Understanding the U.S. building regulatory system and the roles of standards and their development organizations is essential to the introduction of new products or practices and to the improvement of the building regulatory system. U.S. practices for development and enforcement of building standards and codes are described for the guidance of those who seek to develop or apply improved building products or practices. The paper reviews current and near‐future expected changes in the international construction market for products and services. The importance of standards as a basis for regulations, contracts, and quality‐assurance systems is discussed. A review of building and construction standards and their development and use in the United States is covered, including product approval systems that are supported by laboratory accreditation and certification. The European EC 92 programs, the development and use of international standards, and the related certification and testing programs are reviewed.

While ethical theories represent systematic reasoning processes for the analysis of value‐laden problems and can therefore be taught, morals are highly personal and cannot be learned in the usual manner. This paper outlines a system for categorizing ethical theories based on the classification of action versus result, self versus other, and the definition of what is to be achieved—either a search for happiness/contentment/fulfillment or a meeting of contractual obligations to society or to one's religion. These classifications define a feasible space for the categorization of ethical theories. This paper also argues that while ethics should be taught at our engineering colleges and universities, morals cannot and should not be taught. University students will, however, use their parents, peers, and especially their professors as role models for the continued development of their moral values, and this places an additional and often unanticipated responsibility on the faculty.

This paper describes the development of a seminar devoted to ethics and professionalism in engineering. The course is designed to provide an introduction to the role of the engineer in society in addition to an overview of the ethical and professional responsibilities of the engineer. Another important factor in offering the seminar is related to the recommendations of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which states that, “an understanding of the ethical, social, economic, and safety considerations in engineering practice is essential for a successful engineering career.”

Typical course discussion topics include: Ethical and human factors in construction and design safety; professionalism and ethics in highway construction; infrastructure, problems and possible solutions; the ethics and safety of nuclear power; the challenger disaster, a question of ethics; and quality in the constructed project manual, introduction and implementations. Evaluations indicate that the seminar is well received. Not only are the topics interesting to students, but they are perceived to present new ideas, concepts, and information, which might be of use during the students' professional careers.

Engineers are increasingly involved in designing comprehensive solid‐waste management plans for rural areas and small towns. Hazardous waste from households, farms, and some small businesses is part of the solid‐waste stream in rural areas. Rural areas are characterized by a combination of lower per‐^capita solid‐waste generation rates and equal or higher hazardous‐waste generation rates than urban areas. Thus, the fraction of hazardous waste in a rural landfill may be larger than that in an urban landfill. Farms are unique as generators of hazardous waste because they generate the normal household hazardous waste as well as pesticide residues and petroleum products associated with farm equipment management. In rural areas, small businesses, which generate hazardous waste, include primarily vehicle and farm maintenance shops, dry‐cleaning establishments, print and photography shops, and school shops and laboratories. A framework for hazardous‐waste management should include product substitution, good housekeeping, alternative technology, recycling, collection days, and waste exchanges. The cost of a household's hazardous‐waste collection day ranges from $0.50 to $6.80 per person living in the city, with the higher cost associated with the smaller towns.

Professional responsibility/professionalism has been an important aspect of engineering throughout history. Records from as early as 6000 B.C. illustrate the public's desire that engineers be held responsible for their actions. Responsibility was essential to ensuring that the professional's work was of a high quality and safe! Public requirements for ethics and professionalism have continued, over the years, to become more standardized. This has led to the promulgation of laws concerning what professionals can and cannot do in the practice of their profession. While the modern public is concerned with quality of the work, they also expect the professional to practice morally and ethically. The Texas Legislature drafted the Texas Engineering Practice Act (TEPA) to define the basis for professional engineering conduct, but professional responsibility/professionalism encompasses much more than that narrowly defined by the act. Professional responsibility is based upon personal ethics, morals, and the dedication to always doing what is right.

The format requirements for dam‐break emergency action plans, whether for federal or state government agencies, have common elements that must be addressed before the plan is accepted for implementation. The use of standardized elements in emergency action plans, although meeting the intent of government requirements, can lead to largely ineffective plans if site‐specific concerns are not addressed. These site‐specific concerns include the emergency action plan participants, existing and proposed communication networks, available and necessary emergency supplies, dam location considerations, and the type of dam involved. Failure to adequately address site‐specific concerns could expose the author of the emergency action plan to liability. It is the emergency action plan author's responsibility to look beyond the general plan formats presented by federal and state dam‐safety agencies. The emergency action plan guidelines described in this paper should assist engineers, planners, dam owners, and local government officials in developing and evaluating effective dam‐break emergency action plans.

