Cases and Commentaries

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Kovac
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Ethical Problem ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Industrial Chemistry ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Life Problems

Just as in chemistry, the best way to learn ethical problem solving is to confront context-rich, real-life problems (Jonsen and Toulmin 1988; Davis 1999, 143–175). The broad variety of ethical problems, or cases, presented here are hypothetical situations, but represent the kinds of problems working chemists and students face. Cases raising similar ethical questions are grouped together. To reach a diverse audience, I sometimes write several variations of the same situation. For example, a question might be posed from the perspective of the graduate student in one version and from the perspective of the research di­rector in another. For important issues I provide cases that are accessible to undergraduates who have very little research experience, usually in the context of laboratory courses. For advanced undergraduates, some cases involve undergraduate research projects. Most of the cases involve situations encountered in graduate research in universities, but some also concern industrial chemistry. Finally, a few cases present ethical problems that arise in cooperative learning, a pedagogical technique that is becoming increasingly important in undergraduate education. Each case, or related set of cases, is followed by a commentary that outlines the important issues and discusses possible solutions. Some of the commentaries are quite extensive and actually present and defend my preferred course of action; others are brief and merely raise questions that should be considered in designing a solution. The commentaries model the ethical problem-solving method presented in Chapter 6. As I have emphasized repeatedly, most ethical problems do not have clean solutions. While some courses of action are clearly wrong, there may be several morally acceptable and defensible ways to proceed. Consequently, readers might disagree with my proposed solutions for good reasons. For example, if I use a consequentialist approach, my assessment of the relative positive and negative weights of the consequences might be challenged, or I simply might have forgotten to consider some factor. Where I have made a definite recommendation, I give the reasons for my choice and contrast it with other alternatives.

scholarly journals Interdisciplinary Research for Engineering Skills Development

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel E. González-Lizardo
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Qualitative Description ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
Engineering And Technology

This work reports the results of an ad hoc interdisciplinary research experience for undergraduate engineering students at the Plasma Engineering Laboratory (PEL) of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR). The strong features of this experience and their relationship with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) outcomes are pointed out, and a qualitative description of the results is discussed, in terms of the performance of the students during the experience and after it. An example of the different activities performed by a team of undergraduate students, and their relationship with the ABET outcomes is presented. The undergraduate research at the PEL provides the students with a unique opportunity to practice engineering before graduation through real life problems, innovation, collaboration with other institutions, and presentation of their work for engineering and scientific audiences.

Moral Decision Making in Business: A Phase-Model

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aviva Geva
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Problem ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Phase Model ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Moral Decision ◽  
Ethical Problems

Abstract:The traditional model of ethical decision making in business suggests applying an initial set of principles to a concrete problem and if they conflict the decision maker may attempt to balance them intuitively. The centrality of the ethical conflict in the accepted notion of “ethical problem” has diverted the attention of moral decision modelers from other ethical problems that real-world managers must face—e.g., compliance problems, moral laxity, and systemic problems resulting from the structures and practices of the business organization. The present article proposes a new model for ethical decision making in business—the Phase-model—designed to meet the full spectrum of business-related ethical problems. Drawing on the dominant moral theories in business literature, the model offers additional strategies for tackling ethical issues beyond the traditional cognitive operations of deductive application of principles to specific cases and the balancing of ethical considerations. Its response to the problems of moral pluralism in the context of decision making lies in its structural features. The model distinguishes between three phases of the decision-making process, each having a different task and a different theoretical basis. After an introductory stage in which the ethical problem is defined, the first phase focuses on a principle-based evaluation of a course of action; the second phase provides a virtue-based perspective of the situation and strategies for handling unsettled conflicts and compliance problems; and the third phase adapts the decision to empirical accepted norms. An illustrative case demonstrates the applicability of the model to business real life.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

2021 ◽  
pp. 38-56
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Hawamdeh ◽  
Idris Adamu
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
Approach To Teaching

This chapter discuss how Problem-Based learning (PBL) helps to achieve this century's approach to teaching and learning for students in higher educational institutions. If adopted, this method of teaching will enable student to attain learning skills (skills, abilities, problem solving, and learning dispositions that have been identified) to acquire a lifelong habit of approaching problems with initiative and diligence and a drive to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for an effective resolution. And they will develop a systematic approach to solving real-life problems using higher-order skills.

A Model for Ethical Problem Solving

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Veatch ◽  
Amy Haddad ◽  
E. J. Last
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Medical Error ◽  
Ethical Problem ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
First Case ◽  
Step Model ◽  
The Family ◽  
Deceased Patient

Chapter 1 begins with a five-step model for analyzing a case posing ethical questions in pharmacy: (1) responding to a “sense” or feeling that something is wrong, (2) gathering information and making an assessment, (3) identifying the ethical problem, (4) seeking a resolution, and (5) working with others to choose a course of action. This five-step model is illustrated by the book’s first case, one involving reporting a possibly lethal medical error. A patient dies after mistakenly being given heparin intended for another patient. The case is followed by commentary applying the model and concluding with possible resolutions of the dilemma. The pharmacist might share the information with all those involved, including the family of the now-deceased patient, or tell only the pharmacist who prepared the drugs. The implications of the ethical principles involved, such as nonmaleficence and veracity, are explored.

