Ethics By Professor Wilmer Arellano 2013 in August

Ethics By: Professor Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“in August of 2009, an off-duty policeman and three of his family suddenly felt their new Lexus race out of control at speeds of up to 100 mph before it hit another car, flew down an embankment, and caught fire, killing all four occupants. ” “Investigation revealed that if a certain rubber floor mat is installed, a projection in the molding can catch the bottom tip of the rigid accelerator pedal so that the throttle is stuck wide-open. In late September, Toyota issued a floor-mat recall on over four million vehicles. ” Ethical case in Mechanical Engineering https: //ieeexplore. ieee. org/document/7484851 Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“Toyota was clearly trying to minimize a problem that now appears to be more serious than simply a floor mat that interferes with accelerator-pedal motion. Some of the incidents dug up by the Times appear to involve the “drive-by-wire” electronic accelerator system, which is of course operated by computer programs. Toyota admits that there is no software feature that disables the accelerator pedal when the brake pedal is pressed. ” Ethical case in Mechanical Engineering https: //ieeexplore. ieee. org/document/7484851 Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“Jesse was an 18 -year-old man with a mild form of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, a disorder of nitrogen metabolism. His form of the disease could be controlled by diet and drug treatment. ” “On September 13 1999 a team of researchers lead by James Wilson at the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Human Gene Therapy (IHGT) injected 3. 8 X 1013 adenovirus vector particles containing a gene to correct the genetic defect. He was the eighteenth and final patient in the trial. The virus particles were injected directly into the liver. ” Ethical case in Biomedical Engineering https: //jme. bmj. com/content/27/3/148 Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“He received the largest number of virus particles in a gene therapy trial. 1 Four days later he was dead from what was probably an immune reaction to the virus vector. This was the first death directly attributed to gene therapy. ” “Art Caplan, the University of Pennsylvania's outspoken bioethicist, is reported to have said: “if you cured anyone from a Phase 1 trial, it would be a miracle” and “there was never a chance that anyone would benefit from these experiments”. ” Ethical case in Biomedical Engineering https: //jme. bmj. com/content/27/3/148 Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Therac-25 is a medical linear accelerator manufactured by AECL. A linear accelerator ("linac") is a particle accelerator, a device that increases the energy of electrically charged atomic particles. The charged particle are accelerated by the introduction of an electric field, producing beams of particles which are then focused by magnets. Linacs are used to treat cancer patients. Ethical case in Computer Engineering http: //users. csc. calpoly. edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/THERAC 25. html Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“The Therac-25's software was developed from the Therac-20's software, which was developed from the Therac-6's software. One programmer, over several years, revised the Therac-6 software into the Therac 25 software. ” “In the Therac-20, the role of software is limited. The software simply adds convenience to the hardware. However, in the Therac-25, software exclusively performs many of the critical safety checks of the system; these safety checks are also included in the hardware of the Therac-20, but were not included in the Therac-25 hardware. ” Ethical case in Computer Engineering http: //users. csc. calpoly. edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/THERAC 25. html Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“The last of the accidents occurred at the Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. On January 17, 1987 an operator placed a patient on the turntable in the fieldlight position for small position verification doses. After attempting to administer the treatment dose, the machine shut down with a quick malfunction message and a treatment pause. ” “The operator pushed the "P" button, and the machine paused again. The machine indicated that the patient had received his prescribed 7 rad of treatment. The patient, however, complained of a "burning sensation" and died three months later from complications related to the overdose. ” Ethical case in Computer Engineering http: //users. csc. calpoly. edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/THERAC 25. html Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Nevada’s governor and congressional delegation are pointing to earthquakes this month in the California desert and calling for the U. S. Energy Department look again at seismic risks of burying the nation’s most radioactive nuclear waste at a site in the Mojave Desert. In a letter made public Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak told Energy Secretary Rick Perry that 6. 4 and 7. 1 magnitude quakes during the July Fourth holiday near Ridgecrest, California, underscore safety concerns that Nevada first raised about Yucca Mountain in 2008. Ethical case in Environmental Engineering http: //users. csc. calpoly. edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/THERAC 25. html Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“The tenth anniversary of the Challenger disaster in January of 1996 brought renewed attention to Roger Boisjoly, the engineer who is perhaps the most widely known whistleblower. Many people are now familiar with details about how the launch went forward in unusually cold temperatures against the recommendation of the engineers. ” Whistleblowers https: //www. nspe. org/resources/ethics-resources/otherresources/whistleblowing-what-have-we-learned-challenger Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“For starters, the word whistle-blower— once popularly meant to describe a snitch or a disgruntled employee—now describes an ethical person willing to put his or her job on the line in order to expose corrupt, illegal, fraudulent and harmful activities. Indeed, in the aftermath of recent Boeing 737 MAX crashes, the media routinely and positively refers to disclosures by “Boeing whistle-blowers. ”” Whistleblowers https: //blogs. scientificamerican. com/observations/when-engineersbecome-whistleblowers/ Wilmer Arellano © 2013

