Projects

Case Discussions

Students read and discussed case studies throughout the course. They were divided into groups, and each group led class discussion on the day of its assigned case study.

All case studies were from Buy at Amazon Harris, Charles E. Jr., Michael S. Pritchard, and Michael J. Rabins. Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004. ISBN: 9780534605797.

(See the Engineering Ethics Companion Site for complementary texts.)

The case studies were:

  • The Hyatt Regency Walkways Collapse
  • XYZ Hose Company And The Case Of The Bursting Hose
  • Chernobyl
  • DNA Structure
  • Tacoma Bridge Collapse
  • Bhopal Disaster
  • Ford Pinto Case
  • Whistleblowing
  • Columbia Shuttle Disaster

Debate

Topics

  • Is corporate philanthropy fair to shareholders?
  • Should Congress require schools and public libraries to block social networking Web sites?

Structure

DURATIONS PARTS
6 minutes Con Arguments
6 minutes Pro Arguments
5 minutes Break
5 minutes Con Counter-arguments
5 minutes Pro-counter Arguments
Question and Answer
Question and Answer from the Audience