Unit 1

Honesty - Integrity - Values - Work Ethic - Civic Virtue - Respect for Others - Living Peacefully - Caring
and Sharing

Unit 2

Types of inquiry - Accepting and sharing responsibility - Ethical dilemmas - Moral autonomy -
Kohlbergs and Gilligans theory

Unit 3

Safety and risk - Assessing and reducing risk - Safe exits - The Challenger case study - Bhopal Gas
Tragedy

Unit 4

Fundamental Rights - Responsibilities and Duties of Indian Citizens Occupational crime - Professional
rights - Employee rights.

Unit 5

Multinational corporations: Technology transfer and appropriate technology .

Environmental ethics: Engineering, ecology - economics - Human and sentient centred - and bio and
eco centric
Commitment plays a decisive role in effective teaching. Commitment refers to socio psychological
bonding of an individual to his profession, its values, and goals. The extent to which the individual
behave in an expected manner can be reflected in their commitment to the profession. According to
Randall (1985) Commitment was defined as (i) A strong belief in and acceptance of the goals and
values of the profession. (ii) A willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the profession. (iii) A
desire to maintain membership in the profession.

Fig. 2 Dimensions of commitment

Explain the factors contributing to commitment. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])

Infer any five characteristics of a committed engineer. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])

During the design of a pumping station a particular type of pump is specified for the task. There are 3
possible suppliers with some minor technical differences that would not have a significant impact on
the effectiveness of the design, but the one supplier is a little more expensive than the other two. This
supplier offers the Engineer a free 10 day holiday in Mauritius if he buys the pumps from them.
Indicate the steps used to solve an ethical problem. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])
Consider the situation presented in the case study and write your thoughts on what you would do
to resolve the issue. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])
An inquiry is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a
problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ways
that each type of inquiry achieves its aim.

Fig.3 Inquiry Learning Cycle

Explain the three types of inquiry in professional ethics. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])
Identify the various ways to promote an inquiry. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be
socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. By practicing corporate social
responsibility, also called corporate citizenship, companies can be conscious of the kind of impact they
are having on all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental.
 Fig.4 Corporate Social Responsibility
Explain the need for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in today’s world.
(5 Marks – [U/C,2])
“The proper utilization of natural resources and reduction of carbon footprint leads to
sustainable living in the world”. Infer your answer for the given statement.
(5 Marks – [U/C,2])
Standardization, in industry, the development and application of standards that permit large
production runs of component parts that can be readily fitted to other parts without adjustment.
Standardization allows for clear communication between industry and its suppliers, relatively low cost,
and manufacture on the basis of interchangeable parts.

Fig.5 Structure of Industrial standardization

Infer the pros and cons of industrial standardization. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])
An Engineer is responsible for the disposal of “Hazardous Chemical Waste” and due to the high costs
involved is asked by the CEO to arrange to have the materials dumped in the river that runs past the
outer perimeter of the factory.

Identify the risks associated with the disposal of chemical wastes. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])
Experimentation is the main aspect of designing process. An engineer who is ought to design the parts
of a car, will be able to understand the result only when it is tested practically. Preliminary simulations
are conducted from time to time to know how the new concept of engineering acts in its first rough
design. Materials and processes are tried out, usually employing formal experimental techniques. Such
tests serve as a basis, which help in developing the final product.

Fig.6 Product life cycle

Indicate the steps involved in the life cycle of a product. (5 Marks – [U/C,1])
ethics - Computer ethics and internet.

Everyone knows that it is impossible to build a completely safe product or building. It is highly critical to
design a model that will never fail. But, some poor design and construction leads to major accidents. In
1911 the New York Triangle Waist Company fire was responsible for the death of 146 workers.

