The student experience of working in teams online

The research reported here is part of a project undertaken at a large Australian university in late 2005. The overall aim of the project was to identify the characteristics of student learning in an online environment. A university-wide student survey was conducted to ascertain student views of online learning and also of online teaching as part of the project. In the survey students were asked questions about their experiences of team work in online environments. The student perceptions of teams and team work are the focus of this paper.

The findings from the survey indicated that students appreciated the opportunity of working in diverse teams. They supported the view that their opinions were valued in such teams. Student views of how teaching should be conducted in units with online teams were also expressed. Concerns about team interactions, technological barriers and communication and cultural issues were also raised. The implications for teaching with online student teams are presented and discussed.

Building information modelling project decision support framework

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an information technology [IT] enabled approach to managing design data in the AEC/FM (Architecture, Engineering and Construction/ Facilities Management) industry. BIM enables improved interdisciplinary collaboration across distributed teams, intelligent documentation and information retrieval, greater consistency in building data, better conflict detection and enhanced facilities management. Despite the apparent benefits the adoption of BIM in practice has been slow. Workshops with industry focus groups were conducted to identify the industry needs, concerns and expectations from participants who had implemented BIM or were BIM “ready”. Factors inhibiting BIM adoption include lack of training, low business incentives, perception of lack of rewards, technological concerns, industry fragmentation related to uneven ICT adoption practices, contractual matters and resistance to changing current work practice. Successful BIM usage depends on collective adoption of BIM across the different disciplines and support by the client. The relationship of current work practices to future BIM scenarios was identified as an important strategy as the participants believed that BIM cannot be efficiently used with traditional practices and methods. The key to successful implementation is to explore the extent to which current work practices must change. Currently there is a perception that all work practices and processes must adopt and change for effective usage of BIM. It is acknowledged that new roles and responsibilities are emerging and that different parties will lead BIM on different projects. A contingency based approach to the problem of implementation was taken which relies upon integration of BIM project champion, procurement strategy, team capability analysis, commercial software availability/applicability and phase decision making and event analysis. Organizations need to understand: (a) their own work processes and requirements; (b) the range of BIM applications available in the market and their capabilities (c) the potential benefits of different BIM applications and their roles in different phases of the project lifecycle, and (d) collective supply chain adoption capabilities. A framework is proposed to support organizations selection of BIM usage strategies that meet their project requirements. Case studies are being conducted to develop the framework. The results of the preliminary design management case study is presented for contractor led BIM specific to the design and construct procurement strategy.

Understanding the conditions of trust in the ALT and AMT relationships in project alliancing

This research also aims to develop a robust trust framework which can improve the understanding of the theory to support trust in alliancing, in particular the ALT and AMT relationship to improve project success factors. Research in trust within the construction industry has not yet examined how the relational signals within the five situations in the normative framework identified by Siegwart Lindenberg affect the level of trustworthiness between partners. More research is necessary to explore potential frameworks that can be used as the basis for future research in trust. Data from previous research in the performance of alliance has been used to verify the proposed framework. The framework will be developed in the ALT and AMT relationship to improve project success factors within the alliance. The originality of this research is trying to understand trust in the context of project alliancing in Australia as there are an increasing number of construction projects using the alliancing procurement method. Additionally, this research is examining the conditions of trust from the ALT and AMT teams specifically formed for the collaboration of project alliancing.

Learning cultures of problem-based learning teams

The learning experiences of first-year engineering students to a newly implemented engineering problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum is reported here, with an emphasis on student approaches to learning. Ethnographic approaches were used for data collection and analysis. This study found that student learning in a PBL team in this setting was mainly influenced by the attitudes, behaviour and learning approaches of the student members in that team. Three different learning cultures that emerged from the analysis of eight PBL teams are reported here. They are the finishing culture, the performing culture and the collaborative learning culture. It was found that the team that used a collaborative approach to learning benefited the most in this PBL setting. Students in this team approached learning at a deep level. The findings of this study imply that students in a problem-based, or project-based, learning setting may not automatically adopt a collaborative learning culture. Hence, it is important for institutions and teachers to identify and consider the factors that influence student learning in their particular setting, provide students with necessary tools and ongoing coaching to nurture deep learning approaches in PBL teams.

