisnotapplicablewherethereisnodefectorconditionoftheagency’srealpropertythatcausesaninjury.Thisinterpretationofgovernmentalimmunitywillalsobeseeninmanyofthecasespresentedlaterinthisarticle.
Immunitylawsaredifferentineverystate,soitisimportantforemployeesandinstitutionseithertothoroughlyunderstandthelawsintheirarea(Roy,2009)ortoseeklegalcounseltomakesuretheyareincompliancewiththelaws.Ignoranceisnotadefenseagainstatortliabilitysuit.Becausegovernmentalimmunityisnotalwaysapplicable,employeesandinstitutionsmusteducatethemselvesandothersonhowtoavoidbeingnegligentandfoundliable.Onewaytoavoidbeingfoundliableistoreviewcaselawsandmaketheproperadjustmentsatone’sinstitution.
CASE LAWLawsuitsrelatingtoSTEMeducation
programsandfacilitiescanbefoundinthenewspaper,scholarlyjournals,andinacademiclegalresearchdatabases,asshowninTable1.ItisseeminglyimpossibleforanindividualtoresearcheverycaserelatedtoSTEMeducation,soJanosik(2005)suggestedninemethodstostayabreastofimportantlegalcases(Table2).
Examining STEM Education Case Law OneofthefundamentalcasesinscienceeducationliabilityisUsherv.UpperSaintClairSchoolDistrict(1985).Inthiscaseaninstructordroppedachemicalbeakerthatsplashedflamingfluidonastudent’sface.Thestudent(Usher)allegedthattheinstructorwasnegligentinfailingtotakeadequatemeasurestocontroltheareasurroundingtheexperiment.Thecourtruledthattheinstructorfailedtocontrolthestudents,nottheareaoftheexperiment;therefore,immunitywasgrantedtotheinstructorandtheschool.
ElevenyearslateranaccidentatGeorgiaTechoccurred(Nilesv.BoardofRegents,1996)whenadoctoralstudentsustainedinjuriesresultingfrommixingchemicalsinsideametalcanisterthatexploded.Thestudentgraduatedsummacumlaudewithanundergraduatedegreeinchemistryandspenthundredsofhoursinthelabpriortothisincident.ThestudentsuedGeorgiaTechandtheBoardofRegents,butthe
SAFETY AND LIABILITY IN STEM EDUCATION 27
Table 1 Sources for Finding STEM Education Case Law
Source Example(s)
In The News Local and national newspapers, professional association newsletters, radio, local and national television news stations.
Scholarly Journals The Chronicle of Higher Education Science Teacher (published by NSTA) The Technology and Engineering Teacher (published by the ITEEA) Journal of School Health NASPA Journal Other journals not listed
Academic Legal Research Databases
FindLaw (a free resource) – (Thomson Reuters, 2013a) LexisNexis – (Reed Elsevier Inc., 2013) Westlaw – (Thomson Reuters, 2013b)
Table 1. Sources for Finding STEM Education Case Law
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ncourtruledinfavoroftheBoardofRegents.Theyclaimedthatneithertheuniversitynortheprofessorwererequiredtowarnthestudentaboutmixingchemicalssincehehadadegreeinchemistry,andtherewasnoevidencethatalabsafetycoursewouldhavepreventedtheaccident.
Fast-forwardanother13yearstoanothercase(Heuserexrel.Jacobsv.CommunityInsuranceCorporation,2009)inwhichaneighthgradestudentsustainedacutwhileusingascalpeltodissectaflowerinscienceclass.Hisparentssuedtheschoolfornegligencebecausehewasthethirdstudentthatdaytosustainacutfromascalpelinthatclass.Thecourtruledinfavorofthestudent,findingthatnoprecautionarymeasurewastakeninresponsetotheopenandobviousdangerofthescalpels.Theinstructorhadtheoptiontopickoneprecautionarymeasureoveranotherbutinsteadchosetodonothing,resultingintheschooldistrictbeingfoundliable.
Amorerecentcase(Grammensv.Dollar,2010)involvedanothereighthgradestudentinascienceclasswhosufferedaneyeinjurywhilelaunchingatwo-litersodabottlewithwaterandairpressure.Whenthebottleliftedoffthelaunchpadandthestudentremovedthe
pinthatheldthebottleinplace,thepinstruckthestudentintheeye.Thestudent’sfathersuedtheinstructor,theschoolprincipal,andtheschoolsuperintendent,allegingtheinjurywastheresultofaviolationofthecountyboardofeducation’seyeprotectionpolicy.Thetrialcourtgrantedimmunitytoallofthedefendantsbecausethenegligenceclaimswerediscretionaryandprotectedfrompersonalliabilityunderofficialimmunity.TheCourtofAppealsagreedthatthesuperintendentandprincipalqualifiedforimmunity;however,itruledtheinstructorshouldnotbegrantedimmunitybecausetheeyeprotectionpolicywasmandatory,notdiscretionary.Onappeal,TheSupremeCourtofGeorgiaruledthatbecausetheterm“explosivematerials”didnotappearinthecounty’seyeprotectionpolicy,itwastheinstructor’sdiscretiontousesafetyglassesforthebottlerocketactivityandtheinstructorwasgrantedimmunityfrompersonalliability.Theschooldistrictwasencouragedtorewritetheirsafetyglassespolicywithgreaterdetail.
TherehavebeenmanycasesinvolvingTEDeducationduetothenatureofthehigh-riskequipmentusedintheprofession.Onecase(Fontenotv.Stateexrel.DepartmentofEducation,1994)involvedthestudent’sfather
SAFETY AND LIABILITY IN STEM EDUCATION 28
Table 2 Staying Abreast of Important Legal Cases
Method Action Seek Expert Advice Use expertise of others at your institution (e.g., attorneys, risk
managers)
Subscribe to Periodicals Invest in high-quality periodicals that address contemporary strategic issues.
Identify Topics Create a manageable list of hot topics.
Involve Staff Delegate responsibilities to include staff.
Search the Internet Use the internet to search effectively.
Monitor Agendas Follow the activities of federal, state, and local officials to identify shifts in agendas.
Follow Groups
Track the activities of special interest groups.
Network with Others Build personal networks with informative people.
Share New Findings Disperse new legal developments in a brief and effective manner.
Table 2. Staying Abreast of Important Legal Cases
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suingtheStateofLouisianaDepartmentofEducation,PelicanMutualInsuranceCompany,HoraceMannInsuranceCompany,theinstructor,andtheschoolboardforatablesawaccidentthatinjuredhis14-year-oldsonwhohadspecialneeds.Theinstructorhaddemonstratedtheuseofthetablesawandobservedstudentsindividuallytoensurethattheyhadmasteredskillsinitsuse.Thestudent(Fontenot)wasadjustingtheguidefencewhensomeonedistractedhimbycallinghisname,causinghishandtoslipintothestill-turningblade.Theinstructorhadnotlefthisimmediateteachingareaorabandonedhissupervisoryduty.TheinstructorandhisinsurersettledwiththeFontenots.Fontenot’sfatheralsobroughtsuitagainsttheschoolforplacinghissoninaclassthatwasnotappropriateforhisson’sdisability,butthecourtruledhissonwasappropriatelyplaced.
In2002,Curetonv.PhiladelphiaSchoolDistrict,involveda13-year-oldstudent(Cureton)whopermanentlydisfiguredhisrightindexfingerwhilecleaningascrollsaw.Theinstructorinformedstudentstokeepthemachinesclean,andCuretonwasgrantedpermissiontocleanthesaw.Aftercleaningthesaw,Curetonreachedacrossthesawandturnediton,whichresultedinhisuntuckedshirttailsgettingcaughtinthesaw’spulleys.Thepulleysamputatedaportionofhisfinger,whichwassurgicallyrepairedatalocalhospitaldespitethestudentsufferingpermanentdeformationandscarring.Cureton’smotheroriginallyfiledaproductliabilitysuit,whichshelaterchangedtonegligenceclaimsagainsttheschooldistrict.Thecourtruledthatthescrollsawwasrealpropertyandnotpersonalpropertysincethesawwasinplacesince1987,permanentlyhardwiredthroughthebuilding,boltedtothefloor,andwasneverremovedfromtheshop.ThecourtusedtherulingfromUsherv.UpperSt.ClairSchoolDistrict(1985)todetermineifthenegligencewastheresultoftherealproperty(thesaw)orwassimplyacleaningaccidentthatwentawry.Thecourtfoundtheschooldistrictliablesincetheinstructorneglectedtoturnthemainpoweroffwhentherewasforeseeabledanger.Theinstructorgavepermissionandresponsibilitytothestudenttocleanthesaw,andonprioroccasionstheteacherturnedthepoweroff,butnotonthisoccasion.TheschooldistrictarguedthatCuretonwasabletocomprehenddangerand
shouldhaveknownbetter,butfailedtopresentevidenceshowingthathewasnegligentbecauseotherclassmatesdidorwoulddothesamethingwhencleaningthemachine.Curetonwasawarded$35,000.
ThreeyearslaterinWellsv.HarrisburgAreaSchoolDistrict(2005)an11thgradestudentexperiencedakickbackonatablesawthathithiminthestomach,causinghimtolosehisbalanceandplacehishandovertheblade.Helosthisringfinger,thetipsofhisthumbandsmallfinger,andsustainedseriousinjurytohismiddlefingerofhislefthand.Thestudentwastoldthattheguardcouldnotbeusedwhenperformingthistypeofcut,howeverexperttestimonyshowedthatanotherguardcouldhavebeenpurchasedandusedduringagroovecutforthatparticularsaw.Theinstructoranddistrictengagedinnegligentcarebyallowingnovicestudentstouseatablesawthatlackedanadequatesafetydevice.Thereforethecourtruledthattheschooldistrictcreatedadangerousconditionoftherealproperty(tablesaw)thatcausedthestudent’sinjuries.Thestudentwasawarded$240,000.
JustoneyearlaterinanotherPennsylvaniacase,LoFurnov.GarnetValleySchoolDistrict(2006)a15-year-old9thgradestudentcaughthisfingersonbothhandsbetweenthebeltandtablewhileoperatingaverticalbeltsander.Thestudent(LoFurno)allegedlysufferedpermanentdamagetohisrightandleftindexfingers.Hisparentssuedtheschoolclaimingthatthebeltsanderwasafixture(realproperty)withnosafetyguardsorwarningsonthesander,andalsonegligencefornotproperlysupervisingandinstructingitsemployeesontheproperuseofdangerousequipment.Thecourtruledthesanderasrealproperty,butonappealthedecisionwasreversed.Theappellantcourtgrantedtheschooldistrictimmunity,rulingthatthesanderwasnotrealtybecauseitwasnotbolteddown,itcouldbepluggedintoanyoutletintheroom,andthedustcollectionhosewasremovable.
Learning from Case LawManyofthecasespresentedinvolved
middleandhighschoolstudentswhoseparentorguardianbroughtsuitagainsttheschoolbecausethesepeoplewerefinanciallyresponsibleforthemedicalbillsofthatchild.Contributory
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nnegligencewasusedasadefenseinNilesv.BoardofRegents(1996)becausethecourtlookedatthestudent’sageandexperienceinthechemistrylabtodecidethathewasnegligentforperformingataskheshouldnothaveperformed.Thisdefensemaynothavebeenvalidifthestudentwereaminororhadlittleexperienceinthechemistrylab.ThevarietyoftoolsandprocessesthatbroughtabouttheselawsuitsshowsthevastrangeofsafetypreparationandknowledgethatSTEMeducatorsmustpossess.Roy(2011)emphasizedtheimportanceofeducatingpre-serviceandin-serviceteachersabouthowtosafelyuseandteachaboutthetoolsinthelab.
Thesecasesillustratethatnocaseisclear-cut.Agreatdealdependsontheevidencepresentedandprecautionstakenbytheinstitutionandthefacultymember.ManyofthedefendantsinthePennsylvaniacasesweregrantedimmunitywhenapieceofequipmentwasdeemedpersonalpropertyorrealtyunderstatelaw.InCuretonv.PhiladelphiaSchoolDistrict(2002)thecourtruledthescrollsawwasrealproperty,butinLoFurnov.GarnetValleySchoolDistrict(2006)theschool’sbeltsanderwasnotdeemedrealproperty.TheargumentsthedefendantsinGarnetValleySchoolDistrictcaseusedtoestablishtheirbeltsanderaspersonalpropertyweredifferentthantheargumentsusedintheCuretoncase.ThesignificanceoftheLoFurnocaseisitnowallowsschoolattorneysanopportunitytociteitwhentryingtoobtainimmunitybyprovingamachineisnotrealproperty.Thiscreatesmoreopportunitiesforschooldistrictsinthesamejurisdictiontobegrantedimmunityinfuturecases.
Understandingcaselawasverdictsemergeallowsfacultymembersandinstitutionstomaketheproperadjustmentstotheirfacilitiesandteachingpractices.TheWellscaseservesasareminderforfacultymembersandinstitutionstocheckandmakesurethepropersafetyguardsareinplaceandworking.TheFontenotv.Stateexrel.DepartmentofEducation(1994)caseshouldmakefacultymembersmoreawareofwhattypesofstudentstheyarelettingusedangerousmachinerythatrequiresadvancedskills.Grammensv.Dollar(2010)encouragesinstitutionsorschooldistrictstocheckthewordingoftheirsafetypolicies.
Regardlessofthetoolsusedintheclassroom,sometimeswhatfacultymembersdoordonotdocandetermineiftheyand/ortheschoolisatfault.InCuretonv.PhiladelphiaSchoolDistrict(2002)althoughthestudenthadhisshirtuntuckedandvoluntarilyreachedacrossthesawtoturnthepoweron,thefacultymemberwasatfaultforallowingthestudenttocleanthemachineandnotturningoffthemainpowersupplyashehaddonenumeroustimesbefore.InHeuserexrel.Jacobsv.CommunityInsuranceCorporation(2009)thefacultymembertooknoprecautionstoaddressthecontinualdangerofthescalpels(e.g.,usescissors,havetheinstructorperformcuts)sotheschooldistrictwasfoundliable.
Asnewcasesaredecided,facultymembersandinstitutionsneedtoadapttheirpedagogyandpoliciestoaddressthechangesinthelaw.Morerecently,WesternCarolinaUniversityreviewedcaselawandusedariskassessmentmodeltodocumentandgaininsightintodevelopingasafetyprogramfortheirengineeringtechnologylaboratories(Fergusonetal.,2010).Usingrecentcaselawtobeproactiveaboutpotentialhazardsmaytaketimeandmoneytoimplement,butisquicker,cheaper,andlessstressfulthanthelitigationprocessresultingfromanaccident.Dealingwithalegalissueafterasummonshasbeenservedisnotcosteffective(Janosik,2005).Beingproactiveaboutpotentiallitigationwillsavetime(personalandinstructional),money,andreputations(Storm,1993).
Caselawpertainingtonegligenceresultingininjuryofstudentsinhighereducationenvironmentsislimited;however,thecourtshaveestablishedprecedenceinareasthatofferinsightforfacultymembersandadministratorstodeveloplaboratorysafetyguidelinesandprocedures(Fergusonetal.,2010).Asnewcasesemerge,facultymembers,administrators,andinstitutionsshouldpayattentiontotheoutcomeofthecases.Newrulingsintortliabilitycasesmayopenupdoorstoincreasedliabilityforfacultymembersandinstitutions.Collegeadministratorsneedtobealertforimportantchangesinthelaw.Focusingonlyoncaselawandemergingissuesisonlyoneportionoftheeducationenterprise,whichprovidesalimitedviewoflegalissuesthatmaybedeveloping(Janosik,2005).Mostimportant,legalcases
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shouldserveasalearningtoolforSTEMeducators.Facultymembersandinstitutionscannotpredictorpreventeveryaccident,buttheycanimplementpropersystemstotrytoavoidbeingheldliableifasimilarincidenthappensattheirinstitution.
TORT LIABILITY Best Practices to Avoid Tort Liability
AccordingtoKaplanandLee(2007)riskmanagementcanhelpstabilizetheinstitution’sfinancialconditionovertimeandimprovethemoraleandperformanceoffacultybyalleviatingtheirconcernsaboutpersonalliability.KaplinandLee(2007)suggestedfourmajormethodsofriskmanagementtoavoidlegalliability:(a)riskavoidance,(b)riskcontrol,(c)risktransfer,and(d)riskretention(Figure2).Riskavoidanceisthebestmethodtoreduceliabilitybecausetheactivityisavoidedoreliminatedduetoforeseeableliabilityconcerns(Toglia,2009).Sometimesariskcannotbeavoided;therefore,othermethodssuchasriskcontrolcanbeimplemented.Riskcontroliswhenrestrictionsarecreatedtoreducethefrequencyorseverityofexposuretoliability.
Risktransfercouldinvolvemethodssuchaspurchasingliabilityinsuranceandtheuseofwaivers(Kaplan&Lee,2007).Unfortunatelyinstitutionandunioninsurancesmaynotbeenough,andsometimestheseexcludehazardousactivitiesundertakenby
STEMeducationemployees.Anindividualliabilityinsurancepolicy,suchastheoneofferedthroughtheITEEAisaddedprotectionintheeventthatlitigationisbroughtagainstanindividual.AnotheroptionisforSTEMeducationemployeestopurchasea“businesspursuits”endorsementorattacharidertotheirhomeownersinsurance,whichactsasprofessionalliabilitycoverage(Toglia,2009).Individualliabilityinsurancepoliciesareusuallyfairlyinexpensive,especiallyiftheyareeverneededtocoverlegalfeesassociatedwithalawsuit.Institutionsandfacultymembersshouldcheckwiththeirschooltoensurewhattypeofliabilityinsurancetheyhaveandwhatitcoverspriortotheeventofanaccident.Risktransfercouldalsoinvolvehiringaprivatecompanytomaintaintheequipmentinalaboratory.However,transferofriskisnotauniversaldefenseforallinstitutionsfacinglitigation(Toglia,2009).
Thelastmethodtoavoidliabilityisriskretentionbecausetheinsurancecostistoohigh,theexpectedlossesareminimal,ortheprobabilityofriskisextremelysmall.Institutionsandemployeesmustdecidetheprobabilityandcostofapotentiallawsuitbeforetheyapprovetheactivityandtakeanyprecautions.Intheeventthatalawsuitisbroughtagainstaninstitutionoremployee,therearecertaindefensesthatcanpreventthemfrombeingfoundliable.
SAFETY AND LIABILITY IN STEM EDUCATION 30
Example (Ochoa, 2007)
Section 504 and ADA Higher in Higher Education provide Education limited educational povisions
Secondary Education
IDEA in P-12 requires schools to
Elementary Education provide individualized instruction
Figure 1. Anticipating legal issues in education. Legal issues on the left can move up or down
the educational continuum in the triangle. The example on the right shows future implications to
provide more provisions for students with disabilities, which is slowly emerging from P-12 into
higher education. Adapted from personal communication with S. M. Janosik, September 13,
2012.
Figure 2. Addressing tort liability in STEM education.
Legal Issue
Tort Liability
Proactive (Risk Management)
Reactive (Defense)
Risk Avoidance
Risk Control
Risk Transfer
Risk Retention
Contributory Negligence
Comparative Negligence
Assumption of
Risk
Immunity
Figure 2. Addressing Tort Liability in STEM Education
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Thefourdefensesagainsttortlawsuitsare(a)contributorynegligence,(b)comparativenegligence,(c)assumptionofrisk,and(d)immunity(Figure2).Contributorynegligenceresultswhenthestudent’sownnegligentactioncontributedtohisorherinjury.Mostexpertsbelievethisdefenseisoflittlevaluewhenaminorisinvolved(Toglia,2009).Comparativenegligenceallowsjuriestofindthedegreetowhicheachpartyisnegligent,authorizingrecoverybasedonthedegreeoffault(Gathercoal&Stern,1987).Forexample,acourtcandeterminewhatpercentagethedefendantwasliableandaskthatpersontopayforapercentageofthedamages.Assumptionofriskiswhenaparticipantengagesinanactivitythatinvolvesariskandisdeemedtohaveassumedtherisksinherentintheactivity(Hall&Marsh,2003).Theassumptionofriskisdependentupontheage,maturity,experience,andfamiliaritywiththerisk,despiteanysignedwaiver.Assumptionofriskisusuallynotaviabledefenseinanegligenceclaimifanemployeefellbelowthestandardofcare(Gathercoal&Stern,1987).
Thelastdefenseisimmunity,whichwaspreviouslydiscussed.Itisimportanttonotethatimmunityvariesfromstatetostate(Kaplin&Lee,2007),thereforeemployeesandinstitutionsmustknowimmunitylawsspecifictotheirstate.Despitethedefensesdescribedpreviously,employeesshouldalwaysactwithintheirjobdescriptionandgoodfaithtoavoidbeingliableforanaccident.Thebestdefenseagainstatortisanticipatinglegalissuesbyreviewingcaselawandkeepingcurrentonanychangesinthelaw(Janosik,2005).
FUTURE IMPLICATIONSPresentingrecentcaselawtopre-service
teachers,in-serviceteachers,andotheremployeesmaybeachallenge.Simplypassingalongtheinformationmaynotassurethattheappropriateattentionandreflectionisgiventothecases.Usingacasestudypedagogicalapproachcanprovideemployeesthechancetoputtheirselvesintheclassroomsituation,discusstheoutcomes,andidentifythingstheywouldhavedonedifferentlybeforethefinalverdictisrevealed.Thiscasestudypedagogicalapproachisoftenimplementedinmedicineandlawschools.Inlaw,newdecisions,new
cases,andnewlawsarebuiltuponolddecisions(Herreid,1997).HarvardLawSchool(2012)usesacasestudyapproachtoeducatetheirstudents.Theyfoundthatthecasestudyteachingmethodengagesreadersinactivelearningbyputtingthemintheshoesofrealpeoplesolvingrealproblems.Theyalsofoundthatitisanappropriateteachingmethodforundergraduateandgraduateeducation,aswellasprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopsandcourses.Itelicitsdynamicinteractioninarealproblem-solvingscenario.
MostarticleshavebeenwrittenrecommendingsafepracticesforscienceandTEDfacultymemberstoavoidliabilityintheeventofanaccident.Gunter(2007),Haynie(2009),DeLuca&Haynie(2007),Roy(2009),andToglia(2009)allprovideanextensivelistofrecommendationstocreateasafelearningenvironmentinthelaboratory.ThenumberonerecommendationthatHaynie(2009)stressedistohaveallpersonswearsafetyglassesinthelaboratoryatalltimes.Togolia(2009)emphasizedimplementingsafetythroughoutthecurriculumandmodelingsafepractices,whichisalsomirroredinHaynie’sarticlestatingthatsafetyisaprocessthatiscontinuallyreinforced,notanevent.Roy(2009)describedsafetyactionsforstudentsandsafetyactionsforteachers.Hestressedtheimportanceoflabsafetytraining,astudentandparentlabsafetyacknowledgmentform,safetytests,MSDSsheets,keepingrecordofsafetylessonplans,keepingrecordofstudentattendanceduringsafetylessons,puttingsafetyissuesondepartmentmeetingagendas,displayingsafetysignsaroundthelab,andrecordingequipmentinspections.Allofthesestrategies,ifrecordedproperly,createapapertrailthatcouldbeusedinacourtoflawtoprovethefacultymemberandschooltooknumerousprecautionstopromoteasafelearningenvironment.Thesearticlesshouldbereferencedforprofessionaldevelopmentandsafetytrainingofpre-serviceandin-serviceteachers.
Fergusonetal.(2010)providedasetofsafetyrecommendationsforhighereducationfacultyslightlydifferentthanGunter(2007),Haynie(2009),DeLuca&Haynie(2007),Roy(2011),andToglia’s(2009)recommendationsgearedtowardP-12teachers.Amongthemanyrecommendations,Fergusonetal.(2010)
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recommendedworkingwiththeinstitution’sattorneystoestablishasafetyplanandconductworkshopstolearnthelaw.Anotherrecommendationtheymakeistoneveracceptanassignmentteachinginalaboratoryinwhichoneisnotprofessionallypreparedtoteach.WiththeshortageofqualifiedSTEMteacherstofillpositions,thisrecommendationmaybeonethatisoftenbreached.DespitethedifferencesinP-12andhighereducation,allofthearticlesprovidevalidrecommendationsthatshouldbefollowedatalllevels.Althoughemployeesandinstitutionscannotpreventbeingsued,theycantaketheproperprecautionstoprovethattheydideverythingtheycouldtoavoidforeseeabledanger.
CONCLUSIONSinceinstitutionsandfacultymembers
cannotpredictwhentheywillbesued,itiscriticaltostaycurrentondevelopingissuesviacaselaw.BridgingthegapbetweenP-12andhighereducationisessentialtoplanningforpotentiallegalissuescomingdownthepipeline(Janosik,2005).SafetyandliabilitywillcontinuetobeanissueforSTEMeducators.Thehands-ondesign-basedlearningnatureofthesecourseswillcarryincreasedliabilitycomparedtomanyothercontentareas.Thisdesign-basedlearningmethodologythatdefinesSTEMeducationmustremainthecruxofitspedagogicalpractices.
Keepingahands-ondesign-basedlearningpedagogywillrequireSTEMeducationteacherpreparationfacultytobetterpreparepre-serviceteachersandenhancein-serviceteachers’knowledgeofsafetyandliability.Instructingpre-serviceandin-serviceSTEMeducatorsandadministratorshowtofollowdevelopingcaselawcansavetime,money,andinjuriesthatresultfromaccidents(Janosik,2005).STEMeducatorsofalldisciplinesmustbeadequatelytrainedtosafelyimplementthetypesofcurriculumsthatnationalorganizationsandcouncilsarerequiringSTEMeducatorstouse.Safetytraininghasbeenanessentialpartofthetechnologyeducationcurriculumforyears.TEDeducationmustshareitsexpertiseinthisareawiththeotherSTEMeducationdisciplinestoassurecollaborationamongeducatorswhocansafelydeliveranauthenticcontextforproblemsolvingandtransferofknowledgethatmakesSTEMeducationunique(Wells,2010).
STEMeducatorscannotfearliabilityandsacrificetheadvantagesoflaboratoryexperiencesthatfosterinquiry-basedscienceandareessentialtostudentlearning(Zirkel&Barnes,2011).AsFergusonetal.(2010)suggested,“Tortlawischangingconstantly;itwouldbewiseforprofessorstostayabreastofthelawbyperiodicallyreadinglawreviewarticlesinscholarlyjournals”(p.8).Throughproperpreparationandprofessionaldevelopment,facultyandinstitutionscanusecaselawtostayinformedofthenewestlitigationandadapttheirpracticesaccordingly.Moderntechnologyisconstantlydevelopingimproveddevices(Storm,1993)withnewsafetyconsiderationstolearn.WithoutlosingthelaboratorylearningexperiencesintegraltoSTEMeducation,teachersinthesefieldsmustadapttomeetthesafetyrequirementsoffuturetechnologiesandtrainprofessionalstokeepstudentsafetythecenteroffocus.
The author wishes to acknowledge Dr. Steven M. Janosik and Dr. Jeremy V. Ernst of Virginia Tech for their assistance during the development of this article.
Tyler S. Love is a Ph.D. Student in the Integrative STEM Education program at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.
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1Disclaimer: This article is not intended to replace advice from competent legal counsel. It merely presents cases that recently occurred in STEM education classrooms and shows how institutions and individuals can be proactive in avoiding liability.
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A Review of the Impact of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 CertificationsBy Eli Kofi Aba and M. Affan Badar
AbstractThispaperpresentssomeofthemost
importantfindingsofstudiesoftheimpactofISO9000andISO14000certificationsonorganizations,basedonaliteraturereview.Thearticlediscussespotentialsynergisticadvantagesthatcanbederivedfromanintegratedquality-environmentsystemandqualitativebenefitsusingISO9000and14000certifications.Thisarticlealsodiscussessomeofthelimitationsofthecurrentliteratureandhowthesecanbeaddressedinthefutureresearch.
Keywords: ISO 9000, ISO 14000, quality systems, environmental systems
IntroductionGlobalcompetitiveness,anattributeof
today’seconomicscenario,hascompelledcompaniestoinvestmoreandmoreresourcesintoenhancingtheirmanagementefficiency.Thiseconomicandmarketglobalizationhasgivenrisetoanincreasinglyimportantroleofstandards.Guasch,Racine,Sánchez,andDiop(2007)andtheNationalResearchCouncil(NRC)(1995)explainedthepositiveeconomiceffectsofstandards:abilitytoexploitnetworkexternalities,increaseproductiveandinnovativeefficiency,decreaseimperfectinformation,diffuseinformation,reducecost,promotecompetition,increasecompatibility,promoteprocessmanagement,andfosterpublicwelfare.Thesebenefitsarenotmutuallyexclusive(NRC,1995).Guaschetal.(2007)statedthecontradictorynegativeeconomiceffectsofstandards:impositionofconstraintsoninnovationandthedecreaseofmarketcompetition.However,Guaschetal.(2007)concludedthatthepositiveeffectsofstandardsoutweighedthenegativeeffects.
Approximately60programsandawardsrewardfirmsforimprovingqualityglobally(Wilson,Walsh,&Needy,2003).ThemostfamousonesaretheMalcolmBaldrigeNationalQualityAward,SixSigma,ISO14000programs,andISO9000programs(Troy,1992).MostemployersintheUnitedStateswouldwanttoknowifthefinancialadvantagesassociated
withISO9000andISO14000registrationsoutweighthecostsassociatedwithobtainingthesecertifications.ISO9000andISO14000arenotstandardsinthemselves;theyaredescriptorsforseriesofstandardsasdescribedinthenextsections.ThemainstandardsareISO9001andISO14001,whichsetouttherequirementsforachievingefficientqualitymanagementandenvironmentalmanagementsystems,respectively(Morris,2004).Inthisarticle,ISO9000andISO14000referinterchangeablytoISO9001andISO14001,respectively.
