Real Investment in the Production and Education Process: Manufacturing Aided Education

Sead Spuzic*, Kazem Abhary* and Clement R. Stevens**

* University of South Australia, corresponding author: sead.spuzic@unisa.edu.au, **KFUPM University, Saudi Arabia

Key words: technology, education, experience, manufacturing Abstract Following the concerns prompted by the lack of technological expertise, it is proposed that education be further enhanced by promoting entrepreneurial links between Manufacturing and Academe. Students should be fully employed in real manufacturing systems over an extended period of their study. There should be no dilution of academic disciplines; however, university education should be counterbalanced by direct industrial experience. Students should be employed in productive operations to experience both the verification of applied knowledge and constructive and creative entrepreneurship. They would become accustomed to decision making and the risk connected with applying any knowledge. Although the overall route to graduation would become longer, there are reciprocal professional and educational rationales for extended work experience. Universities and industry would benefit from the close partnership, e.g. continuing education engendered by such scheme. Industry would benefit from this investment into human resources by obtaining reliable information to assist recruiting. Students have lively flexible minds with the capacity to make an immediate contribution to industrial practice. The career would become attractive to a broader population. A retrospective view of the development of science and technology and the experience of curricula which include an industrial placement practice are cited in support of the proposal. Introduction In recent years a number of industrialized countries have become increasingly concerned about the recruitment that will match real time technological demand. As a result, a range of reforms in education are under consideration. Various educational paradigms promote teaching applied rather than academic knowledge (Virtanen, Tynjälä, 2004; Smithers, 2002; Williamson, Lamb, & Davis, 2001). There is no dispute about the necessity of teaching fundamental disciplines (mathematics, physics, chemistry) especially during the early stages of education; striving to categorize knowledge into 'scientific disciplines' has certainly brought in the tides of progress. However, compartmentalizing knowledge has also introduced unnecessary barriers; subject expertise has led to exclusivity. Bridges which link and synthesize disciplines are needed so that applied knowledge can make more effective use of the increasingly vast resource of academic theory. Nowadays comfortable living standards have dulled our survival impulses. New generations seem to lack the motivation for learning. There is a certain level of tedious disciplining required to fit into the rigid scholarly framework. Academe - a cage of knowledge? We abhor

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limits; an inherent curiosity cannot be imprisoned within any single subject area; it lends itself by its nature to an interdisciplinary approach. The habit of questioning should be encouraged in students; they should be challenged to seek for answers irrespective of the formal boundaries of classified subjects. Such an approach stimulates their curiosity which is amongst the strongest motivational forces we have to our disposal. Of course, untrammeled curiosity need to be moderated, and channeled into creative work; this aspect belongs to the highly skilled area of education. We are born thirsty for knowledge. Why is this so, and what exactly is this knowledge we seek? Knowledge is a model of some relations that enables the realization of a premeditated change of some relations. A specific piece of knowledge has a context; it relates to when and where it can be reliably applied. We can state that we possess certain knowledge only when it actually has enabled repeated performance. An ideal framework where certain sections of knowledge are repeatedly and reliably employed to perform a predetermined task is – a manufacturing process (Spuzic, Nouwens 2004). Education should reflect the nature of knowledge; "the value attached to a qualification depends crucially on what you can do with it" (Smithers, 2002, p.1). Academic institutions sometimes seek to prevent educational failures by over-administrating their functions, by glorification of purely theoretical contemplations, or by introducing more strict regulations. Such habits are just symptoms of futile attempts to educate without an exposure to a real context, to sterilize education and to imprison curiosity and inventiveness. At the same time, in the hearth of powerful industries, various factors, not the least of which is adequate financial resources, have led to the provision of highly advanced and efficient educational (training) facilities such as simulation laboratories and computerized classrooms. These educational premises, equipped with state-of-the-art IT, allow constructivist learning strategies; the dream of academe - an environment amicable to developing minds that seek meaning - has come true in IBM and Boeing training labs. Academe has long experimented with various modes of combining work-based learning (service learning, job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships, co-operative education schemes, competence-based technology education) with involving students in the workplace and working for an employer for a specified period. The present paper promotes a significant increase in the duration of industrial exposure and improving the synergy between classroom and workplace learning. The involvement of students in a real manufacturing environment should not cause the dilution of academic core disciplines; the interaction with academic life, high tech research institutes and laboratories should be sustained. However, these aspects of university education should be counterbalanced by direct industrial experience. Students would have the opportunity to compare the individual exam-bound approach to university study, with the team-oriented organization which is integral to the manufacturing process. Students should be employed and actively engaged in sophisticated productive operations which test problem-solving aptitude in real-time situations and where only the constructive, active and creative attitude survives. They would become accustomed to responsible decision making by applying knowledge in context. Over a long period of development, manufacturing has matured to a stage where it presents a raw model for effective education. This should not