“Some of the common methods used against whistleblowers are ostracism, harassment, spreading of rumors, reprimands, punitive transfers, threats, referral to psychiatrists, demotion, dismissal and blacklisting. To simply list these methods gives only a faint indication of the tremendous damage they do. ” Whistleblowers https: //www. bmartin. cc/pubs/07 Rappert. html Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Moral: Morality refers to a set of values that are widely shared and relatively stable within a community. Moral values are those pertaining to what is right or wrong, good or bad. Moral values are the foundations of our obligations (our duties) toward one another. ◦ Ethics: Ethics is “a branch of philosophy, which through formal and systematic analysis, attempts to critically examine human conduct focusing on the rightness and wrongness, goodness or harmfulness of actions”. Philosophical ethics focuses on normative issues that address “what is morally right and what is morally wrong with regard to human action” ◦ Law: Law is distinguished from morality, in part, by the fact that it is written by legislatures and courts, and it is enforceable. The purposes of law are to maintain order, to punish wrongdoers, to resolve disputes fairly, and to distribute benefits (and harms) justly according to what people need or deserve. ◦ ◦ https: //www. thieme-connect. com/products/ejournals/html/10. 1055/s-2004 -815580 Definitions

An ethical dilemma is a situation that often involves an apparent conflict between moral imperatives in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. Ethical dilemmas are often cited in an attempt to refute an ethical or morality system. A common example of an ethical dilemma involves the question of: ◦ whether a man, having no available means of income or support, should steal food to feed himself and his starving family Under an ethical system in which stealing is always wrong and letting one's family die from starvation is always wrong, a person in such a situation would be forced to commit one wrong to avoid committing another. Ethical Dilemmas Wilmer Arellano © 2013

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Honesty Integrity Respect Trust Responsibility Citizenship Lockheed Martin Code of Conduct Wilmer Arellano © 2013

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Wilmer Arellano © 2013

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Wilmer Arellano © 2013

A company purchased an expensive computer program for your summer job with them. The license agreement states that you can make a backup copy, but you can only use the program on one computer at a time. Your senior design course professor would like you to use the program for your senior design project. What should you do? ◦ a). Give the program to your professor and let him/her worry about the consequences. ◦ b). Copy the program and use it because no one will know. ◦ c). Ask your supervisor at the company that purchased the program if you can use it at school on your senior project. ◦ d). Ask your professor to contact the company and ask for permission to use the program at school. Engineering ethics - Example

