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Instructional Resources in Engineering Ethics, Computer Ethics and Research Ethics

Please note: This index exists as a courtesy for instructors who may have book marked it for use in their teaching. All of these essays and instructional materials are available in the individual sections of Responsible Research, Engineering Practice, Computers and Software, and Natural Sciences. This index will not be updated after 1/30/04.

Instructional Materials in Science and Engineering Ethics, University Level
Guides for Ethics Education in Engineering and/or Science
Educational Series in Research Ethics or Professional Ethics
Brief Modules on Professional Ethics for Engineers or Scientists
Numerical and Design Problems with Ethical Content
Syllabi and Other Resources for Designing Courses in Professional Ethics or Research Ethics for Engineers, Computer Scientists, or Scientists
Syllabi and Other Resources in Computer Ethics that include Professional Ethics for Computer Scientists and Engineers
Instructional Materials in Science and Engineering Ethics for Middle and High Schools

Materials for Instruction in Science and Engineering Ethics at the University Level

Using Materials from the Online Ethics Center for Engineering & Science for Use in the Engineering Curriculum, a response to an ABET readiness committee. Caroline Whitbeck, Case. A quick guide to using a variety of types of the Online Ethics Centers materials within science and engineering courses.
Beyond Biology 101: The Transformation of Undergraduate Biology Education. A report from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, this site includes incorporating ethical issues into the classroom. It has chapters as diverse as "Changes in the Classroom," "The Lab Experience," and "Faculty in the Crossfire."
Role Plays on Intellectual Property for Computer Science Students. The original role play on RSA Encryption was developed at MIT by Hal Abelson and others and use in an introductory computer science course, Structure and Integration of Computer Programs. A variant on data compression was devised by Michael C. Loui at the University of Illinois.
Role Playing in an Engineering Ethics Class, Michael C. Loui, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. Discusses how to use almost any case as the basis for a role playing exercise in class that actively engages students in confronting ethical issues.
Ethics and the Engineer as Expert Witness: A Module for Classroom Exercises. Joseph H. Wujek, P.E., University of California at Berkeley. The training, perspective, and motives of the engineer and of the lawyer differ in many respects. In these classroom exercises we explore these differences as manifested in the engineer serving as an expert witness in US courts of law.
Law and Ethics in Software Testing: A Module for Classroom Exercises Joseph H. Wujek, P.E., University of California at Berkeley. This exercise will involve students by employing impromptu theatrics in arguing courses of action in a fictitious and credible scenario. The theatrics technique in ethics teaching has been used by the author for about ten years, with generally successful results. In addition to theatrics the instructor-user of this module has the option of several assignments which are not mutually exclusive. These combine engineering thinking, ethics reasoning, and communications skills. Readily assignable from the module are: writing a memorandum, holding a class discussion, negotiating consensus-building, and staging a debate.
Practical Ethics through Philosophy: Meditation, Readings, Case Work. Paul La Forge, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan.
Thirty-six Discussion Cases based on cases considered by the Board of Ethical Review of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE BER)These short cases lend themselves to "active learning" modes of education in the following way: Present a few of the cases to the students for class discussion to give the students some experience grappling with the issues, and draw attention to the ethically significant considerations that the students raise. Assign the students to study the original NSPE BER case and ethical judgment (which will now be easier for them to understand) for the next class period. At the second meeting consider both the standards embodied in the Code of Ethics and why the NSPE focuses on certain of the issues that had come up in the first discussion, but not others. This discussion may lead to a greater understanding of the NSPE and other professional societies and the scope and limits of the ethical issues they consider, and, more generally, the sources of and justifications for standards of responsible behavior. The cases are grouped into five categories:
Active Learning in an Asynchronous Learning Environment: A Classroom Demonstration By Keith W. Miller Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Illinois at Springfield.

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Guides for Ethics Education in Engineering and Science

Essays for Ethics Education in Engineering and Science
Using Materials from the Online Ethics Center for Engineering & Science in the Engineering Curriculum, a response to a request from Case's ABET Readiness Committee for a "Handbook for Dummies" on Engineering Ethics
A Plan for Undergraduate Education in Practical Ethics with sample assignments for engineering students using teaching materials from the Online Ethics Center
Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). This policy of the Public Health Service (PHS), requires that "all staff at extramural institutions engaged in research or research training with PHS funds, or who will work on PHS supported projects..."successfully complete a program of instruction in the responsible conduct of research."

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Educational Series in Research Ethics or Professional Ethics

NIH funded projects in research ethics. There are several projects funded by the NIH for the purpose of educating the public about research ethics. There are several conferences, online courses, and other events that highlight many important areas of research ethics. This page lists these projects and provides links to those on the www.
Group Mentoring in Responsible Research ConductThese educational materials on the responsible conduct of research support a series of activities for student-faculty learning. These materials are being greatly expanded under a grant from NIH/PHS (#T15 AI07592). Included here are reading, discussion, and interview questions, readings, a discussion of misconduct definitions, and a growing collection of original scenarios that present ethical problems common in research universities, on eleven topics topics including:
Teaching Research Ethics (at the Poynter Center, Indiana University-Bloomington)

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Brief Modules on Professional Ethics for Engineers or Scientists

Introductory Module on Engineering Ethics maintained by the Murdough Center at Texas Tech University

Numerical and Design Problems with Ethical Content

Numerical and Design problems with Ethical Content: Seventeen assignable problems on various topics in engineering and engineering ethics, integrating numerical and design problems with ethical issues. These problems were originally developed as part of an NSF-funded project to create numerical problems that raise ethical issues for use in engineering and other course assignments. This project included a workshop held at Texas A & M University in August, 1995 under the direction of Professors Charles E. Harris and Michael Rabins. The problems presented here have been edited lightly for clarity.