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be taken to mean a static position; on the contrary: manufacturing organizations that are not continuously learning are either merely vegetating or dying. Many have discussed issues and strategies for workplace learning (Billett, 2002a, 2002b; Dixon and Pelliccione, 2002; Kerka, 1997). It is proposed herewith that the learning pattern inherent to man has become apparent over the centuries: the history of technology parallels the evolution of the human race. The question is not whether workplace education and learning organizations should be combined, but how to enhance this synergy. What are the most beneficial doses of workplace experience and classroom education, and how should they be combined? To what extent should industry and society engage in constructivist entrepreneur and invest in the education of human resources by supporting academe? What responsibilities should be imposed on academe and students, and what are the inspiring standards to achieve the optimum outcome of education? How to encourage interest in Technology and the investment in Education? One of the keys to answering these questions is in reviewing the actual images associated today with industry careers and technology education in our society. Are they seen as the star gates of our civilization or as the downhill routes for those who have fallen off the academic and entertainment ladders? A Retrospective on Interaction of Science and Technology Technology will determine the future of the human race (Broers, 2005). Technology is the application of knowledge, the study of techniques of making and doing things. Science is the systematic attempt to understand everything. While Technology is concerned with the fabrication of artifacts and use of techniques, Science is devoted to the more conceptual understanding our ambient, including developing artificially constructed logical systems. The history of making things and manufacturing is much older than the history of Science. Humans initially developed and learned techniques of solving their most immediate and pressing problems such as providing food and shelter. It was only when a social infrastructure and resources had been developed that abstract, intellectual study could be undertaken. However, once initiated, theoretical inferences – Science – also indisputably helped to develop the systematic understanding of techniques, processed materials and tools – Technology. Geometry was born out of the need to measure land needed for harvesting and it has given the birth to many branches of Mathematics. When the mathematician G. Boole was contemplating his algebra, he was hardly in a position to anticipate its significance to contemporary computer technology; yet the IT era developed from the application of the Boolean Laws. Nowadays computerized virtual reality embodies a synthesis of geometry and digital technology (Spuzic, O'Brien, & Stevens, n.d.). Philosophy and Sciences became available only with the emergence of the great civilizations, some 5000 – 10,000 years ago, whereas manufacturing is as old as mankind. Science and Technology developed as separate activities, the former being for several millennia a field of abstruse speculation practiced by a class of aristocratic philosophers, while the latter remained a matter of practical concern to craftsmen of many trades. There were points of intersection, such as the use of mathematics in building and irrigation, but for the most part the functions

