Project management has become a natural way of conducting activities in companies.  The goal is continuous improvement in project performance.  The way knowledge is managed in the company is crucial for gaining competitive advantage.  Knowledge management and learning, has been recognized by academics and practitioners as important to achieving success and improvement in projects.   Achieving continuous improvement is considered a difficult task.  The difficulty lies in capturing and storing the knowledge and learning from one individual to another and from one project to another.  In this study the researcher has reviewed the mechanisms and processes from recent research which are supposed to facilitate knowledge transfer and learning.  Nevertheless, the academic and practitioner researchers do not seem to have a common ground on how to facilitate knowledge transfer and learning, even though there are many mechanisms and processes suggested.  Their results are not concurrent in effective and efficient facilitation of knowledge and learning. The researcher has conducted a qualitative case study through seven interviews.  The empirical study was done in a Company X which provides air traffic services.  It shows that some of the practices institutionalized by Case Company X are different from what the literature suggests.  Moreover, the environment wherein these mechanisms and processes co-exist is particular from what the literature suggests.  A learning landscape of Case Company X is identified based on the empirical data.  Recommendations and suggestions are provided in the end to increase knowledge transfer and improve learning in and between projects at Case Company X.

“While project management and program management have traditionally focused on ‘doing work right’, portfolio management is concerned with ‘doing the right work’” (PMI,2006) Nowadays organizations are facing problems with too many projects and having limited resources to execute these projects. Therefore the role of portfolio control is gaining more importance to yield the right balance, mix and number of projects, and also to deal with the challenge of maximizing the value of the portfolio. Therefore the organizations rely on effective portfolio management and are developing new methods to deal with these challenges. Hence present study involves study of those organizations that rely on portfolio control techniques to effectively manage their portfolio of projects.   The aim of this research is to investigate the role of portfolio control techniques in achieving efficiency in project based firms, examine relationship between control techniques and the portfolio efficiency, and to find the role of contextual factors like project and governance type in impacting the portfolio efficiency. Three portfolio control factors: portfolio selection, portfolio reporting, and decision making style were identified and portfolio efficiency was explained by two measures: achievement of portfolio results and achievement of project and program level purpose.   The research was conducted at two multinational organizations, a pharmaceutical company in Europe and engineering and contracting transportation company in Asia. Case study research strategy was used, and data was collected through semi- structured interviews to investigate the impact of using these portfolio control techniques in a project based firms.   The results of the research indicate that these control techniques helps to select and analyse the portfolio from strategic, financial and risk perspective. Furthermore it helps to balance the organizational priorities by taking into consideration project type, market sector, resource constraints and product lines. The portfolio control techniques also involve portfolio reporting which is considered as formal way of communication and information sharing and is believed to be significant project-level factor contributing to portfolio efficiency. Lastly, portfolio decision making helps the organizations in making the right decision in the best interest of the organization. All these control variables were found to have a significant impact on achieving results and achieving project and programme level purpose which in our research are the dimensions of portfolio efficiency.   In our study we also found that there exists a positive relationship between the portfolio control techniques and portfolio efficiency which is affected by the contextual variables such as project type, governance type, organizational complexity, co-localization of team members, communication and clarity of goals and objectives.

