Social and Cultural

1. Social and Cultural

2. What to learn How engineering (projects) affects the social and cultural aspects How society or culture change engineering Social responsibilities How engineering can help solving social issues

3. Cultural and Social Dimension Definition – what is cultural or social? What is cultural Relating to the culture, that is, the habits, traditions and beliefs of a society Culture The way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people at a particular time 飲食文化, PolyU student culture Because we now have refrigerator so icy mooncake is more popular

4. Cultural and social Social Relating to society and living together in an organized way Relating to activities in which you meet and spend time with other people and which happen during the time when you are not working Now you use FaceBook instead of meeting your friends in person

5. Social dimension • Social – related to society • It could be anything! • Housing • Waste treatment • Poverty, etc

6. Social issues • Poverty – jobs • Lack of housing • Lack of water – environmental • Pollution • Drug and alcohol abuse • Can these be changed by engineering and how? • These also related to sustainability!

7. Cultural and Sociological Dimensions Engineering in a social context

8. Engineering changes our surroundings All changes to our surroundings affect us and the rest of the society we live in – and therefore will change society’s culture and social behavior Any example based on PolyU? So all engineering advances and projects will affect the cultural and social aspects of our society

9. Engineering technology Culture society environment

10. Surroundings change engineering • The type of society and its culture will also affect the engineering projects • Any example in Hong Kong? • High speed railway • MTR

11. By its very nature engineering is closely related to society and human behavior. Every product or construction used by modern society are influenced by engineering design. Engineering design is a very powerful tool to make changes to environment, society and economies, and its application brings with it a great responsibility (with great power comes with great responsibilty) Engineering in a social context

12. Engineering advances will affect the culture of our society Very old example Hong Kong changes from agricultural to industrial then financial society due to the advance in technology (agree/disagree?) Use of email instead of “writing letter” for communication, sending e-card, SMS, Whatsapp instead of a X’mas card Download music instead of buying a CD (when was the last time you pay for the music in your cell phone?)

13. More examples The MTR and road networks create many new “urban areas” which use to be remote areas Spend holiday in other countries, or in China due to the advance in aviation/transportation technologies Use octopus card instead of cash (culture or social?)

14. Culture changed by engineering Give one example how the Chinese culture is changed by engineering

15. How about society or cultural changes engineering? Any examples? How about “Tin Shui Wai” How about new cell phone design 塱原濕地

16. Many Engineering Institutions have established codes of practice and codes of ethics to guide members and inform the public at large. Engineering projects can be subject to controversy(爭議). Examples from different engineering disciplines include the development of chemical weapons, the High-speed railway, the design and use of Sports Utility Vehicles and the extraction of oil. In response, some western engineering companies have enacted serious Corporate and Social Responsibility policies. Engineering in a social context

17. Engineering is a key driver of human development. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular has a very small engineering capacity which results in many African nations being unable to develop significant infrastructure without outside aid. The attainment of many of the Millennium Development Goals requires the achievement of adequate engineering capacity to develop infrastructure and sustainable technological development. Engineering in a social context

18. We can end poverty 2015 http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

19. All overseas development and relief NGOs make considerable use of engineers to apply solutions in disaster and development scenarios. A number of charitable organizations aim to use engineering directly for the good of mankind: Engineers Without Borders Engineers Against Poverty Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief Engineers for a Sustainable World Any similar organization in Hong Kong? Engineering in a social context

20. In our culture – what is the general perception of engineering? • Engineering is a well respected profession ? • Yes/No? • For example, in Canada it ranks as one of the public's most • trusted professions. • What is the situation in Hong Kong/Chinese culture • Example – engineer is well respected? • Getting a “certified true copy” Cultural presence of Engineering

21. Certify a copy of a document • http://www.hsbc.com.mo/1/PA_1_2_S5/content/website/misc/common-en/form-download/en/pdf/Limited_Company_Established_Overseas.pdf • http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/Applicationinformation/DG_174151

22. Cultural presence of engineering • Sometimes engineering has been seen as a somewhat dry, uninteresting field in popular culture(commonly abbreviated as pop culture), can be defined as the sum of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture(wikipedia)).

23. One difficulty in increasing public awareness of the profession is that average people, in the typical run of ordinary life, do not ever have any personal dealings with engineers, even though they benefit from their work every day. By contrast, it is common to visit a doctor/dentist at least once a year, the accountant at tax time, and, occasionally, even a lawyer. Cultural presence of Engineering

24. Personal dealing with engineers • Examples? When would you require the service of an engineer? • Fixing your toilet/pumping? • Fixing your TV, network, or computer? Do you respect whose “engineers” or do you regard them as “engineer”?

25. Cultural presence of Engineering • In Western culture • This has not always been so - most British school children in the 1950s were brought up with stirring tales of 'the Victorian Engineers', chief amongst whom were the Brunel, the Stephenson, Telford and their contemporaries.

26. Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859)was best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern day engineering. George Stephenson(1781 – 1848) was an Englishcivil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steamlocomotives and is known as the "Father of Railways". Cultural presence of Engineering Thomas Telford(1757 - 1834) was a stonemason, architect and civil engineer and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.

27. Cultural presence of Engineering How about examples in the Chinese culture?? Are there any famous Chinese engineers? 諸葛孔明 鲁班 (我国的土木工匠们都尊称他为祖师)

28. In science fiction engineers are often portrayed as highly knowledgeable and respectable individuals who understand the overwhelming future technologies. The Star Trek characters Montgomery Scott, Geordi La Forge, Miles O'Brien, B'Elanna Torres, and Charles Tucker III are famous examples. Most of the above are characters from Star Trek the Next Generation first shown in “September 28, 1987” Montgomery Scott – engineer from the original Star Trek TV series ( or the movie Star Trek release in 2009) Charles Tucker III – from the TV series Star Trek : Enterprise Cultural presence of Engineering

29. The Enterprise

30. Image of an engineer in Chinese culture • Any TVB drama features an engineer as major characters? • Can you name an engineer (real or fictitious) • Is he an engineer?

31. An Engineer?

32. Cultural presence of Engineering A new perspective of “Engineering” “Why do so many terrorists have engineering degrees?” but recently there is an article with such a title!!!! “engineers, in particular, were three to four times more likely to become violent terrorists than their peers in finance, medicine or the sciences”

33. Cultural presence of Engineering Occasionally, engineers may be recognized by the "Iron Ring"--a stainless steel or iron ring worn on the little finger of the dominant hand. This tradition began in 1925 in Canada for the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer as a symbol of pride and obligation for the engineering profession.

34. Some years later in 1972 this practice was adopted by several colleges in the United States. Members of the US Order of the Engineer accept this ring as a pledge to uphold the proud history of engineering. A Professional Engineer's name may be followed by the post-nominal lettersPE or P.Eng in North America. In much of Europe a professional engineer is denoted by the letters IR, while in the UK and much of the Commonwealth the term Chartered Engineer applies and is denoted by the letters CEng. Cultural presence of Engineering

35. How is the work of engineers shaping the society? • How can we accomplish engineering social responsibility nowadays and in the longer term? Cultural and Social Dimensions

36. Technology shaping social changes • Reduction of poverty • Improvement in health • Lessened appeal of socialism • Rise of living standard? • Invention and discoveries • Mass production • Sustainable development

37. Engineering Social Responsibility • What do we mean by this? You have heard of corporate social responsibility (企業社會責任) – that is how organisations take into account the economic, social and environmental impacts of the way they operate. • For example include “lunch break” with pay • As engineers, we can apply similar ‘precautionary principles’.

38. Engineering Social Responsibility • There is an opportunity, and indeed a moral obligation, for us to set a standard of engineering design that benefits the environment in both the long and the short-term. • There are major forces at play: climate change, water shortages and energy issues, all of which mean we must constantly think about the overall sustainability of our designs.

39. A Response to Climate Change • In response to climate change, going carbon neutral is a way to reduce the impacts associated to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions created during the business or production cycle. • Given that climate change is a worldwide phenomenon, the concept of carbon neutrality is based on the principle that a GHG emissions reduction achieved elsewhere has the same positive effect as a reduction made locally.

40. Why go carbon neutral? Motives to develop a robust corporate or product carbon-neutral strategy may be based on one or more of these elements: • Regulatory. By voluntarily measuring and assigning costs to carbon emissions, a company can prepare for a future carbon-constrained economy in which GHG emissions are regulated and/or taxed.

41. Why go carbon neutral? • Financial. Effectively managing GHG emissions can help companies generate long-term value by cutting costs, reducing risk, and increasing revenues. Going carbon neutral can be a central part of this management strategy and can help to establish a framework for identifying and pursuing cost-effective emissions reduction and savings opportunities.

42. Why go carbon neutral? • Marketing. Demonstrating environmental leadership on the corporate, product, or service level can create strong brand presence, increase customer loyalty, and appeal to new clients and the general public. First movers in the area of carbon neutrality are likely to gain an edge over business-as-usual competitors, particularly as environmental awareness and public opinion on climate change grows.

43. Why go carbon neutral? • Corporate Social Responsibility. Neutralizing GHG emissions is a powerful way to show stakeholders (e.g., customers, shareholders, community, nongovernmental organizations) that a company is taking responsibility for emissions and addressing climate change. By going carbon neutral, a firm can have a significant positive impact on world climate.

44. Carbon offsets • When releasing GHG emissions into the atmosphere, a company can effectively neutralize their global warming impact by purchasing carbon offsets. • Offsets are emissions reductions achieved by projects elsewhere, such as energy efficiency investments, wind farms, or solar installations. By purchasing these reductions, a firm’s emissions levels and their net climate impact are reduced.

45. Carbon offsets • Offset purchases will form the final component of a carbon neutral program, supplementing measures taken to reduce the organization carbon footprint, including those related to internal reduction and green power purchases.

46. Examples of carbon offset program • Forest restoration project – Maple Ridge, B.C. • Maple Ridge, British Columbia is the site of a forest restoration project that aims to create a forest that will continue to be healthy beyond the lifespan of the current generation of trees, maximize the amount of CO2 that can be sequestered (or absorbed), and emulate natural forest growth.

47. Carbon offset program • Landfill Gas Recovery Project – Niagara Falls, Ontario • The landfill gas recovery project - located in Niagara Falls, Ontario - captures landfill gas from the East Quarry landfill and distributes it to a nearby plant that produces recycled content paper.

48. A response to climate change Carbon Neutrality • Hence this term has been used to describe a variety of different policies, ranging from operational activities (e.g. running a Government department) to the planning of a new city.

49. Case study • Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

50. Project Milestones April 2007 November 2007