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of scientist and technologist had already become distinct spheres of activity in the ancient cultures. Technical aspirations have resulted in a history of achievements in fields such as building, tooling and transport. Impressive examples include the Egyptian Pyramids, or the Great Chinese Wall. Judging by these monuments, it seems that the ancient designers and builders were challenging the technological constraints of that particular historical period. Other generations took up the same challenges: they produced new devices that can raise us ever higher above apparent constraints. Medieval galleons discovered new continents, planes broke through the sound barrier, and today, satellites orbiting above the stratosphere convey an astonishing range of information to all parts of the world at the speed of magnetic waves. The history of mankind can be largely traced via the development of tools, techniques and other relations pertinent to manufacturing. The milestones of technical developments, e.g. the emergence of printing devices, the automotive industry and automated fabrication, are pointers to possible future developments. Books gave people the freedom to learn while cars gave people the freedom to travel. Automated fabrication uses artificial intelligence and robots, which are like computer printers except, instead of printing flat images on a sheet of paper, they fabricate real objects. It is important to be aware of the acceleration of technical development Contemporary seers, such as A Clarke, have anticipated promising visions of the future, a future that would stem from rational human achievements accumulated through the development of Technology (Spuzic, O'Brien, & Stevens, n.d.). The gap between the science and technology began to close about 5 centuries ago, when both technical innovation and scientific understanding interacted with the commercial expansion of urban culture. In the 17th century, F Bacon pointed out the importance of technological inventions such as the magnetic compass and the printing press. Bacon and Descartes advocated experimental science; they promoted a harmonization and convergence of Science and Technology by urging scientists to study the methods of craftsmen. An initiative of the Royal Society in London in 1660 directed scientific research toward useful ends by stimulating industrial innovation. However, this was a slow process. Over the next 200 years carpenters and mechanics built bridges, steam engines and textile machinery without much reference to scientific principles, while scientists and philosophers pursued their investigations rather as one would a compelling hobby. But gradually bodies of scholars developed in Europe, and by the 19th century many scientists were focusing on the same goals as technologists. Thus J von Liebig of Germany, one of the fathers of organic chemistry, provided the scientific impulse that led to the development of synthetic dyes, explosives, artificial fibers and plastics. Another example is the work of M Faraday and J C Maxwell the British scientists who prepared the ground in the field of electromagnetism for discoveries made by T A Edison, N Tesla and many others (Spuzic, O'Brien, & Stevens, n.d.). The application of industrial research laboratories and scientific principles to Technology grew rapidly. It led to the time-and-motion studies applied by F W Taylor to the organization of mass production at the beginning of the 20th century. It provided a model that was applied by H Ford in his automobile assembly plant and was followed by all the modern manufacturing processes. It pointed the way to the development of systems engineering,

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operations research, simulation studies, mathematical modeling, and technological assessment in industrial processes. This was not just a one-way influence of Science on Technology, because Technology created new tools and machines with which the scientists were able to achieve an ever-increasing body of knowledge (Spuzic, O'Brien, & Stevens, n.d.). It is important to note the interaction between technological innovations and the broader social conditions: social need, the resources available and public reaction to perceived changes. In the 19th century, society was enchanted by the wonders of the new man-made environment. But other voices were soon heard – and they began to raise disturbing questions. In the midst of the fascination with technology, R W Emerson warned that the processes and products made by man in his conquest over nature might get out of control. S Butler and A Huxley began to develop a profound critique of the apparent achievements of technologically dominated progress. The theme of technological tyranny over man's individuality was expressed by J Ellul (1990) who asserted that Technology can imprison human beings within a self-determining and nihilistic milieu. Technological pessimism has not managed to slow the pace of technical advance. The gap between the first powered flight and the first human steps on the Moon was 66 years, and that between the disclosure of the fission of uranium and the detonation of the first atomic bomb was a mere 6.6 years. The advance of info technology has been so exceedingly swift that the prospect of sophisticated computers replicating higher human mental functions can no longer be classified as science fantasy. Bioengineering and progress in DNA decoding have opened new gates for interactions with life forms. The urgency for civilization to make decisions about how to use Technology constructively is more compelling than ever before. The major issues include the sustainable management of the earth’s resources, the application of nuclear energy, population control and ecological pollution. The history of Technology shows that technological stimulus can trigger a variety of social responses. In itself, Technology is neutral but decisions about whether to go ahead with or to abandon it are a matter of human judgment and the responsibility for the future of all known species. Technology and Education Collaboration between universities and industry is essential (Broers, 2005). The history of Technology also brings to the fore the growing importance of education. Manufacturing mobilizes, consumes and produces tremendous resources; the underlying knowledge and experience have accumulated into a weighty body of information. The systematization of this knowledge provides fundaments that are prerequisites for further progress while the methodical promulgation of that knowledge is essential to maintain and widen the range of production. In medieval times, a craft was acquired by serving with a master who trained the initiate in the arcane mysteries of the skill. Such oral and practical instruction was more closely related to religious ritual than to rational scientific principles. Craft training was institutionalized in

