Training Graduate Engineering Students in Ethics

The Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas embarked on providing ethics instruction to incoming graduate students in the form of a mandatory workshop. The College has a diverse graduate student population, including a sizable international component, who are enrolled in several M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs within four departments. Faculty felt that training in ethics was needed to better prepare incoming students for successful graduate studies and working professionally after graduation. Therefore, a standalone workshop was developed that covered four major topics: Research Ethics, Computer Coding Ethics, Publishing Ethics, and Intellectual Property. The last topic covered copyright law, patent law, and trade secrets. To develop this ethics workshop, some ethics instruction programs at U.S. engineering colleges were investigated

Formal and Informal Undergraduate Ethics Education in Engineering

This literature review attempts to answer the question of whether formal education or informal education of ethics within civil engineering is more beneficial. If there is a lack of structured education of ethics in civil engineering, then another area of interest is to discover where engineers are being informally educated. Another area of inquiry is whether it is more beneficial to teach engineers ethics prior to the time when they are required to study the code of ethics for their certification exam, or should engineers wait until moments before the exam to study the code. This article examines the potential benefits of studying the code of ethics in a formal setting as well as the effectiveness of learning ethics informally

Global Engineering Ethics: What? Why? How? and When?

Even though engineering programs, accreditation bodies, and multinational corporations have become increasingly interested in introducing global dimensions into professional engineering practice, little work in the existing literature provides an overview of questions fundamental to global engineering ethics, such as what global engineering ethics is, why it should be taught, how it should be taught, and when it should be introduced. This paper describes the what, why, how, and when of global engineering ethics – a form adopted from a 1996 article by Charles Harris, Michael Davis, Michael Pritchard, and Michael Rabins, which has influenced the development of engineering ethics for over twenty-five years. First, this paper describes global engineering ethics as a response to the increasingly cross-cultural, international characteristics of contemporary engineering, as well as four fundamental approaches to conceive and deliver this training (what). Next, it explains the motivations for global engineering ethics: Neither educators nor practitioners can necessarily assume a shared nationality or culture among students or between coworkers (why). Third, this paper discusses how global engineering ethics should be taught: One of the most prevalent approaches uses case studies with a cross-cultural and/or international dimension (how). Finally, it identifies spots within curricula for global engineering ethics: standalone courses, integrated modules, micro-insertions, competence-based training scenarios, and extracurricular activities (when). As the world becomes ever more cross-cultural and international, training in global ethics will be essential for both students and practicing engineers

Building a digitally ready education system with a bioethical framework - the new normal

This policy brief highlights the timely need to foster digital literacy skills in higher education institutions and provides a model of digital education structured through a bioethical framework. Our reflection is brought forth by the growing pervasiveness of technology within the societal context and the lack of adequate education to tackle present and future challenges. At the same time, we recognize that an essential element of digital education is represented by the ability to critically think about the spectrum of both current and potential harms and benefits of digital technologies. This awareness underlines the very concept of digital literacy as characterized by both practical and thought components. As such, we propose an interdisciplinary model of digital literacy education composed of a basic foundation for digital ethics represented by the set of values characterised in the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, and two categories of digital literacy skills

Undergraduate Voices, Volume 1 (2018)

In this volume, Grace Ports explores ethics education in engineering. She explains why engineering students need to engage with ethics and examines possibilities offered by formal and experiential learning of ethics for engineering students. Julia Weber asks why the field of engineering is male-dominated and why this condition should change. She discusses the proportion of men in the field in comparison with women and focuses on discrimination against women in the workplace. Alec Raber presents his thoughts about sustainability in chemical engineering by highlighting concepts such as industrial ecology and green engineering. Seth Adams advocates for more experiential learning in medical schools and presents experiences of community-based learning and situated learning recommended in medical education literature. Katherine Theis compares student engineers’ knowledge of ethics learned at college with ethical practices they acquire when they are embedded in their professional contexts after graduation. Bailey Reid reflects on how engineers interact with communities they enter for conducting their projects. Reid invites engineers to regard communities as potential partners rather than obstacles that professionals should work around. Matt Westman looks at various businesses and writes about how they view and deal with the idea of making their practice more environmentally sustainable. He explores the benefits for businesses that choose to “go green” to show the investment of being more environmentally conscious is worth the extra money. Finally, Jared Beach, in a reflective article, presents his philosophical speculations about the ethical considerations that entrepreneurs and business leaders need to engage with