ISO 9000TheInternationalOrganizationof
Standardization(ISO)wasformedinGeneva,Switzerland,in1946todevelopinternational,industrial,andqualitystandardsasamodelforqualityassurancestandardsindesign,development,production,installation,andservice.ISO9000isaseriesofqualitymanagementstandardspublishedbytheISOin1987afteraprocessofconsensushandledbyISOTechnicalCommittee176;thesearecodified,verifiable,andeasilyadaptable(Wilsonetal.,2003).ISO9000standardsaresoadaptablethatupdatesandchangeshavebeenmaderoughlyeverythreeyearssincetheiradoption.AccordingtoPantouvakisandDimas(2010),ISO9000helpscompaniesestablishqualityassurancesystems.Kartha(2004)stressedthatthesestandardsaregenericandnotonlylimitedtoproductsorservices,buttheyalsoapplytoallprocessesandcanbeemployedbymanufacturingandserviceorganizations.
Figure1showsthefourISO9000modelsforqualitysystems.TheISO9001modeldepictsallactivitiesfromresearching,designing,building,shipping,installing,andservicing.TheISO9002modelguaranteesproduction,installation,andservicing.TheISO9003modelisrestrictedtoinspectionandtesting.TheISO9004or9004-2modeldealswithcustomerinterfaceactivitiesandservicequalityimprovement(Todorov,1996).
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ISO9000helpsfirmswithinternalimprovementsandstrategicbenefitsthataccompanythequalitytool.Wilsonetal.(2003)pointedoutthattheinternalimprovementscompriseallbusinessactivitiesthatareassociatedwithaproductandshouldbecarriedoutinathree-partcontinuouscycleofplanning,control,anddocumentation.ISO(2011)statesacompanythatobtainsISO9000fulfillsacustomer’squalityrequirementsandapplicableregulatoryrequirements,whiletargetingenhancedcustomersatisfactionandachievementofcontinualimprovementofitsperformance.
ISO 14000ISO14000isadescriptorforaseriesof
environmentalmanagementstandardsthatwasdevelopedbasedonthesuccessoftheinternationalqualitystandardISO9000andinresponsetotheglobalconcernabouttheenvironment(Delmas&Montiel,2008;Morris,2004).AccordingtoSayre(1996),ISO14000isderivedsomewhatfromBritishStandard7750,whichincludesthespecificationforenvironmentalmanagementsystemsandisconsideredgloballyafoundationforsoundenvironmentalperformance.Furthermore,the1994AmericanNationalStandard,ANSI/ASQCE4mightenhancetheunderstanding
ofthecomponentsofISO14000.ISO(2011)pointedoutthatacompanythatobtainsISO14000certificationminimizestheharmfuleffectsthatoccurfromitsactivitiestotheenvironmentandaccomplishescontinualimprovementofitsenvironmentalperformance.
ISO9000andISO14000aresimilarintheirprocesses,buttheytargetdifferentelementsofacompany(qualityversustheenvironmentalimpactofoperations).DelmasandMontiel(2008)showedthatISO14000,tosomeextent,complementsthequalitymanagementsystembyestablishingasimilarsystemforthemanagementoftheenvironmentalimpact;however,thesestandardsalsoaddressslightlydifferentaudiences.ISO9000aimstoimprovequalityandfacilitatebusinessobjectives.ISO14000targetstheimprovementofenvironmentalperformanceandthefacilitationofrelationshipswithnotonlymarketactors,butalsononmarketactors,suchasregulatoryagenciesandnongovernmentalorganizations(NGOs).ThesuccessoftheimplementationofISO9000promotestheadoptionofISO14000.
Impact of ISO 9000McAdamandMcKeown(1999)mentioned
thatthemainbenefitofISO9000isthatitgives
Figure 1. The Four Models for Quality Management System (Todorov, 1996)
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risetoaneffectivequalitysystemthatassistsintheeliminationoferrors,whicheventuallysavesmoneyonreworkandscrap.TheyalsoclaimedthatISO9000offersmarketingbenefitsbecauseISO9000certificationindicatesaninternationallyrecognizedlevelofquality.AccordingtoLloyd’sRegisterQualityAssuranceLtd.(LRQA,1995),thefollowingreasonsarewhycompaniesimplementISO9000:pressurefromlargecustomers;reducefirsttimefailure;reducethecostsofcustomerclaims;getthingsrightthefirsttime;improveservicetothecustomersandincreasecompetitiveness;andmaintaincontractswithexistingcustomers.Chow-Chua,Goh,andBoonWan(2003)indicatedthatthetwomostcommonbenefitsoftheISO9000certificationareincreaseinproductivityandaccesstooverseasmarkets.
MostcompaniesplacegreatemphasisonISOcertificationsasamarketingtool.Burgess(1993)highlightedthatcertificationtendstoleadtoimprovedmarketing.However,Burgessalsoexplainedthatmostcompanies,irrespectiveoflocation,seeimprovedefficiencyasamajorbenefit.PorterandRayner(1991)alsomadethesameconclusions,thatbenefitsfromcertificationareassociatedwithmarketingfactors.Additionally,PorterandRayner(1991)mentionedthecorrelationbetweenthebenefitscompaniesderivefromcertificationandthereasonsfortheirpursuingcertification.OtherstudiesindicatethatbenefitsofISO9000canfaroutweighthecostsofregistering,butISO9000shouldnotbeseenasa“quickfix,butasalong-terminvestmentwhichrequirescommitmentandcontinuedeffort”(McAdam&McKeown,1999,p.232).
Quinn(1992)stressedthatconsiderableeffortismadebothintermsofmoneyandvaluablemanagementresourcestoreachthelevelnecessaryfortheachievementofISO9000qualitystandards.However,Quinnstatedthatqualityrewardsitselfmanytimesover“inrepeatordersfromsatisfiedcustomers,innewcustomers...reducedwaste...andingreateremployeejobsatisfaction”(McAdam&McKeown,1999,p.232).
ISO9000-associatedpapersfocusmainlyonthequalitativebenefitsassociatedwithcertification,suchasincreasesincommunicationandanunderstandingofhowthefirmworks.
Regardingthequantitativebenefits,thereislittlepublisheddocumentation.Corbett,Montes,Kirsch,andAlvarez-Gil(2002)quantitativelyshowedthatISOcertificationdoesresultinimprovedfinancialperformanceagainstcompetitors.PorterandRayner(1991)foundthatthecostofobtainingISO9000canusuallyberecoveredwithinthreeyearsthroughreductionsinqualitycosts.However,Corbettetal.(2002)indicatedthatcertificationdoesnotleadtosignificantinternalfinancialimprovements.Wilsonetal.(2003)concludedthattheeconomicsuccessreportedbycompaniesafterobtainingISO9000certificationmaybeexaggerated,becausethissuccesscannotbeguaranteed.Witcher(1994)claimedISO9000helpswiththepromotionoftheaccountabilityoftheprocessesbutdoesnotimpactallthebusinessactivitiesthatindicatethecapabilityoftheorganizationtosatisfycustomerrequirements.Taylor(1995)mentionedthatmostcompanieslackmeasurementofthefinancialimpactofISO9000andChow-Chuaetal.(2003)pointedoutthatveryfewstudiesactuallymeasurefinancialperformance.
Severalstudies(Corbett,Montes-Sancho,&Kirsch,2005;Easton&Jarrell,1998;Hendricks,&Singhal,1997)showedanimprovementinthefinancialresultsofcertifiedcompanies,whilesomeresearchers(Powell,1995;Samson&Terziovski,1999;Staw&Epstein2000;Terziovski,Samson,&Dow,1997)didnotfindbetterbusinessperformanceaftercertification.Otherresearchers(Feng,Terzioski,&Samson,2008;Heras,Casadesus,&Dick,2002;Martinez-Costa&Martinez-Lorente,2008)indicatedthenegativeeffectthatISO9000certificationhadoncompanybenefitsandprofits.CasadesusandGimenez(2000)mentionedcustomers’lowlevelsofsatisfactionwiththeimplementationofthestandards.Itshouldbenotedthattheabovestudiescollectedevidenceoverashortperiodoftime(threeyears)afterthecompanyobtainedcertification.Martinez-CostaandMartinez-Lorente’s(2008)findingsindicatedcompaniesobtainedconsiderablylessearningsandreturnsonassets(ROAs)duringthethreeyearsafterobtainingregistration.Fromthesefindings,theseauthorsalsoemphasizedthattheshort-termresultsforacompany’sfinancialperformancearenotasimpressiveasthelong-termresults.Thesecompaniesalsohada
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noticeableincreaseinoperationalcostsoverthesameperiod,butsalesandpersonnelexpenseswereintact.
Overall,accordingtoMcAdamandMcKeown(1999),theimpactofISO9000hasbeenverypositive—over50%(orfourtimesasmanycompanies)believeditsavesmoneyratherthancostsmoney,althoughsmallISO-certifiedcompaniesarelesslikelytostatethatISO9000savesmoneyand75%oftheservicesectorsaidthatISO9000costsmoney.QuaziandPadibjo(1998)statedthatcertifiedcompaniessawanimprovementintheirqualityandanincreaseintheirsalesandmarketshare.Haversjo(2000)indicatedthatanincreaseinsalescorrelateswithanincreaseintherateofreturnforcertifiedcompanies,asopposedtononcertifiedcompanies.Onareviewofthefinancialandscaleefficiencyof18Europeanportauthorities,somecertifiedandsomenot,PantouvakisandDimas(2010)revealedthatISOcertifiedportsarefinanciallymoreefficientthantheirnoncertifiedcompetitors.
Impact of ISO 14000AccordingtoSayre(1996),ISO14000
advocates“sustainabledevelopmentforeachandeverynationandsustainabledevelopmentforeachandeveryperson”(p.1).ThismeansafirmthatiscommittedtoISO14000ensuresactivities,products,andservicesaregoodforhumansandtheworld.Moreover,ISO14000fostersprinciplesandpracticesthataregermanetothecompetitiveadvantageofsoundenvironmentalperformance:resourceallocation,responsibilityandaccountability,andcontinuousperformanceevaluationforimprovement.
TheimplementationofeffectiveISO14000standardsbyafirmcanofferthesebenefits:protectinghumanhealthandtheenvironmentfromthepotentialimpactsofitsactivities,products,andservices;helpingwiththemaintenanceandimprovementofthequalityoftheenvironment;meetingcustomers’environmentalexpectations;maintaininggoodpublicandcommunityrelations;satisfyinginvestorcriteriaandimprovingaccesstocapital;providinginsuranceatareasonablecost;gaininganenhancedimageandmarketshare;fulfillingvendorcertificationcriteria;improvingcostcontrol;limitingliabilities;providingresource
conservation;supplyingeffectivetechnologydevelopmentandtransfer;andgivingconfidencetointerestedpartiesandshareholdersthatpolicies,objectives,andtargetsareconformedto:stressisonpreventionfirst,thenregularoccurrenceofreasonablecareandregulatorycompliance,andfinally,asystemdesignthatincludescontinualimprovement(Sayre,1996).AccordingtoJohnson(1997),ISO14000buildsasingleglobalmanagementsystemthatallowsforeffectivemanagementofenvironmentalresponsibilities.Italsoreducesliability,controlscosts,documentsafirm’scommitmenttogovernment,andfinallyfostersafirm’sconcernforthepublic.ISO14000hasthepotentialtoleadtocompetitiveadvantagesforbusinessesinareassuchasenhancingrawmaterialandstrengtheningsupplymanagement,inordertojustifyandmaketheadministrationoflegallybindingenvironmentallawssafer,aswellastoimprovecorporateimage(Renzi&Cappelli,2000).
Integration of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000
Theformationofonecohesivemanagementsystemcomesfromtwostand-alonesystems:qualitymanagementsystems(ISO9000)andenvironmentalmanagementsystems(ISO14000).TheintegrationofISO9000andISO14000isdependentontwoassumptions.First,firmsintegratingthetwostand-alonesystemsmusthaveinplaceamaturequalitymanagementsystemandwillemployISO14000toexpandit.Second,thequalitymanagementsysteminplaceconformstoISO9001,ISO9002,orQS-9000(Block&Marash,1999).TherearetwowaysofintegratingISO9000andISO14000.First,fullintegrationleadstoasinglesystemthataccommodatesalloftherequirementsimposedbyISO14000andISO9000.Theadvantagethisbringsisonesystemmanualinadditiontoonesetofprocedures,oneauditthatlooksatthecombinedrequirements,andonemanagementreview(Block&Marash,1999).Second,partialintegrationinvolveskeepingseparateISO9000andISO14000internalauditprocesses,registrationaudits,andsurveillanceaudits.Bydoingthis,twosystemmanualsarecreated:oneforISO9000andoneforISO14000.Undertheappropriatecircumstances,anISO14000systememploysproceduresfromtheISO9000system.SuchproceduresmaybemodifiedtoconformtoISO14000requirements;however,thismust
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bedonetoensurethattheISO9000systemisnotcompromised.Anoteworthyoutcomeofthepartialintegrationistwosetsofdocumentation,muchofwhichmaybeunnecessary(Block&Marash,1999).
Figure2displaysthefactorsthatinfluenceeitherfullintegrationorpartialintegration.Threefactorsthatarepartsofthecorporateculturetoconsiderareorganizationalstructure,managementstyle,andscopeofsystem.ThesefactorshelpinmakingthedecisioneithertofullyorpartiallyintegrateISO9000andISO14000.
Integrationofqualitymanagementandenvironmentalmanagementsystemsisadvantageousinmanyways.First,itbringstogetherqualityassuranceandtheenvironmentalstaff.Thishelpsthestafftoknowmoreabouteachsystem.Forexample,theintegrationhelpsthequalitymanagementstafftobemoreknowledgeableabouttheirfirm’senvironmentalimpactsandlegalobligations,whilethoseofthequalityenvironmentalstaffwouldbeawareofestablishedproceduresassociatedtodocumentcontrol,records,andsimilaractivities.Someresearchers(Corbett&Cutler,2000;Gupta
Figure 2. Flow Chart of Factors Impacting Full Versus Partial Integration (Block & Marash, 1999)
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&Sharma,1996;Kitazawa&Sarkis,2000;Klassen,2000)havearguedthatenvironmentalmanagersshouldbeintegratedwithqualitymanagersincompaniessotheycantakeadvantageoftheirpossiblesynergies.
AccordingtoBlockandMarash(1999),advantagesofstand-aloneISO9000standardsaretwofold.First,thesestandardsofferbothaframeworkforfirmsthatwanttoimplementeffectivequalitymanagementsystemsandrequirementsagainstwhichcompaniescanevaluatethequalitymanagementsystemsoftheirsuppliers.Second,suppliersemployedthesestandardstofulfillqualitymanagementrequirementsimposedbytheircustomers.Stand-aloneISO14000improvesafirm’senvironmentalperformancethroughpreventionofpollutionproblems.Otherrelatedbenefitsincludecostsavingsandimprovedrelationswithstateenvironmentalagencies(Block&Marash,1999).
IntegrationofISO14000intoanexistingISO9000hassignificantadvantages.First,theemploymentofexistingISO9000procedurestofulfillISO14000requirementsensuresconsistencyandeliminatesredundancybecausebothstandardsrequirealmostthesamenumberofprocedures.Second,usingexistingISO9000proceduresalsohelpstocreatesignificantcostsavingsindevelopingandimplementingISO14000(Block&Marash,1999).Third,introducingISO14000isseenasanormalwayofdoingbusiness,sothatISO14000isnolongerseenastheprimaryresponsibilityoftheenvironmentaldepartment.Operationally,afullyintegratedsystemproducesanumbrellaofprogramsthataccommodatesallfacetsofbusiness,rangingfromproductqualityandcustomerservicetomaintainingoperationsinasafeandenvironmentallyacceptableway.RenziandCappelli(2000)pointedoutthatthefollowingadvantagesarederivedfromintegratedquality-environmentsystem:“costreduction,becauseitimprovesdataandpersonnelmanagement;homogeneityinmanagementmethodologies;andadecreaseinthebulkofcompanypapersandthecreationofcommonformsthatcanbemoreeasilyusedbyseveraloperators”(p.2).
Limitations of the Current LiteratureIntheliteraturereviewedforthisarticle,
authorshavediscussedtheadvantagesofbothISO9000andISO14000.However,thesestudiesarelimitedtoqualitativeresearchthatoccurredduringashorttimeframe.
Arbuckle’s(2004)resultsshowedastatisticallysignificantchangeintotalassetsandreturnonassetsforaperiodoftwoyearsafterselectedcompanieswerecertifiedinISO9000.However,Arbuckle’scontrolgroupswerelimited,becausetheresearcherdidnotcomparewithnon-ISO-certifiedcompaniestodetermineifthechangesintotalassetsorreturnonassetsweretheresultofonlyISOcertificationsorotherpoliticalandeconomicfactors.BasedonMartinez-CostaandMartinez-Lorente’s(2008)findings,short-termresultsforacompany’sfinancialperformancearenotasimpressiveasthelong-termones;therefore,thesefindingsimplythatalongertimeframeisneededtoprovethatArbuckle’sresultswouldhold.However,Wayhan,Kirche,andKhumawala(2002)indicatedthatISO9000certificationhasaverylimitedimpactonfinancialperformance,asmeasuredbyreturnonassets;however,thiseffectdissipatesquicklyovertime.RenziandCappelli(2000)pointedouttheadvantages,whicharederivedfromanintegratedquality-environmentsystem,makeacompanyverycompetitive.ThereisaneedformorequantitativeresearchwithalongertimeframeonthefinancialbenefitsoftheintegrationofISO9000andISO14000.
ConclusionISO9000andISO14000programshave
shownwell-establishednetadvantagesthatweredescribedundertheirimpactsinthisarticle.Additionalbenefitscanbederivedfromtheirintegration.However,mostofthecurrentstudiesarelimitedtoqualitativefindingsandashorttimeframe.Therefore,morequantitativestudieswithlongertimeframesareneededtosubstantiatethebenefitsofbothstand-alonecertificationsandtheintegrationofthetwocertifications.Also,ISOcertifiedcompaniesmustbecomparedwithnoncertifiedcompaniestodetermineifthebenefitsinfinancialperformanceindicatorsaretheresultofonlyISO
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certificationsorotherpoliticalandeconomicfactors.Inthefuture,theauthorsplantoconductresearchtoaddresstheseissues.
Eli Kofi Aba recived a PhD degree in technology management from Indiana State University (ISU), Terre Haute in 2013 and is working as a lecturer at ISU
Dr. M. Affan Badar is a Professor and Chair of the Applied Engineering & Technology Management Department at Indiana State University, Terre Haute. He is a member of the Mu Chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau.
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Heras,I.,Casadesus,M.,&Dick,G.P.M.(2002).ISO9000certificationandthebottomline:AcomparativestudyoftheprofitabilityofBasqueregioncompanies.Managerial Auditing Journal,17(1),72-78.
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Reducing the Bullwhip Effect in the Supply Chain: A Study of Different Ordering StrategiesBy M. Affan Badar, Shyamsundarreddy Sammidi, and Leslie Gardner
AbstractProfitabilityofacompanycanbeaffected
bythecostsassociatedwithbacklogsandlargeinventoriesduetothebullwhipeffectinthesupplychain.Thisworkaimstofindanorderingstrategythatispracticalandcanminimizethebullwhipeffect.Fivestrategieswithdifferentlevelsofinformationaboutinventoryandcomponentsalongthesupplylinehavebeencomparedwiththejustintime(JIT)pullstrategyandtheusageofpointofsale(POS)data.ThisworkusesthebeergamespreadsheetsimulationdevelopedbyAdams,Flatto,andGardner(2008).Thesimulationshowsmaterialandinformationflowinafour-echelonsupplychain.Expressionsforcostincurredandprofitobtainedbyeachplayer(manufacturer,distributor,wholesaler,andretailer)havebeendeveloped.Graphsforcostandprofitwithtimeareplotted.ThestrategyusingPOSdataisfoundtobethebest,andthepullstrategytobethenextbest.However,bothrequirediscipline.Thisstudyshowsthatputtinginformationabouttheinventorylevelsandcomponentsofthesupplylineintoanorderingstrategycanalsominimizethebullwhipeffect.
Keywords: Supply chain, bullwhip effect, ordering strategy, beer game, inventory
Introduction
Asupplychainintegrates,coordinates,andcontrolsthemovementofgoodsandmaterialsfromasuppliertoacustomertothefinalconsumer,whichthereforeinvolvesactivitieslikebuying,making,moving,andselling(Emmett,2005).Fast-risingsupplychainrisksarepoorlyunderstoodandmanagedbymostcompanies,accordingtotheWorldEconomicForum(Ladbury,2008).Profitisthemaingoalofanycommercialorganization.Toobtainprofitoneshouldreducethecostsincurredbymanufacturingtheproducteconomicallyandreducethesupplychaincosts.Supplychaincostsinvolveinventorycosts,whichhaveaconsiderableshareindeterminingthecostoftheproduct.Astheeconomychanges,ascompetitionbecomesmoreglobal,itisnolongercompany
versuscompany,butitissupplychainversussupplychain(Henkoff,1994).
Customerorderplaysavitalroleinthesupplychain;itactuallytriggersallthesupplychainactivities.Supplychainactivitiesbeginwithacustomerorderandendwhenasatisfiedcustomerhaspaidforthepurchase(Chopra&Meindl,2004).Itshouldbenotedthatinformationflowsinthesupplychainarealsoasimportantasmaterialflows.Thewholesupplychainprocessiskeptmovingbyinformationflowfromretailertowholesaler,wholesalertodistributor,anddistributortomanufacturer.Effectivesupplychainmanagementmaintainssatisfiedcustomers,growthincompanymarketshare,constantrevenuegrowth,capabilitytofundcontinuousinnovation,andcapitalinvestmentformorevalue.
AccordingtoSimchi-Levi,Kaminskyand
Simchi-Levi(2007)effectivesupplychainmanagementreducesthecostsincurredandthusincreasestheprofit.Itisveryimportanttoanalyzedemandandorderinsuchawaythatitreducesthecostsincurred.Leadtimeisacriticalcomponentinmakinginventorydecisions.Informationdelaysarealsooneofthemaincomponentsoftotalleadtime,soelectronicdatainterchangemayreducethedelaysandofferbenefitsthroughreductioninboththesizeandvariabilityofordersplaced(Torres&Moran,2006).
Despitetheundoubtedbenefitsoftheleanmanufacturingandsupplychainrevolutions,supplychaininstabilitystillcontinues(oftendescribedasbullwhipeffect),whichharmsfirms,consumers,andtheeconomythroughexcessiveinventoriesandpoorcustomerservice(Torres&Moran,2006).Thebullwhipeffectreferstothephenomenonwheredemandvariabilityamplifiesasonemovesupstreaminasupplychain,fromconsumptiontosupplypoints(fromretailertomanufacturer)(Lee,Padmanabhan,&Whang,1997a).Itisanimportantdemandandsupplycoordinationproblemthataffectsnumerousorganizations,anditisamajor
53phenomenoninthebeergamemodel(Kumar,Chandra,&Seppanen,2007).Becauseofthebullwhipeffect,thevariabilityincreasesateachlevelofasupplychainasonemovefromcustomersalestoproduction(Chen,Drezner,Ryan,&Simchi-Levi,2000).Leeetal.(1997a)listsdemandsignalprocessing,orderbatching,pricefluctuations,andshortagegamingasthecausesforbullwhipeffect.BhattacharyaandBandyopadhyay(2011)presentedagoodreviewofthecausesofbullwhipeffect.AccordingtoChen(1999)asimpleforecastformula,suchasexponentialsmoothingorasimplemovingaveragemethodcanleadtobullwhipbehaviorincertainsupplychainsettings.
Thisworkisfocusedtowardsupplychaincostsbyminimizingthebullwhipeffect.Avarietyofremediesforthebullwhipeffecthavebeenproposed.Forthebeergame,Sterman(1989)modeledtheorderingbehaviorofplayersintermsofananchoringandadjustmentheuristic.Heusedsimulationtocalculatetheparametersthatgivetheminimumtotalcostsforthegame.ThebeergamewasdevelopedbySloan’sSystemDynamicsGroupintheearly1960satMIT.Ithasbeenplayedallovertheworldbythousandsofpeoplerangingfromhighschoolstudentstochiefexecutiveofficersandgovernmentofficials(Sterman,1992).Althoughthismodelisusefulforsimulationstudiesanddevelopmentoftheory,itprobablyhaslimitedapplicationfor“realworld”practitionerslookingforeffectivedecisionrules.Industryexpertsandanalystshavecitedtworecentinnovations:theInternetandradiofrequencyidentification(RFID),whichtcanimprovesupplychainperformancebydampeningthebull-whipeffect(Lee,Padmanabhan,&Whang,2004).
OneofthemostpopularremediesiscompletevisibilityofPOSorderdatathroughoutthesupplychain.However,CrosonandDonohue(2003)conductedanexperimenttoevaluatewhetherhumansactuallyusePOSdatainthebeergamewhensuchdatawasavailable.Interestinglytheyfoundthathumanswerestillinclinedtooverorder,althoughnotasmuchaswhenPOSdatawasnotavailable.Thus,disciplinedhumanbehaviorisrequiredaswellasvisibleinformation.AnotherpotentialremedyisthepullsystemofJITmanufacturing.Reducingvariabilityinallaspectsofamanufacturing
systemisoneoftheprinciplesofJITandleanmanufacturingforeliminatingwasteandcost.JITutilizesapullsysteminwhichmaterialisproducedonlywhenrequestedandmovedtowhereitisneeded.JITpartnershipsthroughoutasupplychainoccurwhensuppliersandpurchasersworktogethertoremovewaste,drivedowncosts,andextendJITtothesupplychain(Heizer&Render,2001).Thiscaninvolveinformationsharingofforecastsasinpointofsale(POS)strategiesorcaninvolveextendingthepullsystemtothesupplychain.
ThisstudyusessimulationsdevelopedinMicrosoftExcelbyAdamsetal.(2008)toassesstheimpactofusingsimpleadjustmentheuristicsbasedoninformationaboutinventorylevels(inventorylessbacklog),ordersinmaildelays,materialsinshippingdelays,andtheimmediatelyupstreamsupplier’sbacklogtoremedythedemandforecastupdatingthecauseofthebullwhipeffectinafour-echelonsupplychainasrepresentedbythebeergame.TheobjectiveistodetermineifprovidingallinformationaboutinventorylevelsandcomponentsalongthesupplylineintoanorderingstrategyissuperiortotheJITpullstrategyandtheuseofPOSdata.Equationsforcostandprofitobtainedbyeachplayerinthesupplychain(manufacturer,distributor,wholesaler,andretailer)havebeendetermined.Thestudyassumesthatthemanufacturersatisfiesthedistributor’sorderandreplenishesfromlimitlesssupplyofrawmaterial,whilethedistributorsuppliestheproductstowholesaler,whointurnsatisfiesthedemandoftheretailer.Thecustomerordersareplacedwiththeretailer.
Background
Leeetal.(2004)mentionedthatForresterwasthefirstpersonwhodocumentedthephenomenonofbullwhipeffect,butthetermwasnotcoinedbyhim.AsperO’Donnell,Maguire,McIvorandHumphreys(2006),Forresterstudiedthedynamicbehaviorofsimplelinearsupplychainsandpresentedapracticaldemonstrationofhowvarioustypesofbusinesspolicycreatedisturbance,andhestatedthatrandommeaninglesssalesfluctuationscouldbeconvertedbythesystemintoannualorseasonalproductioncycles.
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Theterm“bullwhipeffect”wascoinedbyProcter&GamblewhenresearchersstudiedthedemandfluctuationsforPampers.Ifthereisnoproperchannelofinformationpassagebetweentheplayersinasupplychain(retailers,wholesalers,distributorsandmanufacturers),thisleadstoinefficiencylikeexcessiveinventories,qualityproblems,higherrawmaterialcosts,overtimeexpenses,andshippingcosts(Leeetal.1997a,b;Chenetal.2000).AccordingtoCaoandSiau(1999)achangeindemandisamplifiedasitpassesbetweenmembersinthesupplychain.
Classicmanagementtechniquesarewidelyemployedtoreducethebullwhipeffectinsupplychains.IntheJITsystem,materialsaremovedwhenrequired,andthesuppliersandpurchasersworktogethertoeliminatewastereducingthecostofproduction(Heizer&Render,2001).CrosonandDonohue(2003)examinedtheimpactthatPOSdatasharinghadonorderingdecisionsinamulti-echelonsupplychain.Inaweb-basedsimulationforsupplychainmanagementemployingelectronicdatainterchangesimilartoPOSdata,MachucaandBarajas(2004)foundsignificantreductionsinthebullwhipeffectandsupplychaininventorycosts.Vendor-managedinventory(VMI)isanotherexcellentmethodforreducingthebullwhipeffect,andithasbeenemployedbymanyinternationalcompanies,suchasProcter&GambleandWal-Mart,buttheproblemassociatedwiththismethodisthesharingofinformationbetweenretailerandfactory(Leeetal.1997a,b).
Warburton,HodgsonandKim(2004)developedequationstocomputetheorderanddemandtonullifythebullwhipeffectusingageneralizedorder-up-to(OUT)policy.Controltheoryisanotherpopularapproachtoreducethebullwhipeffect.Lin,Wong,Jang,Shieh,andChu(2004)appliedz-transformstoreducethebullwhipeffect,whereasDejonckheere,Disney,Lambrecht,andTowill(2003)examinedthebullwhipeffectbyusingtransferfunctionanalysis.Manyotherresearchersusedcomputationalintelligencetechniquessuchasfuzzylogic,artificialneuralnetworks,andgeneticalgorithmstoreducethebullwhipeffect(O’Donnelletal.2006).CarlssonandFuller(2001)employedfuzzylogic.Goldberg(1989),
Vonk,Jain,andJohnson(1997)andMooreandDeMaagd(2005)usedgeneticalgorithms.SarodeandKhodke(2009)developedamulti-attributedecision-makingtechnique:analytichierarchyprocess(AHP).
Acorrectmeasurementisanessentialstarttoinvestigatingproblemscausedbydemandamplificationandtoassesswhichmeasurescanbetakentoreducethisamplification.FransooandWouters(2000)explainedthreeissuesinmeasuringthebullwhipeffect:first,thesequenceofaggregationofdemanddata,secondfilteringoutthevariouscausesofthebullwhipeffect,andlasttheinconsistencyindemand.Operationalresearchersalsohaveworkedonfindingwaystoreducethebullwhipeffect.Forinstance,Adelson(1966)studiedsimplesupplychainsystems,butthemethodologyrequiredcomplexmathematicsforsolvingtheproblem(Towill,Zhou,&Disney,2007).
