Structural engineering education has been based historically on specialization within the framework of a four-year undergraduate degree in civil engineering. Many practitioners, however, are concerned that modern civil engineering curricula are not meeting the needs of the structural engineering profession. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the conversation about undergraduate education and the increased technical skills requested by the structural engineering profession. Problem-based learning is presented as a strategy for expanding the civil engineering curriculum to include concentrated study and a problem-solving experience, as well as engaging students in the process of learning how to learn. The paper reports on our experience in incorporating problem-based learning within a senior-year project. The conclusions discuss the challenges of extending this learning format to additional students.

This research builds a virtual reality learning system for the digital terrain model surveying practice based on the triangular irregular network (TIN). The proposed system offers students an interactive, individual, three-dimensional, measurable, immediate feedback learning process. The system operating procedure is divided into five operations: (1) selecting topographical control points; (2) TIN editing; (3) evaluating errors; (4) analyzing errors; and (5) demonstrating performance. Students are able to carry out selecting the topographical control points and editing TIN under the virtual reality environment as if they implemented these surveying operations in the field. In addition, the magnitude and distribution of elevation errors can be recognized immediately after these operations are completed. Therefore, students have immediate feedback. After using the system in real practice courses, significant effects were found between the experimental set and contrast set.

In a time when European university systems are facing changes and opportunities for convergence, civil engineering teachers are also engaging in new methods of teaching that foster active learning, creativity, and leadership by students. This paper presents the most relevant results of a study on a first-year course, Introduction to Civil Engineering, that has been evolving from a merely knowledge-based course to a competence-oriented course, focusing on both technical competences as well as soft skills. The course was associated to other courses, in which similar practices were implemented to increase the responsibility of the student for his or her own learning process. Peer and self-assessment were instrumental key features in the courses and pedagogical support from the Council of Engineering Courses was used to facilitate the successful introduction of these assessment methods. The findings show a positive correlation between student and teacher marks as well as increased motivation and accountability that justified the extra time effort of the teacher. Based on these experiences, the authors recommend a continuous effort to move away from the traditional educational teaching system, in which assessment does not stimulate the development of soft skills.

This paper describes a partnership between the University of Missouri–Rolla and the Université Abou-Bekr Belkaïd de Tlemcen in Algeria in order to support the development of programs of instruction and faculty training in Algeria in the areas of engineering and construction management in order to create a self-sustaining educational infrastructure in Algeria. Specifically, the partnership aims to provide educational and technical assistance to Algeria in order for them to develop: (1) new graduate programs in engineering and construction management and (2) modern teaching methodologies including Internet and distance learning. Objectives of the partnership were to provide engineering and construction management skills and expertise in order to achieve international standards in the management area. The desired impact is summarized in terms of the ability to identify operations problems and implement solutions for improved strategic competitiveness, make sound decisions, plan, and control the key resources of an organization—money and people, critically analyze, evaluate, improve, or adapt existing technical and managerial systems, design and develop new technical and managerial systems, and coordinate different projects with a better harmony and cost effectiveness. The long-term expected outcomes of the partnership are Algerian faculty with strong backgrounds in engineering and construction management, a self-sustained learning environment for Algerian institutions, including engineering management and construction management graduate programs, continuing education, and short courses, and Internet-based multimedia teaching material for collaboration between the Algerian institutions and local industry.

This paper is an illustration of using a problem-centered approach in an undergraduate course in numerical methods. The problem used in the course was first encountered in a research project that related to the assembly procedure of the fulcrum of bascule bridges. It involved the study of the fulcrum assembly procedure where a trunnion cooled in a dry-ice/alcohol mixture for shrink fitting became stuck halfway in the hub before full insertion could take place. The solution of the problem and its implementation involved numerical solutions of mathematical procedures taught in a typical numerical methods course. The effect of the problem-centered approach in the classroom was quantitatively and qualitatively surveyed over a two-semester period. The results indicate very high student satisfaction in helping them: acquire basic knowledge and skills; reinforce information presented in class, reading assignments, and problem sets; learn to clearly formulate a specific problem and then work it through to completion; develop generic higher-order thinking and problem solving skills; and develop a sense of competence and confidence and see the relevance of the course material to their major.

