Problem Solving in Real-Life Contexts: An Alternative for Design in Technology Education

This article focuses on one way to study technology, through technological problem solving situated in real-life contexts. In problem solving for real-life contexts, design processes are seen as creative, dynamic and iterative processes that engage exploration; join conceptual and procedural knowledge-both thought and action; and can encourage considerations to technology, human and environmental interactions. This approach is a demarcation from what is typically found in schools; design, make and appraise cycles based on closed design briefs that are teacher assigned and unrelated to the students' world. An interpretation of technology education as problem solving for real-life contexts using design processes as tools for creation and exploration offers an alternative approach to design in technology education. Alternative curriculum and instruction then emerge. Elementary and secondary school programs in technology education and teacher education can all be seen through this kind of design lens. Episodes from case studies are reported with the intent to briefly describe technology education programs in elementary and secondary schools that interpret technology education in this way. Educational implications of this approach are offered. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Potential for Collaborative Problem Solving in Design and Technology

This paper discusses the potential of Design and Technology (D&T) as an environment for collaborative problem solving. Peer collaboration is considered to be a valuable learning mechanism but has not generally been exploited by teachers or explored by researchers in this context. D&T is unique in involving procedural problem-solving activity where talk between peers relates to physical manipulation and feedback and both concrete models and graphical representations play an important mediating role. The role of teachers is central to our discussion, particularly their task structuring, agendas and pedagogic strategies for supporting learning through collaboration; these have been underplayed in much of the general research literature on collaboration. Our discussion works towards a framework for analysing collaborative problem-solving activity in D&T, building on sociocultural perspectives and deriving additional insights into pupils' social and cognitive strategies from the literature on classroom talk.     

The Influences of Socio-cultural Interaction upon Children's Thinking and Actions in Prescribed and Open-Ended Problem Solving Situations (An Investigation Involving Design and Technology Lessons in English and Finnish Primary Schools)

The purpose of this study was to explore the value and impact of social interaction upon children's design and technological thinking and actions. The study was based on the assumption that constructivistic driven and open-ended, creative design learning contexts enabled children to form, as well as to reconstruct, their designing and making capabilities and knowledge. Children were required, by means of open and closed teaching methods, to technologically create a particular product which used sound for a chosen purpose.The resultant multiple data collection processes, using videos of children working, examination of children's completed projects and semi-structured interview techniques, enabled the authors to analyse childrens' acquisition of Design and Technology (D&T) knowledge.Pupil's capabilities were seen to be enhanced through their direct, active, socio-cultural interactions, within a range of classroom settings, and involving different teaching methods, with respect to the primary curricula in UK and Finland.     

中国能从发达国家的环境产业发展实践中学到什么

本文通过对发达国家环境产业发展实践与中国环境产业现状的比较，对我国环境产业的发展提出七方面的建议。它们是：环境产业的概念理解；环境产业的全面推进；环境产业驱动机制；环境市场的开拓；环境投入；环境技术创新；环境贸易。     

Collaborative Problem Solving in a Control Technology Learning Environment, a Pilot Study

We have investigated collaborative problem solving in a teaching experiment, which was organised for 34 eighth-grade pupils in a control technology learning environment. The participating teacher was trained by us and pupils had available kits, interfaces and computers equipped with a novel icon oriented programming tool, Empirica Control. Pupil activities were video recorded and the analysis proceeded through writing video protocols, edited into episodes and then classified into categories. Categories were mainly derived empirically. In the analysis, we used concepts such as collaboration and problem solving, in accordance with social constructivism. The data showed that typical learning processes were collaborative (62% of all episodes) as well as dynamic problem-solving processes, in several stages. Pupils worked quite independently of the teacher, as they learned to use the programming tool autonomously in their technology projects. It appears, however, that more teacher support, such as introducing handbooks, planning tools and advanced programming skills, would have been an advantage. Some ideas about further development of study processes in modern learning environments are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Thinking strategically about thinking strategically: the computational structure and dynamics of managerial problem selection and formulation

A new model of managerial problem formulation is introduced and developed to answer the question: ‘What kinds of problems do strategic managers engage in solving and why?’ The article proposes that a key decision metric for choosing among alternative problem statements is the computational complexity of the solution algorithm of alternative statements. Managerial problem statements are grouped into two classes on the basis of their computational complexity: P‐type problems (canonically easy ones) and NP‐type problems (hard ones). The new model of managerial cognitive choice posits that managers prefer to engage with and solve P‐type problems over solving NP‐type problems. The model explains common patterns of managerial reasoning and decision making, including many documented ‘biases’ and simplifying heuristics, and points the way to new effects and novel empirical investigations of problem solving‐oriented thinking in strategic management and types of generic strategies, driven by predictions about the kinds of market‐ and industry‐level changes that managers will or will not respond to. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Political Ecology of Design and Technology Education: An Inquiry into Methods

At the beginning of this new century, design and technology educators face a serious dilemma: Practice conventional modes of design and technology, which have consumed proponents in Canada, England, Germany, and the US, or model design for sustainable lifestyles. Our conventional design, problem solving and technological methods embody a liberal, political ecology and in effect, these methods – our practices – are not sustainable. Using the political ecology of Nike shoes as an example, I describe ecological footprints, resource streams, and wakes as effective metaphors for sustainable practice. In contra-distinction to technocentric methods, I argue for modelling ecocentric processes rooted in political ecology and cultural studies. Attending to the political ecology of design and technology means nothing less than remodelling the design of lifestyles and reducing production and consumption in our practice.     

