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Ethics

Ethics. By: Professor Wilmer Arellano. Overview. Definitions Engineering Ethics Example Ethical Dilemmas The Code Model Ethical theories Obligation of the Engineer Links of interest Review. References. This presentation is based mainly in information found in the following Websites:

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Ethics

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  1. Ethics By: Professor Wilmer Arellano

  2. Overview • Definitions • Engineering Ethics Example • Ethical Dilemmas • The Code Model • Ethical theories • Obligation of the Engineer • Links of interest • Review

  3. References • This presentation is based mainly in information found in the following Websites: • http://www.sinclair.edu/about/gened/values/code/index.cfm (No longer available) • http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/ • Alternate approach • http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html • Some definitions were found in: • http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Ethical+dilemma, and in • http://www.hyperdictionary.com

  4. References • Excerpts from the book “Engineering Design, a Project Based Introduction”, second edition by Clive I. Dym and Patrick Little. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25687-0 • http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID=corp_level1&path=about/whatis&file=code.xml&xsl=generic.xsl • http://w3.fiu.edu/enc/Academic%20Misconduct.htm

  5. Ethical Dilemmas • A microprocessor manufacturer company finds that it’s most popular newly introduced product, under certain circumstances might produce errors

  6. Ethical Dilemmas • A student, has a 15-page biology report to type. She goes to the computer labs after her night class and finds no available terminals. • Glancing around the room, she notices a group of guys hovering around some PCs in the corner of the room. • As she discreetly walks by, she notices the men are playing video games and checking out images of partially naked women.

  7. Ethical Dilemmas • What should a professor do if he/she finds plagiarism in a report? • Fail the student for the course? • Fail the paper but allow the student to remain in the course, on the condition that she signs an acknowledgment of the plagiarism that will remain in his/her file until graduation? • Give the student the opportunity to rewrite the paper, and penalize the final grade by a full letter?

  8. Ethical Dilemmas • A Company must decide were to dispose of a slightly hazardous waste, • by dumping it into a canal under South Florida Water Management District or • by a very expensive truck transportation system. • A nearby city takes its drinking water supply near this canal. • Your research shows that with the amount of waste you plan to put into the canal, • the average concentration of the waste in the canal will be 8 parts per million (ppm). • The EPA limit for this material has been set at 10 ppm. • At the 8-ppm level, supposedly we expect no health problems, and • Consumers would not be able to detect the compound in their drinking water. • The decision is on your hands and as you already have a connection to the canal so you could even do it unnoticed.

  9. Definitions • Most dictionary definitions agree on moral as "principles of right and wrong." • Most dictionary definitions agree on Ethics is defined as a "system of morally correct conduct." • An ethical dilemma is a situation that often involves an apparent conflict between moral imperatives.

  10. Important • An ethical dilemma is a situation that often involves an apparent conflict between moral imperatives. • Legal issues are solved by the courts of law. • We don’t analyze safety we just follow safety measures

  11. Engineering Ethics ExampleThe Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis • This is the case involving William J. LeMessurier (pronounced “LeMeasure”), one of the leading structural engineers and designers in the world. He served as the structural consultant to a noted architect, Hugh Stubbins, Jr., for the design of a new New York headquarters for Citicorp • LeMessurier’s conceptual design for Citicorp was similar to other skyscrapers in that it used the tube concept in which a building is designed as a tall, hollow tube that has a comparatively rigid or stiff tube wall.

  12. Engineering Ethics Example • Top ten banking groups in the world ranked by tier 1 capital Figures in U.S. dollars, and as at end-2004 • Citigroup — 73 billion • JP Morgan Chase — 69 billion • HSBC — 67 billion • Bank of America — 64 billion • Credit Agricole Group — 63 billion • Royal Bank of Scotland — 43 billion • Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group — 40 billion • Mizuho Financial Group — 39 billion • HBOS — 36 billion • BNP Paribas — 35 billion • Tier 1 capital is the core measure of a bank's financial strength from a regulator's point of view. It consists of the types of financial capital considered the most reliable and liquid, primarily Shareholders' equity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tier_1_capital

  13. Engineering Ethics Example • The ethics problem arose soon after the building was completed and occupied. • LeMessurier received a call from an engineering student in New Jersey who was told by a professor that the building’s columns had been put in the wrong place.

  14. Engineering Ethics Example • The student’s questions sufficiently intrigued LeMessurier that he reviewed his original design and calculations to see just how strong the wind bracing system would be. • He found himself looking at a case that was not examined under then-current practice and building codes.

  15. Engineering Ethics Example • Practice at the time called for wind force effects to be calculated when the wind flow hit a side of a building dead on, that is, normal to the building faces. • However, the calculation of the effect of a quartering wind, under which the wind hits a building on a 45-degree diagonal and the resulting wind pressure is then distributed over the two immediately adjacent faces (see Figure 9.6), had not been called for previously.

  16. Engineering Ethics Example • LeMessurier considered several options, reportedly including driving into a freeway bridge abutment at high speed. • He also considered remaining silent, as he tried to reassure himself that his innovative rooftop mass damper actually reduced the probabilities of such failure to the fifty-year level.

