Instructor: Marshall Thomsen 302B Strong 487-8794
jthomsen@emich.edu
Discussion: Tuesday 10:00-10:50 Room 341
Caring Professional Educators for a Diverse and Democratic Society.
The purpose of this course is to acquaint you with ethical issues a career physicist may face and to place these issues in the more general context of the nature of science. We will examine professional scientific ethics and what to do when ethical principles conflict. The case studies we will use come primarily from the physics community. You will have weekly reading assignments, and you will be expected to participate actively in classroom discussion. Reading assignments will either be available on line or outside my office.
Participation(25%):You will be awarded up to 2 points for active participation in classroom discussion during each class session throughout the term.
Reading Quizzes(15%): There will be an unspecified number of unannounced reading quizzes throughout the term worth ten points each. This portion of your grade will be based on the average of those reading quizzes. The purpose of these quizzes is not to require extensive memorization but rather to determine if you are sufficiently familiar with the reading assignment to discuss it.
Final Essay(40%): A rough draft of this essay is due on November 27 and worth 10% of your final grade. The final draft is due on December 11 and worth 30%. The topic will be announced later. Successful completion of this assignment is an essential element in this course; therefore, in order to pass this class you must receive at least a C (70%) on this assignment. Students pursuing a teaching degree must submit this essay through LiveText; all others should submit a hard copy.
Panel Discussion(20%): You will participate in one discussion panel.
You will be assigned to a panel of 3-4 people for one of the 3 panel discussions listed on the schedule.
On the day of the panel discussion, each member should turn in to me:
During the panel discussion, each member will give a five to ten minute overview of their reading selection and relevant ethical issues. At the conclusion of all of these overviews, panel members will engage in a free form discussion of the issues. The panel discussion will conclude with questions posed by other class members.
Academic dishonesty (such as cheating on a quiz or plagiarizing material) is incompatible with a learning environment and will be treated in accordance with University policy, including sanctions ranging from a zero on the assignment to failure in the course and referral to Student Judicial Services.
The instructor reserves the right to make changes in this syllabus. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL CHANGES TO THE SYLLABUS (INCLUDING CHANGE OF DUE DATES) THAT ARE ANNOUNCED IN CLASS.
GRADING SCALE: A>93>A->90>B+>87>B>83>B->80>C+>77>C>73>C->70>D+>67>D>64>D->60>E
As part of
the new College of Education assessment initiative, students taking this course
who are pursuing a teaching degree are require to have a LiveText
subscription. Discounted
subscriptions are available through an EMU website
(www.emich.edu/coe/livetext/index.html).
9/11 Introduction: Careers in Physics
9/18 The Nature of Science and Scientific Ethics (ÒScience for All Americans. Chapter1: The nature of science.Ó AAAS. See http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap1.htm)
9/25 General Ethical Principles (ÒPhilosophical Foundations of Scientific EthicsÓ at http://www.physics.emich.edu/mthomsen/ethtaboc.htm)
10/2 Codes of ethics (Go to http://www.onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/ethcodes/13411.aspxand link to codes from the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Guidelines for Engineers Dissenting on Ethical Grounds.)
10/9 General Issues (ÒResearch MisconductÓ and ÒData Acquisition, Ownership, Management and SharingÓ at http://www.rcr.emich.edu/)
10/16 Publication
Issues and Plagiarism (ÒPublication Practices in PhysicsÓ at www.physics.emich.edu/mthomsen/ethtaboc.htm and
ÒPublication Practices and Responsible AuthorshipÓ at http://www.rcr.emich.edu/) Panel I readings due
10/23 Data Analysis: The Millikan Oil Drop Experiment (SegerstraleÑnot available online)
10/30 Panel Discussion I: From the files of ORIÉ
11/6 Pathological Science by Langmuir (not available online)
Panel II readings due
11/13 The
Strange Tale of the Hafnium Bomb: A personal Narrative by Peter D. Zimmerman http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200706/backpage.cfm
ÒDrink at Least Eight Glasses of Water a Day.Ó Really? By Heinz Valtin. Go to http://dms.dartmouth.edu/news/2002_h2/08aug2002_water.shtml and click on the link at the bottom of the page to download the full 12 page article.
11/20 Panel Discussion II: Pseudoscience and just plain wrong science in the popular media
11/27 ESSAY DRAFT DUE
Global Warming (Understanding and Responding to Climate ChangeÑNational Academy of Sciences. Use the link in the middle of http://dels.nas.edu/basc/. If printer ink is an issue, print it out on draft quality (there are lots of color text boxes and other visual enhancements). If you are looking at this assignment far enough ahead of time, you can email them to request a hard copy.
Panel III readings due
12/4 JOSEPH J. ROMM The Hype about Hydrogen
http://www.issues.org/20.3/romm.html
DANIEL SPERLING JOAN OGDEN The Hope for Hydrogen http://www.issues.org/20.3/sperling.html
12/11 ESSAY DUE Classroom discussion of case studies
12/13 (final
exam day) Panel Discussion III: Physics research and energy issues
PHY 406 Fall 2007 Information
Sheet
Name:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
Major: (circle one) Physics (non teaching) Physics (teaching)
Engineering Physics Physics Research
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Level: (circle one) Sophomore Junior
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Post Bac
What do you hope to do next after you receive your degree?