Civil Engineering

Historically,Civil Engineering is the oldest branch of engineering and dates back at least 5000 years to the profession of "master builder" involving pyramids,temples and irrigation projects.Engineering has changed greatly since those days but the fundamental principles have stayed the same.Engineers solve people problems with applied science and innovation.Today's problems are more complex and the needs of current and future societies have created challenges for engineering unparalleled in our history.The use of electronic data collection methods and the application of computers have revolutionized the practice of Civil Engineering.To interpret and satisfy these needs,Civil Engineers currently direct the spending of more than one tenth of Canada's gross national product,more than any other professional group.The Civil Engineer must deal with the human impact of engineering.Social,moral and legal issues concern us to a far greater degree than ever before.

Civil Engineering has become an extremely diverse field with many areas of application.A summary of the major fields follow:

Structural Engineering

Structural Engineering deals with the design and construction of all types of structures including buildings and bridges.Emphasis is placed on mechanics and the behavior of materials.

Infrastructure Management and Construction

Infrastructure Management and Construction deals with project management,construction materials,construction engineering and building engineering.

Water and Waste Management Engineering

Water and Waste Management Engineering addresses water and waste water treatment,surface and ground water pollution and control,solid and hazardous waste management,contaminant transport and behavior in the environment.Support areas including aquatic chemistry,computer modeling,stimulation and laboratory experimentation as examples are also stressed.

Transportation Engineering

Transportation Engineering deals with the planning,design construction,traffic operation and evaluation of streets,highways ,airports, and transit systems.

Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical Engineering covers the engineering properties of soils,the fundamentals of soil mechanics, and the application of geotechnical data and fundamentals to the design of foundation elements,earth-retaining structures,excavations,earth embankments and highway pavements.

Engineering Mechanics

Engineering Mechanics deals with the rigorous study of mechanics,applied mathematics and related fields.This leads to an understanding of advanced analysis and leads to study in structural engineering,hydraulics,mechanics of solids and fluids,or properties of materials.

Experimental Mechanics

Experimental Mechanics involves the experimental investigations of the static and dynamic response of structures and machines, and in the development of improved techniques to obtained analyze experimental data.

Water Resources Engineering

Water Resources Engineering covers the planning,management,design and operation of water supply and distribution systems,flood control and flood hazard mapping,hydrologic and hydraulic aspects of environmental issues, and application of remotely-sensed data to hydrologic and environmental problems.

Materials

Materials study involves structural engineering,mechanics or properties of materials and relates to materials science.
In addition,Civil Engineers often move outside traditional Civil Engineering fields.This translates into fields such as:

• Public Administration
• Planning
• Management Science
• Business Administration
• Bioengineering
• Environmental Health

The Civil Engineer,regardless of she or he is a generalist or a specialist,draw heavily upon the work of the physical and social sciences,other professions and other branches of engineering.Moreover,as engineers have become involved in many interdisciplinary activities over the last decade,the job demarcation between boundaries of engineering has become much less restrictive.Certainly one of the advantages of completing a Civil Engineering program is that it allows professional registration while simultaneously providing a basis for further study and professional development in a large variety of specialized fields.

Depression

Depression is not only a state of being sad,it is a disease that conquers the ability to feel emotion,whether good or bad,whatsoever.Depression not only involves the mind,it also involves the body and thoughts.In different cultures some complain of excessive headaches and extreme pain and this is identified as depression,moderate or otherwise.This disease can be passed down through genes or can flow external events or can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.Depression affects twenty percent of all Americans,some without even knowing it,at sometime during their lives.Depression is not a disease that only influences males or children of the age three to eleven.Every human being is prone to depression.Although women are three times more likely to become depressed than men,men are five times more likely to commit suicide when depressed than women.Some think that women have a less pleasing social role and their hormones make them more susceptible to depression.Men are more subject to keep their emotions bottled up inside of them because of their role in society and that they do not have the society's permission to express their feelings openly.

Major Depression is the most severe case of depression that there is.The symptoms for Major Depression are just like any other type of depression.To be Majorly Depressed you do not have to have been hospitalized or medicated.Lots of people get depression confused with extreme sadness.Depression is not a term just to be thrown around;it is a severe state of being.

Dysthymic Depression is a low level of depression that lasts up to at least two years and most cases longer.When one is diagnosed with Dysthymic Depression they are very resistant to treatment.Although Dysthymic Depression's symptoms are not as severe as Major Depression's symptoms,they are still important.Dysthemic will undergo a Major Depression episode sometime during their dysthymic period.

Although all age groups are open to depression,teenagers are the most common to be heard of being affected by the disease.This is probably because of peer pressure and the changes in their life.Although the rate of suicide as a whole has decreased in the past twenty five years,the fixed amount of suicide from those between fifteen and nineteen has sky rocketed and quadrupled.The number of deaths due to suicide each year is roughly the same number of deaths from AIDS.

Sometimes depression can be avoided all together.Having a good home life and a high self-esteem would be primary for people not to be depressed.Although in some cases you are predisposition to have depression,little things do help.Talking about your problems and not bottling them up helps immensely to avoid emotional breakdowns and blowups.Avoiding extreme "stressers," like putting yourself in a situation you cannot get out of,also helps.Avoidance of cigarettes and alcohol also helps with staying healthy and happy.

Depression is not a matter to take lightly.It is not something to dismiss regularly,but to take to heart and find help.Hundreds of people commit suicide each day because of depression.If you are or know someone who is depressed get help.Do not hold it in forever,for you may be liable to do the same thing.