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Study Guide for Mid-Term Exam
Ethics and Technology
Summary: It is difficult to discuss an individual's responsibility to society without mentioning the ethical base of technological use. This part introduces ethics and its position within technological development. It confronts the need for ethical behavior when developing, marketing and using technology. It is easy to forget that machines, no matter how sophisticated, and no matter how liberating, in terms of the work they do for us, do not know the difference between right and wrong. Thus, this chapter encourages students to evaluate moral decisions correlated with technological application. They will be encouraged to ask questions, for example, what happens when the operator's sense of right and wrong is clouded by political, professional, or personal pressures.
Paul Alcorn discusses the relationship between ethics and technology. He defines technology, explains the evolution of technology and then explains the ethical choices correlated to technological development. Kohlberg's model of cognitive moral development is explained and correlated to ethical decision making. Trevino's interactionist model explains the process of ethical decision making based on individual perception and situational variables. These theories are then correlated to a synthesis model of ethical decision making. The question of ethical behavior is analyzed further by examining the cases of individuals who had to make ethical decisions about technological use that cost them their jobs. They became whistle blowers. Part one defines and explains whistle blowing and then illustrates the whistle blowing concept further by presenting the Roger Boisjoly case, the chief engineer at Morton Thiokol who blew the whistle on the Challenger.
Discussion Topics
1. Ethical conflicts may arise from technological developments. (e.g. genetic engineering, cloning, sick houses, use of bovine growth hormone to raise milk production levels.) Provide additional examples not mentioned in the chapter.
2. Why might some theorists believe that if something has been done a certain way for a long period of time that society should prevent technology from changing it? What are examples of technologies that should not have been developed because of the changes that they created?
3. Provide an example of technology that illustrates the moral paradox of both right and wrong. Correlate this example to technology-precipitated value conflicts.
4. List five rights that individuals possess, simply because they are human. Explain the justification for each right.
5. If you had been Roger Boisjoly, what would you have done differently? When do you feel that an individual should make the decision to blow the whistle? Are there any circumstances where individuals should not blow the whistle?
6. Discuss why students should take a course in Social Issues in Technology.
7.Search the newspapers for three articles that illustrate the lack of social responsibility and ethics when using or developing technology.
8.Define the followings:
Ethics, Technology, Artifacts, Homeostasis, Technologizing, Cognitive Moral Development, Individual Instrumental Purpose, Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Ego Strength, Field Dependence, Situational Variables, Business Ethics, and Whistle blowing
Essay Questions:
1. Neil Postman, author of Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Society states that "every technology is both a burden and a blessing: not either-or, but this and that."What is your interpretation of this quote? Provide three examples from readings or lecture that support or counter the premise of Neil Postman's statement.
2. What are the two major considerations pertinent to ethical decision-making when
using technology?"
3. Define whistle blowing. List and describe three characteristics that are typical within the personality dynamics or work environment of whistleblowers. Why does whistle blowing usually occur?
4. List and describe four ethical choices that should be considered when developing new technologies?
5. Define technology and ethics. Provide two examples of their relationship.
6. Describe Kohlberg's model of cognitive moral development.
7. Explain Trevino's Interactionist Model.
The History of Technology
Summary Part one presents a diverse collection of views covering technological history, anthropology and the ethical development of technology. The diversity presented within this chapter encourages students to try to clarify and sort out the many ways that technology can be used and integrated into society. This section begins with a brief introduction, followed by an extensive time line highlighting technology from the most primitive forms to the most sophisticated. By observing and analyzing the lines of technological development students can observe the slow development of technology from cave man days to the radical increase in technology after the Industrial Revolution. The article "George" sheds light on the life of a Homo habilis man and allows students to learn about the use of primitive technology during a very different time period. The "New" George follows the "Old' George, and poses several questions about human evolution. Questions follow each reading to encourage critical analysis of each technological and social issue presented.
Essays:
- Discuss why students should take a course in Social Issues in Technology.
- Discuss how technology impacts an individual's personal identity and integration into the workplace and academic world.
3.Discuss how technology has historically impacted society in both positive and negative ways.
4.Pick a technology that is of interest to you (for example, sewing machines, tanks, computers, TV, etc.) and write a five to six page paper about its historic and current impact on the economy, environment, relationships, education, and morals.
