Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Civil engineering Study and teaching Australia'

THESIS submitted in fulfilment of the degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013
The aim of this research is to present recommendations for knowledge and practice relations between Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and Civil Engineering (CE) workplaces, and to present a work-integrated learning (WIL) model that could assist with the preparation of CE students for the workplace. Recently, FET colleges have been under the spotlight in terms of student preparedness for the CE workplace. Many questions have been posed by students studying at FET colleges and by CE workplace supervisors in respect of whether the current CE curriculum adequately prepares students for the workplace, or whether the curriculum has become obsolete in terms of knowledge and practice relations. The CE industry is of the opinion that students are insufficiently prepared in terms of skills and knowledge. In the light of this uncertainty, I researched the learning taking place at FET colleges and CE workplaces. I examined similarities and differences in the learning environment of the students. The research provides a theoretical overview of Activity Theory (AT) and its principle of contradictions. The lens of AT and its contradictions provide a versatile tool to enquire into various aspects of WIL, taking into account individual and institutional perspectives, as well as changes over time. Activity Theory and its principle of contradictions provide insights into how transformation may occur within Activity Systems (ASs) in a CE context. The study was conducted over a number of years with participants from three ASs, namely, the classroom, workshop/college yard and workplace. During the research, this study proposed a conceptual framework, rooted in AT, and substantiated by empirical evidence, for describing and analysing the learning taking place in the FET college sector and within the CE workplace environment. The analysis focuses on the perceptions of learning taking place in the ASs. Results reveal a knowledge and practice divide, mediated by AS elements of mediating artefacts, object, subject, division of labour, community and rules. Through a particular focus on the contradictions of the elements of an AS which occur, the objective for this study was to determine ‘knowledge and practice relations’. The components of knowledge and practice are extremely isolated, and by bringing the argument and the empirical findings together, the findings propose:  Links between knowledge(‘the classroom’) and practice(‘the workplace’) The surfacing of the disconnect between knowledge and practice between the FET college sector and the CE workplace supports the idea of establishing links between these two sectors. This collaboration could be the turning point in better preparing students for the workplace.  Policy formulation and implementation The need for policy review to enhance the integration of knowledge and practice relations in the sector has become apparent. Colleges are expected to undergo a radical transformation and to make major contributions to policy. However, these institutions are new and fragile, and are based on historically weak predecessors. Much of the reform process is oblivious of the connections between college and workplace. The research has established that both CE industries and FET colleges should ensure that they increase their involvement with and participation in the provision of adequately preparing students for the workplace in the Western Cape Province.

Sustainable development through sustainable engineering is a promising strategy for combating unsustainable patterns of population growth, resource consumption, and environmental degradation. For sustainable engineering to alleviate global problems, however, improvements in undergraduate education are required to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to engage in sustainable design. Consequently, the goal of this dissertation is to assess and improve sustainability education in civil and environmental engineering (CEE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Three phases of inquiry were conducted to (1) examine the current status of CEE sustainability education, (2) use assessment results to develop a pedagogically-innovative sustainability module, and (3) investigate the impacts of implementing the module into select CEE courses on student learning. Several key findings resulted from this work. First, the Sustainability Tool for Assessing Universities’ Curricula Holistically (STAUNCH®) suggested that integration of sustainability into the curriculum was incomplete and favored environmental sustainability. Second, CEE seniors’ conceptual understanding of sustainability, based on concept map results, was found to be generally correct, although limited in comprehensiveness, connectedness, and balance. Third, examination of capstone project reports (2002 and 2011) using the novel Sustainable Design Rubric revealed little change in the students’ sustainable design abilities over the past decade, due potentially in part to students simply “meeting the expectations” of project sponsors. Based on these insights, a five-part, learning-cycle-based sustainability module was developed and implemented in CEE capstone and cornerstone design courses. Higher learning gains for cornerstone students, as compared to seniors, supports future integration of the module into cornerstone design courses. While project results are especially important for CEE at Georgia Tech, other programs and institutions may benefit from the development and improvement of sustainability knowledge assessment tools, as well as the empirically-informed and theoretically-grounded sustainability module.

