Download or read book Engineering in American society 1850 1875 written by Raymond H. Merritt and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Engineering in American Society written by Raymond H. Merritt and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2021-11-21 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technology, which has significantly changed Western man's way of life over the past century, exerted a powerful influence on American society during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. In this study Raymond H. Merritt focuses on the engineering profession, in order to describe not only the vital role that engineers played in producing a technological society but also to note the changes they helped to bring about in American education, industry, professional status, world perspectives, urban existence, and cultural values. During the development period of 1850-1875, engineers erected bridges, blasted tunnels, designed machines, improved rivers and harbors, developed utilities necessary for urban life, and helped to bind the continent together through new systems of transportation and communication. As a concomitant to this technological development, states Merritt, they introduced a new set of cultural values that were at once urban and cosmopolitan. These cultural values tended to reflect the engineers' experience of mobility—so much a part of their lives—and their commitment to efficiency, standardization, improved living conditions, and a less burdensome life. Merritt concludes from his study that the rapid growth of the engineering profession was aided greatly by the introduction of new teaching methods which emphasized and encouraged the solution of immediate problems. Schools devoted exclusively to the education and training of engineers flourished—schools such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stevens Institute of Technology. Moreover, business corporations and governments sought the services of the engineers to meet the new technological demands of the day. In response, they devised methods and materials that went beyond traditional techniques. Their specialized experiences in planning, constructing, and supervising the early operation of these facilities brought them into positions of authority in the new business concerns, since they often were the only qualified men available for the executive positions of authority for the executive positions of America's earliest large corporations. These positions of authority further extended their influence in American society. Engineers took a positive view of administration, developed systems of cost accounting, worked out job descriptions, defined levels of responsibility, and played a major role in industrial consolidation. Despite their close association with secular materialism, Merritt notes that many engineers expressed the hope that human peace and happiness would result from technical innovation and that they themselves could devote their technological knowledge, executive experience, and newly acquired status to solve some of the critical problems of communal life. Having begun merely as had become the planners and, in many cases, municipal enterprises which they hoped would turn a land of farms and cities into a "social eden."
Download or read book Engineering in American society 1850 1870 written by Raymond H. Merritt and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Engineering and American Culture 1850 1875 written by Raymond Harland Merritt and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book America Transformed written by Dean A. Herrin and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Launching of Modern American Science 1846 1876 written by Robert V. Bruce and published by Plunkett Lake Press. This book was released on 2022-05-01 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in History “For readers born since the 1930’s, who have grown up assuming the United States leads the world in science, The Launching of Modern American Science 1846-1876 will come as something of a shock. It shows that little over a century ago the American scientific community was small, mediocre and unpromising... Mr. Bruce has performed an invaluable service in retrieving from numerous archives the letters and diaries of mid-19th-century American scientists, in which both the well-known ones and the obscure describe their assimilation of the scientific ethos — their discovery of the fascination of lab work, their contempt for charlatanism, their dreams for the future of American science... he has done extensive archival research as well as detailed analyses of scientists and technologists listed in the Dictionary of American Biography... he has provided a wealth of information on the people and institutions of mid-19th-century American science.” — The New York Times “[A] superb study of the dawn of science and technology in the United States... [Bruce’s] premier focus in this and earlier books is mid- to late- 19th-century America, and one feels in the presence of a master who creates a reality of time and place that is breathtaking... Bruce meticulously documents the text with names, numbers, dates and places, with vignettes and personality sketches, noting that it was the American style of science to develop technique, to observe, describe and catalogue, rather than theorize... A scholarly gem.” — Kirkus “If I had to recommend only one book on the critical period of development of nineteenth-century science in America, it would be this one. Bruce’s book, a social history of science and the scientific community, is about launching the American ship of science on its course to professionalization, modernity, and international competitiveness. His goal is to tell how American scientists and engineers established new national patterns and organizations in science and technology, still prevalent today... For a most critical period in the history of science in America, Bruce has produced a thorough and well written historical demography of scientists, their institutions (societies, journals, jobs, colleges, schools, laboratories, museums, lectures, agencies, expeditions, surveys), and public relations.” — Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences “Drawing upon an enormous number of primary sources and scores of secondary works, Bruce has produced