  17. Engineering Ethics Example • On the other hand, if the power went out, the mass damper wouldn’t be there to help. So, what did LeMessurier actually do? • He first tried to contact the architect, Hugh Stubbins, who was away on a trip. • He then called Stubbins’ lawyer, after which he talked first with his own insurance carrier and then with the principal officers of Citicorp, one of whom studied engineering before choosing to become a banker. • While some early consideration was given to evacuating the building, especially since hurricane season was just over the horizon, it was decided instead that all of the connections at risk should be redesigned and retroactively fixed

  18. Engineering Ethics Example • “In return for getting a [professional engineering] license and being regarded with respect, you’re supposed to be self-sacrificing and look beyond the interests of yourself and your client to society as a whole. And themost wonderful part of my story is that when I did it nothing bad happened.” • William J. LeMessurier

  19. Ethical Dilemmas • Ethical dilemmas can be analyzed using two decision-making models: • Codes of ethics and conduct that govern the practice of professions and institutions like companies and schools (“The Code Model"). If a code of ethics and conduct deals with the situation addressed in the ethical dilemma, then the code may sufficiently resolve the issue. • Ethical theories from Western philosophy(“The Ethical Theory Model"). • A code may not address a particular situation central to an ethical dilemma. • The ethical dilemma may be too complex for it to be resolved using a code. • Finally, the ethical principles underlying the code are inadequate and need to be reconsidered.

  20. ETHICAL ANALYSIS • Recognize Ethical Issues • An ethical issue is one in which an action or belief can harm/benefit yourself or others. • Make a distinction between Ethics and Law, Safety or any other non ethical issue. • Identify and Understand the stakeholders • Who will be harmed or benefited by a particular course of action? • Put yourself in the shoes of each stakeholder, understand each stakeholder perspective. • How would each stakeholder want you to resolve the dilemma?

  21. Code Model • Apply the code of ethics and conduct a brainstorm to evaluate the issue • If the issue is resolve it is the end of the story.

  22. IEEE Code of Conduct • to accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment; • to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist; • to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data; • to reject bribery in all its forms; • to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;

  23. IEEE Code of Conduct • to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations; • to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others; • to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin; • to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action; • to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics. Approved by the IEEE Board of DirectorsAugust 1990

  24. Theory Model • Apply the code of ethics and conduct a brainstorm to evaluate the issue • If the code does not directly and clearly address the issue, then the "ethical theory model" should be used to resolve the ethical dilemma. • Present Options, apply various ethical theories to evaluate each option: Do any of the ethical theories support or reject any of the three options? • Consider only those ethical theories that directly apply to the dilemma. • Choose the option that meets the criteria of the largest number of ethical theories that you've chosen to consider.

  25. ETHICAL THEORIES (Most recommended) • Which option will generate the greatest benefit (or least amount of harm) for the greatest number? (utilitarianism) • Which option safeguards and/or promotes your own or your organization's best interests? (ethical egoism) • Which option allows you to be willing to make your decision a rule or policy that you and others in your situation can follow in similar situations in the future? Have you or will you be using any person as a means to an ends without consideration for his/her basic integrity and dignity as a human being? (Kantian ethics) • Which options respect the rights of individuals in society? (rights ethics)

  26. ETHICAL THEORIES (Additional Theories) • Which option best reflects the laws of nature? (natural law theory) • Which option emphasizes genuine caring for others? (ethics of care) • Which option best reflects the social contract of obligations and duties individuals in a society have toward one another? (social contract theory) • Which option develops moral virtues and character in individuals and in the community? (virtue ethics) • Which option reflects the will and laws of a divine being? (religious ethics)

  27. ETHICAL THEORIES (Additional Theories) • Which option assumes that an individual's beliefs, emotions and desires should decide what is ethical? (subjectivism) • Which option respects that ethical standards vary from culture to culture? (ethical relativism) • Which options respect an individual's right to justice? (ethics of justice)

  28. ETHICAL THEORIES • Choose, defend, and justify the best option based on the previous analysis. • There are no right or wrong answers to ethical dilemmas; there are only strong or weak arguments. If you have made a decision based on strong reasoning, then you should be able to defend that decision.

  29. ETHICAL THEORIES • Ask yourself the following questions: • Could you defend your decision to the stakeholder who has lost the most or who has been harmed the most? • If you told someone you respect why you chose this option, what would that person say? • Could you defend your decision in a letter addressed to your most inflexible detractor?

  30. THEORY MODEL EXAMPLE • In 1994/95, it was discovered and widely reported that the latest version of the Intel Pentium chip had flaws.

  31. THEORY MODEL EXAMPLE • Recognize the ethical issues: What are the ethical issues in the ethical dilemma? • Possible ethical issues:

  32. THEORY MODEL EXAMPLE

  33. THEORY MODEL EXAMPLE

  34. Example: FIU and Plagiarism • What should a professor do if he/she finds plagiarism in a report? • Fail the student for the course? • Fail the paper but allow the student to remain in the course, on the condition that she signs an acknowledgment of the plagiarism that will remain in his/her file until graduation? • Give the student the opportunity to rewrite the paper, and penalize the final grade by a full letter?