Southeast Australia have between 1997-2009 experienced a severe drought, referred to as the Millennium Drought. During these years the region experienced a 11.4% decline in mean annual rainfall, an unprecedented decrease in runoff and a decline in soil moisture and groundwater storage. The drought officially ended in 2010 when one of the strongest La Nina-events on record occurred. However, it is still unknown how the behaviour of the catchments changed during the drought and if this change persists in the years following the drought. Changes in catchment behaviour and fluxes are commonly determined using a catchment water balance, where the change in groundwater storage is assumed to be neglectable when studying longer periods of time. However, studies have showed that this assumption might be inaccurate for catchments that experience a climatic disturbance such as a severe drought. This study investigates if including the change in groundwater storage by using spatial groundwater head data can improve the catchment water balance. This was done by assuming that specific yields are unknown and to be determined in a calibration. An unknown scalar applied to the evapotranspiration was used to try to account for the uncertainties in the known fluxes and was also to be determined in the calibration. Two different calibration schemes were considered: one assuming no delay in groundwater head response to climate and one accounting for the delay. The fluxes were determined for the period before, during and after the drought. The results were analysed to determine if the catchments showed a change in behaviour during and after the drought. The results showed that when not accounting for the delayed response of the groundwater head, at least one of the specific yields in the catchments became infinitely small. Including the delayed groundwater head response did improve one of the catchments significantly by producing plausible specific yields for all geological units. A conclusion of this is that including the change in groundwater storage could improve the water balance. However, for it to do so a thorough analysis of the groundwater and subsurface needs to be conducted. Further, the water balance error was the third biggest flux after rainfall and actual evapotranspiration suggesting that the evapotranspiration scalar reduced the actual evapotranspiration too much. All fluxes did decrease during the drought, by how much differed between the catchments and the water balance components. Two of the catchments showed a change in behaviour during the drought that persisted in the years following the drought. The most likely fluxes to have caused this were the change in runoff and groundwater storage. The other two catchments showed a smaller change in behaviour during the drought and an indication that it was on its way back to the same state as before the drought. The likely fluxes to have caused the small change in behaviour was runoff and actual evapotranspiration.
Under åren 1997–2009 minskade den genomsnittliga årliga nederbörden över sydöstra Australien med 11.4% och den genomsnittliga årliga avrinningen var lägre än någonsin tidigare samtidigt som grundvattennivåerna sjönk. Denna torka brukar kallas the Millennium Drought och är den svåraste torkan i Australien i modern tid. Torkan tog officiellt slut 2010 då ett av de mest kraftfulla La Niña-fenomenen inträffade vilket bidrog till att april 2010 till mars 2012 var de blötaste två åren i australiensk historia. Trots att flera studier har gjorts kring torkan så är det ännu inte klarlagts hur avrinningsområdena i området påverkades och om de fortfarande är påverkade när torkan officiellt är över. Flödena inom ett avrinningsområde bestäms vanligtvis genom en vattenbalans. Då vattenbalansen över ett avrinningsområde studeras under en längre tid antas ofta att förändringarna i grundvattenmagasinen går att bortse från då grundvattennivån ofta återgår till samma stadie efter ett antal år. Nyare studier har dock visat att detta inte alltid är fallet vid exempelvis en svår torka och att det vid dessa fall inte är korrekt att anta att förändringen i grundvattenmagasinen är försumbar. I denna studie har en vattenbalans gjorts för fyra avrinningsområden i delstaten Victoria i Australien. Syftet har varit att avgöra om vattenbalansen kan förbättras om förändringen i grundvattenmagasinen inkluderas. Detta har gjorts genom att använda nyligen framtagen data för grundvattennivån i delstaten och antagit att den dränerbara porositeten är en okänd variabel. För att justera för osäkerheterna kring the kända flödena har en okänd faktor för evapotranspirationen inkluderats. De okända variablerna bestämdes i en kalibrering. Kalibreringen genomfördes för två olika kalibreringsscheman och för tre olika tidsperioder. Det ena kalibreringsschemat antog att grundvattnet direkt reagerade på effektiv nederbörd minus avrinning, medan den andra kalibreringsschemat tog hänsyn till en försenad reaktion. Kalibreringen gjordes för tidsperioderna innan, under och efter torkan. Resultaten visade att när ingen hänsyn togs till en eventuellt försenad reaktion av grundvatten så går värdet för dränerbar porositet i minst en geologisk enhet mot noll medan det andra värdet är rimligt. När hänsyn togs till en försenad reaktion av grundvattnet, fick fler avrinningsområde rimliga värden för dränerbar porositet för hela området. Slutsatsen som kan dras kring detta är att vattenbalansen kan förbättras om förändringen i grundvattenmagasinen inkluderas. Detta kräver dock en djupgående analys av grundvattnet och geologin i avrinningsområdet. Hur mycket flödena förändrades under och efter torkan varierar mellan avrinningsområdena och flödena, gemensamt var dock att alla flöden minskade under torkan. Två av avrinningsområdena påvisade en förändring i beteendet under torkan och de år som följde. Det är mest troligt att förändringarna i avrinning och grundvattenmagasinen har påverkat detta. De övriga två avrinningsområdena påvisade även de en förändring under torkan, om än mindre än för de föregående. Denna förändring ser även ut att vara på tillbakagående och att avrinningsområdet inom en snar framtid skulle kunna ha samma tillstånd som innan torkan. De mest troliga flödena som har påverkat dessa avrinningsområden är förändringar i avrinning och den faktisk evapotranspirationen.