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Western civilization in the form of apprenticeships. Practical skills were divorced from the academic sciences and this endorsed the foundation of separate educational and research establishments for engineering sciences. Following the establishment of the "Ecole Polytechnique de Paris", the polytechnic institutes were deliberately separated from the existing universities in Europe. In the 19th century polytechnic institutes were almost exclusively devoted to the education of engineers for design and research in the classical fields of mechanical engineering (Spuzic, O'Brien, & Stevens, n.d.). Increasingly however, instruction in new techniques has required access to theoretical knowledge that was not available through traditional apprenticeships. Recognition of this accelerated the convergence of Science and Technology in the 19th and 20th centuries and has created a complex system of educational qualifications from simple instruction in schools to advanced research in universities. The advanced industrial countries have recognized the crucial role of both academic and technological education in achieving commercial and industrial competence. Contemporary industry calls for a sophisticated interaction of all scientific disciplines and technology; flourishing examples are applications of artificial intelligence or materials science in virtually all fabricating processes. The IBM company has 17 “Knowledge Factories” churning out customized knowledge 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. IBM multimedia packages (e-Learning space platform) are used by large corporations and by governments to train staff (Williamson, Lamb, & Davis, 2001). This is a real challenge to the universities who struggle to meet the desired enrolment numbers and with their repertoires of continuous education courses. How is it that an organization with the primary mission of being a manufacturer can compete so successfully with educational institutions? Motivation is of crucial importance for learning. A long time ago our society began to divide its functions to rationalize the cumulative social product. Thus, some become hunters, other were woodworkers. Later stages of segregation produced soldiers, entertainers, administrators and educators. Nowadays these specializations have become highly emphasized and the rationale of such a rigid division should be questioned. The contemporary ‘vivisection’ of activities has imposed itself on our educational systems to the extent that we need not wonder that natural motives for learning such as curiosity have been largely stifled. Men in simple societies had a natural motivation for their work: they had to protect themselves from cold weather, or they had to look for food. They did not need the suggestive anticipation, which is required today to justify the long-term engagement required by university education. It is clear that the urgency of a situation and the seriousness of the circumstances increase our focus on a problem. Nowadays society has freed its children to an extent that they do not have to be driven by such basic motives. But university should provide the attractive visions and educational materials via multimedia and virtual reality (as well as traditional approaches) - the means which will have the power to inspire. An appropriate combination of academic and industrial experience will enable young people to embark on appropriate careers. Students who are well motivated and anticipate their future role can prepare themselves, through systematic education, to undertake appropriate responsibilities.

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Synthesis One of the persistent problems in modern civilization is the dichotomy between scientists/technologists on the one hand, and humanists/artists on the other. Urban man has become an "urban barbarian" who does not understand technological miracles. Only the rarefied expert is able to understand the operations that go on inside electronic equipment. The most helpful development would seem to be not so much seeking to master the expertise of others in our increasingly specialized society, as encouraging those who are able to provide bridges for inter-disciplinary communication. We learn by doing things: the manufacturing process is an experiment at large. Education can be viewed as a manufacturing process. By analogy with Computer Aided Manufacturing, we may make use of the idea of Manufacturing Aided Learning. The need for learning about manufacturing is by no means restricted to students who will work exclusively in production environments. Knowledge of manufacturing technology has become a necessity in the broad range of professions that interact with industry. It is not uncommon for a marketing manager, a financial advisor or a maintenance inspector to be asked to decide whether his company should order some hundreds of accessory components in the form of a cast, rolled, forged, welded or machined product. Ignorance of technical terms could prove to be costly in finding the supplier capable of meeting the quality specifications and delivery dates. Our society has reached stages where the vital issues, such as education or civil transportation are organized, maintained and developed at a large-scale social level. Those activities of broad common interest are supervised by governmental establishments and coordinated by global institutions. Manufacturing systems definitely belong to this category of basic social functions; indeed the advances of mankind or individual nations and states are readily measured and expressed by the state of the art in fabricating processes. Thus, a systematic overview of industrial systems belongs to the general knowledge needed in all professions, from managers, via researchers and the whole spectrum of production, maintenance and marketing functions, to the educational, medical and environmental support services. The structured industrial placement based around learning contract and “sandwich courses” have been widely promoted for years (Kerka, 1997; Campbell, Burns, 1999; Williamson S, Lamb, & Davis, 2001; Smithers, 2002). It is recommended in this paper that students should include a significantly extended industrial practice in a manufacturing environment in their structured academic education. It is proposed that industry, academe and students commit to joint entrepreneurship and invest into manufacturing aided education. Given these conditions, industry will fully employ students over the extended period of time, however this period will contain significant intervals involving absence from the work-place to be devoted to full-time university education. Universities will invest in modifying their curricula, courses and programs will be tailored, and cross-disciplinary transfer of knowledge will be enhanced to suit the actual needs of industry. Students will invest their time to work over extended intervals in a real industrial environment - in a manufacturing plant. Their education will include both courses on the

