Engineering and Its Impact on Various Sectors
With the assistance of engineers from all disciplines, engineering has application in every element of human life. In Russia, the United States, Iran, and Japan, there are now one million engineering graduates each year, so it is certain that there will be an increase in innovation. Engineering has real and demonstrable advantages in the world we currently live in. Due to the introduction of machinery, improved seeds, and the engineer's advice on optimal farming techniques, agricultural yields have increased. In the healthcare sector, engineering facilities have been introduced aiding in diagnosing of diseases, analysis of viruses, bacteria and disease-causing organism which enables early disease identification and treatment, therefore, saving people's lives. The engineering initiatives have also been endorsed in the transportation sector where people are purchasing and using automobiles to facilitate their movement and goods across the globe. Engineers have recently developed transportation channels which are durable and easy to maintain therefore providing a channel upon which automobiles use in transporting goods and people. Similarly, engineers are ever coming up with a better method of conveying and access to information where mobile devices smart televisions have been introduced easing the transfer of textual and voice messages.
Keywords: engineering, engineers, agriculture, healthcare, banking, communication, transportation, sector, help.
Importance of Engineering to Society
Did you know that engineering role is the main reason why we can drive, cruise or fly planes? Similarly, ever wondered why 80% of children below 16 years of age wish to become engineers when they grow up? The paper is set to elucidate the reason behind the urge and the role that engineer plays in the society. According to UNESCO Institute for the statistic, over one million engineering student graduates every year particularly in the field of manufacturing and construction. With the number of graduates witnessed, the question arises, what is engineering and what does it entail? In simple terms, we can refer to engineering as a scientific application of knowledge and skills of mathematics in solving practical problems. In their book, (O'Connor & Kleyner, 2012) attempts to define engineering as a division of science that is involved in designing, building, use of machines/ engine to solve problems facing humanity in their day to day activities.
Engineering as a science is involved in the diverse fields that are concerned with human welfare and their way of life. Its existence in the society has eased the way of doing things while still helping to save lives. In the creation of problem-solving products, scientific knowledge in various specific fields is essential. Despite the need for academic qualification, engineers need to depict a sense of creativity. Meanwhile, different problem solutions pertain evaluating numerous options. Therefore, the most relevant and efficient require being chosen (Mulder, Segalàs, & Ferrer-Balas, 2012).
The research is set to identify and elucidate the impact of engineering on various sectors in the society. These areas include the agricultural segment, transport and automobile, educational sector, banking, and communication sector.
Importance of Engineering to Society
In the society we are living today, our lifestyle readily manifests the impact and involvement of engineering. According to Dowling (2012), the approaches to performing different tasks have been abridged through the institution of equipment such as vehicles which have facilitated the movement of goods and people. On the engineering field, the most prominent disciplines are the mechanical, electrical/electronics, manufacturing and processing, chemical, and civil engineering.
Similarly, there are perceptible misconceptions regarding the engineering field, the typical delusions expressed are: all engineering fields involve computers, engineers have poor communication skills and despise speaking in public, and engineers are loners and hate outdoor recreation activities among others. It evident that engineering disciplines and engineers portray similar distinctive characteristic but it's crucial to understand there are more than forty engineering sub-disciplines across the globe whose motive is to make the world a better place to live. As Zhang, Zhu, Zhu, & Li (2009) states, one of the paramount motivations in engineering is the drive to subsidy the every growing population by serving the people and presenting efficient structures meant to improve the living habitats while assuring the existence of sufficient resources.
In the world we incarnate in, the adoption of engineering is inevitable. In the past, electricity was unheard of as people used firewood to power machinery and produce light, but thanks to innovative practices by electrical engineers that today we live in a world where almost all households have access to power. The impact of engineering in the society can be seen in six major discernable areas which include the agricultural industry, transportation, healthcare, education, banking and communication. In all the listed areas, the practice aiming at providing better and simplified methods of doing things and improve people's livelihood.
Engineering on Agriculture
The primary source of nutrition in the society is derived from agricultural activities. Over the years, engineering has aided in the clearing of agricultural land by providing machinery, providing standard seeds, and ensuring the land is ideal for crops through the extensive testing and better acclimation practices (Mittler & Blumwald (2010). As engineering develops, the expansion in engendering transgenic crops also extends. The identifiable heterogenic conditions, global climate change and abiotic stress challenges are progressively finding a remedy. Similarly, the agricultural engineers have introduced, stressed and educated the farmers on proper irrigation methods, floods management and impact of farming practices on the environment ascertaining on the production of the healthy crop and environmental conservation.
The huge agricultural milestones achieved over the past few years are as a result of the initiative by agrarian specialists. The introduction of machinery, better crop supplement have eased to workload during the planting and harvesting of crops while drastically increasing the output. A machine such as a combined harvester, tractors, ploughs and gins have been presented. Conferring to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the production of corn rose from 730 million (bushels) in 1866 to 15.1 billion in 2016 after the introduction of combined harvesters and other farming machines. As the yields rise, more and more agricultural devices were deployed to facilitate the activities. The introduction of organic fertilisers and supplements have led to the massive production of cereals varieties saving the world from food starvation and curbed the issue food insecurity ("Agricultural engineers play an important role in food production and safety | University of California Riverside", 2017).
Engineering in the agricultural division is not limited to planting and harvesting of crops. After the plants are harvested, they are transported to processing facilities where food engineers employ their technological and processing knowledge to process food materials cost-effectively. In the processing facilities, the food engineers are involved in food machinery, ingredient assessment and manufacturing, packaging and instrumentation. According to Rao et al., (2014), the food production engineers are mandated to help on improving quality, ensure the processed product is safe and proper packaging is done before being transported to the final consumer. In the production facilities, mechanical engineers guarantee that the machinery used works as anticipated to prevent contamination that would harm the ultimate user.
In maintaining hygiene and good health, the food we consume needs to be correctly stored and preserved. In essential to understand that bacterially grows on areas where the is warm temperature. Similarly, food preservation enables storage of food for future use preventing the adverse food shortage. Ch (2016) states that, refrigeration aids in slowing the progression of bacterias which depends on the moist and favourable environment. In making the bacterial habitat unideal for their growth, the refrigerator should be set to retain a temperature of 40 °F or below. Engineers have currently developed refrigerators that are fitted with a thermometer which aids in tracking of the current temperatures making it easy to maintain a favourably low temperature. Engineering companies have to design portable refrigeration facilities that low temperatures, even in the absence of power. The initiative has helped the people who travel where they can preserve the perishable product, aiding proper nutrition practices.
Engineering on Transportation and Automobiles
People move from one place to another in search of a better livelihood. In the past, use of animal was the most common mean of transport. In the world today, mechanical engineers have come up with working models of vehicles, ships, aeroplanes that are used to transport goods and people from one place to another in a more faster and efficient manner. As Brown, Pyke, & Steenhof (2010) states, the engineers develop new and better automobile each day. The internal combustion engines having dominated the transportation sector over the years is now replaced by electric vehicles. In the recent past, the adoption of solar and electric cars has experienced a rapid growth across the globe since they offer a more unusual experience and it's friendly to the environment.
Imagine no roads, no airports or any other network or channel of transport. What kind of a world would it be? The existence of engineering is an assurance that road and rail networks will be available in the society. Similarly, Engineering steers one of the significant sources of employment where during the development of infrastructure facilities millions of people are employed and earn a decent living out of it. Bourguignon, (2017) argues, if it were not for employment, opportunity most people especially the youths would-be engaging in criminal activities which would intern put their lives in danger leading to increased crime rates in the society.
The automobile engineering works aids in carrying of product to the market raising the state of the economy while improving the people standards of living. Similarly, Metallurgical engineers are coming up with inventive methods of developing better engines with quality alloys which can withstand massive stress while transporting tonnes of goods. The burden of walking long distances have been eliminated after the introduction of public vehicles, massive trains, ferries and large planes which can accommodate thousands of people without much stress. As the transportation sector propagates, better equipment is manufactured; engines that emit little or no harmful fumes are developed helping in preserving the environment and its habitats. The initiative by the engineers to protect the environment is evident by the invention by William G. Cobb of making a solar-powered automobile (Balat, 2008).
Engineering on Healthcare
Beyond reasonable doubt, the health division in many countries depends on engineering in the achievements of its set goals on health care status. From the time a patient is admitted to a hospital, the bed, he/she, lays is designed and developed by engineers. The medical facilities from the structure of the building, to the medicine administered, are also the works of engineers. According to Omachonu & Einspruch (2010), the innovation in the health sector has received revolutionary systems in the recent past. The doctors are using the engineered instrument in performing operations, therefore, simplifying the operation process while ensuring the patient is safe.
The use of computer has also played a significant role in the diagnosing of diseases. Engineers have designed systems which automatically detect different health conditions in the human body. The main aim of the development of these systems is to ensure the specific disease are identified and treated to achieve a healthy society. Singh, & Gupta, (2015). Medical engineers have designed systems that can be used in the analyse of different viruses, bacteria and disease-causing organism identifying what makes them survive in human bodies and their spread prevention measures.
