Implementation of competences of social and environmental responsibility in IT engineering degrees

In the present globalized world, the impacts of engineering are growing in importance, society is becoming more aware of them, and more and more universities are including ethical and social issues into their engineering degree programs. This article describes the experience of developing competences of ethical, social and environmental responsibility in undergraduate IT engineering degrees at the Technical University of Madrid. The implementation of these competences has evolved in recent years and currently they are developed in two specific subjects in the first and third year, and that work is completed in the Final Year Project. This model allows us to reach all the students at different times along their studies and with a acceptable level of depth. It is an integral experience, where appropriate contents, teaching methodologies and assessment methods have been adapted to deal with social issues in our academic context. As lessons learned, we highlight the effectiveness this model for developing the aforementioned competences and the important role of external references (from professional, governmental and academic institutions) to integrate ethical, social and environmental aspects into engineering degrees

The Code

This Code may be published without permission as long as it is not changed in any way and it carries the copyright notice. Copyright (c) 2018 by the Association for Computing Machinery.Computing professionals' actions change the world. To act responsibly, they should reflect upon the wider impacts of their work, consistently supporting the public good. The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct ("the Code") expresses the conscience of the profession. The Code is designed to inspire and guide the ethical conduct of all computing professionals, including current and aspiring practitioners, instructors, students, influencers, and anyone who uses computing technology in an impactful way. Additionally, the Code serves as a basis for remediation when violations occur. The Code includes principles formulated as statements of responsibility, based on the understanding that the public good is always the primary consideration. Each principle is supplemented by guidelines, which provide explanations to assist computing professionals in understanding and applying the principle

Ethics In Information Systems: Student Performance In Evaluating Ethical Dilemmas

The explosion in information technology in the last 20 years, and in particular, data communications networks, has had a major impact on ethical thinking and ethical issues. This has been manifested in the recent accounting and business scandals, as it is becoming apparent that the ethical dimensions of information systems-related business decisions cannot be safely ignored. It is important for business educators to introduce students to relevant ethical situations that they may face in the business world. This paper discusses the Information Systems ethical environment and students performance on business ethics cases in a telecommunications course. The results of this evaluation show that more exposure to ethical situations is needed, as students are not prepared to make sound ethical judgements

Warning System for Outdoor Construction Workers Using Haptic Communication

A construction site is a risky workplace with constant movement of heavy vehicles on ground and cranes overhead, and simultaneous construction work at multiple levels along with significantly high noise levels. Over the past few decades, several efforts have been made to utilize technological advances in order to make the worksite a safer place and yielded positive results. However, the fatal and nonfatal count still remains very high for the construction industry. This study attempted to test haptic communication as an additional layer of safety for construction workers by developing a prototype to provide haptic feedback for predetermined Geofence zones. A phenomenological research study was conducted with the help of construction professionals to gather industry opinion on the haptic feedback prototypes and to determine the optimal location for the placement of the haptic feedback device. The study found that haptic communication has significant potential to reduce the fatal and non-fatal injuries on construction sites. In addition, the study determined the factors affecting the placement of wearable haptic warning system for outdoor construction workers

Warning System for Outdoor Construction Workers Using Haptic Communication

A construction site is a risky workplace with constant movement of heavy vehicles on ground and cranes overhead, and simultaneous construction work at multiple levels along with significantly high noise levels. Over the past few decades, several efforts have been made to utilize technological advances in order to make the worksite a safer place and yielded positive results. However, the fatal and nonfatal count still remains very high for the construction industry. This study attempted to test haptic communication as an additional layer of safety for construction workers by developing a prototype to provide haptic feedback for predetermined Geofence zones. A phenomenological research study was conducted with the help of construction professionals to gather industry opinion on the haptic feedback prototypes and to determine the optimal location for the placement of the haptic feedback device. The study found that haptic communication has significant potential to reduce the fatal and non-fatal injuries on construction sites. In addition, the study determined the factors affecting the placement of wearable haptic warning system for outdoor construction workers