During the past decade, government agencies have struggled to adequately respond to emergency events that require labor, materials, equipment, and services provided by construction contractors. In fact, the criticism directed at government agencies during their response to, and recovery after, recent events is a testament to the insufficient contracting strategies that were implemented. Countless media headlines highlighted the fragmented approach used to hire contractors expeditiously, and several agencies were criticized for their inconsistent contracting methods. As a result, a study was initiated to investigate the differences between normal federal contracting procedures, as outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and emergency acquisition procedures that are permitted by the FAR. The study found six examples of waivers to the usual regulations or expedited contracting techniques permitted by the FAR. Furthermore, the study highlighted five emergency contract strategies that are available to the Navy (as one example of a government agency with contracting authority) and may be available to other governmental contracting authorities as well. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to identify emergency contract strategies that can be used by government agencies and to outline the criteria that must be met to use each strategy.

The matter of design fault is presented in a timeless case from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts regarding a concrete light pole. The detail in the printed ruling provides engineering students with remarkable insight into the design process and the failure of that process to adequately consider the potential of product failure and the impact on both automobiles and pedestrians. The court had strong opinions on the failure of Boston Edison design engineers. Students readily understand the impact of omission of foreseeability of design failure, and the case thus serves as a discussion prompt in considering engineering professionalism and potential legal consequences.

Liquidated damages (LDs) are contractually specified damages that provide restitution for additional owner costs incurred from contractor delayed completion. Established legal precedence requires owners to specify rates that are a good faith pre-estimate of actual anticipated damages. Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration provides guidance to state highway agencies (SHAs) in developing these rates. In reviewing current practices, SHAs were surveyed about individual LD practices utilized. Survey results are divided into three categories for discussion purposes: (1) contractual practices; (2) estimating practices; and (3) administrative practices. All SHAs chose to recover damages through a contractual LD clause although implementation varies. SHA estimating practices are generally not detailed and tend to place rates at the low end of actual damages. Few SHAs verify estimated rates with actual project cost experiences. Administrative practices have field personnel administering the primary element of the LD clause, contract time. These practices also reveal a high priority on contract closeout, sometimes sacrificing LD amounts due by contractors under contract. Few states have experienced legal challenges regarding their LDs provision.

The obligations and rights of the contracting parties are typically set out in the conditions of contract. The attempt to have a “water-proof” contract that caters to all eventualities has turned contracts into management manuals with detailed contractual procedures to deal with, inter alia, performance, changes, payment, approval, and dispute resolution. Contract disputes, therefore, have to be negotiated within the ambits of the contracts. This study revisits the assumption of free negotiation that underpins most conventional negotiation studies, i.e., negotiation is free with rational negotiators who can walk away from the negotiating table at will. Constraints imposed by a contract are collectively described as contract governance. With taxonomies developed through principal component factor analyses for contract governance (CG) and negotiating behaviors (NH), the influence of CG and NH is explored by a Pearson correlation analysis. In general, it was found that dominating and obliging behaviors are mostly influenced by CG while compromising behavior is the least influenced. It was further found that procedural requirements influence all types of negotiators under the Rahim organizational conflict inventory except integrators. This suggests that if negotiators are having concern for both themselves as well as their counterparts, amicable settlement is possible notwithstanding the complex procedural requirements.

Payment problems have continually raised grave concerns in construction industries throughout the world. The Chinese construction industry is just recovering, with reported success, from an era of serious payment problems, manifested in high levels of arrears and prolonged payment delays. It has been seen that payment problems can arise from both contractual conflicts and willful delays. The Chinese government began to intervene in these payment issues during the late 1990s, both by legislation and direct administrative input. Given the characteristics of the Chinese construction industry and its special payment problems, the direct administration mode was seen to be effective in reducing existing payment arrears in mainland China. For dealing with future problems, the Chinese government is engaged in formulating a “long-term mechanism.” This mechanism and related processes, of course, must be compatible with the industry characteristics, while their practicability should be ensured. This paper reviews the recent moves to overcome accumulated payment arrears in mainland China, and provides a brief preview of possible developments in the future. Comparisons are also made with similar problems and different approaches to their resolution in other countries, in order to initiate a basis for cross-fertilizing future improvements.