Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Jordan, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

are not the only people who are trying this bottom-up approach. Non-engineeringexamples of such an approach to poverty are described in the excellent book1 by Shannon Daley-Harris and Jeffrey Keenan.Criteria for Successful Engineering Service Projects—Preliminary WorkSuccessful projects do not just happen. If the project is to be successful there are some thingsthat need to be done before the project can be implemented. They are:1. Have contacts in the country who are interested in having us do the project and who can act as a resource.2. Know enough details about this project so that the design work can be done during the academic year at our university.3. Raise enough money to pay for travel to the country and to purchase the needed

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

M.P. Sharma, University of Wyoming; Robert W. Peters, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

, government, and national laboratories is a must. The proposal solicitation lists the following stated activities and specific areas of interest: “The extent of integration of sustainability into the engineering curricula at institutions of higher education in the United States may be identified by several key activities and indicators including but not limited to: (1) curricula development activities such as new core courses or electives or amending existing courses to include sustainability themes; (2) centers and institutes on campus related to sustainability; (3) conferences related to sustainability developed and hosted by faculty, departments, or engineering schools; (4) institutional support and funding for research relating engineering

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics IV

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Cottrell, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

communications, engineering economy, and construction planning, scheduling, estimating, and management. Page 13.762.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Integr ating Engineer ing Ethics Education into a Multi-Disciplinar y Seminar Cour se: Making the ÐUqhvÑ"Qwveqogu RelevantIntr oduction The Department of Engineering Technology at the University of North Carolina atCharlotte (UNCC) has developed and implemented a comprehensive program leading toan academic environment of continuous improvement consistent with the ABETTechnology Criteria 2000 (TC2K).1 With the advent of TC2K, many

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Birmingham, Grove City College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

the soul “encompasses every dimension of human existence.” Aquinas, drawingupon Boethius, further argues that each person is not only an individual substance, but anindividual substance that is connected to other similar substances. The person then exists bothindividually and in communion with other persons. (Summa Theologica I.29 art 1)The high regard for the person as such is not limited to those who would consider themselvesThomists. Immanuel Kant argues the Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals that persons areend in themselves and that human communities should be viewed as a “kingdom of ends’. Kantdoes not explicitly adopt or a reject the person as unity of body and soul, but he certainly seeshuman beings as using their bodies as

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Godfrey, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Todd Taylor, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Corinna Fleischmann, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Daniel Pickles, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

topicscovered and the authors’ efforts to develop a handbook to reduce the preparation requiredfor future lunches. The paper will also review the advantages of these lunches, includingreduced workload for instructors and the integration of ethics into the curriculum withoutdisplacing discipline-specific engineering topics.IntroductionMost engineering faculty will agree that student engineers need a strong foundation inengineering ethics. Even if there is disagreement, criterion 3f of ABET’s accreditationrequirement, which states that engineering programs must demonstrate that their studentspossess “an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility”1, ensures that

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Theis, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott; patricia watkins, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Library; Mary Angela Beck, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

“principles of sustainable development”1 as primary to the ASCE’s code of ethics to beimplemented in engineering education. Previously, in June of 1999, the Board of Directors forthe American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) approved the following statement onsustainable development in education: Engineering students should learn about sustainable development and sustainability in the general education component of the curriculum as they are preparing for the major design experience. . . . Engineering faculty should use system approaches, including interdisciplinary teams, to teach pollution prevention techniques, life cycle analysis, industry ecology, and other sustainable engineering concepts.2ASEE has aligned

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Travis Rieder, University of South Carolina

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

thefollowing intuition: some acts are simply wrong, by virtue of the fact that they are thekind of act which is wrong (not by virtue of contingent considerations such asconsequences). In addition, if an act is wrong, it is wrong for anyone, at any time.Wrong action, according to deontology, is the kind of act which no one ought to do.18This kind of universalizability is an important characteristic of morality for many people.ConclusionsAccording to the preceding arguments, most of us, much of the time, have the followingthree intuitions concerning ethics: (1) ethics is primarily about being a particular kind ofperson, and evaluations of acts is secondary; (2) an action is right in so far as it bringsabout a better state of affairs than any alternative

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics IV

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

B. Kyun Lee, LeTourneau University; Paul Leiffer; R. William Graff, LeTourneau University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

, current students are the most media-savvy and computer-literategeneration yet seen. They have grown up with the internet, with cell phones, video games, and Page 13.1013.2fast-paced television and video. They are very skilled at multitasking.The downside is that they may have short attention spans, are easily bored, expect to multitaskin every situation, and may have little company loyalty or perseverance. Comments in print: 1. “This age group hates to be bored and they seek entertainment in everything they do -- including college and the work they expect to do when they graduate. Many studies we reviewed indicated this generation

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics IV

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Norma Mattei, University of New Orleans

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

AC 2008-2465: COMPARISON OF CHEATING BEHAVIORS INUNDERGRADUATENorma Mattei, University of New Orleans Page 13.312.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2008 Comparison of Cheating Behaviors in Undergraduate Engineering Students and the General Student Population at the University of New OrleansAcademic dishonesty is a problem at most universities, including the University of New Orleans(UNO). The percentage of students who report cheating varies by college major. Recent studiesindicate that engineering students more frequently engage in cheating behavior than students ofmost other majors [1]. One of the most recent studies, called