Increased globalization has come with it increased competition, multitude of international competitors, dramatic and frequent changes in customer tastes, shorter product life cycles, and frequent and rapid technological/product upgrading. Resultant competitive pressures have led to the emergence of two trends among some firms and industries. Firstly, there is an increased premium placed on the role of continuous learning and knowledge accumulation as the most dependable base for sustainable competitive advantage in today’s dynamic global markets. Secondly, there is increased trend towards organizing more economic activities as distinct projects. The above two trends provides both opportunities and challenges for any firms, especially project-based firms (PBFs). A number of past researches have emphasized the importance of investment in interproject learning as a means to foster continuous upgrading of project competencies. This is equally applicable to more knowledge intensive project-based firms in the Consultancy services sector. However, no study had been done in Sweden on Consultancy firms, from the perspective that they are project-based firms. This study explores, describes and analyzes the various characteristics of interproject learning mechanisms and project competencies found in a sample of consulting firms in Sweden. The study focuses on the perceived importance of different interproject learning mechanisms and their perceived impact in developing project competencies in consulting firms. The study interrogates the ‘perceptions’ of ‘key’ informed project management practitioners, who have experience of managing consulting projects. Their perceptions about project activities in their respective firms helped capture a ‘managerial’ view, as well as, provide ‘expert’ opinion. The study find that the most highly ranked and valued interproject learning mechanisms involved some degree of face-to-face interactions. Learning mechanisms that enable the capture, storage and transfer of explicit knowledge, though important, were not ranked highly in importance as person-to-person communication. The difference might be due to the efficient way the latter mechanisms have in transferring socially embedded and context-dependant tacit knowledge, which comprise a large part of knowledge applied in projects. Most of the respondents seem to indicate that their respective firms emphasized development of project competencies that were underpinned by ‘product knowledge’, which emphasize capabilities to deliver short-term project goals (i.e., delivering a particular service/product on a certain date). Respective firms didn’t seem to invest more in project competencies that are underpinned by ‘process knowledge’. The latter is aimed at long-term continuous improvement of project processes, which in turn has impact on developing dynamic competitive advantage. With regard to organizational learning infrastructure needed to support interproject learning and the development of project competencies, the results from the survey provides a mixed picture. While some firms had put in place a series of well implemented organizational structures, procedures, processes and routines to support interproject learning, some other learning supporting infrastructure were not that well implemented (i.e., explicit scheduling of time to do ‘reflections’ during project execution, emerging of a ‘no blame’ culture, instilling a culture of experimentations). Based on our research findings, a number of recommendations are outlined.

The purposes of this study was to develop a teaching program about International project-based learning through WebQuest and explore the effectiveness of the teaching program on students' English learning motivation and intercultural awareness. The participants were second-year junior high school students¡]14 boys and 12 girls included¡^, The experiment lasted 5 months (25 classes included). The teaching effects were analyzed both with qualative and quantative methods. The results of this study are summarized as follows: 1. Applying WebQuest in teaching can help students' finish their tasks and know more about the world. 2. The results showed that the teaching program was effective on improving participants' intrinsic learning motivation. 3. The results showed that the teaching program was not effective on improving participants' intercultural awareness. However, their culture acceptance is promoted and they are more involved in world issues. 4. The participants reported high percentage of satisfaction with the WebQuest in English learning. They became more interested in learning English with technology and hope to continue this curriculum.

WebQuest is one of the popular technology integration strategies in school environment. This study is conducted to overcome existing problems for both teachers and students in higher education by bringing dynamism to existing approach. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to design, develop, implement the new approach of the WebQuest, and assess the experiences of the participants that they encounter in the dynamic WebQuest environment. The participants of this study were the students of two undergraduate courses offered by the Secondary Science and Math Education Department (SSME) and Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department (CEIT) of a private university. Seventy undergraduate students participated in this study. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative measures in order to develop explanatory thoughts about the WebQuest site, projects and perceptions towards the process and the project. The findings of this study showed that participants favored the WebQuest site and the project, which is dynamically created. Furthermore, they offered valuable suggestions to improve the effectiveness of the system.

Through the widespread use of the Internet, WebQuest has become one of the popular techniques in a variety of fields of science and arts for teaching different age groups and levels. This study is conducted to research the effectiveness of this approach in English language learning and to determine possible problems in its implementation. Thus, the purpose of this study is to design, develop, and implement this new approach and to evaluate the learners&rsquo / experiences with it. The participants of this study were the students of a preparatory school at a state university. Twenty-five learners participated in this study. In line with the scope of the research, a WebQuest site was designed which require learners to complete a task related to the curriculum and learning objectives of their English courses. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed to assess the learner perceptions about the WebQuest site design, the steps of the process, group work, and the contribution of the application to language learning. According to the findings of this study, participants appreciated the WebQuest approach and they provided important suggestions for future applications.