a truly important book. His incisive analyses, his exemplary style of writing, and his graceful touches of humor make it a fascinating one... [a] splendid book [which] fills a gap in our knowledge of the history of science in the United States and deserves the attention of everyone who desires to know when and how modern science fledged in America.” — Science “[A] book not just to be looked through, but looked at... Bruce displays a remarkable grasp of its sources — primary and secondary, in manuscript and print, statistical studies of his own and others — and it will be the well-informed historian indeed who fails to make discoveries here... Bruce writes a proprietary prose that... is both eloquent and playful. A magisterial study of the development of science under the peculiar constraints of democratic culture, The Launching belongs with the half dozen or so classics that have appeared since the history of American science came out of drydock four decades ago.” — Isis “[A]n exceptionally fine and eminently readable piece of historical scholarship... The book is a major contribution the scientific community in nineteenth-century America.” — Bulletin of the History of Medicine “This will be the definitive account for a long time indeed.” — American Scientist “[I]t is difficult to say too much good about The Launching of Modern American Science, which [is] a major interpretation of the period... a book so altogether excellent... [it] gives a view of that period that is both convincing and illuminating. As a very welcome extra, it is so well written that it is a joy to read.” — History of Education Quarterly “[A]n ample, thoughtful, scholarly, and well-written survey.” — The New England Quarterly “[A] rich and well-documented account. This is a readable book that should find a broad audience.” — The British Journal for the History of Science
Download or read book Engineering in Society written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1985-02-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Research Council's Panel on Engineering Interactions with Society was formed to examine the functioning of the engineering profession in the context of, and in relation to, American society. This document presents the findings of the panel. The panel's inquiry was twofold. First, it examined the impact that engineering and technology development has had on the nation, including the impact on societal demands, values, and perceptions on engineering. Next, the panel attempted to assess the structure and development of the engineering profession, and the adaptability of the profession in meeting current and future national needs. Chapters in the document deal with: (1) the evolution of American engineering; (2) the present era (managing change in the information age); (3) engineering and social dynamics; (4) maintaining flexibility in an age of stress and rapid change; and (5) conclusions and recommendations. Appendices include 23 references and a 16-item bibliography, along with an article prepared by Arthur L. Donovan, entitled "Engineering in an Increasingly Complex Society: Historical Perspectives on Education, Practice, and Adaptation in American Engineering." (TW)
Download or read book Engineer Historical Studies written by and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Enabling American Innovation written by Dian Olson Belanger and published by Purdue University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces engineers' struggle to win intellectual, financial and organizational recognition within the National Science Foundation. This book analyzes the tools and arguments, how they altered over time, and how budgetary and philosophical debates were played out through organizational manipulation.
Download or read book Engineering America written by Richard Haw and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-12 with total page 649 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Roebling was one of the nineteenth century's most brilliant engineers, ingenious inventors, successful manufacturers, and fascinating personalities. Raised in a German backwater amid the war-torn chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, he immigrated to the US in 1831, where he became wealthy and acclaimed, eventually receiving a carte-blanche contract to build one of the nineteenth century's most stupendous and daring works of engineering: a gigantic suspension bridge to span the East River between New York and Brooklyn. In between, he thought, wrote, and worked tirelessly. He dug canals and surveyed railroads; he planned communities and founded new industries. Horace Greeley called him "a model immigrant"; generations later, F. Scott Fitzgerald worked on a script for the movie version of his life. Like his finest creations, Roebling was held together by the delicate balance of countervailing forces. On the surface, his life was exemplary and his accomplishments legion. As an immigrant and employer, he was respected throughout the world. As an engineer, his works profoundly altered the physical landscape of America. He was a voracious reader, a fervent abolitionist, and an engaged social commentator. His understanding of the natural world, however, bordered on the occult and his opinions about medicine are best described as medieval. For a man of science and great self-certainty, he was also remarkably quick to seize on a whole host of fads and foolish trends. Yet Roebling held these strands together. Throughout his life, he believed in the moral application of science and technology, that bridges--along with other great works of connection, the Atlantic Cable, the Transcontinental Railroad--could help bring people together, erase divisions, and heal wounds. Like Walt Whitman, Roebling was deeply committed to the creation of a more perfect union, forged from the raw materials of the continent. John Roebling was a complex, deeply divided yet undoubtedly influential figure, and this biography illuminates not only his works but also the world of nineteenth-century America. Roebling's engineering feats are well known, but the man himself is not; for alongside the drama of large scale construction lies an equally rich drama of intellectual and social development and crisis, one that mirrored and reflected the great forces, trials, and failures of nineteenth century America.
