(1) Understand what ethics one should have as an engineer active in the world.
(2) Understand the current fluid international situation.
(3) Understand and explain the concept of national and international economies.
(4) Understand the needs of consumers and the role of engineers in different cultures.
(5) Understand what ethical issues engineers may face.
(6) Acquire knowledge of intellectual property rights and understand their significance in manufacturing.
(7) Understand how engineers should be positioned in modern society and what they should do.
Outline:
In today's globalized society, engineers have a responsibility to society to properly apply science and technology based on their expertise. In this lecture, students will be introduced to the ethical and philosophical issues surrounding engineers in global society, and after understanding the basic concepts of social science and international sociology, students who are expected to be active globally as engineers in the future will select a topic related to international society and engineer ethics, and will independently research, present, and discuss the topic. The class focuses on research, presentation, and discussion on topics related to international society and ethics for engineers. The ultimate goal of this course is to help students acquire the knowledge of ethics and global issues necessary for engineers and researchers, and to actively cultivate the ability to approach various issues and society based on their own future perspectives.
Style:
The course will be read in a round-reading format using the textbooks. The participants will be divided into teams and each team will give a presentation on each topic. Other participants will discuss with the presenters. At the end of each class, students are required to submit a written summary of the class content and their opinions, which will be evaluated as a short report. In the end, each student will choose a theme based on the textbook/reference book he/she has chosen and conduct in-depth research, including fieldwork and surveys if possible. Based on the results of this research, students will be required to write a final thesis. In the presentation, students will be evaluated on their own research as well as their interpretation of the textbooks and class discourse, and therefore, preparation for reading each book is essential.
Notice:
The content of this course is a subject that changes from moment to moment according to social conditions. Students are expected to approach class with a daily interest in current events. Each presenter is required to prepare a resume for his/her topic, and the audience will be graded on the questions they ask about the presentation. Therefore, please be sure to read the relevant sections of the textbook for each presentation. Proactive participation is required.
Absence conditions not subject to evaluation (percentage) 1/3 or more of the class
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Theme |
Goals |
| 1st Semester |
| 1st Quarter |
| 1st |
Why engineering ethics?
Why is it necessary for those who aspire to be engineers to learn ethics? Clarify the links between engineers and ethics through today's social background, the codes of ethics established by the engineering academic societies, etc., and learn and confirm their significance. |
Understand the links between engineers and ethics based on today's social background and the code of ethics.
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| 2nd |
The space shuttle Challenger accident 1
Deal with the space shuttle Challenger accident, the most famous case in engineering ethics, and discuss the decisions made by the engineers and executives in the organization. |
Understand the characteristics and relationships of the decisions made by the engineers and executives.
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| 3rd |
The space shuttle Challenger disaster 2
Following the previous class, use the case of the Challenger accident as a guide and consider what responsibilities engineers have for making organization risk management function effectively. |
Understand the responsibilities and abilities required of engineers for organization risk management.
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| 4th |
The Tokaimura JCO criticality accident 1
Use the JCO criticality accident as an example to consider the significance of improvement activities that have supported the Japanese manufacturing industry, the challenges facing them, and how engineers should engage with them. |
Understand the significance and challenges of improvement activities.
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| 5th |
The Tokaimura JCO criticality accident 2
Following the previous class, use the JCO criticality accident to discuss group thinking, which collective organizations are prone to, and how technicians should deal with it to ensure safety and quality. |
Learn the characteristics of group thinking and the abilities needed to deal with it and secure safety.
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| 6th |
Whistleblowing 1
Discuss the purpose of the recently introduced whistleblower protection system, criticisms of the current laws, and the relationship between this system and engineers. |
Acquire knowledge of the whistleblower protection system, and understand its issues.
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| 7th |
Whistleblowing 2
Following the previous class, deal with whistleblowing. An increasing number of companies have established help desks, etc. as part of their efforts to enhance their compliance systems. Examine this trend's significance in the relationship between organizations and individuals. |
Understand what needs to be kept in mind to ensure proper organizational behavior.
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| 8th |
Product Liability Act
Review the details of the Product Liability Act—which is said to be the most relevant law for engineers—and discuss that it is important for engineers to establish it as a manufacturing belief. |
Gain appropriate knowledge of the Product Liability Act and become able to use it as a manufacturing belief.
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| 2nd Quarter |
| 9th |
Intellectual properties
Confirm the significance of the patent, copyright, and other systems for technology development, and examine the issues, etc., facing them that accompany information technology development, etc. |
Acquire knowledge of intellectual property rights and understand their significance in manufacturing.
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| 10th |
The Bhopal disaster 1
Use the agricultural chemicals factory accident in Bhopal, India—the biggest industrial accident in history—as an example to discuss the further increasing problems associated with overseas industrial activities as globalization progresses. |
Acquire knowledge of the issues faced in overseas industrial activities.
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| 11th |
The Bhopal disaster 2
Based on the previous class, examine the fact that there is a need for engineers to take into account that technology development is deeply related to the interaction between
social conditions, culture, history, and thoughts, etc., that surround it. |
Deepen understanding of the previous class and learn effective methods for overseas industrial activities.
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| 12th |
The Roppongi Hills revolving door accident 1
Introduces the activities of the Door Project, which took place after the revolving door accident, and discuss the ideas and significance of failure studies and topics such as Heinrich's law in risk management. |
Acquire knowledge of failure studies and Heinrich's law.
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| 13th |
The Roppongi Hills revolving door accident 2
Based on the previous class, discus how engineers also have their own culture as engineers, and that it is important to pass down knowledge to overcome the problems that result from this. |
Understand that in order to understand and use technology effectively, it is necessary to properly understand and communicate technology ideas.
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| 14th |
Universal design
Confirm that there is a political aspect to new technology development that gives birth to new power struggles and discrimination, whereas universal design is an attempt to democratize it. |
Understand the concept of universal design and the systems necessary for achieving it.
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| 15th |
The scope of engineering ethics
New technology developments by engineers have had a variety of impacts in sectors such as information society and medical care.
Consider the sort of relation that engineers should have to ethics in these other areas. |
Understand the relationship between engineers and modern society and what their place in it should be.
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| 16th |
final exam
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