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Raising a new Generation of Leaders

GEC 217--Engineer-In- Society

Module 3

1. IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2.Engineer-Functions & Responsibilities
IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
1.0 IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
• What is an impact? It is a significant/strong
influence/an effect
• Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and
organizes knowledge in the form of explanations
and predictions about nature and the universe.
• Technology is the collection of techniques,
methods or processes used in the production of
goods or services or in the accomplishment of
objectives, such as scientific investigation, or any
other consumer demands.
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 IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY Cont.
• Science may drive technological development, by
generating demand for new instruments to address a
scientific question, or by illustrating technical
possibilities previously unconsidered.
• In turn, technology may drive scientific investigation, by
creating demand for technological improvements that
can only be produced through research.
• Technological improvements were achieved by
chance(opportunity), trial and error, or spontaneous
inspiration

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1.0 IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY Contd.
• Technology and human life cannot be separated; society has
a cyclical/repeated co-dependence on technology. We use
technology, we depend on technology in our daily life and
our needs and demands for technology keep on rising
• The biggest challenge facing people is to determine the type
of future we need to have and then create relevant
technologies which will simplify the way we do things
• It is impossible to explore how each new advanced
technology has impacted our lives and how it will impact the
future. Technology impacts the environment, people and the
society as a whole

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 IMPACTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY Cont.
• The way we use technology determines if its impacts are positive to the
or negative to the society for an example.
• POSITIVE IMPACT: we can use corn to make ethanol and this ethanol
can be used as fuel. Fuel can be used to run machines and cars which
will increase the output of manufacturing industries at a lower cost.
• NEGATIVE IMPACT: The negative impact of using corn for ethanol is
that humans will be left with no food and this will cause world hunger
which even is a worse situation.
• The technology its self is not harmful to the society, but the way society
uses technology to achieve specific goals is what results into negative
impacts of technology on the society.

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1.1 POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY
ON SOCIETY
1.TECHNOLOGY HAS IMPROVED MECHANIZED AGRICULTURE:
• Modern agricultural technology allows a small number of people to grow vast
quantities of food in a short period of time with less input which results into high
yields .
• Through government subsidies, small and medium-sized farmers have managed to
acquire plowing, sowing, watering and harvesting machines.
• The use of technology in agriculture has also resulted in the manufacturing of genetic
crops which can grow fast and they can be resistant to many pests and diseases.
• Also, farmers have access to artificial fertilizers which add value to the soil and boost
the growth of their crops and enable them to produce high-quality yields.
• Farmers in dry areas have been in a position to grow healthy crops, they use
advanced water pumps and sprinklers which derive water from rivers to the farms,
some of these processes can be automated to save time

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POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
2.TECHNOLOGY HAS IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION:
Transportation is one of the basic areas of technological
activity. Both society and businesses have benefited from
the new transportation methods. Transportation provides
mobility for people and goods.
The transportation system is grouped into four which
are:(1) road transportation used by automobiles, (2) air
transportation which is used by airplanes, (3) water
transportation which is used by ships and speed boats and
(4) space transportation used to go to the moon

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 POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
• The most used of all these is Road transportation,
this one facilitates the movement of goods and
people. Technologies like automobiles, buses, and
trucks have improved the way humans move and
how they transport their goods from one place to
another. Also, developing countries are getting
funds from wealthy countries to improve their road
transport which has resulted in the development of
rural remote areas.
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POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
3.TECHNOLOGY HAS IMPROVED COMMUNICATION:
• Technology has improved communication: Communication is
used for a number of purposes. Both society and organizations
depend on communication to transfer information.
• People use technology to communicate with each other.
Electronic media like radios, televisions, internet, social media
have improved the way we exchange ideas which can develop
our societies. In many countries, radios and televisions are
used to voice the concerns of the society, they organize live
forums where the community can contribute through mobile
phones or text service systems like tweeter.

