Conference Session

Ethics in different disciplines

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diana Bairaktarova, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Demetra Evangelou, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

differing levels of experience with critical andanalytical thinking.BottlenecksIn the course of teaching engineering ethics a few possible bottlenecks exist. First, it could bedifficult to motivate students to take the course seriously as it is not one of the primaries in theengineering curriculum. Students will need to be convinced that the course is intended toencourage genuine moral reflection rather than mere recitation. This bottleneck could beovercome by creating an opportunity to exercise and refine students’ critical, moral abilities. Ifthey are invited to reflect on realistic, engaging case studies in ways that respect their moralcapabilities, they will sense that they are being respected as moral agents and thinkers in theirown right. As

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Issues Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rebecca A. Bates, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

development. Pervasive computingresearch has also been driven by examples like the communicators in Star Trek.10 (A colleaguehas declared for years that the point of engineering is to make life more like Star Trek.) Anexample of a similar course with a broader computing approach, including knowledge bases,web interaction and research, telepresence, virtual reality, and security as well as AI, is given bySanderson.11Course StructureThe structure of the course allows for students to grapple with ethical questions throughdiscussions, reflection papers and longer writing assignments. Technical content that lays thefoundation for an understanding of the state-of-the-art is presented through lectures similar tothose used in typical AI courses, but is tied

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics and Justice

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William M. Jordan, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

. Page 22.587.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2011 Engineering Ethics and Justice: How do they Relate?AbstractEngineering professional societies have revised their ethics statements in recent years to includeadditional issues such as sustainability and environmental protection that were not in earlierstatements. These changes reflect changes in our society and changes in how engineers see theirrole in society. This paper will examine the issue of justice, and how/whether it should be inengineering ethics codes.One example of this issue was when members in the Engineering Ethics Division were requestedto aid ASEE in a revision of its policy on engineering ethics education. We had

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Issues Part One

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig Titus, Purdue University; Carla B. Zoltowski, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Margaret Huyck, Illinois Institute of Technology; William C. Oakes, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Jill L. May, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

dilemmas and uncertainties in engineering. The method is Page 22.1436.2modeled on validated instruments designed for other contexts and on major theories in moraldevelopment. The second instrument is a team ethical-climate measure we adapted from onevalidated in business contexts. This measure asks students to self-report their perceptions of theethical behavior of their teammates. The third instrument is a taxonomy of ethicalcomprehension that can be used as a rubric for assessing ethical reflection essays. Our goal forthe first two measures is to demonstrate both reliability and validity by utilizing acceptedpsychometric strategies. Our goal

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Issues Part One

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Claire Komives, San Jose State University; Moira M. Walsh, Independent Scholar

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

illuminated the forms of their own activity, by identifying and exposing its limitations, and provided a way of posing further questions about practice. They had already asked themselves: “What ends am I pursuing, as a family member, in the work place, as member of this or that organization?” Aristotle gave them the resources for asking “But what is it all for? What is my end qua human being?” And Aristotle’s reflections on the human qualities needed to achieve worthwhile ends, on the virtues, coincided with and deepened their own reflections. [...] The only other thinker to whom such workers responded in a similar way was Marx. He too had asked their questions.” 9Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a student of

Conference Session

Sustainability and Humanitarian Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela R. Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

% among civil engineering students and 26-29% of the environmental engineering students. In the special topic papers written by the civilengineering students for Homework 6, significantly more students discussed sustainability inrelation to their topic in the semesters that the course included a sustainability module (21-24%vs. previous 5%). In the final reflective essays at the end of the semester (homework 7), 60-86%of the students mentioned ethics; there were not specific trends over time or differences betweenthe civil and environmental engineering courses. The semesters with the sustainability modulesignificantly increased the discussion of sustainability by the students: 5% civil engineers beforethe module vs. 52 and 76% after the module

Conference Session

Sustainability and Humanitarian Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ryan C. Campbell, University of Washington; Denise Wilson, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

) identify and apply specific scientific principles (i.e., equations derived exclusively from the engineering sciences) to the problems, 5) deploy mathematical strategies to solve these equations, 6) produce a single "correct" solution on which they are graded, 7) reflect back on the answer and ask whether it makes sense in the physical world.Students are rarely taught how to consider non-technical issues throughout this process: theymay even learn that such issues are irrelevant and unimportant. Engineering students are thustaught a reductionist approach to design that deliberately limits problem scope to technicalconcerns and both excludes and devalues broader considerations [4]. Similarly, Moriarty [6 , pp. 90]describes the