Recently, engineers have come up with florescent endoscopic imaging which highlights malevolent tissues that are typically undetectable under consistent lights. The system has aided in the easy identification of tumours from healthy tissues. The newly identified type 1 diabetes vaccine has been used to stop or slow down the autoimmune attack on islet cells. The engineers are also using innate tests to pinpoint individuals at risk for opioid infatuation. According to Varkey et al. (2008), high-tech tools such as computed tomography scans and echocardiograms helps in diagnosing and rule the underlying cause of such symptoms. Once the diseases are identified at an early stage, they can be easily treated therefore increasing the likelihoods of the patient to survive.
Engineering on Education
The students devote most of their time in their career trying to cope with immense challenges in discovering knowledge. There have been debates which have risen rising questions on the role of engineering in the education sector and the society at large. The part played by engineers in schools cannot be however despised since most of the stationaries and apparatus used in the educational institutions are their creativity.
In some schools, computer studies have been made a compulsory subject which has intern led to its inclusion in the school's curriculum. The use of the PC in the learning institutions school has simplified the teaching process for the student while providing an incredible platform for research. As Duderstadt (2007), states engineers have transformed the research techniques employed by student and professor in an educational institution through the introduction of computers. In research and analysis, use of computer heightened the level of accuracy on finding analysis and the interpretation. Similarly, use of technological equipment in the education sector have positively impacted of the society where the parent no longer needs to purchase hundreds of book for their children as they can be easily accessible online through mobile devices. The teacher's workload has also dramatically reduced since the no longer required to write hundreds of pages in preparation for their lecture sessions.
In the learning institution, engineers play a critical role. There are the people mandated to instil rightful skill and knowledge to the engineering student. If it were not for the engineers in various colleges and university, there would be no students who graduate with engineering degrees. In their lecture, the experiences engineers require depicting a high level of experience ac act as a motivation factor to the students.
Moreover, to make the environment ideal for learning, the most schools have installed an air-conditioning system which has designed and developed by mechanical engineers. The air-conditioners make the student feel comfortable during lectures, therefore, increasing the level of concentration. The air-conditioning equipment has been used to cool down the servers where learning material is stored protecting them from damage. It's evident that engineering has played a significant role in the evolution of the educational facilities in the society, not forgetting that engineers pass through the same institution before entirely becoming engineers (Sakthivel, 2007).
Engineering on Banking and Communication
Finance and communication is a vital pillar of the society. People always argue on why engineers should be involved in trading? The fact is, universities are offering investment related engineering degrees, one of them being a financial engineering discipline. In the society, the financial engineer's analysis the financial markets and help banks, firms and individual develop profitable businesses. The involvement of engineering in the banking sector ascertains the progressive growth of bank and supply of money to the society. In the recent years, the banks have adopted systems which have been developed by engineers in their dairy manoeuvres. As Lépinay (2011) states, modern banks operate deprived of the use of bullet-proof doors through the usage of ATM and self-service banking methods facilitating the access of funds at any given the time of day by bank customers.
Software and networking engineers have been employed in the banks to improve the quality and efficiency of the services offered. The engineers have been working in banks to install and maintain the systems developed while ensuring the security of data. Was it not for software engineers the bank's security and customer's data integrity and confidentiality would be at risk. Recently, the banking sector has migrated from the old-fashioned method of banking through re-engineering of its business processes. The initiative by the engineers to the revolutionise the banking processes have yielded the integration of e-banking services across the world (Salimifard et al., 2010).
In the communication sector, the impact of engineering is evident from the improved form of communication. The introduction of mobile phones has eased the process of transferring text and voice messaging from one point to another across the globe. Electronic engineers who are working in the mobile production facilities design and develop better and more powerful devices each dawn. The ease to access information has been transformed by the introduction of smart portable equipment that can access any info regardless of the geographical location.
The invention made by electronics engineers of introducing smart Televisions have helped on efficient delivery of news to the society. Through the TVs, the community has access to information and happening across the world at the comfort of their home. The public address equipment developed by engineering companies such as Miscospeakers (MISCO) has also eased the strain to perceive in public gatherings such as political rallies. As Pahl & Beitz (2013) states, the television broadcast had grown since 1939 when President Franklin made his principal televised address. Smart televisions are currently used to air advertisement of diverse produced in the society. These paid advertisement ends up reaching a massive audience and potential clients leading to more sale.
Conclusion
Engineering has been a significant player in the running of the society has been in the first line to change the face of the world. Engineers have designed and developed machine systems that are solving the problems that people face in their day to day activities. From the transportation, health, education, agriculture, banking and communication, the noticeable changes are as a result of engineering. Across all the sector, engineers have found a solution to a problem such as lack of power, poor farming practices, lengthy and risky health operation among others. After understanding the importance of engineering in the society, it's a high time that people should realise how imperative it is to embrace the developed solutions to spur further development and improve the people's lifestyle.
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