Individual Ethics Paper Assignment Expectations:
- Use the optional textbook or other suggested books to choose the case that you will study. The name of the case must be submitted in writing by dropbox in Canvas to me for approval. This must be submitted by the third week of the term. There is no grade for the individual ethics paper topic. Students who are repeating the course must chose a different case study from what was submitted previously.
- 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.
- Use of ChatGPT, MidJourney, Dall-E -2, etc. and the use of AI-based tools are prohibited for this paper and will be treated as plagiarism. If it is determined that it was used to help prepare this paper, a zero will be earned for this assignment and/or students will be reported to FIU Academic & Student Affairs. Please read about plagiarism under Files on the left margin on Canvas. This is an ethics courses and plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated.
- 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).
- The individual ethics paper is due on 4/8 at 11:59 PM. Papers submitted after the deadline will not be accepted unless students submit a doctor’s note in case of a student illness or a death certificate in the event of an immediate family member’s passing. NO RESUBMITTALS WILL BE PERMITTED. NO PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED BY EMAIL. ALL PAPERS MUST BE SUBMITTED ON CANVAS OR WILL NOT BE GRADED. NO LATE HOMEWORK WILL BE ACCEPTED IN THIS CLASS without a doctor’s note in case of a student’s illness or a death certificate in the event of an immediate family member’s passing.
- This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin.com and will be graded using the Individual Ethics Paper Assignment Rubric on Canvas.
- The expected turn-around time for feedback or grades will be within two to three weeks.
- Review the detailed Turnitin instructions on how to submit your assignments and how to review the Grademark comments (feedback) from your professor.