Professional Documents
Culture Documents
COURSE TITLE:
ENGINEER IN SOCIETY
Introduction
The concept of engineering has existed since ancient times as humans devised fundamental
inventions such as the pulley, lever, and wheel. Each of these inventions is consistent with the
modern definition of engineering, exploiting basic mechanical principles to develop
useful tools and objects.
The phrase engineering science appeared at the beginning of the eighteenth century, a full six
decades earlier than the appearance of the phrase social science. Engineering science,
together with research and development, shifted into high gear after World War II.
Engineering means the science and art of designing, investigating, supervising the
construction, maintenance or operation of, making specifications, inventories or appraisals of,
and consultations or reports on machinery, structures, works, plants, mines, mineral deposits,
processes, transportation systems, transmission systems and communication systems or any
other part thereof.
The history of engineering can be roughly divided into four overlapping phases, each marked by
a revolution:
The forerunners of engineers, practical artists and craftsmen, proceeded mainly by trial and
error. Yet tinkering combined with imagination produced many marvelous devices. Many
ancient monuments cannot fail to incite admiration. The admiration is embodied in the name
engineer itself. It originated in the eleventh century from the Latin ingeniator, meaning one
with ingenium, the ingenious one. The name, used for builders of ingenious fortifications or
makers of ingenious devices, was closely related to the notion of ingenuity, which was captured
in the old meaning of engine until the word was taken over by steam engines and its like.
Leonardo da Vinci bore the official title of Ingegnere Generale. His notebooks reveal that some
Renaissance engineers began to ask systematically what works and why
The first phase of modern engineering emerged in the Scientific Revolution. Galileos Two New
Sciences, which seeks systematic explanations and adopts a scientific approach to practical
problems, is a landmark regarded by many engineer historians as the beginning of structural
analysis, the mathematical representation and design of building structures. This phase of
engineering lasted through the First Industrial Revolution, when machines, increasingly
powered by steam engines, started to replace muscles in most production. While pulling off
the revolution, traditional artisans transformed themselves to modern professionals. The
French, more rationalistic oriented, spearheaded civil engineering with emphasis on
mathematics and developed university engineering education under the sponsorship of their
government. The British, more empirically oriented, pioneered mechanical engineering and
autonomous professional societies under the laissez-faire attitude of their government.
Gradually, practical thinking became scientific in addition to intuitive, as engineers developed
mathematical analysis and controlled experiments. Technical training shifted from
apprenticeship to university education. Information flowed more quickly in organized meetings
and journal publications as professional societies emerged.
The second industrial revolution, symbolized by the advent of electricity and mass production,
was driven by many branches of engineering. Chemical and electrical engineering developed
in close collaboration with chemistry and physics and played vital roles in the rise of chemical,
electrical, and telecommunication industries. Marine engineers tamed the peril of ocean
exploration. Aeronautic engineers turned the ancient dream of flight into a travel
convenience for ordinary people. Control engineers accelerated the pace of
automation. Industrial engineers designed and managed mass production and distribution
systems. College engineering curricula were well established and graduate schools
appeared. Workshops turned into to laboratories, tinkering became industrial research, and
individual inventions were organized into systematic innovations.
Left scale: percentage of households with electricity and radio; right scale: number of telephones
and registered passenger cars per one thousand population in the United States. Electrification of
factories and industries proceeded more rapidly than the residential service shown here. Telephone
service appeared earlier but spread slower; only 78 percent of households had service in 1960, when
the nation boasted 408 telephones per thousahd population, because a third of these were business
installation,
Source: Census Bureau, Historical Statistics of the United States , tables 716, 783, 872.
Right scale: Numbers of students attending electrical (EE), mechanical (ME), and chemical (ChE)
engineering courses in American universities, (Haber, 1971: 63, 370). The numbers in years from 1882-
1890 include only students in MIT and Cornell, which were the earliest and largest universities offering
courses in electrical engineering. In both, notice the effects of the depression in the early 1930s and
wars in the late 1910s and early 1940s.
Sources: L. H. Haber, The Chemical Industry: 1900-1930 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), pp.
63, 370. R. Rosenberg, The origin of EE education. IEEE Spectrum 21(7): 60-8, 1984.
