Controlling Technology

What constitutes ethical behavior on the part of engineers? What happens when engineers-and the companies for which they work-fail to act ethically?"Controlling Technology Ethics and the Responsible Engineer, Third Edition," examines the conflicts faced by the engineers constructing the technological landscape in which we all now live, and offers practical, proven advice on what to do when conflicts arise between commerce and the common good. Revised and expanded, the Third Edition examines the causes and consequences of technological disasters such as: The chemical accident that devastated Bhopal, India The Chernobyl nuclear accident, in what was then Soviet Ukraine The loss of the space shuttle ChallengerAnd, the precursor to them all: The destruction of The Titanic, "The ship God Himself could not sink," lost on her maiden voyage. It describes, as well, such highly successful projects as the construction of the Panama Canal and the Shinkansen-Japan's "Bullet Train." All the major areas of engineering are covered with case studies describing the exemplary behavior of engineers placed in difficult situations: fights that were won; fights that were lost. The ways in which ethical engineers can be supported, by professional societies and by the law, is also explored in depth. "Controlling Technology: Ethics and the Responsible Engineer, Third Edition" is a practical and fascinating examination of the moral obligations, responsibilities, and challenges faced by engineers as they perform their professional duties. It is, as well, invaluable guide-and a MUST read, for: Engineers; For engineering students, both graduate and undergraduate; For anyone interested in or concerned about the ways in which the technologies that are so intimately woven into our lives are (and are not) under appropriate control.Whether we pay attention to this or not, day by day, more and more, technology dictates: what we do; how we do it; what is or is not possible. The danger in not attending to how technologies are both designed and utilized--to whether or not those uses are ethical or not--to what governing principles control them, is incalculable. Guidance in this area is crucial, both to engineers and to "civilians." "Controlling Technology" elucidates the ethical component of a landscape which is key to people understanding how technologies can--and should--be subjected to reasonable scrutiny and control, for the benefit of all.