Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal.

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal.

This paper aims to establish clients’ perception of the performance of architects on building projects in Ghana. It reports on a survey of both public and private clients of recently completed building projects in two major metropolitan areas of the country. Data from the survey were analyzed by first computing performance indexes and subsequently comparing similarities and differences between results obtained for the two sector clients. The results showed that private sector clients are likely to be more concerned with cost, while public sector clients are more concerned with buildability of design. A total of 71% of the 28 architect performance assessment criteria identified from literature were similarly selected by both sectors with respect to importance of the criteria. Using these, both public and private sector clients were asked to assess the performance of their architects. The results showed that architects were perceived to perform better on public sector building projects than on private sector ones. Their performance on 25% of the performance assessment criteria employed was indicated as being statistically different. The study also revealed that clients expected their architects to improve their performance significantly in approximately 82% of the 28 performance assessment criteria used in the study. The results from this study provide vital feedback to architects on their perceived performance on building projects in Ghana. On a broader level, the paper offers practicing architects some useful feedback that will allow for correction of misconceptions about their true role so as to improve on their relationship with project clients for improved project delivery.

This paper presents results from a qualitative analysis study conducted on the integration of structure in a building. If integration is to become more of a priority, what does this mean to structural engineers, and how do they add value? Eighty-five total participants—38 architects, 46 structural engineers, and one practicing as both—were interviewed in four major U.S. cities to record their experiences. The practitioners identified structural integration as being multifaceted, and the scope of structural integration is bigger and broader than what has been presented previously. Due to the need to understand the perspectives for each of the fields individually and the large number of responses, the analysis presented here encapsulates the responses from only the structural engineering professionals. Engineering practitioners incorporate aspects of time, professional relationships, and a collaborative environment with structural integration. Integration also includes working toward goals such as technical innovation, constructability, architectural design, combining structures with other systems, and ensuring that the owner’s needs are met. Both the process and the aims lead to the physical articulation of the structure through its expression, detailing, and construction. A proposed framework for structural integration has been constructed from the responses to expand the current definition. With the changing practice environment, structural engineers need to consider what integrated design means to their profession, and this paper is intended to aid this process.

Energy use in buildings is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change; the residential sector uses more than 20% of the energy in the United States. For this reason among others it is important to implement sustainable design practices in construction. Previous research has shown that there are significant barriers to doing so and that sustainability is not a main consideration in choosing the structural system. To improve understanding of structural engineers’ attitudes toward sustainability, an opinion survey was conducted in Oregon and Washington. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Results highlight lack of information as a major barrier to adopting sustainable design practices. Respondents request standardized, current, and reputable data applicable to codes and standards. Results also indicate that clients are the most important influence on structural engineers. Results suggest that structural engineers should expand their thinking about both techniques and how engineering fits in the larger context of sustainable development. Results also suggest that the profession as a whole needs to become more assertive in advising and educating clients about sustainability.

The goal of the research reported in this paper is to design and systematically assess the effectiveness of a collaborative context-aware mobile augmented reality tool (CAM-ART) in construction and civil engineering curriculum. To achieve this goal, an augmented reality (AR)-based information delivery tool, CAM-ART, was implemented in classroom-scale experiments to enhance traditional lecture-based instruction and information delivery methods. In the research reported in this paper, the contents of an ordinary textbook were enhanced using computer-generated three-dimensional (3D) objects and other virtual multimedia (e.g., sound, video, and graphs), and delivered to students through an AR application running on their smartphones or tablet computers. The sample consisted of construction and civil engineering students, who were randomly assigned to Group A (control group) and Group B (test group). The designed learning tool was tested in a collaborative and interactive environment, preperformance and postperformance data was collected, and student perception of using the AR-based tool was elicited through a feedback questionnaire. Data analysis showed that CAM-ART had a measurable and positive impact on students’ learning both in short-term and long-term. Moreover, results of the feedback questionnaire indicated that students found CAM-ART to be an interesting, helpful, and motivational approach in the classroom that helped them gain more in-depth and long-lasting knowledge beyond what is normally expected from traditional lecture-based teaching methods.