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics and Justice

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

scholarly reflection, professional practice,and activism is worthy of attention by engineering educators. Not only do such activities pointto areas of potential interest and relevance to prospective engineering students, but they connectin interesting and important ways with contemporary engineering educational reform initiatives,such as those revolving around liberal education in engineering; problem- and project-based andservice learning, as well as engineering ethics.Approaches to Social Justice in EngineeringFor the purposes of this paper, a range of contemporary approaches to social justice inengineering education are categorized not around the context of intervention but instead aroundthe underlying intervention strategy. Four such strategies

Conference Session

Ethics in different disciplines

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert M. Brooks, Temple University; Jyothsna K. S., St.Joseph's College, Bangalore, Department of English; Amithraj Amavasai

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

social justice issues, an important aspect of the engineering field. Engineers make decisionsthat affect societies. They must understand the impact these decisions have and carefullyexamine their own motives as well as those of their superiors. Exposing students to pedagogiesof liberation encourages them to claim responsibility for their decisions and to see themselves asco-teachers in a community of scholars15. Critical thinking and reflective action16 are aspects ofethics. These are also the outcomes of pedagogies of liberation. Students who are taught fromthis perspective not only learn to think ethically but also to act ethically.How to Teach with CasesHerreid13 stated that the use of case studies in teaching could be classified into four

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Issues Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Martin S. High, Oklahoma State University; Steve Harrist, Oklahoma State University; Scott D. Gelfand, Oklahoma State University, Department of Philosophy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Inventory Report, will help the student engage in reflection inorder to determine what sorts of situations the student might find ethically challenging. Thestudent will then develop a personal plan (Adaptive-Strategies Report) addressing what strategiesthey might use in order to increase the likelihood that they will act ethically in challengingsituations (that is, the situations arrived at while developing the Personal Inventory Report). TheAdaptive Strategies Report will help the student: 1) recognize when an ethically challengingsituation; and 2) act ethically in ethically challenging situations (that is, apply the strategiesdeveloped for the Adaptive-Strategies Report). The products of this exercise – PersonalInventory Report and Adaptive

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Issues Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Katherine McComas, Cornell University; Nancy Healy, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Page 22.851.3facilitating SEI research on NNIN users and technologies. It opens itself to outside SEIresearchers from outside the network for data collection, ethnographic study, experimentation,and other types of research. A fundamental objective of the federal SEI initiative is to developnational self-awareness and self-reflection regarding the impact of NSE research. We believethat this approach will allow for responsible development of this emerging field which has thepotential of influencing and impacting many aspects of society.To attain its broad-minded goals, NNIN has designed three primary activities to address SEI: 1)providing SEI education and engagement opportunities for NNIN users; 2) stimulating SEIresearch on NNIN users and

Conference Session

Integration of Liberal Education into Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald Arthur Brown, Penn State University ; Mary Lynn Brannon, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

, this program is important because if students mistake “factual” claims as“value-neutral” claims then they will not be able to reflect upon the value-laden nature ofthe claims.However, the goal of the program in another way is quite modest because it does notpresume to teach students to evaluate ethical questions in depth. Developing in-depthskills to evaluate ethical questions raised by environmental controversies is beyond thescope of this program because there is not usually enough time in the courses that thisprogram targets to devote to teaching deep ethical reflection about environmentalproblems.The program also seeks to develop a teaching module that will allow transferability tofaculty colleagues, who are not trained in ethics, to teach

Conference Session

Integration of Liberal Education into Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George D. Ricco, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

ofSonnemann is not divided into understander and understandee, but involves an individual’sunderstanding of him or herself. The self in the mode of identity pulls from different sourcesboth within the conditional and unconditional realms to construct a spectrum of identity.Combining the work of Sonnemann with that of Jaspers, (Figure 2) I construct the firstframework for consideration of identity as Dasein in self-reflection; one that uses conditionalidentity and unconditional identity. Perception plays the role of guiding the self from empiricalexistence or the conditional to the existenz or unconditional. Unconditional identities in the sociological framework are those which derive from therealm outside of the physical world or, in other

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics and Justice

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rodney W. Trice, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

engineering can be“rigorously measured.” A recent article in the Review of Higher Education 11 described the DIT2test as measuring “the degree to which students use principles to guide their decision makingwhen faced with a moral dilemma.” In this case, the test outcome examined is the N2 score,comprised of two parts to include the degree to which respondents demonstrate sophisticatedthinking and the degree to which respondents reject simplistic or biased thinking when facedwith moral dilemmas.11 The article goes on to say that “higher N2 scores reflect an individual’sincreased capacity for reasoning about moral issues based on a system of fairness that serves thepublic good.” 11 The DIT2 test has been used extensively and correlations with