Simulationalsohasbeenusedinsupplychainmanagementtostudythebullwhipeffect.Thebeergameisahands-onsimulationthatdemonstratesmaterialandinformationflowsinasupplychain.Asmentionedpreviously,itwasdevelopedbytheSystemsDynamicGroupofSloanschoolofManagementattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.Usingthebeergame,Sterman(1989)demonstratedthattheplayerssystematicallymisinterpretfeedbackandnonlinearities,andunderestimatethedelaysbetweenactionandresponse,whichleadstobaddecisionmakingandcausesproblemsinthebehaviorofthesupplychain(Torres&Moran,2006).Jacobs’(2000)Internetversionofthebeergameisbriefindescriptionandislimitedsolelytoitscharacteristicsandhowthatgameisplayed.MachucaandBarajas’(2004)web-basedsimulationusinganelectronicdatainterchangeresultedinsignificantreductionsinthebullwhipeffectandsupplychaininventorycosts.MoyauxandMcBurney(2006)usedsomekindsofspeculatorsinagent-basedsimulationsandconcludedthatthesespeculatorscandecreasethepricefluctuationscausedbythebullwhipeffect.However,thesespeculatorsarenotcostefficientandpricebubblesmayoccur,particularlyiftoomanyspeculatorsareused.
Intheirstudy,KaminskyandSimchi-Levi(1998)showedthebullwhipeffect,and
55theyexplainedtheeffectofpassingfromadecentralizedstructuretoacentralizedstructureandalsoobservedtheeffectsofshorteningtheleadtime.Steckel,Gupta,andBanerji(2004)examinedhowchangesinorderanddeliverycycles,sharedPOSdata,andpatternsofconsumerdemandaffectedthedynamicsinachannelandtherebytheseverityofthebullwhipeffect.
CangeloseandDill(1965)consideredtheproblemofthebullwhipeffectfromanorganizationallearningperspective.Jung,Ahn,Ahn,andRhee(1999)analyzedtheimpactsofbuyers’orderbatchinghadonthesupplierdemandcorrelationandcapacityutilizationinasimplebranchingsupplychaininvolvingtwobuyerswhosedemandsarecorrelated;theyfoundthatincreaseinthesizeoftheorderlotmitigatesthecorrelationofpurchaseorders.Cachon&Lariviere(1999)investigatedtheperformanceofbalancedorderingpoliciesinasupplychainmodelwithmultipleretailersandsummarizedthatthebullwhipeffectwoulddependontheordercycleandbatchsize.Theyrecommendedbalancedorderingwithsmallbatchsizeandalongorderintervaltoreducethesuppliers’demandvariance.
Thissectionhassummarizedareviewofliteratureonthebullwhipeffect.ResearchershaveemployedJITandPOSdata,mathematicaltechniques,algorithms,simulation,andbalancingoforderanddeliverycyclesinordertoreducethebullwhipeffect.
The Beer GameThebeergameisplayedasaboardgame
withfourplayers:aretailer,awholesaler,adistributor,andafactory(Adamsetal.,2008).Customerordersareplacedwiththeretailerwho
fillsthemtotheextentpossible.Theretailerthenordersfromthewholesalertoreplenishhis/herstock.Similarlythewholesalerfillsretailerordersandreplenishesfromthedistributorwhointurnfillswholesalerordersandreplenishesfromthefactory.Thefactoryfillsdistributorordersandreplenishesfromalimitlesssupplyofrawmaterial.Allplayerskeeprecordsofbacklogs,orunfilledorders,andattempttofillthemassoonaspossible.Shippingdelaysoftwoweeks(orperiods)separateeachplayer,asdoinformationdelaysoftwoperiods.Initially,allfourplayershavetwelveunitsofinventory,andfourunitsofinventoryareoneachsquarerepresentingashippingdelay.Similarly,alloftheordersintheinformationpipelineatthestartofthegameareforfourunits.ThegameboardisshowninFigure1.
Theobjectiveofthegameistofillallcustomerorderswithoutcarryingexcessiveinventoriesorhavingexcessivebacklogs.Theplayersmustfillbacklogseventually.Forthefirstseveralperiodsofthegame,thecustomerordersareatfourunitseachperiod.Atsomepoint,thecustomerordersjumptoeightunitsandremainatthatlevelfortherestofthegame.Theonlystochasticpartofthebeergameisthehumanbehaviorinplacingordersbuthumanbehaviorrarelyfailstoproducethebullwhipeffect.Thegamerunsfor50periodsoruntiltheplayersbecomefrustratedwithexcessivebacklogsandinventoriesandthepointaboutthebullwhipeffecthasbeenmade.
Methodology Theobjectiveofthisworkistofind
whetherusinginformationaboutinventorylevelsandcomponentsofthesupplylineintoanorderingstrategyissuperiortotheJITpullstrategyandtheuseofPOSdataatalllevels
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RETAIL oooooo oooooo
WHLSLR oooooo oooooo
DIST’R oooooo oooooo
FACT’RY oooooo oooooo
Shipping Delay oooo
Shipping Delay oooo
Shipping Delay oooo
Shipping Delay oooo
Shipping Delay oooo
Shipping Delay oooo
Prod’n Delay oooo
Raw Mat’l
Cust Order Order
Plac’d Inc’g Order
Order Plac’d
Inc’g Order
Order Plac’d
Inc’g Order
Prod Order
Figure 1: The Initial Setup for the Board Game Version of the Beer Game (taken from Adams et al. 2008)
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ofsupplychain.Toexplorethis,costincurredandprofitobtainedbyeachmemberinafour-echelonsupplychain(manufacturer,distributor,wholesaler,andretailer)arecomputed.Forfindingthecostsincurredandprofitobtained,datafromspreadsheetbeergamesimulationdevelopedbyAdamsetal.(2008)isused.Aftercalculatingcostsandprofitforeachplayerofthesupplychain,graphsareplottedbetweencostversusweek(period)andprofitversusweekforsevendifferentorderingstrategies.ThesegraphshavealsobeenplottedfordifferentleadtimesbySammidi(2008);however,thispaperusestheleadtimeoftwoperiods.
Sterman(1989)developedanexpressionfororderingbehaviorinthebeergameintermsofadjustmentheuristicthatis,
IO_t= L ̂_t+ AS_t+ASL_t
Where:• IO_t-Orderrateintimeperiodt,• L̂_-Expecteddemandinperiodt,• AS_-Differencebetweenthedesired
stockandactualstockinperiodt,and• ASL -Differencebetweenthedesired
andactualsupplylineintimeperiodt.
TheanchoringheuristicL̂_tisoftendeterminedusingexponentialsmoothingasfollows:
L ̂_t= θL_(t-1)+ (1-θ)L ̂_(t-1)
Where L_(t-1isthedemandforthepreviousperiod,̂_(t-1istheforecastvalueofdemandforpreviousperiod,θisaparametervaryingbetween0and1.
TheadjustmentforstockAS_tisthedifferencebetweenthedesiredstockS*andtheactualstockS_tmultipliedbyaparameterα_s (0≤αS¬≤1)specifyingthefractionofthedifferenceorderedeachperiod.
AS_t=α_s(S^*-S_t)
TheadjustmentforsupplylineisthedifferencebetweendesiredsupplylineSL^ andtheactualsupplylinemultipliedbyaparameterα_SLspecifyingthefractionofthedifferenceorderedeachperiod.
ASL_t=α_SL(SL^*_t-SL_t)
Thesupplylineconsistsofordersinmaildelays,theimmediatelyupstreamsupplier’sbacklog,andthematerialinshippingdelays(Adamsetal.,2008).Wecanhavefororders:0≤αS¬LO≤ ;formaterial:0≤αSLM¬≤1;andforupstreambacklog0≤αS¬LB≤ .
Thecostincurredbyeachmemberiscalculatedbyfindingthevariouscostsinvolved.Thecostincludesthepriceoftheproduct,orderingcost,holdingcostsorinventorycost,andthebacklogcost.Thebacklogcostisthecost,whichthesuppliermustpayasapenaltyifhe/shecannotdelivertheproductwithinthetimeactuallyagreedupon.Thebacklogcostperitemiscomputedbyassumingittobedoublethecostoftheinventoryperitem(Nienhaus,Zeigenbein,&Schoensleben,2006).Thus,
Totalcost=(Costperitem*numberofitemsordered)+Orderingcost+Inventorycost(2*Inventorycostperitem*numberofbacklogitems)
Theorderingcostperorderandinventorycostperitemareassumedtobe$100and$0.5,respectivelyforeachmemberinthefour-echelonsupplychain.Hence,
Totalcost=Priceperitem*numberofitemsordered+100+0.5*numberofitemsinInventory+2*0.5*numberofbacklogitems.
Thevalueofpriceperitemincreasesfrommanufacturertoretailer.Thepriceperitemforthemanufacturerisassumedtobe$10,andthenitisincreasedby2.5times$10whenitcomestothedistributorandthen2.5timesthepriceofthedistributorforthewholesalerandthenagain2.5timesthepriceofthewholesalerfortheretailer.Thus,thepriceperitemfordistributoris$25,forwholesaleritis$62.5andfortheretaileritis$156.25.Thenumberofitemsordered,thenumberofitemsininventory,andthebacklogsvalueshavebeentakenfromthesimulationdevelopedbyAdamsetal.(2008).Afterfindingthetotalcostincurredforeachmember,therevenueofeachmemberofthesupplychainiscalculated.Therevenueforthemanufactureristhepricethatthedistributorpaysfortheproduct;
𝐿𝐿! = 𝜃𝜃𝐿𝐿!!! + (1− 𝜃𝜃)𝐿𝐿!!!
𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆! = 𝛼𝛼!(𝑆𝑆∗ − 𝑆𝑆!)
𝐼𝐼𝑂𝑂! 𝐿𝐿! 𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆!
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿! 𝐼𝐼𝑂𝑂! = 𝐿𝐿! + 𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆! +
𝐿𝐿!!! 𝐿𝐿!!!
𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆! 𝑆𝑆∗ 𝛼𝛼! 𝑆𝑆!
𝑆𝑆𝐿𝐿∗ 𝛼𝛼!"
0 ≤ αSLO ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLM ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLB ≤ 1
(0 ≤ αS ≤ 1)
0 ≤ αSLO ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLM ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLB ≤ 1
(0 ≤ αS ≤ 1)
0 ≤ αSLO ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLM ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLB ≤ 1
(0 ≤ αS ≤ 1)
0 ≤ αSLO ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLM ≤ 1
0 ≤ αSLB ≤ 1
(0 ≤ αS ≤ 1)
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿! = 𝛼𝛼!"(𝑆𝑆𝐿𝐿∗! − 𝑆𝑆𝐿𝐿! =𝛼𝛼!"(𝑆𝑆𝐿𝐿∗!−
𝐿𝐿!
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿!
57
therevenueforthedistributoristhepricethatthewholesalerpaysfortheproduct;andtherevenueforthewholesaleristhepricethattheretailerpaysfortheproduct.
Profitofeachmemberiscalculatedbydeductingtheircostincurredfromtheirrevenueobtained,andgraphsaredevelopedforsevendifferentcases.Sammidi(2008)containsthedetailedwork.ThesevencasesareshowninTable1.
Amongthesevencasesmentioned,thefirstfivecasesdemonstratethereductioninbullwhipeffectasmoreandmoreinformationisinterpretedintothesupplyline.Thefirstcaseusesananchoringheuristicoforderingwhatwasordered,whichisequivalenttothepullsystem,butwithastockadjustmentofthefulldifferencebetweentheidealstockof12andtheinventorylevel,thatis,12–(inventory–backlog).Thiscasedisplaysthelargestbullwhip
Case tL̂ ASt ASLt
1 θ =1,
(Pull)
αS =1, (12–(inv–
bklg)) None
2 Pull 12 – (inv – bklg) αSLO =1, αSLM =0, αSLB =0, (Less orders)
3 Pull 12 – (inv – bklg) αSLO =0, αSLM =1, αSLB =0, (Less material)
4 Pull 12 – (inv – bklg) αSLO =1, αSLM =1, αSLB =0, (Less material and orders)
5 Pull 12 – (inv – bklg) αSLO =1, αSLM =1, αSLB =1, (Less material, orders, and
upstream supplier’s backlog)
6 Pull αS =0, None None
7 POS Not applicable Not applicable
Table 1. Anchoring and Adjustment Cases (Adams et al. 2008)
effectasshowninFigures2-3ofallcasesstudied.Cases2–5usethesameanchoringandstockadjustmentheuristicsofCase1,buttheyhavesupplylineadjustmentheuristicsthatcompensateformoreandmoreofthesupplyline(ordersinmaildelays,materialinshippingdelays,andimmediateupstreamsupplier’sbacklog).Asmoreandmoreofthesupplylineiscompensated,thebullwhipeffectdiminishesinCases2–4untilitiscompletelyeliminatedinCase5,whentheentiresupplylineconsistingofthesumoftheordersinmaildelays,theimmediateupstreamsupplier’sbacklog,andthematerialinshippingdelaysisaccountedfor.
ThispapershowsgraphsinFigures2–6forcostandprofitversusperiod(week)forfourcaseswithleadtimeoftwoperiods.Becauseprofitisrevenueminuscost,theprofitgraphtakesintoconsiderationtheeffectoncost.Hence,thereisnoneedtodisplaythecostversusweekgraphforeachofthecases.Cost
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andprofitforCase1aredisplayedinFigures2and3.Case1illustratesthemaximumbullwhipeffectwhennosupplychainlineinformationisprovided.Case5(Figure4),Case6(Figure5),andCase7(Figure6)showthatthebullwhipeffectiseliminated.InCase5,adjustmentsforsupplychainintermsoforderdelay,materialinshippingdelay,andupstreambackloghavebeentakenintoaccount.Case6ispullstrategy,whichdoesnotadjustforeitherstockorsupply
line.Itdoesnotshowanybullwhipbutproducesasteady-stateerror.Thiserrorisbetterthanthebullwhipeffect.AlsothesteadyerrorofCase6isslightlybetterthanthatofCase5.InCase7thereiscompleteexchangeofdatabetweenthemembersofthesupplychain,whicheliminatesthebullwhipeffect.However,Case6andCase7bothrequiredisciplineandattimesarenoteasyforcompaniestofollow.
Figure 2. Case 1: Cost for Maximum Bullwhip Effect without Supply Line Information
Figure 3. Case 1: Profit for Maximum Bullwhip Effect without Supply Line Information
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Figure 4. Case 5: Elimination of Bullwhip Effect on Profit by Compensation for Material, Orders, and Upstream Supplier’s Backlog in the Supply Line
Figure 5. Case 6: Elimination of Bullwhip Effect on Profit by Pull Strategy
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Figure 6. Case 7: POS Eliminates Bullwhip Effect and Backlog
ConclusionThisstudyisanextensionoftheworkdone
byAdamsetal.(2008),anditusesthebeergamespreadsheetsimulationdevelopedbythem.Thebeergame(Sterman,1992),showsinformationandmaterialflowinafour-echelonsupplychain.Anattempthasbeenmadeinthecurrentworktofindanorderingstrategythatiseasytoemployandcanminimizethebullwhipeffect.Fivestrategies(Case1throughCase5)withdifferentlevelsofinformationaboutinventoryandcomponentsalongthesupplylinehavebeencomparedwiththeJITpullstrategy(Case6)andtheusageofPOSdata(Case7).Thecostincurredandprofitobtainedbyeachplayer(manufacturer,distributor,wholesaler,andretailer)ofthesupplychainforthesevenorderingstrategieshavebeendetermined.Graphsforcostandprofitversustimehavebeenplotted.
Fromthegraphsitisevidentthatasmore
andmoreinformationisprovidedfortheinventoryandcomponentsalongthesupplylinefromCase1throughCase5,thebullwhipeffectisreduced.Case1usesananchoringheuristicoforderingwhatwasorderedandastockadjustmenttocompensateforthedifferencebetweentheidealstockandtheinventorylevel.Thiscaseshowsthelargestbullwhipeffect.Cases2–5usethesameanchoringandstock
adjustmentheuristicsofCase1,buthavesupplylineadjustmentheuristicsthatcompensateformoreandmoreofthesupplyline.Asmoreandmoreofthesupplylineiscompensated,thebullwhipeffectdiminishesinCases2–4untilitiscompletelyeliminatedinCase5,whentheentiresupplylineconsistingofthesumoftheordersinmaildelays,theimmediateupstreamsupplier’sbacklog,andthematerialinshippingdelaysisaccountedfor.
Case6isapullstrategy,whichdoesnotadjustforeitherstockorsupplyline.Itdoesnotshowanybullwhip,butitproducesasteady-stateerror.Thiserrorisbetterthanthebullwhipeffect.AlsothesteadyerrorofCase6isslightlybetterthanthatofCase5.InCase7thereiscompleteexchangeofdatabetweenthemembersofthesupplychain,whicheliminatesthebullwhipeffect.Thus,Case7wherePOSdataisusedisthebeststrategythateliminatesthebullwhipeffectandCase6(pullstrategy)isthenextbest.However,Case6andCase7bothrequiredisciplineandattimesarenoteasyforcompaniestofollow.POShasanadditionalissuebecauseofthereluctancebetweeneachmemberofthesupplychaintoshareinformation.Insuchcircumstances,Case5isareasonablestrategywithbetterapplicability.
61Dr. M. Affan Badar is the Chair of the Department of Applied Engineering & Technology Management at Indiana State University, Terre Haute. He is a member of Mu Chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau.
Shyamsundarreddy Sammidi graduated with a Masters in Industrial Technology in 2008 from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, and joined ISU’s MBA program.
Dr. Leslie Gardner is a Professor of Mathematics and Operations Management at the University of Indianapolis.
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65Table of ContentsVolume XXXIX, Number 2, Fall 2013
66 Perceptions of New Doctoral Graduates on the Future of the Profession ByJohnRitzandGeneMartin
80 Feasibility Assessment of Using the KIP System to Achieve an Energy-Saving Potential for an Electronic Marquee ByWen-FuPan,Shih-ChunTu,Mei-YingChien,andYa-MooZhang
92 The Cognitive Processes and Strategies of an Expert and Novice in the Design of a Wireless Radio Frequency Network ByMatthewLammiandTimothyThornton
102 The Role of Innovation Education in Student Learning, Economic Development, and University Engagement ByChristyBozicandDuaneDunlap
112 It’s a “Clicker,” not a Magic Wand: The Effect of a Classroom Response System on Attendance ByRaoulAmstelveen
124 The 2012 Paul T. Hiser Exemplary Publication Award Co-Recipients 125 Guidlines for The Journal of Technology Studies
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Perceptions of New Doctoral Graduates on the Future of the ProfessionBy John Ritz and Gene Martin
Abstract Advancementofaprofessionreliesheavilyontheparticipationofitsmembers.Leadershiprolesmustbefilledatmanylevels.Toeffectivelypreparefutureleaders,effortsmustbeundertakentoeducateandmentorthembothabouttheirprofessionsandhowtoleadwithinthem.Theauthorssoughttoidentifytheperceptionsofthosewhorecentlyearnedadoctoraldegreewithfocusontechnologyandengineeringeducation.Inthepast,thisgroupdevelopedandassumedmajorrolesinleadingtheireducationprofessions.Thisstudyreportsonnewdoctoralgraduates’perceptionsrelatedtothefocusofcontenttaughtinformalizedK-12technologyandengineeringeducationprograms,methodsusedtopreparefuturetechnologyandengineeringteachers,characteristicsoftheirplannedprofessionalinvolvement,andfutureforecastingfortheirschoolsubject. Keywords: New Ph.D. Perceptions, Profession, Technology and Engineering Education
Introduction PublicperceptionsandeconomiccircumstancesoftencreatedisadvantagesforthecontinuedofferingofK-12schoolsubjectsthatareclassifiedaselectivecourses.Inmanycases,theseelectivecoursesarebeingeliminatedfromtheschoolcurriculum.Thisisnomoreevidentthaninthedatarevealedontheschoolsubjectsoftechnologyandengineeringeducation.
Thenumberofteacherswhoteachintechnologyandengineeringeducationprogramshasdeclinedfrom37,968in1995to28,310in2009,alossof9,658teachers(35.4%decline)injust14years(Moye,2009).Thenumberofuniversityprogramsthatpreparetheseteachersalsohasdeclinedfromalmost300inthe1970sto27(91%decline)identifiedin2008(Moye,2009).Thesefactors,plusthesocietalimpactsassociatedwith9-11,theeconomicdownturnof2008,andthechangingattitudesoftheperceivedvalueofbelongingandparticipating
inthesponsoredactivitiesoforganizations,havecausedadeclineinthemembershipsofprofessionalorganizations(Martin,2007).Withfewerteachersenteringtheprofessionandfewerteachersjoiningprofessionalorganizations,howcantheschoolsubjectsoftechnologyandengineeringeducationandtheirrelatedprofessionaleducationorganizationskeeptheprofessionvibrantandprovidethepotentialforchangetomeettheneedsoftheirmembersandthestudentstheyserve?
Theresearchersofthisstudyhavebeenactiveparticipantsintheseschoolsubjectsforseveraldecadesandtheprofessionalorganizationsthataredirectlyassociatedwiththem.Theyhaveprovidedguidanceandteacherprofessionaldevelopmenttosupporttheseschoolsubjectsthroughouttheircareers.Theyareverymuchawarethatseveraluniversities,albeitadecliningnumber,continuetopreparenewprofessorswhowilltrainfutureteachersfortheseschoolsubjects.Theybelievethatthenewtechnologyandengineeringteachereducatorsgraduatingfromthesedoctoralprogramshavethechallengeofcontinuingtoprepareteachersfortheseschoolsubjectstoservefuturegenerationsoflearners.Together,theresearchersplannedthisstudytodeterminetheperceptionsofnewdoctoralgraduatesonanumberofissuesrelatedtotechnologyandengineeringeducation.
Consequently,thisstudywasconductedforthepurposeofdeterminingdirectionsthatnewgraduatesmightpursuewiththeirsubjectarea’scontent,methodsoffutureteacherpreparation,plannedprofessionalinvolvement,andfutureforecastingoftheirschoolsubject.Theresearchers’goalwastocapturenewgraduates’perspectivesabouttheirprofessioninordertoprojectwhatmightbethefuture“health”oftheprofessionbytheyear2025.Theanticipatedbeneficiariesofthisstudyareindividualswhocloselyidentifythemselveswithmappingacourseofactionfortheprofessionoverthenext12years.Professionalsmayuseinformationreportedinthisstudytoinitiate
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ssubstantivediscussionsorevenextendexistingdiscussionsonthefutureoftheprofessionandthecharacteristicsofindividualswhowillleadit.
Review of Literature Organizationsareformedbygroupsofpeoplewhobondtogetherforacommonpurpose.K-12schoolsareorganizations,asareuniversities.Professionalassociationsareorganizations.Toremainviable,organizationsmustadapttochangingenvironments(Senge,1990).Adaptabilityisanimportantcharacteristicforthesurvivalofanylearningorganization.Thosewhopracticeteaching,eitherinK-12orattheuniversity,havehadtoadapttheirprogramsinorderfortheirprogramstoremainviable.Theassociationsthatsupportteachersoftechnologyandengineeringalsorequirecontinualchangetobettersupporttheirmembers.
Historically,professionalassociationsprovidedasourceofprofessionaldefinition,aforumtoincreasepublicawareness,andaroleinsettingguidelinesinpreparingapersonwithappropriatecredentialstopracticethatprofession.Theassociations(a)providedprofessionaldevelopmentfortheirmembers,(b)setstandardsforeducationalpractice,(c)organizedandhostedforumsonissuesimportanttothemembers,and(d)attemptedtounifypoliticalactioncampaignstobetterpositiontheprofession(Phillips&Leahy,2012).Themajorassociationsthatrepresenttheprofessionandtechnologyandengineeringeducation,includingtheirstateaffiliates,practicemanyofthecitedfunctions.
However,justasthenumberoftechnologyandengineeringteachersandtheirteacherpreparationprogramshasbeendecliningsincethe1980s,similarreductionsinprofessionalmembershipsacrossvariousfieldsanddisciplineshavefollowedthesamedownwardtrend(Alotaibi,2007;Bauman,2008;Putnam,2000;Yeager&Kline,1983).Thesedeclineshavecausedprofessionalorganizationstocutservicestomembers,justtosurviveeconomically(Martin,2007).Nolongercanprofessionalassociationsmeetalltheneedsoftheirmembers.Consequently,thislackofhelpcancausefurtherdeclinesinmembershipsaspeoplemigratetootherassociationstheybelievecanprovidetheservicestomeettheirindividualneeds.
Individualsjoinprofessionalorganizationsbecauseofthealignmentofvaluestheyseebetweenthemselves,theirprofession,andtheprofessionalorganization.Theorganizationstheyjoinoftenpromotesimilarcodesofethicsforprofessionalconduct,worktopreservethesubject’spublicimage,andattempttoprovideservicestokeeptheprofessionalcurrentwiththelatestdevelopmentsoccurringwithintheirfield(Meltzer,1996).Asaresult,peoplewhojoinprofessionalorganizationscareabouttheirworkwithintheprofession(Rouch,1999).
Peoplewhoareperceivedasleadersoftenleadprofessionsandprofessionalorganizations.Somearehiredasstaffandothersworkasvolunteers.Organizationboardssearchforthebestprofessionalstoworkinthesepositionstoguidetheirassociationsinordertoprovidethebestservicesandvoicefortheirmembers.Astheirmembershipgrowsanddevelopsprofessionally,itismostlikelythattheywillimprovetheoverallstatureoftheirprofessions.
Tobecomeaprofessionalleaderusuallytakesyearsofprofessionaldevelopment.Apersonmustnotonlyunderstandtheknowledgebaseuponwhichtheprofessionwasestablished,butthatpersonalsomustbewillingtoworkforthebettermentoftheprofessionanditsmembers.Aleadermustknowhowtoworkwithothersanddirectthem,getthetasksoftheassociationaccomplished,andplanforthefutureneedsoftheprofessionanditsmembers.Onefunctionofleadershipisthinkingaboutthefuture(Gilberti,1999).
Whenthetechnologyandengineeringteachingprofession,particularlytheCouncilonTechnologyandEngineeringTeacherEducators(CTETE),begantovisionitsfuture,itsmembersunderstoodthatnewmemberswouldbeneededtotakeovertheleadershiprolesoftheprofession.Observationsshowthatmanytalentedleadersaregoodperformersattheircurrentjobs,leadersintheirprofessions,andpossibleleadersofotherorganizations.Someleadersmoveontoothercareers,causingvoidsintheleadershipchain.High-performingmembersarenotalwaystherewhenassociationsneedthemtostepintoleadershiprolesastheymoveontoothercareerpaths.Thesesameobservationsshowusthatgoodleadersalso
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retire,causingvoidsbothattheworkplaceandinorganizationalleadership.
Collegesanduniversitieshaveworkedtodevelopmodelsfortheimprovedpreparationofgraduateswhoseektobecomefacultymembers.Insomefields,doctoralstudentstakeclassesandworkonresearchprojectswithfaculty.Theseresearchprojectssometimemodelwhattheywillneedtodoinfuturefacultymemberpositions.Manyofthesedoctoralstudentspreparetobecomefaculty,buttheydonotunderstandtheteachingandservicerolesrequiredinuniversitypositions.Thiscreatesproblemsforthemwhentheytransitionintobecomingteachingfacultymembers.In1993,theCouncilofGraduateSchoolsandtheAssociationofAmericanCollegesandUniversitiesdesignedamodellabeledas“PreparingFutureFaculty”;thisprogramincludedthreecorecomponents:“gainingteachingexperience;learningabouttheacademictriadofresearch,teaching,andservice;andmentoring”(Richlin&Essington,2004,p.149).Itsaimwastolessenthetransitionproblemsexperiencedbynewdoctoralgraduateswhentheywerehiredtofilluniversityfacultypositions.
Mostwhoseektobecomeprofessorsoftechnologyandengineeringeducationhavegainedpreviousteachingexperienceandlearnedthebestpracticesofteachingthroughdegreeworkandon-the-jobtraining.Manyhavestudenttaughtandoperatedtheirownclassrooms/laboratories.Thesedoctoralstudentscouldlearntheresearchandservicebranchesoftheuniversitytriadbyworkingcloselywithfacultyandresearchmentors.However,reportsindicatethatnotallnewfacultyarementoredwelltobecomeacademiccitizens(Gaff,2002)orlearntheotherimportantqualificationsneededforafacultyposition.
ThroughtheleadershipofWilliamHaviceofClemsonUniversityandRogerHillofTheUniversityofGeorgia,theCouncilonTechnologyandEngineeringTeacherEducation(CTETE)initiatedtheTwenty-firstCenturyLeadershipAcademy(CLA)Program.Beginningin2006,thisprogramwasdeveloped“tofacilitateasenseofcommunityandprovideactivitiesandresourcestosupportscholarlyandprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesfor
groupsofearlycareertechnologyeducationfaculty”(Havice&Hill,2012,para.1).Oneofthegoalsoftheprogramwasto“growourownleaders.”ThesuccessofthisprogramledittobecomeapartoftheleadershipprogramintheInternationalTechnologyandEngineeringEducatorsAssociation’s(ITEEA)strategicplanin2010.“Oneofthepurposesofthisprogramistoprovideinitialexperiencestopotentialleaderssothattheycanevolvetobecomethenextgenerationofprofessionalleaders”(Havice&Hill,2012,para.4).
The Twenty-first Century Leadership Academy Program
Thisisaprogramdesignedtocreate tomorrow’smostsuccessfulandrespectedtechnologyandengineeringleaders,consultants,andstrategicthinkers.Asleaders,weneedtocreatethefuture.Thisprogramincorporatesknowledgeandexperiencesfromeducationleadersandotherexpertsusingpracticalandinnovativeadviceonhowleadersmakeadifference.Participantsareinvolvedinimportantdialogueusingthebestwisdomfromexpertsandpractitionersacrosssectorsoftheprofession.Theaimoftheprogramistohelptechnologyandengineeringeducatorsgainadditionalskillstobetterdealwithissuesofperformance,howsystemsandassociationswork,theroleoffinancesindecision-making,andhowtomergeideasandambitionsinapositivemanner.The21stCLAprogramprovidesabalanceofpracticalandinspirationalideastoindividualswhowanttobeleadersintheassociationandprofession.(Havice&Hill,2012,para.2-3).
WiththecontinuedpreparationofnewdoctoralgraduateswithfocusedstudyinthepreparationoftechnologyandengineeringeducatorsandtheaddedbenefitssomeofthesegraduateshavegainedthroughparticipationintheTwenty-firstCenturyLeadershipAcademyProgram,theresearcherssoughttodeterminetheperspectivesofthesenewprofessionalsaboutthefutureoftheschoolsubjectstechnologyandengineeringeducation.(Theresearchersarenotawareofanypriorstudiesonthistopic.)Thisstudywasdesignedduringsummer2012andadministeredinthefallof2012.The
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sresearchersidentified59newdoctoralgraduateswhowerepreparedduringthepastfiveyearsinthisteachingarea.Theresearchersbelievethispopulationrepresentsmost(95-98%)graduatesawardeddoctoraldegreesduringthepastfiveyearsinthisfield.Thisisbasedon:(a)informationfromprogramleadersatuniversitiesthatofferdoctoraldegreeprogramswithconcentratedstudyintechnologyandengineeringeducation,(b)alistoffellowswhocompleteddegreeworkthroughsupportoftheNationalCenterforEngineeringandTechnologyEducation,and(c)alistofparticipantswhotookpartinITEEA’sTwenty-firstCenturyLeadershipAcademyProgram.
Research Design Theresearchersselectedthesurveymethod,anonexperimentalquantitativeresearchtool,astheresearchdesignforthestudy.Fraenkel,Wallen,andHyun(2012)identifiedthesurveyasamethodto“describethecharacteristicsofapopulation”(p.393).Theseauthorsnotedthatinothertypesofresearch“thepopulationasawholeisrarelystudied”(p.393),thesurveymethodallowsfora“carefullyselectedsampleofrespondents”(p.394)tobesurveyed,anda“descriptionofthepopulationisinferredfromwhatisfoundoutaboutthesample”(p.394).Forpurposesofthisstudy,across-sectionalsurveywasadministeredtogatherinformationfromapredeterminedpopulationatapredeterminedpointintime.Gay,Mills,andAirasian(2012)notedthatcross-sectionaldesignsare“effectiveforprovidingasnapshotofthecurrentbehaviors,attitudes,andbeliefsinapopulation”(p.185).Creswell(2012)statedthatacross-sectionalsurveydesignhasthe“advantageofmeasuringcurrentattitudesorpractices”(p.377).
Procedure Theresearchersadministeredastructured12-questionsurvey(followedby5demographic-relatedquestions)usingSurveyMonkey™.WiersmaandJurs(2009)underscoredtheimportanceofcollectingdemographicdataintermsofclassifyingvariablesforfurtheranalysis.Gayetal.(2012)statedtheimportanceofdesigningsurveysthatarebrief,easytorespondto,andaddressaspecificresearchtopic.ThesurveyforthisstudywasadministeredinNovember2012;twoadditionalfollow-uplettersweresenttotheinvitees.Inorderto
ensureanonymityoftheparticipants,aURLtothesurveywasprovidedintheinitialletterofinvitationtoparticipateandinfollow-upletters.Atnotimeduringtheconductofthestudydidtheresearchersknowwhichparticipantsdidordidnotrespondtothesurvey.Inthefinalanalysis,34ofthe56inviteesor60.7%selectedtorespond(correctemailaddressescouldnotbeidentifiedforthreegraduates).Althoughtheresponserateisnotstatisticallysignificant(Patten,2012),theinformationprovidedbytherespondentswasrevealingbecauseitprovidedcluesaboutthehealth,vitality,andpossiblythefutureofthetechnologyandengineeringeducationteachingprofessionasseenthroughthelensofrecentdoctoralgraduates.Noincentiveswereprovidedtotheparticipants,andtheywereremindedintheirletterofinvitationtoparticipatethattherewerenodirectbenefitstothembyparticipating.Finally,inviteeswereinformedthattheirresponseswouldbeaggregatedwiththeresponsesfromallotherparticipants,sotherewouldbeminimalrisktothemasaparticipant.
Priortocommencingthestudy,theresearchersassumedthattheparticipantswerecapableofidentifying(a)thefocusofcontenttaughtinaformalizedK-12technologyandengineeringeducationprogram,(b)methodsoffutureteacherpreparation,(c)characteristicsoftheirprofessionalinvolvement,and(d)futureforecastingfortheirschoolsubject.Theresearchersalsoassumedtheparticipantsunderstoodtheintentofeachsurveyquestionandtheirresponsestothequestionswouldreflecttheirindividualinsightsandperspectivesabouttheprofession.Finally,theresearchersassumedthateachsurveyquestioncontainedonlyoneideaorquestion,usedneutral(unambiguous)languagesoasnottoleadarespondenttorespondinaspecificway,andcontainedresponseoptionsthatweresimple,clear,andconsistent.
Findings Thepopulationforthisstudywasagroupofrecentdoctoralgraduates(N=34)whowerenominatedbyleadprofessorsatsevenuniversitiesthatofferthedoctoraldegreeintechnologyandengineeringeducationorthegraduateswereinaspecializedsponsoredprogram.Forexample,aqualifieddoctoral
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graduatewasonewhograduated(Ph.D.orEd.D.)withinthepastfiveyearsfromoneofthefollowinginstitutions:ColoradoStateUniversity,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,OldDominionUniversity,TheOhioStateUniversity,TheUniversityofGeorgia,UtahStateUniversity,andVirginiaPolytechnicandStateUniversity.SomegraduatesmayhavecompletedtheirdegreesundertheauspicesoftheNationalCenterforEngineeringandTechnologyEducation(NCETE)andmaynotbepartofthesevenpurposelyselectedinstitutions.Finally,somegraduatesparticipatedintheInternationalTechnologyandEngineeringEducatorsAssociation’s(ITEEA)Twenty-firstCenturyLeadershipAcademyProgramandgraduatedfromoneofthepurposelyselectedinstitutionsand/orparticipatedintheNCETEprogram.Inaselectfewcases,aparticipantinthestudymayhavebeeninvolvedinmorethanoneofthe
precedingcategories.Theresearcherscollecteddemographicdatafromtheparticipants,andanalysesofthedataareprovidedinTable1.
Dataweregatheredandanalyzedfromtheparticipants’responsestothe12surveyquestions.Part1ofthesurveyfocusedonwhatiscurrentlyhappeningintheprofession–the“hereandnow”–andtheroletheparticipantscurrentlyserveintheirprofession;Part2focusedonthefutureoftheprofessionfromtheparticipants’perspectives.AsummaryofthedataforPart1ofthestudyisfirstreported,followedbyasummaryofthedataforPart2.
Part 1 WhenaskedtoidentifywhatshouldbethefocusofcontenttaughtinaformalizedK-12technologyandengineeringeducationprogram,theparticipantswereprovidedfivechoicesto
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Table 1
Population Demographics
Demographic Selection Number Percent
Gender (n = 33) Female Male
7 26
21.2 78.8
Age (n = 33) 20-30
31-40 41-50 51-60 61+
1 16
8 7 1
3.0 48.5 24.2 21.2
3.0
Area of Professional Interest (n = 33)
Post-Secondary High School Middle School Elementary School
16 11
3 3
48.5 33.3
9.1 9.1
Current Position (n = 26)
Teacher Educator Elementary Teacher Supervisor Private Sector Full-Time Student
15 6 2 2 1
57.7 23.1
7.7 7.7 3.8
CTETE 21st Century Leader Program Participant (n = 33)
Yes No
18 15
54.5 45.5
Note: N = 34. One respondent chose not to answer the demographic questions. It appears that eight participants work in the private sector by not selecting a response for current educational positions.
Table 1. Population Demographics
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sselectfrom,andtheywereinstructedtoselect“allthatapply.”Anyparticipantcouldselectoneormoreresponsesfromthefollowingchoices:technologicalliteracy,workforceeducation,engineeringeducation,STEMintegration,and“other.”All34participantsrespondedtothequestion.Twenty-fiveor73.5%oftheresponsesindicatedthefocusshouldbeontechnologicalliteracy,24or70.6%indicatedthefocusshouldbeonSTEMintegration,20or58.8%indicatedthefocusshouldbeonengineeringdesign,and14or41.2%indicatedthefocusshouldbeonworkforceeducation.Threeresponseswererecordedforthe“other”category,andthosewrittencommentsfocusedoncontentthatmightbeincludedwithinthecurriculum.
Thesecondquestionfocusedoninstructionalstrategiesandwhatshouldbethe
focusofthesestrategiesinaformalizedK-12technologyandengineeringeducationprogram.Theresearchersprovidedtheparticipantsfourchoices,andtheywereinstructedtoselect“allthatapply.”Thefourchoiceswereproject-based,design-based,contextual,and“other.”All34participantsrespondedtothequestion.Theproject-basedinstructionalstrategyreceivedthehighestresponseat85.3%,whereasdesigned-basedwasselectedby64.7%andcontextualwasselectedby61.8%oftheparticipants.The“other”categorywasselectedbyfiveparticipants,andtheirresponsesincludedstrategiessuchasinquiry-based,problem-based,hands-on(realworlddesignandbuild),problemsolving-based,andcontest-based. Theresearchersthenfocusedonhavingtheparticipantsidentifytheprimaryaudienceforaformalizedinstructionalprogramintechnology
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Table 2
Part 1, Current Activity within the Profession
Item Selection Number Percent
1. Content for K-12 T/E Ed. (n = 34)
Technological Literacy Workforce Education Engineering Design STEM Integration
25 14 20 24
73.5 41.2 58.8 70.6
2. Focus of Instructional
Strategies (n = 34) Project-based Design-based Contextual
29 22 21
85.3 64.7 61.8
3. Primary Teaching Audience (n = 34)
Elementary School Middle School High School Secondary School Post-Secondary School All Levels
1 2 3 10 0 18
02.9 05.9 08.8 29.4 00.0 23.9
4. Journals Regularly
Read (n = 29) Technology and
Engineering Teacher Children’s Technology
and Engineering Prism Magazine Journal of Technology
Education Journal of Technology
Studies
23 6 6 23
7
79.3
20.7
20.7 79.3
24.1
Note: N = 34. These numbers exceed the N value and 100%, since respondents could select more than one choice for these questions.
Table 2. Part 1, Current Activity within the Profession
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andengineeringeducation.Theparticipantswereinstructedto“selectonlyone”fromthefollowingcategories:elementaryschoolstudents,middleschoolstudents,highschoolstudents,secondarystudents(middleandhighschool),post-secondarystudents,andalloftheaboveidentifiedpopulations.All34participantsrespondedtothequestion.Theparticipantsbelievethatallelementary,middle,highschool,andpost-secondarystudentsshouldbetheprimaryaudiencesasthiscategorywasacknowledgedby53.9%oftheparticipants.Only29.4%oftheparticipantsselectedsecondarystudents(middleandhighschool)astheprimaryaudience.
Professionalpublicationsprovidememberswithavehicletoshareandgainnewknowledgeandtoaddtotheknowledgebaseintheirdiscipline.Theresearchersaskedtheparticipantswhichprofessionalpublicationsbestdescribedthemasaregularreaderofthosepublications.Interestingly,ofthe34individualswhoparticipatedinthestudy,fiveindividualschosetoskipthisquestionandnotrespond.Ofthoseindividualswhoresponded,twopublicationsreceivedthehighestresponse.The Technology and Engineering Teacher and the Journal of Technology Educationwereeachselectedby79.3%oftherespondents.The Journal of Technology Studieswasselectedby24.1%oftherespondentsandChildren’s Technology and Engineering and Prism Magazinewereeachselectedby20.7%oftherespondents.Participantswereinvitedtoidentifyotherpublicationsthatwerenotpartoftheforcedchoices.The Journal of Engineering Education, Journal of Learning Sciences, International Journal of Technology and Design Education,andCTETEyearbookswereeachidentified.Table2summarizesdataontheperceptionsofrecentdoctoralgraduatesregardingcurrentactivitieswithinthetechnologyandengineeringeducationprofessions.
Part 2 Part2ofthesurveyinstructedtheparticipantstoprojecttotheyear2025andthenrespondtoaseriesofquestionsthatfocusedonthefutureoftheprofession.Forexample,theresearchersaskedtheparticipantstofocusonteachercertificationandhowfuturetechnologyandengineeringeducatorswillbecomecertified(licensed)asclassroomteachers.Thirty-twoof
the34participantsrespondedtothisquestion.Theparticipantswereinstructedtoselectonlyonedescriptorfromthefollowingstatementsandtheresponserateandnvaluefolloweachstatement.Somechosetoclarifytheirselectionthroughthe“other”category.
• A4-yearcampus-basedprogram,much likewehavetodayineducation;40.6%, n=13 • A5-yearcampus-basedprogram,with amajorinindustrialtechnology, engineering,orothersimilarmajor; 18.8%,n=6 • Licensureadd-onstoanexistingdegree program;28.1%,n=9 • Documentingacademicqualifications throughprofessionalcertification testing;12.5%,n=4 • Other;n=6.Hybridsoftheabove optionswerementioned,including combinationsthatentailedfocuson STEMeducation.
Oncetheparticipantsindicatedhowfutureteacherswouldbecertifiedorlicensed,theywerethenasked“where”theywillreceivetheircertificationandteachertraining.Thirty-threeofthe34participantsrespondedtothisquestion,andtheycouldselect“allthatapply”fromthefollowingstatements.Theresponserateandnvaluefolloweachstatement.
• Inbrickandmortaruniversity classroom/laboratories;54.5%,n=18 • Viadistancelearningtechnologies; 27.3%,n=9 • Hybridsystemsthatinvolveblended methodsofinstructionaldelivery; 75.8%,n=25 • Throughanexternaltesting organization;0.0%,n=0 • Other;6%,n=2.Boththoughtthat onlinetrainingwasapooroptionforthe preparationofteachers.
Onceteachersarecertified,professionaldevelopmentbecomesanimportantpartoftheirtenureasateacher.Theresearchersaskedtheparticipantstoidentifywheretechnologyandengineeringpracticingteacherswillreceivetheirprofessionaldevelopment.Thirty-threeofthe34participantsrespondedtothisquestion,andthey
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scouldselect“allthatapply”fromthefollowingstatements.Theresponserateandnvaluefolloweachstatement.
• State/district/citysupervisors;51.5%, n=17 • Commercialvendors;27.3%,n=9 • Nationalprofessionalassociations; 63.6%,n=21 • Stateprofessionalassociations;45.5%, n=15 • Localprofessionalassociations;33.3%, n=11 • Teachereducationinstitutions;69.7%, n=23 • Distancelearningproviders;33.3%, n=11 • Other;0%
Historically,professionalassociationsplayedakeyroleinservingthememberstheyrepresent.Arguably,someassociationsarethelifebloodoftheirprofessions.Theresearcherssoughttoidentifytheprofessionalassociationsthatparticipantsthoughttheywouldbemembersofin2025.Thirty-twoofthe34participantsrespondedtothisquestion,andtheycouldselect“allthatapply”fromthefollowingstatements.Theresponserateandnvaluefolloweachstatement. • ASEE–AmericanSocietyfor EngineeringEducation;68.8%,n=22 • ITEEA–InternationalTechnologyand EngineeringEducatorsAssociation; 75%,n=24 • CCofITEEA–ChildrenCouncilof ITEEA;18.8%,n=6 • CSL–CouncilforSupervisionand LeadershipofITEEA;12.5%,n=4 • CTETE–CouncilonTechnology andEngineeringTeacherEducatorsof ITEEA;50.0%,n =16 • State-levelTechnologyandEngineering Associations;43.8%,n=14 • STEMAssociations(e.g.,NSTA– NationalScienceTeachersAssociation, NCTM–NationalCouncilofTeachers ofMathematics);56.33%,n=18 • Other;21.8%,n=7.Someofthe respondentsselectedotherassociations thatarerelatedtotechnicalprofessions butwhosemissionmaynotnecessarily bedirectlysupportiveofeducation. Thismayshowthatnotallwho
completethesespecificdegreespursue employmentwithineducationalfields.
Beingamemberofaprofessionalassociationdoesnotnecessarilyimplythatthispersonattendsmeetingsofthatassociation.Theresearcherssoughttoidentifywhichassociationconferencestheparticipantswouldbeattendingin2025.Twenty-nineofthe34participantsrespondedtothisquestion,andtheycouldselect“allthatapply”fromthefollowingstatements.Theresponserateandnvaluefolloweachstatement.
• ASEE–AmericanSocietyfor EngineeringEducation;62.1%,n=18 • ITEEA–InternationalTechnologyand EngineeringEducatorsAssociation; 79.3%,n=23 • PATT–PupilsAttitudesTowards Technology;13.8%,n=4 • State-leveltechnologyandengineering conferences;58.6%,n=17 • TERC–TechnologyEducation ResearchConference;17.5%,n=5 • Other;31%,n=9.Othersincluded MississippiValleyConference, SoutheasternTechnologyEducation Conference,InternationalSocietyfor TechnologyEducation,Associationfor CareerandTechnicalEducation,and others.
Peoplejoinprofessionalassociationsforavarietyofreasons.Forexample,somemayjointoreceiveapublication,whileothersjoinbecausetheywanttoattendmeetings.Stillothersjoinsothattheymightpublishinthejournalofthatassociation.Theresearchersinquiredastothepublicationstheparticipantswouldbepublishinginby2025.Thirtyofthe34participantsrespondedtothisquestion,andtheycouldselect“allthatapply”fromthefollowingstatements.Theresponserateandnvaluefolloweachstatement.
• Technology and Engineering Teacher; 73.3%,n=22 • Journal of Technology Education; 86.7%,n =26 • Journal of Technology Studies;30%, n=9 • International Journal for Technology and Design Education;40%,n=12
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• Australiasian Journal of Technology Education;3.3%,n=1 • Prism Magazine;10%,n=3 • Other;40%,n=12.Anumberof participantslistedmanyoftheabove journalsplusothers,includingJournal of Engineering Education(3responses), Children’s Engineering and Technology (3responses),andJournal of STEM Education(2responses).
Table3providesasummaryofperspectivesofdoctoralgraduatesrelatedtothefutureoftheprofession.
Theresearchersinquiredwhattheparticipantsforeseeastheirroleintheprofessionintheyear2025.Theywereprovidedsomedescriptivestatementsthatrepresentdifferentlevelsofactivity.Thirty-twoofthe34participantsrespondedtothequestion,andtheycouldselect“allthatapply”fromthefollowingstatements.Theresponserateandnvaluefolloweachstatement. • IbelieveIwillholdorhaveheld keyleadershippositionsinASEE– AmericanSocietyforEngineering Education;43.8%,n=14 • IbelieveIwillholdorhaveheldkey leadershippositionsinCCofITEEA– ChildrenCouncilofITEEA;25%,n=8 • IbelieveIwillholdorhaveheld keyleadershippositionsinCSL– CouncilforSupervisionand Leadership;12.5%,n=4 • IbelieveIwillholdorhaveheldkey leadershippositionsinCTETE– CouncilforTechnologyand EngineeringTeacherEducators;37.5%, n=12 • IbelieveIwillholdorhaveheldkey leadershippositionsinITEEA– InternationalTechnologyand EngineeringEducatorsAssociation; 56.3%,n=18 • IbelieveIwillholdorhaveheldkey leadershippositionsinstate-level technologyandengineeringeducation associations;50%,n=16 • IbelieveIwillholdorhaveheldkey leadershippositionsinSTEM Associations(e.g.,NSTA–National ScienceTeachersAssociation,NCTM–
NationalCouncilofTeachersof Mathematics);34.4%,n=11 • Idonotenvisionmyselfservinginkey leadershippositionsinprofessional associations;6.3%,n=2
Finally,thelastquestion,butmaybethemostimportantquestion:whatdidtheparticipantsprojectasthefutureofthetechnologyandengineeringeducationprofessionbytheyear2025.Thirty-threeofthe34participantsrespondedtothequestion,andtheycouldselect“onlyone”statementfromthefollowingchoices.
• Theprofessionwilllookverysimilar towhatitlooksliketoday;thatis, itwillbeavibrantprofessionwith acoreofmemberswhoareableto sustainit;30.3%,n=10 • Theprofessionasweknowittodaywill bereplacedbySTEM;39.4%,n=13 • Theprofessionwillbeintegratedinto thescienceprofession;18.2%,n=6 • Technologyandengineeringeducation willdisappearasaschoolsubject; 12.1%,n=4
Discussion and Conclusions Whatdidwelearnwhenwesoughttheinformedopinionsofwhatmaybethenextgenerationofindividualstoleadthisprofession?Didtheseindividualsidentifysomenewdirectionsforthisprofession?Didtheyreinforcetheneedtosupporttheinitiativesthattheprofession’sleadersarecurrentlypursuing?Theresearchersbelievethatdataprovidedbytheparticipantsinthisstudyprovidemuchinsightaboutcurrentandfutureinitiativesanditbehoovestheprofession’sleaders,currentandfuture,tobeapprisedofwhatthenextgenerationissuggesting.
Asdatafromthisstudywerereviewed,analyzed,andsynthesized,theresearchersreachedseveralconclusions.First,thereisgeneralagreementamongtheparticipantsthattechnologicalliteracy,STEMintegration,andengineeringdesignareimportantfociforcontenttaughtinformalizedK-12technologyandengineeringeducationprograms.Eachoneofthesefociisidentifiedbymorethan50%oftheparticipantsinthestudy.Thisconclusion
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Table 3 Part 2, Future of the Profession
Item Responses Number Percent
5. Teacher Certification Pathways
4-year campus program 5-year campus program with
industry/engineering major License add-on Certification testing
13 6
9 4
40.6 18.8
28.1 12.5
6. Certification and Training Options
On university campus Via distance learning Hybrid delivery system Testing organization
18 9
25 0
54.5 27.3 75.8 00.0
7. Professional Development Providers
State/district supervisors Commercial vendors National professional
associations State professional associations Local professional
associations Teacher education institutions Distance learning providers
17 9
21
15 11
23 11
51.5 27.3 63.6
45.5 33.3
69.7 33.3
8. Member of which Professional Organization
ASEE ITEEA Children’s Council (ITEEA) Council for Supervision and
Leadership (ITEEA) Council for Teacher Educators (CTETE) State-level technology and
engineering association STEM associations
22 24 6 4
16
14
18
68.8 75.0 18.8 12.5
50.0
43.8
56.3
9. Conference Attendance
ASEE ITEEA PATT State level TERC
18 23 4
17 5
62.1 79.3 13.8 58.6 17.2
10. Publications You Would Seek to Publish
Technology and Engineering Teacher
Journal for Technology Education
22
26
73.3
86.7
13-363 [Type text] [Type text]
Journal of Technology Studies International Journal for
Technology and Design Education
Australasian Journal for Technology Education
Prism Magazine
9
12
1
3
30.0
40.0
03.3
10.0
Note: N = 34. Respondents could have more than one response to questions posed.
Table 3. Part 2, Future of the Profession
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issupportedintheliterature(Bybee,2013;ITEA,2000;Wicklein,2006).Second,thereisalsogeneralagreementonwhatshouldbethefociofinstructionalstrategiesofferedinformalizedK-12technologyandengineeringeducationprograms.Project-based,design-based,andcontextuallearningexperienceswereidentifiedbymorethan50%oftheparticipantsasimportantfociofinstructionalstrategies.Third,theaudienceforengineeringandtechnologyeducationhasbeenatopicofdiscussionsincethesubjects’inception.Theparticipants’responsesfurtherunderscoredthattheprimary“audience”maycontinuetobeatopicofdiscussionwellintothefuture.Theonlydescriptorselectedbymorethan50%oftheparticipantswas“alloftheabove,”whichsimplyextendstheconversationonwhotheseprogramsaredesignedtoserve.ThisconclusionisalsosupportedbytheITEA(2000)andRitz(2011).Fourth,theresearchersattemptedtodeterminewhichpublicationstheparticipantsregularlyreadaspartoftheirprofessionalgrowthanddevelopment.Itwasclearthattheonlytwopublicationswerecommonlyidentifiedinthecurrenttechnologyandengineeringeducationenvironment:Technology and Engineering Teacher and Journal of Technology Education. Bothpublicationswerereadregularlyby79.3%oftherespondents.
Fifth,theresearcherswantedtofindouthowfuturetechnologyandengineeringeducatorswillbecomecertified(licensed)asclassroomteachers.Therewasnoagreementamongtheparticipants.The4-yearcampus-basedprogramreceivedthehighestresponserate(40.6%).Ofthoseparticipantswhochosethe“other”category,therewasnoagreementintheirwrittenresponses.Sixth,whenaskedwhereclassroomteacherswillreceivetheircertification,hybridsystemsinvolvingblendedmethodsofinstructionaldeliveryreceivedthegreatestresponse(75.8%),and54.5%oftheparticipantsbelievedthatcertificationandtrainingwouldoccurinbrickandmortaruniversityclassroom/laboratories.Dotheresponsestothisquestionrevealimportantinformationaboutthefutureofourdeliverysystemsintechnologyandengineeringeducation?Doinstitutionsandprofessorsneedtogetmoreaggressiveindesigningalternativedeliverymodesofinstruction?Seventh,oncewelearned
theparticipants’perspectivesonhowfutureteacherswillbecertified,futureteachersmustengageincontinuousprofessionaldevelopment.Theparticipantsbelievedthatprofessionaldevelopmentwouldbeprovidedbythenationalprofessionalassociations(63.6%).Thisissurprisingbecauseournationalprofessionalassociationsareexperiencingadeclineinmembershipandadeclineinconferenceattendance.Theparticipants(51.5%)thoughtthatstate/district/citysupervisorswouldprovideprofessionaldevelopment,butonceagain,manystates/districts/citieshaveeitherconsolidatedtheirsupervisorypositionsoreliminatedthemtocutcosts.Commercialvendors,stateprofessionalassociations,andlocalprofessionalassociationsdidnotmeetthegreaterthan50%thresholdestablishedbytheresearcherstobeconsideredasaviablealternativetoprovidingprofessionaldevelopment.ThesefindingsarealsosupportedbythoseofDevier(1999),KarsethandNerland(2007),andLeahy(2002).Eighth,thelong-termviabilityofprofessionalassociationsisalwaysaconcernoftheleadersoftheseassociationsandtotheassociations’membership(Martin,2007;Reeve,1999).Strongmembershiplevelsarevitallyimportanttoourassociations.Willtheparticipantsofthisstudybemembersofprofessionalassociationsin2025thatexisttoday?Threeassociationsreceivedgreaterthan50%responsesfromtheparticipants:ITEEA(75%),ASEE(68.8%),andSTEMassociations(56.3%).TheresearchersdidnotfindtheselectionofITEEA,ASEE,andSTEMassociationssurprising;however,CTETEdidnotmeetthegreaterthan50%threshold.Itwassurprisingthattheassociationthathasbeenhistoricallyassociatedwithdoctoralgraduateswasnottobeviewedasafutureassociationofthegraduates.Ninth,itappearsthatparticipantsinthisstudywillberegularconferenceattendeesoftheirprofessionalassociations’conferences:ITEEA(79.3%),ASEE(62.1%),andstate-leveltechnologyandengineeringconferences(58.6%).Notsurprisingtotheresearchers,thetwoassociationconferences(TERCandPATT)thatarehostedoutsidetheUnitedStatesreceivedonlyasmallamountofattentionfromtheparticipants.Tenth,theresearchersaskedtheparticipantswhichprofessionalpublicationstheyplannedtopublishinby2025.Twopublications,Technology and Engineering Teacher(73.3%)and Journal of Technology Education(86.7%)
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sexceededthegreaterthan50%thresholdestablishedbytheresearchers.Surprisingly,eventhough68.8%oftheparticipantsplantobemembersoftheASEE,only10%envisionedpublishinginPrism Magazineby2025.
Individualswhoselecttoserveinleadershippositionsintheirprofessionalassociationsprovideavaluableservicetotheirmembers.Surprisingly,exceptforITEEA,whichreceivedaresponserateof56.3%,participantsinthestudydonotenvisionthemselvesservinginkeyleadershippositions.Wherewillourprofessionalassociationsfindindividualstoserveinkeyleadershippositions?Itappearstheseindividualsmaynotcomefromthepopulationrepresentedinthisstudy.Finally,andmaybethemostimportantquestionaskedinthisstudy,whatisthefutureofthetechnologyandengineeringeducationprofession?Unfortunately,thereisnoclearagreementamongtheparticipantsinthisstudy.Theparticipantsweredividedastowhethertheprofessionasweknowittodaywill(a)bereplacedbySTEM,(b)beverysimilartowhatitlooksliketoday,or(c)beintegratedintothescienceschoolsubjects.Willtechnologyandengineeringeducationdisappearasschoolsubjects?Oftheparticipants,12.1%believetheywilldisappear.
Recommendations for Further Research Thepopulationforthisstudywasagroupofrecentdoctoralgraduates(N=34).Itiscleartheyprovidedvaluableinformationthatmayultimatelyleadtosubstantivediscussionsaboutthecoreprinciplesthatguidetheprofession.Futureresearchersmaywishtoconsiderthefindingsofthisstudyanddevelopanewandimprovedsetofdata.Theymayalsowishtoexpandthesizeofthesampletoincludeotherpopulationstoascertaintheprofessionaljudgmentsofabroaderaudienceofpracticingtechnologyandengineeringeducators.Researchersmayalsowishtofurtherdissectthefindingsofthestudy,delvemoredeeplyintothecurrentfindingsofoneormorequestionsfordeepermeaningsandunderstandings,and/orsimplyposethesamequestionsviaadifferentvoice.Finally,researchersmaywishtoconductaqualitativestudythatleadstoin-depthinterviewsandamorein-depthanalysisoftheparticipants’initialresponses.
Summary Theresearchersselectedthesurveyastheresearchdesignofchoicetosolicitspecificinformationfromagroupofpurposelyselectedgraduatesofdoctoraldegreegrantinginstitutions.Theparticipants’responsestothesurveyquestionsprovidequalityinformationaboutthefutureofthetechnologyandengineeringeducationprofessions.Inaddition,informationgleanedfromthisstudymaybehelpfultoprofessionalleadersastheydeveloptheirstrategicplansandmakestrategicdecisionsaboutthetechnologyandengineeringeducationsubjects.
