Research Progress Report #1 Engineering in Turkey

For my country based research project I am going to take an in depth look at how the history of Turkey and its attempt at assimilation into the culture of Europe, has influenced the formation of engineering practices.

In large part the formation of Turkey's engineering education was in response to the Ottoman Empire's loss of power as the nations of Europe rose in world power in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. The French model of engineering highly influenced the blueprint of Turkish engineering, for example French became a required language in the military schools! After World War I the Ottoman lands were divided among the nations of Europe, increasing Europe's influence on Turkey. However soon after Turkey fought for its Independence and became the first republic in the Middle East in 1923. Quickly moving through its history, after World War II, the number of engineering students in Turkey continued to grow and therefore more and more universities were being established. One specific term I will be discussing in this project in the concept of liberalization. In the 1970's Turkey experienced one of its worst economic crisis, which included high inflation and unemployment rates. However what occurred consequently benefited the country exponentially. The government began a process of liberalizing the economy, which meant the economic focus became exporting instead of importing. The results of this shift in focus included, modernization in infrastructure (bridges, roads, etc. which calls for more engineers!) and an explosion of universities. These historical events play a prominent role in the development of engineering education. Turkey was prompted by Europe to engage in advancement for its engineers, but was also highly influenced by European methods, especially the French.

Another unique characteristic of engineering practices in Turkey is the inclusion of women in the engineering work force. After the establishment of the Republic, the government installed a series of legislation to "modernize" Turkey and the head of the country thought that reforms which gave women more rights was crucial. This not only paved the way for women in engineering but, began with a series of legislation to give women social rights. By 1930 women were given full political rights.

The European influence on Turkey has led the country to apply for acceptance into the European Union. Turkey's history as a former territory of the multiethnic Ottoman Empire sets it apart from the rest of its primary Islamic neighbors and its possible assimilation into the European Union would set it apart even more. I would like to examine how Europe influenced Turkey's engineering practices and how its movement towards European practices affects society as well. Turkey is a unique case because its engineering history includes the progressive notion of advancement of women in the field of engineering, which sets it a part from the engineering model of Europe. In an article by IEEE Technology and Society Magazine 2006, they examine "how the emergence of the engineering profession in different locations in the world tends to depend upon local ideas of societal development and progress…Because distinct images of progress are taken up within different countries, becoming key features of national identities, the emergence of the engineering profession becomes a key constituent feature of emerging nation states" (9). Therefore in this report I will look at how the engineering practices of Turkey have been formed by a conglomeration of ideas from Turkish society but also those of European societies. I will look into the question of whether this mix of engineering practices has addressed the needs of the Turkish people or whether it was simply a replication of that which was done in Europe.

Tantekin-Ersolmaz, S. Birgul and Ekinci Ekrem. "Engineering and Education Practices in Turkey" IEEE Society and Technology Magazine. Summer 2006: 26-35.

Research Project Report #1: Alana Snelling - Asian Engineering Education

Some of the fastest growing economies, educational systems, and expansion of new ideas have been emerging from Asian countries. To be honest, everything that we buy now comes from an Asian country and is shipped to the United States. Much of their infrastructure is being rebuilt so that they can use the land available to it’s highest potential. The only way to get the highest potential out of the small amount of land available to them, is to use highly skilled engineers that are able to compete amongst others all around the world. This type of skill requires a high status educational system and that is what I plan to study more in depth. My project will be the types of education needed in Asia to become an engineer, what being an engineer means, and how race and social status effect the possibilities of becoming an engineer.

I have read some studies informing me that many of the Asian countries do not have a formal style of engineering accreditation, yet many are moving in the direction of a more formalized western style education. I would like to find out why this is and the specific steps that Asia is taking in this new move. For China specifically, the growth of education for engineering is linked specifically with the growth of China’s economy. Another article claimed that China has the largest amount of students graduating from college than any other country in the world. My interest is in the number of students that graduate from engineering fields. Korea for example is trying to create accredited programs that allow for the students who graduate to become global competitors in the engineering world rather than specifying in techniques that apply only to Korea.

