In common engineering educations, the idea of technological appropriateness is only learned in as part of a specific learning subject, which results in a siloed understanding. On the other hand, liberal arts deliver unique ways to learn something through subjects that have an indirect or almost no relationship with it. It gives an opportunity in which the abstract meanings of appropriateness might be learned based on interconnected understandings. This article aims to discover the opportunity to learn Appropriate Technology from the perspective of liberal arts. It would be useful for engineering educators to deliver a wider coverage in understanding technological appropriateness without giving excessive numbers of specific subjects to students.
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‘Man does not live by bread alone’: The relevance to organizational management
Organization consists of people, and people are different each other even in a slightest form. The famous phrase “man does not live by bread alone” had become an important parable in understanding differences. In its relevance to organizational management, the phrase delivers a basis of philosophical approach in organization. Differences occur due to accumulated influences attributed to each individual as the result of cultural interactions in one’s life. Management, therefore, cannot do coercive approaches in pursuing organizational goals; however, the right approaches to construct a solid organization design can be established by taking the essence of the phrase, known categorizes of differences in organizational management, and the fundamental management philosophy. In short, management has to deal with differences through appropriate organizational ways of thinking in order to transform every single facet of organization to take full advantage of the differences: any “bread” attributed to each organization member.
Proposing physiological concept in design process
Previous methodologies delivered almost pure quantitative techniques to do the modeling, which have made it difficult to do agile design process for specific-purposed products requiring a unique approach for each situation. This article aims to propose physiological concept modeling by combining process and functional modeling with qualitative interpretation. A physiological modeling incorporates derivation to transform an idea into a design concept with almost no quantitative postulates. It offers seven required steps to do a physiological modeling. The derivation may bring a flexibility for dynamic or continuous system by introducing cyclical & dynamic relationships between processes, including interventions from outside environment and function of residue to accommodate imposed residues.
Belajar di Belanda, mengail ilmu menuai kesuksesan menuju komunitas global
Belanda mengelola pendidikan secara professional sehingga berhasil menempatkan sedikitnya 7 universitas dalam peringkat 100 universitas terbaik dunia di masing-masing bidang kajian ilmu, dan 12 universitas dalam peringkat 200 besar. Disana, pemerintah, dunia usaha, dan universitas saling bekerja sama dan berkolaborasi untuk menyediakan dan menyerap sumber daya manusia yang andal dalam menghadapi persaingan pada tingkat komunitas global (global community). Belanda banyak menyediakan pusat-pusat riset dan institusi pendidikan berskala internasional untuk memberi kesempatan menghasilkan para ahli di bidang teknologi dan ilmu baru yang dapat berguna bagi masyarakat global (global society).
Konflik Matematika
Di dalam Matematika, ada sebuah kalimat yang mencoba memberikan gambaran tentang kehebatan Matematika, ‘…bahkan daun yang melambaipun dapat kita mengerti dengan Matematika…‘ Ada celah yang cukup membahayakan mengiringi kalimat tersebut. Celah tersebut memberikan jalan pemahaman yang melenceng dari kaidah (konflik), padahal si pelaku tidak merasakan hal itu. Dari beberapa kejadian, ada gambaran mengenai Konflik Matematika yang -sangat mungkin- bisa terjadi dalam kehidupan kita. Dan pesan yang timbul adalah “selalu pelajari sebuah konsep secara menyeluruh, jangan setengah-setengah,” tentunya untuk menghindari Konflik Matematika tadi.
