Theses and Dissertations from UMD

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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Author: search.filters.author.Bernhardt III, John A.Subject: search.filters.subject.History of Science

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    The Practical Engineers' Rebellion: Evans Patent Safety Guard and the Failure of Scientific Technology in the Steam Boat Inspection Service, 1830-1862
    (2008-07-31) Bernhardt III, John A.; Friedel, Robert; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The U.S. Congress's initiative to solve the problem of steamboat boiler explosions in the mid-nineteenth century resulted in the Steamboat Act of 1852. The Act brought radical changes to the western rivers, including reform of the engineering cadre, introduction of new safety devices and procedures, and the creation of a new bureaucracy (the Steam Boat Inspection Service). One of the new safety devices introduced by the Treasury Department was the controversial Evans Patent Safety Guard. This is the story of the safety guard as a central actor in framing the expertise of scientists, inventors, and practical engineers in attempting to make technology safe. The safety guard helps us to understand where expertise came from, how it was defined and justified by government officials, and why the notion of technological expertise depends on a complex mix of technical, institutional, and socioeconomic factors.