Whatwaslearnedfromthisstudy?Insomecasestheparticipantswerecomfortablewiththepresentdirectionoftheirprofession.Theirresponsestootherquestions,however,lefttheresearcherssomewhatpuzzledaboutthisprofession’sfutureandtheirrolesinthatfuture.Forexample,theybelieveinthefutureofITEEAandtheyfeelcomfortablewithitstwoprimarypublications,buttheydonotnecessarilyfeelcomfortablewiththeteachereducationaffiliate(CTETE)ofITEEA.Participantsplantoattendconferencesofotherprofessionalassociations,buttheydonotseethemselvesnecessarilypublishingintheliteratureofthosesameassociationsorleadingthoseassociationsbyholdingkeyleadershippositions.Finally,therewasnoconsensusaboutthefutureoftechnologyandengineeringeducationintheyear2025.Thelargermessageofthesurveytoallinthisprofessionisthefollowinguncertainty:Shouldwebealarmedbythemessagethesegraduatesconveyedtous?
Dr. John Ritz is Professor in the Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA. He is a member of the Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau and holds a Laureate Citation.
Dr. Gene Martin is Professor and Graduate Secondary Education Program Coordinator in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. He is a member of the Alpha Mu Chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau and has been awarded both the Laureate and Distinguished Service Citations.
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Feasibility Assessment of Using the KIP System to Achieve an Energy-Savings Potential for an Electronic MarqueeBy Wen-Fu Pan, Shih-Chun Tu, Mei-Ying Chien, and Ya-Moo Zhang
Abstract Conventionalelectronicmarqueescontinuetoconsumeenergyevenwithoutahumanpresence.Thepurposeofthisstudyistoassessenergy-savingspotentialviatheinstallationoftheKinectandIPPowerintegratedsystem(KIP)onanelectronicmarquee;thissystemwilltransfertheconsumptiondatafortotalelectricitytoelectricity-monitoringsoftware(EZ-HD)usingasmartmeter(EZ-RE)andtheZigBeeUSBDongle.Anexperimentwasconductedatoneschoolentrancefortwoperiodsduring10schoolmonths,anditwasfoundthatthehourlyelectricityconsumptionratefortheoriginalelectronicmarqueesystemwas1.25kWh.AftertheKIPsystemwasinstalled,theelectronicmarqueewasactivatedonlyduringhumanpresence,andthehourlyelectricityconsumptionratewas0.97kWh,providinganaverageelectricitysavingsrateof22.4%.TheresultssuggestthattheKIPsystemcanhelptoreducetheconsumptionofelectricityforelectronicmarquees.Comparedtoinfraredsensorpartsusedinthepastaspowerswitchesforelectronicequipment,theadvantageoftheKIPsystemisthatitcandistinguishahumanpresenceandwouldnotbeinterferedbymovingobjectsoranimals.Inaddition,theKIPsystemhasawiderdetectionrangeandallowstheuserstoprogramanddetectdifferentelectricity-savingcontextsandconfigurationsforelectronicequipmentindifferentvenuesaccordingtotheirindividualneeds.Therefore,throughthistestandassessment,wesuggestthatitisfeasibletoapplytheKIPsysteminautomaticlightingdevices,televisions,airconditioners,orsecuritymonitoringsystems.
Keywords: Electricity-Savings Designs; IP Power; Kinect; Smart Meters
Introduction Foralongtime,reducingelectricityandenergyusehasbeenaprimarystrategyforreducingtheconsumptionofglobalenergyandcarbonemissions;thus,theresearchrelatedtodesigningarchitecturalspaceswithelectricity-
savingseffecthasalwaysreceivedstrongattention(Harvey,2009).Forexample,regardingelectricity-efficientorelectricity-savingsbuildingmaterials,Sadineni,Madala,andBoehm(2011)comparedtheelectricity-savingspotentialoftrombe,ventilated,andglazedwallmaterials,andtheyfoundthatairtightnessandinfiltrationofthematerialswerecriticalfactorsthatinfluencedelectricitysavings.Sadinenietal.(2011)suggestedthatifthefactorsofelectricity-savingsmaterialswereconsideredpriortoconstruction,noadditionalreinvestmentofelectricity-savingscostswouldbeneeded.Regardingindoorairconditioning,AliandMorsy(2010)comparedtheelectricity-savingspotentialof290Wradiantpanelheatersand670Wconventionalportableconvectiveheaters,andfoundthatwhentheoutdoortemperaturewas10°C,the290Wradiantpanelheatersprovidedmorecomfortandsavedapproximately56.7%inenergyconsumption.Inaddition,Shehabi,Masanet,Price,Horvath,andNazaroff(2011)studiedandtestedseverallarge-scaleU.S.datacenterbuildings;theresultssuggestedthatthelocalclimate,theusedairflowmanagement,andpropercontrolsequenceswerethefactorsthatcouldbeusedtopotentiallysaveelectricity.Theirresearchresultsalsodemonstratedthataveragedatacenterbuildingscouldsave20%to25%inelectricityorenergyconsumption,andthattheserverroomsofdatacenterscouldsavenearly30%inelectricityorenergyconsumption,amountingtoasavingsof1.3to1.7billionkWhofelectricityannually.
Althoughenergy-savingsarchitecturalspacedesignisaneffectiveenergy-savingsstrategy,otherstudieshaveinvestigatedhowthebillingmethodsofthehouseholdmicro-energygenerationmayinfluencetheenergy-savingseffect.Darghouth,Barbose,andWiser(2011)studied200householdsthatusedtwopowercompaniesinCaliforniaassamplesandcomparedtheelectricity-savingspotentialofnetmeteringandfeed-intariff.BecausemostelectricitymetersintheUnitedStatescanbemeasuredusingtwo-waymeasurement
81(electricitygenerationandconsumption),anetmeteringpolicywasimplementedtoallowuserstodeductaportionofthefeefromtheirelectricitybillsbasedontheamountofelectricitysold.ThestudyconductedbyDarghouthetal.(2011)showedthatnetmeteringhadabetterelectricity-savingseffectthanfeed-intariffs,indicatingthatifelectricity-generationincomecouldinstantlybereflectedinelectricityuseorelectricityexpenditurereductions,theuserswouldbemorewillingtoreduceelectricityconsumptioncosts.
Theabovementionedtwo-waymeasurementsdidnotprovideusersaccesstomonitoringandmanagingtheirelectricity-consumptiondata.Thesmartmeterisanewdigitizedelectricity-consumptionmeasuringsystem,whichcanaccuratelyshowelectricityusageamountsandreturnorfeedbackelectricityusageinformationthroughtheInternet.TheresearchinstitutionIn-Stathasestimatedthatby2016smartmeterscouldcreateaglobalproductionvalueofapproximatelyUSD$1.2billion(BusinessWire,2011).OneespeciallythrivingfactorforproducingthissmartmeterisitsincorporationoftheZigBeewirelesssensornetworktotransmitinformation.ZigBeeisspecifiedasasuiteofhigh-levelcommunicationprotocolsusingsmall,low-powerdigitalradiosbasedonanIEEE802standardforpersonalareanetworks(Rothe&Girhepunje,2012).Forexample,marketanalysisandforecastsaselectricutilitiesprovideaZigBeewirelesssensorsmartmetertotheirelectricitycustomersasahomeenergy-managementtool(Sober,2011).TheEmberCorporation(2010)hasdevelopedatypeofZigBeewirelesssensorsmartmeterthatcouldbeusedasahomeandcommercialelectricitymonitoringandmanagementsystem.ThiscorporationalsohaspromoteditssmartmeterinstallationplaninEurope;BritishGaswasthefirstcompanyapproachedandemployedbyEmbertopromotethisplan.BritishGasanticipatedthattheinstallationofwirelesssmartmeterswouldhelpits2millionhouseholduserstoreducecarbonemissionsbyprovidingthemwithaccesstomonitoringtheirconsumptionofeitherelectricityornaturalgas.ZigBee’swirelesssensornetworkshavereceivedwidespreadattentionfromresearchers(Egan,2005;McCain,2011;Rothe&Girhepunje2012).Thewirelesssensornetworksarepositionedto
providewirelesstransmissionapplicationssuchascontrollingairconditioningandlightingforresidentialandcommercialareas,andtheyaredesignedspecificallytoreplacethecontinuousincreasingindependentremotecontrols(Egan,2005).CurrentlyZigBeehasseveralhundredunitedoralliedindustries(ZigBeeAlliance,2012).
Inthisstudy,weusedaZigBeewirelessenergy-managementsystem,namedEZ-RSeries(includedEZ-REsmartmeter,ZigBeeUSBDongle,andEZ-HDsoftwareproducedbyJosephTechnologyCo.Ltd.),asasmartmeterforcollectingelectricity-consumptiondata.ThesystemwasdesignedbyinstallingaDongle,aUSBtoolthatconformedtoZigBeeProtocol,forthereceptionofelectricity-consumptioninformationfromEZ-REsmartmeter.Theenergy-managementsoftware,EZ-HD,wasinstalledinalaptoptoshowreal-timeelectricity-consumptioninformationviatheZigBeeUSBDonglewhenelectricity-consumptiondeviceswererunning.Theelectricity-consumptiondataontheEZ-HDincludedenergyconsumptionratesforoneday,onemonth,cumulativemonths,orcumulativeyears(JosephTechnology,2011).Ingeneral,theEZ-RSeriescouldonlypassivelycollectelectricity-consumptioninformation,anditcouldnotactivelyhelpconsumersreducetheconsumptionofelectricitywithoutthecollocationofotherelectricity-savingsspatialdesigns.AstudyconductedbyPan,Chien,Liu,andChan(2012)indicatedthatKinectandIPPowerintegratedsystemscouldimprovetheaccessibilityofelectronicdevicesinschools,forexample,itcouldpromoteinteractionbetweenpeopleandelectronicdeviceswithsensorstoactivateordeactivatedevicessuchasairconditioningandlights.Hence,inthisstudy,wefurtheremployedtheintegratedKinectandIPPowersystems(KIP)todesignanelectricity-savingscontexttohelpusassessthereal-timeinteractionbetweenpeopleandelectronicmarqueesattheschoolentrancearea.TheKIPsystemusedinthisstudyconsistedofaKinect,alaptop,anIPPower,anOpenNI,aCL_NUIplatform,andanOpenNISDK;weusedC#programminglanguagetowriteandcompletethecontrolprogramfortheKIPsystem.TheKIPsystemwasplacedatthefrontsideofelectronicmarquee,andwhenapersonwalkedintoKinect’ssensingarea,theKinectwouldtransmit
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thesensordatatoIPPowerinalaptopWindowsoperatingsystemandactivatetheIPPowercontrolprogram,therebyswitchingonthepowersourceoftheelectronicmarquee.
Thecurrentcommonsensingmethods,suchasinfraredlightemittersandsensors,radiofrequencyidentification,Bluetooth,Zigbee,WiFi,GPS,anddepthsensors(suchasMicrosoftKinect),allhavevariousconfigurationsandtechniquesinvolvingdetectionofproximity(Kumaragurubaran,2011).Butregardingtheabovesensingmethods,theinfrared(IR)sensoranddepthsensor(Kinect)aretheonlytwomethodsappliedinbodysensingwithoutahand-helddevice(Hill,2012).Previousstudies(Hu,Jiang,&Zhang,2008;Ma,2012;Yamtraipat,Khedari,Hirunlabh,&Kunchornrat,2006)haveshowntheeffectsofusingIRsensorsforsavingelectricity.However,IRsensorpartsareofteninterferedbypassingdogs,cats,orotheranimals,causingabnormalactivationofthedevices(Pan,Lin,&Wu,2011).Incontrast,KinectcandistinguishhumanpresenceandhasawidersensorrangeareathanIR.Usersalsocan
reconfigurethemaccordingtoindividualneedstodevelopdetectioncontextsforelectronicdevicesrequiredindifferentvenues(Pan,Tu,&Chien,2012).
Kinectisahuman-bodysensinginputdevicebyMicrosoftfortheXbox360videogameconsoleandWindows,whichenablesuserstointeractwiththeXbox360withouttheneedforahand-heldcontroller;itisalsoa3Ddepthsensorthatintegratesthreelenses(Pan,Chien,&Tu,2012).TheIPPowersystem,launchedbytheAVIOSYSCorporation,cancontrolthepowersourceswitchesusingtheInternetandhasfourpowerports,whichcanindependentlymanagepowersourcesforfourelectricaldevices(AviosysInternationalInc.,2011).Inthisstudy,weusedthesourcecodedriversreleasedbyPrimeSensetowriteaprogramthatcontrolledthepowersourceswitchoftheIPpower;theoperationwouldenabletheelectricaldevicetoactivelyswitchitspoweronoroffbasedonbody-sensing,andtherebyachieveenergysavingsbyswitchingofftheelectricaldevicewhennoonewasaroundtouseit.
Figure 1. The KIP System Architecture Used to Save Electricity for the Electronic Marquee
83 Therefore,thepurposeofthisstudywastoinstallaKIPintegratedsystemfortheelectronicmarqueeatthegateofonecasestudyschool.TheEZ-REelectricitymeter,ZigbeeUSBDongle,andtheelectricitymonitoringsoftwareEZ-HDwereemployedtoassesswhethertheKIPintegratedsystemindeedhasenergy-savingspotentialwhenappliedtoanelectronicmarquee.
MethodsDescription of the Test Site Theenergy-savingstestwasconductedatoneelementaryschoollocatedinanaboriginalcommunityateasternTaiwan.Theelectronicmarqueewasplacedattheschool’sfrontgate,whichwastheonlyentranceandexitfortheschool.Theschool’sprincipalhadsuspectedthatrisingelectricitycostswereduetotheplacementofthiselectronicmarquee.Therefore,weproposedthisKIPsystemandinstalleditatthefrontsideofelectronicmarqueetoassesswhetheritwouldhelptoachieveenergysavings.
Receiving depth data from Kinect
Is any human inside the detection area? NoYes
Is the related port in IP Power on?
Is the related port in IP Power off?
Turn on the port
No
Turn off the port
No
Yes Yes
Fig. 2 The information control flow chart of the KIP system
Energy-Savings Architecture of the KIP System TheKIPsystemarchitectureusedinthisstudytosaveenergyisshowninFigure1.TheKIPsystemwasplacedatthefrontsideofelectronicmarquee,andwhenapersonwalkedintotheKinect’ssensingarea,itwouldtransmitthesensordatatoIPPowerinalaptopWindowsoperatingsystemandactivatetheIPPowercontrolprogram,therebyswitchingonthepowersourceoftheelectronicmarquee.Conversely,whennopersonwaspresentintheKinectsensingarea,thepowersourceoftheelectronicmarqueeautomaticallyswitchedoff.
The Software and Hardware of the KIP System TheKIPsystemusedinthisstudyconsistedofsoftwareandhardwarecomponents.ThehardwarepartincludedtheemploymentofKinectasdepthsensors,alaptopasanoperationplatform,andanIPPower9258HPastheremotepowerswitchingcontroller.ThesoftwarepartincludedtheuseofOpenNI5.0.1,CL_NUI
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platform1.0.1210,andOpenNISDK1.1.0.41.TheOpenNI5.0.1wasusedasthedrivertoactivateKinectintheWindowsoperatingsystem;theCL_NUIplatform1.0.1210wasusedtoactivateKinect’sinternalmotorsandenableKinecttooscillatevertically;theOpenNISDK1.1.0.41wasusedtowriteacommandprogramthatwouldtranslateKinect’ssignalsintotheIPPower’sswitchfunctions.Inthisstudy,weusedC#programminglanguagetowriteandcompletethecontrolprogramfortheKIPsystem.
The Information Control Flow Chart of the KIP System Figure2showstheinformationcontrolflowchartoftheKIPsystem.TheKIPsystemusedinthisstudycouldsenseahumanpresenceinthedetectionareaanddeterminewhetherthepowersourceforaportontheIPPowershouldbeturnedonoroff
Using the EZ-RE to Monitor the Electricity Consumption of the Electronic Marquee TheoperationalarchitectureoftheEZ-REsmartmeterisshowninFigure3.
TheEZ-REsmartmeterusedinthisstudyprovidedthefunctionsofmeasuringcurrent
power(W),intervalelectricityconsumption(kWh),andaccumulatedelectricityconsumption.AnEZ-REsmartmeterwasusedinconjunctionwiththeEZ-HDsoftwareandtheZigBeeUSBDongletogatherelectricityconsumptioninformation.Theelectricity-consumptiondatagatheredfromlaptop,IPPower,andelectronicmarqueewasmeasuredviaEZ-REsmartmeterandtransmittedviaZigBeeUSBDongletotheEZ-HDenergymanagementsoftware.Theelectricity-consumptiondataofEZ-HDshowedtheyearly,monthly,anddailyelectricityusage,sothedatacouldbeconvertedintostatisticalinformation(withorwithoutKIPinstalled).
The Measurement of Electricity Consumption during Peak and Non-Peak Hours Thisstudyusedtheelectricityconsumptionof1.25kWhforitsmeasurementonMay4,2012,between6:30AMand7:30AM(includingtheelectricityconsumptionoftheaccompanyinglaptopbutwithoutKIPsystem)asthebasisfortheper-hourelectricityconsumptionrateoftheelectronicmarquee.AfterweinstalledtheKIPsystemtotheelectronicmarquee,wecontinuouslymeasuredtheelectricityconsumptionrates(kWh)for10schoolmonthsstartingonFebruary2012atpeakhours
Figure 3. The Operational Architecture of the EZ-RE Smart Meter
85(6:30AMto7:30AM)andnon-peakhours(9:00AMto10:00AM).Thepeakandnon-peakhoursdefinedbythisstudywerebasedontheschoolroutineandtheinformationgivenbyschoolteachers.Inspiteofthechangeofseasons,peoplepassingthroughtheschoolentrancestayedregularatpeakandnon-peakhours.Therefore,theresearcherssimplychose10schoolmonthstotesttheelectronicmarqueewithKIPsystem.
Comparison of the Electronic Marquee’s Electricity Consumption Before and After the KIP Installation BeforetheKIPsystemwasinstalledontheelectronicmarquee,thehourlyelectricityconsumptionratefortheelectronicmarquee(includingtheelectricityconsumptionofalaptopinstalledwithmarqueesoftware)wasmeasuredas1.25kWh.WiththeKIPsysteminstallation,theelectronicmarqueepowersourcewasactivatedonlywhenapersonwasnearbyorinthemarqueesensorzone,anditwouldautomaticallydeactivatewhennopersonwasnearbyorwhenpeopleleftthesensorzone.Theelectricity-consumptioncalculationmethodfortheelectronicmarqueeusingtheKIPisshown inTable1.
Time Electricity Consumption Category
Peak Hours 6:30-7:30
Non-peak Hours 9:00-10:00
One hour of electricity consumption for the electronic marquee (including a laptop)
1.25 kWh (A) 1.25 kWh (A)
One hour average electricity consumption for the electronic marquee with KIP installed (10 month average)
1.09 kWh (B1) 0.85 kWh (B2)
Electricity saving ratio after KIP installation
SR1= (A-B1) / A
SR2 = (A-B2) / A
Average electricity saving ratio after KIP installation
(SR1+SR2) / 2
Table 1. Comparison Design on Electricity-Saving Effects of KIP System
The10-monthaverageelectricityconsumptionfortheelectronicmarqueeinstalledwiththeKIPwas(B1)kWhatpeakhoursand(B2)kWhatnon-peakhours.WecalculatedthepeakhourelectricitysavingratioSR1(includingelectricityconsumptionfortheKIPsystem)usingacalculationformulaof(1.25-B1)/1.25,andthenon-peakhourelectricitysavingratioSR2(includingelectricityconsumptionfortheKIPsystem)usingacalculationformulaof(1.25-B2)/1.25.Theenergy-savingspotentialoftheKIPsystemforthecampusmarqueewasassessedbyaveragingtheSR1andSR2electricitysavingratiosfromthetwoperiods.
Results MeasurementstakenonMay4,2012,indicatedthattheone-hourelectricityconsumptionrateforthecontinuouslyactivatedelectronicmarquee(includingtheaccompanyinglaptop)was1.25kWh.AftertheinstallationoftheKIPsystem,theelectricityconsumptionratesofpeakandnon-peakhourperiodsfor10continuousschoolmonths(betweenFebruary2012,andJanuary2013,areshowninTable2.
Theaveragepeakhourelectricityconsumptionratewas1.09kWh,theaverage
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Time Testing Month
Peak Hours 6:30-7:30
Non-peak Hours 9:00-10:00
Average Electricity Consumption (kWh)
2012/2 1.14 0.83 0.99 2012/3 1.03 0.86 0.95 2012/4 1.16 0.91 1.04 2012/5 1.02 0.72 0.87 2012/6 1.17 0.88 1.03 2012/9 1.08 0.95 1.02 2012/10 1.02 0.74 0.88 2012/11 1.15 0.97 1.06 2012/12 1.06 0.86 0.96 2013/1 1.04 0.75 0.90 Mean (10-month) 1.09 0.85 0.97 SD (10-month) 0.06 0.09 0.07
Table 2. The Average and Difference of Electricity Consumption Rates for Two Periods of Electronic Marquee with KIP, or Before and After KIP System Installed
Note: 1. Peak Hours vs. Non-peak Hours, ** p = .000 (t = 11.77, α = .01, df = 9, SD = .065); 2. Before vs. after KIP system installed, ** p = .000 (t = 12.81, α = .01, df = 9, SD = .069)
non-peakhourelectricityconsumptionratewas0.85kWh,andtheaverageelectricityconsumptionrateforpeakandnon-peakhourswas0.97kWh.Basedonaboveresults,apairedt-testanalysiswasconductedandfound:1).thedifferencebetweenpeakhourandnon-peakhourofElectronicMarqueewithKIPwasstatisticallysignificant(t=11.77,α=.01,**p=.000);2).TheuseofbeforeandafterElectronicMarqueewithKIPsystemalsoshowedastatisticallysignificantdifference(t=12.81,α=.01,**p=.000).AsshowninTable2,theelectricity-consumptionrateaftertheKIPsysteminstallationwassignificantlylowerthantheelectricityconsumptionratepriortoitsinstallationwhenthemarqueewasleftoncontinuously.
Table3showsthattheone-hourelectricityconsumptionratefortheoriginalelectronicmarqueesystemwas1.25kWh.AftertheinstallationoftheKIPsystem,theelectronicmarqueewasactivatedonlyduringhumanpresence,andtheaveragepeakhourelectricity-consumptionratewas1.09kWh,providinganaverageelectricitysavingsrateof12.8%;theaveragenon-peakhourelectricityconsumption
ratewas0.85kWh,providinganaverageelectricity-savingsrateof32.0%;theaveragehourlyelectricity-consumptionratewas0.97kWh,providinganaverageelectricity-savingsrateof22.4%.
Theabove-mentionedresultsindicatethattheKIPsystemcansignificantlyreducetheelectricityconsumptionoftheelectronicmarquee.Therefore,wesuggestthattheKIPsystemcanhelptoachievethepotentialforenergysavingsforanelectronicmarquee.
Discussion Theintelligentbuildingautomationtechnologieswereexpectedtogrow8.20%during2010-2015,andthereisalsoexpectedtobeanincreaseinpersonalizedcontroloflighting,temperature,ventilation,andotheraspectsoftheinteriorenvironmenttoenhancetheproductivityofknowledgeworkers(MarketsandMarkets,2011).Whentheissueofsavingenergyisconcerned,electronicdevicesandfacilities,suchaslights,airconditioningunits,andelectronicmarqueesshouldonlybeactiveduringhumanpresence.However,becausethesedevicesarenotequippedwithhuman-detectiondevices,
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Time Electricity Consumption Category
Peak Hour 6:30-7:30
Non-peak Hour 9:00-10:00
One hour of electricity consumption for the electronic marquee (including the used for marquee titles)
1.25 kWh 1.25 kWh
One hour of average electricity consumption for the electronic marquee after KIP installation (10 month average)
1.09 kWh 0.85 kWh
Electricity saving ratio after KIP installation 12.8% 32.0%
Average electricity saving ratio after KIP installation 22.4%
Table 3. The Energy-Saving Effects of the KIP System on the Electronic Marquee
theyareoftenactivewhennooneispresent,andthereforeresultinanunnecessarywasteofenergy.Therefore,theKIPsystemcanbeexpandedtousewithotherelectricaldevicesthatshouldonlybeactivewhenhumansarepresent.Taiwan’sschoolsystemhasapproximately200schooldaysannually.Ifwemultiply200schooldaysby24hoursaday(Themarqueeisgenerallyon24hoursperdayinTaiwan’sschools)andapproximately0.28kWhofelectricitysavingsperhour(1.25–0.97)andthereaftermultiplythisnumberbythebasicelectricityfeeofatleastNTD$3.00per1kWh,itcomesoutthattheKIPinstalledelectronicmarqueewillsaveapproximatelyNTD$4032foraschoolyear,orUSD$137Thecalculationformulaisasfollows:
atapproximatelyUSD$220andIPPoweratapproximatelyUSD$150,itisestimatedthattheinvestmentcostsfortheKIPsystemcanberecoveredinapproximately2.7schoolyears.AstudybyHittinger,Mullins,andAzevedo(2012)indicatedthattheU.S.electricityconsumptionforvideogameshascontinuallyincreasedanditwouldincreaseby50%between2007and2010.Suchanincreaseinelectricityconsumptionisprimarilycausedbyusers’habitofnotturningoffgamingconsoleswhentheystoppedplaying.TheKIPsystemdevelopedbythisstudyisidealtoresolvethisproblem,andwesuggestthatthegamingindustrycouldaddanautomaticshutdowndesign.AslongastheusersplugthegamingconsoleintotheKIPsystem,theconsolepowersourcecanautomaticallybeactivatedordeactivated,dependingonhumanpresenceinthevicinityofthegameconsole.
Accordingtothetestresultofthisstudy,wealsofindthattheamountofelectricitysavedbytheKIPsystemisaffectedbytwofactors:thebasicelectricity-consumptionrateoftheelectronicequipmentandtheamountofhumanpresence.Regardingthebasicelectricity-consumptionratefactor,theinstallationof
13-353 REVISED Energy-Savings 12
12
Discussion
The intelligent building automation technologies were expected to grow 8.20% during
2010-2015, and there is also expected to be an increase in personalized control of
lighting, temperature, ventilation, and other aspects of the interior environment to
enhance the productivity of knowledge workers (MarketsandMarkets, 2011). When
the issue of saving energy is concerned, electronic devices and facilities, such as
lights, air conditioning units, and electronic marquees should only be active during
human presence. However, because these devices are not equipped with human-
detection devices, they are often active when no one is present, and therefore result in
an unnecessary waste of energy. Therefore, the KIP system can be expanded to use
with other electrical devices that should only be active when humans are present.
Taiwan’s school system has approximately 200 school days annually. If we multiply
200 school days by 24 hours a day (The marquee is generally on 24 hours per day in
Taiwan’s schools) and approximately 0.28 kWh of electricity savings per hour (1.25 –
0.97) and thereafter multiply this number by the basic electricity fee of at least NTD
$3.00 per 1 kWh, it comes out that the KIP installed electronic marquee will save
approximately NTD $4032 for a school year, or USD $137 The calculation formula is
as follows:
(200 days × 24 hr × 0.28 kWh × NT$ 3) ÷ Exchange rate 29.5 ≒ US$ 137
( Kinect US$ 220 ＋ IP Power US$ 150 ) ÷ US$ 137 ≒ 2.7 Semester Years
The KIP system can save the school at least USD $137 in electricity fees for a
school year, excluding non-school days. Considering the KIP system investment costs
of Kinect at approximately USD $220 and IP Power at approximately USD $150, it is
estimated that the investment costs for the KIP system can be recovered in
approximately 2.7 school years. A study by Hittinger, Mullins, and Azevedo (2012)
indicated that the U.S. electricity consumption for video games has continually
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hr×0.28kSemesterYears TheKIPsystemcansavetheschoolatleastUSD$137inelectricityfeesforaschoolyear,excludingnon-schooldays.ConsideringtheKIPsysteminvestmentcostsofKinect
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theKIPsystemcansave22.4%inelectricityconsumption,butbecausetheelectricityconsumptionrate(inkW)forairconditionersisgreaterthanthatofelectronicmarquees,theKIPsystemcansavemoreelectricity(inkW)forairconditionersthanitcanforelectronicmarquees.Inaddition,intermsofhumanpresence,ifanelectronicmarqueeisinstalledatasmallerschool,itwouldhavelesshumanpresencebecauseofasmallnumberofstudents;thus,theenergy-savingspotentialwillbegreatercomparedtoanelectronicmarqueeinstalledatalargerschool.
Basedontheabovetestresultandevaluation,we suggestthatitisfeasibletoapplytheKIPsysteminvariousbuildingspacesandenvironments,suchasschoolclassroomsorlibraries,automaticlightingdevices,televisions,airconditioners,orenergy-savingdesignforbuildingsecurity-monitoringsystems.
Conclusions Electronicmarqueesgenerallystayonandwasteenergy,evenwhennobodywalkspastthemorispresenttoreadthem.Inthisstudy,theKIPsystemwasinstalledtoanelectronicmarqueesystemandusedEZ-HDelectricitymonitoringsoftwaretotestwhethertheKIPsystemwouldhavethepotentialtosaveenergy.Wemeasuredtheelectricityconsumptionratesatthecasestudyschoolfor10continuousmonths.Itwasfoundthattheelectronicmarqueesysteminitsoriginalcontinuouslyactivestateconsumed(includingthelaptopthatrunsthemarqueetitlesoftware)1.25kWhofelectricityperhour,andthattheaveragehourlyelectricityconsumptionrateforthemarqueesystemwiththeKIPsysteminstalledwas0.97kWh.Theaboveresultshowedanaverageelectricitysavingsrateof22.4%,andindicatedthattheKIPsystemwouldhelptoreducetheelectricityconsumptionoftheelectronicmarquee.
