On shifting ground: Earthquakes, retrofit and engineering culture in California.
详细信息
- 作者：Sims ; Benjamin Hayden.
- 学历：Doctor
- 年：2000
- 导师：Shapin, Steven
- 毕业院校：University of California
- 专业：Sociology, Social Structure and Development.;Engineering, Civil.;Political Science, General.
- ISBN：0599815760
- CBH：9975893
- Country：USA
- 语种：English
- FileSize：14397879
- Pages：311
文摘
This thesis focuses on changes in seismic design and retrofit methods at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) from the 1970s through the 1990s, situating them in relation to the wider social world of earthquake engineering in California. In particular, it examines the connection between retrofit technology and definitions of seismic risk, the relationship between formal codes and design practice, the incorporation of the results of academic research into design practice, Caltrans' use of peer review panels, and the power of the engineering profession in relation to the news media and the state.;This material is used as the basis for an argument that scientific and technical work depends on a division of labor between work settings and people with expertise in different areas, but at the same time requires coordinated activity across these divisions. This coordination is facilitated largely by face-to-face interactions and collaborative work efforts that make the skills and knowledge gained in particular work settings relevant to larger arenas of technical practice. During the 1990s, Caltrans engineers faced a period of particularly rapid change in design practice. In such situations, personal interactions take on a particularly prominent role in coordinating the design process because codes and other formal modes of regulation are slow to adapt.;The thesis concludes by examining the implications of the increasing prevalence of retrofit and renovation projects in civil engineering. Unlike the design of new structures, in which technology seems relatively flexible, such projects demonstrate the degree to which existing infrastructure may constrain our future technological choices.