Sustainability and the formation of the civil engineer

Jowitt, Paul

doi:10.1680/ensu.157.2.79.41074

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This requirement to identify and deal successfully with 'messes' has also been identified as an issue of immediate concern in engineering practice. 9 The present authors argue that evaluation of the contribution of a project, process or product towards sustainable development is an example of a 'mess', that is, the decision concerns a complex system whose performance cannot be represented by a model that treats it only as an assemblage of component parts.…”

Section: Sustainable Development Decision Contexts and Complexitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Decision support methodology for complex contexts

Elghali

Clift

Begg

et al. 2008

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering

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Complex decision contexts involving multiple (and often competing) policy objectives are common in both strategic and operational decisions encountered in engineering projects or programmes. The need to consider multiple objectives and to address the concerns of diverse stakeholders raises particular difficulties in applying sustainable development principles to defining and choosing an optimum project, process, product, policy or solution. This paper derives some fundamental characteristics of appropriate support for sustainable development decisions. Using these characteristics, three methodologies, which have been proposed as support tools for making strategic decisions and assessing policy choices for their contributions towards sustainable development, are reviewed critically with reference to their theoretical basis and informed by case studies of engineering applications. Recommendations are made to support best practice and to develop more effective support for such decisions in future

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Section: Sustainable Development Decision Contexts and Complexitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Decision support methodology for complex contexts

Elghali

Clift

Begg

et al. 2008

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering

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“…This has been at a time of transition moving from the ages of the industrial revolutions to the information age. Jowitt (2004) argued that we have also moved from a rational age of engineering to a more holistic systems approach. The rational age led to the development of economic infrastructure over the last two centuries; economic infrastructure concerns the movement of people, resources, products and, more recently, knowledge.…”

Section: The Education Of the Civil Engineermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This age was consistent with the need for engineering skills based on scientific principles. It also led, according to Jowitt (2004), to the problems of congestion, air pollution, damage to the environment, global warming, over-abstraction of watercourses, water pollution, urban blight and social injustice because of failure to anticipate the consequences at a systems level. This requires a balance of the economic, environmental and social issues at all scalespolitical (local, regional, national and supranational) and spatial (urban, periurban, suburban/rural Downloaded by [Northeastern University] at 14:05 28 November 2014 and land/coastal/marine-based), involving stakeholders to resolve complex, less well-defined problems.…”

Section: The Education Of the Civil Engineermentioning

confidence: 99%

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The 2011 James Forrest Lecture – engineering education – a historical perspective of the future

Clarke¹

2012

Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems

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The decision in 1747 to create the Ecole Pont et Chausses in Paris to educate engineers has had a significant effect on higher education. The original programme was founded on underlying mathematical principles of calculus, geometry and algebra which, through practice, led to creative solutions. Through innovation driven by scientific discoveries and societal demands, the programmes have evolved into research-led, industry-informed learning experiences. It is this practice of creating a corpus of knowledge and then going on to challenge that knowledge that leads to the contribution that engineers make to society. Recognising and understanding the balance between tradition and innovation is a key feature of engineering degree programmes that equip graduates with a habit of mind that enables them to deal with future challenges. This strengthens the need for research-led teaching that is industry-informed. Achieving that balance has always been difficult but its success is demonstrated by the built environment in which we live, which has been, in part, created by civil engineering graduates. This paper, the written version of the Institution of Civil Engineers 2011 James Forrest Lecture, traces the development of this philosophy, how the consequences have benefited society and how it will develop.

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“…Even in the realm of engineering education, the narrow, discipline-based approach to engineering education was being challenged by the need to get systems thinking into engineering practice, not least in terms of what had emerged as the need to address sustainable development and with it the need to set the problem boundaries wider and to include social, environmental and economic objectives in the decision criterion (Jowitt 2004).…”

Section: Equilibrium: the Relationship Between External 'Forces' And mentioning

confidence: 99%

A systems journey – with the Systems Boys

Jowitt

2010

Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems

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This paper is a personal perspective on the development of systems in civil engineering and in particular the roles of Munro, Brown, Blockley, Elms and Jowitt. The paper traces the development of civil engineering systems thinking from the 1960s to the beginning of the twenty-first century -from hard systems, operational research methodologies to soft systems and reflective practice. It parallels the special contribution of Blockley in this process.

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Sustainability and the formation of the civil engineer

Cited by 9 publications

References 5 publications

Decision support methodology for complex contexts

Decision support methodology for complex contexts

The 2011 James Forrest Lecture – engineering education – a historical perspective of the future

A systems journey – with the Systems Boys

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