Category: Semester

Fall 2022 Weekly News Profile

How Telehealth Contributed to the Adderall Shortage and Reignited Concerns

Kaylee Tseng October 17, 2022

A recent shortage in Adderall comes after a large spike in demand for the prescription drug, with many prescriptions being issued from telehealth startups earlier this year. These platforms that emerged during the pandemic have raised concerns regarding the overprescription of controlled substances. However, the high amount of prescriptions coming from these newer companies follows a longstanding trend of potential ADHD overdiagnosis and overtreatment in the US.

View More How Telehealth Contributed to the Adderall Shortage and Reignited Concerns
Fall 2022 Weekly News Profile

Why Ethical Free-to-Play Game Design Matters

Sabrina Sy October 9, 2022

The recent release of Blizzard Entertainment’s “Overwatch 2” has sparked many conversations in the gaming community centered around the ethics behind free-to-play video games and the duty that developers have to their consumers. As the game industry continues to shift away from a traditional one-time purchase model, developers must continue to consider what they can do to keep games as fair as possible for all players.

View More Why Ethical Free-to-Play Game Design Matters
Fall 2022 Weekly News Profile

How Climate Change Intensified Hurricane Ian

Jennah Saqib October 3, 2022

Hurricane Ian has already devastated Cuba and Florida, and will soon reach the coastline of North and South Carolina. The storm intensified rapidly in a very short period of time and has been fueled by rising ocean temperatures due to climate change. This increased storm intensity has been predicted for years, and the U.S.’s preparation efforts and response to climate change will impact millions of lives.

View More How Climate Change Intensified Hurricane Ian
Fall 2022 Weekly News Profile

The Rise and Conflict of AI-Generated Images

Kaylee Tseng September 18, 2022

From art competitions to online horror stories, AI art has seen a massive spread online. These internet-based machine-learning models raise questions about misinformation, originality, and bias. While most results from AI-generated images have been developed as jokes, the internet may soon need to contend with these models as they become more realistic.

View More The Rise and Conflict of AI-Generated Images
Fall 2022 Weekly News Profile

How California’s Heat Wave Almost Broke the State’s Power Grid

Sabrina Sy September 12, 2022

A historic heat wave in California has led to high demand for energy usage this past week, but officials have urged millions of residents to turn up their thermostats and shut off their appliances to prevent overwhelming the power grid. However, lawmakers and regulators at the forefront of the state’s green energy initiatives are also feeling the heat.

View More How California’s Heat Wave Almost Broke the State’s Power Grid
Spring 2022 Volume 6 Issue 1

The Costs of Megaprojects: An Analysis of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

Helen Situ May 4, 2022

Megaprojects are large scale investment projects, many of which are internationally famous, such as Australia’s Sydney Opera House, SpaceX’s program to colonize Mars, and the Panama Canal. Megaprojects garner a high level of excitement — and justly so, as they hold cultural, economic, and social significance. However, the questionable ethics of megaprojects needs to be examined as they increasingly become the dominant mode of infrastructure construction.

View More The Costs of Megaprojects: An Analysis of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
Spring 2022 Volume 6 Issue 1

A Credit Card a Week: The Environmental Ethics of Plastics

Kaylee Tseng May 4, 2022

In an industrialized world, it seems impossible to live without plastics. From food storage to aircrafts, plastics provide benefits that make them an irreplaceable material. However, a consistent increase in plastic production and use has led to a massive plastic pollution crisis. Plastics are produced from non-renewable resources and can never fully decompose. They end up in our oceans, our environment, and even our stomachs (a credit card’s worth per week). Additionally, the massive amount of plastic waste has created a global plastic trade that unfairly places the burden of waste processing on less developed countries that may not be able to support even their own waste. The effects of plastic pollution are reaching a critical stage, and engineers must find solutions to relieve the growing pressure.

View More A Credit Card a Week: The Environmental Ethics of Plastics
Spring 2022 Volume 6 Issue 1

Artificial and Unreal: The Ethics of Beautification Technology for Images and Social Media

Daniel Chaderjian May 4, 2022

In today’s digital age, social media plays a major role in the development of adolescent minds. Young people begin posting content in their early years and are exposed to a feed of others’ pictures and videos. However, while this system may ostensibly help people stay in contact with those they do not see in person, it also creates an environment of comparison that can lead to self-esteem and body image issues. Beautification technology like augmented reality filters and photoshop have only exacerbated the issue, making it so that young people are not only comparing themselves to a curated version of others, but an entirely manufactured one. Engineers have a responsibility to examine the possible negative effects of the products they create, and beautification technology leads to far more harm than good.

View More Artificial and Unreal: The Ethics of Beautification Technology for Images and Social Media
Spring 2022 Volume 6 Issue 1

The Ethics of Stockpiling Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

Matthew Wilson May 4, 2022

The development of new technology has allowed the evolution of new methods of warfare. The use of zero-days has propelled this exploration and empowered governments to remotely attack the software systems of their adversaries. Despite the potential military benefits of this weapon, government officials are still questioning whether they should stockpile zero-days, especially when the vulnerability is found in software that everyday citizens use. Analyses of previous zero-day attacks and the US government’s overpowering national security stance reveals that the consequences of stockpiling zero-days outweigh the benefits and are a clear violation of the rights of citizens.

View More The Ethics of Stockpiling Zero-Day Vulnerabilities