Engineering accreditation within all of the Asian countries seemed to differ slightly depending on many different factors. I believe that this differentiation is due to how education is dealt with in the Asian cultures. In my international political economy class, I learned that children’s education is the most prioritized thing of the family/house in Japan and China. The mother stays home to learn the information that their children are learning so that when the child comes home from school, the mother can then teach their children even more. Privatized after school programs were also put into place that help prepare students at age 5 for a test that will eventually be take at the age of 17. This test then is the ultimate deciding factor of what college they will attend and more importantly the life they they will lead. Another important factor to the level of education for engineering in Asian countries is the religion that the country associates itself with. Some countries may relate their religious ideas to Buddhism or Hinduism. More interestingly is the close connections with religion and political involvement. Many of these countries are regulated by the government who then have the final say in what is accepted and what is not in education. In some countries education may be on lock down by the government, while others lack in any sort of structure. I believe that all of these subjects have very strong impacts on the way Asian Engineering education is formed and how it has been shaped over time. I plan on researching how these cultural and social topics impact engineering education in more depth to grasp a deeper understanding of the engineering education system put into place in Asia.

Reasearch Progress Report 1: Thailand & Technological Development

Research Progress Report #1

For this report, I am planning to focus on the effect of engineering (and specifically, “appropriate technology”) in Thailand. I traveled abroad with the Cal Poly program and did an independent study project with a partner to develop a means of cleaning up the drinking water filtration system. Many Thai citizens collect the water they drink for the entire year during their rainy season from March-June. The water is collected off their roofs, and many currently have it flow directly into the storage tank. This poses a problem because the debris that is now present in the tank can take hours to settle. Our engineering challenge was to develop a means of making a purification system that would not be overly bulky, it had to hold enough water to effectively get the debris out (estimated to take the first 60 liters), and it had to be of reasonably low cost. After deliberating on a solution, we came up with a tank that the water (and debris) would flow into initially. Once the water filled to the top of this initial tank, it would automatically divert into the storage tank, and be safe for immediate drinking. Having worked with the people to see what they needed, we were able to effectively work for a solution, while also working with the current filtration system they had, which consisted of a mesh net to catch the larger debris before it flowed into the main storage tank.

In this report, I would like to focus on the types of engineering projects going on in Thailand. I’d like to investigate engineering practices mainly in the smaller villages. I have researched projects done by Engineers Without Borders (EWB), and I am looking to do more research on Thai-company based engineering work. My proposed thesis I am focusing on is: How is the western world looking to the eastern world with respect to engineering and technology, and how can they help foster a more effective and appropriate engineering style for the systems already in place in the other country? If anyone has suggestions on how I can improve or better focus my thesis, I would love to hear them!

My goal in this paper will be to show how engineering done in the western world (mostly relating to the US), is not directly applicable to the life of a Thai person. Having lived there, I have experienced how the day to day interactions of Thais are very different in comparison to those we have here in the United States. My goal is to expose these differences, and hopefully determine an approach to engineering education and its ability to expand its focus to a more global outlook. From the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal titled Civil Engineering, there is acknowledgment for the need to alter our view of engineering and how we apply it: “As the trend toward a more global and more knowledge-based society continues, the practice of engineering must be changed, and this change must be accomplished through engineering education reform.” As professional societies like EWB and ASCE move toward a more applicable style of engineering, we may be able to see a heightened value of global engineering and alternatives to expensive building.

I am mainly going to journals found on the Cal Poly Library website, and the aforementioned society pages. I will also be looking into the anti-globalization arguments against the application of appropriate technology. If anyone has more suggestions on where to look, I’d be happy to hear them!

Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, “The 21st-Century Engineer: A Proposal For Engineering Education Reform”. Engineering Education Reform, Civil Engineering. ASCE. November 2007, Pages: 46-47

Progress Report 1: A Revolution?

Is Latin America’s dependency on the United States a result of technology? It can be hard for people to comprehend the notion that technological advancements are not always beneficial but, unfortunately, countless scholars are proving that the development of underdeveloped countries, like Mexico, is due to the United States technological advancements.

Of course, no one can disregard the benefits technology has brought, especially, to the medical field. And the daily chores of the average American have definitely become much less strenuous, or not strenuous at all. However, the majority of the people in underdeveloped worlds, like Latin America, are currently working in worse conditions than if the United States hadn’t had an Industrial Revolution and ignited the movement towards technological advancement because “education, training, science, and technology are all very unevenly distributed through the world” (Arocena 18).