Data-driven learning (DDL), an inductive teaching approach in which students learn through corpus interaction, has gained recent traction as way to teach specialized vocabulary in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classes. There is little research, however, that addresses how to choose specialized vocabulary for teaching with DDL. This study addressed this gap in research by exploring the potential of a three-part analytical, corpus-based system for determining vocabulary to teach with DDL for a specific context of language use. This system included (1) identifying words that were significantly more frequent in a specialized expert corpus than in a corpus of general English, (2) narrowing to words that showed patterned differences in use between the specialized corpus and a student corpus, and (3) narrowing further to words with salient enough patterns of usage to teach with DDL. This three-part system was applied to the context of civil engineering in order to find vocabulary words to teach civil engineering students with low-proficiency writing skills at Portland State University. For the first step in my analytical system, I found 201 words that occurred significantly more frequently in civil engineering practitioner writing than in the Corpus of Contemporary American English and that met requirements for frequency, distribution, and other criteria. I tested the second and third steps on 45 of these words and identified 14 words that showed evidence of needing to be taught and being well suited to DDL. After reflecting on my process, I found that the analytical system was successful in meeting my goals for finding civil engineering vocabulary for data-driven activities. I also made several observations that may be useful for ESP teachers who are interested in applying this methodology for their classes, the most notable of which were: 1. The system was especially useful for connecting words that are not explicitly civil engineering themed (e.g., encountered or using) to important writing functions that civil engineers perform. 2. Although it provided a systematic basis for vocabulary teaching decisions, the process was generally time-consuming and required complex judgments, which indicated that it may only be worth performing if teachers plan to regularly incorporate DDL vocabulary instruction into their course.

This thesis examines issues in Australian undergraduate engineering management studies in the context of flexible learning delivery. It is proposed that, within an Australian context: a) the management skills and competencies required by graduate engineers can be determined and classified on a rational basis, permitting an educational focus on those elements most appropriate for graduates; and b) on-line and other computer-based technologies are a practical and effective method for the support of undergraduate engineering management studies. The doctoral project incorporates: • an examination of the nature of engineering management; • a review of the relevant literature establishing the importance of management studies in undergraduate engineering courses; • a review of historical and recent developments in Australian undergraduate engineering management studies; • an investigation of the management skills and competencies required by graduate engineers - based on original research; • an examination of flexible delivery of engineering education - based on professional practice experience; and • an evaluation of case studies of flexible delivery of engineering management education - based on original research and professional practice experience. A framework of ranked classified management skills is developed. Broadly, the ranking framework is generic professional skills, followed by general management skills and technical discipline specific management skills, followed by other professional discipline skills and theoretical skills. This framework provides a rational basis for design of undergraduate engineering management studies. This is supplemented by consideration of the management skills required for the future of engineering practice. It is concluded that undergraduate engineering management education is well suited to delivery and support by on-line and computer-based technology. Recent developments in improved access to the Internet, software systems for on-line collaboration and changes in copyright legislation to create a broad-based right to communication via on-line media have contributed to the facilitation of on-line delivery of teaching and learning. It is noted that though many on-line infrastructure issues have been satisfactorily resolved, higher level issues will emerge as being crucial, including the academic staff development and reward for operating in an online teaching environment and the financial sustainability of on-line development and delivery of courses.

This study explores the application of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in an English for Civil Engineering (ECE) learning setting. The aim is to examine the interactional opportunities present in the computer-mediated environment for evidence of conditions deemed facilitative of second language acquisition, based on the tenets prescribed by the Interaction Hypothesis. This theory emphasizes the importance of interaction in language learning and the necessity for learners to have access to meaningful and comprehensible input. It is based on the premise that acquisition will occur through interaction where learners arc provided opportunities to negotiate meaning in order to develop mutual understanding. In tum, this allows for hypothesis testing related to learners' developing interlanguage systems. It also provides opportunities for learners to produce comprehensible output and have access to feedback related to their attempts. All these are regarded as crucial for language acquisition. Most of the studies on interaction work reported in the literature are related to oral interaction. Nevertheless, studies on the use of CMC have reported that this medium can promote meaningful interaction that can foster interlanguage development through meaning negotiation and focus on form. The participants in this study consist of one English language teacher and a group of seventy-three students. The task employed for this study is based on one of the requirements of the ECE program, specifically for the students to engage in a discussion forum on current and relevant social, economic and environmental issues related to the civil engineering field and profession. For a more in-depth and thorough understanding of the entire perspective in the application of CMC in this ECE setting, both qualitative and quantitative procedures are adopted for the purpose of data analysis. The analysis of interactional exchanges reveals that this on-line platform serves as a suitable context and a conducive environment for interlanguage development. Both student-to-teacher and student-to-student interactional exchanges provide evidence of opportunities for modified input, feedback and modified output. The interview responses also provide important insights into the subjective dimension of learning in terms of students' overall opinion and perception of the on-line interactional exchange.

