Ethics, Innovation and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics, Innovation and Technology - Essay Example This has led to banning of deep oil drilling and thus created a heated debate on whether to permit or ban deep oil exploration. Ethical issues have been raised on deep oil drilling. Deep Oil Drilling The constant and ever increasing need for fossil fuels (particularly gas and oil) has pushed exploration and drilling industry to drill in very (ultra) deep waters (more than 2,000 meters water depth) with the wells being drilled to depths more than 7,500 meters. These forms of wells are very costly to drill and complete with expenses up to approximately 100 million United States dollars. According to the Energy Information Administration, the world needs for energy are increasing at an estimated rate of 1.5 to 2.0 percent per year. The United States National Energy Council report predicts that, by the year 2030, the energy demand for gas and oil will increase by 50 to 60 percent. The current total estimated oil stands at 1,258 trillion barrels and with the present oil consumption at 86 million barrels of oil per day, the hydrocarbons in place are estimated to be there in the next 42 years (Kelessidis 2009, p220). Ethical Issues Surrounding Deep Oil Drilling Ethical concerns are usually raised after a tragic accident. This was certainly true in the case of the 2010 deepwater drilling spill in the Gulf and other countless oil spills documented throughout the universe in the last century. It was only after the engineers were confronted with the graphic, photographic imagery of numerous oil soaked marine life and birds, and heard the testimonies of the Gulf coast residents (whose culture was adversely threatened) that they began to focus their attention as a society on the imminent disaster. As a profession, engineers seem reluctant to deal with the ethical issues involved. The rate at which the new technologies are converging and emerging and the damage caused by these accidents (like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill) on the reputation and the integrity of the profess ion, it seems imperative that the profession adapts a new, comprehensive ethical approach. The approach to be adapted has to be capable of dealing with the technical issues involved and the social and environmental implications (Catalano 2011, p1). On 20 April 2010, a number of explosions cut across the giant oil-drilling rig (the Deepwater Horizon) situated in the Gulf of Mexico, 48 miles from the shore. From the blast, 114 workers survived, and 11 others were never found. The rig collapsed and sunk two days after burning at the sea, destroying the steel piping and opening an oil volcano that released into the Gulf approximately 200 million gallons of crude oil. Deep-ocean, wetlands, beaches, and coastal waters were devastated by the spillage of the crude oil. Wildlife habitat and wildlife from Texas to the Florida Keys were adversely threatened. Countless families and individuals who rely on the Gulf waters for their way of life and their jobs were devastated emotionally and econo mically. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster has raised many ethical issues on the engineering profession (Catalano 2011, p1). These issues include; what exactly occurred, the role played by the engineering profession in regard to the disaster, how such disasters can be prevented in the future, ethical responsibilities, in events like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and if the codes of conduct developed by the engineers are adequate (Catalano 2011, p2). Impact of Deep Oil Drilling The Deepwater Hor

The Relationship between Internet Activities and Depressive Symptoms Essay

The Relationship between Internet Activities and Depressive Symptoms in a Sample of College Freshmen - Essay Example Firstly, a review of the literature indicting a link between high Internet usage and depression shall be presented. Secondly, research that has found a connection between Internet usage and social phobia and anxiety will be provided, as well as studies that argue for Internet use as a psychological support. Next, sub-groups that appear to be most affected by high Internet use shall be identified. Finally, a conclusion shall synthesize the main points of this paper and make recommendations for future research. Many research papers investigating the effects of the Internet on individual psychology have pointed to its 'over-use' or addictive characteristics as a factor that maintains experiences of depression or other psychopathologies (Campbell, 2003). Recent figures estimate 20 million North Americans annually experience episodes of depression (Morgan & Cotton, 2003). For many North Americans, access to the Internet is easily available, many people owning a PC and having Internet access, or are able to access the Internet through schools, universities, Internet cafes, public libraries, their place of work, or even their mobile phones (Campbell, 2003; Sanders, Field, Diego & Kaplan, 2000). It has been argued that high use of the Internet is replacing time spent socializing, and subsequently access to social support mechanisms essential to psychological health, such as time with family and friends (Campbell, 2003).In a recent study of North American Internet users, 'high' Internet use was d efined as a users who spent three hours or more a day engaging with the world wide web. In contrast, 'low' Internet users were defined as people who spent less than one and a half hours a day on the web (Kraut et al., 1998 as cited in Sanders et al., 2000). A two-year longitudinal study investigated the use of Internet amongst families that had not previously owned a PC or were accessing the Internet on a regular basis (Kraut et al., 1998 as cited in Sanders et al., 2000). Results showed that higher levels of Internet use were positively related to a decrease in family interactions, as well as a reduction in social networks. A survey study utilized the Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI) as on online instrument to investigate the relationship between depression and high Internet use (Young & Rogers, 1998 as cited in Sanders et al., 2000). It was found that the average BDI scores of respondents who had been identified as high users, was between the mild to moderately depressed rang e of scores. Although another survey study undertaken by Sanders and colleagues (2000) found that adolescents who were high Internet users did not significantly experience more episodes of depression. However, interpretation of the results was tentative as the depression scale used, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), may not have been sensitive enough to detect depression symptoms in teenagers. It was also found that low Internet users experienced much more interactive and rewarding relationships with their friends and family.Alternatively, literature has also identified a relationship between high Internet use and other negative psychological experiences, such as social phobia and anxiety (Campbell, 2003). A study by Campbell (2003) investigated the relationship between social phobia and anxiety, as well as depression, and high levels of Interne