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Sze Yin LI, Koko 12499695 20/04/2017 1 EngineeringEthicsEthicsisaninvisiblepersonalbehaviour,whichisnoticeablebyitsabsence.Itdirectlyinfluencesone'sdecision-making,theabsenceofethicscouldleadtopoordecision-makingandfurthercausesotherproblems.Ethicalproblemsareinevitableinallkindsofcareers.Howeverengineersusuallyhaveveryimportantroleinsociety’sdevelopmentandpublicinfrastructuresconstructions,itcanbesaidthatengineersundertakealargepartofsocialresponsibility.Therefore,theethicalresponsibilitiesofengineersaremoresignificantlyimportant.Inappropriateethicalconductsinengineeringcanbringseriousconsequencestothesociety.Forexample,theFukushimaDaiichinuclearpowerplantexperiencedanenergyaccidentin2011duetothetsunamifollowedbytheTōhokuearthquake.Theaccidentledtoradioactiveisotopeswasreleasedfromthepowerplantandcausednuclearpollutiontothesurroundings(Worldnuclearassociation,2017).Thepollutionhasnegativeeffectsonlocalresidenthealth,land,ocean,andplantsuntiltoday(Worldnuclearassociation,2017).Althoughthiswasanaturaldisaster,engineerswhobuiltthenuclearplantsalsoshareresponsibility.Becauseevenafterseveralorganisationshadgiventhedepartmentwarningsoftheexpectedincreasedheightoffloodingin2008,theplantwasnotimprovedoradaptedtobetterprotectitfromflooding,noactionsweretakentoevaluatetherisks(Worldnuclearassociation,2017).AndhenceelevatedtheresultofFukushimaDaiichinuclearpowerplantdisaster.Thisexamplehasshowntheimportanceofethicsinengineering.Itmightseemsimpleandstraightforwardforengineerstoembedsuitableethicvaluesintotheirdesignsandworks.Buttherealityismorecomplexduetothecharacteristicofthenatureofengineering.Inanidealworld,engineersareabletodesignanddeployproductsthataremaximallysafe,efficientandeffective(McGinn,2015).Butintherealworld,thiswouldbeprohibitivelyexpensiveandtime-intensive.Engineersmustoftenneedtobalancewithquality,timeandfinancialbudgets,thisbalancingprocessrequiresagreatdealofthoughtfulnessandethicalfortitude(McGinn,2015).Codeofethicisausefultoolthatprovidesaframeworkforengineerswhenperformingtheirjudgmentinthefieldofengineeringpractice(EngineersAustralia,2017).InAustralia,theEngineersAustraliahasacodeofethicsdisciplinarytomonitorsandguidesprofessionalengineers(EngineersAustralia,2017).Thecodeofethicsincludesfourmainclauses.First,demonstrateintegrity,engineersmustactonthebasisofwell-informedconscience,theyshouldbehonestandtrustworthy,engineersalsoneedtorespectthedignityofallpersons(EngineersAustralia,2017).Second,practicecompetently,engineersneedtoconstantlymaintainanddeveloptheirknowledgeandskills,engineersshouldrepresenttheareaofcompetenceobjectively,Sze Yin LI, Koko 12499695 20/04/2017 2 moreover,theyneedtoactonthebasisofadequateknowledge(EngineersAustralia,2017).Third,exerciseleadershipthatengineersshouldupholdthereputationandtrustworthinessofthepracticeofengineering,aswellascommunicatehonestlyandeffectivelywithotherexpertise(EngineersAustralia,2017).Lastly,engineershavedutytopromotesustainability,engineersareexpectedtoberesponsibletothecommunityandotherstakeholders,implementengineeringpracticetofosterthehealthsafetyandwellbeingofthecommunityandtheenvironment,andfurthermoretheyneedtobalancetheneedsofpresentwiththeneedsoffuturegenerations(EngineersAustralia,2017).Inadditiontoreferringthecodeofethics,engineersandengineeringalsoneedtoself-promotetheirconsciousnessofethics.Manyengineersgotinvolvedintotroubleonethicalissueswerenotduetotheirlackofethicsindecisionmaking,itwasbecausetheyweren'tawaretheywerefacinganethicalproblem(McGinn,2015).So,itisessentialtoenhanceengineers'awarenesstoethicalproblems.McGinnhasoutlinedfourfundamentalsethicalresponsibilitiesofengineers,thatengineersshouldalwaysremindthemselves.Firstly,engineershaveresponsibilitiestonotcauseharmorbringanypotentialrisktoanyone.Secondly,engineershaveresponsibilitiestopreventharmtoothers.Thirdly,engineershavetheresponsibilitiestocallattentiontoindividualsororganisationsthatarepotentiallysubjecttorisk.Finally,engineersareresponsibleformaximisingtheirclients'legitimateinterests(McGinn,2015).Davisisanauthorityinengineeringethics,currentlyteachingattheIllinoisinstituteoftechnology,America(Illinoisinstituteoftechnology,2017).Davissuggestedtherelationbetweenemotionsandengineeringethics.Davisproposedthatemotionsarealliedtoengineeringethics,theprimaryemotionsaidengineertocomprehendwhethertheirworksareethical.Forexample,iftheengineerfeelsmiserablewheneachstepofthedesignsiscompleted,itisreasonablethattheengineershouldrevisethestepandeliminatesanyunethicaloutcome,soethicalconsiderationisintegratedthroughouttheprocessfromplanningtocompletion(Davis,2015).Thestrengthofemotionscanalsoactasameasurementofethicalimportance,thestrongertheemotionsarethemorelikelytheethicalcomponentofthedesignneedswork(Davis,2015).Inconclusion,itisclearthatethicsisanimportantpartofengineering,everyengineerhastheobligationtoupholdthesafetyandwelfaresofthesociety.Howeverethicalissuesarecomplicatedinengineering.Thusitisnecessarytoimprovethealertnessofengineerstow