Conference Session

Integration of Liberal Education into Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

K.L. Jordan, Michigan Technological University; Anahita Pakzad, Michigan Technological University; Renee Oats, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

implications the authors would liketo address. Are students who take courses via internet-based learning technologies moreprone to cheating and plagiarism than those in traditional learning environments? Dostudents feel they are gaining the required knowledge in their courses and laboratorysessions to become successful engineers? Do their expectations of what will be asked ofthem on homework and exams reflect what is seen in industry? Are instructors of internetbased learning courses satisfied with the quality of work being submitted by theirstudents?This paper will discuss the opinions of undergraduate students, graduate students, andfaculty members regarding the ethical and societal implications of internet-basedengineering education. By discussing

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Issues Part One

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen L. Hein, Michigan Technological University; Amber Kemppainen, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

andjustification.4 Another way to analyze ethical issues that has been used at Union College is tocreate an ethics matrix with the NSPE Canons along one axis and the situation alternatives alongthe other. Students fill in the matrix with “Yes, No, and Maybe”, along with a justification.5These studies indicate that faculty recognize the importance of engineering ethics incontemporary society and the need to update the teaching of ethics to reflect current studentlearning preferences. To investigate what students think about contemporary ethical issues, asurvey of first-year students was completed at Manhattan College. The issues did not just focuson engineering, but also included “philosophy, politics, economics, law, sociology, andpsychology”.6 This one

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics and Justice

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Caroline Baillie, University of Western Australia

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

twentieth century. While they are considered by governments, and some locals, to benecessary for economic growth there are others - directly impacted by altered hydrology andecology, and also by resettlement - who are less sure about the benefits of progress. Factors thatinfluence the process of assessing the social and environmental impacts of engineering decisionsare in focus here, including international agreements on water supply, and examples drawnbetween the challenges of international agreements versus national agreements.c) Education/Engineering - Educational theory facilitates conceptual discussion for the newmillennium about developing professional engineers who seek social justice through engagementin critical thinking and reflective

Conference Session

Sustainability and Humanitarian Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Khanjan Mehta, Penn State University; Duarte B. Morais, North Carolina State University; Yu Zhao, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Mary Lynn Brannon, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Sarah E. Zappe, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

of the major scholars in the field provides a framework of globaleducation consisting of eight elements18. These elements are: human beliefs and values, globalsystems, global issues and problems, cross-cultural understanding, awareness of human choices,global history, acquisition of indigenous knowledge, and development of analytical, evaluative,and participatory skills19,20. The MTR Solutions Showcase emphasized the importance ofpreservation of and respect for indigenous knowledge21,22. Indigenous knowledge is about theways of knowing, seeing, and thinking that are passed down from generation to generation, andwhich reflect thousands of years of experimentation and innovation in all aspects of life.Over the course of human history, some

Conference Session

Integration of Liberal Education into Engineering

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vassilios Tzouanas, University of Houston, Downtown; Lea Campbell, University of Houston, Downtown

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics, Liberal Education/Engineering & Society

exit interview rubric can be found inAttachment B.Next StepsThe curriculum, pedagogy and assessment strategies reflect several months of research onteaming as well as lessons that the authors have learned over many years of participating in andleading teams. The next step is to determine if the curriculum does, in fact improve students‟knowledge of teaming and their performance within teams. Beginning in Spring 2011 theteaming curriculum will be integrated into a number of project-based Engineering Technologycourses and piloted over several semesters. Assessment data collected from these pilot groupswill then be compared to similar assessment data collected from other student groups who didnot have the benefit of deliberate instruction in

Conference Session

Ethics in different disciplines

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marilyn A. Dyrud, Oregon Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

, “students are forced to reflect . . . on the environment of decision making.”4 Doing soallows students to exercise critical thinking and ethical decision-making abilities. Because smallcases are so limited, instructors can spend more time focusing on these skill sets, as well asethical problem identification and moral deliberation.Finally, a consideration of our students’ career paths indicates that small cases may be morerelevant. Engineers, of course, have been involved in high-profile cases, but chances are that our Page 22.710.2students will probably face ethical challenges of the more mundane, garden variety. Furthermore,engineering ethicist