Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Research Vs. Teaching: An Ethical Dilemma For The Academic Physicist, Alvin M. Saperstein

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

The usual discussions of academic ethics and freedom revolve around the issues of what we may teach. Here, I'm concerned with how we teach and examine. Thus this paper is concerned with process rather than substance--perhaps an unusual concern for an academic but currently of interest to me, having recently served a year in the federal bureaucracy where process is dominant over substance.

A physician who knew of improved procedures to facilitate the health of a patient but chose to use older, proven less effective, means, purely for his/her own convenience, would clearly be guilty of medical malpractice--unethical behavior. I …

Ethics, Physics, And Public Policy, Tina Kaarsberg

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

This paper discusses the ethical aspects of physicists', and the physics community's involvement in public policy. The work of individual physicists is often quite distant from any societal impact and thus public policy is not normally considered an important ethical consideration for individual physicists. However, in light of the great societal impact of physics-based technologies, the physics profession, by definition, has a major impact on public policy. In addition, most physicists in the U.S. benefited considerably from public funding in their physics education, and many continue to depend upon federal and state funding. Thus, there is a strong ethical argument …

Should Physics Students Take A Course In Ethics? Physicists Respond, Bonnie Wylo, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Should physics students take a course in ethics? A National Science Foundation grant was written by the authors in an attempt (in part) to answer this question. One might first ask, why might physics students take a course in ethics? There are three reasons that might combine to persuade one of the necessity. First, the formal training can be quite practical and useful in the daily life of a physicist, as discussed below. Second, the National Science Teachers Association suggests an ethical component in the training of high school physics teachers (NSTA Standards for Science Teacher Preparation, available at www.nsta.org). …

Publication Practices In Physics, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Publication of research results in scholarly journals plays an important role in the scientific community. These publications provide both a means for dissemination of new results and a means for evaluating the quality of scientific work and the scientists who perform it. This paper will examine motivations for publishing, ethical issues in publication, some relevant ethical codes, and some corrective measures that have been taken to shore up areas of ethical concern. Finally, the impact of new communications technologies on the future of publication will be considered.

Ethical Issues In Physics: Ethical Harassment, Caroline L. Herzenberg

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

The concept of ethical harassment is identified and discussed. It is proposed that we search for societal mechanisms that may lead to some progress in the curtailment of ethical harassment. It is proposed that the right to act ethically should be regarded as a fundamental human and professional right.