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S T S 200 Critical Issues in Science, Technology, & Society

 

Contact

Nancy H. Dewald
Title: Reference Librarian


Nancy H. Dewald

Thun Library 107

610-396-6243

nxd7@psu.edu

TEXT the Berks librarians at 484-650-3584

Course Info

Course Name:
  STS 200 Critical Issues in Science, Technology, & Society
Semester:
  Fall
Campus:
  Penn State Berks
Instructor:
  Eric Tappert

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In-Text Citations: Don't forget these!

Introduction

Steps to research your disaster and ethics assignment:

  1. Select an engineering disaster that has ethical implications, using the lists provided under the Web Sites tab. You may also Google: engineering disaster ethics.

  2. Find sources of information, but be selective:
       a. Look for discussion of ethical issues and/or responsibility, not just technical or structural failures
       b. Select high-quality sources, not just anything Google finds. See the Articles tab and the Books tab. See suggestions under the Web Sites tab for more guidance on quality sources.

  3. Use multiple sources, as there is unlikely to be one source that supplies all your needed information, and even if there is, it is bad research practice to rely only on one source.

  4. Always cite your work! See help at right.

At any time, ask a Librarian for help! (See contact information at right)

Articles

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Library has full-text journals. Many, especially the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, contain articles that discuss cases of engineering ethics and structural failures. (Opens in new window)

Compendex database This is the most comprehensive interdisciplinary engineering database in the world.

Web of Science database Multidisciplinary database, but strongest in sciences and engineering.

LionSearch searches multiple Penn State databases for articles, books, and videos. Many links to full text. (Opens in new window)

Google Scholar searches scholarly journal articles.

Books

On Reserve for this class: These books may be taken out for 3 days. Ask at the front desk. Look in the index or table of contents of each book for discussion of your particular disaster, or for ethical issues relevant to your disaster.

Collapse: When Buildings Fall Down (1997)

Construction Failure (1997)

The Decision Makers: Ethics for Engineers (1999)

Design and Construction Failures: Lessons from Forensic Investigations (1991)

Engineering Ethics: Balancing Cost, Schedule, and Risk; Lessons Learned from the Space Shuttle (1997)

Failures in Civil Engineering: Structural, Foundation and Geoenvironmental Case Studies (1995)

Practicing Engineering Ethics (1997)

Search the CAT (Penn State's online catalog of books, videos, and other materials) for your disaster. Or search 'engineering ethics case studies' (in single quotes).

Books may be borrowed from any Penn State library and will arrive at the front desk for you in 2-3 week days.

Background information: (Each of these electronic books opens in a new window)

Kutz, Myer (2006). Mechanical Engineers' Handbook - Materials and Mechanical Design (3rd Edition). John Wiley & Sons.

Kutz, Myer (2006). Mechanical Engineers' Handbook - Instrumentation, Systems, Controls, and MEMS (3rd Edition). John Wiley & Sons.

Kutz, Myer (2006). Mechanical Engineers' Handbook - Manufacturing and Management (3rd Edition). John Wiley & Sons.   

CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics Online 92nd ed., 2011-12

Other course readings: These books are on reserve in the library and may be taken out for 1 week. Ask at the front desk.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman (2008) (2 copies)

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman (2005)

Web Sites

START HERE TO SELECT A TOPIC: Below are lists provided by other universities of engineering disasters with ethical implications.

(Note: These external sites open in a new window.)

(Note2: Some sites have broken links, but you can google a disaster listed to get basic information on it)

California State U. Long Beach Library's Engineering Research Guide has links to many case studies related to engineering disasters. Some are listed by area of engineering.

U. of Toledo Dept. of Engineering Technology Ethics Case Studies outlines two cases, and lists several more at the end.

TAMU Dept. of Civil Engineering Ethics Cases list, from Texas A&M University (TAMU). Some of these cases are fictional or otherwise not usable for your assignment. The usable ones are: TV Antenna Collapse, Aberdeen, Challenger Shuttle, Goodrich, and Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse.

 

 

WEB SEARCHING:

Wikipedia is not allowed as a source for this assignment. If you find a Wikipedia article on your topic, look at its sources, which may or may not be of good quality. If good quality, use those.

Good types of web sources:

  • articles from professional societies, e.g. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (see the Articles tab)
  • scholarly journal articles (see the Articles tab)
  • government sources (limit to site:.gov)
  • possibly .edu sources, but be sure the site is not a student web page

 

Tips

Besides searching the key words about the disaster, consider the following:

  • Use synonyms combined with OR and placed in parentheses:
       (flood OR disaster)
       (collapse OR disaster)
  • Add the word “ethics” to find articles that discuss ethical aspects rather than just facts about the disaster (or use ethic* to find ethic, ethics, ethical, ethically)

 

In all cases, when you find a source, look at its sources to see if you wish to get those.

 

Ask a librarian for help any time! See contact information at right.