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Guide to T&S Articles Relating to ABET or CSAB Accreditation
Guide to Technology and Society Magazine Articles Relating to ABET or CSAB Accreditation Requirements
2001-2005
Since 2000, accreditation agencies such as ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) and CSAB (formerly the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board) have placed increasing emphasis on educational matters that go beyond the strictly technical aspects of the engineering and computer science professions. The ABET accreditation criteria for both engineering and computer science undergraduate degrees now require accredited programs to show how they are educating their students in the professional and ethical aspects of their work.
The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology has for many years served as a forum for discussion and debate about how best to educate computer scientists and engineers in the areas of professional and ethical responsibility. Technology and Society Magazine, the Society's quarterly publication, has carried over twenty articles on various aspects of these matters since 2001. All these articles are available online through IEEExplore. They include descriptions of innovative curriculum ideas, discussions of ethics case studies and how to use them in the classroom, and examinations of theoretical issues about the present and future directions of engineering and computer science education and its impact on society. This guide is designed to help you find what you are looking for in this valuable resource.
Course and Program Descriptions
Unlike technical theory or laboratory courses, courses which deal with ethics and professionalism are a fairly recent innovation in technical education at most schools. The methods of teaching and evaluating this type of education are the subject of ongoing experimentation and research. The following articles describe either individual courses or programs having to do with the teaching of engineering or computer ethics and professionalism.
NOTE: The article citations below are in the following format:
Title
Author(s)
Page(s), volume number(issue number), year
Balancing technical and social issues: a new first-year design course
Hallinan, Kevin; Daniels, Malcolm; Safferman, Steven
Page(s): 4-14, 20(1), 2001
This paper describes a novel "Introduction to Engineering" course at the University of Dayton, Ohio. The authors are aware that an undesired byproduct of engineering education is to create boundaries in students' minds between the activities of engineers and the society at large. To combat this tendency, this course is designed to make students more aware of the tremendous influence that engineering decisions and activities have on society. One module in the course requires students to choose a consumer product and study its quality, uses, and other aspects with regard to its ethical consequences for society.
Expanding engineering education: building better bridges
Hudspith, Robert C.
Page(s): 34-40, 20(2), 2001
At McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, the Faculty of Engineering have developed a five-year Engineering and Society degree program. In addition to taking standard technical engineering courses, students in the E&SP take at least three "inquiry" courses on subjects such as preventive engineering, the social control of technology, and historical case studies in engineering. While not every university can feature such a program, this paper describes material that can be used in the context of engineering and computer ethics in more conventional programs as well as specialized ones such as E&SP.
Turning students into ethical professionals
Gorman, Michael E.
Page(s): 21-27, 20(4), 2001
The School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia houses a Division of Technology, Culture, and Communication (TCC) which has contributed greatly to both the scholarship and pedagogy of engineering ethics and engineering in society over the years. Michael Gorman, who at the time he wrote this article was Chair of that division, describes in detail several of the approaches he and his colleagues use to broaden the traditionally narrow technical education of engineering undergraduates. These include undergraduate theses jointly supervised by an engineering professor and a member of the TCC faculty and an atmosphere which emphasizes the positive contributions of such engineering "heroes" as Roger Boisjoly and William LeMessurier.
Teaching engineering ethics to non-engineering students
Dyrud, Marilyn A.
Page(s): 28-33, 20(4), 2001
While non-engineering students are not strictly within the ambit of engineering education, there is little doubt that the public at large knows little and cares less about the engineering profession. Engineering ethics is one of the few engineering topics which can be taught effectively to students who do not have a technical engineering background. In this paper, Marilyn Dyrud describes a professional ethics course she taught at the Oregon Institute of Technology which enrolled students from a wide variety of professional programs besides engineering. Pre-law and pre-medical students benefited from discussions of engineering-related ethical issues on topics such as professionalism, whistleblowing, social responsibility, and moral development.
"Star Wars" revisited-Ethics and safety-critical software
Bowyer, Kevin
Page(s): 13-26, 21(1), 2002
At the University of Notre Dame, computer science professor Kevin Bowyer developed a curriculum module that examined the question of whether the "Star Wars" program's computing requirements could be met. Using actual videotapes from President Reagan's speeches and debates involving proponents and critics of the program, Bowyer drew students into the controversy and asked them to study the problem's technical and social context and its relevance to current proposals for missile defense systems.
Helping computing students develop a personal ethical framework
Staehr, Lorraine J.
Page(s): 13-20, 21(2), 2002
As part of a course on the professional environment of computing, Lorraine Staehr of LaTrobe University in Bendigo, Australia teaches ethical theory and case studies to her computer science students. Videos, lectures on various ethical theories and their application to practical situations, and a required reflective diary are some of the tools she has found useful in meeting the requirements for the Australian Computer Society's standards in computer education. She finds that a one-on-one debate is useful for both educational and evaluative purposes, and discusses whether such courses are best taught by a philosopher or by an engineer (a question discussed in several other Technology and Society papers as well).
