Profession , historical development

Thus, in the early days of modem enterprise, engineers were the innovators who developed the methods—the profession—of modem business. As with the scientific inversion, here there is no historical basis for business envy or a nerd inferiority complex. The businessperson who says that engineering is mere technology applied to the needs of business could more accurately be told that modern business is merely the application of engineering method to the design of commerce. 

Health services research (HSR) is a relatively new and evolving field. As the organization and financing of healthcare has changed, the need for information about the type and level of care and the effectiveness and quality of care provided in the healthcare system has increased. This chapter provides a definition of HSR, a historical perspective of the development of-the field and the relationship between HSR and public health policy, and a discussion of the profession of pharmacy and its relationship to HSR. The chapter concludes by highlighting some of the institutions that commonly fund HSR and journals that publish manuscripts on HSR topics. 

Education received considerable attention at the 6th World Congress, from the discussion of its historical role in the development of the profession presented in Chapter 2, to consideration of the new curricula required to equip us for various visions of the future. The tone was set by Lord May (Chapter 1) in offering this as part of his future vision I believe the widening sweep of the Biotechnological Revolution has implications for Chemical Engineering practice beyond the dreams of its wildest chauvinists , and he goes on to suggest some elements of an appropriate curriculum. 

The study of professionalism and ethics in science is still in its infancy. In this chapter, I have tried to outline a philosophy of the profession of science and show how this view provides deep insight into ethical questions. While the various scientific disciplines have much in common, each is unique. My own field of chemistry has its own history and traditions, which are different from those of physics or biology. The general study of professionalism and ethics in science will be enriched by examining each of the disciplines individually to see how their internal and external bargains have developed historically, and how they function in contemporary practice. Since ethics is an integral part of science, such studies should reveal much about the history and philosophy of science. 

The development of programing from clerical work to profession is an important historical change, which happened right in the midst ofthe new engineering applications of the computer. How programing became defined both as an activity and as a nascent profession is the subject of several articles and two recent dissertations. See Ensmenger (2001) and Akera (1998). 

The central theme of the book is the historical identification and development of chemical engineering as a profession in its own right, distinct not only from all other forms of engineering, but particularly from all forms of chemistry including applied chemistry and industrial chemistry. 

The exercises are an intentionally well-mixed bag. They range from simple applications of equations and concepts developed in the text to relatively open-ended situations that may require arbitrary judgement and, in some instances, have no unique answer. The units employed are equally well-mixed. Historically, multiple systems of measure have been a curse of the engineering profession and such is the case here particularly, where we range from the scientific purity of Planck s constant to the ultimate practicality of a barrel of oil. The SI system will eventually provide standardization, it is to be hoped, but this is not a short-term proposition. Because both author and reader must continue to cope with diverse sets of units, no attempt at standardization has been made here. 

In the second edition of this book, I wrote that a renewed interest had developed in having measurement systems that effectively assess occupational safety performance, measurements that are universally applicable. Preferably, those measures would not only be historical but also predictive and serve as a base from which to prioritize future safety efforts. A significant goal was to have those measures communicate well in terms that managements understand. This renewed interest in performance measures arose out of the increased desire of some environmental, safety, and health professionals to move the profession forward by being able to establish more definitively the value of their work in relation to organizational goals. 

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