Problem‐formulation and problem‐solving in self‐organized communities: How modes of communication shape project behaviors in the free open‐source software community

Research summary: Building on the problem‐solving perspective, we study behaviors related to projects and the communication‐based antecedents of such behaviors in the free open‐source software (FOSS) community. We examine two kinds of problem/project‐behaviors: Individuals can set up projects around the formulation of new problems or join existing projects and define and/or work on subproblems within an existing problem. The choice between these two behaviors is influenced by the mode of communication. A communication mode with little a priori structure is the best mode for communicating about new problems (i.e., formulating a problem); empirically, it is associated with project launching behaviors. In contrast, more structured communication fits subproblems better and is related to project joining behaviors. Our hypotheses derive support from data from the FOSS community. Managerial summary: We study how the way in which individuals communicate influence the project‐behaviors they engage in. We find that relatively unstructured communication is associated with the setting up new projects, while communication that is structured around an artifact is associated with joining projects. Our findings hold implications for understanding how management may influence project behaviors and problem‐solving: Firms that need to concentrate on more incremental problem‐solving efforts (e.g., because a sufficient number of attractive problems have already been defined) should create environments in which interaction is undertaken mainly via artifacts. On the other hand, if firms seek to generate new problems (e.g., new strategic opportunities), they should create environments in which open‐ended, verbal conversation is relatively more important than artifact‐based communication. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国软件产业链:国际借鉴、存在问题与培育对策

本文从价值创造和产品结构两个方面论述了软件产业链，分析了美国、英国、印度、爱尔兰等国家在培育软件产业链方面的成功经验，从研发投入、风险投资、信息化的需求、企业组织结构、发展战略等方面，指出了中国软件产业链存在的突出问题，并提出了培育中国拥有核心竞争力的软件产业链的对策建议。     

Collusion Along the Learning Curve: Theory and Evidence From the Semiconductor Industry*

I study the effectiveness of collusion during an international cartel in DRAM, a type of semiconductor characterized by learning-by-doing and multiproduct competition. First, by exploiting time and firm-level variation in cartel activity, I estimate that cartel participants cut output more on the oldest product generation than on newer generations. This is consistent with a hypothesis that higher learning rates in newer generations make defection from collusive equilibria more attractive. Second, I formulate a test for defection from collusive equilibria in learning-by-doing industries. Third, I formalize these results in a theoretical framework and discuss implications for antitrust policy in high technology markets.     

A Synergy Between the Technological Process and a Methodology for Web Design: Implications for Technological Problem Solving and Design

Traditional instructional methodology in the Information System Design (ISD) environment lacks explicit strategies for promoting the cognitive skills of prospective system designers. This contributes to the fragmented knowledge and low motivational and creative involvement of learners in system design tasks. In addition, present ISD methodologies, including web design methodologies, do not focus sufficiently on technological problem solving and design. Engagement in system design tasks demands critical thinking [Shelly, Cashman & Rosenblatt, 2001, Systems Analysis and Design, 4th edn. Course Technology, Boston] and abstraction skills [Harris, 1999, Systems Analysis and Design for the Small Enterprise, The Dryden Press, Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Fort Worth]. The aim of this paper is to explain a synergy between the technological process and web design methodology and its influence on the development of the cognitive skills of learners in the ISD context. In this research, the Team Structure Software Process (TSSP) methodology was integrated with the stages of the technological process. An interface approach between Information Systems and Technology Education was adopted during the implementation of an Instructional Web Design Program (IWDP), which served as a framework for building a software product. This research was based on a qualitative, action-research approach where individual interviews, focus group interviews, observation and document sources were used to gather data. Seventeen students at an institution of higher education were observed and their experiences were investigated through a focus group interview, journals and an essay. In addition, an interview with the teacher was conducted to investigate her thoughts and feelings during the implementation of the IWDP. During the implementation of the IWDP, multi-method learning was promoted, enlarging learners' insight into the design process and a climate for enhancing intellectual processes and skills created [Jakovljevic, 2002, An Instructional Model for Teaching Complex Thinking through Web Page Design, DEd thesis, Rand Afrikaan University, Johannesburg] This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Developing Technician Skills for Innovative Industries: Theory,Evidence from the UK Life Sciences Industry,and Policy Implications

This article explores how innovative firms attempt to acquire the skilled technicians needed to deploy new technologies. Interviews with 40 employers from the UK life sciences sector reveal that shortages of technicians, an awareness of the importance of practical skills best acquired through work-based learning, and increasing dissatisfaction with the use of graduates, are encouraging employers to turn towards apprenticeship training. However, the rules governing the funding of various kinds of education and training discourage providers from offering the kinds of apprenticeships increasingly sought by employers, giving rise to a ‘system failure’ that manifests itself in shortages of technicians and the use of over-qualified graduates in technician roles.     

From Physics to Function: An Empirical Study of Research and Development Performance in the Semiconductor Industry

We present the results of an empirical study of research and development in the semiconductor industry. The study aimed to understand the drivers of innovation performance in an environment characterized by close links to science and a combination of technical novelty and manufacturing complexity. The data reveal substantial differences in research and development (R&D) performance, and R&D performance improvement, between firms. Analysis of our field observations suggests that these differences are associated with the use of experimentation and experience in guiding technology choices, matching options provided by scientific developments with the complex requirements of evolving production environments. We describe the technology choice process in some detail, and examine its nature in both U.S. and Japanese industrial settings.     

新中国国民经济恢复时期的钢铁工业——从“零”起点到新生

进入21世纪，中国现代化的“车轮”在飞速奔驰。2008年，中国的钢产量有望达到5.3亿t，约为世界钢产量的40％左右。中国正在由钢铁大国向钢铁强国迈进。回顾新中国成立前后、国民经济三年恢复时期钢铁工业所走过的艰辛历程，确实是发人深思和意味深长的。