Although, advancements in the medical field have, of course, proven to help people in both developed and under-developed countries, the terrible work conditions in factories and the lack of means for an education are just hitting the surface of reasons why it doesn’t balance out in the end. The life of a factory worker in Mexico is, without a doubt, an undesired life and education is the most promising way to a satisfying life. Technology in Mexico, therefore, hurts the people more than helps them.

So what exactly is appropriate technology in the United States during the 21st century? If the United States has such an overwhelmingly wealth of knowledge within the technical field shouldn’t they be expected to use only technology that benefits the world? Organizations such as, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) have the right intentions. Their goals entail using new technology to benefit less fortunate people, with culture and environment, always in mind. With that, this introduces the main problem society faces in the field of technology: greed.

The misuse of technology is due to greed. The wealthy business man who only cares about how to turn one dollar in to two dollars is disheartening. The people are forgotten. In Mexico, the people’s culture is not even considered. It is because of greed and so many American’s established independent way of thinking that explains why so many underdeveloped countries are currently stuck in a vicious cycle. For example, “genetic engineering is being used to increase poor people’s dependence on the corporate sector for seeds, agricultural inputs, and produce,reinforcing farmers’ dependence on chemical herbicides and fertilizers” (Arocena 24). When practices, such as this, become installed in to the society it becomes very hard to change and it prevents room for innovation and or small farmer success. Native born American’s do not understand or comprehend other countries more “family” way of thinking.

In my opinion, it is, hands down, the development of technology that led to the “development of the underdeveloped” countries, such as those in Latin America. Frank’s idea “reproduces Baran’s thesis that the extraction of surplus from the periphery by the center limits the for- mer’s ability to grow” (Vernango 555). Suggesting that there was a determined man or woman to end the circle of dependency how would he or she accomplish it? Theotônio dos Santos concluded in his dependency analysis that only “a revolution—would allow a break in the circle of dependency and permit true development in the periphery” (Vernango 555).

Works Cited

Technology, Finance, and Dependency: Latin American Radical Political Economy in Retrospect

Matias Vernengo

Review of Radical Political Economics, Fall 2006; vol. 38: pp. 551-568

Technology, Inequality, and Underdevelopment: The Case of Latin America

Rodrigo Arocena and Peter Senker

Science, Technology & Human Values, January 2003; vol. 28: pp. 15-33

Critical Response #1: Jeffrey Forrester

While I agree with your view of Lucena’s article of the history of engineering and the differences it has created in modern engineering, you fail to mention the differences between the countries’ governments during the development of engineering. I believe that the differences in government, not the history Lucena describes is a better explanation for the differences in engineering.
Looking at the state of government of Britain, France, and the United States during engineering’s earliest stages we see that France and the United States have both had revolutions, while Britain had not been successfully invaded (last successful invasion was in 1066 by the Norman French) or had a revolution for hundreds of years. This is why Britain’s government, which due to their long lasting government are slow to pass bills, leave engineering to the people. So, the development of engineering in Britain is left to the engineers who themselves learned through experience, which gave them a bias towards experience. This bias still holds. On the other hand, France and the United States both had new governments while engineering was developing. These new governments passed laws and bills promoting engineering schools to be built. France’s early engineering universities were based off of the classical learning system (partly to be accepted by these universities) which emphasizes theory, and America’s universities were based off of France’s successful engineering schools. This early emphasis of theory in the classroom leads both of these countries to lean towards theory today. As America formally gained its independence from Britain in with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, it had time to be affected by Britain’s view of engineering. This may be why America values experience more than France.

Reading Response #1

The nature of engineering and the way engineers are trained is crucial to understanding our society and the lens it has been constructed under. Before the study of Science and Technology had emerged Science/Tech was generally portrayed as solely a positive thing for society and the negative social implications were not necessarily addressed. This was a huge issue because often times Science/Tech was created under a patriarchal model of linear progression and people began to see this as natural and inevitable.

For this reason exactly the ways in which scientists and engineers are working and being trained “are matters of vital concern in our society.”(2-Donovan). To start out we can examine British engineering and how it began focusing on ideals of craftsmanship, hard work and emphasized the importance of personality in the working world. British engineers utilized their freedom and normally began participating in the subject because they genuinely had a passion for it.

