Engineering Ethics-Jake Hsu – Flashcards
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Pons and Fleischmann
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Cold Fusion (Pathological Science)
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Rene Blondlot
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N rays (Pathological Science)
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Space Shuttle Challenger
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O ring failure and cold temperatures. liquid fuel booster explosion
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Space Shuttle Columbia
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Foam strike on ceramic tile, extreme heating
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Intel Pentium
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Software bug, denied at first, then said not a major issue, then finally agreed to fix
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Ford Pinto
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Flawed gas tank design known by engineers, not illegal but criminal charges filed
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Exxon Valdez
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Oil spill in Alaska, worst environmental disaster at the time
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Bhopal
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1984. Gas leak in India (Union Carbide)
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Three Mile Island
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Nuclear Catastrophe in PA. Charles Perrow's Normal Accident Theory.
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Ariane 5
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European rocket, software error (integer overflow) caused rocket to self destruct. $350 million mistake
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Karen Silkwood
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Union activist in nuclear industry. Advocate for workers' health. Killed in "accident"
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Mark Whitacre
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The "Informant". Global Lysine price fixing scandal. Problem of unclean hands
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Jeffery Wigand
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Whistleblower in cigarette industry. Addictive chemicals added to cigarettes, 60 minutes
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Love Canal
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Town in New York. Toxic waste buried underground by Hooker Chemical, led to health concerns.
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Mars Climate Orbiter
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English vs metric units led to loss of orbiter
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Denver Airport
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Runway concrete: contractor used cheaper mixture than they had specified. Falsified concrete testing results
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Paradyne
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Contracted to make computer for Social Security Administration, underbidding. Hired former SSA official. F
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Aberdeen Three
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Three managers convicted of illegally handling/storing hazardous waste
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Hurricane Katrina
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Poor engineering judgment in construction of canals and levees.
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Valujet Flight 592
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Empty oxygen generators got very hot, caused electrical fire, causing crash. Safety caps should have been installed, pilot shouldn't have carried dangerous cargo
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Firestone Tires
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Ford Explorer rollovers. Use of adhesives past shelf life, pressure from management to keep production high at cost of safety
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Hyatt Regency Kansas City Walkways
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Engineering design to save costs, in violation of building codes
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Ford Crown Victoria
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Fuel tank in rear crush zone, susceptible to being hit from behind. Many police deaths as result from car catching fire after being struck from behind
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Teton Dam (Idaho)
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Poor construction materials (fractured rock). cracks in canyon walls. Dam failed
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DC-10
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Cargo door collapsed in flight, leading to crash. Conservative design culture
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Tokaimura Nuclear Accident
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Workers used modified procedure, more enriched fuel. Gamma and neutron radiation.
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BART
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Employees tried to blow the whistle on unsafe Automatic Train Control system. Fired, sued BART with help of IEEE
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I35 Bridge Minneapolis
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Poor design, fracture-critical. Construction equipment on bridge at the time of collapse.
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Goodrich A7-D Brake
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Airplane brake. Materials overheated during testing, Goodrich falsified testing data. Whisteblowers: Vandivier and Lawson
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Hartford Civic Center (1978)
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Roof frame was too weak, collapsed during snowstorm
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Therac-25
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Radiation therapy to deliver X-ray photons. improper dosing (way too much) led to radiation poisoning and death.
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Avanti Corp. vs Cadence Design Systems
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Code stolen by Avanti, former Cadence employees working at Avanti. indicted on criminal charges. Fine line between skills learned at job and intellectual property
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Citicorp Center (Manhattan)
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Example of doing the right thing. Unsafe design recognized by engineer, fixed. Engineer acted ethically after making a mistake
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Sealed Beam headlight case
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GE developed method of creating better bulbs. Shared this information with other manufacturers to improve safety
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Tacoma Narrows
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Bridge Collapse in wind. NOT ethical mistake
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Boston Molasses Disaster
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Hot day, molasses tank ruptured. Engineers failed to check tank for leaks, perform appropriate tests
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Snoopy
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Symbol/reminder of safety at NASA
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Hero of Alexandria
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Engineer for hire. Pulleys, levers, etc
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Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
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Time motion study/ scientific management
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Ellen Swallow Richards
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First woman admitted to MIT
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Nora Blatch
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First American woman to receive engineering degree
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Frederick Taylor
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Scientific Management. Using principles of management to make workers more efficient. Not seen as a hero
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Trivium
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Grammar, Rhetoric, Dialectic (logic)
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Quadrivium
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Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music
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Galileo Galilei
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Great astronomer, insulted Pope, placed under house arrest. Example of poor communication
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Robert Merton
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Ethos of Scientific Study CUDOS
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Francis Bacon
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Inductive reasoning Four idols
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Archimedes of Syracuse
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King's crown, Eureka.
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Dirk Coetzee
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Aparteid Death Squad