Research and development boomed in all fields of science and technology after World War II,
partly because of the Cold War and the Sputnik effect. The explosion of engineering research,
which used to lagged behind natural science, was especially impressive, as can be seen from
the relative expansion of graduate education. Engineering was also stimulated by new
technologies, notably aerospace, microelectronics, computers, novel means of
telecommunications from the Internet to cell phones. Turbojet and rocket engines propelled
aeronautic engineering into unprecedented height and spawned astronautic
engineering. Utilization of atomic and nuclear power brought nuclear engineering. Advanced
materials with performance hitherto undreamed of poured out from the laboratories of
materials science and engineering. Above all, microelectronics, telecommunications, and
computer engineering joined force to precipitate the information revolution in which
intellectual chores are increasingly alleviated by machines.
To lead the progress of these sophisticated technologies, engineers have remade themselves
by reforming educational programs and expanding research efforts. Intensive engineering
research produced not only new technologies but also bodies of powerful systematic
knowledge: the engineering sciences and systems theories in information, computer, control,
and communications. Engineering developed extensive theories of its own and firmly
established itself as a science of creating, explaining, and utilizing manmade systems. This
period also saw the maturation of graduate engineering education and the rise of large-scale
research and development organized on the national level.
So far the physical sciences physics and chemistry have contributed most to technology.
They will continue to contribute, for instance in the emerging nanotechnology that will take
over the torch of the microelectronics revolution. Increasingly, they are joined by biology,
which has been transformed by the spectacular success of molecular and genetic biology.
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field, drawing knowledge from biology, biochemistry,
physics, information processing and various engineering expertise. The cooperation and
convergence of traditional intellectual disciplines in the development of new technology is the
trend of the future.
History Based on Engineering Discipline
Engineering is one of the oldest professions in the world. Around 2550 BC, Imhotep, the first
documented engineer, built a famous stepped pyramid of King Zoser located at Saqqarah
shown below. With simple tools and mathematics he created a monument that stands to this
day. His greatest contribution to engineering was his discovery of the art of building with
shaped stones. Those who followed him carried engineering to remarkable heights using skill
and imagination. Vitruvius' De archiectura was published 1AD in Rome and survived to give us a
look at engineering education in ancient times.
Military Engineering
The first engineers were military engineers, combining military and civil skills. During periods of
conflict the engineers made and used instruments of war such as catapults, battering rams,
towers, and ramps to aid in attacking their enemies' forts & encampments and also to defend
their own. During the periods of peace, they were involved in many military and civil activities
such as building fortifications for defence against further attacks, roads, bridges, aqueducts,
canals and cathedrals. The construction and hydraulics techniques used by the medieval
engineers in China, Japan, India and other regions of the Far East were far more sophisticated
than those of the medieval European engineers.
Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is the oldest of the main disciplines of engineering. The first engineering
school, the National School of Bridges and Highways in France, was opened in 1747. John
Smeaton was the first person to actually call himself a "Civil Engineer". These civil engineers
built all types of structures, designed water-supply and sewer systems, designed railroads and
highways, and planned cities. In 1828 the world's first engineering society came into being,
the Institution of Civil Engineers in England.
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering was the second branch of engineering to emerge in the last part of the
1700s. The invention of the steam engine was the starting point for the Industrial Revolution.
All types of machinery were being developed now and so a new kind of engineer, one dealing
with tools and machines, was born. Mechanical engineers received formal recognition in 1847
with the founding of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in England.
Electrical Engineering
Knowledge of electricity grew slowly during the 1800s: the original electric cell was invented by
Alessandro Volta in 1800, the Gramme dynamo and electric motor were invented in 1872, the
transistor and the vacuum tube appeared by the mid 1900s and by the end of the 1900s
electrical and electronics engineers outnumbered all the other types of engineers in the world.
Chemical Engineering
In the 1800's, industry started using more and more chemical processes in many areas such as
metallurgy, food production and textiles. At the end of the 19th century, the increased use of
chemicals in the manufacturing industry eventually created a new industry, an industry whose
main function was the production of chemicals. The new chemical engineer was involved in the
design and operation of these new chemical producing plants.
Around 1900, the term "Chemical Engineer" was being used, but it wasn't until the
development of the petroleum industry that chemical engineering became recognized as a
unique engineering discipline.
STRUCTURES OF ENGINEERING
As the art and science of production, engineering transforms nature to serve large
numbers of people. To transform nature effectively requires knowledge in natural
science; to serve people adequately requires knowledge about socioeconomic factors.
