The Ethical Behavior of Engineers and Engineering Managers: An Analysis of the Space Shuttle Program
{'Code': '08080302', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DBI', 'LongName': 'Div Of Biological Infrastructure'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Rachelle D. Hollander', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
The 1970s saw the first sustained and systematic studies of                     engineering ethics in the U.S.  These studies have been                         successful at delimiting the normative dimensions of the field,                 establishing that concerns for safety, due care and                             responsibility are defining characteristics.  Some empirical work               has been done, in case studies and surveys; the focus in these                  studies has been mainly on whistleblowing and documenting the                   incidence of ethical problems in engineering work.  Some current                research is examining how cognitive and social values enter into                engineering decisionmaking more broadly, to shape design and                    practice.  This project will break new ground by focussing                      specifically on ethical decisionmaking in the practice of                       engineering.  The interdisciplinary team of investigators will                  conduct a one-year pilot case study on the design and                           development of a specific system or subsystem selected from the                 Space Shuttle Program.  This analysis will examine the role that                organizational contexts play in this decisionmaking process.                    Augmented by one or two additional experts as needed, a panel of                three consultants, including an expert in engineering ethics, an                expert in structural integrity and thermal stress analysis and on               the mechanics fracture and adhesion, and an expert in philosophy                of science, will assist in the selection of the case and the                    information to be sought from it.  They will continue to evaluate               the progress of this effort throughout the term of the award.                                                                                                   The project will identify how engineers perceive,  articulate and               resolve ethical difficulties that arise in the development of                   complex, advanced technologies.  Of paramount interest are                      design decisions that involve such activities as scale up,                      extrapolation of performance specification, and mathematical                    representations of phenomena.  Since these design activities                    involve analysis of uncertainty and risk, they create situations                where exercise of engineering judgments, incorporating values,                  are relied on.  This case study will identify where these                       junctures occurred.  By presenting the completed case to                        practicing engineers and engineering students, the investigators                will begin to construct a normative description of how ethical                  decisions are perceived and resolved.  This pilot will be                       evaluated for use in engineering education, and form the basis                  for determining whether further retrospective or prospective                    studies are worthwhile.                                                                                                                                         This project is of intrinsic and practical importance.  The                     investigators and their advisors are very well qualified;                       institutional support is very good.  The phased research design                 is cost-effective.  Results are likely to be widely distributed                 and of general interest.  Support in the amount of $82,788 is                   recommended.
[{'FirstName': 'Norman', 'LastName': 'Hummon', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'P', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Norman P Hummon', 'EmailAddress': 'nph+@pitt.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000306938', 'StartDate': '09/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Larry', 'LastName': 'Shuman', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'J', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Larry J Shuman', 'EmailAddress': 'shuman@pitt.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000236473', 'StartDate': '09/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Harvey', 'LastName': 'Wolfe', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'J', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Harvey J Wolfe', 'EmailAddress': 'hwolfe@engrng.pitt.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000232057', 'StartDate': '09/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Rosa Lynn', 'LastName': 'Pinkus', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'B', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Rosa Lynn B Pinkus', 'EmailAddress': 'pinkus@med.pitt.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000173596', 'StartDate': '09/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'University of Pittsburgh', 'CityName': 'PITTSBURGH', 'ZipCode': '152600001', 'PhoneNumber': '4126247400', 'StreetAddress': '4200 FIFTH AVENUE', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Pennsylvania', 'StateCode': 'PA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '18', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'PA18', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'MKAGLD59JRL1', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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[{'Code': '7915', 'Text': 'Ethics & Values of SET'}, {'Code': '9120', 'Text': 'CROSS-DIRECTORATE PROGRAMS'}, {'Code': '9145', 'Text': 'SPECIAL PROGRAMS-RESERVE'}]
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8722021.xml'}