Risk, Tradeoffs, and Informed Consent: "The Hundred-Year Flood" An oil refining company considers building a refinery on a flood plain. Periodic huge floods raise issues regarding whether worker housing should be built there and, if so, what types of housing would be most appropriate, according to numerical calculations of the frequency of severe flooding and of damages. Suitable for courses in construction, project management, engineering economics, and general engineering introductory, levels 1-4.
Database Discredited A credit bureau realizes that their credit file contains errors. A consultant is hired to analyze the problem and make recommendations. Many questions on the numerical and ethical aspects are discussed in the scenario.
Relevant Literature on this Topic
Herkert, Joseph R., ed. 1999. Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Engineering: Selected Readings. Piscataway, New Jersey: IEEE Press (in press). Other keywords for this: consumer safety; design and the environment; ethical codes and guidelines from professional societies; ethics and economics; ethics and the law; ethics support; global environmental issues; medical information; negligence; privacy; product quality; professional responsibility; professional societies; technical and scholarly societies; professionalism in computing; public safety; safety & performance; system security; whistleblowing.
Herkert, Joseph R. 1994. "Ethical Risk Assessment: Valuing Public Perceptions." IEEE Technology and Society 13 (1): 4-10. Other keywords: communication; ethical codes and guidelines from professional societies; professional responsibility; public safety; technological disasters.