Teaching engineering in a social context
Warhaft, Zellman
Page(s): 32- 39, 24(2), 2005
At Cornell University, Zellman Warhaft of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering has taught a technical elective called "Components and Systems: Engineering in a Social Context" since the early 1990s. He finds that the subjects of ballistic missiles and energy usage in transportation both have significant social implications as well as technical aspects related to his own specialty of thermal-fluids engineering. He notes that the topic of war is almost never mentioned in the engineering curriculum, and his students respond well to the atmosphere of a humanities course focused on the wider implications of technical matters.
Recommendations and Calls for Action
Because of the specialized technical nature of their work, engineers often feel a stronger bond with non-engineers who are also involved in the same specialty than they do with fellow engineers who happen to be in a different field. This means that there are few professional forums where broader issues of engineering, computing, and society can be discussed. Professional education is inevitably concerned with the future directions of the profession, and Technology and Society Magazine has published a number of articles about the implications for society of various trends and issues in engineering, computer science, and education. Besides dealing with important issues in their own right, these papers can provide material for classroom discussions about engineering and computer ethics.
Curbing overconsumption: challenge for ethically responsible engineering
Woodhouse, Edward J.
Page(s): 23-30, 20(3), 2001
Edward J. Woodhouse teaches technology policy in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In this paper, he argues that overconsumption is an avoidable byproduct of modern engineering activity. He describes approaches to ethical responsibility which he categorizes as "minimalist," "reasonable care," and "good works," and shows how there are problems with each one. He calls for concentration on the "undone engineering" projects for which there may not be much economic demand, but without which society may suffer.
Is engineering ethics optional?
Stephan, Karl D.
Page(s): 6-12, 20(4), 2001
In this paper, Karl Stephan, of the Department of Engineering and Technology at Texas State University-San Marcos, argues that engineering ethics is now as important to good engineering education as many of the purely technical subjects that engineers study. He shows how the rise of engineering ethics as a recognized professional discipline and the availability of a wide variety of teaching materials and methods justify inclusion of engineering ethics in any well-balanced engineering program, and concludes with examples of both stand-alone courses and ways of teaching ethics "across the curriculum."
Using history and sociology to teach engineering ethics
Kline, Ronald R.
Page(s): 13-20, 20(4), 2001
Ron Kline, who teaches the history of technology at Cornell University, begins with a brief history of engineering ethics in the United States. Since all case studies are essentially real or imagined histories, the popular case-study method of teaching engineering and computer ethics can draw upon the rich resources of the history of technology and the discipline of science and technology studies. Kline shows how this can work in the example of the Challenger space-shuttle disaster, which has been fruitfully studied with ethnographic methods.
Social informatics and service learning as teaching models
McIver, William J., Jr.; Rachell, Traxon
Page(s): 24- 31, 21(3), 2002
Social informatics is the study of how information and communication technologies interact with society. McIver, who is with the School of Information Science and Policy at SUNY Albany, and Rachell, an independent service-learning consultant, propose a curriculum that would use the ethical issues arising from service learning associated with information and communication technology to examine engineering ethics in the particular context of actual needs.
Ethics, engineering, and sustainable development
Manion, Mark
Page(s): 39-48, 21(3), 2002
Mark Manion, who is with Drexel University's Department of Humanities and Communication, describes the history and relevance of sustainable development in the context of engineering ethics and professionalism. He makes the case that "green" engineering, far from being a fringe activity, is posed to enter the mainstream of engineering as managers feel pressure from society to address increased environmental concerns. Citing events such as the 1987 Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting chemicals and the 1992 Earth Summit agenda, Manion argues that sustainable development should form the focus of future engineering education.
Engineering Globalization: Oxymoron or Opportunity?
Newberry, Byron
Page(s): 8-15, 24(3), 2005
A professor in the Department of Engineering at Baylor University, Byron Newberry examines the concept of engineering globalization from several philosophical points of view. He contrasts the pragmatic sense in which engineering is a global activity with the fact that successful engineering always localizes a solution in a particular local community or geographic area. He calls for a new type of engineering which would recognize the needs of less-developed regions for engineered solutions to problems that are not as economically attractive as those addressed in more developed countries.
Globalizing Manufacturing Engineering Education
Stephan, Karl D.; Sriraman, Vedaraman
Page(s): 16-22, 24(3), 2005
Through the use of worldwide manufacturing statistics covering a thirty-year span, Stephan and Sriraman, who teach at Texas State University-San Marcos, show that manufacturing employment has followed several distinct patterns: slow decline in the U. S. and Europe, rapid continuing growth or growth followed by decline in Asia, and constancy in the relatively stable cultures of Canada, Japan, and some Scandinavian countries. Because manufacturing is such a dynamic global enterprise, they argue that manufacturing engineering education should take more account of international aspects by emphasizing multilingual ability and international exchange programs.