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POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
• During political elections, leaders use radios, television and
internet media to reach the people they want to serve. A
good example is the presidential election in Nigeria and
many other places, ”Presidential candidates ” have
embraced the communication technology to reach and voice
out their concerns towards the development of Nigeria.
• Communication technologies like Televisions, radios, and
internet can be used to persuade, entertain and inform the
society.
• Small businesses have also used the internet and mobile
communication technology to grow and improve their
customer service
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POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
4.TECHNOLOGY HAS IMPROVED EDUCATION AND LEARNING
PROCESS:
• Education is the backbone of every economy. People need well and
organized educational infrastructures so that they can learn how to
interpret information.
• Many schools have started integrating educational technologies in
their schools with a great aim of improving the way students learn.
Technologies like smart whiteboards, computers, mobile phones,
iPads, projectors, and internet are being used in classrooms to boost
students moral to learn. Visual education is becoming more popular
and it has proved to be the best method of learning in many subjects
like mathematics, physics, biology, geography, economics and much
more.

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 POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
• The business community has invested money in
various educational technologies which can be
used by both teachers and their students. For
example, we have some platform today which allow
students and teachers to exchange academic
information at any time, this has made learning
mobile. Also, programs like Long distance learning
have opened boundaries to so many scholars
around the world.
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1.2. NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF
TECHNOLOGY ON SOCIETY
1. RESOURCES DEPLETION
• The more demand for new technologies and advancement of current
technologies, the more pressure we put on earth’s natural resources.
Look at the total number of mobile phones and computers being
manufactured today, our population is increasing every day and all
these billion consumers demand either a mobile phone or a
computer in their homes or offices. This is good news for the
manufacturers, like Apple or Samsung, the demand for their gadgets
is high, but to sustain this demand, they have to exploit Mother
Nature for resources like aluminum, once these resources are
extracted from the earth plates, they will never return back because
it took them a billion years to mature. That means that at one time,
we shall be left with no natural resource which can be a problem to
the future generation and economy.

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 NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY contd.
• Likewise, the intensive farming practices will
deplete the soil. This makes heavy applications
of commercial fertilizers necessary to yield
healthy harvests, but also these fertilizers have
chemicals which are dangerous to the soil and
human lives

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NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
2.Increased Population
• Technology has helped us live longer by improving
health facilities and aiding in the research for solutions
for most health problems which affect humans. This is
good news for developed countries but is bad news for
developing countries which have not been in a position
to access these health care benefits brought by
technology.
• The rate at which people reproduce is very high, the
mortality rate is low compare to the olden days .

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 NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON
SOCIETY Contd.
3.INCREASED POLLUTION
• Pollution affects the land we grow crops on, the water we drink and the air
we breathe. The increased demand for new technologies and advancement
of technologies has resulted in many manufacturing and processing
factories. As they work so hard to create the best technologies for both
society and business, they release harmful chemicals and gasses which have
polluted our environment and this has resulted in climate changes (global
warming). So the more technology we enjoy, the more we harm our
environment. Experts have tried to implement ways of reducing this impact
by encouraging factories to go green, to a small extent, this has been
achieved through the development of green technologies like; green cars,
green computers, but a great effort is still needed to reduce the pollution of
the air and the earth.

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 Technology Assessment (TA)

• TA is the study and evaluation of new technologies. It

is based on the conviction that new developments
and discoveries by the scientific community are
relevant for the world at large rather than just for the
scientific experts themselves

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Technology Assessment Cont.
• Technology assessments, which are a form of cost–
benefit analysis are difficult if not to carry out in an
objective manner
• Decisions and value judgments have to be made
regarding a number of complex issues such as
• (a) the boundaries of the analysis (i.e., what costs are
internalized and externalized),

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 Technology Assessment Cont.
• (b) the selection of appropriate indicators of
potential positive and negative consequences of
the new technology,

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 Technology Assessment Cont.
• Also, technology assessment recognizes the fact that scientists
normally are not trained ethicists/philosophers and they
ought to be very careful when passing ethical judgement on
their own, or their colleagues, new findings, projects, or work
in progress.
• Some of the major fields of TA are:
• Information technology, hydrogen technologies, nuclear
technology, molecular nanotechnology, pharmacology, organ
transplants, gene technology, artificial intelligence, the
Internet, health technology and many more.

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Forms and concepts of technology
assessment
• The following types of concepts of TA are those that are most visible
and practiced. There are:
• Parliamentary TA (PTA): TA activities of various kinds whose
addressee/beneficiary is a parliament. PTA may be performed
directly by members of those parliaments (e.g. in France and
Finland) or on their behalf of by related TA institutions (such as in
the UK, in Germany and Denmark) or by organizations not directly
linked to a Parliament (such as in the Netherlands and Switzerland).
• Expert TA ( Classical TA or Traditional TA concept): TA activities
carried out by (a team of) technical experts. Input from stakeholders
and other actors is included only via written statements, documents
and interviews, but not as in participatory TA.

