The selection of an appropriate project delivery system (PDS) is of paramount importance to an infrastructure project, as it could affect the success of the plan in terms of time, cost, and quality. Researchers have advocated that the development and application of a systematic approach to the selection of PDS is needed. To achieve that, not only is a reliable analytical framework necessary, but a platform that would allow users to freely access and share their experience on various PDSs would also be indispensable. The World Wide Web, a powerful tool for collecting and disseminating knowledge and information, is a suitable platform for developing the PDS selection model. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to examine the suitability of applying internet technologies to selecting appropriate project delivery approaches for infrastructure projects. The paper begins by describing the conceptual framework of the virtual project delivery system adviser for infrastructure facilities (VPDSA-IF), and the design considerations and features of the VPDSA-IF are then detailed. The paper concludes by examining the results of an initial validation of the model.

Sustainable development has become a catchphrase within engineering and corporate management, and green engineering is now viewed as the techniques applied in order to achieve sustainable development. In this paper, we first describe the origin and rationale for green engineering, and then describe the motivational forces behind the green engineering movement and the surveys of corporate leaders, concluding that most of the motivational forces are based on corporate profitability and are at best amoral (not morally admirable). We then report on a survey of corporate leaders on their attitudes toward green engineering and sustainable development and show that many engineers and managers do espouse to the principles of green engineering without a profit motive. Lastly, we consider why, all things considered, an engineer would want to engage in green engineering and conclude that the objective is best describes using the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia, or the attainment of meaning and contentment with one’s life.

Equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, security, civic duty, justice, honor, and the rule of law are some of the widely held values in society. These are the values engineers must adopt to comply with regulations. Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness in construction education regarding how to integrate social awareness and ethical behavior into professional practice. Several challenges facing construction engineering educators are how to develop strategies that will raise the awareness of students regarding ethical issues related to construction and how to provide a framework to make ethical decisions. Social values should serve as the basis for university-level ethics instruction. The objectives of this paper are to discuss the various disciplines that are available for use in developing course material and classroom presentations, and to describe a framework for making ethical decisions. Problem solving in ethics is a skill that is very much needed by students, but is quite difficult to teach. The approach described herein uses real world construction ethics cases and invited guest lectures from the construction industry plus multiple required and elective courses explore ethical theories, concepts of critical thinking, and major ethical issues related to the construction industry.

Engineering literature mostly focuses on the “objects” and techniques that interest engineers: there are only a few accounts of the people that do engineering work and what that work actually involves. The relevant literature contributes a combination of personal opinion, anecdotal reports, and empirical evidence from quantitative and a few qualitative surveys. Most of the empirical research provides only indirect and limited evidence on engineering work as it is practiced because the survey questions seem to be based on preconceived notions of engineering work. Almost all the papers in the literature that refer to engineering practice aim to provide evidence for changing engineering education or evidence to support a particular set of engineering competencies. From these narrow objectives we can learn a little about engineering work. More empirical evidence is needed before we can work towards a comprehensive understanding, let alone improvement of engineering working methods and practices.

The chronic problems resulting from unsustainable production and consumption, as well as acute environmental problems from accidents and inadequate waste treatment, are continuing challenges for environmental engineering professionals. This paper explores the change in the role of educators from transferring knowledge to building the capacity of future engineers to meet these challenges. Progress in understanding and managing the interactions between the industrial, natural, and social systems for sustainable development is being made in a number of disciplines. Help in distilling this knowledge for environmental engineers can come from environmental process engineering (EPE) as a subdiscipline of chemical and environmental engineering. By applying the fundamentals of process engineering to environmental problems, EPE can help bundle together the diverse work from different environmental compartments. Many references to EPE can be found in university programs in Germany and the United States, but what is meant by EPE is not usually explicitly defined, and often refers to a collection of environmental unit operations. An expanded definition of EPE in the context of the current reform movements in engineering education is proposed. Trends in education and research in Germany and the United States are discussed within the framework of the societal and industrial transition toward sustainable development.

This study explores whether fundamentals of engineering (FE) exam scores are reliable and valid measures of individual competence, program accreditation, and college performance, each of these being processes commonly assessed using FE scores. Findings indicate that a trend exists toward erosion of reliability and validity as one moves further from the individual assessment level. That is, FE exam scores are probably reliable and valid indicators of minimal technical competency at the individual level. However, program-level assessments require a careful, fine-grained comparison of the subject-content statistics reported by NCEES relative to stated program objectives, and in certain cases, FE exam data will not serve as reliable and valid assessment indicators for some engineering programs. Further, assessment of entire engineering schools based on college-wide FE exam pass rates is inappropriate and cannot be rationally supported.

