UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Mason, Nicole
Dept./Program:
Community Development and Applied Economics
Year:
2011
Degree:
MS
Abstract:
Long-term sustainability of international development projects has been a topic of much discussion and criticism for years. This is especially true for infrastructure projects that require substantial monetary, material, and human resources but often are abandoned shortly after implementation. The most commonly cited reasons for infrastructure project failure are inadequate community preparation, lack of adequate technical training, and the use of inappropriate technologies. All three of these point to engineering design without adequate consideration of an individual community's capabilities and needs.
As the need for engineers to be more socially minded is becoming more widely recognized, there has been a movement among some engineering colleges to offer humanitarian service projects as an educational tool. While these projects are valuable for teaching engineering students about the broad environmental and social impacts that engineering has on a community, they risk giving engineers a false sense of preparation and of disciplinary superiority. These programs must focus on the skills needed to work in interdisciplinary teams in order to better address the long-term sustainability of domestic and international infrastructure projects.
A case study of one rural water system and the community that struggles to maintain it is described to exemplify the multidisciplinary nature of these challenges. An analysis of social, monetary, infrastructural, and environmental factors is presented. The progression of development objectives for this town is described within the framework of transdisciplinary action research. Special attention is given to the collaboration of engineering and community development students who worked on multidisciplinary teams to address community needs through a service-learning course at the University of Vermont.
Students taking part in this project were interviewed regarding the challenges and opportunities experienced while working in multidisciplinary teams. Qualitative and quantitative analyses describe the successes of this experience, as well as support recommendations on how to improve collaborations in the future. The major themes that developed were the need to improve inter-disciplinary understanding, the importance of individual personalities, and the educational benefits of multidisciplinary work.
As the need for engineers to be more socially minded is becoming more widely recognized, there has been a movement among some engineering colleges to offer humanitarian service projects as an educational tool. While these projects are valuable for teaching engineering students about the broad environmental and social impacts that engineering has on a community, they risk giving engineers a false sense of preparation and of disciplinary superiority. These programs must focus on the skills needed to work in interdisciplinary teams in order to better address the long-term sustainability of domestic and international infrastructure projects.
A case study of one rural water system and the community that struggles to maintain it is described to exemplify the multidisciplinary nature of these challenges. An analysis of social, monetary, infrastructural, and environmental factors is presented. The progression of development objectives for this town is described within the framework of transdisciplinary action research. Special attention is given to the collaboration of engineering and community development students who worked on multidisciplinary teams to address community needs through a service-learning course at the University of Vermont.
Students taking part in this project were interviewed regarding the challenges and opportunities experienced while working in multidisciplinary teams. Qualitative and quantitative analyses describe the successes of this experience, as well as support recommendations on how to improve collaborations in the future. The major themes that developed were the need to improve inter-disciplinary understanding, the importance of individual personalities, and the educational benefits of multidisciplinary work.