Internally, engineering has three aspects: engineering science, design and development,
and management and organization. Externally, it is closely allied with natural science on
the one hand and industry on the other. Together they constitute the main engines
of technology.
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ENGINEERING PROFESSION: ENGINEERING REGULATION AND REGISTRATION
Becoming an engineer is a widely varied process around the world, where Engineering is a
regulated profession, there are specific procedures and requirements for obtaining license
to practice, or registration from a government or License-granting authority acting on its
behalf and as in other regulated professions, engineers are subject to regulation by these
bodies.
1. Caters for engineering disciplines, many of which have their practitioners greater in
number than those of most professional regulatory.
2. Registers FIVE cadres of engineering personnel, Engineers, Engineering
Technologists, Engineering Technicians, Engineering Cratsmen, and Engineering
Consulting Firms with each having its own Association, i.e.:
a. Nigerian Society of Engineers
b. Nigerian Association of Engineering Technologists
c. Nigerian Institute of Engineering Technicians
d. Nigerian Association of Engineering Craftsmen, and
e. Association of Consulting Engineers of Nigeria (ACEN)
3. Accredits engineering courses in the universities, polytechnics/ college of
technology, technical colleges both within and outside Nigeria.
4. Organizes and supervises the post-graduate practical training of newly graduated
engineering personnel.
Registration as Engineers
Subject to the Act of the Law of Federal Republic of Nigeria, a person shall be fully
registered under this Act if;
Note: a person shall also be entitled to be fully registered if he satisfy that he is of good
character, holds a qualification granted outside Nigeria and for the time being accepted by
the Council and that the country in which the qualification was granted, he was under no
legal disability in the practice of engineering coupled with sufficient practical engineering
experience.
1. Legal Needs: Engineers are just like any other highly skilled profession in that they are
governed by specific rules and regulations. Numerous engineering jobs both in private
industry and in governmental organizations legally require that a professional engineer
fill them. This is because a Professional engineer license is needed in order to legally
practice and provide engineering services. One of the biggest requirements along these
lines is that only a registered professional engineer can stamp recognized engineering
documents for public and professional customers. This is a formal seal issued by the
practicing engineers state board (such as COREN) and can be used on things such as
computer assisted drawing (CAD) designs, structural evaluation reports, equipment
settings sheets, or development proposals.
2. Career Progression: The fact of the matter is that an engineering license might be a
major boost in helping you climb the corporate ladder in any company. This is true
whether your job path goes on a traditional technical route or if you aspire to join the
managerial ranks. The reasoning behind all of this is that a lot of employers in the
aforementioned industrial sectors require a job applicant to be a Professional Engineer
for senior engineering jobs. These roles usually have substantial project responsibilities
and often times will need to have someone with the ability to stamp documents. This
insures quality control and standard industry practices. Another great benefit for
Professional Engineers is that some companies provide bonuses or salary increases for
acquiring a license. The license can provide numerous advantages which is why
someone with it can increase their value to their company.
3. Highlights Expertise and Credibility: Finally, there is a level of prestige that comes with
being a professional engineer. In such highly specialized and technical industries,
professional engineers have a level of respect from colleagues in their professional
circles. The Professional Engineer credential is something that shows you have the
knowledge and competency to be an engineer. It shows you have legitimate working
experience, that you practice continual learning, and that you act in an ethical manner.
Like anything else, more skins on your wall help with credibility.
ENGINEERING PROFESSION: PROFESSIONAL BODIES AND ENGINEERING SOCIETIES
Engineers code of conducts is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of proper practices for
an individual (engineer). The engineers codes of conduct were adopted to protect and
safeguard the health, safety, welfare and property of the public.
Engineering is an important and learned profession. Engineers are expected to exhibit the
highest standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the
quality of life for all people. Accordingly, the services provided by engineers require honesty,
impartiality, fairness, and equity, and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health,
safety and welfare. Engineers must perform under a standard of professional behaviour that
requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct.
Rules of Practice
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
a. If engineers' judgment is overruled under circumstances that endanger life or
property, they shall notify their employer or client and such other authority as
may be appropriate.
b. Engineers shall approve only those engineering documents that are in
conformity with applicable standards.
c. Engineers shall not reveal facts, data, or information without the prior consent of
the client or employer except as authorized or required by law or this Code.
d. Engineers shall not permit the use of their name or associate in business
ventures with any person or firm that they believe is engaged in fraudulent or
dishonest enterprise.
e. Engineers shall not aid or abet the unlawful practice of engineering by a person
or firm.
f. Engineers having knowledge of any alleged violation of this Code shall report
thereon to appropriate professional bodies and, when relevant, also to public
authorities, and cooperate with the proper authorities in furnishing such
information or assistance as may be required.
