Conference Session

Contemporary Issues in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Seamus Freyne, Manhattan College; J.Patrick Abulencia, Manhattan College; Powell Draper, Manhattan College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

understand what students think about tencontemporary ethical issues, all real cases with great complexity. The ethical issues involve thework of engineers, but the topics also fall within the realms of philosophy, politics, economics,law, sociology, and psychology. The ethical issues are as follows:1. New transportation corridors through neighborhoods. Commerce depends on an efficient transportation system, but how should society balance public interest and individuals’ rights?2. SUVs. SUVs are very prevalent on roadways now, but should they vanish?3. Agricultural enhancements. To feed a growing world population, should society employ all available technological agricultural advances or adhere to natural practices?4. Space

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Outside the Classroom

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Traci Nathans-Kelly, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Sandra Courter, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Kevin Anderson, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Christine Nicometo, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Thomas McGlamery, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

. This study was unique because it allowed researchers toobserve engineers on-site, recording everyday work patterns, habits, and frameworks for decisionmaking. Our team also works with the assumptions that the practicing engineers’ voices need tobe heard; thus, this article contains direct quotes gleaned from our participants in order toforeground their voices, not just our summaries of their input. Our observations in this particularpaper are situated within the body of research and commentary regarding professionalengineering ethics decision making 1, 2, 3, 4.Herein, we first outline the goals and methodology of our study. Next, a discussion of ethics anda framework for exploring that concept is outlined. Finally, we will discuss two pieces

Conference Session

Contemporary Issues in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alejandra J. Magana, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Donna Riley, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

willinclude the development of instruction as proposed above and assessments will be conductedbefore and after the intervention. The ultimate goal is to prepare engineering students toencounter nanotechnology education across science, technology, social sciences and humanitiesto be better equipped to participate in debates about how societies ought to be transformed.References: 1. Roco, M. C., & Bainbridge, W. S. (2001). Societal implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 2. National Science and Technology Council. (2000). 2000 Annual Report. Washington D.C. 3. Roco, M. C. (2003). Broader societal issues of nanotechnology. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 5(3), 181--189. 4. Roco, M

Conference Session

Novel Methods in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carlos Bertha, U.S. Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

is a parable but an early version of a case study? A case study is an example—drawn fromhistory or from someone’s imagination—that is used to illustrate a particular point or concept. Inengineering ethics, for example, the DC-10 case is commonly used to make the case for thepositive moral worth of whistle-blowing. Case studies can vary in complexity, from short and tothe point (like the Monty Python clip) all the way up to the elaborate historical cases such as theFord Pinto case, the BART case and the Challenger disaster case. There are also fictional casestudy videos, such as the recently-released Henry’s Daughters and Ethicana, specifically tailoredfor engineering ethics classes, that merit special attention.1 It makes sense to use case

Conference Session

Novel Methods in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marilyn Dyrud, Oregon Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

notincluded in a standard ethics course. Specifically, the paper focuses on definitions, types, a casestudy of the 1915 Eastland disaster, contemporary examples, and classroom suggestions.Introduction“Technology,” notes Steven VanderLeest “is not neutral. It has an intrinsic bias that is built intoit from the original inception of a particular problem, throughout the entire design process, all theway to the implementation, use, and disposal of a product.” That bias, he further explains,determines the primary use of the device, although the user certainly can employ the product in“ways the designer did not intend.”1 Because human practitioners do not always followpredetermined usage, unforeseen results emerge.Unintended consequences are inevitable

Conference Session

Novel Methods in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig Titus, Purdue University; Carla Zoltowski, Purdue University; William Oakes, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

chapter with a powerful studentsentiment. “I can honestly say that I’ve learned more in this last year in [service learning] than Iprobably have learned in all four years of college” (1). And this student is not alone. The authorsshow that 80 percent of students surveyed reported having a “good or excellent experience” withservice learning (59). And this seems to translate into increased motivation to participate andahigher degree of learning. The study shows 55 percent “felt motivated to work harder inservice-learning classes,” while a slightly higher percentage, 58 percent, “felt they had learnedmore” than in a traditional classroom setting (60). Andwhile the opportunity is greater forstudents to work hard and to learn, so too, is the need for

Conference Session

Integrating Engineering Ethics into the Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelley Walczak, University of Michigan; Cynthia Finelli, University of Michigan; Matthew Holsapple, University of Michigan; Janel Sutkus, Carnegie Mellon University; Trevor Harding, California Polytechnic State University; Donald Carpenter, Lawrence Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Engineering Education, 2010 Institutional Obstacles to Integrating Ethics into the Curriculum and Strategies for Overcoming ThemAbstractSeveral national reports emphasize the importance of providing undergraduate engineeringstudents with effective ethics education, and most engineering faculty and administrators agreethat ethics is an important aspect of engineering undergraduate education. However, there aremany obstacles to integrating ethics into the curriculum. This study investigated these obstaclesat 18 diverse institutions and found five common themes: 1) the curriculum is already full, andthere is little room for ethics education, 2) faculty lack adequate training for teaching ethics 3)there are too few

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Outside the Classroom

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Bowler, Michigan Technological University; Susie Amato-Henderson, Michigan Technological University; Tom Drummer, Michigan Technological University; Joseph Holles, Michigan Technological University; Ted Lockhart, Michigan Technological University; Joanna Schreiber, Michigan Technological University; Debra Charlesworth, Michigan Technological University; Jingfang Ren, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Orientation InventoryI. IntroductionThe concept of professional “roles” is a fundamental component in the study of the professions.1Kultgen defines roles as “patterns of activity governed by generally shared expectations andperformed by replaceable individuals” (pg. 38).1 Bebeau et al. suggests that a professional’s roleconcept is “a dimension of motivation and commitment which influences the prioritization ofprofessional over personal values” (pg. 32).2 A role orientation inventory is a tool designed toassess one’s professional role concept. Professional role concept is thus recognized as a keyaspect in evaluating a person's understanding of and attitude toward the nature of theirprofession, the role of that profession in society and the