Orientadores: Pedro Wagner Gonçalves, Carlos Alberto Lobão da Silveira Cunha
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias
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Resumo: O conteúdo geológico em cursos de Engenharia Civil é o objeto central da presente dissertação, que expõe e analisa o conteúdo ministrado nos cursos do estado de São Paulo na atualidade e levanta uma concepção de conteúdo a partir de sugestões de especialistas da área de Geologia de Engenharia. Paralelamente, em revisão bibliográfica feita sobre o ensino de Engenharia e o ensino de Geologia são destacados dois aspectos com possível ligação ao conteúdo geológico: a interação de disciplinas e a preocupação com o meio ambiente. Inicialmente a presente dissertação propõe uma reflexão sobre o conteúdo geológico como aspecto interdisciplinar e como parte do conhecimento sobre Natureza. O trabalho apresenta o levantamento dos dados de disciplinas com conteúdo geológico dos cursos do estado e síntese das entrevistas dos especialistas. Foram obtidas 26 respostas, dos 50 cursos existentes no estado em 2004, ano em que foi realizado o levantamento. Análise desta amostra permite vislumbrar um panorama do conteúdo geológico veiculado nos cursos, apresentando, além do conteúdo programático, dados das disciplinas, como carga horária, o período em que se inserem no curso, a distribuição do conteúdo nessas disciplinas, a bibliografia indicada e um perfil profissional dos docentes responsáveis por elas. As entrevistas foram realizadas com dois geólogos e dois engenheiros civis, considerados especialistas na área de Geologia de Engenharia por sua experiência de mais de 3 ou 4 décadas, três deles com experiência acadêmica no ensino de Geologia para os cursos de Geologia e de Engenharia Civil, ou de Arquitetura e Urbanismo. As entrevistas sugerem possíveis caminhos para a escolha de temas geológicos a serem abordados em cursos de Engenharia Civil. Nas entrevistas pode-se constatar a presença dos dois aspectos destacados da revisão bibliográfica, os quais aparecem como preocupação demonstrada por ambos especialistas com as intervenções na Natureza causadas pelo homem, por intermédio do engenheiro civil como executor, e também como possibilidade de se promover interações entre disciplinas geológicas e variadas disciplinas aplicadas de Engenharia, a partir do conteúdo geológico. Finalmente, são identificadas as convergências e divergências existentes entre a interpretação das entrevistas, os resultados da análise dos dados obtidos das disciplinas com conteúdo geológico dos cursos considerados e os aspectos detectados na revisão bibliográfica. As conclusões são de que a importância dada à Geologia por parte dos cursos é pequena, contradizendo a opinião dos especialistas. O retrato do que é ensinado nos cursos está muito aquém das expectativas dos especialistas que defendem ênfase nos processos ao ensinar temas de Geologia Geral e uma articulação desta com a Geologia Aplicada. Esta última é quase inexistente nos cursos do estado e largamente indicada pelos especialistas. A sugestão que fica é de se manter aceso o debate, por parte de organismos profissionais, técnico-científicos, autoridades junto às IES para manter a reflexão e incrementar o ensino de Geologia nos cursos de Engenharia Civil
Abstract: The aim of this research is to analyze the geological content in Civil Engineering courses. Nowadays the content in São Paulo state is examined and compared with the content suggested by Geology Engineering experts. The research shows us two aspects dealt with in the Curriculum Guidelines for the Engineering courses, as in the discussions generated by their definitions and implementations, the intra-discipline and the preoccupation with the environment, proposing a reflection about geological issues as an interdisciplinary aspect and also as part of the knowledge about Nature. It also presents the collection of data of the disciplines with geological content and synthesis of interviews with experts. Twenty-six answers were obtained from fifty existent courses in the state in 2004, when the survey was conducted. Such analysis allows for a panorama of the geological issues transmitted in the courses, beyond the pragmatics approach of the geological disciplines: there is number of hours, the period in which they interfere in the course, the number of students, the distribution of the content in these disciplines, the bibliography indicated and a professional profile of the teachers. The interviews were performed with two geologists and two civil engineers considered specialists in the area of Geology of Engineering, due to, among other factors, their experience of more than three or four decades. In fact, three of them had academic experience in teaching Geology in the courses of Geology and Civil Engineering or Architecture and Urbanization. The interviews suggest possible ways to choose geological themes to be approached in the courses of Civil Engineering. In the interviews the presence of the two aspects highlighted in the bibliography, as a concern demonstrated by all specialists about the interventions in the Nature caused by Civil Engineering, and also as a possibility to promote interactions between geological disciplines and several applied disciplines of Engineering, starting from the geological content. Finally, convergences and divergences are identified among the interpretation of the interviews, the results of the analysis of the disciplines with geological content and the aspects detected in the bibliographical revision. Civil Engineering courses do not emphasize the importance of geological issues. What is taught is not enough for experts that believe in teaching General Geology with Applied Geology. The latter is almost non-existent, although suggested by specialists. The suggestion is under debate by professionals, technical-science and undergraduate Institution authorities in attempt to improve the teaching of Geology in Civil Engineering Courses
Mestrado
Mestre em Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra

A eficiência energética das edificações é um assunto importante a ser discutido diante do cenário energético mundial. No Brasil, a utilização racional da energia está cada vez mais em evidência na construção civil, principalmente em prédios públicos. Há pouco menos de três décadas, o PROCEL – Programa Nacional de Conservação de Energia Elétrica está buscando meios para combater o desperdício de energia, na área de iluminação. As ações são de homologar a eficiência das lâmpadas elétricas e sistemas de iluminação de edificações. Os sistemas de iluminação em edificações além da iluminação artificial, devem possuir características arquitetônicas que permitam utilizar a luz natural em ambientes internos. O estudo foi realizado em quatorze bibliotecas da UTFPR – Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná. Os ambientes estudados foram as áreas de acervo e de leitura. Nestes ambientes foram realizadas leituras de iluminância proporcionados pela iluminação artificial. Maquetes eletrônicas das edificações foram criadas para simular a entrada da radiação solar no interior das bibliotecas. Os dados da iluminação artificial foram avaliados através do RQT-C – Requisitos Técnicos da Qualidade do Nível de Eficiência Energética para Edifícios Comerciais, de Serviços e Públicos, e também pela norma brasileira de iluminação de interiores NBR ISO/CIE 8995-1. Os dados da radiação solar foram avaliados quanto a desconforto provocado pelo ofuscamento inabilitador a que os usuários estariam expostos. Os resultados obtidos comprovaram que os sistemas de iluminação possuem pequenos desvios a serem corrigidos e soluções de retrofit foram propostas. As análises comprovaram que nos sistemas iluminação das bibliotecas estudadas, a conciliação entre a luminância média mínima, a eficiência energética e o conforto luminoso são critérios relevantes que previsão ser analisados com muita atenção durante o projeto da biblioteca, caso contrário um dos fatores citados não será atendidos.
