The way that engineering solutions affect society locally, nationally, and globally is an important consideration when attempting to solve problems. Although a solution may work well for one society, that does not mean that it will be great or even helpful in another. Learning about other societies and their needs is key part to understanding their problems and how best to approach and solve them.
In Sociology 3302 – Technology and Global Society, we discussed how technological advances have changed society and how future advances may change the way we work and live as a society. We largely talked about the automation of society. The automation of processes is good for society in the sense that things can be done more cheaply and easily with this automation, but it’s also important to consider the impacts of the workers that currently hold these positions. With the automation of processes, there comes a lack of need for employees which results in an increase of job loss. Technological advances have also improved our society greatly though. For example, improvement in farming machinery allowed for an increased yield in food and less farmers to get the yield. These advances also freed up some workers for other fields of work now that fewer farmers were needed.
Psychology 4305 – Intro to Psychopharmacology, showed me how different chemicals (not just drugs, but even foods) affect people differently. This course gave insight to how medicines are used to treat diseases and symptoms, and how societies discovered them. I learned how drugs affect and change the brain and how these situations must be considered when approaching the problem of drug use and addiction with the intent to help people experiencing the changes and problems. Engineers can help from many different angles in the medical and pharmaceutical departments, but one way is that they design new medical equipment that can more efficiently deliver medicine to patients.
In Neuroscience 4850 – Contemporary Topics in Neuroscience, I learned about many brain diseases and disorders that affect people in all societies. Specifically, we talked about paralysis. There are many things that can cause paralysis. However, regardless of the cause, treatment is difficult. There have been advances in technology that have allowed improvements in the treatment. A common reason paralysis occurs is due to trauma where nerves are severed or injured. Re-growing these nerves is nearly impossible, which makes improvement so difficult. With the advancements in technology, sensors have been created that can bypass the injured nerve and ‘talk’ between the brain and the muscles to result in movement again. Ohio State has been working with Ian Burkhart to study and implement something like this. While the technology is still new, it has and will result in a better understanding of movement problems and how engineers can help solve them for those affected.
Engineers need a broad understanding of societies to help them in the best possible ways. By not fully understanding the issue at hand, engineers may miss a key matter in solving the problem. By overlooking this matter, a larger problem could result instead. This broad understanding of a problem gives the best solutions to the matter.