TRIBHUWAN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
PULCHOWK CAMPUS
LALITPUR, NEPAL

ASSIGNMENT OF EPP
(5 Questions)

Submitted By
Bibek Adhikari
073BCE039 ‘AB’

Submitted To
Nagendra Raj Sitoula
Department of Civil Engineering
Pulchowk Campus, Lalitpur
 Assignment Questions (2 allocated + 3 any)
Q 1. What is technology and social change? What are the factors governing social change?
Ans: Technology refers to the making, modification, usage and organization, in order to solve
a problem, improve pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied
input/output relation or perform a specific function.
The change in social processes, interactions, mutual activities and relationship on society due
to dynamic behaviour of people, over a particular period of time is called social change.

The factors governing social change are:

i. Natural factor
ii. Geographical factor
iii. Biological factor
iv. Demographic factor
v. Socio-economic factor
vi. Cultural factor
vii. Political factor

Q 2. Rohit, an engineer working in a water supply project, is invited, along with other
engineers, to a one-day complementary educational seminar sponsored by MAMA Steel and
Pipe Company. The seminar is designed to educate engineers on current technological
advances in the selection and use of pipe construction. The seminar is a part of a larger effort
by the MAMA Steel and Pipe Company to become better known in the engineering community.
The MAMA Steel Company had provided all refreshments, including a buffet luncheon during
the seminar and a cocktail reception immediately following the seminar. Rohit accepts the
invitation and agrees to attend the seminar. Discuss the situation.
Ans: Professional practices are subjected to the public evaluation and thus a professional work
cannot be persisted as a personal matter. Their clients are always watching each and every
professional’s behavior and practice. According to the code of conduct by NEC, no publicity
or advertisement must be made which may cause unnecessary effect.
Analysis of Case
Rohit is an engineer working in a water supply project and he is invited to a one-day
complementary educational seminar sponsored by MAMA Steel and Pipe Company. The
MAMA Steel Company had provided all refreshments, including a buffet luncheon during the
seminar and a cocktail reception immediately following the seminar. Rohit accepts the
invitation and agrees to attend the seminar.
Discussion
For any professional engineer, above case breach the code of conduct. Professionals are bound
by code of ethics by reputed professional association and not to act free as they desire.
Professional should not be engaged in activities or accept remuneration for services rendered
that may create a conflict of interest with their clients or employers without the knowledge and
consent of their clients or employers. Further, it becomes unfair to the integrity of the client.
The MAMA steel company must not present their qualification or advertise (professional
service offered) through over exaggeration. Hence, it’s the breach of code of conduct to accept
the invitation and agreeing to attend the seminar by Rohit.

Q 3. Define contract and agreement. What are the essential elements of a contract?
Ans: Contract means an agreement enforceable by law concluded between two or more parties for
performing or not performing any work. A contract is a voluntary agreement between two or more
parties that a court will enforce. The rights and obligations created by a contract apply only to the
parties to the contract and to anyone else.
A mutual understanding between two or more legally competent individuals or entities about their
rights and duties regarding their past or future performances and consideration is defined as an
agreement. While an agreement usually leads to a contract, it could also be an executed sale, a gift or
other transfer of property, or a promise without a legal obligation.

The essential elements of a contract are as follows:

a) Offer and acceptance: Offer is a promise made by one party or person (Offeror) to
another party or person (Offeree) and a contract only exists if the offeree accepts the
offer made by offeror.
b) Competent parties: Parties or person who make contract must be competent according
to law.
c) Mutual intent to enter into a contract: Both parties in a contract shall have intentions
to establish a legal relationship.
d) Consideration: The cause, motive, price or impelling influence induces a contracting
party to enter into a contract.
e) Lawful purpose: Illegal contracts are invalid. If two parties agree to perform a job,
which is against the country law, the contract is invalid.
f) Free consent: Contract should not involve coercion, fraud, under influence deceit.
g) Possibility of performance: Impossible contract is invalid. If two parties agree to build
a house on air, which is impossible, contract is invalid.
h) Certainty: Contract that cannot be carried out because of various reasons are not valid.

Q 4. What is meant by society and community? Illustrate the characteristics of a society.

