Thomas E. Pinelli

An investigation of factors affecting how engineers and scientists seek information

Abstract This study investigated how 872 US aerospace scientists and engineers select information carriers. When considering oral and written information carriers, the principle of least effort was supported with a strong preference for oral communication over written communication. In examining how the respondents select written carriers, the decision to use or not to use a written carrier was found to be primarily a function of the perceived importance of the carrier’s information to a person’s work. Task uncertainty and task complexity were found to be significant, but not the primary nor a totally consistent criteria. The perceived quality and accessibility of written carriers were not found significant. The findings reinforce the need for firms to hire knowledgeable employees, to provide them with comprehensive training programs, and to develop formal and informal communication networks.

Distinguishing Engineers from Scientists-The Case for an Engineering Knowledge Community

Abstract This article makes the case for an engineering knowledge community. We begin by discussing the differences between science and technology. We next discuss the similarities and differences between engineers and scientists. Next, we analyze previous research into the information use behaviors of engineers. Finally, using the research results from the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, we compare and contrast aerospace engineers and scientists as a means of developing similarities and differences between engineers and scientists in terms of their information-seeking behavior. The goal of this article is to demonstrate that engineers are not scientists and that knowledge production and use differ in engineering and science. We believe that the current model used to explain information-seeking behavior assumes no difference between the information-seeking of engineers and scientists. The distinctions between engineering and science, engineers and scientists and the information-seeking behaviors of engineers and scientists have multiple implications for providing information services, knowledge management, and diffusing knowledge. The message to libraries is “know thy customer.”

Engineers as Information Processors: A Survey of US Aerospace Engineering Faculty and Students.

SUMMARY US aerospace engineering faculty and students were surveyed as part of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Research Project. Faculty and students were viewed as information processors within a conceptual framework of information-seeking behavior. Questionnaires were received from 275 faculty members and 640 students which were used to determine (1) use and importance of information sources, (2) use of specific print sources and electronic data bases, (3) use of information technology and (4) the influence of instruction on the use of information sources and products by faculty and students. As information processors, US aerospace faculty and students are ‘information naive’, seek out information alone or with the help of co-workers, tend not to make use of the information products and services oriented to them, make limited use of librarians, and make considerable use of computer and information technology. Little evidence was found to support the belief that instruction in library or engineering inf...

Knowledge Diffusion in the U.S. Aerospace Industry

Perspectives the evolution of large commercial aircraft in the U.S. - an overview U.S. public policy and large commercial aircraft-politics, market dynamics, and innovation U.S. public policy and the diffusion of government funded aeronautical research and technology. Findings: distinguishing engineers from scientists - the case for an engineering knowledge community the NASA: DoD aerospace knowledge diffusion research project the production and use of information by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists - a cross-industry analysis the relationship between technical uncertainty and information by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists the differential effects of workspace experience on information production and use - a comparison of new and established U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists the production and use of information by U.S. aerospace engineering and science students - a comparison of graduate and undergraduate students the production and use of information among aerospace engineering professionals and students - a cross-national analysis the influence of uncertainty, equivocality, and analyzability on communications in small, medium and large organizations computer networks and communications in the U.S. aerospace workplace information intermediaries and aerospace knowledge diffusion - the role of U.S. academic and industry libraries and librarians the role of the U.S. government technical report in aerospace knowledge diffusion. Strategies for improvement: western European and Asian public policies and aerospace knowledge diffusion a comparative analysis of U.S. policies and practices and western European and Asian public policies or knowledge diffusion improved strategies for diffusing the results of federally funded aerospace R & D to the U.S. aircraft industry.

Maximizing the Results of Federally-Funded Research and Development through Knowledge Management: A Strategic Imperative for Improving U.S. Competitiveness.

Abstract Federally-funded research and development (R&D) represents a significant annual investment (approximately

Technical communication practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists: international perspectives on aerospace

79 billion in fiscal year 1996) on the part of U.S. taxpayers. Based on the results of a 10-year study of knowledge diffusion in the U.S. aerospace industry, the authors take the position that U.S. competitiveness will be enhanced if knowledge management strategies, employed within a capability-enhancing U.S. technology policy framework, are applied to diffusing the results of federally-funded R&D. In making their case, the authors stress the importance of knowledge as the source of competitive advantage in todays global economy. Next, they offer a practice-based definition of knowledge management and discuss three current approaches to knowledge management implementation—mechanistic, “the learning organization,” and systemic. The authors then examine three weaknesses in existing U.S. public policy and policy implementation—the dominance of knowledge creation, the need for diffusion-oriented technology policy, and the prevalence of a dissemination model—that affect diffusion of the results of federally-funded R&D. To address these shortcomings, they propose the development of a knowledge management framework for diffusing the results of federally-funded R&D. The article closes with a discussion of some issues and challenges associated with implementing a knowledge management framework for diffusing the results of federally-funded R&D.

A Comparison of Communications Practices Among Indian and U.S. Scientists and Engineers

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. The studies had the following objectives: (1) to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions, (2) to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists, (3) to investigate their use of libraries and technical information centers, (4) to investigate their use of and the importance to them of computer and information technology, (5) to examine their use of electronic networks, and (6) to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. Self-administered (mail) questionnaires were distributed to Dutch aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) in the Netherlands, the NASA Ames Research Center in the USA, and the NASA Langley Research Center in the USA. Responses of the Dutch and US participants to selected questions are presented in this paper. >

The U.S. government technical report and the transfer of federally funded aerospace R & D☆

ABSTRACT An investigation of communication practices among U.S. (n s= 90) and Indian (n = 71) engineers and scientists employed in the aerospace industry revealed statistically significant differences between the two cultures. The differences may be attributed to Hofstedes (1980) cultural dimensions of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance; Hofstede and Bonds (1988) Confucian dynamism; and Halls (1976) cultural context. Implications for practice address strategies to accommodate foreign cultures and to develop complementary approaches using the strengths of both cultures. Areas for future research are offered.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 37: The impact of political control on technical communications: A comparative study of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

This article discusses the U.S. government technical report and the transfer of federally funded aerospace research and development in a conceptual framework of the federal government as a producer of scientific and technical information. The article summarizes current literature and research and discusses U.S. government technical report use and the importance of using data obtained from the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. The authors make a case for changing existing U.S. technology policy and present a research agenda for the U.S. government technical report.

A new era in international technical communication: American-Russian collaboration

Until the recent dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party exerted a strict control of access to and dissemination of scientific and technical information (STI). This article presents models of the Soviet-style information society and the Western-style information society and discusses the effects of centralized governmental control of information on Russian technical communication practices. The effects of political control on technical communication are then used to interpret the results of a survey of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the time devoted to technical communication, their collaborative writing practices and their attitudes toward collaboration, the kinds of technical documents they produce and use, and their use of computer technology, and their use of and the importance to them of libraries and technical information centers. The data are discussed in terms of tentative conclusions drawn from the literature. Finally, we conclude with four questions concerning government policy, collaboration, and the flow of STI between Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.