Professional Formation of Engineers’ Conceptions of “the Public”: Early-Concept Exploratory Research

Lambrinidou, Yanna; Canney, Nathan E.

doi:10.18260/p.25970

Cited by 2 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Once we entered the second phase of coding, which involved re-coding the first three documents and coding the rest of the 11 documents using our codebook, we added a few more codes to our list that we developed inductively from the new documents we reviewed. 3 Our final codebook consisted of a total of 99 codes (Appendix), falling under six broad themes given in Table 2.…”

Section: Codingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consumers [1] b. Customers [2] c. Developing [3] d. Engaged [4] e. Entrepreneurs [5] f. Expect more from engineering [6] g. Lacking information (about engineering/engineers) [7] h. Lacking/desiring technologies [8] i. Poor [9] j. Technologically illiterate [10] k. Trusting of engineering profession [11] l. Unable to meet basic needs/improve quality of life [12] m. Underserved [13] n. Unprepared to participate in discussions about technology [14] o.…”

Section: Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They point to limitations in engineers' training and, by extension, competency in determining and promoting the "social good," 2 as well as to an increasing number of contemporary cases involving engineers' failure to protect the public's health, safety, and welfare. 3 Integral to the engineering profession's service ideal is a relational dimension that portrays engineers as inextricably connected to society. However, in their day-today work, engineers tend to make complex and critical decisions -often with significant societal implications -in a relational vacuum, where publics are imagined rather than engaged with.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 This background shapes not only how engineers view their profession, but also how they envision themselves and, in contradistinction, "the public." Postulating that different imaginaries of "the public" reinforce different kinds of professional identity and practice, we hypothesized that engineering education promotes imaginaries that distance engineers from the publics they serve.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this process, "the public" becomes a rhetorical, as opposed to an empirical, space that reinforces the engineering profession's service ideal and legitimizes engineers' work as promoting the social good, regardless of how diverse publics articulate their own visions, define their own needs, and envision the role of technological applications in their own lives. In light of psychological research establishing a link between professional distancing from those who might be affected by one's actions, moral disengagement, and unethical decision-making 7,8,9,10 we [suggested] that this rhetorical space comprises fertile ground for suboptimal professional decisions, unethical conduct, and ultimately public harm 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Engineers' Imaginaries of "the Public": Content Analysis of Foundational Professional Documents

Lambrinidou¹,

Canney²

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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This paper presents results from a content analysis of foundational engineering documents with respect to characterizations of the relationship between engineering and "the public." Fourteen documents were reviewed, including National Academy of Engineering (NAE) reports, ABET accreditation criteria, disciplinary "Bodies of Knowledge," engineering codes of ethics, and organizational/programmatic brochures of leading entities in Learning Through Service (LTS). These documents were selected as repositories of the engineering profession's identity, vision, ambition, and perceived relationship with society. The purpose of the analysis was to identify manifest and latent messages about the engineering profession's institutionally sanctioned imaginaries of "the public."Guided by a theoretical framework of social imaginaries, three reviewers used qualitative data analysis to identify prevalent themes in how the engineering profession tends to conceptualize "the public." Ninety-nine codes were developed and were broadly divided into six themes: characterizations of "the public," professional duties related to "the public," relationship between engineers and "the public," societal problems in need of engineering solutions, engineers' "social footprint" over time, and vision or mission statements. The most prevalent theme identified overall characterized engineers as benefitting "the public." That engineers "solve problems," and the importance of building or sustaining engineers' professional image in the eye of "the public," were also commonly discussed. Predominant characterizations of "the public" were as members of "developing" countries (e.g., economically, technologically, in terms of industrial capacity and/or sustainable engagement with the environment) and as "lacking information" (e.g., about engineers or what engineers do).These results are part of a larger study about engineers' imaginaries of "the public" and how these imaginaries might influence the ways engineers see themselves and approach their work, the problems they attempt to solve, and the diverse publics they aim to serve. By examining dominant messages in these documents, as well as noticing absent messages, we can begin to understand the ideologies that inform the critical but often elusive boundary that engineers raise between their profession and society. As such, our analysis constitutes a first step toward deeper insight into how the engineering profession's identity vis-à-vis "the public" might enhance or weaken engineering practice and, ultimately, how it might support or undermine the profession's aspiration to promote the social good.

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Section: Codingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Engineers' Imaginaries of "the Public": Content Analysis of Foundational Professional Documents

Lambrinidou¹,

Canney²

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Where does the Personal Fit within Engineering Education? An Autoethnography of one Student's Exploration of Personal-Professional Identity Alignment

Welling¹,

Canney²,

Lambrinidou³

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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I am a senior at Seattle University pursuing a major in civil engineering. I am deeply interested in structural engineering, and I aspire to use my technical skills gained through education to serve and improve society. As my education progresses, so does my desire to learn, both on a technical level and on a social level. Understanding how engineering relates to society has been fundamental to my undergraduate experience. I plan to continue on a path of lifelong learning as I hope to obtain a graduate-level education in the future. My engineering identity and career are underpinned by a hunger for knowledge and a desire to serve.

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Professional Formation of Engineers’ Conceptions of “the Public”: Early-Concept Exploratory Research

Cited by 2 publications

References 10 publications

Engineers' Imaginaries of "the Public": Content Analysis of Foundational Professional Documents

Engineers' Imaginaries of "the Public": Content Analysis of Foundational Professional Documents

Where does the Personal Fit within Engineering Education? An Autoethnography of one Student's Exploration of Personal-Professional Identity Alignment

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