Professional Obligations
1. Engineers shall be guided in all their relations by the highest standards of honesty and
integrity.
a. Engineers shall acknowledge their errors and shall not distort or alter the facts.
b. Engineers shall advise their clients or employers when they believe a project will
not be successful.
c. Engineers shall not accept outside employment to the detriment of their regular
work or interest. Before accepting any outside engineering employment, they
will notify their employers.
d. Engineers shall not attempt to attract an engineer from another employer by
false or misleading pretenses.
e. Engineers shall not promote their own interest at the expense of the dignity and
integrity of the profession.
2. Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest.
a. Engineers are encouraged to participate in civic affairs; career guidance for
youths; and work for the advancement of the safety, health, and well-being of
their community.
b. Engineers shall not complete, sign, or seal plans and/or specifications that are
not in conformity with applicable engineering standards. If the client or
employer insists on such unprofessional conduct, they shall notify the proper
authorities and withdraw from further service on the project.
c. Engineers are encouraged to extend public knowledge and appreciation of
engineering and its achievements.
d. Engineers are encouraged to adhere to the principles of sustainable
development1in order to protect the environment for future generations.
3. Engineers shall avoid all conduct or practice that deceives the public.
a. Engineers shall avoid the use of statements containing a material
misrepresentation of fact or omitting a material fact.
b. Consistent with the foregoing, engineers may advertise for recruitment of
personnel.
c. Consistent with the foregoing, engineers may prepare articles for the lay or
technical press, but such articles shall not imply credit to the author for work
performed by others.
4. Engineers shall not disclose, without consent, confidential information concerning the
business affairs or technical processes of any present or former client or employer, or
public body on which they serve.
a. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested parties, promote or
arrange for new employment or practice in connection with a specific project for
which the engineer has gained particular and specialized knowledge.
b. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested parties, participate in or
represent an adversary interest in connection with a specific project or
proceeding in which the engineer has gained particular specialized knowledge on
behalf of a former client or employer.
5. Engineers shall not be influenced in their professional duties by conflicting interests.
a. Engineers shall not accept financial or other considerations, including free
engineering designs, from material or equipment suppliers for specifying their
product.
b. Engineers shall not accept commissions or allowances, directly or indirectly, from
contractors or other parties dealing with clients or employers of the engineer in
connection with work for which the engineer is responsible.
6. Engineers shall not attempt to obtain employment or advancement or professional
engagements by untruthfully criticizing other engineers, or by other improper or
questionable methods.
a. Engineers shall not request, propose, or accept a commission on a contingent
basis under circumstances in which their judgment may be compromised.
b. Engineers in salaried positions shall accept part-time engineering work only to
the extent consistent with policies of the employer and in accordance with
ethical considerations.
c. Engineers shall not, without consent, use equipment, supplies, laboratory, or
office facilities of an employer to carry on outside private practice.
7. Engineers shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the
professional reputation, prospects, practice, or employment of other engineers.
Engineers who believe others are guilty of unethical or illegal practice shall present such
information to the proper authority for action.
a. Engineers in private practice shall not review the work of another engineer for
the same client, except with the knowledge of such engineer, or unless the
connection of such engineer with the work has been terminated.
b. Engineers in governmental, industrial, or educational employ are entitled to
review and evaluate the work of other engineers when so required by their
employment duties.
c. Engineers in sales or industrial employ are entitled to make engineering
comparisons of represented products with products of other suppliers.
8. Engineers shall accept personal responsibility for their professional activities, provided,
however, that engineers may seek indemnification for services arising out of their
practice for other than gross negligence, where the engineer's interests cannot
otherwise be protected.
a. Engineers shall conform with state registration laws in the practice of
engineering.
b. Engineers shall not use association with a nonengineer, a corporation, or
partnership as a "cloak" for unethical acts.