In the past several decades, women have entered the engineering profession in larger numbers across the United States. Concurrently, a larger percentage of women have entered engineering academia, although they are still greatly outnumbered by male faculty. Although the numbers and progress of women in engineering academia are the subject of ongoing study, there was a lack of detailed analysis specifically of woman civil engineering faculty. One of the objectives of this study was to examine the perceptions of job satisfaction by woman civil engineering faculty relating to issues specific to academia to assess whether perceptions vary across the different academic ranks. Data were collected by designing a survey and distributing it to all woman civil engineering faculty from universities with ABET accredited civil engineering programs within the United States. The data collected included demographic variables, and perceptions of job satisfaction, available mentoring, academic climate, and sense of inclusion in an environment still largely led by male faculty. It was found that approximately 14.6% of the faculty in civil engineering departments surveyed were woman. This paper presents analysis of women faculty perceptions of the academic environment, support, and overall job satisfaction. Understanding these facets of job satisfaction is necessary to ensure that women in engineering academia have the proper tools, working conditions, and effective mentoring to successfully achieve promotion and tenure. Having more women successfully pursue careers in engineering academia provides additional role models for women engineering students and a clear example that engineering can be a rewarding career for them.

As the field of civil engineering evolves to address twenty-first century challenges, the demand for creative and innovative thinking rises. Engineering institutions around the nation have begun to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. Topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship are highly correlated with sustainability goals; however, many times they are viewed as market or management-driven principles. The Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) Program was established to transform the U.S. workforce through equipping graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. This program is based on KEEN student outcomes (KSOs), which can be incorporated into department level, as well as course level, curricula. This paper focuses on the integration of KSOs into a senior civil engineering capstone course through two course activities over two years. KEEN rubrics are used to assess student achievement of the KSOs focused on innovative thinking and productive collaboration. The assessment results indicate that there are existing strengths as well as future opportunities to enhance student performance of innovative thinking and open-ended problem solving—skills that are essential to promoting sustainable design and development.

This research investigated the effect of project quality, client satisfaction, and trust on interpersonal relationships between contracting parties in public construction projects. Using a questionnaire, data were collected from randomly selected construction industry practitioners with experience in public projects in China, Vietnam, Australia, and Singapore. China and Vietnam represent large and small socialist-oriented developing countries, respectively, whereas Australia and Singapore represent large and small capitalist and developed countries, respectively. The results show that in all four countries, trust enhances interpersonal relationships, leading to relationship continuity. In Singapore and Australia (capitalist countries), satisfaction leads to greater trust, but in Vietnam and China (socialist-oriented developing countries), this is not the case. In Vietnam, there is no significant correlation between satisfaction and relationship continuity, but a correlation was observed in the other three countries. One practical implication is that buyers should select sellers with whom they have prior good relationships because this provides continuity. When there is relationship continuity, trust is present, leading to enhanced relationships. This is a positive reinforcing cycle—greater trust leads to enhanced relationships, which lead to continuity of relationships, which in turn leads to greater trust. Unlike in capitalist developed countries, in socialist developing economies, client satisfaction does not lead to greater trust. Also, good interpersonal relationships between consultants and contractors during the project implementation stage are not associated with good relationships at the end of the project. This study contributes to knowledge by showing empirically that trust and interpersonal relationships are significantly correlated regardless of a country’s stage of development, the size of its construction industry, or its type of economy.

