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Department of Information Technology

This page is a copy of grad/courses/gc1014/TRE14-15MI (Mon, 28 Sep 2015 16:38:51)

Technology, research and ethics

The mandatory part of the course gives the required 2 credit points in ethics for TekNat students.
This is the mandatory part, August-September 2014.
The optional part focuses on theory and practice on technology and natural science ethics.

Start date: 29 August 2014, room 2244 Polacks
ECTS credits: 2
Course period: 2014 - 2015
Maximum number of participants: 30
Applications: Contact Karin Berggren Bremdal

Target group/s and recommended background: PhD students from all the disciplines of TekNat. No special prerequisities.

Teachers: Iordanis Kavathatzopoulos and Thomas Lennerfors

Aim of course

Research within technology and science, but also implementations in for example ICT, manufacturing, environment, chemistry, energy and biology, affects individuals, organizations and societies. Progress within technology and science creates new possibilities and gives rise to new ethical issues. How these issues are treated has a decisive effect on the effectiveness, sustainability and usability of the implementations. To not consider ethics might lead to that expensive and necessary implementations are used in a suboptimal way, that people and organizations are affected negatively when the technology is implemented, and that the workplace environment of the users and their quality of life is worsened.
To be able to address ethical aspects that influence the efficiency and effectiviness of the implementations, it is important to have knowledge and skills to work with ethical issues and tools, already under the phases of research and development. It is as important to be able to use suitable ethical tools during implementation and use phases. The course should be common to the faculty since ethical issues have a similar nature across specific areas of research. However, the differing experiences of participants from different disciplines will contribute to a broad range of examples which enhances learning for all participants.

Mandatory and optional parts

The first mandatory part, 2 credit points, focuses mainly on research ethics, and works as an introduction to the follow-up optional part.
This first mandatory part of the course will be followed by a second optional part in April-May 2014, 3 credit points, which expands to philosophical theory, technology and natural science ethics, and to application of different methods to handle professional ethical issues. Participation in the first mandatory part is a requirement for the second step.

Contents, study format and form of examination

The course consists of one lecture and two seminars, individual and group assignments focusing on the ethics of technology and science. Application and evaluation of special tools during development, deployment and running of technology systems.
Treatment of real-life research ethics conflicts and problems to exercise ethical competence.

Mandatory course, 2cp

Program

Time, room Subject Presenter Literature, links, etc.
29 Aug, 10.15-12.00, 2244 Introduction Iordanis Slides; Apologia Sokratous; The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; Should I save the life of the calf or should I avoid hurting myself? (4:55-5:45)
04 Sep, 09.15-12.00, 2244 Seminar I: Research issues Group seminar Good research practice; Freedom, responsibility and universality of science; CODEX; CUDOS; Publications; "Luxury" journals; Publishing; Reviewing; Errors; DNA evidence fabrication; Charlatanry in science and in publishing; Criminal scientists; A special student 1, 2; Conflicts 1, 2, 3, 4; Abstracts of each participant A-K; Abstracts of each participant L-R; Abstracts of each participant S-Ã?; Slides group 1, Slides group 2, Slides group 3, Slides group 4, Slides group 5, Slides group 6
17 Sep, 09.15-12.00, 1111 Seminar II: Presentation of group projects Group seminar Slides group 1, Slides group 2, Slides group 3, Slides group 4, Slides group 5, Slides group 6

Seminars

Presentations, group work

For each seminar you need to prepare a ten-minute presentation and a corresponding number of slides.
The slides have to be uploaded here on the program table before the seminars. Upload them here yourself or if you cannot do this e-mail them to Iordanis
For the first seminar, Seminar I, you prepare in your group a presentation based on the literature referred in the program table, and you upload it on this website.
For the second seminar, Seminar II, you identify a moral problem that you feel is important and relevant for your group. Describe it, identify the problem owner and state the problem, often including a moral dilemma, as a question that has more than one answer. Example: Should I accept to be included as a co-author of my colleague's research paper, which I haven't contributed to and which I cannot even judge the quality of? Use the OLE questionnaire and answer the questions. Prepare your group presentation based on this analysis.
Choose a problem that is important to you, that you feel it as a dilemma. For example, should you download a movie because you want to watch it as soon as possible, or shouldn't you because you don't want to feel bad afterwards since you didn't pay for that. For a moment, for a shorter or a longer period of time, you don't know what to do, and this is a problem for you, you are the owner of this problem.
Use any problem that feels important to you. If you have a real problem it is much better. Each group chooses any problem related to research ethics. For example: Quality of research, codices, utility of research findings, handling of research data, cooperation between researchers, publishing, fraud, laboratory animals, copyright, etc.
OLE analysis is supposed to be performed before the solution of the problem. The analysis should help you to reach the best possible solution to your problem.

Participants, individual work

In preparation for the Seminar I each and one of the participants writes an abstract of 2 pages, 1 000 words, about the literature linked on the program table. In the abstract you don't need to summarize everything; give your ideas and comments on the material and highlight what you think is important and why. Based on the literature you reflect on ethical issues of your work as a researcher. For this assignment it is an advantage if you talk with your colleagues and together reflect on ethical aspects of your work. This work will be used later in your home exam.
All abstracts have to be uploaded here at least one day before the seminar. Upload them on the program table here yourself or if you cannot do this e-mail them to Iordanis only as DOC file.

Examination

Active and mandatory participation in the group work and in group seminars. Individual abstract and home exam.
The home exam consists of a few questions based on course literature, lectures and seminars. Questions Each answer minimum 500 words.
Furthermore, each student expands the text of the abstract of Seminar I to 5 pages, 2 500 words, reflecting deeper on one's own situation based on what has been learned during the course and on the feedback by the teachers.
Send your exam as pdf to: Urkund
Deadline: 17 October 2014

Evaluation

The course will be evaluated by the participants, and the link is here: http://evaluering.ibg.uu.se/it/utv/teknologi_och_etik_fokurs_2hp_H14MI.html

Participants and Groups

Group 1

daniel.elfverson@it.uu.se
daniel.jansson@it.uu.se
olov.rosen@gmail.com
johan.ostlund@it.uu.se
johannes.nygren@it.uu.se

Group 2

martin.vannestal@math.uu.se
hakan.persson@math.uu.se
shyam@math.uu.se
katja@math.uu.se
a.jakobsson@fz-juelich.de

Group 3

eldar.abdurakhmanov@kemi.uu.se
habtomdesta.asfaw@kemi.uu.se
aleksandra.balliu@kemi.uu.se
marten.sundberg@kemi.uu.se
jonas.angstrom@kemi.uu.se

Group 4

thanayut.kaewmaraya@physics.uu.se
iwona.klimek@physics.uu.se
vancho.kocevski@physics.uu.se
jim.ogren@physics.uu.se
josephina.werner@physics.uu.se

Group 5

annea.barkefors@signal.uu.se
antoine.baudoin@angstrom.uu.se
andreas.mattsson@angstrom.uu.se
jon.olauson@angstrom.uu.se
ruitao.wen@angstrom.uu.se

Group 6

simon.davidsson@geo.uu.se
Kalle.Haikonen@angstrom.uu.se
jingying.xu@ebc.uu.se
wangshu.jiang@icm.uu.se
Lu.lu@icm.uu.se

Updated  2015-09-28 16:38:51 by Anneli Folkesson.