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Full-Text Articles in Education

Why Are All The Softies In Europe? A Discussion Of The Lack Of Penetration Of Soft Or In The Us, Andrew J. Collins, Patrick T. Hester Jan 2016

Why Are All The Softies In Europe? A Discussion Of The Lack Of Penetration Of Soft Or In The Us, Andrew J. Collins, Patrick T. Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Soft Operations Research (OR) methods are used for a variety of real-world problems due to their focus on qualitative or interpretative problem formulation and analysis. Analysts use Soft Systems Methodology for problem structuring, drama theory for understanding conflicts, and morphological analysis for decision support. These techniques have an advantage over their quantitative counterparts because they can be used to tame wicked problems. So why is the use of soft OR not widespread in the US? In this paper, we discuss the systems and forces in place that limit soft OR within the US' higher education system and, by extension, the …


Developing Critical Collaboration Skills In Engineering Students: Results From An Empirical Study, Pilar Pazos, Nina Magpili, Zikai Zhou, Luis J. Rodriguez Jan 2016

Developing Critical Collaboration Skills In Engineering Students: Results From An Empirical Study, Pilar Pazos, Nina Magpili, Zikai Zhou, Luis J. Rodriguez

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In highly technical organizations, work is becoming increasingly distributed; requiring practicing engineers to master virtual collaboration skills while acquiring expertise in a range of collaboration technologies. Although there has been great emphasis on developing collaboration competencies in the engineering curriculum, empirical evidence of successful strategies for distributed team settings is scarce. As an attempt to fill this gap this study investigates the impact of a scalable intervention in developing virtual collaboration skills. The intervention, based on instructional scaffolds embedded with collaboration technologies, is aimed at supporting specific processes including planning, goal setting, clarifying goals and expectations, communication, coordination and progress …