Three phases of the Pacific Islands Project (1995–2010)

The Pacific Islands Project (PIP), funded by AusAid and managed by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), has progressed through three phases from 1995 to 2010. During this time, it has sent over 520 teams to 11 Pacific Island Countries, providing over 60 000 consultations and some 16 000 procedures. In addition to this delivery of specialist medical and surgical services that were not previously available in-country, the project has contributed as a partner in capacity building with the Fiji School of Medicine and Ministries of Health of the individual nations. By 2011, Fiji School of Medicine, which began postgraduate specialist training in 1998, had awarded 51 doctors a diploma in surgery (1 year), 20 of whom had completed their Masters in Medicine (4 years). PIP was independently evaluated on completion of every phase, including the bridging Phase III (2006–2010). The project delivered on its design, to deliver services, and also helped build capacity. The relationship established with the RACS throughout the project allowed Pacific Island graduates to access the Rowan Nicks scholarship, and the majority of MMed graduates received International Travel Grants to attend the Annual Scientific Meeting. PIP has been a highly successful partnership in delivering and building specialist medical services. Although AusAid contributed some $20 million over 16 years, the value added from pro bono contributions by Specialist Teams, Specialty Coordinators and the Project Directors amounted to an equivalent amount. With the emergence of Pacific Island-trained specialists, PIP is ready to move into a new phase where the agendas are set, monitored and managed within the Pacific, and RACS fulfils the role of a service provider. A critical mass of Pacific Island surgeons has been trained, so that sub-specialization will be an option for the general surgeons of the larger island nations.

Ghost muscle: stonewalling teams past and present

An imaginative arts project inspired by the Volcanic Plains region of Western Victoria will be showcased in Warrnambool this week where participants will also be able to experience the art of dry stone walling. The aim is to imagine the life of the stones and to re-perform and experience what it might have been like to work alongside a team of stonewallers from the late 1800's out in the fields producing about 30 meters of wall per day. This imaginary archaeology provides lesson in the doing of our ongoing relationship to the land and to place and place-making.

Measurement of services and supports (MOSS): project overview and findings

The Measurement of Services and Supports (MOSS) project commenced in 2005, with the initial aim of developing and trialing a tool that would evaluate the outcomes of therapy and psychology services delivered by Scope’s Therapy, Psychology and Related Services teams (previously known as Specialist Services). There are a number of key drivers that have influenced the MOSS project from its inception. These include:
• Scope’s Strategic direction;
• The State Disability Plan 2002-2012 (Victorian Department of Human Services, 2002);
• A desire to provide evidence for funding bodies relating to the effectiveness of the support
delivered by Therapy, Psychology and Related Services; and
• A desire to ensure that Therapy, Psychology and Related Services support is based on evidence.

Performance of project alliancing in Australasia: a digest of infrastructure development from 2008 to 2013

Project and program alliances have been an accepted form of project procurement for public infrastructure engineering projects in Australia and New Zealand (Australasia). Alliancing often provides best value and superior value for money when compared to traditional approaches such as Design and Construct, however considerable debate continues about its success and applicability. This paper reports on three studies of completed construction project alliance performance in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Consolidated findings are presented on 61 project alliances, data is analysed and emerging trends discussed. Recent government policy changes in Australia at Federal and State level have led to a decline in the number of project alliances, however, while the volume of alliance activity is declining it still represents billions of dollars of infrastructure construction work being undertaken. Results also revealed that communication and trust between the executive leadership and operational management teams was a major factor contributing to the functioning of the alliance. Furthermore, the research identifies several key factors that were necessary preconditions for successful alliances.

An integrated approach of software development and test processes to distributed teams

The Distributed Software Development (DSD) is a development strategy that meets the globalization needs concerned with the increase productivity and cost reduction. However, the temporal distance, geographical dispersion and the socio-cultural differences, increased some challenges and, especially, added new requirements related with the communication, coordination and control of projects. Among these new demands there is the necessity of a software process that provides adequate support to the distributed software development. This paper presents an integrated approach of software development and test that considers distributed teams peculiarities. The approach purpose is to offer support to DSD, providing a better project visibility, improving the communication between the development and test teams, minimizing the ambiguity and difficulty to understand the artifacts and activities. This integrated approach was conceived based on four pillars: (i) to identify the DSD peculiarities concerned with development and test processes, (ii) to define the necessary elements to compose the integrated approach of development and test to support the distributed teams, (iii) to describe and specify the workflows, artifacts, and roles of the approach, and (iv) to represent appropriately the approach to enable the effective communication and understanding of it.

