Download Free Bridging The Gap Between Engineering And The Global World Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Bridging The Gap Between Engineering And The Global World and write the review.

Over the last two decades, globalization has had a profound impact on how we view the world and its sustainability. One group of professionals that lies at the heart of sustainability is the engineers. Engineers are trained problem solvers, required to implement technical solutions and are at the forefront of the development of new technologies. Although engineers play a critical role in sustainability, traditional engineering programs typically only focus on the technocentric and ecocentric dimensions of sustainability, providing little training on the sociocentric dimension. With more and more interest in sustainability, it is becoming increasingly important to also provide engineers with an awareness of sociocentric issues and the necessary skills to address them. The aim of this book is to provide engineering educators with a real-life case study that can be brought into existing courses to help bridge the gap between engineering and the global world. The case study focuses on how our engineering study of different natural plant fibers for soil erosion control led us to small villages in Kerala, India, where marginalized women workers often stand waste deep in water several hours a day, clean and beat coconuts by hand, and separate and spin coconut (coir) fibers into yarn by hand, for very low wages. The case study provides insight into the three dimensions of sustainability (technocentric, ecocentric, and sociocentric) and how they come together in a typical engineering problem. Table of Contents: Reinforcing the Classroom / Natural Plant Fibers for Engineering Applications: Technocentric and Ecocentric Dimensions of Sustainability / The Coir Fiber Industry in Kerala, India: Sociocentric Dimension of Sustainability / Case Study / Conclusion / Bibliography
This book aims to brige the gap between engineers' and architects' understanding of structural form. Its intention is to inspire the development of innovative and viable structures. It presents case studies where imaginative structural forms are in harmony with the architectural concept and at the same time present very efficient solutions to technical and structural problems.
A response of the engineering profession to the challenges of security, poverty and underdevelopment, environmental sustainability, and native cultures is described. Ethical codes, which govern the behavior of engineers, are examined from a historical perspective linking the prevailing codes to models of the natural world. A new ethical code based on a recently introduced model of Nature as an integral community is provided and discussed. Applications of the new code are described using a case study approach. With the ethical code based on an integral community in place, new design algorithms are developed and also explored using case studies. Implications of the proposed changes in ethics and design on engineering education are considered. Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Engineering Ethics / Models of the Earth / Engineering in a Morally Deep World / Engineering Design in a Morally Deep World / Implications for Engineering Education / Final Thoughts / References / Author's Biography
Humanitarian Engineering reviews the development of engineering as a distinct profession and of the humanitarian movement as a special socio-political practice. Having noted that the two developments were situated in the same geographical and historical space -- that is, in Europe and North America beginning in the 1700s -- the book argues for a mutual influence and synthesis that has previously been lacking. In this spirit, the first of two central chapters describes humanitarian engineering as the artful drawing on science to direct the resources of nature with active compassion to meet the basic needs of all -- especially the powerless, poor, or otherwise marginalized. A second central chapter then considers strategies for education in humanitarian engineering so conceived. Two final chapters consider challenges and implications. Table of Contents: Engineering / Humanitarianism / Humanitarian Engineering / Humanitarian Engineering Education / Challenges / Conclusion: Humanizing Technology
Part II: Engineering Decisions in the 21st Century Engineers work in an increasingly complex entanglement of ideas, people, cultures, technology, systems and environments. Today, decisions made by engineers often have serious implications for not only their clients but for society as a whole and the natural world. Such decisions may potentially influence cultures, ways of living, as well as alter ecosystems which are in delicate balance. In order to make appropriate decisions and to co-create ideas and innovations within and among the complex networks of communities which currently exist and are shaped by our decisions, we need to regain our place as professionals, to realise the significance of our work and to take responsibility in a much deeper sense. Engineers must develop the 'ability to respond' to emerging needs of all people, across all cultures. To do this requires insights and knowledge which are at present largely within the domain of the social and political sciences but which need to be shared with our students in ways which are meaningful and relevant to engineering. This book attempts to do just that. In Part 1 Baillie introduces ideas associated with the ways in which engineers relate to the communities in which they work. Drawing on scholarship from science and technology studies, globalisation and development studies, as well as work in science communication and dialogue, this introductory text sets the scene for an engineering community which engages with the public. In Part 2 Catalano frames the thinking processes necessary to create ethical and just decisions in engineering, to understand the implications of our current decision making processes and think about ways in which we might adapt these to become more socially just in the future. In Part 3 Baillie and Catalano have provided case studies of everyday issues such as water, garbage and alarm clocks, to help us consider how we might see through the lenses of our new knowledge from Parts 1 and 2 and apply this to our everyday existence as engineers. Table of Contents: Making Decisions in the 21st Century / Ethics / Landmines and the War in Iraq / Hurricane Katrina and the Flooding of New Orleans / Disappearing Bumble Bees / Engineering and Traditional Approaches / Engineering and Freedom / Engineering and Chaos / Engineering and a Morally Deep World / Engineering and Globalism / Engineering and Love / Case Study Application / Final Thoughts