Download or read book The Great River The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi written by Boyce Upholt and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2024-06-11 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sweeping history of the Mississippi River—and the centuries of human meddling that have transformed both it and America. The Mississippi River lies at the heart of America, an undeniable life force that is intertwined with the nation’s culture and history. Its watershed spans almost half the country, Mark Twain’s travels on the river inspired our first national literature, and jazz and blues were born in its floodplains and carried upstream. In this landmark work of natural history, Boyce Upholt tells the epic story of this wild and unruly river, and the centuries of efforts to control it. Over thousands of years, the Mississippi watershed was home to millions of Indigenous people who regarded “the great river” with awe and respect, adorning its banks with astonishing spiritual earthworks. The river was ever-changing, and Indigenous tribes embraced and even depended on its regular flooding. But the expanse of the watershed and the rich soils of its floodplain lured European settlers and American pioneers, who had a different vision: the river was a foe to conquer. Centuries of human attempts to own, contain, and rework the Mississippi River, from Thomas Jefferson’s expansionist land hunger through today’s era of environmental concern, have now transformed its landscape. Upholt reveals how an ambitious and sometimes contentious program of engineering—government-built levees, jetties, dikes, and dams—has not only damaged once-vibrant ecosystems but may not work much longer. Carrying readers along the river’s last remaining backchannels, he explores how scientists are now hoping to restore what has been lost. Rich and powerful, The Great River delivers a startling account of what happens when we try to fight against nature instead of acknowledging and embracing its power—a lesson that is all too relevant in our rapidly changing world.
Download or read book Leadership in Science and Technology A Reference Handbook written by William Sims Bainbridge and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2011-10-20 with total page 985 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tackling 100 key topics and providing case studies in the area of science and technology leadership, this reference handbook is an essential resource for students in this area.
Download or read book Engineers and Irrigation written by United States. Board of Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Doing Engineering written by Joyce Tang and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2000-01-12 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first to systematically compare Caucasians, African Americans, and Asian Americans in engineering, this study of the career attainment and mobility of engineers in the United States tells how these three groups fare in the American engineering labor market and what they can look forward to in the future. The numbers of black and Asian engineers recently have grown at a much faster rate than the number of Caucasian engineers. With a projected steady increase in engineering jobs and demographic shifts, this trend should continue. Yet, recent writings on the engineering profession have said little about career mobility beyond graduation. This book identifies and explores key issues determining whether minorities in the US will attain occupational equality with their Caucasian counterparts. Highlighting implications for theory, policy making, and the future of the profession, Doing Engineering offers important insights into labor, race and ethnicity that will be of interest to anyone studying stratification in a wide range of professional occupations.
Download or read book The American Engineer written by and published by . This book was released on 1880 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Oxford Companion to United States History written by Paul S. Boyer and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 985 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume that is as big and as varied as the nation it portrays are over 1,400 entries written by some 900 historians and other scholars, illuminating not only America's political, diplomatic, and military history, but also social, cultural, and intellectual trends; science, technology, and medicine; the arts; and religion.
Download or read book Battling the Inland Sea written by Robert Kelley and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-11-10 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In its natural condition the Sacramento Valley was a flood-ravaged region where an inland sea a hundred miles long regularly formed during the rainy season, to drain slowly away by the summer months. Today the Valley is marvelously productive, with a great capital city at its center, but only after a seventy-year struggle to devise and build an intricate thousand miles of levees and drains. Robert Kelley sets that battle within the encompassing national political culture, which produced, through the Republican and Democratic parties, widely diverging ideas about how best to reclaim the Valley from flood. He draws on approaches developed in the field of policy analysis to examine the relationship between American political culture and environmental policy-making. We find that the prolonged controversy over the Sacramento Valley illuminates American decision-making, then and now.
