Transcript Dimension - South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Chapter 6:
Engineering Ethics
Motivation:
– Right thing to do
– ABET: “An understanding of the ethical,
social, economic, and safety
considerations in engineering practice is
essential for a successful engineering
career.”
– WorldCom, Enron, etc…….
Engineering Ethics
‘Students Fight for the Right to Cheat’
Reuter, Dhaka, April 19. Indian Express, 19 April 1988
“Nearly 100 people were injured when the
Bangladeshi students demanding the right
to cheat during college final examinations
fought teachers and the police on Sunday.”
Engineering Ethics
Engineering Ethics
Ethics (definition) (what is your team’s consensus)
Ethical (definition)
Engineering Ethics
Engineering Ethics
Ethics (definition)
1. a discipline dealing with good and evil and with moral
duty
2. moral principles or practice
Ethical (definition)
1. of or relating to ethics
2. conforming to accepted and especially professional
standards of conduct
3. syn: virtuous, honorable, upright
Engineering Ethics
Roots - go way back
18th Century, BC Hammurabi, King of Babylon
“If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made the
work sound, and the house which he has built has fallen down
and so caused the death of the householder, that builder shall be
put to death. If it causes the death of the householder’s son, they
shall put that builder’s son to death.”
5th Century, BC Socrates
Equated virtue with knowledge of one’s true self, holding that no
one knowingly does wrong.
Buddhism
Emphasizes a right path from which is derived a code of ethics.
Engineering Ethics
Roots - “continued”
Christianity - Matthew 7
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to
you…”
Code of Ethics for Professionals
NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers)
Each engineering professional society has their own Code of
Ethics
NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers
Preamble
Engineering is an important and learned profession. As members of this
profession, engineers are expected to exhibit the highest standards of
honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the
quality of life for all people. Accordingly, the services provided by engineers
require honesty, impartiality, fairness and equity, and must be dedicated to
the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. Engineers must
perform under a standard of professional behavior that requires adherence
to the highest principles of ethical conduct.
I. Fundamental Canons
Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall:
1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public.
2. Perform services only in areas of their competence.
3. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
4. Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
5. Avoid deceptive acts.
6. Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to
enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.
http://www.nspe.org/ethics/eh1-code.asp
Engineering Ethics
Case Study
You are a faculty member at a university that offers a class titled
“Computer Security”. Your goal is to give students an opportunity to
protect networks and computer systems. The method you choose is
to set up a laboratory with state-of-art security software, and you give
students an assignment that requires that they find security
vulnerabilities in the software. You are convinced that this is a
pedagogically sound method, yet some of the famous folks in the
field believe that this models poor ethical standards. Further, it is
becoming apparent that possession and use of “attack” tools may in
fact be illegal.
Here’s the dilemma: Is it ethical to teach students how to break
into computer systems as a method of teaching them how to
protect the same systems?
Case Study
Robin is a senior seeking employment. In January, Robin is
offered a job by company X for $4000/month, and given 10
days to accept the offer. Robin accepts this offer.
Two weeks later, Robin receives an offer of $4500/month and a
more exciting position from Company Y. What should Robin
do?
Case Study
You are on a team that has discovered a new “miracle” drug that will save
the lives of 10,000 people a year who die from a virulent and painful form
of brain cancer.
Initial animal and human phase 1 testing shows there might be some side
effects, but they don’t appear out of the ordinary. What does your team
recommend; move forward or put future human trials on hold?
Note: The FDA estimates that it takes a little over 8 years to test a drug—including early
laboratory and animal testing—before the final approval for use by the general public.
Unfortunately, another side effect was discovered in phase 3 clinical trials;
namely that there is a 1 in 10,000 chance that the drug itself will cause the
death of a patient. What is your teams recommendation?
FDA Drug Approval Process
PMA
Case Study
You are a manager of a company that would like to get involved
in sales of a certain pesticide marker. There is a competitors
product that works better than yours, and you know that they
have invested over $200 million and 15 years developing a
biochemical route to manufacturing the “pest-be-gone”
pesticide.
Great news, your R&D folks inform you that they have isolated
an organism that will produce “pest-be-gone” pesticide? You
inform your manager and a development effort is approved.
Over the course of the next few months, you learn that the R&D
folks isolated the organism from the disposal site of your
competitor. What will you do?