9. Engineers shall give credit for engineering work to those to whom credit is due, and will
recognize the proprietary interests of others.
a. Engineers shall, whenever possible, name the person or persons who may be
individually responsible for designs, inventions, writings, or other
accomplishments.
b. Engineers using designs supplied by a client recognize that the designs remain
the property of the client and may not be duplicated by the engineer for others
without express permission.
c. Engineers, before undertaking work for others in connection with which the
engineer may make improvements, plans, designs, inventions, or other records
that may justify copyrights or patents, should enter into a positive agreement
regarding ownership.
d. Engineers' designs, data, records, and notes referring exclusively to an
employer's work are the employer's property. The employer should indemnify
the engineer for use of the information for any purpose other than the original
purpose.
e. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their
careers and should keep current in their specialty fields by engaging in
professional practice, participating in continuing education courses, reading in
the technical literature, and attending professional meetings and seminars.
Engineering Ethics
Engineering ethics is the study of the moral issues and decisions confronting individuals and
organizations involved in engineering and the study of related questions about moral conduct,
character, ideals, and relationships of people and organizations involved in technological
development. Engineering ethics is a system of moral principles that apply to the practice of
engineering, setting the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients, and to the
profession.
Rights of Engineers can be categorized into three;
1. Human Rights
2. Employee Rights
3. Professional Rights
Human Rights
This includes;
a. Fundamental freedoms
Freedom of conscience and religion;
Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the
press and other media communication;
Freedom of peaceful assembly;
Freedom of association
d. Legal Rights
Life, liberty, security
Not to be arbitrarily detained, tortured
e. Equality Rights
No discrimination based on race, ethnicity, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or
physical disability
Employee Rights
a. Pursue outside activities
Includes political or special interest groups
Other employment pursuits
No right to harm or sabotage employer, on or off the job
b. Privacy
Unwarranted search, drug testing
e. No harassment (sexual)
No physical, psychological attacks, coercion, abuse , provocation
Professional Rights
a. Right of professional conscience: professional conscience requires that the engineer can
make their own decisions and hence freely pose questions. This focus on the right to
exercise professional judgment in carrying out one's duties as an engineer and to exercise
this judgment in a moral and ethical manner.
b. Right not to participate or condone unethical activity.
c. Right to talk publicly about work, involved in professional organization but respecting
confidentiality.
d. Right to professional recognition for their work and accomplishments. For example right
to speak about work (remember confidentiality) and receive external and internal
recognition (based on patents, promotion, e.t.c). Also, including fair remuneration.
e. Right of conscientious refusal
Refusal to participate in or condone unethical behaviour, activities based on
beliefs such as forging, lying bribery e.t.c.
Also includes right to protect public interests and safety
The engineer recognizes that the greatest merit is the work, so exercise their profession
committed to serving society, attending to the welfare and progress of the majority. By
transforming nature for the benefit of mankind, the engineer must increase their awareness of
the world is the abode of man and his interest in the universe is a guarantee of overcoming
their spirit and knowledge of reality to make it fairer and happier. The engineer should reject
papers that are intended to harm the general interest, in this way avoid situations involving
hazards or constitute a threat to the environment, life, health and other rights of human
beings. It is an inescapable duty of the engineer to hold the prestige of the profession and
ensure its proper discharge; also maintain a professional demeanor rooted in the ability,
honesty, fortitude, temperance, magnanimity, modesty, honesty and justice, with the
consciousness of individual well-being subordinate to the good social. The engineer must
ensure the continuous improvement of their knowledge, particularly of their profession,
disseminate their knowledge, share experience, provide opportunities for education and
training of workers, provide recognition, moral and material support to the school where he
studied, in this way revert to the opportunities the company has received. It is the responsibility
of the engineer who carried out their work efficiently and supports the laws. In particular,
ensure compliance with the standards of worker protection provided by the law. As
professionals, engineers are expected to commit themselves to high standards of conduct.
Note
Term paper Assignment will be given focusing on Role of engineers in transforming our
society. Considering Africa society.
REFERENCES
Martin, Mike W. and Roland Schinzinger, Ethics in Engineering, Third edition (New York:
McGraw-Hill 1996)
www.professional engineersexam.com
en-wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_ethics
www.nspe.org/ethics/code of ethics/index.html
http://www.creatingtechnology.org/history2.htm
http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Engineer-In-Society/304291
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9545&page=6
P. & Gunn A. S. (1998), Engineering, Ethics, and the Environment. Cambridge University Press, New York
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_engineering_societies
http://www.theengineeringjob.com/displaycontent/sectionid/88/contentid/703_engineering_p
rofessional_bodies