Media Ethics: The Powerful and the Powerless

Papers presented for the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University

The Mesoamerican Corpus of Formative Period Art and Writing

This project explores the origins and development of the first writing in the New World by constructing a comprehensive database of Formative period, 1500-400 BCE, iconography and a suite of database-driven digital tools. In collaboration with two of the largest repositories of Formative period Mesoamerican art in Mexico, the project integrates the work of archaeologists, art historians, and scientific computing specialists to plan and begin the production of a database, digital assets, and visual search software that permit the visualization of spatial, chronological, and contextual relationships among iconographic and archaeological datasets. These resources will eventually support mobile and web based applications that allow for the search, comparison, and analysis of a corpus of material currently only partially documented. The start-up phase will generate a functional prototype database, project website, wireframe user interfaces, and a report summarizing project development

Contribution of Energetically Reactive Surface Features to the Dissolution of CeO2 and ThO2 Analogues for Spent Nuclear Fuel Microstructures

In the safety case for the geological disposal of nuclear waste, the release of radioactivity from the repository is controlled by the dissolution of the spent fuel in groundwater. There remain several uncertainties associated with understanding spent fuel dissolution, including the contribution of energetically reactive surface sites to the dissolution rate. In this study, we investigate how surface features influence the dissolution rate of synthetic CeO2 and ThO2, spent nuclear fuel analogues that approximate as closely as possible the microstructure characteristics of fuel-grade UO2 but are not sensitive to changes in oxidation state of the cation. The morphology of grain boundaries (natural features) and surface facets (specimen preparation-induced features) was investigated during dissolution. The effects of surface polishing on dissolution rate were also investigated. We show that preferential dissolution occurs at grain boundaries, resulting in grain boundary decohesion and enhanced dissolution rates. A strong crystallographic control was exerted, with high misorientation angle grain boundaries retreating more rapidly than those with low misorientation angles, which may be due to the accommodation of defects in the grain boundary structure. The data from these simplified analogue systems support the hypothesis that grain boundaries play a role in the so-called “instant release fraction” of spent fuel, and should be carefully considered, in conjunction with other chemical effects, in safety performance assessements for the geological disposal of spent fuel. Surface facets formed during the sample annealing process also exhibited a strong crystallographic control and were found to dissolve rapidly on initial contact with dissolution medium. Defects and strain induced during sample polishing caused an overestimation of the dissolution rate, by up to 3 orders of magnitude

Presidential Address: Elaine E. Englehardt

Elaine E. Englehardt (Utah Valley University) is the current president of the Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum. The SEAC Leadership Team, comprising the Officers and Members of the Executive Committee, is listed on their website. The Leadership Team is elected by the Society’s membership and all serve the Society without remuneration of any kind

Flux Enhancement in Ultrafiltration of Bitumen Emulsions Using Tubular Polyvinyldiene Flouride Membranes

New emulsified bitumen fuels pose an extreme challenge to ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, rapidly depositing and adhering tar solids on membrane surfaces. In this paper, results of pilot tests demonstrating maintenance of permeate flux in such applications are described. Tubular polyvinyldiene fluoride (PVDF) membranes for ultrafiltration were shown to effectively remove Orimulsion®, a bitumen fuel emulsion, from water, resulting in a permeate quality less than 2.0 mg/L as volatile suspended solids, at an average permeate flux on the order of 35-310 Lph/m 2 (21-182 gpd/ft 2 ). The use of one part bentonite clay to ten parts Orimulsion® solids, by mass, was found to enhance permeate flux and improve membrane cleaning. Although additives were not necessary to obtain suitable flux rates or restore permeate flux, their use was shown to reduce membrane costs considerably. Practical methods for cleaning membranes fouled with bitumen suspensions in water, with and without the presence of filtration additives, are presented. Experimental results revealed that flux regeneration was possible. Further testing included development of an optimal cleaning schedule using a simple mathematical relationship based on pilot data

Concurrent Session 2A

Ethics for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Virtual) / Rachel Levit Ades, Arizona State University Though we rightly consider bringing ethics to the general population, children, and incarcerated people, we rarely discuss what it would mean to offer ethics to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). People with IDD, unlike other populations we wish to reach, will often never encounter ethics in an academic setting. However, doing ethics with people with IDD is possible, rewarding, and important. The virtues of an ethics education are relevant and valuable to their lives, and the insights they can offer ethicists deserve to be taken seriously. Ethicists also have an obligation to do this work; philosophy in particular has been antagonistic towards people with IDD, often using examples of people with cognitive disabilities in distasteful thought experiments and perpetuating rhetoric which privileges normative thinking above all else. We have so far refused to engage seriously with the lived experience and insight of people with IDD, let alone provide them with the tools and knowledge we so value. This presentation provides inspiration and guidance for ethics-focused public philosophy that engages adults with IDD. I present insights and questions from the five “Big Ideas” classes I have created and taught, as well as practical guidance that I hope will encourage other ethics educators to bring similar programs to their communities. Un/Ethical Assumptions: Engagement and Research with Adults with Intellectual Disabilities (Virtual) / Nicole DeClouette, Georgia College and State University; Kelley Ditzel, Georgia College and State University People with intellectual disabilities have traditionally been a protected class by institutional review boards, ethically charged with protecting “vulnerable” human subjects in research projects. Recent research, however, calls into question the assumptions of vulnerability for a whole class of people. Like other protected groups, there exists a broad range of experiences within the class, leaving some researchers to ponder these questions: Is it ethical to think of individuals as a homogenous group? Is it unethical to exclude people with intellectual disabilities in research? What are we missing by excluding the perspectives and experiences of people with intellectual disabilities? Using these questions to frame the presentation, presenters will share the findings of a research study that involved adults with intellectual disabilities, their family members, and staff members from a creative arts-focused day program that serves adults with disabilities. The program was closed during the beginning months of the COVID pandemic, and then moved its programming to a virtual platform. The story of this transition will be told through the lens of one participant, Chloe (pseudonym), a woman with significant support needs related to her autism. Due to her support needs, Chloe was not initially considered a viable candidate for virtual services. When she was eventually provided access to virtual services, she blossomed into an individual who was barely recognizable by those who knew her previously. Chloe’s story makes a case for the ethical engagement and inclusion of the perspectives and experiences of adults with intellectual disabilities in research studies. Session Chair: Elaine E. Englehardt, Utah Valley Universit