Explores the history of robotics and its effects upon the manufacturing industry. Topics include robots' capabilities and limitations, the factory of the future, displacement of the workforce, and implications for management and labor. (SK)

A syllabus for A-level examination in Industrial Studies has been developed to foster "industrial literacy" by giving students an understanding of industry's economic/social significance and developing in them an ability to understand concepts underlying policy and decision-making in companies. Discusses assessment instruments…

Described are research efforts in the United States designed to help improve the competitive nature of high technology manufacturing in the U.S. U.S. policies and techniques are compared with those of Japan. Six recommendations for improving manufacturing practices in the U.S. are detailed. (CW)

The Hispanic-American, because he or she is bilingual and bicultural, could play an important role in the future economic development of the United States. Declines in steel, automotive, and electronics industries due to foreign competition and market saturation have caused industrial displacement and unemployment. The Maquiladora or Twin Plant…

Comprehensive building systems are the result of industry's search for markets, clients' desire for shorter hours and lower costs, and the growing complexity of building technology which requires the architect to depend on industry for research and development. Certain questions are raised by this trend. Will industry dominate architecture? Can…

The U.S. semiconductor industry, now the nation's largest manufacturing industry, displays its commitment to training its current workers and educating future workers by supporting educational efforts on the K-12 level. This catalog describes innovative actions by 16 Semiconductor Industry Association companies to improve education at the K-12…

Perspectives on issues affecting manufacturing enterprises are given by educators and industrial planners and managers in this symposium report. The symposium was designed to bring together industrial manufacturing companies and the universities which are responsible for educating those who will plan and operate manufacturing systems. Working…

Data from 841 Michigan manufacturing firms indicates that employee participation programs contribute substantially more to business performance in unionized than in nonunionized firms. Profit and gain sharing had more impact on performance in nonunionized firms. (SK)

This essay presents a case study of the modes used in training employees at a munitions plant in Ohio between 1940 and 1945. Theories of multimodal discourse and learning advanced by The New London Group (1996), Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen (2001) and Richard Mayer (2001) inform this analysis. With an unskilled labor force and many workers…

This article features the machining technology program at Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) of Wilmington, North Carolina. North Carolina's Cape Fear Community College is working to meet diverse industry needs through its CNC training. The school's program has gained the attention of the local manufacturing community and students when it shifted…

Questionnaires were used to gather data about educational needs of industrial technologists in the automotive-type manufacturing industries in the United States. Each of the 101 establishments received four questionnaires; 67 (66.3 percent) returned one or more of the questionnaires. The responses of the selected individuals were analyzed by…

This laboratory manual for junior high school students encompasses concepts found in manufacturing. Developed under a contract from the U.S. Office of Education, it is the second part of a 2-year integrated program, and together with the first course in construction technology, provides an introductory study of industrial technology. This manual…

The use of computer-based learning (CBL) is discussed. The author examines the appropriate use of the technology; its cost; identifying the best potential applications of CBL; and the use of CBL by major airlines, oil companies, universities, manufacturers, and government. (CT)

This article deals with the power wielded by the primary industry partners in knowledge-intensive networks in the new materials development technology field. Industry partners have a disproportionate influence on the structure and functioning of networks. The power can be explicit or invisible and is mediated and reshaped by factors such as the…

"Innovation" is an often used, yet much misunderstood term. Often innovation is left to chance or, at best, approached by relatively unstructured hard work and hard thinking. This paper describes a research programme known as the "Futures Project", which provides a "virtual" body of expertise that small and…