Empires of Knowledge: Chinese Students’ higher education experience at X University, UK

I discuss the difficulties Chinese international students (CIS) met in their UK higher education and how far their understanding of knowledge has been transformed by such experience from field research conducted at X University, UK, from 2017 to 2020. First, I flesh out the theoretical framework for the thesis: a view of power and knowledge influenced by Foucault and the interpretation of Chinese and western cultures in Sino-Hellenic studies. Second, I review the anthropological work on education, knowledge, and CIS to situate the basis and goals of the thesis. Third, I explore how legacies of thought in ancient and modern China and the transformation of higher education in the UK have influenced CIS’ overseas study. Fourth, I explore CIS’ life and social networking at X University, UK. Fifth, I explore CIS’ classroom learning experiences. I argue that students’ different reactions and attitudes toward the perceived confusion in classroom learning represent a collision between two ways of knowing: the traditional Chinese “sage style” and the Western “post-modern critical style”. Sixth, I explore research CIS’ study experience and demonstrate that the British and Chinese ways of PhD training suit students based on the specific experience of individuals. CIS still favour the “master’s family” tradition in Chinese research degree training after they studied in the UK. Seventh, I explore CIS’ academic writing practice in the UK. I illustrate that the difficulties they experience in UK academic writing could be explained by the different patterns of thought and ways of communication or persuasion in the two cultures. I also present the third way of knowing which CIS are exposed: the “objectivistic” Western natural science style. I conclude that though modern Western natural science’s way of knowing is the dominant knowledge style today in China and the UK, it also has its limitations. A hegemonic “empire of knowledge” deserves to be reflected on, criticised, and replaced by “exchanges and mutual learning” to inject fresh impetus into the development of human knowledge

South Korean Nationalism and the Legacy of Park Chung Hee: How Nationalism Shaped Park’s Agendas and the Future Korean Sociopolitical Landscape

Park Chung Hee (presidential term: 1961-1979) is, arguably, the most significant leader in the Korean Peninsula’s modern history. His governance has many trademark elements that have been thoroughly analyzed. These include his economic plans and violent dealings against his political opposition. One often overlooked variable, however, is the significant traces of early Korean nationalism (1890s-1930s) that defined his regime. Park employed these ideas, although controversial, to completely change a nation that was teetering on the brink of destruction into what is now, one of the most well-known republics in the world – economically, technologically, and culturally. It is important, therefore, to investigate how early nationalism affected and shaped Park’s tenure, and more importantly, how it still affects South Korea today. There are two main nationalist ideologies that affected Park’s rule. First are the teachings of early nineteenth century Korean nationalists, most prominently Sin Chaeho and Choe Namson. These philosophies gave Park the foundations to base his eventual regime upon. Specifically, Sin and Choe’s take on the Tan’gun creation myth promoted that the Korean people are entitled to a prosperous and homogenized land. This was also one element of their minjok tenet – minjok loosely translating to “the Korean people.” It is an ethnonationalist philosophy implying that all Koreans and the lands from where they originated are bound together by blood. Second, Park took those theories and mixed them with a Social Darwinist, Neo-Confucian ideology, one modeled after what he learned from his brief Imperial Japanese military career; this is otherwise known as bushido. When fused together, these elements created a unique institution that was evident throughout every aspect of a Park-era South Korea. It was not until the 1980s onwards that an affluent South Korean citizenry sought a more advanced republican-like polity. From this time on they out grew their need for Park-styled autocracy and nationalism. Through intense and daily mass protests, many of which ended in bloodshed, South Koreans infused old minjok nationalist themes with dissent; this union was called minjung. Minjung loosely translates to “mass people”, however during the protests the term was solidified under the definition of “the will of the [Korean] masses.” Therefore, minjung is now synonymous with South Korean-styled democracy. As a result, the end of the decade finally saw the last relic of Park’s governance. His successor, Chun Doo-hwan, was ousted as South Korea ascended into the pantheon of highly developed democracies

Technology in an Alternative Modernity

This essay tries to defend a general embracing-controlling-stance on modern technology on the basis of the analysis of technology and a synthesized theory about the relationship between technology and culture. The task is carried out in the framework of an alternative modernity theory, in a cross-cultural context. China and specific technologies are used to illustrate the central ideas as case studies