Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

All real-world engineering tasks involve collaborative activities among a group of human participants. The ability to understand, support, and improve collaboration is a critical factor in determining the overall cost, time, and effectiveness of modern engineering activities. Collaborative engineering tools are being introduced into the market at a rate so high that it is difficult to infuse technology in a reasoned and effective manner. Practitioners must decide which tools to adopt and to develop new and more effective processes. These decisions are made even more difficult by the fact that no body of theory exists that has been shown to describe the interaction between complex object-oriented data models, engineering processes, and human decision making. The objective of this work was to develop the Theory for Collaboration in support of complex engineering system decisions in a highly distributed and heterogeneous environment. The results of this research will lead to a sound theoretical foundation that may be used to analytically and mathematically model, simulate, manage, and optimize collaborative engineering activities. Such a theory of collaboration will enable researchers to design, predict, and control various collaborative activities, systems, and environments, and to implement practical IT systems to support these important human endeavors.

The study ascertained principals' application of management support practices for enhancing teachers' job performance in secondary schools in Enugu State. Two specific purposes were formulated and two research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The target population of the study comprised all the 291 principals in public secondary schools in Enugu State. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 146 principals for the study. A 13 items researcher developed instrument titled; Principals' Application of Management Support Practices Questionnaire (PAMSPQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was face validated by three research experts. The Cronbach alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instrument which yielded a high reliability coefficient value of 0.77. Data analysis was done using mean and standard deviation. The findings revealed among others that principals do not apply professional development practices for enhancing teachers' job performance by not; involving teachers in collaborative teaching method to enable them share knowledge and new teaching strategies, sponsoring teachers' on conferences to enable them withstand the challenges brought about by change and innovation, and granting study leave for teachers to go for refresher courses. Hence, it was recommended among others that principals should partner with relevant stakeholders to promote teachers professional development through organizing annually seminars, workshops, sponsoring teachers on conferences and embarking on continuous training so as to improve teachers instructional delivery. Conclusion was drawn based on the findings.

Background and Aim: College physical education (CPE) is a Key Stage in the transition from school physical education to national sports. Collaborative governance is an effective new type of social participation, but there is not much research on CPE collaborative governance. The purpose of this study is to describe the interrelationship of multiple subjects in the College Physical Education (CPE) collaborative governance and explore the specific influencing factors that affect the effect of CPE collaborative governance. Materials and Methods: This study uses the Delphi method. A total of 18 experts conducted two rounds of expert consultation questionnaires with the Delphi method and completed the CPE Collaborative Governance Scale. The scale includes four dimensions: Government-led multi-sectoral coordination, CPE internal governance, and external synergy, System design of CPE collaborative governance, and Mechanism construction of CPE collaborative governance. Three criteria for the inclusion of experts have been established, including educational background, professional title, and management experience, ensuring the authority of experts. Results: The theoretical model of CPE collaborative governance constructed shows the interrelationships among multiple subjects of CPE. The four dimensions of collaborative governance in college physical education are government-led multi-sector collaboration, internal governance and external collaboration of CPE, the institutional design of CPE collaborative governance, and the mechanism construction of CPE collaborative governance. The results show that after the expert consultation and verification of the Delphi method, the 4 Indicator Dimensions and 28 Specific Items in the revised CPE collaborative governance Indicator System have significance and reference value for CPE collaborative governance. Conclusion: The relationship between multiple subjects of CPE collaborative governance revealed in this study, as well as the quantified and validated indicators of collaborative governance effectiveness, have certain reference values for CPE to carry out collaborative governance work. CPE managers can use the results of this study to carry out CPE collaborative governance work based on the current situation.