In my opinion this emphasis on creativity, individuality, and versatility in British engineering is a very positive thing to stress because it encourages engineers to think outside of the box because now day’s engineers must be thinking about much more than a product created under a linear model of progression. A socially and ethically responsible engineer must use creativity to address issues of global warming, racial injustices, unfair distribution of power, etc.

French engineering on the other hand seems to be less equipped at addressing current global issues because it was created under a patriarchal model that promoted classicism and nationalism. French engineering was “THE recognized way to the top, both socially and professionally” (1-Barsoux) which enticed many people, however, often times for the wrong reasons. In turn, many French engineers entered the field because of its associations with money and power.

In terms of addressing global issues the French model of engineering falls short because it was created under a hierarchal framework that inevitably was created to benefit some and hinder others. Unlike the British system, the French system inhibits creativity and individuality because it is too closely tied with politics and power. This of course makes it very difficult to address the multiplicity of global issues we currently face today.

In my opinion a great engineer would focus more on the classic British model of engineering and would combine creativity and technology in order to create a product that addresses a variety of needs based on a variety of global issues. The French engineering model may fall short in this sense because the desire to achieve social and professional status may impede their ability or want to create ethically fair/sustainable global engineering.

-Mariel Emanuel

The Ecosystem of Culture – Reading Response #1

Culture is an ever changing, ever growing and developing system, much like that of an ecosystem. Ecosystems are described by the balance that is maintained to support them; the ever changing relationships between species, the global “catastrophes” such as earthquakes or tsunamis, and the impact from a dominant species are all triggers of change. The delicate balance of an ecosystem can be easily upset, and sometimes with what is thought to be a small impact can cause some of the largest changes within the ecosystem. Culture can be described as an ecosystem: it continues to change and adapt to these impacts, both good and bad. Hess supports this ever changing ideology when he states “It is therefore unlikely that the world is becoming “more homogeneous”: there are both centripetal and centrifugal tendencies, merging cultures and emergent cultures.” Many ecosystems have been misunderstood and misinterpreted by us humans. We expect a strength and stability that is not always present – and are surprised when the ecosystem begins to fall apart. How is this any different than the human expectation of a stable cultural environment?

According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy (the chaos of a system) is always increasing – meaning that the overall trend of the world is toward chaos. Hess continues to support the idea of change and chaos when he states, “the phenomena of overlap and miscegenation will likely lead to such radical changes in the classification system that the very concepts of ethnic majority and minority are likely to undergo radical changes as well.” So many people expect and work towards cultural and social change, but the impacts they introduce to the cultures “break” the ecosystem of that culture causing a result not anticipated. It can be hard to understand how something as pesky as an aphid can have such an impact on an entire ecosystem. Consider a field-type ecosystem: if we removed the aphids from these fields, our goal being to remove them in order to allow the plant life to flourish (as the aphids continue to destroy the plant life – suppressing its growth), what would happen to the ladybugs who eat the aphids? Their source of food would be gone, their positive impact on the ecosystem removed. Next, the small birds and lizards would suffer, without a food source, they too would die out. As these smaller species continue to die, the plant life is taking over the landscape, this time however, the weeds have begun to flourish and are killing the beautiful flowers we had set out to save. Weeds are more durable and require less water and less transfer of seeds – they are tough. By now the entire ecosystem has changed, and for the worse. By trying to eliminate a small “problem” we undermined our own efforts. And in reality, were the aphids really such a problem? It is a matter of perspective, by looking at them and respecting the role they play in the existing ecosystem we can see their value.

The efforts to change social and cultural norms can be thought of in the same regard. Everything plays a role in the dynamics of culture, by making one small change, such as removing a well as a water source and providing running water in homes, as we discussed in class, the entire dynamic of the culture has changed – both for the better and the worse – and it cannot be changed back. Once a habit is learned, it is hard to loose that habit. Such as having the convenience of running water – imagine having to shower with a bucket. Buchanan touches on the idea of learned characteristics that build a culture. He discusses the culture of British Engineers, “Many of the engineers came from social and family backgrounds in which hard work was a prerequisite of survival, and the habit, once formed, lasted a professional lifetime.” These learned traits stayed with the young engineers their entire lives – and were the reason that the engineering culture in Britain is the way it is today – a unique ecosystem of its own.

Quotes from:

Hess “Culture and Society” + “Power and Politics”

Buchanan “The Life-Style of the Victorian Engineers”