Wilmer Arellano © 2013

What if no Canon that applies can be found? Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Obligation of the Engineer Example Le. Messurier’s Citicorp design was innovative in several ways. ◦ A large mass, floating on a sheet of oil, within the triangular roof structure acting as a damper oscillations due to wind forces. Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Obligation of the Engineer Example The land on which the Citicorp Center was built had belonged to St. Peter’s Church. When St. Peter’s sold the building lot to Citicorp, it also negotiated that a new church be erected “under” the Citicorp skyscraper. In order to manage this, Le. Messurier moved the “corners” of the building to the center of the sides. Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Le. Messurier received a call from an engineering student in New Jersey who was told by a professor that the building’s columns had been put in the wrong place. Le. Messurier reviewed his original design and calculations to see just how strong the wind bracing system would be. He found out that when examining the building under a non standard quartering wind (the wind hits a building on a 45 -degree diagonal) the building could suffer major damage. Obligation of the Engineer Example Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Le. Messurier considered several options, including driving into a freeway bridge abutment at high speed. He also considered remaining silent. The damper could eliminate the risk. If electric power would fail that wouldn’t work. After talking to lawyers and insurance companies, he got in contact with the principal officers of Citicorp. Initially evacuating the building was considered, especially since hurricane season was just over the horizon, at the end all of the connections at risk should were redesigned and fixed without evacuation. Obligation of the Engineer Example Wilmer Arellano © 2013
![“In return for getting a [professional engineering] license and being regarded with respect, you’re “In return for getting a [professional engineering] license and being regarded with respect, you’re](http://slidetodoc.com/presentation_image_h2/6da0d97b8753ac27c07e715cd51594aa/image-25.jpg)
“In return for getting a [professional engineering] license and being regarded with respect, you’re supposed to be selfsacrificing and look beyond the interests of yourself and your client to society as a whole. And the most wonderful part of my story is that when I did it nothing bad happened. ” William J. Le. Messurier Obligation of the Engineer Example Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Which option will generate the greatest benefit (or least amount of harm) for the greatest number? (utilitarianism) 2. Which option safeguards and/or promotes your own or your organization's best interests? (ethical egoism) 3. Which option allows you to be willing to make your decision a rule or policy that you and others in your situation can follow in similar situations in the future? Have you or will you be using any person as a means to an ends without consideration for his/her basic integrity and dignity as a human being? (Kantian ethics) 4. Which options respect the rights of individuals in society? (rights ethics) 1. ETHICAL THEORIES Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Wilmer Arellano © 2013

In 1994/95, it was discovered and widely reported that the latest version of the Intel Pentium chip had flaws. Paradigms: ◦ For our positive paradigm, we will use the statement that ◦ “products should perform as advertised. ” The negative paradigm will be: “Knowingly sell products that are defective and that will negatively affect customer’s applications. ” Options LINE DRAWING Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Present Your Solution to This Dilemma Wilmer Arellano © 2013

In 1994/95, it was discovered and widely reported that the latest version of the Intel Pentium chip had flaws. Paradigms: ◦ For our positive paradigm, we will use the statement that ◦ “products should perform as advertised. ” The negative paradigm will be: “Knowingly sell products that are defective and that will negatively affect customer’s applications. ” Options 1. Deny the existence of the problem 2. There are flaws in the chip, the customer is informed of them, 3. 4. 5. but no help is offered. A warning label says that the chip should not be used for certain applications. Recall notices are sent out, and all flawed chips are replaced. Replacement chips are offered only if the customer notices the problem. LINE DRAWING Wilmer Arellano © 2013

Do not analyze legal issues with this method Do not analyze safety issues with this method

When this bug was first reported, Intel denied that it existed. After this bug was proven to exist, Intel denied that it was a problem. When customers wanted a replacement chip, Intel demanded that *THEY* (the customer) prove that they were affected by this bug. Yet to this very day, Intel refuses to acknowledge that this is a bug; instead they always refer to this as a flaw -- whatever the difference may be. Intel Response http: //www. rcollins. org/Errata/Feb 97/Bugs. html

http: //www. onlineethics. org/ http: //www. nspe. org/ethics/codeofethics 2003. pdf http: //www. niee. org/ http: //www. sinclair. edu/about/gened/val ues/code/index. cfm Links of Interest

Definitions Ethical Dilemmas ◦ The Code Model ◦ Ethical theories Obligation of the Engineer Links of interest Review Wilmer Arellano © 2013

& Questions Answer s Wilmer Arellano © 2013
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