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos; Andrew Hable, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ethicalquestions that have practical import. However, these questions are frequently neglectedin the engineering ethics teaching materials. We argue that it is imperative to examinethese issues in engineering ethics education, and that this discussion would complementmovements to orient engineering around fostering peace and social justice.1. IntroductionThe co-development of technology and engineering with military technology ishistorically well established. Indeed, many early mechanisms were designed for wagingbattle, and countless engineers throughout history have worked for military institutions.Likewise, many of the first institutions of higher education to offer degrees in science orengineering have military origins. We review some of the history of

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jose Cruz, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; William Frey, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Halley Sanchez, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Aury Curbelo, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

mainstreamBSE curricula and in providing students with a practical ethics education.1 EAC, however,requires a robust educational infrastructure which empowers BSE professors as ethics mentorsand provides them with renewable materials to carry out this role.Modeled upon the practice of open source code development effectively used by computerprogrammers to collaborate in the development of software and building on an existing opencourseware tool named Connexions®2,3,4,5, the project known as the EAC Toolkit hasestablished an online environment that enables the sharing of best practices in ethics instruction.The Toolkit online platform facilitates integrated access, collaborative creation, continualimprovement, and interactive dissemination of EAC

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Borenstein, Georgia Tech; Matthew Drake, Duquesne University; Robert Kirkman, Georgia Institute of Technology; Julie Swann, Georgia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

. However, assessing theeffectiveness of ethics education programs generally, not just in science and engineering, hasproven to be a rather daunting task. Many of the attempts at assessment have made use of the Defining Issues Test (DIT), aninstrument that measures moral reasoning based on Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.[1]Briefly put, the DIT elicits subjects’ responses to moral dilemmas and sorts those responsesaccording to three types of moral reasoning: preconventional, conventional, andpostconventional. A subject’s responses are scored on the simple prevalence of postconventionalreasoning, which involves reflecting on universal principles that apply to all of humanity, andalso the prevalence of postconventional reasoning

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brock Barry, Purdue University; Vincent Drnevich, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

profession of engineering is similarto the medical and law professions in that the actions of an engineer have the potential to resultin significant (positive or negative) impacts on society. Accordingly, society expects thatengineers will execute their responsibilities in an ethical manner. The responsibility of anengineer to act ethically is given voice in the codes used by various professional and technicalengineering organizations. For example, IEEE (formerly the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the NationalSociety of Professional Engineers (NSPE) each endorse codes with language that emphasizes theimportance of ethics in the execution of an engineer’s professional duties 1, 2

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pradeep Bhattacharya, Southern University & A&M College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

using independent researchfields, now highlighting potential risks and achieved goals. It is aimed to deduce howthese goals can be achieved via educational solutions in various applications. Page 13.568.2 1. Introduction For the future, the nation will need a whole generation with inherent innovationskills, and a workforce equipped with more than literacy in reading, mathematics andscience. Down the road we need a workforce with the capacities of creative thinking andthriving for a ethically sound collaborative culture. If our goal is a research rich learningenvironment or one that is interdisciplinary, it

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Catalano, State University of New York-Binghamton

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ofmany different codes is presented in Table 1.There are many other engineering disciplines at present, each with its own code ofconduct or ethics, which describes the responsibilities of the profession. Most focusheavily on the sense of responsibility engineering has towards employers, society ingeneral and towards other professional engineers.Engineering as a value-laden profession seeks to codify ethical behavior with variouscodes of conduct as put forth by different engineering societies. There are differencesamong the different codes but there are some striking similarities. The similarities exist inwhat has not been included in the ethical codes. While each does speak to the importanceof holding paramount the public safety, issues

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics IV

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Catalano, State University of New York-Binghamton; Caroline Baillie, Queen's University; Donna Riley, Smith College; Dean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

course modules have been developed with approximately ten more to becompleted in the following two years. A listing and brief discussion of the existingmodules are presented.Module 1: The Gini Coefficient and Poverty in the U.SThis assignment is completed in the form of a Gini coefficient which is a measure ofstatistical dispersion most prominently used as a measure of inequality of incomedistribution or inequality of wealth distribution. It can be used to compare incomedistributions across different population sectors as well as countries, for example the Ginicoefficient for urban areas differs from that of rural areas in many countries (though theUnited States' urban and rural Gini coefficients are nearly identical). It is sufficientlysimple

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rose Marra, University of Missouri; Demei Shen, University of Missouri; David Jonassen, University of Missouri; Jenny Lo, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Vinod Lohani, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

groups as measured by students’analysis of an assessment case with the students who used the “questions” version of theenvironment outperforming the “plain link” group. Introduction Engineering, as a profession, involves problem solving in practice on a daily basis1. Mostof the problems that engineers encounter in their workspace are ill-structured2. Ill-structuredproblems are those that occur in specific contexts with loosely defined problem space, vaguegoals and multiple answers3. The ethical issues that arise in the engineering workplace makeengineering practices more complicated and ill-structured. Engineering ethics is “(1) the studyof the moral issues and decisions confronting individuals

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Durfee, Eastern Washington University; William Loendorf, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics IV

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Niewoehner, U.S. Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Christian system answers, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthian 10:31) • A Normative Ethic demands, “What rules should we obey?” The Christian system answers: “These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” (Deuteronomy 6: 1-2)Hence, Christianity does not dispute each question’s primacy. The imitation of