Engineers work in an increasingly complex entanglement of ideas, people, cultures, technology, systems and environments. Today, decisions made by engineers often have serious implications for not only their clients but for society as a whole and the natural world. Such decisions may potentially influence cultures, ways of living, as well as alter ecosystems which are in delicate balance. In order to make appropriate decisions and to co-create ideas and innovations within and among the complex networks of communities which currently exist and are shaped by our decisions, we need to regain our place as professionals, to realise the significance of our work and to take responsibility in a much deeper sense. Engineers must develop the 'ability to respond' to emerging needs of all people, across all cultures. To do this requires insights and knowledge which are at present largely within the domain of the social and political sciences but which need to be shared with our students in ways which are meaningful and relevant to engineering. This book attempts to do just that. In Part 1 Baillie introduces ideas associated with the ways in which engineers relate to the communities in which they work. Drawing on scholarship from science and technology studies, globalisation and development studies, as well as work in science communication and dialogue, this introductory text sets the scene for an engineering community which engages with the public. In Part 2 Catalano frames the thinking processes necessary to create ethical and just decisions in engineering, to understand the implications of our current decision making processes and think about ways in which we might adapt these to become more socially just in the future. In Part 3 Baillie and Catalano have provided case studies of everyday issues such as water, garbage and alarm clocks, to help us consider how we might see through the lenses of our new knowledge from Parts 1 and 2 and apply this to our every day existence as engineers. Table of Contents: Introduction / Engineering and Society / Engineering and the Public / Globalisation, Development, and Technology
In A Philosophy of Technology: From Technical Artefacts to Sociotechnical Systems, technology is analysed from a series of different perspectives. The analysis starts by focussing on the most tangible products of technology, called technical artefacts, and then builds step-wise towards considering those artefacts within their context of use, and ultimately as embedded in encompassing sociotechnical systems that also include humans as operators and social rules like legislation. Philosophical characterisations are given of technical artefacts, their context of use and of sociotechnical systems. Analyses are presented of how technical artefacts are designed in engineering and what types of technological knowledge is involved in engineering. And the issue is considered how engineers and others can or cannot influence the development of technology. These characterisations are complemented by ethical analyses of the moral status of technical artefacts and the possibilities and impossibilities for engineers to influence this status when designing artefacts and the sociotechnical systems in which artefacts are embedded. The running example in the book is aviation, where aeroplanes are examples of technical artefacts and the world aviation system is an example of a sociotechnical system. Issues related to the design of quiet aeroplane engines and the causes of aviation accidents are analysed for illustrating the moral status of designing, and the role of engineers therein. Table of Contents: Technical Artefacts / Technical Designing / Ethics and Designing / Technological Knowledge / Sociotechnical Systems / The Role of Social Factors in Technological Development / Ethics and Unintended Consequences of Technology
The recent tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico and resultant ethical consequences for the engineering profession are introduced and discussed. The need for a new engineering ethic is identified and introduced based upon advancements in science, complex systems and eco-philosophy. Motivations for introducing a new ethic rather than modifying existing ethics are also discussed. Table of Contents: Tragedy in the Gulf / Tragedy Unfolding / Engineering Ethics / Complex Systems / Quantum Mechanics / Evolving Principles of the Universe / A New Engineering Ethic / Epilogue
This book investigates the close connections between engineering and war, broadly understood, and the conceptual and structural barriers that face those who would seek to loosen those connections. It shows how military institutions and interests have long influenced engineering education, research, and practice and how they continue to shape the field in the present. The book also provides a generalized framework for responding to these influences useful to students and scholars of engineering, as well as reflective practitioners. The analysis draws on philosophy, history, critical theory, and technology studies to understand the connections between engineering and war and how they shape our very understandings of what engineering is and what it might be. After providing a review of diverse dimensions of engineering itself, the analysis shifts to different dimensions of the connections between engineering and war. First, it considers the ethics of war generally and then explores questions of integrity for engineering practitioners facing career decisions relating to war. Next, it considers the historical rise of the military-industrial-academic complex, especially from World War II to the present. Finally, it considers a range of responses to the militarization of engineering from those who seek to unsettle the status quo. Only by confronting the ethical, historical, and political consequences of engineering for warfare, this book argues, can engineering be sensibly reimagined.
Engineers work in an increasingly complex entanglement of ideas, people, cultures, technology, systems and environments. Today, decisions made by engineers often have serious implications for not only their clients but for society as a whole and the natural world. Such decisions may potentially influence cultures, ways of living, as well as alter ecosystems which are in delicate balance. In order to make appropriate decisions and to co-create ideas and innovations within and among the complex networks of communities which currently exist and are shaped by our decisions, we need to regain our place as professionals, to realise the significance of our work and to take responsibility in a much deeper sense. Engineers must develop the 'ability to respond' to emerging needs of all people, across all cultures. To do this requires insights and knowledge which are at present largely within the domain of the social and political sciences but which need to be shared with our students in ways which are meaningful and relevant to engineering. This book attempts to do just that. In Part 1 Baillie introduces ideas associated with the ways in which engineers relate to the communities in which they work. Drawing on scholarship from science and technology studies, globalisation and development studies, as well as work in science communication and dialogue, this introductory text sets the scene for an engineering community which engages with the public. In Part 2 Catalano frames the thinking processes necessary to create ethical and just decisions in engineering, to understand the implications of our current decision making processes and think about ways in which we might adapt these to become more socially just in the future. In Part 3 Baillie and Catalano have provided case studies of everyday issues such as water, garbage and alarm clocks, to help us consider how we might see through the lenses of our new knowledge from Parts 1 and 2 and apply this to our everyday existence as engineers. Table of Contents: Introduction / Throwing Away Rubbish / Turning on the Tap / Awakened by an Alarm Clock / Driving the SUV / Travelling to Waikiki Beach