What are the theories of social change?
Ans: A society is a stable institution, a formal association of people having similar interest,
sharing common territory, common rules and regulation, common belief
and culture.
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such
as norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense
of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town, or
neighbourhood) or in virtual space through communication platforms.
The characteristics of a society are as follows:
a) Consists of people
b) Mutual interaction and understanding
c) Coordination, cooperation and division of labors
d) Interdependence
e) Differences
f) Dynamics
g) Social control (tradition/law)
h) Uniqueness on culture

The theories of social change are as follows:

a) Evolutionary theory:
Sociologists in the 19th century applied Charles Darwin's (1809–1882) work in biological
evolution to theories of social change. According to evolutionary theory, society moves in
specific directions. Therefore, early social evolutionists saw society as progressing to
higher and higher levels. As a result, they concluded that their own cultural attitudes and
behaviors were more advanced than those of earlier societies were.

b) Functionalist theory:
Functionalist sociologists emphasize what maintains society, not what changes it.
Although functionalists may at first appear to have little to say about social change,
sociologist Talcott Parsons holds otherwise. Parsons (1902–1979), a leading functionalist,
saw society in its natural state as being stable and balanced. That is, society naturally
moves toward a state of homeostasis. To Parsons, significant social problems, such as
union strikes, represent nothing but temporary rifts in the social order. According to
his equilibrium theory, changes in one aspect of society require adjustments in other
aspects. When these adjustments do not occur, equilibrium disappears, threatening social
order. Parsons' equilibrium theory incorporates the evolutionary concept of continuing
progress, but the predominant theme is stability and balance.

c) Conflict theory:
Conflict theory, first purported by Karl Marx, is a theory that society is in a state of
perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources. Conflict theory holds that
social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than by consensus and
conformity. According to conflict theory, those with wealth and power try to hold on to it
by any means possible, chiefly by suppressing the poor and powerless. A basic premise of
conflict theory is that individuals and groups within society will work to try to maximize
their own wealth and power.

d) Cyclical theory:
This theory assumes each civilization is like a biological organism, birth-mature-old-
death-birth.
Q 5. Thousands of passenger’s travels through the Prithivi Highway every day. The monsoon,
however, has made their journey perilous, especially in Dhading area. As soon as it starts
raining, the road gets blocked by the debris falling from sand mines above, leaving the
passengers stranded. Passengers find themselves helpless in the middle of the road during
hours-long roadblock. In the last few days, the road has been blocked regularly. On Saturday,
it remained blocked for around seven hours. Interestingly, the authority did not have to go
through hassles to find workers to clear the road however. Since it was not other kind of debris,
but heaps of sand, workers were deployed by the factories themselves. The factories based in
Baireni were competing to collect the maximum amount of sand. “They do not pay any tax to
the government. They are here only to make profit and the authority is not bothered”. But this
has been troubling travelers, troubling passengers every day. Assess the situation.
Ans: The above situation reveals a common social problem of exploiting natural resources
without government permission. The problem here is primarily of road blocking due to debris
and sands falling from sand mines above. This has caused problems to passengers travelling in
national highways waiting to be queued for seven hours. The situation clearly reveals fault of
government but we shall deal with each party.
The working body here are just factories and the government. The government holds the main
rights of properties and resources of the country. The reason these resources aren’t allowed to
go publicly exploited is that the natural resources are not only assets of the country but also
their destruction can bring many households at the risks. Recent events have shown unsafe
scrapping of hills causing landslide and significant damage to many villages. Nature has a chain
of working mechanism in which if one fails say sand dune, several problems are likely to
happen. The second problem here is of blocked road which could have been addressed by
contracting labor to clear the sands and debris.
The sand companies are taking sand illegally. Which can easily be fined and even prisoned for.
Doing illegal tasks themselves are unethical and needn’t be argued upon. Its duty of public to
protect and preserve resources and not harm the asset of the country. But this appears in
different section of crime.
More often government themselves have been found to have worked with private sand
companies to make illegal profits. If found such they must be immediately punished. Besides,
such problems are supposed to bring different departments like transportation into play and
work to solve it but it also isn’t observed. The negligence and lesser work motive have been
observed to be common characteristics of government lately. This must be strictly assessed via
bringing stronger administration. In this case however, the road blocking can be stopped
immediately by contracting with labors. It is better to not work with labors of sand company
as it can make false sense of supporting them in illegal exploitation of sand. But immediate
action must be taken to open road and long-term action to prevent natural resource exploitation.