Knowledge Strategy to Incorporate Public Health Principles in Engineering Education and Practice
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 135, Issue 2
Abstract
There is evidence that engineering products, processes, systems, and infrastructures are causing human illness in industrialized societies. A possible cause is the technical focus of engineering education and practice and their lack of emphasis on human health considerations in design and decision making. In this paper, the knowledge strategy of Vanderburg is proposed as the pedagogical basis for training undergraduate engineers in identifying and understanding human health problems to preventively address these problems in design and decision making. The knowledge strategy motivates changes to the traditional engineering curriculum to broaden the vantage point of engineering design and decision making, and to integrate principles from public health fields into design and decision making to prevent human illness. The import of public health principles from relevant life science and social science fields for inclusion in engineering education is discussed. The paper is concluded by discussing what public health contributions an enhanced engineering profession can make to industrialized countries.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Abramovitz, J. N. (2001). “Putting a value on nature’s free services.” Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial environmental issues, T. D. Goldfarb, ed., McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, New York.
Anderson, W. P., Kanaroglou, P. S., and Miller, E. J. (1996). “Urban form, energy and the environment: A review of issues, evidence and policy.” Urban Stud., 33(1), 7–35.
Calafat, A. M., Kuklenyik, Z., Reidy, J. A., Caudill, S. P., Ekong, J., and Needham, L. L. (2005). “Urinary concentrations of bisphenol A and 4-nonylphenol in a human reference population.” Environ. Health Perspect., 113(4), 391–395.
Costa, G., Pickup, L., and Di Martino, V. (1988). “Commuting—A further stress factor for working people: Evidence from the European community.” Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health, 60(5), 371–376.
Costanza, R., et al. (1997). “The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital.” Nature (London), 387(15), 253–260.
Daly, H. E., and Cobb, J. B. (1989). For the common good: Redirecting the economy toward community, the environment, and a sustainable future, Beacon Press, Boston.
Geller, A. L. (2003). “Smart growth: A prescription for livable cities.” Am. J. Public Health, 93(9), 1410–1415.
Ho, S. M., Tang, W. Y., Belmonte de Frausto, J., and Prins, G. S. (2006). “Developmental exposure to estradiol and bisphenol A increases susceptibility to prostate carcinogenesis and epigenetically regulates phosphodiesterase type 4 variant 4.” Cancer Res., 66(11), 5624–15632.
Jackson, R. J. (2003). “The impact of the built environment on health: An emerging field.” Am. J. Public Health, 93(9), 1382–1384.
Jackson, R. J., and Kochtitzky, C. (2001). Creating a healthy environment: The impact of the built environment on public health, Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse, Washington, D.C.
Lancaster, M. (2002). “Principles and concepts of green chemistry.” Green chemistry: An introductory text, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, U.K.
Lundie, S., Peters, G. M., and Beavis, P. C. (2004). “Life cycle assessment for sustainable metropolitan water systems planning.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 38(13), 3465–3473.
Muñoz-de-Toro, M., et al. (2005). “Perinatal exposure to bisphenol—A alters peripubertal mammary gland development in mice.” Endocrinology, 146(9), 4138–4147.
National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA). (2007). “Basic information regarding tin whiskers.” ⟨http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/background/index.htm⟩ (Aug. 7, 2007).
Norman, J., MacLean, H. L., and Kennedy, C. A. (2006). “Comparing high and low residential density: Life-cycle analysis of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.” J. Urban Plann. Dev., 132(1), 10–21.
Sagoff, M. (2001). “Can we put a price on nature’s services?” Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial environmental issues, T. D. Goldfarb, ed., McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, New York.
Sarigiannis, D., Sifakis, N. I., Soulakellis, N., Tombrou, M., and Schaefer, K. P. (2004). “Satellite-derived determination of PM10 concentration and of the associated risk on public health.” Proc. SPIE, 1, 408–416.
Singh, R. B., and Sloan, J. J. (2006). “A high-resolution emission factor model for North American motor vehicles.” Atmos. Environ., 40(27), 5214–5223.
Snyder, B. R. (1970). The hidden curriculum, Knopf, New York.
Timms, B. G., Howdeshell, K. L., Barton, L., Bradley, S., Richter, C. A., and vom Saal, F. S. (2005). “Estrogenic chemicals in plastic and oral contraceptives disrupt development of the fetal mouse prostate and urethra.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 102(19), 7014–7019.
U.S. EPA. (2000). “National water quality inventory: 2000 report.” Rep. No. EPA-841-R-02-001, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Green Building Council. (2007). “LEED rating system.” ⟨http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19⟩ (Aug. 2, 2007).
Vanderburg, W. H. (2000). “Tools for map making.” The labyrinth of technology, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 133–161.
Vanderburg, W. H. (2006a). “Can the university escape from the labyrinth of technology? Part 1: Rethinking the intellectual and professional division of labor and its knowledge infrastructure.” Bull. Sci., Tech. Soc., 26(3), 171–177.
Vanderburg, W. H. (2006b). “Can the university escape from the labyrinth of technology? Part 2: Intellectual map-making and the tension between breadth and depth.” Bull. Sci., Tech. Soc., 26(3), 178–188.
Vanderburg, W. H. (2006c). “Can the university escape from the labyrinth of technology? Part 3: A strategy for transforming the professions.” Bull. Sci., Tech. Soc., 26(3), 189–203.
Vanderburg, W. H. (2006d). “Can the university escape from the labyrinth of technology? Part 4: Extending the strategy to medicine, the social sciences, and the university.” Bull. Sci., Tech. Soc., 26(3), 204–216.
Vanderburg, W. H., and Khan, N. (1994). “How well is engineering education incorporating social issues?” J. Eng. Educ., 83(4), 357–361.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 15, 2007
Accepted: May 7, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.