last modified 13/10/2005

Course code: wm0710TU

Course name: Technology and Society

This concerns a Course

In the program of  MSc Material Science and Engineering

EC (European Credits): 6 (1 EC concerns a work load of 28 hours)

Faculty of Technology Policy and Management

Department of Reflection on Technology

Lecturer 1: drs. J.W.F. Wiersma 

Tel.:

Lecturer 2: dr. C.P. van Beers

Lecturer 3: dr. J.O. Kroesen

Catalog data:

Course year:

MSc 2 year

Course language:

English

 

 

Semester:

1A

Hours per week:

4

Other hours:

 

Assessment:

written exam, individual assigment

Assessment period:

1A

(see academic calendar)

 

Prerequisites (course codes):

Follow up (course codes):

Detailed description of topics:

Economics: Some basic concepts of economics will be explained, such as engineers might be confronted with in their jobs and in business relationships.
Attention is paid to the question, how products of technology, investments and the functioning of markets and policy decisions influence one another.

Safety Science: introduces some basic concepts for the analysis and control of safety problems in design and management.

Ethics: The students learn to differentiate between professional, functional, collective and "vacant" responsibility. Behind each of these concepts there lies a field of ethical theory and philosophy of which some basic insights will be put forward.

The three subjects mentioned have a practical orientation in common. There will be no long journeys to strange fields of knowledge. It is required however, that students have not only basic knowledge of some analytical concepts, but can apply these to practical situations in an integrated approach. These situations are not static but changing processes.
Therefore not only one decision, but a process of decision-making needs to be envisaged. It will also be taken into account, that informal processes (for instance a certain business culture, etc.) are quite often decisive, so that a certain series of events runs in an unforeseen direction. The subjects treated are complementary. In all kinds of practical situations decisions need to be taken which have safety aspects, economic and ethical aspects. Broader attention will be paid to the landfill problem as a case that gives an important example of the interaction between these disciplines.

Course material:

  • The material used in this course will be the syllabus for the course wm0710i
  • References from literature:

Remarks assessment, entry requirements, etc.:

The course consists of general lectures and working groups. During the working groups the students learn to use the concepts explained in the lectures.
In the last three weeks students will work on an individual and a group assignment integrating the concepts explained in the first five weeks of the course.

 

Written examination on the three subjects of the course. It will be an open book examination. The analysis of particular cases will constitute the main part of the examination.

Individual assignment and group assignment related to the landfill case.

Learning goals:

  • The students can relate available information, methods of analysis and concepts of three different subjects (economics, safety science, ethics) to practical circumstances, in which decisions need to be taken in an environment of contradictory constraints.
  • The students possess basic knowledge of three relevant disciplines.
  • Students can define and analyse (1) problems related to management and technology policy within the framework of society at large, and (2) design different strategies to solve them.

Computer use:

Laboratory project(s):

Design content: