Conference Session

Ethical Issues I: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan Spierre, Arizona State University; Elizabeth A. Martin, Arizona State University; Jathan Sadowski; Andrew Berardy, Arizona State University; Scott McClintock, Arizona State University; Shirley-Ann Augustin, Arizona State University; Nicholas Hohman; Jay George Banna Jr.

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ethical principle, teachingethical reasoning skills appropriate for sustainability is problematic. While the classic approachin professional ethics education makes intensive use of behavioral codes and retrospective casestudies, these approaches are limited in their ability to prepare students for the unfamiliar andforward-looking problems of sustainability. Moreover, the classic read-discuss-writepedagogical strategies typical of the humanities emphasize abstraction and reflection at theexpense of two modes of learning more familiar to many professionals (e.g., engineers andphysical scientists): experimentation and experience. This paper describes the results of a novelexperiential approach to ethics education that employs non-cooperative game

Conference Session

Professional Issues in Ethics Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

A. Dean Fontenot, Texas Tech University; Richard A. Burgess, National Institute for Engineering Ethics

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

is the importance of teaching ethics and promoting ethical reflection in a way that is both accessible and substantive. This is a challenge that Richard is keenly interested in. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degree in philosophy. He placed an emphasis on ethics, both theoretical and applied, in his studies. Page 25.584.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Ethical Issues Awareness for Engineers in PracticeAs a discipline, engineering ethics is a relatively young one. Younger still is the question of howto teach engineering ethics. Like other applied

Conference Session

Ethical Issues I: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roger Painter P.E., Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ethics. Critical reflection is key to significant shifts of frames of reference. In thiscontext the goal of encouraging students to view engineering ethics through the lens of environmentaljustice issues is motivated by transformation learning theory. During the first half of the semesterlectures covered NEPA and EIA in the conventional manner and research papers were assignedfor EIA case studies. Beginning at midterm the relationship of environmental justice issues toNEPA and EIA were introduced and subsequent case study assignments also involvedenvironmental justice issues. For these case studies, the student’s role played the variousstakeholders on both sides of the case study issues. Anecdotally the impact of the interventionwas immediately

Conference Session

Professional Issues in Ethics Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Heather E. Canary, University of Utah; Joseph R. Herkert, Arizona State University; Karin Ellison, Arizona State University; Jameson M. Wetmore, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

. Due to shorter class meetingtime, Ellison presented the RCR materials over 9 class sessions rather than 5. On the whole,these changes are believed to have strengthened the integrated nature of ethics content deliveryfor these students. More applied content gave more direct opportunities to raise ethical questions.Delivering the RCR content over more sessions provided more sustained reflection on thesetopics.Hybrid ModelBased upon feedback from the Coordination Workshop (1) and the extensive availability ofonline course materials for RCR, the PIs decided to change the online modules envisioned in theproject proposal to a hybrid course model. This permitted maximum use of existing materials forthe online portion of the course and allowed for

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Ethics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yilmaz Hatipkarasulu, University of Texas, San Antonio; Suat Gunhan, University of Texas, San Antonio

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

discussionstructure.Ethics, Applied Ethics and Educational ApproachEthics can be defined as a science of morals, moral principles or code. Applied ethics is aperson’s systematic approach to determine and select values for individual conduct andapplication of these values in human interrelationships. These basic principles and selection ofvalues are at the center of our personal lives and their reflections drive the relationships betweenparties in professional and business context.In 2006, Hatipkarasulu and Gill proposed a systems approach for teaching ethics in the builtenvironment disciplines. The approach includes four major points to provide the necessary bodyof knowledge and a system-wide perspective including 11: 1. System Structure and Flow for the

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Ethics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Heywood, Trinity College, Dublin

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Page 25.1039.3continually return”[14]. Statements about aims naturally reflect the belief and value systems ofthose that make them so it is not to be expected that there will be a set of aims that will satisfy alloutcomes even within the education of engineers [15]. But this does not deny the importance oftrying to formulate aims because to cite Noddings again “we need to talk about aims becauseaims provide criteria by which we judge our choices of goals, objectives, and subject content.” Ifwe change the direction of the discussion such that developing aims is “directed (moregenerally) at the larger society and its policies” then “as we ask deeper questions about ouraims- why are we doing X? – we uncover new problems and new possibilities for

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Ethics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael H.G. Hoffmann, Georgia Institute as Technology; Jason Borenstein, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

EducationTraditionally, the main objective of engineering ethics courses has been to foster awarenessof and to stimulate reflection on the special responsibilities of professionals in technologicalfields. A well-established method to pursue this learning objective is to provide students withcase studies from engineering practice. The case studies typically focus on common ethicalissues such as taking a bribe from a vendor. However, a key problem with standard cases isthat they usually describe the ethical problem in such a fashion that renders it as beingsomething that is too simplistic. The more obvious the wrongdoing is, the easier it is todetermine what should have been done. Thus, there may be no true ethical ―challenge‖presented in the case.Clearly, the

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Ethics

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Marilyn A. Dyrud, Oregon Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

assignments that follow the classroom activity: a memoanalyzing their code of ethics and a reflection paper. The memo requires them to access theirprofessional code and analyze it according to a given set of criteria, while the reflection paperallows for free discussion, referencing the readings, of any course topic thus far that has caughttheir fancy or spawned thinking. A number of students choose professionalism as their papertopics, and, as the paper is due about two weeks after the activity, they have had enough time toformulate relatively coherent responses, which tend to represent an emotional gamut.Some students enter the class with very rigid notions of right and wrong—more than a few rootedin Christian fundamentalism—and evidence anger when

Conference Session

Ethics and Technology

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christa Walck, Michigan Technological University; Jacqueline E. Huntoon, Michigan Technological University; Jim R. Baker, Michigan Technological University; Jean S. DeClerck, Michigan Technological University; Nora Allred, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

dramatically.This is a great challenge, since intellectual property rights around the world reflect diversecultural norms and varying stages of economic development. Because today’s students aretomorrow’s policymakers, it is incumbent upon U.S. institutions of higher education engaged inresearch, which create intellectual property that is subject to U.S. laws, to deliver ethicseducation on U.S. intellectual property standards as a critical component of STEM graduateprograms.Active Learning and Asynchronous Learning NetworksUnderstanding intellectual property and scientific publishing is not a simple undertaking. Itrequires understanding and applying complex concepts to varied situations where the appropriateresponse is not always clear-cut. For example

Conference Session

Ethical Cases and Curricula

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert M. Brooks, Temple University; Jyothsna Kavuturu, St.Joseph’s College; Mehmet Cetin, Temple University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

students to pedagogies of liberation encourages them to claim responsibility for theirdecisions and to see themselves as co-teachers in a community of scholars18. Critical thinkingand reflective action are methods used to understand situations and decide on which part of Page 25.836.3professional ethics to use to toggle the situation. These are also the outcomes of pedagogies ofliberation. Students who are taught from this perspective not only learn to think ethically but alsoto act ethically.Herreid16 stated that the use of case studies in teaching could be classified into four major types:(a) individual assignment; (b) lecture format; (c

Conference Session

Ethical Cases and Curricula

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Russell Capelli, Virginia Tech; Estela Patron Moen, Virginia Tech; William N. Collins, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

conflicts in multinational engineering environments3. However, because differences incultures and individuals may always exist, an international code of ethics must be general andshould not be expected to reflect the complete ethical perspectives of even one society9.It is now widely recognized that engineering ethics education, traditionally based on individualautonomy and philosophical moral theory, may be insufficient for today’s students9. Studentsshould now be equipped with the ability and desire to not only recognize ethical dilemmas in theengineering environment, but also recognize the impact of the changing environment onengineering ethics. Given the potential dangers of an inadequate understanding of internationalethics, engineering

Conference Session

Ethical Cases and Curricula

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kenneth R. Leitch P.E., West Texas A&M University; Rhonda B. Dittfurth, West Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

ethical issues arising from the rise and subsequent fall in 2001 ofEnron Corporation.The course objectives (Appendix A), Fall 2010 schedule and grading (Appendix B), and Summer Session I 2011(Appendix C) schedule and grading are for the current one-credit required engineering ethics course. The structureof the class is essentially the same with the use of the same textbook and instructional materials. The followingsection will compare and contrast the in-seat (Fall 2010) versus the online (Summer Session I 2011) offering of theclass.Results and DiscussionThe in-seat version of the ENGR 1171 course was given during the Fall 2010 semester. This offering of the coursewas the first iteration to be given as a one-credit required course, reflecting a

Conference Session

Professional Issues in Ethics Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Islam H. El-adaway, Mississippi State University; Marianne M. Jennings, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

called a“substantial contribution” to the work [6]. The number of authors has changed dramatically, butso also have the practices that have led to these increases, which are discussed in the followingsection.5. Ethical Issues for Co-Authorship StatusAre the Ethical Issues in Co-Authorship a Form of Research Fraud?The ethical issues in academic research generally focus on fraud in data gathering, analysis,reporting, funding, and in writing (where issues of plagiarism arise). Indeed, the disciplinary andlegal actions and guidelines for researchers also focus on these areas [27, 31]. The forms ofmisconduct in research are broken down into three tiers, detailed below, with the seriousness ofthe breach reflected in the categorization of the conduct