Japan and the United States : helping each other cope with change

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/Subtle changes in Japanese thinking about the United States have taken place in recent years, although an effective relationship with Washington remains the foundation of Japanese foreign policy. Many in Japan regard the economic problems in the United States as structural, long-term difficulties that may not be susceptible to a quick fix. Worries about a military retreat from Asia persist. The signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement has provoked uneasiness in Japan and reinforced an underlying perception that events are moving the world toward regional trading blocs. At the same time, many Americans are concerned about Japan, particularly the ability of the United States to compete in world markets. The ultimate test of the U.S.-Japan relationship will be whether the two countries can help each other cope with the problems of success

Using A Service Learning Strategy To Enhance A Course In Concurrent Engineering

This paper describes an innovative course in concurrent engineering offered by the University of Central Florida and identifies a critical challenge that has limited achievement of student learning objectives: student motivation. This challenge is not unique to our course. Higher education, particularly professional education, is struggling with students\u27 loss of motivation and engagement. The paper introduces the concept of service learning, illustrates how a service learning strategy has been incorporated into the design project component of the course, and provides an assessment of the impact on student motivation/commitment and attainment of learning objectives

Teaching Concurrent Engineering At The University Of Central Florida

U.S. manufacturing has discovered that the serial, over‐the‐wall approach to product development has to give way to a concurrent engineering approach. This customer‐centered, multi‐disciplinary team approach is being more widely used and today\u27s graduating engineer must be prepared to understand and function in this environment. This paper describes an approach used to teach concurrent engineering at the University of Central Florida. 1995 American Society for Engineering Educatio

Customer Requirements In Industrialized Housing

Residential construction efforts in the U.S. are highly fragmented, and this has slowed the application of new technologies. While there has been an increase in the use of manufactured subcomponents in homes, the introduction of modern manufacturing processes and controls has been slow. To aid development of energy efficient, affordable housing, we are revisiting the process of designing and building a manufactured home. This study uses a concurrent engineering approach to examine the production of an essential component in industrialized housing, the exterior structural wall panel. We apply Quality Function Deployment to integrate the customer\u27s requirements into the product design. This paper focuses on the methodology for identification and prioritization of those customer requirements through the integration of the Analytic Hierarchy Process with Quality Function Deployment

Design Project Approach To Teaching Concurrent Engineering

U.S. manufacturing has discovered that the serial, over-the-wall approach to product development has to give way to a concurrent engineering approach. This customer-centered, multi-disciplinary team approach is being more widely used and today\u27s graduating engineer must be prepared to understand and function in this environment. This paper describes an innovative design project approach that is used to teach concurrent engineering in the industrial engineering programs at the University of Central Florida