ComparedtotheIRsensorpartsusedtoautomate,activate,anddeactivateelectronicdevicepowersourcesinthepast,wefindthattheadvantagesoftheKIPsysteminclude:1).Itcandetect/distinguishhumanpresenceandsoitwillnotactivatepowersourceswhenanimals(e.g.,catsanddogs)orothermovingobjectspassby;2).Ithasawiderdetectionrangeandsoitcanbereconfiguredaccordingtotheindividual
needswhenenergysavingisconcerned.TheKIPsystemprovidesuserswithanavenuetosaveelectricity,sowesuggestthatitisfeasibletoapplytheKIPsysteminvariousbuildingspacesandenvironments,suchasschoolclassroomsorlibraries,automaticlightingdevices,televisions,airconditioners,orenergy-savingsbuildingdesign.
Wen-Fu Pan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Management at the National Dong Hwa Univeristy, Haulien, Taiwan
Shih-Chun Tu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Simulation and Design, Shih Chien University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Mei-Ying Chien is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Management at the National Dong Hwa Univeristy, Haulien, Taiwan
Ya-Moo Zhang is a teacher at Sui-Yuan Elementary School, Haulien, Taiwan
89References
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The Cognitive Processes and Strategies of an Expert and Novice in the Design of a Wireless Radio Frequency Network By Matthew Lammi and Timothy Thornton
ABSTRACT Thepurposeofthisstudywastounderstandthecognitiveprocessesandproceduresemployedbyanexpertandanoviceengineerinarealisticradiofrequency(RF)systemsengineeringdesignchallengebyusingverbalprotocolanalysis(VPA).Theengineeringdesignchallengeencompassedengineering,political,andsocialconstraints.Theaudiodatawerethentranscribed,segmented,andcodedforanalysis.Theprocessesandstrategiesoftheexpertandnovicewerejuxtaposedforanalysis.Theexpertandnovicesharedsomesimilaritiesintheircognitiveprocessesandstrategies.However,theexpert’sdomainknowledgeandexperiencewasvastlydistinctfromthatofthenovice.
Keywords: Engineering design, Systems Design, Design Cognition, Expert- Novice engineer, Engineering and technology education
Introduction Technologicalandengineeringliteracyarecriticalcomponentsofaprosperoussociety.Onedimensionofbothtechnologicalandengineeringliteracycanbedefinedas“...awayofthinkingandacting”(Pearson&Young,2002,p.3).Cognitivescienceaddresseswaysofthinkingasawindowtothehumanmind,sheddinglightonthoughtprocessesandhowthemindisstructured(Adams,Turns,&Atman,2003).Becausetechnologyandengineeringarebetterunderstoodwithinthedomainofcognition,thefurtherthepromulgationofatechnologicallyandengineeringliteratesociety.Onewaytostudycognitiveprocessesandstrategiesisthroughverbalprotocolanalysis(Kruger&Cross,2001).
Engineeringisatopicofinterestnotonlylimitedtothepostsecondarytrainingofengineers,butitisalsofoundintheK-12settingsasaneducationaldisciplinerichininnovation,problemsolving,andhigherorderthinkingskills(Brophy,Klein,Portsmore,&Rogers,2008).AlthoughengineeringliteracyisbecomingapartoftheAmericaneducationallandscape,thereismuchtobeunderstoodabout
whatengineeringliteracyisandhowtoteachittononengineeringK-12students.Oneaspectofengineeringliteracyisputtingengineeringhabitsintothoughtandaction.Tobetterunderstandthesehabits,onecanemployanexpert/noviceperspective,wheretheexpertisanengineerandthenoviceisthepresumedstudent.Thisperspectivedescribesthepointwhereastudentcurrentlyis(novice)andwherethatstudentcouldbe(expert).Theaimofthisstudywastofurthertheknowledgebaseofengineeringcognitionbydescribingthecognitiveprocessesandstrategiesofbothanexpertandanoviceinthedesignofawirelesscommunicationssystem.
Theresearchquestionsforthisstudywere: • Whatcognitiveprocessesandstrategies areusedbyanexpertandanovicein engineeringdesign? • Howdotheexpert’sandthenovice’s cognitiveprocessesandstrategies compare?
Research Literature Thisstudyisbasedonthefoundationofcognitivescienceasitpertainstoengineeringandtechnologyeducation(Brown,2001).Engineersandtechnologistsaregiventhetasktosolveproblems,bothintheclassroomandinpractice.Designisacategorywithinproblemsolvingthatiscognitivelyintensive(Jonassen,2000).Cognitionismorethansimplytoknowsomething;itstemsfromtheLatinwordcognoscere,meaningtobecomeacquaintedwith(Cognition,2013).Tobecomeintimatelyacquaintedwithaparticularfieldofpractice,onehastoacquirethoroughknowledgeanddevelopintricateassociations.Thisknowledgeandtheseassociationsarerepresentedincognitivesciencebycomplexarraysofnetworksknownasschema(Brown,2001).Oneofthegoalsofengineeringandtechnologyeducationistoexposethestudentto,andhopefullymovethestudentcloserto,theskillsandthinkingofanexpertinthefield.Byobservingandanalyzingcognition,researchmayrevealfurtherinsightsintohowexpertsandnovicesapproachandstrategize
93engineeringandtechnologydesign.Theseinsightsmightthenaidinengineeringcurriculumandpractices.
Engineering Design Thepervadingconceptofdesignisinterwoventhroughoutengineeringprocessesandculture(Burghardt&Hacker,2004).Designisanebulousprocessthatmaybeperceivedfromeitherascientificoranartisticviewpoint(Cross,2001).Designisdynamicanditerative;therefore,itisnoteasilyrepresentedbysimplelinearmodels(Mawson,2003).Designtypicallycommenceswithdefiningandformulatingtheproblem(Cross,2004).Formulatingtheproblemincludesthegatheringofpertinentdata,delineatingtheoverallgoal,andcreatinganinitialplanor“nextsteps.”
Engineeringdesignismorethanthemanipulationofnumbersandthesolvingofscientificequations.Theprocessesemployedinengineeringdesignencompassabroadvarietyoftopicsandfieldsofstudy.Bucciarelli(1988),anethnographer,describedengineeringasasocialprocess.TheNationalAcademyofEngineering(2004,2005)clearlystatedthatengineeringeducationwaslackingifitdidnotincludetheglobalperspectiveinengineeringdesignsuchassocial,political,andenvironmentalissues.Theglobalperspectiveinengineeringispartofsystemsengineering.Systemsengineeringinvolvesviewingdesignfromthewhole-systemslevelratherthanfromanisolatedmodularperspective.
Jonassen(2000)placeddesigninitsownproblemtypeinhistaxonomyofproblemsolving.Designisnotonlylistedascomplexandill-structured,butitalsorequireshigherorderproblem-solvingskills.Engineeringdesigntypicallyentailsresolvingthedesigner’sgoalandthecriteriasetforthbyclientsorotherexternalparties(Cross,2002).Veryoftentheexternalcriteriaareassociatedwithresources,suchascapitalortime.JonassenandTessmer(1996)furtherassertedthatasaproblemtype,designskillsareinfluencedbydomainknowledge,cognitiveskills,andaffectivetraits.ThishasbeensupportedbyEricsson(2001),whostatedthatfocusandcommitmentarealsofactorsinexpertise.
Becausedesignisanimportantaspectofbothengineeringandtechnology,ithasbeenthefocusofnumerousstudiesinvolvingengineeringcognition(Atman&Bursic,1998;Atman,Kilgore,&McKenna,2008;Cross,2002;Ericsson&Simon,1993;Jonassen,2000;Lammi&Branoff,2012).Thesestudiesusedverbalprotocolanalysis(VPA),oravariationofthisanalysis,asamajorcomponentingatheringdata.IfVPAisused,theparticipantsverbalizetheirthoughtsoutloudwhileengagedinataskorwhilesolvingproblems.Theparticipantstypicallyengageinahypotheticalengineeringproblemorchallengeinordertostimulateincreasedcognitiveactivity.TheVPAisperformedinaroomwheretherearefewdistractionstohelptheparticipantmaintainmentalfocus.Theparticipantisalsoaccompaniedbyaresearcherorassistantwhorecordstheverbalizationwitheitheranaudioorvideorecorder.AlthoughHayes(1989)concededthatverbalprotocolsaretypicallyincomplete,healsoclaimedthatundercontrolledconditionsthereisnoevidencethatverbalprotocolsdistortorinterferewithaparticipant’sthinkingwhilethatparticipantisengagedinatask.
Expert versus Novice Studentsandexpertsvaryaccordingtotheirabilityinengineeringdesign.Thesedifferencesofengineeringdesigncognitionareoftenanalyzedagainsttheexpertandnovicecontinuum(Atmanetal.,2008;Cross,2002;Lawson&Dorst,2005).Thenoviceislimitedbyexperienceandknowledge,resultinginapartialandsimpleschema.Theexperthasavastdepthofexperienceandfocusedpracticewithinadomain,resultingindeepandrichschemata(Cross,2004).However,experienceandknowledgealonedonotensureexpertise.Themannerinwhichtheexperienceandknowledgeisorderedandinterrelatedhasagreatimpactonexpertise.
Anexpertisabletorecognizelargeamountsofinformation,orchunks(Egan&Schwartz,1979).Fromthesechunks,anexpertcanrecognizewhatinformationisrelevanttotheissueathand.Thisenablestheexperttoquicklyandefficientlywadethroughdataandfactswithfastretrievalfromher/hismemoryorschemata.Thisprocessmaybecomparedtotheroutingofdatapacketsinacomputernetwork.
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Theswitchesareconstantly“learning”newandefficientpathwaystoconnectdatafromoneendusertoanother.Themorecompleteandexpansetheconnections,thequickertheroutingofthedatapackets.Asmoreequipmentandnodesareaddedtothenetwork,thepossibilityofamoreefficientpathwayisintroduced.Itisevidentthataddingmorenodestothenetworkalonedoesnotincreaseefficiency.Rather,itisthedeliberateandcontinualattemptstoreroutebytheswitchingequipmentthatincreasesefficiency.Hence,whennewinformationorexperienceisaddedtothehumanmind,itisonlyusefulifapurposefulassociationismade.ThisdeliberateandfocusedeffortwasexplainedbyEricsson(2001)astheprimarydifferencebetweenexpertsandthosewhoareonlyproficientintheirdomains.However,asthesolutionspaceevolvesandelucidatesfurtherconstraints,theexpertreturnstoandreferences,orredefines,theproblemspaceiterativelyuntilthedesignisimplemented,tested,andconcluded.Theseattributescanbecombinedtogethertohighlightthe“knowhow”thatisoftendemonstratedbyanexpert.Theliteratureinengineeringdesigncognitionhasprimarilyemployedverbalprotocolsanalyzedagainsttheexpert-novicecontinuum.Althoughsystemshavegarneredattentioninrecentliterature(Davis&Sumara,2006),researchregardingcognitioninsystemsengineeringdesignislimited.
Methods Thepurposeofthisinvestigationwastounderstandandcomparebothanexpert’sandanovice’scognitiveprocessesandstrategieswhiletheyareengagedinthedesignofasystemsengineeringchallenge.Thereweretwoparticipantsinthisstudy,anexpertandanoviceinwirelesssystemsdesign.Asmallnumberofparticipantswaschosentoallowanin-depthanalysisofthedata.EachoftheVPAgeneratedhundredsofdatapointsthatwerecodedandanalyzed.Thedesignchallengegiventotheparticipantswasahypotheticalradiofrequency(RF)systemsdesign.Thehypotheticalsettingwaschosentohelpcapturetheparticipants’thinkingwithintheboundsofaVPA.
AnRFnetworkisasystemofcellularphonetowersandaccompanyingequipmentdistributedthroughoutanareatoprovidecellularphoneservice.RFsystemsdesignsencompass
engineering,political,andsocialvariablesandconstraints.Thedesignchallengewasasimulatedopen-endedRFengineeringproblem.
VPAwasusedinthisstudytogatherparticipants’cognitivestrategiesandprocessesastheyperformedtheirtasks.Bothwereinvitedtoshareeverythingtheywerethinkingduringthedesignchallenge.ToincreasetrustworthinessandminimizeleadingquestionsduringtheVPA,bothparticipantswereonlyproddedtoverbalizeiftherewasatleastafive-secondpauseinsharingtheirthoughts.Asbothwereencouragedtosharealloftheirthoughts,theresultingtranscriptionwasnotalwayscoherentorgrammaticallycorrect.TheVPAwasfollowedimmediatelybyaninterviewtoclarifyambiguitiesthatemergedduringthechallenge.Additionally,theresearcherannotatedobservationsduringthechallenge,andadesignartifactwascollectedandanalyzed.Followingthedesignactivity,theaudiodataweretranscribed,categorized,andcodedforanalysis(Glesne,2006).
Participants ThesampleforthisstudyincludedtwoparticipantsdrawnfromtheoppositeendsoftheexpertisecontinuuminthedomainofRFengineeringsystemdesign.Assuch,theywereselectedregardingtheirskillsetwithinRFengineeringsystemdesign.AlthoughRFsystemsengineeringisnottypicallytaughtatU.S.universities,thecourseworkinelectricalorelectronicengineeringgenerallyservesasabasicfoundation.Additionally,anRFengineermustalsohaveasolidunderstandingofwavepropagationtheoryinadditiontodigitalcommunications.TogainproficiencyinRFsystemsdesign,theengineermustgraspthesocietalandpoliticalimpactswhileworkingcollaborativelyacrossawidearrayofteams(rangingfromconstructioncrewstoexecutivemanagement).ExpertiseinRFengineeringisgenerallyobtainedthroughextensivepracticeinindustrybecauseofthefrequentcomplexhumaninteractionsthatmustbebalancedwithsoundengineeringdesign.
AnexpertRFengineerisnotonlythemostseniorengineeramongpeers,butthispersonoftenconsultsotherengineersnationallyandinternationally.EvenwithinthedomainofRFengineering,therearesubdomainswhere
95onemayachievefurtherexpertise:design,optimization,andspectrumallocation.Theexpertforthisstudy,Robert(pseudonym),hadoverthirteenyearsofRFsystemsengineeringdesignexperienceworkingforamajorcellularproviderinvariouspositions(rangingfrommanagertointernalconsultant).Thisexpertreceivedabachelor’sdegreeinelectricalengineeringandcontinuedhiseducationthroughself-learningandcorporatetraining.
Theotherparticipant,Gary,wasanoviceandattheotherendofthespectrumofRFsystemsengineering.Hewasaprofessorinelectronicengineeringtechnologyandhadtaughtelectronicsatthepostsecondarylevelformorethan35years.AlthoughthisparticipantwasanoviceinRFsystemsengineeringdesign,hehadabreadthofskillsinpedagogyandundergraduateelectronics.Hewaschosenasthenovicebecauseofhisbackgroundinelectricaltheoryandpracticalexperiencewithelectromagneticwavepropagation;however,hedidnothaveanyspecifictraininginRFsystemsengineeringdesign.
Design Challenge TheparticipantswereaskedtodesignanewRFnetworkinanisolatedcollegetownasiftheywereengineeringdesignconsultants.Thischallengetookplaceinasmalloffice;onlytheparticipantandaresearcherwerepresent.PriortotheVPA,bothparticipantswereinvitedtoperformawarm-upactivitytopreparethemtothinkoutloud.Inthiswarm-upactivity,bothparticipantsgaveavirtualtouroftheirhomes.Theparticipantsdescribedindetailtheinterioroftheirhomes,includingthewindows,wallcolors,andtypeofwoodofthecabinets.
Immediatelyafterthewarm-upactivity,theparticipantsweregivenathree-dimensionalaerialmapoverlaidwithmajorandminortransportationthoroughfarestoaidinthedesign,asseeninFigure1.Eachparticipantwasinvitedtoplacepotentialcellulartowersonthismap.Constraintswereplacedinthedesignchallengetocreatearealisticill-definedscenario.Theconstraintsweretolimitcapitalexpendituresandabidebythezoningtonotexceed60-foottowers,anddesigncellsitestobehiddenor
Figure 1. 3-‐D Aerial Map Used During the Design Challenge
Figure 1. 3D Aerial Map Used During the Design Challenge
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stealth.Additionally,bothweremadeawareofhighcellulartrafficvenues,suchasauniversitywith18,000studentsandafictitiousannualwakeboardingeventthatwoulddraw10,000individuals.
Afollow-upinterviewwasalsoconductedimmediatelyfollowingthedesignchallenge.Theinterviewquestionsincludedthefollowing:whyeachparticipantchosevaryingcellularsites,whycertainmethodsandstrategieswereemployed,andwhattheywerethinkingduringprolongedpauses.Additionally,the3-Dmapservedasanartifactfortriangulationwiththeparticipant’sverbalizationandinterviewresponses.
Data Collection and Analysis Theaudiofromthedesignchallengewastranscribedintoawordprocessor.Thetranscriptionwasbrokenintounitsorsegments.Thesegmentsconsistedofasentence,unlessaseparatethoughtorideasurfacednecessitatingfurthersegmenting.Thesegmentswerecodedintodistinctmentalprocessesusedinengineering.Variousmethodshavebeenusedincodingverbalprotocols(Atman&Bursic,1998;Kruger&Cross,2001),incontrast,thecodingforthisstudywasdonefromtheperspectiveoftheresearcherasthemesemerged.Althoughtherearevariousengineeringcodingschemes,forpurposesofthisresearch,athematicapproachwasemployedtodiscoveranysalientthemesthatemerged.Existing,well-definedcodingschemescouldpotentiallylimittheoutcomesandfindings.Furthermore,RFsystemsengineeringisaphenomenathathasnotbeenwidelyresearched,especiallythroughVPA.
The Verbal Protocol Analysis TohelptheparticipantsrelaxandhavetheirmindsfreefromdistractiontheVPAstookplaceonFridayafternoonswhenworkwasslow.Tofurtherminimizedistractions,theVPAstookplaceinaquietandsecludedfluorescent-litroomwithlittledecorations.Eachparticipantandtheresearchersatatahugewoodlaminatetableatthemiddleoftheroomwhiletheysharedtheirthoughtsonsolvingthedesignchallenge.
Results Becausebothparticipantshadmultipleyearsofexperienceatthesystemslevelinelectronics,theybothinitiallyutilizedatop-downapproach
intheirdesign.Suchanapproachbeginswiththebigpictureandthenbreaksthedesignintoitscomponents.Robert,theexpert,initiallystated,“Isthisforthewholearea,orisit...?”NotonlydidRobertcommencewiththismethod,healsodesignedthesystemtointeractwithpotentialexistingsystems.Bothparticipantsalsousedaniterativeprocessevaluatingandvisualizingtheirdesignagainstthevariousconstraints.However,Robertwasabletomorethoroughlyanalyzeandbalancetheconstraints,suchaszoningandleasing.Robertquicklynoted,“Thezoninglimitationslistedhereasstealthdesign–hmm.Okay,nowthesearecompetingrequirements:limitingcapitalexpendituresandstealth.”
Boththeexpertandthenovicefrequentlyreturnedtofoundationalprinciplesforpredictionsandsitelocations.Gary,thenovice,wasfullyawareofhislimitationsandstatedrepeatedlythathedidnothavetheexperienceandknowledgetomakeanaccuratedesign.AtonepointGarystated,“Ihavealotofquestions,butIamnotsure.”Conversely,theexpertwasabletomakementalpredictionsorvisualizationsofthedesignandreliedheavilyonexperientialandepisodicmemory.Robertdiscussedhisexperiencewithuniversitiessaying,“Theuniversitypopulationshistoricallyhaveareallyhighpenetrationrateformobiles.”Althoughbothparticipantsrecognizedhighcellulartrafficareas,Robertknewhowtoquantifyandoptimizethedesign.Robertstated,“Wearearound80-85%penetrationratenow.So,obviouslywearegoingtowantto[get]verygoodcoveragealongtheinterstatesandhighwaystosupportwherepeoplefrequentlyusetheirmobilephonesintravel.”Onepossibleexplanationforthiswasthatthenovicedidnotrecognizetheparticularlyhighcellularphonetrafficimpliedbyauniversityorawakeboardingcompetition.
Robert’s,asanexpert,designstrategyrevealeddifferencesfromthatofGary’s,asanovice.Robertapproachedthedesignfromapersonalviewpoint,drawingheavilyfrompreviousexperiencesandprecedents.Theexpertmadefrequentreferencestohisexperiences,particularlywithrespecttocapitalexpenditures.Robertcommentedonthezoningrequirementsimpactingthecapitalfunds,“Becauseyouhavelowerantennaheightsrequiredbythestealth
97design,youknowthereisanelevatedcosttobuildsites.”Althoughtheparticipantsweregiventhesametasks,Robertsetaboutthedesignfromthecontextandpointofviewofaconsultant.Hefeltthathehadtoproduceadesignthatwasfeasible,bothfinanciallyandwithrespecttoRFengineering.Robertnotonlyproduceddesign,buthealsomadestatementsabouthowitwouldbezoned,leased,andconstructed.Contextisanimportantfactorinproblemsolving,anditwasevidentinRobert’sresponses.Fromtheexpert’sperspective,Robertspentaconsiderableamounttimemanagingandjustifyinghisdesign.
OneofthemoststrikingcontrastsbetweentheparticipantswastheattentionRobertgavetotheoptimizationofcapitalexpenditures.Itisnoteworthyhowquicklyherecognizedthetworivalrequirementsofreducedcostsandstringentzoningrestrictionscommonlyknownasstealth.Thissamethemepervadedhisentiredesignprocess.EventhoughRobertmade16referencesaboutcosts,Garymentionedcostsonly3times.Additionally,Robert’sdesignproposedonly7sites(versus15forGary),substantiallyreducingthecostoftheproposeddesign.AlthoughGaryrecognizedfinancialcostsinhisdesign,Robertframednearlyeverydesignaspectwithinthecontextofcosts.ThisisnotsurprisingsinceGary’scareerisinacademe,andRobert’swasexclusivelyinindustry,dailyworkingwithinbudgets.
Anotherstrikingdifferencebetweentheexpertandthenovicewastheamountofknowledgeinthedomain.Figure2isapairofconceptmapsthatrevealthedisparityinknowledgedifferences.Theresearcherscreatedtheconceptmapstovisuallyhighlightthedifferencesreportedbetweentheresponsesofthenoviceandexpert.GarydidnothavethebreadthanddepthofknowledgethatRobertdid.Garyalsodidnotalludetoorevenmentionspectrumconsiderations.
However,thenovicedidhaveaworkingknowledgeofradiofrequencyelectromagneticwavepropagation.Garydidmentionzoning,leasing,andcapacity,butthiscouldpartiallybeaccountedforbythedesignbrief.Althoughnotshownontheconceptmaps,RobertnotonlymentionedthedifferentaspectswithinRF
design,healsomademanyconnectionsandassociationsbetweenconcepts.
Robertdemonstratedtheideaofsatisficing,ortheyieldingofanidealdesignforonethatisonlysatisfactory.Thiswasexpressedashemanagedlimitedcapitalandaccountedforstealthzoning.Robertalsomadeuseoftechniquesuniquetohistrade,orgambits,tohelpovercomethestealthrequirements.Theexpertemployedwatertowers,rooftops,andstadiumlightsaseconomicalalternativestoothercostlystealthsolutions.Garywaspromptedforfurtheranalysisanddesignbuthereplied,“Experiencewouldprobablytellapersonmoreinformationwhether[thesystemdesign]isenoughor...not.”Garywasawarethathelackedtherelevantexperienceanddomain-specificknowledgetoelaborateonhisdesign.
Discussion FromthestudywecanseehowanexpertandanovicearealikeandhowtheydifferregardingRFengineeringsystemdesign.Theexpertexhibitedexpansivepracticalknowledgewithinhisdomain.Theexpertalsomaintainedasystemsperspectivethroughouthisdesignbyaccountingforcosts,zoning,andotherteams’needs.Furthermore,theexpertapproachedthedesignchallengefromadistinctcontext.Engineeringandtechnologyeducatorsmightdowelltobroadlyeducatetheirstudentstobecomesystemsthinkers(NationalAcademyofEngineering,2005).Thissystemsapproachtoteachingcouldincludecosts,organizationalbehavior,andpoliticalandsocietalimpacts.Thedesignmethodmaybetaught,butemphasisshouldbeplacedontheideathatthereisnouniversalproblem-solvingmodel.Lastly,systems-levelengineeringcouldbeinfusedintothecurriculumasatop-downapproach.Thisapproachemphasizesbreadthaswellasdepth,withthedepthbeingsituatedincontextandnotisolated.Presentingtheoverallconceptandthendelvingintocomponentsisanalternativemethodforreachingvaryingtypesofstudents’learning.Thisarticlehaspresentedafewideasthatcouldbeinfusedtoengineeringandtechnologyeducationpracticeandresearchthatcouldfurtherincreasetechnologicalandengineeringliteracy.
Thisstudyincludedonlytwoparticipants,oneoneachendoftheexpert-novicecontinuum.
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Figure 2. Concept Maps of Gary’s (Novice) and Robert’s (Expert) RF Designs
99Anyfindingsorconclusionsweremadeinlightofthislimitation.Furtherresearchthatincludesagreaternumberofparticipantswouldbemoreconclusive.Nonetheless,theresultsofthisstudycouldhelpbeaspringboardforotherstudiesandserveasanotherdatumpointamongothersimilarstudies.
Dr. Matthew Lammi is an Assistant Professor of STEM Education at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. He is a member of the Alpha Pi chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau.
Timothy Thornton is a doctoral candidate within the department of Technology, Design, and Engineering Education at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. He is a member of the Alpha Pi chapter of Epsilon Pi Tau.
References
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Abstract Amodelissuggestedfortheinclusionofinnovationeducationinengineeringtechnologyacademicprogrammingtoenhancestudentlearning,drivebusinessgrowth,andadvanceuniversityengagement.Specifically,academicprogramsthatincludeexperientialeducationalopportunitiesfocusedoninnovationtheorycoupledwithbusinessandindustrypartnershipsprovideaframeworkforengineeringtechnologystudentstoapplytheirknowledgebenefitingthestudents,companies,andtheregionsweserve.Thesestrategicpartnershipsprovidefacultyandstudentswiththeopportunitytodriveeconomicdevelopmentthroughbasicresearch,appliedresearch,workforceeducation,training,technologytransfer,andtechnicalassistance.Successfuluniversity-industrycollaborationsareexaminedinthispaper.Additionalresearchisneededtodevelopcollaborationimpactmeasurements,learningoutcomesassessments,andappropriatemetricstoquantitativelymeasuresuccessfulcollaborationactivities.
Key words: Innovation Education, Engineering Technology, Technology Education, Economic Development, University Engagement, Curriculum Development.
Introduction Theneedfortheintegrationofinnovationcurriculumincollegesanduniversitieshasbeenatopicofongoingdiscussionatthenationallevel.TheCouncilonCompetitiveness,anationalorganizationofCEOs,universitypresidents,andlaborleadersworkingtoensureAmericanprosperity,heldanationalinnovationinitiativesummitin2005thatconvenedresearchers,educators,andbusinessleaderstodiscussinnovation.Fromthisinitiative,thecouncilpublishedareporttitled,InnovateAmerica:ThrivinginaWorldofChallengeandChange(CouncilonCompetitiveness,2005).Thereportdetailsanationalinnovationagendafocusingontalent,investment,andinfrastructurethatallowsforinnovationgrowth.TheCouncilonCompetitivenesssuggeststhattalent,andmorespecifically,engineering
The Role of Innovation Education in Student Learning, Economic Development, and University EngagementBy Christy Bozic and Duane Dunlap
talent,isournation’sessentialinnovationasset,althoughthenumberofengineersenteringthefieldarenotreplacingretireesinsufficientnumbers(NationalScienceFoundation,2012).Whilefillingthisengineeringgap,universitieshavetheopportunitytoincorporaterelevantinnovation-basedcurriculathatarereflectiveofill-structured,real-worldscenariosforappliedengineeringandtechnologystudents.Collegesanduniversitiesarebestsuitedtorespondtothechallengeoffosteringtheskillsofcreativethinkingandinnovationintheirengineeringandtechnologystudentsthroughengagingandrelevantcurricula(Sandeen&Hutchinson,2010).
Auniversity’scontributiontolocaleconomicdevelopmenthasbeenlongstudiedandwelldocumented.Historically,universitieshaveviewedtraditionalresearchandeducationasmajorcontributorstoeconomicdevelopment(Smith,Drabenstott,&Gibson,1987).Thoughdiscoveryandknowledgetransferremainessentialcornerstonestouniversityengagementmissions,therehasbeenincreasingemphasisonexpandingtheroleuniversitiesplayininnovationandcompetitivenesstocreatewealth.TheAssociationofPublicandLand-grantUniversities’CommissiononInnovation,CompetitivenessandEconomicProsperity(Milliken,2012)publishedasummaryofsuggestionsfrombusinessandeducationleadersforareasofengagement.Thesesuggestionsincludedevelopingandcommercializingtechnology,increasingindustrialcollaboration,developingeconomicpolicy,developingSTEMtalent,fosteringentrepreneurship,andcreatingdeeperpartnershipswithinP-16education.Universitiesareincorporatingthesestrategiestoplayakeyroleinbuildingknowledge-basedinnovationeconomies.Highereducationleadershipteamscanaccomplishthisbyplacingemphasisoncreatinganentrepreneurialculturetocultivateafertileecosystemtopromotenewbusinessgrowth.Asaresultofthiscultureshift,theseuniversitiestendtoattractmorecreativeentrepreneurswhohaveapenchantforinnovationandcandiscoverandcommercializenewtechnologiesfocusingonbusinessattraction.
103Accordingtooneresearch-based,Midwestuniversity’seconomicdevelopmentworkinggroup,“...universitieshaveahugeroleinthisneweconomy:helpingtosupportresearchandinnovation...buildcommunitiesthatwillmeettheneedsandexpectations,andbeattractive,tothosewiththecreativemindsetsthatareessentialforfosteringinnovationandentrepreneurship”(Deason,2008,p.4).Thisuniversityviewsitsroleasacruciallinkinthe“educationalsupplychain”(Deason,2008,p.4)bycreatinganinnovationcultureforfaculty,students,andpartners.