Therapeutic Project at Extra-Hospital Mental Health Services: a critical reflection on the elaboration and management of services' therapeutic projects

Based on a study conducted in Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil in extra-hospital mental health services that addressed the organization of these services, therapeutic projects and the inclusion of psychosocial rehabilitation in health actions available, a theoretical-critical reflection concerning the development process of the therapeutic projects by the services' teams is presented. The qualitative study was conducted in an outpatient clinic and a Psychosocial Care Center. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focal groups. Data analysis was based on the hermeneutic dialectic philosophy of Jurgen Habermas according to the techniques of reconstruction and interpretation. Data analysis revealed that professionals have difficulty developing and managing therapeutic projects. Health actions are made available without being concretely supported by a proposal guiding the service's practical activities. The therapeutic projects are referred by professionals as the result of guidelines provided by management levels or technical orientations inherent to each profession but not as an activity that represents a philosophy of work of the health team. When the therapeutic project is focused on as a type of consensus that results from a communicative action directed to a mutual and intersubjective understanding among the members of the mental health extra-hospital team, the difficulties of the services' team dialogically organizing themselves to collectively construct the therapeutic project is evidenced.

Effect of implementing project-based education in high school physics : file folder bridge engineering

Project-based education and portfolio assessments are at the forefront of educational research. This research follows the implementation of a project-based unit in a high school physics class. Students played the role of an engineering firm who designed, built and tested file folder bridges. The purpose was to determine if projectbased learning could improve student attitude toward science and related careers like engineering. Teams of students presented their work in a portfolio for a final assessment of the process of designing, building and testing their bridges.

Territory and Infrastructure : Strategic Identification and Project Pondering

El Territorio hoy es visto como una totalidad organizada que no puede ser pensada separando cada uno de los elementos que la componen; cada uno de ellos es definido por su relación con los otros elementos. Así, un pensamiento que integra diferentes disciplinas y saberes comienza a manejar una realidad que lejos está de definir certezas inamovibles, y comienza a vislumbrar horizontes estratégicos. La adaptación a la no linealidad de las relaciones que se dan sobre el territorio, y la diferencia de velocidades en las que actúan los distintos actores, nos exige hacer de la flexibilidad una característica esencial de la metodología de planificación estratégica. La multi-causalidad de los fenómenos que estructuran el territorio nos obliga a construir criterios cualitativos, entendiendo que nos es imposible la medición de estas cadenas causales y su reconstrucción completa en el tiempo; sin dejar por ello de edificar un marco profundo de acción y transformación que responda a una realidad cierta y veraz. Los fenómenos producidos sobre el territorio nunca actúan de manera aislada, lo que implica una responsabilidad a la hora de comprender las sinergias y la restricción que afectan los resultados de los procesos desatados. La presente ponencia corresponde a la Segunda Fase del proceso de identificación estratégica de los proyectos Plan Estratégico Territorial (PET) que se inició en el año 2005; dicho Plan es llevada a cabo por la Subsecretaría de Planificación Territorial del Ministerio de Planificación Federal y fue abordado sobre la base de tres pretensiones: institucionalizar el ejercicio del pensamiento estratégico, fortalecer la metodología de trabajo transdisciplinaria y multisectorial, y diseñar un sistema de ponderación de proyectos estratégicos de infraestructura, tanto a nivel provincial como nacional, con una fuerte base cualitativa. Este proceso dio como resultado una cartera ponderada de proyectos de infraestructura conjuntamente con una metodología que permitió consolidar los equipos provinciales de planificación, tanto en su relación con los decisores políticos como con los actores de los múltiples sectores del gobierno, y en estos resultados consolidar y reforzar una cultura del pensamiento estratégico sobre el territorio