Internet use and sense of community among rural adolescents

There is currently a debate about the way Internet use affects community outcomes. Some suggest positive effects while others propose negative effects. The current study seeks to add to this discussion by using two waves of data to examine how frequency and type of Internet use affect sense of community in a sample of rural youth. Competing hypotheses are posed---Internet use will increase sense of community and Internet use will decrease sense of community. Using data from the Rural Youth Study, results indicate mixed effects of Internet use on sense of community dimensions, community attachment, support and emotional connection with peers, satisfaction of needs and opportunity for involvement, and community participation. Therefore, partial support for each hypotheses is found as Internet use has both positive and negative effects on sense of community dimensions, while also having no effect. Interaction effects of sex are also studied with no significant findings

Understanding Engineers' Drivers and Impediments for Ethical System Development: The Case of Privacy and Security Engineering

Machine ethics is a key challenge in times when digital systems play an increasing role in people's life. At the core of machine ethics is the handling of personal data and the security of machine operations. Yet, privacy and security engineering are a challenge in today's business world where personal data markets, corporate deadlines and a lag of perfectionism frame the context in which engineers need to work. Besides these organizational and market challenges, each engineer has his or her specific view on the importance of these values that can foster or inhibit taking them into consideration. We present the results of an empirical study of 124 engineers based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Jonas' Principle of Responsibility to understand the drivers and impediments of ethical system development as far as privacy and security engineering are concerned. We find that many engineers find the two values important, but do not enjoy working on them. We also find that many struggle with the organizational environment. They face a lack of time and autonomy that is necessary for building ethical systems, even at this basic level. Organizations' privacy and security norms are often too weak or even oppose value-based design, putting engineers in conflict with their organizations. Our data indicate that it is largely engineers' individually perceived responsibility as well as a few character traits that make a positive difference

Information Outlook, March 2004

Volume 8, Issue 3https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_io_2004/1002/thumbnail.jp

Implementation and evaluation of interactive online instruction in the dietetic internship

Changes occurring in healthcare, education, and technology instigated the inclusion of interactive online technology in the dietetic internship program. A model of learner-centered, cooperative distance education using interactive online technology is described. Scrollable text, graphics, audio clips, animations, interactive calculators, video clips, and simulations were included in the model. Cooperative learning strategies were incorporated into the online instruction to initiate learner/instructor and learner/learner interaction. Seventy-five dietetic interns from three universities (Iowa State University, Kansas State University, and East Carolina University) served as subjects for the study. Intern classes from each university were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups, with and without online instructional support;Evaluation of the model included: use of the technology by interns, survey of computer attitudes and learning styles, \u27key-feature\u27 exams, and registered dietitian (RD) exam scores. ANOVA and linear regression models were constructed to account for the experimental error introduced by the nested design of the model. Demographic variables and previous computer experience did not influence the use of the online instruction; however, those that reported preferring to work with others tended to use the online instruction more (p = .05). Other preferred learning styles did not appear to influence the use of the technology significantly. These findings imply that the technology does facilitate cooperative learning strategies and can be used by a variety of learners. Significant improvement in self-efficacy with the World Wide Web occurred irrespective of the treatment. Interns using the interactive online technology had significant improvement in performance on the nutrition support key feature exam (p = .01) when compared to those not receiving the online instructional support. Intern performance on the pediatric key feature exam was significantly different between the control and experimental groups (p = .03); the experimental group did not exhibit the poorer performance on the post test that the control group did. There was no statistical difference in the two groups\u27 performance on the RD exam;This study found that interactive online technology can be successfully incorporated into a dietetic internship program. Clinical competency, as evaluated by the key feature exam, was improved with interactive online technology in select settings of the dietetic internship. It appears that interactive online instruction accommodates a variety of learning styles and has the potential to improve competency and technological aptitude