Explores how the United States can become more competitive through better development and deployment of technology. Discusses the competitive decline and the eroding standard of living, the link between technology and productivity, the importance of manufacturing in an innovative style, and competitive resistance in the U.S. (CW)

Describes an example of the main steps in restructuring a curriculum and thinking developed by a systems approach. Provides several diagrams illustrating the curriculum structure. (Author/YP)

Describes Germany's national engineering library, the Technical Information Library, and discusses its usefulness as a model for a similar library in the United States. Highlights include a discussion of the library's history, facilities, collections, services, online catalog, and clientele. (JMV)

Relationships between personality variables and entrance into and persistence in engineering and racial differences in personality profiles of engineering students were studied for 129 freshmen in engineering and 85 persisting engineering students. Results suggest that personality differences play a vital role in persistence but that racial…

Describes the PLUTO model, an interactive computer program designed for use in education and training of city planners and engineers. Emphasizes four issues: (1) the balance between realism and simplification; (2) the design of the user interface; (3) comparative advantages of group and solo working; and (4) factors affecting the decision to…

Finds that people who switched from science to nonscience majors at four-year colleges and universities left for the same reasons that "persisters" were discontented with their educational experience. Examines criticisms of the structure of science, mathematics, and engineering education, and the loss of women and minorities. (LZ)

Current library automation practices and new technologies have forced library managers to seek some means of reducing carpal tunnel syndrome, and a case study of Texas A&M's library provides insights. Highlights include identifying and assessing the injuries, adjusting work surfaces, testing and selecting new keyboards, and developing…

Expenditures (in dollars) for scientific and engineering research and development (R&D) by doctorate-granting universities are listed for each state. Percentages of those expenditures from federal, state, industry, institutional, and other funds are also given; and one-year increases in total R&D spending are noted for each state. (MSE)

College facilities management offers a wide variety of job opportunities and generally provides as lucrative benefits as are available to top college administrators and professors, usually without a need for advanced degrees. There are three primary career areas (engineering, architectural, business management) but a wide array of opportunities…

Presented is a discussion of the state of undergraduate education in science and engineering based on the interviews with a number of college students. Discussed are the underlying issues: recruitment, motivation, retention, curriculum, teaching incentives, role models and mentoring, hands-on experience, the nerd image, and quality of life. (KR)

Described is a project where undergraduate engineering students worked with industry to produce isometric assembly drawings that showed the assembly process used in the production of various products. The drawings were produced using computer-assisted design software. (KR)

Described is a computer software package suitable for teaching and research in the area of multicomponent vapor-liquid equilibrium. This program, which has a complete database, can accomplish phase-equilibrium calculations using various models and graph the results. (KR)

Review of the literature on aspects of human behavior relevant to library media center design discusses personal space, territoriality, privacy, variety, and color. Suggestions for media center design in the areas of color, carpeting, seating, private spaces, variety in spaces, ownership, and control are offered; and research needs are identified.…

This article discusses ethical questions in providing prenatal services, including testing and genetic engineering, and medical interventions with neonates and other very young children who have severe disabilities. It explores ways to enhance ethical decision making, including recruitment for multidisciplinary teams or other committees of adults…

Describes a study that investigated the activities of engineering students working on a collaborative design project in a distributed multimedia environment. Topics discussed include learning as a social process; face-to-face and video communication; problem-solving techniques; use of interactive media; the construction of knowledge; and group…