Theoretical and Applied Engineering Ethics
As one of the papers summarized above points out, engineering ethics is now an academic discipline in its own right. Many papers in Technology and Society Magazine deal with aspects of engineering ethics theory and applications to specific problems. Those seeking to learn more about the field of engineering ethics before teaching it can benefit from these papers.
Three myths about codes of engineering ethics
Davis, Michael
Page(s): 8-14, 20(3), 2001
Michael Davis teaches philosophy and engineering ethics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He shows in this paper that three things "everybody knows" about engineering ethics are, if not absolutely false, at least open to serious question. Contrary to popular belief, early codes of engineering ethics did not exalt the engineer's loyalty to his employer above the public welfare. The idea that codes of ethics are moral guidelines and not legal documents is another common notion. Davis shows that like legal codes, they are simply in need of interpretation, which is a skill that many engineers are unfamiliar with. Finally, the same point about interpretation shows that the apparent vagueness of codes of ethics is a necessary feature of statements that are intended for an entire profession, but does not detract from their usefulness.
Ethical considerations in engineering design processes
van Gorp, Anke; van de Poel, Ibo
Page(s): 15-22, 20(3), 2001
Anke van Gorp and Ibo van de Poel are with the Department of Philosophy at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. In 1987, a Dutch passenger ferry capsized and 188 people lost their lives. The authors use this event as a case study for different approaches to engineering ethics with regard to the ethical aspects of design. This work grew out of a Ph. D. project which used the ferry incident to test notions of sustainability and life-cycle analysis.
Three kinds of ethics for three kinds of engineering
Moriarty, Gene
Page(s): 31-38, 20(3), 2001
The concept of ethical engineering has changed over the last two centuries, and Gene Moriarty of the Department of Electrical Engineering at San Jose State University describes these changes as three kinds of ethics. In his view, the early days of engineering were characterized by virtue ethics and emphasis on the good personal qualities of the individual engineer. The second or modernist phase emphasized the conceptual act of engineering. Moriarty proposes that what is needed next is a transition to a material ethics in which what is engineered takes priority over the first two approaches.
Heroes or Sibyls? Gender and engineering ethics
Adam, Alison
Page(s): 39-46, 20(3), 2001
The question of gender and engineering has received more attention since the traditionally male-dominated profession has seen a significant rise in female members in recent decades. Alison Adam, of the Information Systems Research Centre at the University of Salford, Manchester, U. K. finds that treatments of engineering ethics tend toward the "hero" model of the masculine individualist. Drawing upon works such as Carol Gilligan's In a Different Voice, she proposes an alternative "sibyl" model, an ideal for the ethics of care which embodies wisdom and encourages cooperation and the seeking of advice.
Learning from failure: terrorism and ethics in engineering education
Pfatteicher, Sarah K.A.
Page(s): 8- 12, 21(2), 2002
The post-9/11 era has brought an urgency to questions of how engineers can guard against terrorist attacks that were formerly thought to be unlikely or almost impossible. Sarah Pfatteicher, Assistant Dean for Engineering at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, views these questions in the light of the history and ethical implications of engineering failures. Henry Petroski has pointed out how engineers often learn more from failure than from success, and Pfatteicher concludes that more humility is needed in new approaches to keeping the public safety in mind.
Applying an interdisciplinary approach to teaching computer ethics
Tavani, Herman T.
Page(s): 32- 38, 21(3), 2002
Although the title of this paper might lead one to think it describes a specific course, Herman Tavani's intention was rather different. Tavani, who coordinates the Department of Philosophy at Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire, asks whether philosophers or computer scientists should teach ethics to computer science majors. He reviews the viewpoints of several groups and shows how an ethics research model proposed by Philip Brey reframes the question in a fruitful way.
Historical Studies
Although Technology and Society Magazine does not often publish histories of technology, it has occasionally featured historical papers that deal with the history of engineering education and ethics. The two works described below can be useful to someone who is interested in what types of things have been tried in the past, and provide a historical perspective on current efforts in these areas.
All this and engineering too: a history of accreditation requirements
Stephan, Karl D.
Page(s): 8- 15, 21(3), 2002
The role of accreditation in shaping the nature of engineering education is seldom considered in histories of the profession. Karl Stephan traces the history of U. S. engineering accreditation efforts from their beginnings in the crisis-ridden 1930s through the latest major changes in the accreditation criteria that took place in the late 1990s. He places a special emphasis on the non-technical portions of undergraduate engineering education, noting that accreditation criteria in this area have fluctuated from making such courses optional to requiring specific numbers of credit hours.
Opening engineering students' minds to ideas beyond technology
Lyman, Frederic A.
Page(s): 16- 23, 21(3), 2002
Frederic Lyman, who taught in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering at Syracuse University before his retirement, takes a complementary view to Stephan's paper (above) and looks more at what universities actually did about the non-technical portions of engineering education. He finds that while many educators have expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in this area, there has never been a unified or coherent effort to coordinate the technical and non-technical parts of the undergraduate curriculum, except for a few schools.
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