Fig. 1 Burning of Triangle Waist Company, NewYork

(i) Refer to the Fig.1; Identify the reasons that contributed to loss of many lives.
(4 Marks – [U/C,2])
(ii) Do you agree that a product can be failed safely i.e without harming others?
(1 Mark – [U/C,2])
A team of iron workers have been assigned to replace defective structural beams l of a bridge that
spans a river. Using a full body harness and personal fall arrest system are the suggested methods for
this project. Referring Fig.2, the iron worker positioned himself on a beam, to cut away rusted bridge
supports with a torch, and he loses his balance and falls. He was properly tethered to an anchor point,
his torn harness failed as the torn harness strap has gone unnoticed.

Fig. 2 Worker doing replacement of defective structural beams

(i) Formulate the safety measures to be followed while working in elevated structures.
(3 Marks – [U/C,2])
(ii) Learning from past failures and accidents is a must for engineers. Justify.
(2 Marks – [U/C,2])
Fig. 3 Chernobyl disaster Fig.4 Illustration of working light water nuclear power plant
A low-power test requested by the Moscow authorities on turbine-generator was planned during a
started during shut down maintenance. But, after a few seconds, the power increased to about 100
times its nominal value. The light water coolant, no longer able to carry off the enormous amount of
heat generated, evaporated in a fraction of a second leading to a steam explosion. The reactor was
destroyed. It contaminated an area of about 150 000 square kilometers inhabited by some 6 million
people. It also caused a measurable increase in the level of ionizing radiation in most of Europe.
(i) Infer from the figure the causes of explosion of nuclear reactor.
(2 Marks – [U/C,2])
(ii) Interpret the lessons learnt by the design engineers from the Chernobyl reactor accident.
(3 Marks – [U/C,2])

Our well-wishers, grandparents, parents and teachers keep on telling us to learn from other’s mistakes.
But this does not happen frequently. The absence of interest and channels of communication, ego in
not seeking information, guilty upon the failure, fear of legal actions, and mere negligence have caused
many failures. Consider the accident of Sinking of the biggest ship in 20th century, Titanic, a British
passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April
1912 after striking an iceberg. In the emergent situation, all the existing life boats could not be
launched. Forty years back, another steamship Arctic met with same tragedy due to the same problem
in the same region.
Fig. 7 Titanic – The biggest ship in North Atlantic ocean
(i) Engineering should be considered as a social experimentation. Justify using the scenario given.
(3 Marks – [U/C,2])
(ii) Do you think engineering is different from scientific experiments? Why?
(2 Marks – [U/C,2])
You know that Terrorism is a Universal Crime. You have known the Twin towers of World Trade
Centre in United States of America were crashed by hitting with Hijacked Air planes of USA by the
trained pilots of Al Queida Terrorists on September 11, 2011. Approximately three thousand people
lost their lives and 25,000 injuries in this incident. The damaged section of the Pentagon was rebuilt
and occupied within a year of the attacks. The spire was installed atop the building at that date,
putting 1 WTC's height at 1,776 feet (541 m) and thus claiming the title of the tallest building in the
Western Hemisphere. You would have learnt from the failures of Pentagon and would follow the
same in the construction of very important buildings and reliable machines.

Fig. 8 Attack of Twin Towers of USA on Sep 11,2001

(i) One should obey to the law. At the same time, he/she should have a balanced outlook on law.
Justify the statement using the scenario.
(3 Marks – [U/C,2])
(ii) Factor of safety is considered while designing any structure or machine component. How
cautious optimism is involved in this case?
(2 Marks – [U/C,2])
Amal Rakish is a Safety engineer. She has completed the OSHA course. She is working in the
reputed Concern, BASF Chemicals. She would like to follow the rules and regulations wherever she
goes. One day, She wore a helmet and leather shoes during her work at the factory premises. She
was handling the acrylic Lacquer paint when she tried closing the valve in the paint container, she
touched the metal valve ignited & spread fire across the building!

Fig.9 Handling of Paint in a plant

(i) Recommend some safety measures to be taken for the scenario given.
(3 Marks – [U/C,2])
(ii) Handling paints may lead to accidents. Identify the hazard and risks involved in this case.
(2 Marks – [U/C,2])