IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 63

engineering class." One participant
stated that they "...feel left out of
the class, like an outsider who does
not belong." The next logical questions, of course, are how do instructors implement a global ethical
viewpoint and what is missing in
the current engineering ethics curriculum that, if included in the curriculum, would integrate students
instead of leaving them out? In an
effort to approach these questions,
students were asked to comment on
important ethical stances they perceived as omitted from the ninetyminute introductory ethics short
course. Fig. 4, Omitted Ethical
Standards, shows survey responses.
Approximately 23% of students felt
that teaching legal standards could
be valuable in the classroom. Students explained that law espoused
the true bottom line regarding societal behavior and standards of ethics "...because it is what we have
all agreed to and voted to follow."
Eighteen percent of the participants
offered various religious viewpoints
as potentially helpful "...guideposts
for ethical behavior." Eighty-two
percent of the participants recommended non-deity or non-religion
based inclusions in the curriculum,
citing potentially volatile outcomes
where "...Christians, Muslims, Jews
and whatnot feel the need to defend
their views..." and may become
distracted from the task at hand.
Thirty-four percent of the students
surveyed mentioned the usefulness
of including more information on
non-deity based Asian philosophies
in the ethics course. Ninety-three
percent of students found the ethics
short course informative and useful
as shown in Fig. 5, Impact of the
Ethics Short Course. Several students espoused a feeling of concern
that they were missing "...a really
important part of becoming a scientist" and that this "...is the most
important thing I will learn in my
program." Seven percent believed
that the information was repetitive
or was not an important element in
the engineering curriculum.

Is a Global Perspective Important?
No

Yes
0

Fig. 3. Sixty-eight students answer the survey question regarding whether
or not a global perspective is important to the ethical decision making skills
of engineers. Sixty students answered yes, while eight students responded
with no.

Omitted Ethical Standards
7%
8%

Law
23%

Unspecified Religion
Taoism

10%

Other Standards
18%

17%

Confucian
Golden Rule

17%

Laozi

Fig. 4. Survey answers regarding what ethical standards students perceive
as being omitted from the engineering ethics short course.

Future Research
and Broader Impact

intercultural understanding. Answati
and Craig [17]point out that communication breakdown can lead to
larger complexities when cultural
diversity is ignored nor acted upon.
Simple adaptations and intercultural
considerations can alleviate many
miscommunications and help to

User-Centered
Curriculum Development
The results of this project will contribute to the engineering ethics pedagogical dialog. using a survey in
the classroom helps instructors support and respond
to the needs and values
Impact of the Ethics Short Course
of students and therefore
Learned New and Valuable Information
serves to strengthen the
Learned Nothing New or Valuable
impact of the course. By
doing so, instructors raise
7%
the possibility of instilling a long-lasting ability to
incorporate ethical systems
in the decision-making
process while addressing
cultural diversity. Ignoring cultural diversity in
93%
the classroom is essentially the same as ignoring
global diversity, leading
to impoverished interperFig. 5. Survey answer regarding the impact
sonal communication and
of the ethics short course.

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

SuMMEr 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013