The energy efficiency of buildings is an important issue to be discussed given the world energy scene. In Brazil, the rational use of energy is becoming increasingly evident in construction, especially in public buildings. A little less than three decades, PROCEL - National Program for Energy Conservation is looking for ways to combat the waste of energy in lighting area. The actions are to ratify the efficiency of light bulbs and building lighting systems. Lighting systems in buildings besides the artificial lighting, must have architectural features that allow use of natural light indoors. The study was conducted in fourteen libraries from UTFPR - Federal Technological University of Paraná. The environments studied were the collection and reading areas. In these environments, illuminance readings were held, provided by artificial lighting. Electronic models of buildings were created to simulate the entry of solar radiation inside the libraries. Data from the artificial lighting were evaluated by rqt-C - Technical Requirements for Energy Efficiency Level Quality for Commercial Buildings, and Public Services, and also by the Brazilian standard of interior lighting ISO / CIE 8995-1. The data of solar radiation were evaluated for the discomfort caused by glare inabilitator that users would be exposed. The results showed that the lighting systems have small deviations to be corrected and retrofit solutions have been proposed. The analyzes showed that the lighting systems of the studied libraries, the reconciliation between the average minimum luminance, energy efficiency and lighting comfort are relevant criteria forecast to be analyzed carefully during the library project, otherwise one of the factors mentioned will not be met.

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE POTENTIAL OF THE TRACPROGRAMME IN ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS IN PHYSICAL SCIENCE EDUCATION For South Africa to be competitive at international level, it is important to deliver learners that will meet the standards set by industry and tertiary institutions. Most of the current South African schoolleavers do not meet these needs. Learners, educators, education departments, tertiary institutions and industry are jointly responsible for the outcomes of the education process. However, each of these role players has specific needs regarding scientific knowledge and skills of learners. An integrated, interactive educational approach is therefore necessary to address the needs of all of these role players successfully. This study specifically focuses on identifying both the needs of the role players in physical science education in the Western Cape and how TRAC SA, a national, non-governmental organisation, can assist in addressing these needs, with the help of computer based technology. The following role players were included in this study: tertiary institutions, industry, education department, educators and learners. Information on the needs of these role players was mainly collected through interviews and questionnaires, while workshops were held to determine the needs of learners and educators. It is significant that the information derived from the empirical study (questionnaires and interviews) is in many ways in agreement with the literature findings. One of the most important conclusions of the empirical study is that the different role players have distinctive, as well as corresponding needs regarding the preparation of learners at school level. The industry expects learners to be sufficiently equipped with the necessary skills to facilitate integration into the workplace. Tertiary institutions emphasise the need for theoretical as well as practical basis of the science subject content. Learners expressed the need for extracurricular programmes, focusing on simplifying difficult concepts. Educators identified the need for adapting the syllabus and for regular refresher courses. The Department of Education needs funds for pilot education programmes, and also puts in a plea for the more structured involvement of tertiary institutions and non-governmental organisations as well as the support oftheir education initiatives, such as outcomes-based education. Data collected shows that there is a significant gap between the current state of identified skills of learners and of what is deemed important by the other role players. In addressing the needs identified, the contribution of non-governmental organisations (with specific reference to TRAC SA), the OBE approach as well as input from tertiary institutions and the industry are emphasised. The TRAC-programme focuses on the understanding of basic and complicated physical science concepts by using computer-supported experiments and worksheets. To enhance the development of skills at school level, the education approach as a whole will have to be revised, with the co-operation of all relevant role players. For an education system to be effective, mutual communication between the different role players is imperative.