The managerial cognition perspective argues that managers operating in complex, dynamic environments develop knowledge structures that help them focus their attention, interpretation, and actions. We explore the content and structure of top managers' strategic knowledge structures by measuring differences in the level of attention they give in annual reports to strategic issues and themes that Miles and Snow used to describe their main strategic types. Twenty‐one themes that form seven main factors describing managers' strategic cognition are identified, and these demonstrate reasonable fit with the Miles and Snow model. We show that expert raters can recognize these factors when they read annual reports that contain them. Cluster analysis is then used to identify groups of firms that share similar profiles on these strategic dimensions which are interpreted as examples of cognitive strategic groups. These groups show alignment with Miles and Snow's strategic types, are relatively stable over time, and differ in financial performance. The sample comprises 1,038 listed Australian firms between the years 1992 and 2003. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interviews were conducted with students from a sophomore‐level mechanics of materials class, a sophomore/junior‐level structures class, a senior‐level steel design class and a graduate‐level advanced steel design class to investigate students' conceptual understanding of bending and normal stress. The graduate students generally demonstrated higher computational skill and confidence but they were not significantly different from the sophomores in terms of conceptual understanding. Interestingly, the seniors showed markedly lower confidence in their ability to solve the problems posed in the interviews. Common difficulties include a conceptual definition of stress and reasoning involving the normal stresses developed under bending.

Background The personal epistemologies of engineering faculty are an important and as yet underinvestigated aspect of engineering education. In this study, personal epistemology is defined as the stances an individual takes on issues related to knowledge and knowing, such as what it means to know, what counts as knowledge, and what makes some knowledge true. Purpose (Hypothesis) This research characterizes the personal epistemologies of engineering faculty members with particular emphasis on contributing to the development of a theoretical framework to support and guide future research. Design/Method Semistructured interviews explored broad epistemological issues but were individually tailored to ensure open discourse. The interviews were situated in the domain of the participants' own research in civil engineering; this domain provided a familiar and rich research site in which to explore their epistemologies and allowed for richer interpretations through reference to other research linking research practice with epistemology. Results The participants expressed a stance that assumed an objective reality and verified the truth of their knowledge through observation, which assumes access to that objective reality. Participants simultaneously evaluated their knowledge based on its truth and usefulness. The participants' discussions reflected their perceptions of the complexity and wide scope of the “real” world – thereby moving beyond simplified categorizations such as positivist, into new and unexplored epistemologies. Conclusions The participants' epistemologies are discussed in terms of their implications for engineering education practice and research, as well as personal epistemology research.

Background Concepts are defined generally as fundamental principles or global understandings specific to a field of expertise. Theories of situated cognition suggest that concepts may not have uniform meaning or representation in a particular social setting. Purpose/Hypothesis The goal of this study was to investigate the process by which practicing engineers come to understand and use concepts in the context of their work. Design/Method A researcher conducted ethnographic fieldwork at a private consulting engineering firm. Data sources included (a) field notes obtained via participant observation, (b) transcripts from interviews, and (c) artifacts collected on site. Results Five emergent themes from the data are presented: (1) engineers identify constraints before they apply concepts, (2) engineers address project constraints by contextualizing abstract features of concepts, (3) engineers expand individual understanding of the concept by engaging in social negotiation of meaning, (4) concepts have multiple representations in engineering practice, and (5) engineers use material resources to efficiently address complex processes and problems associated with engineering concepts. These themes were analyzed using situative perspective to develop a model of conceptual growth in engineering practice. Conclusions Findings suggest that student learning experiences should deliberately highlight the role of engineering concepts in the often ill‐structured engineering problems present in authentic engineering work. Specific suggestions for incorporating the model into engineering education are offered as are directions for future research.