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 Forms and concepts of technology
assessment Cont.
• Participatory TA (PTA): This TA activities methodologically
involve various kinds of social actors such as assessors and
discussants/participants, such as different kinds of civil
society organizations, representatives of the state systems,
also individual stakeholders and citizens (lay persons),
technical scientists and technical experts. Standard PTA
methods include consensus conferences, focus groups,
scenario workshops etc. Sometimes PTA is further divided
into expert-stakeholder PTA and public PTA (including lay
persons).

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 Forms and concepts of technology
assessment Contd.
Cont.
• Health TA (HTA): A specialized type of expert
TA informing policy makers about efficacy,
safety and cost effectiveness issues of
pharmaceuticals and medical treatments.

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 Forms and concepts of technology
assessment Contd.
• Discursive TA or Argumentative TA: This type of
TA wants to deepen the political and normative
debate about science, technology and society.
Accordingly, argumentative TA not only addresses
the side effects of technological change, but deals
with both broader impacts of science and
technology and the fundamental normative
question of why developing a certain technology is
legitimate and desirable.
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Technology assessment institutions around
the world
• Many TA institutions are:
• European Parliamentary Technology Assessment (EPTA)
• Centre for Technology Assessment (TA-SWISS), Bern,
Switzerland.
• Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian
Academy of Sciences, Vienna
• Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems
Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

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 Technology assessment institutions around
the world
• Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)
• The Danish Board of Technology Foundation,
Copenhagen
• Norwegian Board of Technology, Oslo
• Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST),
London
• Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA)
• Science and Technology Policy Research (SPRU), Sussex
• panel of the European Parliament, Brussels

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 Engineers-Functions & Responsibilities

• Engineering is the professional art of applying

science to the optimum conversion of the
resources of nature to benefit man.

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 Engineers-Functions & Responsibilities
CONT.
• Who is an Engineer?
• An engineer is a person qualified by
aptitude, education and experience to
perform engineering functions. Aptitude
refers to a capacity for work in a particular
field. An engineer must proffer solution to
abstract problems which involves design,
performance and efficiency.
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 Engineer-Functions & Responsibilities CONT.
• These procedures above can be carried out only by
a highly-educated, thinking individual working with
a well coordinated and cooperating team of,
Technologists, technicians and Artisans who can
convert the Engineer’s ideas and discoveries into
useful products and services. He must have the
ability to supervise the work of others and in due
time, the maturity to assume responsibility for the
direction of important tasks.
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 Each branch of Engineering has specific
functions
• There are various branches of Engineering but I will talk on few of them :
• Civil Engineering involved in construction, planning, designing and
maintenance of structures and it can also altar the geography to favor the
needs of human beings. They also specialize in building high ways. All these
bridges, fly over and motorable roads around us are the products of the
discipline.
• Chemical engineering engages in design, planning and construction of
plants and machineries for making products such as acids, drugs and other
pharmaceutical product in large scale production. The products/graduates of
this discipline can work in food processing industry, textile and all others
industries to mention but few. Chemical engineer can also operate all these
machineries.

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 Arms of Engineering Contd.
• Mechanical Engineering deals with designing, developing and manufacturing
and also involving in conversion energy to useful forms. Mechanical Engineers
deals with internal combustion of an engine such as steam turbine, jet, rocket
automobile vehicle, refrigeration, aviation and instrumentation.
• There are many branches of mechanical Engineering such as Manufacturing
Engineering, heating engineering, foundry Engineering etc.
• Electrical and Electrical Engineering: It is the one of the fastest growing field in
Engineering. It deals with production, design, planning and development of
electrical and electronics equipment that are use in generation, distribution and
transmission of electrical energy.
• In this computer age it involved in production of electrical, instrument and
electronics equipment. It also design electrical and electronics circuits.
• Others aspects of Electrical and Electronic Engineering includes
Telecommunication, control, Radio, instrumentation Engineering e.t.c.

