Ethics in Science
announcements.

 

 

 

Sunday, September 23, 2018:

*The first reading response essay comes due in class (i.e., bring in a hard-copy to hand in) on Tuesday, October 2. (Note that this is extended from the original due date of Thursday, September 27.) You'll be answering some questions about the Asquith reading in our online course reader. You can find the prompt for the essay here (it's #1). You can find general guidelines for the reading response essays here.

Note that the prompt asks you to focus on a particular issue of methodology about which the Western and Japanese primatologists Asquith is writing about disagree -- namely, whether it is good scientific practice to "provision" (i.e., feed) the monkeys researchers are studying in the wild. In your paper, you'll want to make sure you do the following:

1. Describe the views of the Western primatologists and theJapanese primatologists on the question of "provisioning".

2. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the two methodological approaches (i.e., what's the benefit of provisioning? what's the benefit of not provisioning?)

3. Say something about how this methodological disagreement embodies different ideas about what is most important when you're trying to build a reliable body of knowledge about the world. [Note that you may actually end up taking care of this when you describe the advantages and disadvantages of provisioning or not, depending on how much detail you go into there.]

Sunday, August 20, 2018:
*If you would like to add this course, please come to the first class meeting (Tues. Aug 21, 1:30-2:45 pm in MH 324).

*There is a course reader available online (via Canvas). If you prefer a dead-tree version of the reader, it will be available for purchase (as print-on-demand, which means you pay for it and your copy will be ready within about two business days) at Maple Press (330 S. Tenth St., next to Sammy G's Pizza; phone: 408-297-1001). The cost of the dead-tree reader is about $35 (including tax). They accept cash and checks, but not credit cards.

*In addition to the course reader, there are two required texts for the course (available for purchase at Spartan Book Store or various online sources). More information about the course texts can be found here.

 

 

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