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Cases on Emerging Risks
(Web Page on Another Site)
The International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) is an independent organization that aims to help improve the understanding and management of potentially global risks that have impacts on human health and safety, the environment, the economy and society at large. As part of a Phase 1 project on emerging risks they have assembled a number of case studies and illustrations including a case on large-scale engineered systems.
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Climate Action
(Web Page on this Site)
Hypothetical Case,
Module,
Open-Ended Scenario
This case is an excerpt from Riley, D. (2012). Engineering Thermodynamics and 21st Century Energy Problems: A Textbook Companion for Student Engagement. San Rafael, CA: Morgan and Claypool.
It challenges students to move between a “big picture” contextual perspective and the focused, sometimes narrow world of engineering thought.
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Copenhagen
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
This module is an excerpt from Riley, D. (2012). Engineering Thermodynamics and 21st Century Energy Problems: A Textbook Companion for Student Engagement. San Rafael, CA: Morgan and Claypool. It asks students to examine the Copanehagen Climate Summit of 2009.
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All in the Interpretation
(Web Page on this Site)
Hypothetical Case
A graduate student wrestles with uncomfortable decisions in trying to interpret her research results. She struggles to make un-biased judgments and interact appropriately with the press.
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Case Study 1: Overly Ambitious Researchers - Fabricating Data
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
Case Study 1 of six cases presented during a Summer Institute instructional program. Case Study 1 discusses researchers and fabrication of data.
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Case Study 2: The Millikan Case - Discrimination Versus Manipulation of Data
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
Case Study 2 of six cases presented during a Summer Institute instructional program. Issues related to the collection, treatment and presentation of scientific data.
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Case Study 3: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
Case Study 3 of six cases presented during a Summer Institute instructional program. This case reviews the Tuskegee Experiment in which the subject group was composed of 616 African-American men, 412 of whom had been diagnosed as having syphilis, and 204 controls. The participants were never explained the true nature of the study. Not only were the syphilitics among them not treated for the disease , but those few who recognized their condition and attempted to seek help from PHS syphilis treament clinics were prevented from doing so. A panel of prominent physicians was convened by the PHS in 1969 to review the Tuskegee study. The PHS in 1966, the panel's recommendation that the Study continue without significant modification was accepted.
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Case Study 4: The Search for the Structure of DNA
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
Case Study 4 of six cases presented during a Summer Institute instructional program. This is a classroom lesson on Rosalind Franklin's unacknowledged contribution to the Watson-Crick DNA model.
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Case Study 5: The XYZ Controversy
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
Case Study 5 of six cases presented during a Summer Institute instructional program. This case considers issues of genetic screening and other applications of genetics and biotechnology research.
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Case Study 6: Love Canal
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
Case Study 6 of six cases presented during a Summer Institute instructional program discusses individual, corporate and governmental responses to environmental and ecological concerns.
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Antibiotic Resistance and Dual Use
(Web Page on this Site)
Hypothetical Case
This informational article by Danliel A. Vallero serves as a starting point for group discussion of the possible misuse of emerging technologies. It is accompanied by an annotated presentation that addresses emerging technologies and ethical decision-making.
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The Playskool Travel-Lite Crib
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This case discusses the design, development, marketing, sale, and recall of the Playskool Travel-Lite, a portable crib manufactured by Kolcraft Enterprises and licensed by Hasbro’s Playskool division.
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Minority Contracts in Engineering
(Web Page on this Site)
Fictionalized Case,
Hypothetical Case
A case in which one company has a surprisingly close relationship to a sub-contracting company, and the boundaries between the two may be compromised.
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A New Dialysis Machine
(Web Page on this Site)
Hypothetical Case
An engineer faces trade-offs in the design of new equipment that could greatly affect the final product.
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City of L'Acide Remediation Case
(Web Page on this Site)
Hypothetical Case,
Open-Ended Scenario
This case includes handouts for 4 teams, each with hidden agendas, to be used in class discussion. It is also accompanied by a companion presentation on "The Environmental Implications of Biotechnology." The case concerns the City of L’Acide that has contracted with an engineering firm to remediate a 3 hectare hazardous waste site from an old firing range.
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Boundary Between Professional Engineering Society and State Licensing Board
(Web Page on this Site)
Hypothetical Case
The New Wyoming State Board of Professional Engineers performs regulatory functions (e.g., licensing of engineers) for the state. Members of the Board are appointed by the state governor. Most of the Board members are also members of the New Wyoming Society of Professional Engineers (NWSPE), a voluntary umbrella organization of professional engineers in New Wyoming. Membership in NWSPE is controlled by its own board and is not subject to approval by the State Board. Since they share many common concerns about the engineering profession, the Executive Committee of NWSPE has recently expressed a strong interest in improving communication between NWSPE and the State Board.
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Who Can Change Proprietary Source Code
(Web Page on this Site)
Hypothetical Case
Derek Evans used to work for a small computer firm that specializes in developing software for management tasks. Derek was a primary contributor in designing an innovative software system for customer services. Derek is now working for a much larger computer firm. It now occurs to him that by making a few minor alterations in the innovative software system he helped design at the small computer firm his new tasks at this larger firm can be greatly simplified.
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Steel Frame Design
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Historical Case
This case study excerpt from "The Structural Engineer's Standard of Care" describes a building design in which the engineer submitted minimal calculations.
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Retaining Wall Design
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
This case study excerpt from "The Structural Engineer's Standard of Care" describes a structural engineer who made mistakes in designing a retaining wall unlike anything he had designed before.
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Foundation Design
(Web Page on this Site)
Historical Case
This case study excerpt from "The Structural Engineer's Standard of Care" describes a structural engineering error in which an engineer did not carry forward the recommendations of a soils engineer during the 4th phase of a project.