We will watch a video about historical engineering disasters in today’s class. Prepare a response paper about today’s video for a homework grade. Your response paper should be at least 1 page long (single-spaced) and professionally prepared (typed, 12 point font, 1” margins). The paper should demonstrate a thoughtful response to the video.
Ethics refers to standards, rules, or guidelines that outlineacceptable behavior. Ethics is not about etiquette, laws, or even morality. It is about making logical decisions based on standards governing acceptable behavior, a practicecalled normative ethics. As a profession, engineering is regulated by published ethical codes. One of these is the National Society of Professional Engineers, or NSPE, code of ethics. The six fundamental canons of the NSPE ethicalcode are(NSPE 2019):
Engineers shall…
- Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
2) Perform services only in areas of their competence.
3) Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
4) Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
5) Avoid deceptive acts.
6) Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.
Your response paper is to be expository, which means that you can take the information presented to you in any direction you want—but please do not simply regurgitate the plot. I would like to see a meaningful discussion of the ethical issues raised in the video. You may decide to focus on one particular issue and use resources from the NSPE ethics website (http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/EthicsResources/index.html)to delve more deeply into the topic, or you may discuss how multiple issues could have been interpreted using the NSPE code of ethics.
Outside resources are strongly encouraged and should be cited. Depth of thought is a must. Spelling, grammar, and coherence count in the final grade. Plagiarism will result in a grade of 0.
Reference National Society of Professional Engineers. 2019. “Code of Ethics.”https://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics. Last accessed: 9/9/19.