SOSC 111 - Science Technology and Society Today Some Sample Questions for Review Friday, November 20, 1998

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SOSC 111 - Science Technology and
SocietyTodaySome Sample Questions for
ReviewFriday, November 20, 1998

• Dr. Vincent Duffy - IEEM
• email vduffy_at_uxmail.ust.hk

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Administrative

• Old exam 2 on webpage
• Friday, 13th, review for exam
• Monday 16th - exam 2, 630-810 LT-B
• no class meeting on 16th
• Wednesday
• chance to discuss homework 2 in groups
• oral presentation, in class Wednesday, 18th
• written due Wednesday 18th, until 12 mid.
• Return QOTD since exam 1

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What can be tested (exam Monday)

• Monday 630-810, LT-B
• Information from lecture/slides
• everything up through Monday, 9th
• Assigned readings related to lecture
• important material from the readings as outlined
  in class
• Study aids - Expanded version of the
  lecture/slides available as tutorials
• tutorials after exam 1
• they are review

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• Innovations
• Politics of Technology
• have a general knowledge of those that were not
  included in lecture
• Ethics
• Role of ICAC in Hong Kong
• What is a whistleblower?, what are
  stakeholders?
• Differences ETHICS-PLUS Rational Technique
• Concept of the Total Benefit Test
• Differences between Ethics and the Law
• Law
• Limitations in the Law of Contract Law of Tort
• Differences Law as protector Law as a weapon

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• The role of the ICAC in Hong Kong is to
• A. Take stock of stakeholders
• B. Identify viable alternatives
• C. Make laws
• D. Enforce laws
• E. All of the above

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• (4pts) G. Recall the video segment in which
  Shum, a marketing representative for a fire
  fighting equipment company, was working hard to
  get a multi-million dollar contract with the
  company of Mr. Cheung. Mr. Cheung was working as
  VP of a group based in the U.S. Shum met
  Cheungs wife and discovered that the charity
  chaired by her was looking for a donation of
  500,000 HKD. Shum was advised by his peer to
  recommend that the company make the donation to
  the charity of Cheungs wife in order to improve
  the chance of winning the contract. Use only the
  ETHICS part of the ETHICS-PLUS model to show how
  Shum should decide what to do. If you were Shum
  tell what you would do. That part of the model
  consists of E - Establish the facts and
  identify ethical issues, T-Take Stock of
  Stakeholders, I-Identify alternatives. C-Consider
  key factors. S-Select an appropriate course of
  action.

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• What is the significance of the sunshine test?
  Why do we need it if company matters are private
  anyway?
• Consider how would people respond if they did
  find out your (your company) behavior.
• This may help to guide the behavior to avoid a
  potentially embarrassing situation

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Multiple choice

• Role of ICAC in Hong Kong
• Q. The role of ICAC in Hong Kong is to
• A. Make laws
• B. Take stock of stakeholders
• C. Enforce laws
• D. Identify viable alternatives
• E. None of the above

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Multiple choice

• What is a whistleblower? stakeholders? (see T31)
• Q. In the video Think before you leap Sandra
  sees her coworkers trade securities from client
  money. She is deciding whether to
• A. Use the total benefit test
• B. Take stock of stakeholders
• C. Enforce laws
• D. Blow the whistle
• E. Avoid the use of some technology because it
  might shift the power structure in her office

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Multiple choice

• Total Benefit test
• Q. What is to be included in the measure of total
  benefit test?
• A. proprietary information
• B. different alternatives
• C. The law of tort
• D. Higher standards
• E. All of the above

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Short answer - Law as protector

• Q. Why is minimum compliance not enough? Give an
  example from class and tell why it was not
  enough.
• examples such as
• Titanic, not enough lifeboats
• Bridge in Tampa Bay- didnt include impact forces
  in the calculate horizontal forces
• Hickles law - there was room for interpretation
  in the law, and Hickle got mad at polluters (off
  shore oil drilling) and acted harshly toward them

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Short answer - Law as a weapon

• Q. What is an example from class of use of Law as
  a weapon?
• The case where the ASME representatives
  (volunteers for professional society of
  mechanical engineers) enforced codes against a
  manufacturer.
• In this case it turned out that they worked for
  the rival manufacturer.

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Short answer- Difference between ethics and the
law

• Q. What is one difference between ethics and the
  law? Why do we care about Hickles law?
• Law is the minimum standard, ethics is a higher
  standard
• Hickles law demonstrates that sometimes the law
  as minimum standard is not enough

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Alzheimers article

• Recall Programs that attempt to pick winners and
  losers are corporate welfare
• what does this comment represent
• means that there may be selective picking of
  companies to benefit from government support of
  research
• it is a reason for having a hands off policy

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• According to Langdon Winner, in the reading Do
  Artifacts Have Politics?, nuclear power plants
  are which of the following?
• politically centralized or decentralized
  technology? Why?
• The results of using the technology.were they
  intended or unintended?

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Explanation given in section 23

• When presenting review material to sections 2 3
  today, I have modified
• the type of question you may see regarding
  'politics of technology'
• material that was covered in reading, but not
  covered in lectures.
• You may think of it like this.
• Since there was no lecture on concepts like
  flexible/inflexible,
• egalitarian, authoritarian, inherently political
  those concepts will not
• be tested on the exam.
• However, examples in the supplementary reading
  related to
• intended/unintended results or 'politically'
  centralized/decentralized
• (related to decision making and access) would be
  considered o.k. for the
• exam. (again, for a small percentage weighting on
  the exam). You should
• be generally familiar with those examples.
• For a sample of the type of short answer question
  you could see, please
• look at the slides for today (to be posted later
  this evening) for the
• version shown in sections 2 3.
• More likely you would see a short answer rather
  than multiple choice