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vir Suid-Afrika om op internasionale vlak mededingend te wees, is dit belangrik dat die Suid- Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel bekwame leerders aan die industrie en tersiêre inrigtings lewer. Die meeste leerders wat tans die formele Suid-Afrikaanse skoolopleidingsprogram voltooi, voldoen volgens kenners egter nie aan die standaarde wat dié genoemde inrigtings aan hulle stel nie. Leerders, onderwysers, die onderwysdepartement, tersiêre inrigtings en industrie is gesamentlik verantwoordelik vir die uitkomste van die onderwys. Elkeen van hierdie rolspelers het egter spesifieke behoeftes ten opsigte van wetenskaplike kennis en vaardighede van leerders. 'n Geïntegreerde, interaktiewe onderwysbenadering is dus nodig om elkeen van hierdie rolspelers se behoeftes suksesvol aan te spreek. Hierdie studie fokus spesifiek daarop om beide die behoeftes van die rolspelers in die Wes- Kaap ten opsigte van natuur- en skeikunde-onderwys, te identifiseer, en hoe TRAe SA, 'n nie-regeringsonderwysorganisasie wat van rekenaargesteunde aktiwiteite gebruik maak, aangewend kan word om hierdie behoeftes aan te spreek. Die verskillende rolspelers wat by die studie betrek is, sluit in die tersiêre inrigtings, industrie, onderwysdepartement, onderwysers en leerders. Inligting aangaande rolspelerbehoeftes is hoofsaaklik versamel deur onderhoude en vraelyste, terwyl werkswinkels ook gebruik is om vas te stel wat leerders en onderwysers se behoeftes is. Dit is opmerklik dat die inligting verkry uit die empiriese studie (vraelyste en onderhoude) in 'n groot mate ooreenstem met literatuurbevindinge. Een van die belangrikste gevolgtrekkings uit die empiriese studie is dat die verskillende rolspelers eiesoortige asook ooreenstemmende behoeftes ten opsigte van die voorbereiding van leerders op skoolvlak het. Die industrie verwag dat leerders voldoende met die nodige vaardighede toegerus sal wees om integrasie binne die werksfeer te vergemaklik. Tersiêre inrigtings beklemtoon die verkryging van die teoretiese sowel as praktiese grondslag van die wetenskapvakinhoud. Leerders verlang ondersteuning van ekstra-kurrikulêre programme wat fokus op vereenvoudiging van moeilike konsepte. 'n Vakkurrikulumaanpassing asook gereelde opknappingskursusse is deur onderwysers as belangrike behoeftes geïdentifiseer. Die onderwysdepartement benodig fondse om opleidingsprogramme te loods en pleit ook vir meer georganiseerde betrokkenheid van tersiêre inrigtings en nie-regeringsonderwysorganisasies. Verder verwag die onderwysdepartement dat hulonderwysstrategieë soos uitkomsgebaseerde onderwys ondersteun word. Die data toon ook verder aan dat daar In wesenlike gapmg tussen die verwagting van rolspelers ten opsigte van bepaalde vaardighede en die werklike stand van vaardighede by die leerders bestaan. As deel van die studie word voorstelle bespreek om die geïdentifiseerde behoeftes aan te spreek. Klem word gelê op die bydrae van nie-regeringsonderwysorganisasies (met spesifieke verwysing na TRAC SA), die UGO-benadering, asook die insette van tersiêre inrigtings en industrie tot die aanspreek van geïdentifiseerde behoeftes. Die TRAC-program fokus onder meer op die vereenvoudiging van basiese en moeilike natuurwetenskapbegrippe deur gebruik te maak van rekenaargesteunde eksperimente, aan die hand van werkkaarte. Om die ontwikkeling van vaardighede op skoolvlak te bevorder, sal die hele onderwysbenadering met die samewerking van alle relevante rolspelers hersien moet word. In dié verband is wedersydse kommunikasie tussen die verskillende rolspelers onontbeerlik.

碩士
大葉大學
設計暨藝術學院碩士在職專班
101
Vocational education as the basis for technical and vocational education, vocational civil engineering group based foster basic human objective of education. The school's teaching space for students and teachers, is one of the main places for students and teachers activities, so an planning perfect teaching space, in addition to the students in a comfortable, safe environment learning professional courses, you can also get a good environmental education, this shows the importance of teaching space. This study aims to understand a Study on the Post-Occupancy Evaluation and user satisfaction in Vocational teaching space with a civil engineering group the first analysis of the literature, Investigate the architecture status of civil engineering group, 99 new curriculum structure and content of teaching space, and collect relevant questionnaire prepared civil engineering group teachers and students teaching space usage on the Post-Occupancy Evaluation and feedback information. After the research, the researcher got the findings as follow. 1.The whole space disposition: (1)The Classroom same subject should be together, and close to the subject building or fieldwork factory. (2)Dynamic class courses or heavier equipment of fieldwork factory should be set on the first floor. 2.Classroom area: The centralized teaching area should be avoiding mutual interference of noise 3.Practice workshop area: (1)The cement factory , carpenter factory , reinforced factory and utilities factory should concentrate provided at another building workplace , and to strengthen environmental safety. (2)Each fieldwork factory's area size and ventilation flow is generally insufficient. 4.Public service space: Toilet space should strengthen the maintenance and environmental pollution problems.