The Ethics Toolkit: A Computer Program for Teaching Ethics to Engineering Students

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry E. Shoup ◽  
Thomas Shanks
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Computer Program ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Ethical Problem ◽  
Computer Application ◽  
Teaching Ethics ◽  
Ethical Problems

Abstract This paper describes a new computer application known as the Ethics Toolkit that is useful in enabling engineering students to learn about ethical problem solving. The application runs in a Windows environment and implements five different approaches to ethical problem solving found in the literature. Although the application does not provide absolute answers to ethical problems, it does facilitate the automation, organization and prioritization of solution possibilities.

scholarly journals Using Zebrafish to Implement a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience to Study Teratogenesis in Two Biology Laboratory Courses

Zebrafish ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swapnalee Sarmah ◽  
Grady W. Chism ◽  
Martin A. Vaughan ◽  
Pooja Muralidharan ◽  
Jim A. Marrs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Biology Laboratory

scholarly journals A Central Support System Can Facilitate Implementation and Sustainability of a Classroom-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Genomics

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lopatto ◽  
Charles Hauser ◽  
Christopher J. Jones ◽  
Don Paetkau ◽  
Vidya Chandrasekaran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Support System ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
It Services ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Central System ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Collegial Support ◽  
Central Support ◽  
Genomics Education

In their 2012 report, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated “replacing standard science laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses”—a challenging proposition that presents practical and pedagogical difficulties. In this paper, we describe our collective experiences working with the Genomics Education Partnership, a nationwide faculty consortium that aims to provide undergraduates with a research experience in genomics through a scheduled course (a classroom-based undergraduate research experience, or CURE). We examine the common barriers encountered in implementing a CURE, program elements of most value to faculty, ways in which a shared core support system can help, and the incentives for and rewards of establishing a CURE on our diverse campuses. While some of the barriers and rewards are specific to a research project utilizing a genomics approach, other lessons learned should be broadly applicable. We find that a central system that supports a shared investigation can mitigate some shortfalls in campus infrastructure (such as time for new curriculum development, availability of IT services) and provides collegial support for change. Our findings should be useful for designing similar supportive programs to facilitate change in the way we teach science for undergraduates.

A New Way of Teaching Statistics

1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xenia Coulter
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Journal Article ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Positive Experience ◽  
Simulation Techniques ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Teaching Statistics

Teaching statistics through computer-assisted simulations eliminates the constraints and challenges associated with teaching the course using mathematics. It also provides students with a practical means for solving real-life problems and a solid conceptual grasp of the problem-solving nature of the discipline. A text that deemphasizes mathematics and introduces simulation as a means of understanding concepts, along with software designed for computer-intensive statistical methods and a workbook of journal article selections provide the foundation materials for such a study of statistics. A special course guide also was developed to provide a clear introduction to the software for naive users, show how the software and the text are related, and connect the simulation techniques to standard statistical tests. Altogether these materials not only provide a positive experience for students studying statistics, but they allow them to study the subject independently and at a distance.

scholarly journals Cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes associated with student engagement in a novel brain chemoarchitecture mapping course-based undergraduate research experience

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina E. D’Arcy ◽  
Anais Martinez ◽  
Arshad M. Khan ◽  
Jeffrey T. Olimpo
Keyword(s):  
Brain Mapping ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Tissue Level ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Science Identity ◽  
Brain Atlas ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Laboratory Courses

AbstractCourse-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) engage emerging scholars in the authentic process of scientific discovery, and foster their development of content knowledge, motivation, and persistence in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Importantly, authentic research courses simultaneously offer investigators unique access to an extended population of students who receive education and mentoring in conducting scientifically relevant investigations and who are thus able to contribute effort toward big-data projects. While this paradigm benefits fields in neuroscience, such as atlas-based brain mapping of nerve cells at the tissue level, there are few documented cases of such laboratory courses offered in the domain.Here, we describe a curriculum designed to address this deficit, evaluate the scientific merit of novel student-produced brainatlasmapsofimmunohistochemically-identifiednervecellpopulations for the rat brain, and assess shifts in science identity, attitudes, and science communication skills of students engaged in the introductory-level Brain Mapping and Connectomics (BM&C) CURE. BM&C students reported gains in research and science process skills following participation in the course. Furthermore, BM&C students experienced a greater sense of science identity, including a greater likelihood to discuss course activities with non-class members compared to their non-CURE counterparts. Importantly, evaluation of student-generated brain atlas maps indicated that the course enabled students to produce scientifically valid products and make new discoveries to advance the field of neuroanatomy. Together, these findings support the efficacy of the BM&C course in addressing the relatively esoteric demands of chemoarchitectural brain mapping.

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