Territory and Infrastructure : Strategic Identification and Project Pondering

El Territorio hoy es visto como una totalidad organizada que no puede ser pensada separando cada uno de los elementos que la componen; cada uno de ellos es definido por su relación con los otros elementos. Así, un pensamiento que integra diferentes disciplinas y saberes comienza a manejar una realidad que lejos está de definir certezas inamovibles, y comienza a vislumbrar horizontes estratégicos. La adaptación a la no linealidad de las relaciones que se dan sobre el territorio, y la diferencia de velocidades en las que actúan los distintos actores, nos exige hacer de la flexibilidad una característica esencial de la metodología de planificación estratégica. La multi-causalidad de los fenómenos que estructuran el territorio nos obliga a construir criterios cualitativos, entendiendo que nos es imposible la medición de estas cadenas causales y su reconstrucción completa en el tiempo; sin dejar por ello de edificar un marco profundo de acción y transformación que responda a una realidad cierta y veraz. Los fenómenos producidos sobre el territorio nunca actúan de manera aislada, lo que implica una responsabilidad a la hora de comprender las sinergias y la restricción que afectan los resultados de los procesos desatados. La presente ponencia corresponde a la Segunda Fase del proceso de identificación estratégica de los proyectos Plan Estratégico Territorial (PET) que se inició en el año 2005; dicho Plan es llevada a cabo por la Subsecretaría de Planificación Territorial del Ministerio de Planificación Federal y fue abordado sobre la base de tres pretensiones: institucionalizar el ejercicio del pensamiento estratégico, fortalecer la metodología de trabajo transdisciplinaria y multisectorial, y diseñar un sistema de ponderación de proyectos estratégicos de infraestructura, tanto a nivel provincial como nacional, con una fuerte base cualitativa. Este proceso dio como resultado una cartera ponderada de proyectos de infraestructura conjuntamente con una metodología que permitió consolidar los equipos provinciales de planificación, tanto en su relación con los decisores políticos como con los actores de los múltiples sectores del gobierno, y en estos resultados consolidar y reforzar una cultura del pensamiento estratégico sobre el territorio

Territory and Infrastructure : Strategic Identification and Project Pondering

El Territorio hoy es visto como una totalidad organizada que no puede ser pensada separando cada uno de los elementos que la componen; cada uno de ellos es definido por su relación con los otros elementos. Así, un pensamiento que integra diferentes disciplinas y saberes comienza a manejar una realidad que lejos está de definir certezas inamovibles, y comienza a vislumbrar horizontes estratégicos. La adaptación a la no linealidad de las relaciones que se dan sobre el territorio, y la diferencia de velocidades en las que actúan los distintos actores, nos exige hacer de la flexibilidad una característica esencial de la metodología de planificación estratégica. La multi-causalidad de los fenómenos que estructuran el territorio nos obliga a construir criterios cualitativos, entendiendo que nos es imposible la medición de estas cadenas causales y su reconstrucción completa en el tiempo; sin dejar por ello de edificar un marco profundo de acción y transformación que responda a una realidad cierta y veraz. Los fenómenos producidos sobre el territorio nunca actúan de manera aislada, lo que implica una responsabilidad a la hora de comprender las sinergias y la restricción que afectan los resultados de los procesos desatados. La presente ponencia corresponde a la Segunda Fase del proceso de identificación estratégica de los proyectos Plan Estratégico Territorial (PET) que se inició en el año 2005; dicho Plan es llevada a cabo por la Subsecretaría de Planificación Territorial del Ministerio de Planificación Federal y fue abordado sobre la base de tres pretensiones: institucionalizar el ejercicio del pensamiento estratégico, fortalecer la metodología de trabajo transdisciplinaria y multisectorial, y diseñar un sistema de ponderación de proyectos estratégicos de infraestructura, tanto a nivel provincial como nacional, con una fuerte base cualitativa. Este proceso dio como resultado una cartera ponderada de proyectos de infraestructura conjuntamente con una metodología que permitió consolidar los equipos provinciales de planificación, tanto en su relación con los decisores políticos como con los actores de los múltiples sectores del gobierno, y en estos resultados consolidar y reforzar una cultura del pensamiento estratégico sobre el territorio

Project Management Learning in a Collaborative Distant Learning Context - An Actual On-going Experience

The goal of this paper is to show the results of an on-going experience on teaching project management to grade students by following a development scheme of management related competencies on an individual basis. In order to achieve that goal, the students are organized in teams that must solve a problem and manage the development of a feasible solution to satisfy the needs of a client. The innovative component advocated in this paper is the formal introduction of negotiating and virtual team management aspects, as different teams from different universities at different locations and comprising students with different backgrounds must collaborate and compete amongst them. The different learning aspects are identified and the improvement levels are reflected in a rubric that has been designed ad hoc for this experience. Finally, the effort frameworks for the student and instructor have been established according to the requirements of the Bologna paradigms. This experience is developed through a software-based support system allowing blended learning for the theoretical and individual?s work aspects, blogs, wikis, etc., as well as project management tools based on WWW that allow the monitoring of not only the expected deliverables and the achievement of the goals but also the progress made on learning as established in the defined rubric