Submitted in fulfillment for the Master of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015.
Promulgation of the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) tasks the Council for Higher Education (CHE), South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and standards generating bodies (Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA)) with guiding institutions through the implementation of the new framework. Implementation is through a phased approach spanning a five-year period beginning in January 2011 and with anticipated culmination in December 2014. As the Higher Education Framework Handbook (CHE 2011:2) states: ‘all existing institutions, public and private, offering existing and previously accredited higher education programmes will be impacted upon by this process in some manner or form, whether it be through a minor name change or a complete renewal of the programme content.’ Consequently, universities of technology (UoT’s) have embarked on a curriculum renewal process and the Civil Engineering Department of Durban University of Technology (DUT) is no different. It is within this context of participation and multiple contributory environments of different role-players that this study was founded. This research explored the Civil Engineering industry’s involvement in the curriculum renewal at DUT with the intention of understanding its contribution and influence in the renewal process and particularly in terms of curriculum design. The scope of the study was restricted to DUT Civil Engineering Department and their graduates, with subjects selected from a convenience sample of DUT Civil Engineering Department’s database of employers that have in the past and presently employ DUT graduates and/ or Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) students. The sample constituted organisations from the contracting, consulting and para-statal fields of employment. A questionnaire was designed containing both open-ended questions and rating scales that explored and probed the Civil Engineering industry level of involvement in the curriculum and curriculum renewal activities at DUT. In addition, interviews were conducted with seasoned Civil Engineering staff that have interacted with industry at various levels to gain their view of industry’s involvement with design of the Civil Engineering curriculum. Data from both questionnaires and interviewees overwhelmingly suggested that industry is not directly involved with the curriculum renewal currently underway at DUT, some respondents only gathered that such an activity was taking place through the medium of the questionnaire. This suggests that the resultant curriculum will be void of much industry engagement and influence. The nature of engagement that does occur is largely through the utilisation of DUT graduates or WIL students. Engagement occurs most commonly when curriculum issues are raised by staff at interviews of employers during WIL, suggesting that the nature of association with DUT is limited to employment of students or graduates. It is inferred that industry has very little direct input into the curriculum. DUT Advisory Board is considerably under-utilised for its intended purpose of engaging industry on curriculum issues, and its existence is unfamiliar to industry at large. As much as the Advisory Board is the most appropriate avenue to discuss curriculum issues, it has limitations in that its function is not entirely realised. The data generated also resoundingly suggests that industry is fully supportive of an inclusive participation process. Data further suggest that industry genuinely wants to be involved in curriculum discussions, and decisions for reasons ranging from participating to create more relevant course content, to contributing to creation of graduates with more appropriate employability attributes. Participants from industry further intimated that their role remains for on-site experiential learning: they provide the working knowledge to complement the academic knowledge provided by DUT. They also consider themselves to be providers of other facets that contribute to a holistic graduate, and assume further roles such as those of mentors and supervisors. The likely outcomes of their influence would be rapid engagement of graduates within the Civil Engineering field. A symbiotic relationship therefore becomes apparent between DUT and industry, where with more input into the curriculum by industry; a more work- orientated graduate is produced to better serve the needs of industry. The following recommendations emerge from the findings of this study: Since most of industry’s engagement occurs during WIL interviews, it would be prudent if a generic curriculum- based questionnaire is devised. This should be filled in by employers during student WIL visitations by staff in addition to the existing questionnaire. In doing so DUT would be proactive in literally ‘taking curriculum issues to them’. The DUT Civil Engineering Department should target those companies that have an interest in making a concerted effort by enlisting them onto the Advisory Board. From an institutional perspective DUT should be more proactive and advertise the existence of such an entity, created solely for curriculum discussions with the public, and particularly with industry. Assessments, course content and the project component of the programme generated considerable comments from industry that the Civil Engineering Department could take into consideration during the curriculum renewal process.

M. Tech. Education
Investigates the status of Civil Technology practical activities in three South African schools in the Eastern Cape Province. The Civil Technology policy advocates that the integration of theory to practical, where learners should be capacitated with practical skills to enable them to amongst other things, enter the job market upon completion of Grade 12,or apprenticeships that will prepare them for a trade test should they not be willing to further their academic studies.

