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"8" PAPER - The Engineer in Society - March 2013

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SRI LANKA

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW EXAMINATION
SECTION "8" -THE ENGINEER IN SOCIETY

Date: 19th March 2013

Time allowed: 3 hours

Instructions to Candidates

Before answering the question paper, please read the instructions given below.
o

Answer four questions only. Answer at least one question from section 1

Each question will carry 25 marks.

o Answers to each question should be written on a separate answer sheet, as

e~ch will be marked by a separate examiner.
o Write your Index Number and relevant Question Number clearly on top of
each answer sheet.
o

It is important that you write question numbers to which you have answered
in the cage provided on the cover page.

Pay attention to legibility, grammar, spelling and punctuation marks, in

addition the relevance, organization and style of presentation.

o Answer to all questions should be in essay form, unless otherwise specified

in the relevant question.
o

Rough work (if any) may be embodied in the answers, but should be struck
out with a single line. No marks will be given for rough work. Do not tear any
pages from answer books.

"8" PAPER - The Engineer in Society-

March 2013

Section 118" Question Paper - March 2013

SECTION 1

Question 1:
Clause 3 of the IESL Code of Ethics states that "Engineers shall build their reputation
merit and shall not compete unfairly."
This requirement

on

is to ensure that engineers shall not seek to gain a benefit by improper

means. Of the eight ways in which this is to be observed, describe four and providean
example foreach one of the four cases,to describe how the Code of Ethics may be violated
and what steps must be taken to avoid such violations.

Question 2:
Recognition as a Chartered Engineer is open to any engineer who can demonstrate
competence to perform professional work to the necessary standards. Engineers become
competent through a mixture of education and professional development.
List the five Core Competences expected of a Chartered Engineer and describe which
aspects of an Engineer's development are covered by these Competences.

SECTION 2
Question 3:
How could the activities and eventual decisions of the United Nations (UN) Organisation,
includingat sessions of the UN Human Rights Organisation, affect Sri Lanka's national
interests and implementation of its foreign policy, owing to measures taken by
a) Other UN member-states;
b) Non-governmental human rights organisations; r
c) Remaining elements of armed groups as well as its criminal element; and
d) Sri Lanka's diaspora.
Question 4:
'Sustainable Consumption and Production is the key to Sustainable Development, and
Millennium Development Goals can only be achieved if we set our Millennium Consumption
Goals correctly.'

"8" PAPER - The Engineer in Society - March 2013

Discuss the above statement, explaining the underlined terms, and describe how you can
contribute to Sustainable Development by making changes to conducting 'business as usual'
in your home, office, your work site/ factory/ workshop, and to your own lifestyle.
Question 5:

'Most executives are promoted to management

However, only a few of them become leaders'.
Critically evaluate the above statement,
leaders and managers.

roles as a routine

highlighting

in their career path.

the roles and competences

of the

Question 6:
Almost 80% of our country's demand for mobility is met through the mode of road
transport, and the country is spending heavily for improvements and as well as for
construction of new road transport infrastructure. Yet these interventions have not been
able to effectively address urban traffic congestion. What affordable and sustainable
demand management strategies would you propose to mitigate the urban trafficcongestion
in our country? Explain your answer with examples from countries you have visited or
information on efficient urban transportation systemsand demand management strategies
you have read about.
Question 7:

With the increase of urbanisation, change of life style and increased use of appliances, the
demand for electricity is on the increase. At present, Sri Lanka needs anadditional
generating capacity of about 300MW each year. Construction of electric power plants need
a largecapital and the Sri Lankan government finds it difficult to allocate such capital for
power generation, owing to compelling needs for investments in other important services
such as education and healthcare. In this scenario, Independent Power Producers (IPPs)
have been encouraged since 1996 to construct power plants, and power utilities have to
purchase power from such IPPs under Power Purchase Agreements(PPAs). Discuss the long
term advantages/disadvantages
of the twomethods, ieGovernment-assisted
investments
and private investments, and recommend with reasons a strategyfor financing future power
plants in Sri Lanka.
Question 8:

a) Examine the

features

characterising

"Import-Substitution"

oriented

development

policies.

b) Since independence, the Sri Lankan economy underwent different spells of governance,
where import substitution policies were prominent to various degrees. Discuss the
national economic policy evolution in Sri Lanka, identifying different periods with their

B" PAPER - The Engineer in Society-

March 2013

underlying policy orientations,

pursuing such policies.

relative successes achieved and difficulties

faced by

c) "Import substitution strategies and export promotion strategies are not necessarily
mutually exclusive". Criticallyanalyse this statement vis-a-vis a developing economy
with a relatively small market size such as Sri Lanka.

Question 9:

a)

Discuss the role played by infrastructure in the course of development of the Sri Lankan
economy, while highlighting its relevance to investor attractiveness and inter-regional
equity.

b)

The Sri Lankan Government has recently launched an intensive physical infrastructure
development strategy reflected by mega development projects such as ports, airports,
power plants, highways and railways, most of which are implemented using borrowed
capital on bilateral negotiations. Such projects are executed through contractors
nominated by such lenders. Examine (a) the rationale and (b) the pros and cons to the
national economy of such an infrastructure-driven
mega investment strategy as well as
its financing and implementation mechanisms.
What alternative policies could you possibly recommend to the Sri Lankan policy
. makers with aview to deriving highernational benefits in implementing such mega
development projects?

Question

10:

a) Discuss the role and the scope covered by the three main International Standards
Bodies. What are the benefits of ISO Standards?
b) Justify the statement /1150 Standards make trade between countries easier and
fairer". Explain your response with suitable examples of ISO standards and typical
trade activities between countries.

Question

11:

Non-technical senior managers, at times, assume that formulating business strategy and, in
particular, formulating technology strategy is too important a matter to be left to engineers.
Such managers tend to feel that those deeply involved in the equipment or system- specific
day to day technical matters cannot comprehend the complex issues that govern long term
competitiveness of a business. They also think that engineers are not aware of the true
business potential of technology.
Do you agree? If so why? If not, why not?

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