Claims that curriculum planning and effective advising will help students develop intellectual connections across their individual courses and thus enhance their college experience. Explains how nine colleges now use interdisciplinary teaching to improve their engineering programs by making connections across department boundaries, college…

Considers some foundational, historical issues that led to the formation of a technical-communication pedagogy in the first place. Evaluates shifts in an engineering curriculum from roughly 1850 to 1960 that made possible the development of a technical-communication curriculum. (SC)

Engineering students accessed assignments during cooperative education work placements via a website and interacted with faculty and students via e-mail or conferencing software. A virtual reflection seminar was conducted throughout the work term rather than afterward, resulting in greater integration of co-op and academic experiences. (SK)

In engineering and visual arts, visualization and manipulation of objects is necessary. Describes effective factors on performance which include spatial skills. Describes a project that is designed to increase engineering students' visualization skills. Lists objectives, hardware, and software requirements for the project and considers long term…

Describes the author's research that explores the role of language, particularly texts, in the engineering design process. Notes that results of this case study support a new "mediated" model of engineering design as an inventional activity in which designers use talk, written language, and other symbolic representations as tools to think about…

Presents a local approach to encourage women to go into a field where they have hitherto been underrepresented. Discusses two measures for encouraging and retaining women in electrical engineering that have been designed and implemented. (ASK)

The views of Dutch women on the implications of the analysis of the human genome were studied by questionnaire and interview. Although a serious lack of knowledge about the topic was found, interviews produced a broad range of problematic issues. Attention to gender implications of gene technology is needed. (Author/EMK)

States that the periodic engineering report (a fixture of engineering classrooms and engineering practice) can become a source of conflict when North American engineers collaborate with colleagues abroad. Relates experiences of a writing consultant on such a project. Finds differences in tone and reader expectations caused misunderstandings. Uses…

Industry and education should work together to familiarize children with engineering and promote career possibilities. Technology-education departments should become involved in continuous engineering education from preschool to university. (SK)

Researchers in molecular biology are discovering an increasing genetic basis for a wide range of mental diseases, moods, behaviors, and personality traits. Findings are creating the context for a new sociobiology favoring a genetic interpretation of human motivations and drives. Genetic engineering will give some people unprecedented power over…

Comparison of training and qualifications in engineering and construction in Germany and Britain showed that National Vocational Qualifications have not improved training activity in Britain. Britain lags behind Germany in production of intermediate engineering skills and craft qualifications in the building trades. (SK)

Discusses a study of the authors' initial semester matching technical communication students with teams of engineers in a capstone, client-based experience. Notes incredible growth in students' abilities to discuss design, teamwork, and client projects within the pre- and post-surveys. Concludes that there is the potential in moving toward a more…

Notes that the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has shifted its focus to the documentation of student learning outcomes. Considers how this shift has prompted changes in the work of technical communication departments and programs that serve engineering, from the development of new courses to increased collaboration…

Examines one exemplar discipline, mechanical engineering, to see how classroom discourse and practice construct professional identities for students (as future engineers) and their customers. Suggests that although students' conceptions of the customer provided glimpses of professional identity, design processes in these classrooms were ultimately…

This article explores the impact of the mapping work of the Human Genome Project on individuals with mental retardation and the negative effects of genetic testing. The potential to identify disabilities and the concept of eugenics are discussed, along with ethical issues surrounding potential genetic therapies. (Contains references.) (CR)