Education is a systematic teaching-learning process involving four main components (teachers, students, knowledge, and the environment) and three main subprocesses (teaching, learning, and evaluation). Throughout the education process, students’ learning is considered as the core subprocess, though various interactions are involved among the variables in the components. The surface-achieving learning approach (achieving motive and surface strategy) is not generally recommended by educational psychologists, but it is the most popular learning approach used by construction engineering students in Hong Kong. In order to investigate the reasons for this phenomenon, a structural surface-achieving learning model is established that includes key learning factors. In this paper, teaching approach, learning approach (achieving motive and surface strategy), year of study, gender, performance, and satisfaction are all considered as major elements of the teaching-learning process. Using the LISREL program, three optimized structural equation models were established separately for the three teaching approaches (transferring, shaping, and traveling). The study confirmed a partial causal relationship among the hypothetical variables and revealed six interesting points: (1) shaping is an exogenous variable that has the least effect on the surface-achieving learning approach among the three teaching approaches; (2) the traveling teaching approach, like the transferring and shaping teaching approaches, causes students to adopt the surface strategy in the learning process; (3) good performance can be obtained even though the surface strategy is adopted by construction students in Hong Kong; (4) students’ performance is a factor encouraging or discouraging educators to use the traveling teaching approach in construction education; (5) satisfaction is an essential variable that induces students to learn with an achieving motive; and (6) female construction students often perform better than their male counterparts.

This paper briefly reviews the history of structural engineering education: The dawn, development, and consolidation of traditional education systems, as well as their fall into decline in the contemporary technological world. Recent graduates in civil engineering do not have all of the skills and knowledge that the labor market is demanding and civil engineering is losing the social prestige and professional recognition that our profession deserves. It is necessary to improve traditional education systems to produce the best civil engineers. The writers present a detailed discussion of their experiences teaching structural design at the School of Civil Engineering of Ciudad Real, Spain, using project-based and cooperative learning methods, as well as implementing knowledge management and transference to the learning process. Results and costs of these methods, as well as the problems related to faculty selection, are set out. The paper concludes with a reflection on the major educational possibilities and historical opportunities presented through the introduction of these new methods and suggest that this is the best way to combine engineering education and practice.

The architectural/engineering/construction (AEC) industry has been inundated with disputes concerning excessive mold growth that arose from improper construction or maintenance of the built environment. Despite scientific evidence that shows that exposure to so-called toxic molds does not produce illness, costly legal disputes arise. This paper focuses on instances in which the outcome of mold lawsuits hinged on the jurisdiction where a claim is filed, because of differing expert witness testimony standards. A basic understanding of the implementation of U.S. evidence laws in federal and state courts is presented, select mold dispute cases from varying jurisdictions are summarized, and conclusions are drawn regarding the dispute-resolution trends in this area.

Interlocutory injunctions in construction litigation cases are not uncommon, in particular, in construction nuisance cases. Despite its importance, there are only a few written materials dealing with this topic. With the public increasingly aware of their legal rights, it is anticipated that the number of interlocutory injunction applications will remain high in the foreseeable future. It is now timely and a worthwhile exercise to revisit those principles governing the courts’ discretion in granting and rejecting interlocutory injunctions. This paper discusses those factors that are relevant in exercising that discretion and how they should be assessed. It also examines the principles established by Lord Diplock in the landmark case “American Cyanamid,” i.e., how this case influenced judgments in recent Hong Kong construction cases. The paper concludes by summarizing the overriding principles in interlocutory injunction applications.

The construction industry is heavily affected by the troubles arising out of construction disputes, especially when it comes to large-scale projects, as a direct result of the inherent complexity of such projects. This paper seeks the most suitable dispute-resolution mechanism for large-scale construction projects in Egypt, which is a developing country in the Middle East with an emerging reformed economical policy, a population in excess of 70 million people, and an increasing need for infrastructure and industrial development. This dispute-resolution mechanism was attained through a multistep methodology that (1) started with the study of the Arbitration process in relation to an Egyptian construction project with an initial contract price of 85 million; (2) continued with interviews of five senior experts in the field of construction disputes in Egypt about their views pertaining to the most efficient dispute-resolution methodology for Egyptian megaprojects; (3) developed a tailored questionnaire to assess the perceptions of 35 professionals toward the issue of construction disputes and dispute resolution mechanisms, including DRB; (5) concluded by carrying out a what-if scenario for the arbitration case of the large-scale construction project using DRB instead of arbitration. On basis of the analysis of the methodology, the authors concluded that despite the wide range of current dispute-resolution methodologies, the employment of DRBs in accordance with a set of 13 regulatory guidelines should mitigate the negative effects of disputes in Egyptian large-scale construction projects. Accordingly, this paper is both timely and valuable for all owners, contractors, and professionals who are acquainted with Egyptian megaprojects.