Abstract The prupose of theis study is to prove into the teaching model of integrating information technology into Project-based Science Learning designed by the researcher. We will discuss how information technology assists teachers and students to ¡§teach¡¨ and ¡§learn¡¨ through developing curriculum module and teaching activities. Teacher analyze that how students decided team¡¦s research topic, and the problems they met and solution to them by learning journal, observation reports, teacher¡¦s journal, self-checking list and surveys. Then, to criticism the possibility of carrying out Project-based Learning through teachers¡¦ reflection, students¡¦ feeling, and parents¡¦ reaction.The final conclusions are as follows: 1.The Project-based Science Learning model of this research is suitable for 5th and 6th graders. 2.Promoting Project-based Science Learning can develop students¡¦ interests toward science research, open students¡¦ spirits of thinking automatically and solving problems through cooperation, and make students apply their experience in their lives. 3.Third, the practice of Project-based Science curriculum can make students easier to understand the preparations, process, and its final results, to reverse students¡¦ the vary first thoughts about ¡§doing research is difficult¡¨, to stimulate their abilities of creative thinking, and to apply students more concrete postmortem index and strategies while choosing topics. 4.In the curriculum, information technology is mainly applied into three parts, including collecting research topics and information, discussing research process, and sharing and showing research results. Applying class website message board can make up the disadvantage of arranging meeting time, and be the bridge for teachers and students to provide sources of information, transmit messages, discuss problems and solutions, exhibit the result of experiment, and write research papers and so on. It is the most useful information technology application for students. 5.Teachers, students, and parents all agree project-based science learning with highly support.

Educators, researchers, and government officials have concluded that today’s students, at all levels of the educational system, are lacking in the skills needed to ensure their success in the workplace. This awareness is driving a movement to change educational curricula to include skills training in the areas of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Collectively, these areas make up what are called “21st Century Skills.” The question becomes how to develop a program that effectively teaches these skills to students and how to get that program implemented into a usable curriculum. This thesis asserts that the direct study and application of the framework and specifically identified processes of project management (i.e. the key fundamental elements) is an effective methodology for building a foundation upon which to teach students “21st Century Skills”. Using the term “direct study” means that students are explicitly taught key terms, concepts, and processes of project management and then instructed to implement them in a project. The distinction being made here is the belief that, whereas some types of skills are better learned by simply doing, introduction to 21st century skills should be prefaced with some amount of theory and discussion and then reinforced with practical application. Several of the student project management programs discussed in Chapter 3 offer data that backs up this assertion. Additionally, a course outline for a proposed high school curriculum to teach students the key fundamental elements of project management is included in Appendix A. / text

The engineering mathematics course described in this report is designed to employ project based learning (PBL), using projects to teach and reinforce both mathematics and engineering concepts and applications in a hands-on format. One project involves building a bridge and allows students to conduct testing using standard procedures and to manufacture components with set cross-sectional areas and lengths in an assembly-like manner using a low cost material such as file folders. The students can use a free computer-aided design (CAD) program to facilitate the design as well as conduct virtual testing with no additional cost. The mathematics concepts covered by this project include: graphing, tables and trend analysis, determining the forces acting on individual joints as well as the overall structure, study of cross-sectional area versus length in determining the best support structure, evaluation of various materials for construction, and using measurement tools and technology to determine the amount of stresses and strains and the amount of deflection. All of these studies should enable the student to produce a scale diagram for the final bridge design and to conduct tests on the bridge structure in order to determine the factor of strength (weight held versus the weight of the bridge). The project addresses the use of portfolios as a means for documenting work and changes that have been undertaken during the design process. The use of a portfolio-based project enables the student to document with artifacts and written composition, how the design was determined, how testing was done, and overall lessons learned during the project. The portfolio then could be evaluated using a Design Process Rubric as a means for transferability of credit. / text

This thesis is about human resource management (HRM) in project-based organisations. Firms have over the last decades tended to rely increasingly on project-based structures. This process of projectification implies a changed work situation for individuals in modern organisations. Researchers from the project field of research as well as from the HRM field of research have pointed to possible implications that projectification might have for HRM. This thesis explores this area through a combination of multiple, comparative, and single case studies of project-based organisations. The studies aim at identifying and analysing the changes and challenges for HRM in this particular context. The studies are presented in four separate papers. The findings suggest a number of important and empirically nested challenges related to Competence, Trust, Change, and Individuals. Moreover, the changing roles of HR departments and line managers in the overall HR organisation are discussed and analysed. The thesis proposes alternative roles for line managers, depending on the organisational context, and it also proposes two ’ideal types’ of HR-departmental structures.