Universitiesplayakeyroleineconomicdevelopmentbygeneratingandattractingtalent.Oneofthemostcriticalmechanismsofknowledgetransferfrompubliclyfundeduniversitiescomesfromrecentlyemployedskilledgraduatesinindustry(Wolfe,2005).Researchintensiveuniversitiesproducegraduateswhoenterindustrywithhighlevels ofresearchtrainingandappliedknowledge.Whileitisoftendifficulttoquantifythesebenefits,BramwellandWolfe(2008)suggestedthatstudentsrepresentthekeytransfermechanismtochannelscientificresearchfromgovernment-fundeduniversitiesintoindustry forthebroaderpurposeofeconomicdevelopment.Engineeringtechnologyeducatorshavetheopportunitytoimparttechnology-creatingskillstostudentswhilefosteringaninnovationmindset(Green,Smith,&Warner,2012).Providingstudentswithopportunitiestoapplytheoreticalknowledgetosolvereal-worldproblemsallowseducatorstomeetthestatededucationalmissionwhilecontributingtoaneconomicengagementmission.
Appliedengineeringandtechnologycurriculathatincorporatetopicssuchasinnovationtheoryortheinnovationprocesshavebeenshowntobetterprepareengineersfortheglobaleconomy(Orr&Eisenstein,1994;Steiner,1998).Today’sglobaleconomyrequiresengineerstoassumetheleadroleininnovationandideageneration.Althoughinnovationandinnovationtheoryareimportanttopicsinengineeringtechnologyeducation,theyarenottypicallytaughtorembeddedwithinengineeringcurricula.Ifinnovationandentrepreneurshiptheoryareapplied,studentscanlearntosolveill-structured,real-worldbusinessandindustryproblems(Sandeen&Hutchinson,2010).Even
withoutaninnovationcurriculuminengineeringandtechnologydegreeprograms,approximately60percentoftheCEOsintheFortune100companieshaveengineeringorsciencedegrees(President’sCouncilofAdvisorsonScienceandTechnology,2004).
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Atthenationalinnovationsummit,theCouncilofCompetitivenessdefinedinnovationastheintersectionofinventionandinsight,leadingtothecreationofsocialandeconomicvalue(CouncilonCompetitiveness,2005).Additionally,innovationcanbedefinedas“theprocessbywhichtechnologicalideasaregenerated,developedandtransformedintonewbusinessproducts,processesandservicesthatareusedtomakeaprofitandestablishmarketplaceadvantage”(Mogee,1993,p.410).Commontothesedefinitionsistheconceptofthecreationormanipulationofaproductorprocesstobeusedinanewordifferentway.DuringaStateoftheUnionaddressin2011,PresidentObamasaid,“ThefirststepinwinningthefutureisencouragingAmericaninnovation.InAmerica,innovationdoesn’tjustchangeourlives.Itishowwemakeourliving.”Thepresidentemphasizedtheroleofgovernmentanduniversitiestodriveinnovationthroughdiscovery,education,anduniversityengagement.“Butbecauseit’snotalwaysprofitableforcompaniestoinvestinbasicresearch,throughoutourhistory,ourgovernmenthasprovidedcutting-edgescientistsandinventorswiththesupportthattheyneed”(TheWhiteHouseOfficeofthePressSecretary,2011).Additionally,PresidentObamaunderscoredtheneedforfurtherinvestmentinuniversityresearchanddevelopment,challengingeducatorstofocusoneducationinitiativesthatpromoteinnovativeideas.Tomeetthisneed,universitiesandcollegesarepartneringwithgovernment,business,andindustrybyofferingeducationalprogramsthatpromoteinnovationeducation.Eventhoughtheseacademicprogramsoftencontainthewordinnovationintheirtitle,muchofthecurriculumisfocusedonsubjectsthatcouldbeencompassedundertheumbrellaofentrepreneurship.Entrepreneurshipandinnovationareoftencombinedintoacurriculumandtreatedasthesametheoryorsubject.Innovationandentrepreneurshiparereally
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quitedifferentinboththeoryandpractice.Innovationandentrepreneurshipcanbeviewedasacontinuumwithinnovationasaninputintheformofinventionand/orproductandprocessdevelopment.Asaconsequenceoroutcomeofthisinnovation,newbusinessesorexistingbusinessgrowthisrecognizedasentrepreneurship(Duval-Couetil&Dryrenfurth,2012).Manyoftermsusedinthedefinitionsofentrepreneurshipconcentrateonbusinessconceptssuchasmarkettrends,leadership,andnewbusinessventures.Termslikethesearemarkedlydifferentthanthetermspreviouslymentionedinthedefinitionofinnovation.Druckerframedthetheoriesofentrepreneurshipandinnovationascomplementary,butwithdistinctdifferences.Innovationisdescribedasafunctionofentrepreneurship,whetherinanexistingbusinessoranewventure.Whendescribingentrepreneurship,Druckerstated,“Theterm,then,refersnottoanenterprise’ssizeoragebuttoacertainkindofactivity.Attheheartofthatactivityisinnovation:theefforttocreatepurposeful,focusedchangeinanenterprise’seconomicorsocialpotential”(Drucker,1998,p.149).
Thestudyofinnovationandinnovationtheoryinengineeringandtechnologyisessentialforunderstandingnewproductandprocessdevelopment,effectivedecisionmaking,strategicmarketing,andleadershipexcellence.
Thepowerofinnovativeideascanrevolutionizecompaniesandspurnewmarkets.Apollofthetop1,500internationalCEOscitedinnovativecreativityasthetopleadershiptraitfortheircompanies(Dyer,Gregersen,&Christensen,2009).Figure1presentsthewordsorphrasesCEOsusetodescribethetopleadershipcharacteristicsfortoday’seconomicenvironment(Berman,2010).
Giventheimportanceofinnovationfornewbusinessgrowth,thetheoryofinnovationcanandshouldbetaughttotechnologystudents.Onesuchexampleofinnovationtheoryisthatofdisruptiveinnovation.Adisruptiveinnovationcreatesanewmarketbyapplyingadifferentsetofvalues,whichultimately(andunexpectedly)overtakesanexistingmarket(Christensen,1997).TheexaminationofNetflix’sroleinthevideomovierentalmarketprovidesasimplifiedcaseofdisruptiveinnovation.Netflixisaservicethatallowscustomerstostreammoviecontenttoanyweb-baseddeviceondemand,thuseliminatingtheneedforcustomerstodrivetovideorentalstoresandchoosefromin-stockmovietitleoptions.Usingacustomer-focusedandlow-costbusinessmodel,NetflixdisruptedthetraditionalbusinessmodelofcompetitorssuchasBlockbuster.Disruptiveinnovationtheoryexplainshownewcompaniescanutilize“relativelysimple,convenient,low-costinnovationstocreategrowthandtriumphover
Figure 1: Word cloud with top leadership qualities CEOs cited as most important
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powerincumbents”(Christensen,Anthony,&Roth,2004,p.xv).Additionally,thetheoryofdisruptiveinnovationsuggeststhatlargemarketleadersorexistingcompaniescanmaintainmarketshareandmarketpositionwhenanentrantcompanyintroducesaninnovationthatisconsideredsustaining.Asustaininginnovationisonethatimprovesuponexistingproductsorprocesses(Christensen&Raynor,2003).Whenanentrantcompanyintroducesaproductorservicethatisdisruptiveinnature,itchangestheentiremarketbecausetheinnovationintroducesthenewproducttoanentirelynewcustomerbase.Figure2providesanillustrationofdisruptiveinnovationtheory.Thelineswitharrowsillustrateacompany’sproductorprocessimprovementtrajectoryinagivenmarket.Disruptiveinnovationtheorysuggeststheincumbentcompaniesinthemarketwillmostlikelywinadditionalmarketshareonsustaininginnovationsthatmarginallyimproveanexistingproductasdetailedinthetopcurvedarrow.Companieshavehistoricallyinvestedinthedevelopmentofthesesustaininginnovationscharginghigherpricestotheircurrentcustomerbasewiththesemarginalimprovements.Itiswiththesesustaininginnovationsthatcompaniesservetheirmostsophisticatedordemandingcustomersatthetopofanygivenmarkettorecognizemoreimmediateprofits(Christensen,2012).
Byservingtop-tiercustomers,incumbentcompaniesareleftopentocompetitionbyentrantfirmswithdisruptiveinnovationstodominatethebottomofthemarket.Thesedisruptiveinnovationsusuallyintroducetheproductfamilytoanentirelynewmarketbasewhomaynotbemarketparticipantsifnotforthisdisruptiveproduct.Innovativedisruptionsareusuallylowerincost,quality,andperformancethanwhattheincumbentcompanyproduces.Becauseofthelowercost,slimmermargins,andtheperceptionofinferiority,disruptiveinnovationsareoftenunattractivetoincumbentfirmsbasedonwell-establishedperformancemetrics,yettheyareattractivetocustomerswhomakepurchasesbasedonpriceoverquality.Studentswhounderstandtheinnovationprocessthroughthestudyandapplicationofitstheoriescanmakeanimmediateimpactintheircareers.Educatorscanprovidestudentswithfoundationalinnovationeducationtoeffectivelydriveormanageinnovationtoimproveproductivityandglobalcompetitiveness.Forexample,thepartnershipbetweenProctorandGamble(P&G)andtheUniversityofCincinnatilinksstudentswithindustrytoaccelerateinnovationforP&G’sconsumers.Thiscollaborativeacademic-industrypartnershipdevelopedamodelingandsimulationcentertoadvanceP&G’sproductandprocessdevelopment.Asaresultofthis
Figure 2: Disruptive innovation model. Reprinted from Clayton Christensen, Disruptive Innovation, by C. Christensen, 2012, Retrieved from www.claytonchristensen.com. Copyright 2012 by Clayton Christensen. Reprinted with permission.
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simulationcenter,P&Ghashired10studentsasfull-timeemployeesbecausetheywereableto“hitthegroundrunningondayone”(UIDP,2013,p.2).
Collegesanduniversitiesincreasinglyofferentrepreneurship-focusedacademicprograms,certificates,andminors(Bordogna,Fromm,&Ernst,1993;Robinson&Haynes,1991;Seymore,2001;Standish-Kuon&Rice,2002).Althoughthereisgrowthinentrepreneurshipeducation,thereisstillaneedforeducationalcredentialswithaspecificfocusoninnovation.Onerecentstudyidentifiedonlyeightundergraduateacademicprogramsfocusedoninnovation.Theyincludedthreebachelordegreeprograms,threeminors,andtwocertificateprograms(Duval-Couetil&Dryrenfurth,2012).Additionally,atthegraduatelevel,DartmouthUniversityoffersaPh.D.programininnovationbycombiningengineeringandbusinesscourseswithanappliedbusinessorindustryinternship(Dartmouth,2011).Fortheinnovationcore,Dartmouthcombinesfourengineeringcourseswithfourbusinesscoursestoprovidegraduateswiththefoundationtobuildbusinessesbasedontechnologicalinnovation.
The Need for Research in Innovation Education Althoughaninnovationcurriculumisgainingpopularity,publishedresearchoneffectiveteachingandlearningmethodsofinnovationeducationforallstudents,andmorespecifically,forengineeringandtechnologystudentsisneeded.TheEwingMarionKauffmanFoundation(2012)hasrecognizedthisneed.TheKauffmanFoundation’smissionistoadvanceentrepreneurshipandimprovetheeducationofchildrenandyouththroughfourprogramareas:(a)entrepreneurship,(b)innovation,(c)education,and(d)researchandpolicy.TheKauffmanFoundationsupportsresearchandpublicationspecifictoinnovationandinnovationeducationatalleducationallevels.Asoneexample,KauffmansponsoredtheUSCGlobalInnovationChallengeSummerProgram,whichsupportseducatorswhoteachstudentstodevelopinnovativeskillstopromotebusinessgrowthindevelopingcountries.Aspartofaglobalcollaborativeeffort,thisprogramteamsUSCstudentswithstudentsinIndiatodevelopinnovativesolutionstolocalproblems.
Throughthisprogram,studentsdevelopprojectsandlaunchcompaniestomeetglobalchallenges.Topromoteresearchininnovation,theKauffmanFoundationsupportsdissertationfellowshipsandjuniorfacultyfellowshipsforthosegraduatestudentsandnewfacultywhoestablisharecordofscholarshipintheareaofinnovation(EwingMarionKauffmanFoundation,2012).
Ifengineeringeducatorsaretomeettheneedforinnovationandeconomicgrowth(NationalAcademyofEngineering,2005)itisimportanttocontextualizeinnovationandinnovationeducationintermsofengineeringandtechnologycurricula.Becauseresearchoverwhelminglypointstoacalltoactionforappliedengineeringschoolstoincludeinnovationandinnovativethinkingintheircurriculums(Bordognaetal.,1993;Gopalakrishnan&Damanpour,1997;Steiner,1998),itisimportanttoexplorenotonlytheneedforinnovationtheoryandpracticeinengineeringandtechnologyeducation,butalsotoexaminesuccessfulandeffectiveinstructionalmethodsforthispopulationofstudents.Steiner(1998)suggestedinnovativeengineeringeducationshouldfocusonmanagementandinnovationskillsasimportanthallmarksofsuccessinanengineeringcareer,whereasBordognaetal.(1993)recommendeddevelopingtheengineerholisticallytoencourageinnovationandnottreatingengineeringeducationasaserialprocesswithfiltersandgates.Whethertheinnovationcurriculumisintegratedholistically,programmatically,orasamodulewithinanexistingcourse,theopportunityexistsforeffectivecurriculumdevelopmentandimplementationthatcontainsproblem-basedorwork-basededucationthatwillbenefitboththestudentandtheparticipatingpartners.Industryanduniversitycollaborationsprovidetheframeworkforengineeringtechnologyfacultytoincorporateindustry-basedprojectsintotheirresearchandinstruction.
Althoughengineeringasapracticeishighlytechnicalanddatadriven,theeducationofengineersandengineeringtechnologistsisfarfromscientific.Engineeringeducatorsoftenrelyonintuition,orfeeling,ratherthangatheringdataandprovingwhichinstructionalmethodsaremosteffectiveforengineeringstudentsindifferentlearningenvironments.“Unlikethetechnicalcommunity,whereindata-drivenresults
107fromonelabhavewidespreadimpactontheworkofpeers,manyeducationalreformershavenotincorporatedresearchonlearningintotheirwork”(NationalAcademyofEngineering,2005,p.26).Additionally,becauseengineeringandtechnologystudentslearnmosteffectivelyinasettingthatallowsthemtoapplyknowledgeactivelywithprojectsandcasestudies(Prince&Felder,2006),universitypartnershipswithbusiness,industry,nonprofits,andgovernmentcanprovidestudentswiththeopportunitytoworkonreal-worldprojectsaspartoftheirinnovationeducation.Industry-basedprojectsencouragestudentstolearnandapplyknowledgeimmediately.Thissituatedcognitionallowsstudentstounderstandabstractconceptsandprocedureswhileactivelydeployingtheory(Brown,Collins,&Duguid,1989)inacontrolledworkplacesetting.
Leveraging University-Industry Partnerships for Innovation Education Universitiescanformpurposefulandmeaningfulpartnershipswithindustryforthebenefitofstudents.Thesecollaborativepartnershipsprovidestudentswitharelevancetotheiracademiclearningprocess.Forexample,collegescanuseindustry-sponsoredseniorcapstoneprojectsforstudentteamstosolveproblemsorchallengesfacedbycompanies.Theseprojectsprovidestudentswiththeopportunitytoapplytheirknowledgeandgainvaluableexperience,“...studentswantrelevanceinthecontentoftheircoursesandareinterestedinlearninghowtodothingsthatwillenablethemtobesuccessfulaspracticingengineers.Theyarealsointerestedinlearningthingsthatwillbeofvaluetotheirprospectiveemployersandwillbeseenassuchontheirresumes”(Todd&Magleby,2005,p.204).Additionally,thesepartnershipsallowcompaniestoaccessapoolofpotentialnewengineerswithouttheexpenseoftraditionalrecruitingactivities.Further,itisanopportunityforindustrytoreachouttoacademicresourcestoassistthemwithproductorprocesschallenges.Leadersinindustryoftenseekaccesstoresearchwithinacademiatowhichtheycanquicklyapplyforacompetitivemarketadvantage(Todd&Magleby,2005;Yamada&Todd,1997).Buildinguponthefoundationofinnovationtheory,studentscanbeeffective
pipelinesforinnovationforindustrialpartners.Successfulframeworksforuniversity-industrypartnershipsareonesinwhichallstakeholdersbenefitthroughanopenlineofcommunication,collaboration,andawell-definedaccountabilitystructure.Althoughindustrialandeducationalcollaborationscanbesuccessfulinmanyforms,wesuggestthesepartnershipsdefineanddocumentgoalsandexpectationsinthefollowingthreeareas:
Mutual Benefit First,anindustrialpartnermustseethebenefitofpartneringwithauniversity.Themosteffectivepartnershipsbetweenuniversitiesandindustryaretheonesinwhichthebenefitstobothpartiesareexplicitlydefinedandcontinuallyrevisited.Thesepartnershipsshouldbeformedaroundmutualneedsandmarketdemandswherethereisvalueaddedtobothpartiesasaresultofthecollaboration(Ryan&Heim,1997).Oneexampleofasuccessfuluniversity-industrypartnershipistherelationshipbetweenDuPontandPennState.Bothpartnershaveasharedinterestintotalqualitymanagement(TQM).DuPontsoughttooutsourceresearchanddevelopmentinthisarea,whereasPennStateviewedthisasanopportunitytoexpandresearchinthisarea.PennStateandDuPontcollaborativelyfocusedonhumanresourcedevelopment,continuingeducation,andtechnologytransferthroughthisTQMrelationship.
Single Point of Contact PennStateattributesthesuccessofthisrelationshiptomaintainingasinglepointofcontactateachorganizationtodrivemeasurableresults.Thistwo-personteam“...hastakenontheroleoftechnologyliaisonbetweenthetwoinstitutions,eachrepresentingthemissionandinterestsofhisrespectiveorganization”(Ryan&Heim,1997,p.43).Fromthispartnership,PennStateexpandeditscorporatetrainingprograms,refineditsacademicadvisingprocess,andreviseditsmanufacturingengineeringprogram’scurriculumtobetteremphasizethe“interdependencyofdesigninabusinessenvironment”(Ryan&Heim,1997,p.44)tobenefitboththestudentandthecompany. Defined Research Area Industrialpartnersoftenfundandengagewithuniversitycentersortechnologyincubatorsforthepurposeofcooperativeresearch,knowledge
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transfer,andtechnologytransfer(Santoro,2000).Thesecentersareprimarilyfocusedononeparticularresearcharea,forexample,energy,theenvironment,advancedmanufacturingwiththesolepurposeofdrivingresearchandinnovationwithinthatfocusarea.Often,similarcompaniesinvestinthesecentersasaconsortiumtostrengthenresearchanddevelopmentasanindustry(Geisler,Furino,&Kiresuk,1990).Anexampleofauniversity-basedresearchcenterisCarnegieMellonUniversity’sCenterforIronandSteelmakingResearch,whichisfundedby15manufacturersassociatedwiththeironandsteelindustries.InitiallythecenterwasfundedbytheNationalScienceFoundationin1985,butithasremainedself-supportingprimarilythroughfundingfromindustry.Themissionofthecenteristoconductbasicfundamentalresearchtosupporttheefficientproductionofironandsteelwhileeducatingstudentsfortheseindustries.Thisisaccomplishedbyconnectingbothgraduateandundergraduatestudentswithindustryandcompany-specificresearchprojects(Fruehan,2006).
Howeverthesepartnershipsareformedandmanaged,itisthroughthesecollaborativeeffortsuniversitiesplayaroleineconomicdevelopmentbyacceleratingorganizationallearningandbuildingcommunitiesofinnovation(Carayannis,Alexander,&Ioannidis,2000).Industry-universitypartnershipsspurdiscovery,promoteapplicationofknowledge,andbuildamoreinnovativeandtalentedworkforce.Otherssupportthisview:
Thekeythenistomoveawayfromthe limitedconceptoftheuniversityasan engineofeconomicdevelopmentand begintoviewtheuniversityasa complicatedinstitutionalunderpinningof regionalandnationalgrowth.Ifnations andregionsarereallyseriousabout buildingthecapacitytosurviveandprosper intheknowledgeeconomyandintheera oftalent,theywillhavetodomuch morethansimplyenhancetheability oftheuniversitytotransferand commercializetechnology.(Regional partnerships)willhavetoactonthis infrastructurebothinsideandsurrounding theuniversityinwaysthatmakeplaces
moreattractivetoandconducivetotalent. (Branscomb,Kodama,&Florida,1999, p.607).
Recommendations Universitieshaveauniqueopportunitytocontributetotheeconomicvitalityoftheregionstheyserveviaconnectingstudentswithindustrythroughwork-basededucationalexperiences.Studentscanserveasapipelineofinnovationbyapplyingtheoreticalandappliedknowledgetosolveactualindustrychallenges.Engineeringtechnologyeducatorsteachmechanical/electricaltheoryalongwiththeapplicationofthosetheoriestostudentsforthepurposeofproductandprocessdesign.Instructorscanandshouldincorporateinnovationtheoryintothetechnologycurriculatospurfuturetechnologybusinessgrowthfromgraduates.
Ifeducatorsaretomeetthegrowingdemandforengineeringandtechnologytalentandcultivateaninnovationmindsetingraduates,furtherresearchisneededtoidentifyeffectiveteachingandlearningstrategiesthatincludework-basedlearningandcasestudiesintheclassroom.Tomeasuretheeffectivenessoftheseprograms,appropriatemetricsshouldbedevelopedtoaccuratelyreportthebenefitstonotonlyfacultyandstaff,butalsotothecompaniesandregionsservedthroughthesecollaborations.Additionalresearchisneededtoassessthelearningstylesofengineeringtechnologistswithregardtotheapplicationofentrepreneurshipandinnovationeducation.
Universitiesshouldaddresscommonroadblocksinuniversity-industrycollaborativepartnerships.Thetopicsofintellectuallypropertyownership,liability,andmemorandumofunderstandingareoftendebated,ill-defined,andover-negotiatedtothepointwhereitisnolongerfeasibleforthesepartnershipstoexist.Oftenthesepartnershipsaresoughtoutbyeithertheuniversityorthecompanytoexploitaspecificopportunity,whichcanquicklyexpirebeforethetimethecontractshavebeenagreedupon.Universitiesshoulddevelopandfollowastreamlinedprocessforengagementthatallowsstudents,faculty,andadministratorstobeproactiveandnimbleregardingtheneedsoftheirbusinesspartnersandtheregionstheyserve.
109Dr. Christy Bozic is the Director of Workforce and STEM Education for the College of Technology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Dr. Duane D. Dunlap is a Professor in the School of Engineering Technology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He holds the Epsilon Pi Tau Distinguished Service Citation and is a member of Alpha chapter.
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Abstract Thisstudyemployedarank-basednonparametrictesttoexaminetheeffectivenessofaClassroomResponseSystem(alsoknownasa“clicker”)onattendance.AMann-WhitneyUtestrevealedthatattendanceintheclickerclass(experimentalgroup)andattendanceinthenonclickerclass(controlgroup)didnotdiffersignificantly.However,asurveyof28participantsintheclickerclassshowedthatlearnershadpositiveperceptionsofclickers. Twofocusedgroupsessionsintheclickerclassalsorevealedthatlearnersenjoyedusingclickersandthattheyfoundtheclickertechnologyengaging,interactive,andentertaining.
Key words: Attendance; Nonattendance; Engagement; Classroom Response System (CRS); Clicker; Introductory Statistics
Introduction Nonattendanceinhighereducationisnotonlyalocalornationalproblem—itisalsoauniversalproblem(Barlow&Fleischer,2011;Cleary-Holdforth,2007).Nonattendanceissuchacomplexandpeskyissueinhighereducationthatresearchersdonotagreeonthedepthorscopeoftheproblem.Someresearchersarguethatstudentnonattendanceisgettingworseandisnowtrendingupward(Massingham&Herrington,2006),whereasothersmaintainthatithasalwaysbeenaproblem(Rodgers,2002).Attheveryleast,nonattendancehasbeenamajorissueinhighereducationforthelastfourdecades(Romer,1993).EventhoughRomer’sfindingsregardingnonattendancehavesparkedreneweddebateaboutwhystudentsdonotattend,todatetherehavenotbeenanyunifiedconceptualmodelsorattemptstoprovidegeneralizedtheoryconcerningnonattendanceamonglearnersinhighereducation.Thislackofgeneralizedtheorymakesitmoredifficulttoanalyzenonattendanceamongstudentsinhighereducation.Alsotroublesomeisthatintroductorystatisticscanbeanarduousandunpleasantsubjectformanynonsciencemajors(Bradley,2009).Whenstudentsreluctantlyattend,theyoftenappearunmotivated,disengaged,anddisinterestedinthelectures.
It’s a “Clicker,” not a Magic Wand: The Effect of a Classroom Response System on Attendance By Raoul Amstelveen
Literature Review Thequalityoflectureshasbeendocumentedasplayinganintegralroleinattendancerates.Notmissinglecturescouldbeexplainedwithreferenceto(a)theenthusiasmofthelecturer,(b)asufficientlevelofactivityandparticipationinthecourse,and(c)aclearlystructuredclassroom(Revell&Wainwright,2009).Forinstance,HunterandTetley(1999)concludedthatstudentswantlecturesthatareinteresting,informative,anddifficulttomakeup.Intheirstudy,studentswhoweresurveyedcitedthatthenumberonereasonfornotmissinglectureswasanexpectationthatthelectureswouldbeinteresting.Theinstructor’spersonalityalsoappearstohaveadramaticeffectonwhetherornotstudentsattendedalecture(Massingham&Herrington,2006;Revell&Wainwright,2009;vanSchalkwyk,Menkveld,&Ruiters,2010).AccordingtoMassinghamandHerrington(2006),instructorswhoarecharismatic,humorous,likeable,andenergizedaremorelikelytomotivatestudentstoattendlectures.Furthermore,teacherswhodevelopmeaningfullessons(Dolnicar,2005)andfocusonthemes,concepts,andprinciplesappeartomakeitmoreworthwhileforstudentstoattend(Fitzpatrick,Cronin,&Byrne,2011).Fitzpatricketal.concludedthatthemainreasonstudentsattendlecturesisbecauseofqualityteachingthatactivelyengageslearnersincriticaltopics.Therefore,studentswillattendaslongastheyperceive“value”inattending,andonewaytoexudevalueisforteacherstobecompetentintheirinstruction(Massingham&Herrington,2006,p.84).
EffortstoincreaseactivelearninghavemadeClassroomResponseSystems(CRS)—alsoknownas“clickers”—populartoolsinhighereducation.Clickersarehand-heldelectronicdevicessimilartoTVremotecontrolsormobilecellularphonesthatallowstudentstotransmittheirresponsesontoascreenwheretheycanbeautomaticallytabulatedandsummarizedbysoftware.Theoverallclassresultsmaythenbestored,tallied,graded,andformalizedintoabargraphorpiechartfortheentireclass.Clickers
113arebeingincreasinglyused,andtheyappeartobethegatewayfornewerresponsesystemsandtechnologiesthatutilizemobiledevicesinhighereducation.Forinstance,thecompanyiClickerboaststhatitstechnologyisusedbymorethan1,300highereducationinstitutions(www.iclicker.com).
Inaliteraturereviewof67studies,KayandLeSage(2009)supportedtheclaimthatattendancedoesimproveinclickerclasses,especiallywhenclickersareattachedtothefinalgrade.AccordingtoDunham(2009),evenusingmotivationalincentivesassmallasanextratwopercenttowardastudent’sfinalgradeencouragesattendanceamongclickerusersinintroductorystatisticscoursesattheUniversityofBritishColumbia.Therefore,whenclickersareconnectedwithpointstowardthefinalgrade,classattendanceincreases(Dunham,2009;Kay&LeSage,2009).However,insteadofconductingheadcountsofthetotalnumberofstudentsinclass,themajorityofresearchstudiesthathaveinvestigatednonattendanceinhighereducationhavebeencorrelationalinnature.Moreover,moststudiesrelyonstudents’perceptionsandthereforeemploysurveytechniques(e.g.,Gok,2011;Gupta,2010;Prather&Brissenden,2009).
Itisalsoimportanttonotethatreviewsoftheconnectionbetweenclickersandimprovedattendancedonotalwaysproducepositiveresults.Forinstance,Laxman(2011)conductedasurveyin12engineeringcoursesconsistingof640studentsandfoundthatabout49%ofparticipantsclaimedthatclickersdidnotmotivatethemtoattend.Otherresearchersreportednosignificantchangesinattendanceasaresultofusingclickers(King&Robinson,2009).Someresearchersevenarguedthatclickersactuallymaybedetrimentalwhenusedtomonitorattendance,becausestudentsdislikedlosingmarksformissingclasses(Milner-Bolotin,Antimirova,&Petrov,2010).
Theoretical Framework Thetheoreticalframeworkuponwhichthisparticularstudyisbasedistheworkerattendancemodel.AccordingtoSteersandRhodes(1978),theconceptualattendancemodel(alsoknownasthepain-avoidancemodel)positsthatattendanceisinfluencedbysubjects’motivationtoattend
andbytheirabilitytoattend.Furthermore,motivationtoattendispartlydependentonhowsatisfiedtheworkersarewiththeirjobsituation,aswellasotherpressurestoattend.Thisisanalogoustothelearners’levelofsatisfactionwiththeircourseandthedecisiontoattendornornotattend(Clark,Gill,Walker,&Whittle,2011).Allen’s(1981)labor-leisuremodelrepresentsanotherexampleinwhichworkersweightheoutcomeoflabor(attending)versusleisure(notattending).Theperceivedoutcomethatoutweighstheotherwillwin.Thisstudyintendstoestablishalinkbetweenabsencetheoriesregardingworkersandnonattendancetheoriesforstudentsinhighereducation.
Hypothesis Thisstudymadethefollowinghypothesis: H0:Thereisnodifferenceinthemean ranks(median)attendanceratesamong learnersinintroductorystatisticsclasses whouseclickersandlearnersin introductorystatisticsclasseswhodo notuseclickers.
H1:Thereisadifferenceinthemean ranks(median)attendanceratesamong learnersinintroductorystatisticsclasses whouseclickersandlearnersin introductorystatisticsclasseswhodo notuseclickers.