Floods are one of the most costly types of natural disasters in Australia and other parts of the world. It was reported that the average annual cost of flood damage in Australia was about $300 million as at 1994. However, the effects of flooding can be mitigated, and thereby reduce the loss of life and damage to property. Flood mitigation measures can be categorised into two groups. The first group, the structural measures, involves civil works in the flood plain and/or catchment. The second group, the non-structural measures, includes flood forecasting, flood warning and emergency planning, planning controls and acquisition of flood prone land within the catchment, and providing flood insurance to affected people. The flood damage mitigation in the catchment or basin depends on complex social, economical and environmental conditions. It is not always feasible to completely control or manage flood damage through structural measures due to economic, technological, environmental and social constraints. Therefore, non-structural measures such as flood forecasting and warning often play an important role in minimizing flood damage, especially, when there are no feasible structural measures that can be implemented. While planning, design, construction and operation of most structural measures can be done using definite mechanisms, the decisions of non-structural measures, especially flood forecasting and warning, are complex and are not uniquely defined. Therefore, such decisions require the aid of mathematical model results, and require both quantitative and qualitative decision modelling steps. Thus, these decisions can be effectively obtained through the use of a Decision Support System. The Decision Support Systems (DSSs) have recently become popular in making decisions related to complex water resource problems. However, the design and the development of some of these applications do not contain all essential elements of a modern-day DSS, such as effective databases and file management facilities, user-friendly interfaces, appropriate simulation models, spatial and graphical data display and analysis modules, and facilities for effective decision making. Moreover, the theory of DSS and computer science has developed rapidly since the initial development of some of these applications. Furthermore, only a few applications of DSS in flood control and warning exists in the literature. These applications cited in the literature mostly deal with planning aspects of flood control, and not real-time flood forecasting and warning. Therefore, considering the above facts, it is timely and necessary to develop an effective DSS to facilitate decision making of flood warning using all recent advances in DSS theory and computer science, and combining all necessary and desirable elements of a DSS into one system. The Maribyrnong River basin is a medium size catchment located in the northwest of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Its low-lying flood plains along the lower sections of the river have been frequently being inundated by floods. A flood warning system has been established in 1975 after a major flood in 1974 to minimise flood damage in the lower part of the catchment. This system uses several numerical models such as the RORB model and the HEC-2 model for flood forecasting. However, there is no single computer-based system that integrates these models to facilitate analysis of different scenarios in controlling and managing the flood damage, and in making objective and effective decisions. Furthermore, the use of these separate models is time consuming and can lead to errors in transferring information from one model to another. Therefore, a computer-based DSS for flood forecasting and warning in the Maribyrnong River basin would enhance the effectiveness of flood warning in this catchment. As part of this research, the author has defined the DSS as an interactive computer-based system that helps decision-makers to use data and models to solve semi-structured problems effectively. This DSS should allow the user to participate in principal steps of the decision making process, to simulate many steps in the process of decision making, to investigate alternative scenarios, to seek the overall goal for decision, and to improve the effectiveness of decision making. The author also suggested a DSS in water resources, which in most cases deals with spatial data display and analysis, should include five essential components: a database subsystem, a modelbase subsystem, an interface subsystem, a decision support subsystem, and a spatial and graphic data display and analysis subsystem. Most previous research work on DSS development, especially in the area of water resources do not give details of the conceptual system design and details of the subsystems. This thesis provides the details of the conceptual system designs of all subsystems and their major functions. These approaches will help further system development of the DSS of this thesis. The general concept used in this thesis can be used for DSS studies in other water resource studies and in other fields. Based on well-designed system, a unique decision support system, DSSFCMR (Decision Support System for Flood Control in the Maribyrnong River basin) was developed in this thesis to help decision making in flood forecasting and warning from data entry to search of final decisions. The DSSFCMR consists of five subsystems, namely Database Management System (DBMS), Modelbase, Spatial and Graphic Data Display and Analysis (SGDDA), Decision Support, and Interface. The DSSFCMR can consider various forecast rainfall depths in three different forecast periods. The developed Database subsystem can perform various tasks for database management related to flood warning. The URBS hydrological and HEC-RAS hydraulic models in the Modelbase subsystem are used to calculate flood hygrographs and corresponding flood water levels along the flood prone area respectively. Based on the calculated water levels, the shapefile for flood inundated area is instantly created, which is then used for spatial analysis of the flood inundated area through the developed interactive map interface. Two separate methods were developed in the SGDDA subsystem to perform spatial data display and analysis of the flood inundated area for use by different users (with different computer skills) and/or for organizations with different levels of resources. The process of complicated data transfer within DSSFCMR (e.g. the peak discharge to the flood water level, then flood water level to the shapefile of flood area) is automated by the developed system functions. The technology developed for decision choice support in this study helps to locate the required scenarios from many scenario results using the database technology. All functions are properly integrated together for the benefit of the user to make the decisions effectively. The use of DSSFCMR to provide decision support for flood forecasting and warning in the Maribyrnong River basin was illustrated. The application was on the flood event that occurred on 04 October 1983, but under 1997 topographical conditions. Essentially, the application concentrated on flood forecasting and warning decisions at a particular time during the event. The system effectively performed calibration of the URBS and HEC-RAS models, forecasting of flood hydrographs, calculation of flood water levels, spatial data display of flood inundated areas and decision selection support for flood warning at this particular time. Generally, the developed system DSSFCMR can efficiently forecast flood hydrographs and calculate the flood water levels; the process of complex data transfer is done automatically and quickly; the data can be displayed flexibly in various formats; the system is easy to use by different users with different computer skills; the user can use DSSFCMR to investigate decision making variables related to flood warning (e.g. people relocation) conveniently and quickly. In summary, this system helps the decision maker to make the decisions in relation to flood forecasting and warning in the Maribyrnong River basin effectively.