This paper investigates the application of a problem-based learning (PBL) teaching methodology to a course on engineering project scheduling, which introduces the critical path method (CPM). During this course, students solved real-life civil engineering problems using PBL to compare PBL with traditional problem-solving methods. In the experimental design, the students were randomly divided into two groups. Traditional teaching sessions were imparted to the first group, which was designated as the control group, whereas the CPM was taught to the second group via the PBL teaching methodology. After the classroom sessions, an evaluation tool was applied: responses were analyzed using Wilcoxon and Fisher statistics, and a set of open-ended questions were qualitatively analyzed via a pattern-matching technique. The results for the group that utilized PBL were favorable; this finding demonstrated the efficiency of this tool for teaching CPM. In addition, the results for the students that applied PBL methodology demonstrated a high degree of acceptance of the CPM methodology, which motivates its implementation into teaching other subjects related to project scheduling in civil engineering.

The launching of the European higher education area (EHEA) in 2010 has imposed new challenges on European universities. Traditional teaching methods, based on lectures and examinations, are no longer suited for the new EHEA educational approach, now focused on competences development. Instead, active learning methods as problem-based learning are far more appropriate. This paper examines the effect of a change to competence-based education through problem-based learning (PBL) in the field of structural engineering, carried out in a first year structures course. The structures program design is described with details of the PBL implementation. A program evaluation based on students’ and faculty surveys is carried out. The evaluation results show that the program has been effective in the achievement of the proposed objectives. The benefits of the new approach include an increase in students’ motivation and a better integration with other architecture disciplines. The main challenges encountered are the increase in faculty time commitment and the academic resistance to change. Extrapolation to other disciplines is possible, although it requires restructuring of subject knowledge and methods.

In general terms, engineering education at the undergraduate level should be based on at least three aspects: the definition of learning outcomes aligned not only with theoretical contents but also with competencies and skills; the specification of teaching-learning methods; and the evaluation of the learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to analyze an approach that combines traditional lectures and active learning into one strategy to help in the development of competencies and skills demanded by the transportation engineering profession. The authors examined if the acquisition of the skills could be assessed through conventional evaluation techniques and concept maps. An experiment was conducted for the specific case of the course Planning and Analysis of Transport Systems, in three phases: (1) planning the teaching-learning process; (2) evaluating the teaching-learning process; and (3) evaluating the teaching-learning product. The results show that the use of a problem-identification methodology combined with conventional classroom activities is adequate in addressing the domains of the conceptual relationships and relational and attitudinal cognitive procedures, as presented in Bloom’s taxonomy. The main conclusion refers to the use of concept maps as a strategy for learning evaluation. The results suggest that concept maps can serve as an additional assessment instrument, to assure an evaluation that is more precise and coherent with the learning outcomes desired for transportation engineering education.

As society and technology change the way public transit systems are perceived, contemporary professionals need to be equipped with the skills to manage transportation systems to keep up with modern demands and challenges. Information Communication Technologies and data ubiquity represent great potential advances in transport systems; however, the challenge of transferring the knowledge from research and academia remains a significant barrier. This paper contributes to the literature in two ways: it serves as a benchmark for the challenges in transit systems planning education today, and it is a reference guide for future educators to find resources to create and refine effective educational programs in this area. A case study of a sample teaching module for transit systems planning in the Greater Toronto Area is presented with guidelines to teach (1) models of data-driven flexible transit services; (2) technologies to integrate and visualize user and systems data; and (3) methodologies to evaluate demand for such services at a societal level.

This article reports on a case study of incorporating a set of three cross-cultural intervention modules and critical reflections into a single semester’s offering of a senior-level civil structural engineering integrated design course that also had significant group design project work. A comparison of findings from initial versus exit self-assessment and peer assessment instruments indicated that students in the class showed clear gains over the semester with respect to intercultural competencies related to their own behavioral flexibility and interaction relaxation when interacting with group members from different cultures, as well as with respect to the intercultural competency of group members from different cultures in terms of their identity maintenance. These findings were further supported qualitatively, through the students’ initial and exit open-ended responses about cultural differences navigated among group members. The case study demonstrated that it is indeed possible to cultivate intercultural competencies in undergraduate engineering students, especially for a culturally and linguistically diverse classroom setting where students must interact frequently with their colleagues from different backgrounds, which can be helpful in terms of preparing students for modern professional engineering design practice.