Human Development Report 2006

Water wars-privatization, pollution and profit.

Beneath the Miracle: Labor Subordination in the New Asian Industrialism

The year 2002 saw several substantive milestones in the development of international human rights law.' However, many developments in state practice from the United States and other countries suggested that some government officials were willing to compromise individual human rights in fighting the war on terror. The most important human rights development of 2002 was the long-anticipated creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), providing a new forum in which to prosecute the most serious violations of human rights, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.? The United States was one of only seven states to vote against the Rome Statute, but President Clinton had the United States sign the treaty on the eve of his departure from office. In an unprecedented act in international law, the Bush administration "withdrew" the U.S. signature on May 6, 2002.4 The United States also demanded that other nations enter into special agreements to exempt U.S. nationals from being placed on trial before that court. Additionally, in August, President Bush signed the American Servicemembers' Protection

International human rights

Background
Engineers are increasingly being asked to empathically engage with a broad range of stakeholders. Current efforts to educate empathic engineers, however, are hindered by the lack of a conceptually cohesive understanding of, and language for, applying empathy to engineering. Prior studies have suggested that research informed by long-standing traditions in other fields may provide the rigor, conceptual clarity, and expertise necessary to theoretically ground the education and practice of empathy in technical disciplines.

Purpose
This study examined three research questions: What are current understandings of empathy in engineering and engineering education? How do these understandings compare with conceptions of empathy in social work, a professional discipline that defines empathy as a core skill and orientation of its practitioners? What can engineering educators learn from social work to inform the education of empathic engineers?

Scope/Method
This article presents the findings from a sustained, four-year, interdisciplinary dialogue between engineering education and social work education researchers. This effort included an examination of productive tensions and similarities between the two fields, a critical synthesis of the literature on empathy in each discipline, and the development of a context-appropriate model for empathy in engineering.

Conclusions
We propose a model of empathy in engineering as a teachable and learnable skill, a practice orientation, and a professional way of being. Expanding conceptions of empathy in social work, this model additionally emphasizes mode switching and a commitment to values pluralism.

A Model of Empathy in Engineering as a Core Skill, Practice Orientation, and Professional Way of Being

Blending social history, geography, economic history and urban studies, Stephen Dobbs sets out the history of the Singapore river and of the people who made it their home and workplace. This text should be of interest to anyone wishing to understand Singapore's numerous transformations.

The Singapore River: A Social History, 1819-2002

During the mid-twentieth century the construction of hydroelectric dams in developing countries became a contentious issue in economic and political arenas Governments and pro-damming parties, particularly those with a direct commercial interest, often consider the dams to be necessary for economic growth, as well as being in the national interest Others directly impacted by the altered hydrology and ecology, as well as experts concerned with environmental and demographic impacts, are less sure about the benefits of hydro-electric dams Concerns about the environmental and human impacts of dams are heightened on a waterway such as the Mekong River, which flows through six sovereign states When the impacts are to be felt across entire regions, ensuring just outcomes for all the stakeholders is crucial to long-term regional political stability and economic wellbeing Engineers are pivotal in the design and construction of dams, and engineering teams also play an increasingly important role in assisting communities impacted by the altered hydrology This article focuses on the community and environmental implications of engineering decisions on the Mekong River, and suggests ways in which engineers involved in dam design and construction can play a role in ensuring that socially and environmentally just outcomes are achieved

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Social and Environmental Justice for Communities of the Mekong River

This paper examines the causes and impact of the “evictionr” of the lighterage industry from the Singapore River in 1983. For more than 160 years, the lighterage industry served the traditional Entrepot trade interests of Singapore from its base along the Singapore River. In 1983, all cargo–carrying lighters operating from the river were forced to relocate to new facilities at Pasir Panjang as a direct consequence of the Singapore government’s broader economic agenda to speedily industrialise and modernise the island state. State policy unequivocally linked slum clearance and city redevelopment with its economic programme. As Singapore’s economy grew and diversified through the 1970s it became less reliant on the commerce of the entrepot trade, and the lighterage industry, already struggling to compete with technological changes in sea transport, found itself left without a bargaining position and standing in the path of economic development and urban renewal. While the economic success that Singapore has enjoyed over the past several decades seems to vindicate the state’s relentless drive for urban renewal, it often overshadows the impact of the state’s policies on individuals. For those working in the industry, eviction led to social and economic hardship as business declined and individuals struggled to adapt to their new work environment.

Urban redevelopment and the forced eviction of lighters from the singapore river

Industrial hazards are a neglected part of the history of Singapore’s successful industrialization since independence in 1965. Our paper investigates risk in the competitive shipbuilding an...

Unsafety and Unions in Singapore’s state-led industrialization, 1965–1994

Water and energy are fundamental elements of community well-being and economic development, and a key focus of engineering efforts the world over. As such, they offer outstanding opportunities for the development of socially just engineering practices. This work examines the engineering of water and energy systems with a focus on issues of social justice and sustainability. A key theme running through the work is engaging community on water and energy engineering projects: How is this achieved in diverse contexts? And, what can we learn from past failures and successes in water and energy engineering? The book includes a detailed case study of issues involved in the provision of water and energy, among other needs, in a developing and newly independent nation, East Timor.

Stephen Dobbs

Papers

The Singapore River: A Social History, 1819-2002

Social and Environmental Justice for Communities of the Mekong River

Urban redevelopment and the forced eviction of lighters from the singapore river

Unsafety and Unions in Singapore’s state-led industrialization, 1965–1994

Engineers Engaging Community: Water and Energy