Methodology Thisstudyemployedanonprobabilitysamplingtechniquetoselecttwointroductorysectionstaughtbytheauthorduringthe2012-2013winteracademicterm.
iClicker Therearemanybrandsofclickerresponsesystems,suchasTurningPoint,iClicker,Hyper-InteractiveTeachingTechnology,Qwizdom,InterWritePRS,eInstruction,andOptionTechnologyInteractive.Mobiledevices(suchassmartphones)arebecomingincreasinglypopularandmaybecomethelatesttrendinhighereducation.However,theauthorchosetheiClicker6.1versionbecauseofitsportability,easeofuse,andrelativelylowcostforstudents.Moreimportant,theuniversityatwhichthestudywasconductedsupportsiClickersandhasclasssetsavailableforinstructorswhowishtoimplementCRSintotheircourses.Therefore,
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Table 1. Demographics of Participants in Clicker and Nonclicker Classes (N = 68) Variable Frequency Percent
Clicker Nonclicker Clicker Nonclicker Age
18-19 20-21 22 and older Total
9
12 12 33
11 17 6
34
27.3 36.4 36.4
32.4 50.0 17.6
Gender Female Male Total
16 17 33
19 16 35
48.5 51.5
54.3 45.7
Class Standing Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Total
1 9
11 12 33
0
15 13 7
35
3.0
27.3 33.3 36.4
0.0
42.9 37.1 20.0
Ethnicity African-American Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Other Total
7 9
13 4
33
13 15 6 1
35
21.2 27.3 39.4 12.1
37.1 42.9 17.1 2.9
Grade Point Average 0.00 - 2.99 3.00- 4.00 Total
8
23 31
13 17 30
25.8 74.2
43.3 56.7
Procedure
Learners in the clicker class used clickers during every scheduled meeting except the
first meeting, during examinations, and during the last two lecture meetings. Meanwhile,
learners in the nonclicker class did not use clickers at any point during the term.
Participation in the nonclicker class was based on the percentage of classes that learners
attended. In the clicker class, participation was determined based on the number of clicker
points. To eliminate anxiety about clicker scores, learners were allowed to earn one point
for correct clicker responses and one-half a point for incorrect responses. Participation in
the clicker and nonclicker class course counted 5% toward a student’s final grade. A
clicker participation grade of 5% was deemed reasonable (e.g., Fitzpatrick et al., 2011;
participantsinthisstudydidnotneedtopurchaseclickersbecauseaclasssetwasavailable.
Participants Thestudywasconductedinasmall-sized,private,undergraduateuniversitylocatedinSouthFlorida.Thesampleconsistedof68learnersenrolledintwointroductorystatisticssectionstaughtbytheauthorduringthe2012–2013winteracademicterm.Ofthe68participants,33learnersusedclickers(treatmentgroup)and35learnersdidnotuseclickers(controlgroup).ThenonclickersectionmetonTuesdaysandThursdays,whereastheclickerclassmetonMondaysandWednesdays.Bothsectionsmetintheearlyafternoon.TheMonday-Wednesdayclasswaschosenasthetreatmentgroupbecausenonattendancehadbeenhigheron
Table 1. Demographics of Participants in Clicker and Nonclicker Classes (N = 68)
thosedays.Moreover,bychoosingtheMonday-Wednesdayclassasthetreatmentgroup,theeffectivenessthatclickershadonattendancecouldbedeterminedbasedonstatisticallysignificantresults(Wood,Burke,DaSilva,&Menz,2007).Theclickerandnonclickerclassesweresimilarintermsofgender,age,classstanding,andGPA(seeTable1).
Procedure Learnersintheclickerclassusedclickersduringeveryscheduledmeetingexceptthefirstmeeting,duringexaminations,andduringthelasttwolecturemeetings.Meanwhile,learnersinthenonclickerclassdidnotuseclickersatanypointduringtheterm.Participationinthenonclickerclasswasbasedonthepercentageofclassesthatlearnersattended.Intheclicker
115class,participationwasdeterminedbasedonthenumberofclickerpoints.Toeliminateanxietyaboutclickerscores,learnerswereallowedtoearnonepointforcorrectclickerresponsesandone-halfapointforincorrectresponses.Participationintheclickerandnonclickerclasscoursecounted5%towardastudent’sfinalgrade.Aclickerparticipationgradeof5%wasdeemedreasonable(e.g.,Fitzpatricketal.,2011;Milner-Bolotinetal.,2010),becausethispercentagewasnotsoweightyastoimposeanxietyaboutstatisticsorclickerquestionsyetitwassufficientlyhighthatstudentswouldbelikelytotakeclickerquestionsseriously.Itwasalsotheorizedthatthisstrategywouldreducethelikelihoodofstudentsattendingsolelyforthepurposeofearningclickerparticipationpoints.
iClickerquestionswerealwayspredesignedandusedinconjunctionwithaPowerPointslide.Clickerquestionswereusuallyaskedtowardtheendofthelecture,exceptwhenstudentsappearedtobetired,bored,orwearyfromthelecture.Atthosetimes,clickerquestionswereusedduringthemiddleofthesession.Clickerquestionsinthemiddleofthelectureprovidedanicechangeofpace,andtheyprovided
studentswithabreakfromstandardlectureformats.Whenclickerquestionswereusedinthebeginningofthelecture,studentswhoarrivedlateoftenlostclickerpoints.Duringthefocusgroupsessions,participantsmentionedthattheywerefrustratedbyclickerquestionsthatwereaskedatthebeginningoftheperiod;theypreferredtheclickerquestionstobeaskedattheend(oratleastatthebeginningandtheend)ofthelecture.Duringclickerquestions,studentsspokefreelyamongthemselves,clarifying,confirming,andanalyzingclickerquestions.Theysometimesblurtedouttheanswerswithoutgivingotherstudentsanopportunitytotryitoutforthemselves.However,suchactionswereallowedbecausetheyindicatedthatstudentswereengagedinthelesson.Eachtimeclickerquestionswereasked,therewasavisibleincreasein“noise”andenthusiasm,whichwasencouragedbecauseitseemedthatstudentswerelearningbothindividuallyandcooperatively.
Clickerquestionsposedintheclickerclassweretakenfromthecurrenttextbookusedintheinstitution,fromothertextbooks,orfromotherresearchers.Forexample,Figure1illustratesamodifiedclickerquestionfrom
Figure 1. iClicker modified question
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Murphy,McKnight,Richman,andTerry(2008)withvalueschangedandthenameoftheuniversitychanged.Inthisexample,only22%ofthestudentsansweredthequestioncorrectly(Figure2),whichprovidedtheperfectopportunitytoclarifysomemisunderstandingsregardingtheEmpiricalruleandthestandardnormaldistribution.Theseresultsalsoillustratethebenefitsofclickers,sincetheresultsareanonymous.Thisenablesteacherstoinstantlygaugewhetherornotstudentsunderstandaparticularconcept.
ResultsAttendance versus Nonattendance Attendanceinbothclasseswastakenusingheadcounts.Studentwhoarrivedlatewerecountedaspresent.Todouble-checkattendanceintheclickerclass,participationdatarecordsfromiClickerswereutilized.Figure3illustratestheattendanceratesandtrendsbasedonheadcountsconductedinboththeclickerandnonclickerclasses.
The7thlecturewasconductedonthelastdayoflecturespriortotheChristmasholiday,andmanystudentschosenottoattend.Focusgroupparticipantsprovidedreasonsfornotattending.Further,clickerswerenotusedduringthelasttwolecturemeetingsbecausestudents
Figure 2. Clicker response
neededtoworkontheirclassprojects.Eachterm,individualclassprojectsareassigned,andtheyareworth20%ofeachstudent’sfinalgrade.BasedonFigure3,attendanceratesbetweentheclickerandnonclickerclassesappearedsimilar.Becauseparticipantswerenotrandomlyassignedtotheclickerandnonclickerclasses,aMann-WhitneyUtestwasruntodetermineifthereweredifferencesinattendanceratesbetweenthetwogroups.Themedianattendanceratefortheclickerclass(78%)andnonclickerclass(82%)wasnotstatisticallysignificantlydifferent,U=107.5,p=.43,usinganexactsamplingdistributionforU(Dineen&Blakesley,1973).
Toanalyzehowstudentsperceivedtheclickertechnology,28outof33studentsintheclickerclassvolunteeredtocompleteasurveycenteredona“clickerefficacy”scaledevelopedbyHaeuslerandLozanovski(2010).Eachitemonthe“clickerefficacy”scaleusedafive-pointLikertscalewhere1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=neutral,4=agree,and5=stronglyagree(seeTable2).Theinstrumenthasaninter-itemreliabilityof.89andhasbeenshowntobereliablebasedonthesurveyresultsgiventosciencestudents(Haeusler&Lozanovski,2010).Onaverage,participantshadpositiveperceptionsaboutusingclickers(M=3.77,SD=.70),andthemajorityofstudentsperceivedclickerstobea
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Figure 3. Attendance rates in clicker and nonclicker classes
usefultoolforintroductorystatistics.Onaverage,learnersalsofeltthatclickersincreasedlevelsofengagementandmadetheclassinteresting.Thequestionwiththehighestratedscorewasthereversecodedquestion:“Usingtheclickerswasawasteoftime.”Thus,studentsindicatedthattheyfoundtheclickertechnologytobeaworthwhileadditioninthecourse.Interestingly,71%oftheparticipantsdidnotfeelthatclickersassistedtheirlearning.Thismaybepartlyexplainedbythefactthattheclickerquestionsdidnotalignverywellwithexaminationquestions;also,theparticipants’dissatisfactionwithconductingtheclickerquestionsatthebeginningofthelecturemayalsohaveplayedarole.
Table 2. Likert Questions on Student Perception of Clickers
Focus Group Results Twofocusgroupsessionsalsowereconductedintheclickerclassinordertoanalyzestudents’perceptionofclickersandtheirreasonsforattendingandnotattendingclasses.Thesessionsconsistedof10menand10women,andmembercheckingwasconductedafterthegroupsessionstoensuretheaccuracyofthetranscribedreport.Fromthefocusgroupsessions,fivemajorthemesemergedasfactorsthatinfluencethelikelihoodofattendance:(a)medicalemergenciesandillnesses,(b)work,(c)collegetuitioncosts/financialobligations,(d)timeanddayoftheclass,and(e)instructor/facilitator.
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Althoughreasonssuchasmedicalemergenciesandillnessareoutofthehandsoftheinstructorandhavebeendocumentedinotherresearchstudies(e.g.,vanSchalkwyketal.,2010),thesesamethemeswereagainreportedinthefocusgroups.Forexample,oneparticipantstated,“TheonlytimethatIactuallymissedclasswaswhenIwassickorIreallycouldn’tmakeittoclass.”Anotherparticipantreportedsimilarreasons:“IwaseithersickorIjustdidn’twakeupforclass.”Thescheduledtimeoftheclassalsoseemedtoinfluenceattendance.Earlymorningclasses,especiallyonMondays,tendtobeattendedatalowerrate.Oneparticipantcomparedmorningclasseswiththeclickerclass,revealingatendencytomissmorningclassesbutnotclassesinthemiddleoftheday:“I’musuallyawakebythistime.Foran8:00a.m.class,sometimesIjustdon’twakeup.”Somestudentstrytoattendevenwhentheyaresick.Forexample,oneparticipantstated:“Iwouldnevermissaclass,evenifIwassick.Yes,Itrynotto.Idon’twanttogettoofarbehind.” However,competingcommitmentsandfinancialobligationscanmakeitdifficultformanystudentstoattend.Often,studentsmustchoosebetweenattendingclassandgoingtowork.Oneparticipantstatedthefollowing:
Mostofthetimeslikemeit’stwojobsand sometimesmysecondjobwantsmetocome oncertaindays,usuallyintimeframes wherethisclassisgoingon.SodoIneed rentmoney,ordoIneedtocometoclass? Rentisnaturallythefirstprioritysothatyou canhavearoofoveryourhead,sothat’s whyIsometimesdon’tcometoclass.
Anotherstudentexplainedhowworkandfamilycommitmentcontributedtohernonattendance:
Iworkover40hoursaweek,soit’skind ofthereasonwhyIdon’tputmyprioritiesin orderinthebestway,andifI’vemissed classit’sbecauseIwasoutofstatebecause that’swheremyfamilyis.
Therefore,studentstypicallyfeellikeattendanceisnotanoptionwhentheyneedtowork,experienceanillness,orareinvolvedinothermedicalemergencies.Oneparticipantstated:“EitherI’mreallysickoratwork.I
actuallyhaveajobtogoto.”Althoughallparticipantsagreedthatitisimportanttoattendclasses,therearecasesinwhichtheirfailuretoattendissimplyaresultoftheweather.Althoughonewouldexpectbadweathertoincreasenonattendance,thefocusgroupsindicatedthatgoodweatheralsoinvitespoorattendance.Forexample,oneparticipantstated:
Justtoshare,whentheweatherisextremely goodorbadyoudon’twanttospendthat periodintheclassroom;youwanttobeat homeoroutside.Ihadfriendsthatflewup. Ijusthungoutwiththemlikeaweekortwo, soIthoughtitwasworthittoskipaclassor [to]tospendtimewiththem.They’reonly goingbehereamaximumoffivedays.SoI chosetoskipaclassortwo. However,therearetimeswhenstudentssimplydonotattendbecauseofinstructionalpracticesoradislikeoftheinstructor.Oneparticipantexplainedhowheonlyattendedafewtimesasaresultoftheinstructor:
Yes,Ihatedtheprofessor.Like,[we]didnot getalong.SoIsaid“Youknowwhat,here’s myhomework—I’mnotgoingtoshowup untilthefinal.”Wehadlikesixpapers,and Ihandedinallmyassignmentsatthe beginningofthesemester.Ihadthisperson before,andwehadapersonalissue.Iwas like,“GivememyassignmentsandIwill seeyouonthefinal.” Althoughthediversityofthecampusisoftenembracedbystudents,faculties,andtheadministration,manyforeignstudentsleaveearly,beforeabreaksuchtheChristmasholidayandarriveafterclasseshavestarted.Thispatternwasevidentonthe7thlecturedayshowninFigure1.Forexample,oneparticipantsaid,“SometimesImightgobacktomycountry,soIwillasktoleaveearlyanddoamake-uptestanotherday.”
However,studentsareencouragedtoattendbycaringteacherswhoareabletodevelopagoodrelationshipwiththeirstudentsandbyteacherswhoareeffectiveatpresentingcoursematerial.Forexample,oneparticipantwasencouragedtoattendclassessolelybecauseoftheinstructor.Shestated:
119 Itgoesbacktowhyyouattendtheclass regularly.Like,iftheprofessorismakingan efforttoshowuptoteachyousomething, whynotbethere?Sotheydocare.Often times,iftheydidn’tcare,theywouldtell youatthefrontdoor,“Getouttamyclass.”
Whencoursesarechallengingforstudents(asintroductorystatisticscoursesoftenare),studentsalsotendtoattendatagreaterrate.Therefore,thedifficultyofacourseseemstomotivatestudentstoattend.Forexample,oneparticipantconcludedthat:
ThesubjectthatIexcelinItendnottogo asmuchversusaclassthatIdon’tknow what’sgoingonin.Itrytoshowupmore becauseIwon’tunderstanditifIdon’tattend.
Anotherparticipanttriedtoclarifyandexplainhowandwhyheattendedsomeclasses:
Morelikehardscienceclassesyougotto attendmore,becauseifyoumisslikeone part,you’renotgoingtobeabletomove on.Classeslikelawclassessomethinglike that,youcouldmissonepartofthesubject andstillbeabletopickupnextclass.They tendtobeinterlinkedbutnotdependenton eachother.So,like,mathclassesand scienceclassestendtobemoredependent upononeanother.
Thus,attendanceispromotedbyteacherswhoareabletoengagestudentsandmakethelessonandclassroomenvironmentexcitingandfunforstudents.Oneparticipantrecalledanexperienceinoneofhercourses:
Ihadaprofessortwoyearsagowhoused totaketheclassroomexperienceandchange iteverytimeyouwent.He’lldoone thingonedayandanotherdaysomething else.Becauseitwasmarketing,we’llplay videogamesandthenhe’llgobackand forthandjokeandthenwe’rehavinga meetingatanotherplaceatanothertime, andIthinkthatwasreallyentertaining becausewedidn’tknowwhatwasgoingto happen.So,Ithinkifclassesweremorelike thattheywilldrawmoreattention.
Anotherparticipantechoedasimilarresponse:
Iwillbaseitontheprofessor.Theprofessor usuallymakesmewanttocomeornotcome everyday.Usuallyiftheprofessorisgood andteachesyouwell,andyou’reactually learningandcomprehendingwhatthey’re saying,thenyes,I’llbeinclassregularly.
Interestingly,themajorityofparticipantspreferredtobe“forced”toattendiftheinstructorusedparticipationpointsratherbeingmandatedtoattendbyamandatoryattendancepolicy.Oneparticipantconcludedthathewouldnotattendclassesifparticipationpointswerenotpartoftheoverallassessmentinacourse:
Honestly,forme,Itrytoattendclassesthat aregradedbasedonparticipation.For example,alltheseclickersmotivatedme tobepresentjustbecauseIknowforafact I’mlosingsomethingjustfornotshowing up.Butthereareclassesthatdon’trequireit.
However,thevastmajorityofparticipantsenjoyedclickers,especiallysincetheydidnotneedtopurchasethem.Forexample,oneparticipantstated:
IliketheclickersbecauseIknowlikeme somekidsaren’tlikeasvocalinclassso maybeliketheirparticipationisn’tas likehigh.I’mprettyloudallthetime,butin Statistics,I’mnotthatsmart,soIlikethat there’saclickertohelpmewithmy participationgrade.Ialsolikethatthat thisyearwedidn’thavetobuythem. BecauseIknowfreshmanyearIstillhave myclickerinthisbagthatIboughtinone classsothisisgoodfortheupcomingkids. Iknowitstinksbecauseyouhavetocarryit [clickerset]toclasseverydaybutisbetter thantospend$100onaclickerthatIusedonce.
Anotherparticipantexplainedhowtheclassroomenvironmentimprovedasaresultofclickers:
Ifeellikeitmakestheclassalittlebitmore entertaining.Relatingtechnologywiththe student.Itmakesthemfocusmoreorat
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leastinmycase.Peopleareplayinglike theywillshoutouttheanswer,butifyou actuallylookatit,youthinkaboutthe questionwhileyou’resittinginyourseat whichansweryou’regoingtochooseand youdositthereandworkitoutand sometimesyoudogettheanswercorrect.
Iheardsimilarresponsesinotherlecturedsessionswhenparticipantsseemeddisappointedwhenclickerquestionswerefinished.Allparticipantsenjoyedtheimmediatefeedbackthatclickersprovided.Onestudentagreedandaddedthatclickersreducedherstresslevelwhensolvingintroductorystatisticsclickerproblems:
Ithinkittakesawaytheanxietyofyou takingaquizandyouhandingitohcrap howdidIdoonthatquestion.Yougetthe immediategratificationthatboomyou clickedtheansweritpopsupandyou knowIeithergottheanswerorIdidn’t. Andyoumoveontothenextone.You’re nolongerthinkingabouthowdidIdoon thatquestion.Soalotoftimesyoudon’t knowuntilthenextclassperiodandit’slike twodayslateryougocraphowdidIdoon thatquiz.
However,focusgroupparticipantsdidnotlikeitwhenstudentsshoutedoutsomeoftheanswersbeforetheclickerresponsesandanswersweredisplayed.OneparticipantsuggestedthatI“makeeveryonenottalk”duringtheclickerquestions.Anotherparticipantexplainedthat“sometimeswhenyou’renotsure,peopleshoutouttheanswers,sothenyoupickthatansweryougetitwrong.”Anotherparticipantexplainedtheclassroomenvironment:
Becauseit’ssointeractive,peopletendto takeitmoreasajoke.Whenthere’saquiz, it’sallrightyouhavetobequiet.With clickers,peopletendtojustplayaround more.So,theydotendtoshoutoutthe answermore,anditcanscrewyouup.You getthatself-doubtlikesoandsosaidthat answerandtheymightberight.
Limitations Ideally,participantswouldhavebeenrandomizedwhenitcametocreatingtheclickerandnonclickerclasses.However,these
participantscouldnotberandomized,astheychosewhethertobeintheclickerornonclickerclass,thoughtheywerenotawareofwhichsectiontheinterventionwasgoingtobeusedin.Finally,eventhoughthedatawastriangulatedandeveryeffortwasmadetoensureconsistencyinthetreatmentofparticipantsinbothclasses,itispossiblethatlearnersfromonegroupwereunknowinglyencouragedormotivatedtoattendmoreclassesthantheothergroup.
Discussion Theresultsfromthisstudyareconsistentwithotherresearchfindings.Forinstance,Morling,McAuliffe,Cohen,andDilorenzo(2008)concludedthat“attendanceneitherincrease[s]nordecrease[s]overthesemester”withclickers(p.48).KingandRobinson’s(2009)studyof145undergraduateengineeringstudentsalsoreportednostatisticallysignificantdifferencesinattendanceratesresultingfromclickeruse,“basedonclassroomobservations”betweena2007–2008cohortanda2006–2007cohort(p.197).Further,TrenholmandDunnet(2007)observedthat“studentsnotusingclickershadevenhighermeanattendancelevelsthanstudentsusingclickers”(p.6).Intheirstudy,onesectionusedclickers,onesectiondidnotuseclickers,andonesectionwasmixed.Inthemixedsection,someparticipantsusedclickerswhileothersdidnotuseclickers.Althoughthemixedclasshadaslightlyhigherattendancerate,thedifferencewasnegligibleandnonsignificant. Allparticipantsagreedthatitwasimportanttoattendclassesandadmittedtobeingawareofthepossiblenegativeconsequencesofnotattending.Nonetheless,studentsstillhadreasonstonotattend.Oneparticipantstated:“ImissclasssometimesbecauseI’msick.Sometimes,I’mjustnotfeelingitfortheday,orIjustdon’tfeellikelisteningtotheteacher.It’sbad,though.”TheseresultssupportthefindingsofShannon(2006)andDoyleetal.(2008),whichshowthatillnessesandmedicalemergenciesdecreaseattendance.Othermajorreasonsfornotattendingincludespendingtimewithfriendsorfamily,completingassignmentsforotherclasses,traveling,andparticularlygoodorbadweather.TheseresultswereechoedinvanSchalkwyk,etal.’s(2010)study.Poorteacherrelationshipandthequalityofthelecturealsocontributetononattendanceamongparticipants.These
121resultsparallelthefindingsofNewman-Ford,Fitzgibbon,Lloyd,&Thomas(2008)andDoyleetal.(2008).
Missingclassesduetofinancialobligationsisamajorthemethatemergedduringthefocusgroupsessions.Participantsexpresseddissatisfactionabouthightuitioncostsandresentedbeingrequiredtopurchaseclickersinthepast.Thesefinancialobligationswereseenasputtingastrainontheirabilitytoattendduetoaneedtowork.Notattendingasaresultofpart-timeandfull-timeworkwasthemostfrequentreasonfornotattending.Thesefindingssupportseveralpreviousstudies(e.g.,Doyleetal.,2008;vanSchalkwyketal.,2010).
Future Implications Thisstudysuggeststhatwhenclickersarelinkedwithaparticipationgradeoffivepercentagepointsorless,attendancedoesnotincrease.Therefore,clickersdonotmagicallyincreaseattendance.Awell-prepared,motivated,andcaringlecturerwhoencouragesparticipationandisabletoestablisharelationshipwithstudentsismorelikelytoimproveattendanceand,inturn,canenhancetheeffectthatclickershaveonlearners.ResearchersinterestedinreplicatingthisstudyshouldconsiderimplementingclickersduringothertimeslotsandonotherdaysbesidesMondaysandWednesdaystodetermineifsimilarnonsignificantresultsareobtained.Furthermore,becausethemajorityoflearnersinthisstudyhadapositiveperceptionofclickers,buttheyhadreservationsregardingthetimingofclickerquestions;inthefutureresearchersshouldconsiderconductingclickerquestionsonlyduringthemiddleorattheendofthelecture—notatthebeginning.
Conclusion Researchstudiesonattendanceinintroductorystatisticsarelimited.Besidesworkcommitments,medicalemergencies,andotheruncontrollablefactors,studentsciteboringclasses,ineffectivelectures,andadislikeofthelecturerassignificantreasonstonotattend(Fitzpatricketal.,2011).However,thelecturercanattempttoinfluencestudents’behaviortoattendbyusingtheclickertechnologytoengagestudentswhiletheyremainanonymous.Eventhoughthefindingsfromthestudyrevealedtherewerenostatisticallysignificant
differencesinattendanceratesbetweenlearnersintheclickerandnonclickerclasses,clickerscanchangeaclassroomenvironmentfromaquiet,lecture-centeredsessionintoagame-likeatmospherethatencouragescommunicationandparticipation.Learnersperceivethetechnologytobeinteractiveandentertainingandtheypreferearningparticipationpointsusingtheclickertechnologyratherthanbylisteningtoateacher-centeredlecture.Someparticipantsevenfeelthattheclickertechnologyreducestheirstresslevelandprovidesavisualapproachtolearning.Theseattributesaddapositiveexperienceforlearnersandinvitetheimplementationofothermobiledevices(i.e.,smartphonesandtablets)intoclassroomsregardlessofstudents’attendancerecords.
Raoul Amstelveen is an Associate Professor at Johnson and Wales University, North Miami, Florida.
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The 2012 Paul T. HiserExemplary Publication Award
Co-Recipients
John M. Ritz and P. Scott Bevins “Economics, Innovations, Technology, and Engineering Education: The Connections”
and
Mary Annette Rose“EnviroTech: Student Outcomes of an Interdisciplinary Project That Linked
Technology and Environment”
The Board of Editors of The Journal of Technology Studies and the Board of Directors are pleased toannounce the recipient of the Paul T. Hiser Exemplary Publication Award for Volume XXXVIII, 2012.
The Board of Directors established this award for deserving scholars. In recognition for his exemplaryservice to the profession and to the honorary as a Trustee and Director, the award bears Dr. Hiser’sname. It is given to the author or authors of articles judged to be the best of those published each year in this journal.
Selection ProcessEach member of the Editorial Board recommends the manuscript that he or she considers the best of those reviewed during the year. The board nominates articles based on their evaluation against specific criteria. A majority vote of the editors is required for the award to be made. The honor society’s Board of Directors renders final approval of the process and the award.
Criteria1. The subject matter of the manuscript must be clearly in the domain of one or more of the professions in technology.
2. The article should be exemplary in one or more of the following ways: •Ground-breakingphilosophicalthought. •Historicalconsequenceinthatitcontainssignificantlessonsforthepresentandthefuture. •Innovativeresearchmethodologyanddesign. •Trendsorissuesthatcurrentlyinfluencethefieldorarelikelytoaffectit. •Uniqueyetprobablesolutionstocurrentorfutureproblems.
A $300 award recognizes the recipient(s) for the year and is presented during an Epsilon Pi Tau pro-gram at an annual professional association conference.
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GUIDELINES FOR
The Journal of Technology Studies (JOTS) is the flagship, peer-reviewed journal of Epsilon Pi Tau, an international honor society for technology professions. One printed volume per year is mailed to all active members of the society as well as to subscribing academic and general libraries around the globe. All issues (begining wih 1995 to the current year), both print and those published in electronic format, are available online at scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/jots.
The journal is indexed in Current Index to Journals of Education, the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, and by VOCED, the UNESCO/NCVER research database for technical and vocational education and training maintained by NCVER in Adelaide, Australia (www.voced.edu.au).
SUBJECT FOCUSJOTS welcomes original manuscripts from scholars world-wide, focused on the depth and breadth of technology as practiced and understood past, present, and future. Epsilon Pi Tau, as perhaps the most comprehensive honor society among technology professions, seeks to provide up-to-date and insightful information to its increasingly diverse mem-bership as well as the broader public. Authors need not be members of the society in order to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions from academe, government, and the private sector are equally welcome.
An overview of the breadth of topics of potential interest to our readers can be gained from the 17 subclasses within the “Technology” category in the Library of Congress classification scheme (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco_t.pdf). Authors are strongly urged to peruse this list as they consider developing articles for journal consideration. In addition, JOTS is interested in manuscripts that provide:
• brief biographical portraits of leaders in technology that highlight the individuals’ contributions made in dis tinct fields of technology or its wider appreciation within society,• thoughtful reflections about technology practice,• insights about personal transitions in technology from formal education to the work environment or vice versa, • anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, and sociology of technology,• technology within society and its relationship to other disciplines,• technology policy at local, national, and international levels,• comparative studies of technology development, implementation, and/or education,
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The Journal of Technology Studies
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GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONArticles must conform to the current edition of the Publica-tion Manual of the American Psychological Association. All articles must be original, represent work of the named authors, not be under consideration elsewhere, and not be published elsewhere in English or any other language. Elec-tronic submissions in either rich-text format or Microsoft Word formats are required. E-mail submissions should be sent to the editor at [email protected].
Manuscripts should be no more that 25 double- spaced and unjustified pages, including references. Abstracts are required and should be no longer than 250 words. Also required is a list of keywords from your paper in your ab-stract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing keywords will help researchers find your work in databases.
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editorial board. Authors who submit an article that does not merit review by the editorial board are informed within approximately three weeks of receipt of the article so they may explore other publishing venues. A rejection may be based solely on the content focus of the article and not its intrinsic merit, particularly where the topic has been extensively explored in prior JOTS articles. Articles that exhibit extensive problems in expression, grammar, spell-ing, and/or APA format are summarily rejected. Authors of articles that have been peer-reviewed are informed within three months from the date of submission. Anonymous comments of reviewers are provided to authors who are in-vited to submit a revised article for either publication or a second round of review. The editor does not automatically provide reviewer comments to authors whose articles have been rejected via the peer review process. However, such feedback may be provided if the editor determines that the feedback might prove helpful to authors as they pursue other publishing opportunities.
PUBLICATIONAccepted articles are published in the on-line version of the journal (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/) as the manuscript exits the layout and proofing process. Currently, JOTS articles also appear in a print issue at the beginning of the next calendar year. Authors co-retain rights to the published article along with Epsilon Pi Tau. When requested, the editor will supply information about an accepted article that has not yet appeared on-line or in print for faculty undergoing tenure review.
GUIDELINES FOR
(Continued)
Promoting Excellence in Preparation and Excellence in Practice Revised 3/2014
The Journal of Technology Studies
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