Historically, technology has improved the human condition, and it remains a major hope for further improvement worldwide. Yet its consequences have not all been positive. Environmental and social costs have accrued; many of these were unanticipated at the time the technology was introduced. Three ethical frameworks are examined for what they suggest about the process by which decisions on new technologies are made. A case study, focused on a water‐development project, is used to provide specificity. The impacts of alternative approaches for supplying water to Denver, Colorado, are examined in the context of deontological (duty‐based), teleological (utilitarianism), and mixed deontological (utilitarianism with attention to our duty not to harm) ethical frameworks. Results suggest that these frameworks can provide assistance in deciding among alternatives. But, more importantly, the frameworks, taken together, suggest 10 components of a process that could lead to better decisions. Some of these components are already part of the environmental impact statement process; more are part of the technology assessment process. But, others have not yet been incorporated in societal controls of technology.

Today, bridge inspection is a very systematic procedure. In order to assist in this effort, national bridge inspection standards have been developed for the use of various state and county agencies. This paper presents an overview of the inspection procedures used and investigates problems associated with the implementation of inspection standards. It recommends that additional funds are required to train inspectors and to purchase equipment necessary to perform thorough inspections. The study was conducted in a typical region on the Gulf Coast. On‐system inspections revealed deteriorations that were, for the most part, cosmetic in nature. The deficiencies encountered were found not to greatly affect the structural integrity of the facilities under investigation. However, the off‐system inspections revealed that 41.2% of the structures in this category have a load‐carrying capacity below H10. In addition, 8.3% of off‐system bridges were recommended for closure. Various recommendations that can be followed to upgrade structures with substandard ratings are also provided. In addition, the findings indicate that rural‐type bridge infrastructure may be in poor condition compared with urban‐type bridge infrastructure.

The traditional four‐year undergraduate program in civil engineering is constantly under pressure from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), industry, and educators themselves. The idea of a five‐year program is hardly a new one. There are many current factors that point to an increasing pressure to lengthen the current program. At the same time, student preparation and financial burdens have been factors in adding to the average time required to complete an undergraduate degree. This paper deals with the current climate and proposes an idea whose time has come again: a five‐year program leading directly to a master's degree. Those institutions that offered five‐year bach‐elor‐of‐science programs, as recently as the early 1960s, eventually found it difficult to compete for students. The professional program, leading directly to a master's degree, has also been attempted and usually was abandoned. The proposed program is a compromise that tries to address the concerns of everyone associated with civil engineering education.

National needs, world power restructuring, and global problems demand creative solutions and innovative strategies. Creativity is the generation of ideas that are novel to the individual or to the group involved in the task. Creative productivity depends on the depth and breadth of information and on the individual's capacity for unrestricted thinking. Akin to the creative act, there is also a creative attitude, which can be stimulated or inhibited. The study of the personalities of creative individuals has revealed common cognitive and motivational traits. Neurological explanations for most of these phenomena are still lacking, however, findings already point to the importance of nurturing the brain at all ages. Several steps have been recognized in the creative process. The same steps are identified in the scientific method, and in a wide range of engineering methods. Inhibitors and stimulators of creativity can be readily found in the practice of civil engineering. Computer systems can be designed to stimulate engineers' creativity. Education and the proper design of the work environment can help develop and maintain creative abilities, with the right blend of critical thinking and engineering curiosity.

This paper examines the role of the postgraduate master of science in construction management/project management as a means of promoting interdisciplinary education and training for professionals from the construction and development industries with emphasis on mature students. While any program that accepts students from such a diverse set of professional and academic backgrounds is likely to suffer from some problems, once these have been overcome, this type of postgraduate education has proved capable of overcoming the “tunnel vision” of many managers engendered by the narrow and highly specialized undergraduate professional education in the United Kingdom. Integrative collaborative project work is suggested as a means of facilitating the broadening processes and also to promote the pooling of knowledge and experience from within the student group. The paper also argues for the development of credit transfer and flexible modes of study—full‐time, part‐time, and distance learning—which are appropriate to needs of the midcareer manager.

The United States is facing a shortage of engineers, and while there have been many recently developed progroams aimed at reversing this decline, more active recruitment must still be directed toward women and minorities, since it is individuals in these categories that are underrepresented in the engineering profession. Because declining enrollments produce a corresponding decline in graduates, other offices throughout the university can also be affected. One such office is the career‐services office, since it arranges interviews between potential employers and prospective engineering graduates. Representatives from engineering and career services at Youngstown State University jointly developed an innovative program to generate interest in engineering among young scholars. These scholars were brought on campus during the summer to participate in a variety of hands‐on engineering experiences, including numerous off‐campus field trips. After a successful pilot program, modifications were made the following year based on the reactions of the participants. Specific program activities and the participants' reactions are described in detail.