Collaborative Research: Ethics Education in Life Cycle Design, Engineering, and Management

除了教授工程实践需要为自己设计的直接执行承担责任外，还必须培训学生考虑其间接义务和责任的伦理层面。产品、项目或政策的间接影响可以使用生命周期评估(LCA)来表征和量化，生命周期评估是一种正式的建模方法，它利用一种全面的“从摇篮到坟墓”的方法来评估环境和社会影响。生命周期评价被设计师、科学家和工程师以及企业广泛使用，主要用于产品设计和管理，也被用于政策领域，以量化大规模工程和技术决策的系统影响。虽然LCA的使用很广泛，但建模结构和对结果的解释涉及伦理和价值判断，分析人员和结果的接受者都必须仔细把握这些判断。该EESE项目的重点是将道德培训纳入生命周期课程，并为工程和科学方面的一般道德培训编写基于生命周期的教材。正在开发假想和现实世界的案例，以解决一系列面向生命周期的伦理挑战，并与多个学科相关。东北伦理学院还制作了介绍每个案例的教学材料和视频片段，并为年轻观众制作了简短版本，作为额外的教学资源。正在将案例研究提交给伦理、工程、科学、政策和商业案例研究信息交流中心，并在国家和国际会议上通过结构化的教程进一步传播。其中一个案例研究正在圣母大学转变为三个小时的研讨会形式，随后在其HBCU伙伴机构之一提供。该项目旨在实现课堂内外的广泛影响。最重要的是，这个项目直接影响到学生的职业发展，他们将把这种道德培训所灌输的洞察力、观点和行为带入职场，最终造福社会。编写的案例涉及基本伦理原则和宏观伦理问题；因此，即使在没有生命周期评估或科学政策现有课程的大学，包括那些采用讲习班方法进行研究生一级伦理教育的大学，它们也将对工程课堂上的伦理教育具有价值。在项目组和几个以案例为基础的道德操守讲习班中，代表人数不足的群体都被纳入其中。虽然完整的案例是为大学生设计的，但为中学生设计的较短版本在正式的STEM教育早期提高了对生命周期问题和环境伦理的认识。最终，该项目以一种反映21世纪在可持续工程和技术方面取得的进步的方式，推进了针对不同学生的伦理教育。

In addition to being taught that engineering practice requires assuming liability for the direct performance of one's designs; students must also be trained to consider the ethical dimensions of their indirect obligations and liabilities. The indirect effects of a product, project, or policy can be characterized and quantified using life cycle assessment (LCA), which is a formal modeling method that utilizes a comprehensive "cradle-to-grave" approach to evaluate environmental and social impacts. LCA is in wide use by designers, scientists and engineers, and businesses, primarily for use in product design and management, and is also employed in policy spheres to quantify the systemic impacts of large-scale engineering and technology decisions. While the use of LCA is widespread, the modeling structure and the interpretation of results involve ethical and value judgments that must be navigated carefully both by the analyst and by the receiver of the results. This EESE project centers on the integration of ethical training into life cycle courses and the development of life cycle-based educational materials for general ethics training in engineering and science. Hypothetical and real-world cases are being developed that address a range of life cycle-oriented ethical challenges, with relevance for multiple disciplines. Instructional materials and video footage presenting each case, as well as shorter versions for younger audiences, are also being created and hosted at the Northeastern Ethics Institute as an additional teaching resource. Case studies are being submitted to ethics, engineering, science, policy, and business case study clearinghouses as well as additional dissemination through structured tutorials at national and international conferences. One of these case studies is being converted into a three-hour workshop format at the University of Notre Dame and offered subsequently at one of its HBCU partner institutions.This project aims to achieve broad impacts inside and outside of the classroom. Most importantly, this project directly affects the professional development of students who will carry the insights, perspectives, and behaviors instilled by this ethics training into the workforce, to the ultimate benefit of society. The cases developed address fundamental ethical principles and macroethical issues; they will therefore be of value for ethics education in the engineering classroom even at universities without existing courses in LCA or science policy, including those who have adopted a workshop approach to graduate-level ethics education. Under-represented groups are being included both as participants on the project team and in several case-based ethics workshops. While the full cases are being designed for university students, shorter versions for secondary school students raise awareness of life cycle issues and environmental ethics early in formal STEM education. Ultimately, this project advances ethics education for a diverse range of students in a way that reflects 21st century progress toward sustainable engineering and technology.