  35. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT/CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY • This Code of Academic Integrity was adopted by the Student Government Association on November 28, 2001 and reflects the values articulated in the Student Code of Standards. • Pledge • As a student of this university: • I will be honest in my academic endeavors. • I will not represent someone else's work as my own. • I will not cheat, nor will I aid in another's cheating. • 1.02 Plagiarism: The deliberate use and appropriation of another's work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student's own. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source, including internet sources, is guilty of plagiarism. Any student helping another to plagiarize may be found guilty of academic misconduct. • http://w3.fiu.edu/enc/Academic%20Misconduct.htm

  36. “Annie and the Computer" York College of Pennsylvania • Annie, a nontraditional student, has a 15-page biology report to type. She goes to the computer labs after her night class and finds no available terminals. Glancing around the room, she notices a group of guys hovering around some PCs in the corner of the room. As she discreetly walks by, she notices the men are playing video games and checking out images of barely-clad women. Thoroughly disgusted and frustrated, Annie thinks there must be a way to make the campus computers available only for legitimate coursework purposes

  37. “Annie and the Computer" York College of Pennsylvania • Recognize the ethical issues: What are the ethical issues in the ethical dilemma? • An ethical issue is one in which an action or belief can harm/benefit yourself or others. The harm can be psychological, emotional, or physical. It is arguable which harm has more weight and status. • Possible ethical issues: • 1.) Annie is psychologically harmed by having to view partially naked women • 2.) Annie is harmed by not being able to get on a computer terminal and do her project • 3.) The men benefit (psychological or emotional benefit) by playing the games.

  38. “Annie and the Computer" York College of Pennsylvania • Recognize the stakeholders: Who will be harmed or benefited by a particular course of action? • Annie, • the men, • future students using the lab (they most likely would be affected by the outcome of this ethical dilemma). • How would the stakeholders want the dilemma to be resolved? • Solution Next Slide

  39. “Annie and the Computer" York College of Pennsylvania • Conveniently, York College of Pennsylvania has a Code of Conduct in its Student Handbook. Point #22 of the code states one should not violate the College's Information Systems Policy by engaging in inappropriate or illegal use of college computers and network resources. Points #2 and #6 of the college's Information Systems Policy Statement are particularly relevant to the ethical dilemma. Point #2 states that all users should be considerate, not monopolize computers, or waste computer time. Point #6 states that computers are to be used for instructional purposes and not for private or personal use. Game playing is permitted if it is an instructional exercise and if it is not dominating resources needed by others.

  40. Ethics and Senior Design • Does your project pose an ethical dilemma? • Does your project help to solve an ethical dilemma? • How could flaws in your design create an ethical issue?

  41. Senior Design Examples • Intelligent Wheel Chair • Historically, people with disabilities have been faced with environmental, architectural, and attitudinal barriers. Each of these categories of barriers has impinged on choice. For example, the environment was much more limiting 20, 30, and 50 years ago than it is today. At one time these barriers prevented some children who used wheelchairs from getting an education and prevented some adults from accessing jobs. As these barriers have been addressed through legislation, the choices available to individuals with disabilities have been expanded. However, many barriers still exist. • http://www.worksupport.com/Main/proed9.asp

  42. Senior Design Examples • Silicon Valley Programmer Indicted For Manslaughter • Program Error Caused Death by Robot • by Mabel Muckraker • Special to the Silicon Valley Sentinel-Observer • Silicon Valley, USA • Article 1 of The Case of the Killer Robot • Jane McMurdock, prosecuting attorney for the city of Silicon Valley, announced today the indictment of Randy Samuels on charges of manslaughter. Samuels was formerly employed as a programmer at Silicon Techtronics Inc., one of Silicon Valley's newest entries into the high-tech arena. The charge involves the death of Bart Matthews, who was killed last May by an assembly-line robot. • http://onlineethics.org/cases/robot/article-1.html

  43. Senior Design Examples • Robot workers versus human workers • The question whether it is ethically and morally responsible to manufacture robot workers - and androids - is one of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to robots and artificial intelligence. • There are no easy answers here. The debate has been going for some time and there are several possible outcomes. • http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots/robots_ethical.html

  44. Order of the Engineer I am an engineer, in my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations. Since the stone age, human progress has been spurred by the engineering genius. Engineers have made usable nature's vast resources of material and energy for humanity's benefit. Engineers have vitalized and turned to practical use the principles of science and the means of technology. Were it not for this heritage of accumulated experience, my efforts would be feeble. As an engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance, and respect, and to uphold devotion to the standards and the dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of Earth's precious wealth. As an engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give the utmost.

  45. Links of Interest • http://www.onlineethics.com/ • http://www.nspe.org/ethics/codeofethics2003.pdf • http://www.niee.org/ • http://www.sinclair.edu/about/gened/values/code/index.cfm

  46. Review • Definitions • Engineering Ethics Example • Ethical Dilemmas • The Code Model • Ethical theories • Obligation of the Engineer • Links of interest • Review

  47. & Questions Answers

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