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fundamentals of manufacture and an extended industrial practice to complement university education. Science is not the only source of devising new knowledge and technologies. Progress has also relied on empirical, stochastic and fuzzy strategies. Ideas and new concepts can be formed by comparing different manufacturing techniques or by analyzing a production process as a whole, rather than breaking it up into separated disciplines such as purely "electronic" or "chemical" aspects. These aspects can be understood only within a framework of studying the fundamentals of manufacture, and the unfettered vigorous intellectual energy of students can make a contribution to the formulation of new ideas if given an early opportunity to have a practical overview. The needs and advantages of cross-linking the branches of sciences are perfectly highlighted in a manufacturing environment. For a plant engineer it becomes obvious that the interrelations between the electrical, mechanical, chemical and other scientific aspects of a project have to be analyzed as an integral system. The urge for interdisciplinary communication has prompted new academic classifications such as statistical process control, mechatronics, manufacturing processes or materials science – where several traditional disciplines are combined. A recommended term is a 12-month period of full-time industrial practice before students start the opening semesters at the University. After this period of direct industrial exposure they should undertake two years of full-time university courses. The systematic introduction of physics, chemistry, mathematics and other fundamental academic disciplines should be carried out during these initial semesters of university education. Subsequently, another one year of part-time industrial practice should be carried out in parallel to attending the third year university lectures. During this stage, the application of multimedia educational material developed for distance education would be utilized as a suitable complementary strategy to the multidisciplinary nature of manufacturing aided education. As a final stage, after completing the fourth year courses as full-time students, a two year block of full-time industrial practice would be completed before attending the final (9-th) semester. University instructors would obtain reports describing the professional tasks, duties and responsibilities students have performed during their industrial practice. Industrial practice would not be graded. However, a significant weighting in university exams would be given to questions that correlate with industrial practice. In this scheme the university education would be counterbalanced by direct industrial experience. Students would have the opportunity to compare the individual exam-bound approach to university study with the team-oriented organization which is integral to the manufacturing process. Students should be employed and actively engaged in sophisticated productive operations which test problem solving aptitude in real-time situations and where only the constructive, active and creative attitude survives. They would become accustomed to responsible decision making by applying knowledge in context. Although the overall route to achieving the engineering qualification would become proportionally longer, there are personal, professional, educational, social and financial reasons for students to participate in extended work experience. In addition, there are reciprocal benefits. Students have lively flexible minds which can make an immediate

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contribution to industrial practice. The career would become attractive to a wider range of candidates if it were seen as starting unencumbered by debt. Engineering and Manufacturing institutions would have reliable information to assist recruiting and be confident that the selected candidate is capable of taking on immediate responsibilities. Universities and industry would benefit from the close contacts engendered by such scheme. These links would facilitate a process of continuing education/further training for a wide range of employees and thus establish an investment process to mutual advantage. It is not only future production engineers who would benefit; such industrial experience would be also useful for a broad range of professions, e.g. for people engaged in marketing and employment agencies, politics and law, health and education sectors, etc. This is justified by the fact that most of our social structures interact at some stage with the manufacturing sector. For example, if a company offers computer programs to the fabricating industry, the basic knowledge of manufacturing processes run by the potential customers is clearly valuable. Critical to effective work-based education are explicit goals related to communication, team skills, application of engineering fundamentals in design, modeling, or experimentation. Assignments should be specifically designed to draw upon prior knowledge, to relate to real-life problems and to have students use it along with their newly acquired knowledge in working on meaningful tasks. Prerequisites for successful partnership include constructive interaction of workers from both sectors - industry and academe - during a carefully dosed exposure of students to both environments. A major drive behind this concept is a human inclination to make sense of our ambient. Instead of passively receiving served knowledge, it is more stimulating to actively construct knowledge by integrating new information into what we have previously learned. Notions of the significance of sustainable, aesthetic and rational technology must be embedded in work-based teaching paradigm. According to Campbell and Burns (1999), employers also support work experience with many using it as a recruitment tool. Many students return to their placement companies as full time employees. Participation in, and interaction with fabricating systems has multiple benefits: - The intellectual and social discipline adopted by students in a manufacturing environment are assets in any situation; - The experience of studying in a manufacturing environment would reinforce a positive attitude towards continuous (life-long) learning. Respected technology education system should have the following characteristics: - qualifications that qualify (competence-based education) - setting criteria through credible assessment (work-based and problem-oriented learning) - developing particular skills in the context of general education (constructivist learning) - defined routes of further progress through the academic ladder (life-long continuous education).