5.Use the timeline provided in the text and track a technology from its origins to the present.
6. Define the following: Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Australopithecus africanus, . Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Peking Man, Cro-Magnon
7.Describe human successes in five technologies and human failures in five different technologies.
8.Describe two cases mentioned in the lecture or the text that illustrate the impact of technology on society.
Energy
Summary Part three investigates the impact of technology on energy development and conservation. The chapters in this section provide a survey of renewable and non- renewable energy technologies and discuss the issues and challenges of economic growth within the domains of sustainable environment. The first chapter "Energy" provides a global perspective of energy sources and explores the issues of oil politics and economic development for sustainable environment. The second chapter "Energy for a New
Century" presents a perspective on the new energy strategies for the 21 st century. The third chapter "Immortal Waste" provides an introduction to the problem of nuclear waste.
The fourth chapter "Nuclear Warriors" presents a case study about the operation of a nuclear reactor. The fifth chapter "The Hydrogen Experiment" discusses Iceland's migration towards a hydrogen society. The sixth chapter "Solar Energy" provides an introduction to the solar technology. The seventh and tenth chapters explore the status of wind power. The eight and ninth chapters discuss the implications of hydroelectric power technology. And Chapter eleven explores the present status of electric car development.
Topics to learn
1. Background of world energy sources
2. Renewable energy sources
3. Non-renewable energy sources
4. Energy consumption in the developed and the developing world
5. Energy and economic development: supply and demand
6. The global warming and the Greenhouse Effect
7. Energy Strategies for the 21 st Century
8. World Oil supply versus Demand
9. The nuclear power, advantages and drawbacks
10. The nuclear reactor safety
11. The dilemma of nuclear waste: lack of permanent storage sites
12. The solar energy: advantages and limitations
13. Wind power: advantages and limitations
14.Hydroelectric power: limitations and drawback
15. Biomass: advantages and limitations
16. Oil strategies for the 21 st century at local, national and international level for a sustainable environment.
Define the following: Fossil Fuel, Hydrogen Fuel, Nuclear power, Fission, Isotope, Alpha radiation, Beta radiation, Gamma radiation, kWh, EPA, Acid rain
. Global Warming, Greenhouse effect, Radioactive waste, GNP, Ozone Layer, CFCs, PV, EV, Chernobyl, Hydroelectric, Solar, Wind power, Ecology
Essays
1. The gigantic increase in the use of fossil fuels in the 20th century has wreaked havoc on the earth's atmosphere. What kind of risks does the increased fossil fuel consumption impose on society at personal, national and international levels? What efforts must be made to minimize these risks?
2. A number of developing countries are constructing nuclear power plants for their growing energy needs. Due to scarce resources for the majority of the developing countries, nuclear energy appears to be the most viable solution to the exponential increase in their demand for energy. The developed countries are trying to prevent the transfer of nuclear technology to Third world countries. Should developing nations be denied access to nuclear technology? What alternative sources would you recommend?
3. Discuss the world energy problem. What types of renewable and alternative energy technologies will promote economic growth for a sustainable environment in the 21st century? Isolate some of the issues, support with specifics, and outline some possible solutions.
4. Discuss the role of the oil industry in the development and success of the electric car. What factors impede the mass-production of electric cars?
5. Why are fossil fuels used so prevalently? What effect could radioactive wastes have on future generations? What factors have impeded the advances in alternate energy technologies?
6.Visit NASA's Multimedia Gallery at
The web site contains a large collection of photos of earth taken from space by various space shuttle missions and depicts the impact of different types of human interaction. Discuss the impact of the construction of dams on ecology and soil erosion in the developing and developed countries.
7.How can the United States avoid a future oil crisis and oil wars? Using Internet resources compare and discuss the U.S. oil strategies during the following eras:
a. 1960s
b. 1970s
c. 1980s
d. 1990s
e. 2000s
8. Find a news item or a story in the news media related to the advances in the alternative energy technology and e-mail a letter to the editor expressing your opinion.
4. Develop novel strategies for conserving fossil fuel consumption at personal, national and international levels.
5. Develop a course of action for replacing fossil fuel with alternate energy sources.