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Syllabi and Other Resources for Designing Courses in Professional Ethics or Research Ethics for Engineers, Computer Scientists, or Scientists

WRIT 335/ CHEM 301: Professional Ethics for Scientists Dr. Linda M. Sweeting, Towson University. Discussion of the integrity of the scientific literature and the responsibilities of scientists to associates and the public. Examination of principles and of case studies with an emphasis on the physical sciences.
Engineering Ethics Loui, University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. This site includes readings, syllabus, and assignments as well as links to other ethics resources on the web.
Science and Engineering Ethics Whitbeck, C.W.R.U. This course for upper level undergraduates and graduate students in engineering and science makes extensive use of the Online Ethics Center materials.
Ethics in Engineering Curricula. An article written by Michelle Bothwell and Joseph McGuire of Oregon State detailing the integration of ethics into the engineering curricula.
Ethical Issues in Civil and Environmental Engineering A course syllabus for a course at Stanford University, taught by Professor Robert E. McGinn.
Ethical Issues in Engineering. A course syllabus for another course at Stanford. (with the same professor)

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Syllabi and Other Resources for Designing Courses in Computer Ethics that include Issues of Professional Ethics for Computer Scientists and Engineers

Computer Ethics Farley, Univ. Oregon. The main topics covered in the course are computer crime, software ownership and intellectual property, privacy, cryptography, software risks and safety, codes of ethics, internet ethics. The site includes the course syllabus, directions for specific readings for each week, and links to course-related information that can be found on the web.
Computer Ethics Virginia Tech. The site contains very detailed information about the course, i.e. class notes, presentations notes, a very complete bibliography of materials related to the course, some links to other web resources. The course materials cover topics such as computer crime, security and protection, computer and professional ethics, role and responsibility of computer scientists.
Information Policy Hoffman, George Washington Univ. At this site you will find the course syllabus, assignments, notes from lectures, links to reading materials on other web sites. The material includes issues related to computers and privacy, equity, freedom of speech, search and seizure, access to personal and governmental information, professional responsibilities, ethics, criminality, and law enforcement.
Professionalism in Computing Virginia Tech. The most updated and complete version of the course can be found on the Lee, Virginia Tech. Very extensive site -- syllabus, assignments, projects, class notes, readings, extensive bibliography list, resources, many useful links, index of pages in the collection of course materials. Topics covered include ethics, codes of ethics, hacking, netiquette, privacy, the impact of computerization, Therac 25 incident, responsibilities, liabilities, copyrights and patents, personal relationships.
Computers, Ethics, and Social Responsibility Nissenbaum, Princeton Univ. Very complete notes on lectures and presentations, syllabus, assignments, paper topics and guidelines, final examination, links of general interest in the area of computer ethics; links sorted by course topics, which include risk and responsibility, ethical theory, intellectual property and computer software, privacy and information technology, crime by computer, the networked world.
Ethics and Law on the Electronic Frontier Instructors: Abelson, Fischer and others. Harvard Law School at MIT. This is an extremely extensive site. Includes syllabus, very complete notes on in-class discussions, assignments, student papers, the class online discussion list, readings and source material, links to many other sites, list of related courses and links to them. The main areas discussed in the course are computer crime, information and intellectual property, encryption and national security, privacy implications of computer networks, computer communications and freedom of expression.
The Law in Cyberspace Litman, Wayne State Univ. Law School. An extensive site -- a bibliography of online sources, a general description of the seminar, a syllabus with links to most of the assigned reading, student seminar papers, links to other courses at other institutions (mostly the Law and Ethics in Cyberspace courses). The topics covered include intellectual property, regulation, civil liability, Net "crime", privacy and anonymity, economics in cyberspace, international law, utopian and dystopian visions.
Ethics and the Internet Robinson, Duke Univ. Very extensive site -- includes syllabus, assignments, notes, readings, links to online resources, online discussion, student web projects, links to other ethics sites. The material covers cyberculture, intellectual property, privacy, security, encryption, censorship, pornography, terrorism, and other interesting topics.

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Recommendations of other Web courses or materials on professional ethics and research ethics are most welcome. Cases not already on the web may be sent for inclusion in The Center. Please use the email icon in the top bar. These will be subject to editing, if posted. Because the focus of this center is ethics (including policy questions addressed by engineers and scientists) we list only courses in engineering and science ethics. Although courses in the History of Technology or on Technology and Society are not included, we welcome historical cases that raise ethical issues for engineers and scientists.