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 Arms of Engineering Contd.
• Agricultural Engineering: This applied all others
branches of engineering to agriculture. Some of the
branches of this field are Power and Machinery, soil
and water and conservation engineering.
• Mining Engineering: It deals with location of
minerals and exploration of these minerals from the
earth. The broad field of mining involves in the
design of mining and ore refineries and others
systems for converting the physical and chemical
characteristics of metals
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 ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS Cont.:
• Engineers employ two types of resources – materials and energy
• But the major functions of all engineering branches are the following:
• Research. The research engineer seeks new principles and processes by
employing mathematical and scientific concepts, experimental
techniques, and inductive reasoning.
• Development. The development engineer applies the results of research
to useful purposes. Ingenious/inventive and creative application of new
knowledge may result in a working model of a new electronics circuit, a
chemical process, an industrial machine, or a gadget of optronics.

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 ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS Cont.:

• Design. In designing a structure or a product, the

engineer selects: methods, specifies materials, and
determines shapes to satisfy technical requirements
and to meet performance specification.
• Engineering design cores are of 6 stages:
1.Understanding the market (problem definition:
societal need), 2.Design specification (specifying
the needs) 3.Concept Design (idea of what to
do),4.Detail design,5.Manufacture,6.Sell
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 ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS Cont.:
• Construction. The construction engineer is responsible for
preparing the site, determining procedures that will
economically and safely yield the desired quality, directing
the placement of materials, and organizing the personnel and
equipment.

• Production. Plant layout and equipment selection, with

consideration of human and economic factors, is the
responsibility of the production engineer. He chooses
processes and tools, integrates the flow of materials and
components, and provides for testing and inspection.

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 ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS Cont.:
• Operation. The operating engineer controls machines, plants,
and organizations providing power, transportation, and
communication. He determines procedures and supervises
personnel to obtain reliable and economic operation of
complex equipment.
• Management and other functions. In some countries (U.S.A.,
Japan, etc) and industries, engineers analyze customer
requirements, recommend units to satisfy needs economically,
and resolve related problems. In some industries, too,
engineers decide how assets are to be used

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 ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS Cont.:

• Decision making. A successful engineer is

prepared for decision making on complex
problems in broad areas. He is skilled in the use of
sophisticated tools and creative in the development
of new techniques. He has the vision to conceive
vast projects, the talent to analyze them as
integrated man-machine-environment systems, and
the ability to predict their technical performance
and their human impact
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 ENGINEERING FUNCTIONS Cont.:
• professional responsibility may also be classified
into five groups in the practice of engineering:
• Safety and Welfare of the Public and of Clients,
• Professional Ethics,
• Legal Liabilities of Engineers,
• Environmental Responsibilities
• Quality Communications
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ENGINEERING RESPONSIBILITIES
• One activity common to all engineering work
is problem solution. The problem may involve
quantitative or qualitative factors. It may be
physical or economic; it may require abstract
mathematics or common sense. Of great
importance is the process of creative
synthesis or design, putting ideas together to
create a new and optimum solution of the
problem.

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 Responsibilities of a Registered Engineer to
the Profession
• An Engineer shall not knowingly take part in competition involving
the submission of proposal and designs for engineering work,
unless an assessor who shall be an Engineer of acknowledge
standing has been appointed, to whom all such proposals and
designs are to be submitted for adjudication/decision.
• A Registered Engineer shall not advertise engineering services in
any language or manner derogatory/insulting to the dignity of the
profession.
• It shall be the duty of every Registered Engineer to bring to the
attention of the Council any violation of the code conduct and to
endeavor to encourage other registered engineer to adhere to its
provisions.

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 Responsibilities of a Registered Engineer to
the Profession CONT.
• A Registered Engineer shall not either by
himself or through any person or firm, offer to
make payment by way of commission or
otherwise, for the introduction for employment.

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 Engineer’s Obligation
• If an Engineer discovers that there is likelihood of a possible
risk to others from the failure of his client or employer to
follow the Engineer’s direction, he has a duty to report such
an issue to the appropriate authority. Failure to report such an
issue could lead to revocation of the Engineer’s practicing
license. A way around the dilemma is for the engineer to issue
advice to the concerned client and/or employer and insist on
compliance, failure to which he /she makes the situation
public by reporting to the appropriate authorities. COREN
regulates the practice of Engineering in Nigeria and such
matters should be referred to the body

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Thank you for coming