The mission of the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science is to provide readily accessible literature, case studies, references, and discussion groups on ethics in engineering and science. The Center focuses on problems that arise in the work life of engineers and scientists. It serves practicing engineers and scientists, educators and students of engineering and science, and individuals interested in professional and research ethics. When engineers and scientists outside of academic setting use the information and services of the Center, they usually do so individually and in accord with their own interests and concerns, the subject of this essay will be on selecting them for formal and informal education of students, faculty and other research investigators.
If you go to http://onlineethics.org/ for the first time, you will be on the main page of the graphics version. If you select "text version" in the subsidiary index in the upper left of each page, a cookie will be sent to your computer which will cause the text version of the page you were on to be created on your computer. From that point on, you will see the text version of pages, until you choose "graphics version" on a text version page (or until you flush your cookies). The main sections of the Center are indicated by the pulldown menus at the top of each page. The contents of each of these is described on the lower part of the Main page of the OEC.
Several items in the OEC's subsidiary index are useful in finding specific types of information. These are given in the bulleted list below. (The subsidiary index appears in the upper left of each page in the "graphics version" of an OEC Web page or in the pulldown menu at the bottom left of each page of the "text version" of an OEC Web page.)
Below are descriptions of sections which are most frequently accessed by our users.