1. Harland Mims DB5 6/23/2016
What innovative ideas should engineers come up with to detect the negative usage of
guns? What ways can they prevent guns having a bad reputation amongst the common people?
Open carry on campus is major topic to deal with, for the government is constantly working
together to find a common ground. In order to provide assistance I will look at this topic from an
engineering and organizational leadership perspective.
Step 6: Analyzing the Problem and Evaluating Insights
Repko said in his book, Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory, “We must take
off one set of disciplinary lenses and put on another set in its place as each discipline is
examined,” (location 5560 of 13281). Engineering can play huge role in gun control, for there
are many articles that imply technology should be used to answer this question. Engineers want
to make sure that the public is safe, and as of lately guns are becoming more and more
detrimental to our society. This is the same for organizational leadership, for the most recent
event in Orlando has led LGBT activist to pursue congress about finally making changes on how
to receive guns for the common person. Both of these disciplines are important for a career, but
to look at them on a specific topic shows how much they benefit our nation. Now let’s take a
look at how engineering plays a big role in this.
So again I ask, what innovative ideas should engineers come up with to detect the
negative usage of guns? This is important to ask because it could be the solution to the problem.
In order for gun control to be minimized as an alternative to congress coming up with laws; we
should look at what can engineers do to help speed up the process. Engineers are trained to
improve something, and how guns have negatively impacted our society I believe that it’s time
for an improvement.

2. Harland Mims DB5 6/23/2016
Repko explains how to analyze the problem and evaluate insights from different
disciplines in chapter eight of his book, Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory. He
goes on to give examples of how to pose the question to your topic then come up with answers
through methods and theories behind the discipline. However, in order to do this successfully,
one has to not put personal bias in their research, which he explains in intricate detail.
After finding disciplines to accommodate the dilemma, one must start narrowing down
their choices. After giving examples of each topic he explains in his summary the necessary steps
that must be followed in order to analyze the problem and evaluate insights from different
disciplines. Open carry on campus is a topic that has stirred a lot of opinions, but engineering is a
discipline that could ease the decision making by making guns safer.
There are articles out there where engineering plays a critical role in this topic, like How
Technology can reduce gun violence by Preston Gralla. The author speaks on how technology,
such as Smart Tech, could easily identify is someone is not the owner of the gun by sensing
fingerprints or something as small as a ring. Instead of using theories, the author used qualitative
and quantitative research methods to back their article. This is the main event on how
engineering plays a critical role in coming up with a solution for this problem, and Preston Gralla
explained part of the solution in this article.
Part of coming being an engineer is coming up with creative ideas and thinking outside
the box. To look at this problem from another perspective, John Carnes talks about not fixing
guns, but controlling the ammo in his article, Gun Control Won’t Work, But Ammo Control
Could. The author speaks on 3D printing and how it could help with the problem of gun control.
He talks about the benefits of 3D printing and that if society could utilize this option more than

3. Harland Mims DB5 6/23/2016
purchasing a gun, then it could limit the deaths that we all have witnessed. The gun isn’t the
problem, but the ammo is the one that is doing the damage. So why not change the ammo by
using a 3D printer in order to make our society safe.
There are people that believe guns aren’t the problem at all, for it’s the people behind the
guns who are causing harm to other. Three authors: Frank Ricci, Gary Cole, and Justin McCarthy
talked about this in their article, Fire Commentary: A Visceral Response to Gun Control Is Not
the Answer. They go on to talk about the incident in the Sandy Hook Elementary where two
firefighters as well as 26 individuals have died. They use quantitative and qualitative methods to
back their statements for this article. They then go into detail on why guns aren’t the problem,
but its people who are mentally ill that are causing the disruption. Their objective is to show that
gun laws won’t work because guns are not the problem.
These articles provide substantial information on why and how engineering is key
component to the problem of gun control on campus. We as a society are hearing more and more
on the news of tragic incidents that are happening across the world behind the use of a gun.
Technology is improving everyday and what way to benefit from this improvement than to come
up with a solution to a big dilemma that the government is having trouble solving. Engineering
has always been important and useful, but it would be even more so if it could solve the negative
issues behind guns.
References
Carnes, J. (2014). Gun Control Won't Work, But Ammo Control Could. Retrieved June 21, 2016,

4. Harland Mims DB5 6/23/2016
from http://thefederalist.com/2014/06/04/gun-control-wont-work-but-ammo-control-
could
Gralla, P. (2015). Technology can reduce gun violence. Retrieved June 21, 2016, from
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3013783/emerging-technology/technology-can-
reduce-gun-violence.html.
Repko, A. F. (2008). Interdisciplinary research: Process and theory. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Ricci, F., Cole, G., & McCarthy, J. (2013). Fire Commentary: A Visceral Response to Gun
Control Is Not the Answer. Retrieved June 24, 2016, from
http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2013/03/fire-commentary--a-visceral-response-
to-gun-control-is-not-the-a.html.