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Conclusions Many authors have discussed issues of work-based learning and argued the advantages and problems of work-based education. The history of technology parallels the history of the human evolution and we can extrapolate from this a consistent pattern in man's learning. The question is not whether the work-based education and learning organizations should be combined, but how to amplify this synergy. Students must not be set up into an "arranged marriage" with education where the interpretations of science or technology actually suit only self-serving purposes of the systems concerned. Rather, the student's love for learning should be protected. Teachers should be the guides who will point at actual pillars and milestones of knowledge. The outcome of education should be measured using real gauges. It is only when we are able to repeat a certain process and achieve the predicted outcome, that we can say that we do know it. This criterion is satisfied within a manufacturing process. Manufacturing engineering that ranges from the modules of space stations to the DNA genetic chains is a suitable framework for evaluating knowledge and an educative example of knowledge application. Our civilization depends on technology and this reliance should be utilized to enhance education. It is proposed that industry, academe and students engage in partnership and invest in real enterprise: manufacturing aided education. Students would enter the employ of industry with guaranteed periods of study at university. Academe would invest in modifying its curricula to suit the needs of industrial partner. The total of 4 years placement in a manufacturing environment would be incorporated in overall university curricula. Students would invest their time to work over extended intervals in a real industrial environment - in a manufacturing plant. Their education would include both courses on the fundamentals of manufacture and an extended industrial practice to complement university education. The total of 4 years placement in a manufacturing environment should be incorporated in overall engineering curricula. Such practice would bring reciprocal benefits to both academe and industry. The entrepreneurial partnership between academe and industry requires a careful review and reassessment of the images of technology and industrial professions. This investment will not work without attention to the interaction between art, design, sociology and technology. If the components of ecological sustainability, educated creativity and aesthetic harmony are detached, the education process will become crippled and alienated. References Billett, S. (2002a). Toward a Workplace Pedagogy: Guidance, Participation and Engagement. Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 53, Issue 1, p27, 17p Billett, S. (2002b). Critiquing Workplace Learning Discourses: Participation and Continuity at Work. Studies in the Education of Adults, Vol. 34, No1 p56-67. (EJ650009)

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Broers, A. (2005). The Triumph of Technology. Reith Lectures. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith/ Campbell R. H., Burns G. R. (1999). Structured Supervised Work Experience. Proceedings from the 2nd Asia-Pacific Forum on Engineering and Technology Education 4-7 July, 1999. Ed. Z. Pudlowski, , pp. 41-45, Sydney: UICEE Dixon, K., Pelliccione, L. (2002). The introduction, scope and implementation of Enterprise and Vocational Education in a school district: National pressures and school-level solutions. AARE 2002 Conference Papers, Compiled by P. L. Jeffery, International Education Research Conference Brisbane December 1 - 5, 2002 Australian Association for Research in Education. Melbourne, http://www.aare.edu.au/02pap/dix02053.htm Ellul, J. (1990). The Technological Bluff. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Co. Kerka, S. (1997). Constructivism, Workplace learning, and Vocational Education. ERIC Digest No. 181, 1997 (ERIC identifier: ED407573) http://www.ericdigests.org/1998-1/learning.htm Smithers, A. (2002). Vocational Education. in Comparing Standards Academic and Vocational, 16-19 Year Olds. Ed Sheila Lawlor, pp 135-146, London: Politea Spuzic, S., Nouwens, F. (2004). A Contribution to Defining the Term ‘Definition’. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology Education, Volume 1, pp 645 - 662, http://proceedings.informingscience.org/InSITE2004/090spuzi.pdf Spuzic, S., O’Brien, J., Stevens, C. (2006). Basics of Manufacture – Part I. Multimedia e-book; excerpts are available on http://bofcontents.blogspot.com Virtanen, A., Tynjälä, P. (2004). On-the-Job Learning in Vocational Education Assessed by Students. Proceedings of VETNET ECER 2004 Conference. Crete: European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training. http://www.vet-research.net/ecer2004/authors Williamson S., Lamb F., Davis L. (2001). Debate: Engineering Education Issues Are the Same Across the World. International Conference on Engineering Education, August 6 - 10, 2001, Oslo/Bergen, pp. 6E1-6E3