The individual ethics paper theme: Volkswagen Emissions Scandal
I attached the case studies for reference.
This individual ethics paper must contain a detailed introduction of the case being studied (typically 1-1.5 pages in length), plus an original ethical analysis using any THREE of the following tools: 1) ASCE (Oct. 2020 version only) and NSPE Codes of Ethics; 2) Utilitarian and Respect for Persons moral theories; 3) Line-drawing; 4) Walesh’s Four Quadrant Theory; and 5) The Tests for Evaluating Actions (not just the 7-8 tests covered in the ASCE handout provided on Canvas) covered in lecture. In order to earn credit, students MUST define these tools of the “Virtual Ethical Toolkit” as provided in lecture, explain their use in ethics determinations, and describe their application specifically to the case chosen either by words and/or drawings (where applicable). The objective of this paper is to APPLY what you have learned in this class AND NOT USE GOOGLE TO RESEARCH THE ETHICAL TOOLS. You MUST cite specific lectures and handouts/PP’s from lectures or Canvas. Use of obscure references to cite what I taught in class will not result in any credit. ASCE AND NSPE Codes of Ethics count as ONE tool. Utilitarian AND Respect for Persons count as ONE tool. You MUST draw out line-drawing and Walesh’s Four Quadrants completely if you discuss these two tools. You MUST use the ASCE Code of Ethics (10/26/2020) version if you discuss ASCE Code of Ethics. When citing the codes, you must write out the specific sections of the code and not just reference the section or canon. References must be fully cited where first mentioned in the text and you must list a complete reference at the end of the paper and not just a hyperlink. Hyperlinks are not acceptable references in this course. This is a formal paper so please do not use “I” or “we”, no jargon, and do not use “could’ve, should’ve, would’ve”. Additional guidelines will be covered in Zoom sessions. Additional information is presented in the Individual Ethics Paper Assignment Rubric.
This individual ethics paper MUST be a maximum of 7 pages in length excluding the cover page and references. The minimum pages excluding the cover page and reference pages MUST be 4 complete pages. It can be double-spaced, with 1 inch margins all around and a font no larger than 12.
References in this paper must be from reputable scientific or engineering cites and not newspapers. Students must cite a minimum of three references in the introduction section of the paper. Google is not a cite. The internet or web is not a cite. Wikipedia is not a reputable source and should not be used. You must use APA Style (American Psychological Association) for the citations (references).