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Outside the Classroom

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Bowler, Michigan Technological University; Susie Amato-Henderson, Michigan Technological University; Tom Drummer, Michigan Technological University; Joseph Holles, Michigan Technological University; Ted Lockhart, Michigan Technological University; Joanna Schreiber, Michigan Technological University; Debra Charlesworth, Michigan Technological University; Jingfang Ren, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

-National STEM ResearchersI. IntroductionThe "Four Component Model" of moral behavior developed by Rest,1, 2, 3 and applied toprofessional ethics by Bebeau4 and others argues that ethical behavior is a consequence of fourfactors: (1) ethical sensitivity, (2) ethical judgment, (3) ethical motivation and commitment, and(4) ethical character and competence. The majority of theoretical and pedagogical research inthe field of Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) has centered on ethicaljudgment.5 Significantly, relatively little work has been done on ethical sensitivity in EESE eventhough ethical sensitivity provides an individual with the range of concrete considerations uponwhich that person makes ethical judgments. Ethical sensitivity

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Outside the Classroom

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dominic Halsmer, Oral Roberts University; Elliott Butay, Oral Roberts University; Ben Hase, Oral Roberts University; Sean McDonough, Oral Roberts University; Taylor Tryon, Oral Roberts University; Joshua Weed, Oral Roberts University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

conductivity also allows cells todistribute heat well, and its high vapor tension enables air to hold more water, makingprecipitation possible. It seems that everything about water makes it ideal for sustaininglife.Through reverse engineering the structure of the universe, a better understanding of itsmeaning and purpose might possibly be gained. All of the universal constants such as theconstant of gravitation and the laws such as Newton’s laws all add to the astoundingorder and functionality of the universe. Any minute differences in things like theexpansion rate of the universe appear to be detrimental to life. If the universal densitywere a mere 1:1060 greater, the universe would collapse upon itself, and a density lowerby that same amount would

Conference Session

Contemporary Issues in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Catalano, State University of New York, Binghamton; Caroline Baillie, Western Australia

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

broader ethical issues that arise when considering the impacts of engineeringupon society and the environment. Our approach in the present work shall be tospecifically limit our consideration of such issues to an important nexus of societal andenvironmental ethical dilemmas, those related to sustainability.Engineering is a profession with an important ethical dimension.1 It is our perspectivethat we in engineering need to reconsider our sense of ethical responsibility towards notonly the health of the natural environment but to include also the health and vibrancy oflocal societies in which we work in a much broader way. Far too often it seems that wehave not done a very good job with respect to either. Yet we do not think it is because weare

Conference Session

Novel Methods in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jill May, Illinois Institute of Technology; Daniel Gandara, Illinois Institute of Technology; Margaret Huyck, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

effort involvingteam- based project programs at four universities: the IPRO program at Illinois Institute ofTechnology, the Integrated Product Development program at Lehigh, the Enterprise programMichigan Tech, and the EPICS program at Purdue. The ethics component has the followingspecific goals: 1) development and validation of instruments to measure ethical proficiency ofundergraduate students on multidisciplinary teams; and 2) identifying and developing bestpractices for creating ethical awareness of the student. Two ethics measures have been developedat IIT and pilot studies started: one presenting ethical situation vignettes with multiple choiceanswers based on a previously validated method; the other to study ethical climate. Thesemeasures

Conference Session

Contemporary Issues in Engineering Ethics

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ahmed Khan, DeVry University; Abdul Qadeer, Urdu Science University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

interfacial volume fraction, and other unique properties,phenomena and processes. Many current theories of matter at the microscale will beinadequate to describe the new phenomena at the nanoscale 2.As the global economy continues to be transformed by new technology, an intensecompetition will grow for intellectual capital and intellectual property. Technology willcontinue to drive the global and domestic GDP 3.The National Science Foundationpredicts that the global marketplace for goods and services using nanotechnologies willgrow to $1 trillion by 2015 and employ 2 million workers. It is estimated that by 2015Nanotechnology will be a $3 trillion-a-year global industry. In 1997 the investment inNanotechnology stood at $430 million to more than $9

Conference Session

Integrating Engineering Ethics into the Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Culver, Virginia Tech; Vinod Lohani, Virginia Tech; Ishwar Puri, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

solving [1]. Suggestions also include a widerange of solutions, including faculty development programs for ethics instruction [1a],required social sciences coursework [2], and the incorporation of an open ethics dialoguewithin engineering courses [3]. It has been suggested to consider professional codes ofethics in engineering as a useful framework for thinking about the student learningoutcomes in the area of ethics and professional responsibility [4]. Service learning hasbeen proposed as the learning pedagogy for effectively teaching professional skills andneed to continue research is the area of assessment of professional skills is emphasized[5]. In a recent article, ethics instructions in engineering, health, business, and lawprofessions are

Conference Session

Integrating Engineering Ethics into the Curriculum

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Glynn, Villanova University; Frank Falcone, Villanova University; Mark Doorley, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ethicaland professional responsibility issues that are most pressing in contemporary engineeringpractice: 1. We often think about ethics primarily through the prism of some engineering disaster. Considering engineering / project disasters that you've been involved with, read or heard about; what do you think are the most important ethical and professional responsibility issues that need to be addressed in undergraduate engineering education? 2. Questions or issues involving ethics and professional responsibility occur regularly, on a day to day basis in engineering practice. Given your experience on the job, please identify the ethics and professional responsibility challenges