The Human Side of Engineering

John Heywood

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9783031793783
• eBook ISBN:
  9783031793790
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Professional Development

While in many university courses attention is given to the human side, as opposed to the technical side of engineering, it is by and large an afterthought. Engineering is, however, a technical, social, and personal activity. Several studies show that engineering is a community activity of professionals in which communication is central to the engineering task. Increasingly, technology impacts everyone in society. Acting as a professional community, engineers have an awesome power to influence society but they can only act for the common good if they understand the nature of our society. To achieve such understanding they have to understand themselves. This book is about understanding ourselves in order to understand others, and understanding others in order to understand ourselves in the context of engineering and the society it serves. To achieve this understanding this book takes the reader on 12 intellectual journeys that frame the big questions confronting the engineering professions.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface and Introduction
• Acknowledgments
• 1 “It all Depends on What You Mean by...”
• 2 Thinking about Thinking
• 3 Tings are not Always What they Seem
• 4 Meaning—True or False: Real
• 5 From Perception to Self-Perception and a Little Management En-route
• 6 Sharing Problems: Living in
• 7 Thinking about Making a Good
• 8 Aspiration in Engineering
• 9 Preparing for the Future: Individuals and Organizations
• 10 Changing Us: Changing Society
• 11 Journey’s End: A New Beginning?
• 12 Questioning our Assumptions: Adaptability and Change
• Author’s Biography
• Author Index
• Subject Index