Reports & briefings

SGR ethical careers briefing by Stuart Parkinson; January 2006

Corporations have become one of the most powerful influences within science and technology in recent years. This has thrown up many ethical concerns, not least the issue of whether their involvement has a distorting influence on the direction of research and development. This briefing outlines the key ethical issues in this area, and discusses how these affect career choice for scientists and engineers. It gives tips on spotting ethical corporations and looks at alternative career options in the public and non-profit sectors.

SGR ethical careers briefing by Chris Langley; January 2006

This briefing discusses military involvement with science and engineering, and how it can affect career choice in these fields. It outlines how the UK’s position as a major military power influences research, teaching, and development and deployment of new technologies, and discusses the related ethical issues. The briefing also gives tips on avoiding military work and describes opportunities in a range of alternative fields such as peace-building, disarmament, and cleaner energy technologies.
 

Military involvement in science and technology - and some alternatives

SGR report - written by Chris Langley; edited by Stuart Parkinson and Philip Webber; 19 January 2005

The UK’s involvement in the ‘War on terror’, especially the use of military force in Iraq, has been one of the most hotly contested issues in recent years. Meanwhile public confidence in science has been hit hard by controversies from GM crops to the MMR vaccine. This report investigates where military and scientific endeavours have intertwined—revealing the extent of the power and influence that the military has within UK science and engineering. The report describes how this influence has developed since the end of the Cold War, and examines whether the current level of military involvement in science and technology is the best way of contributing to the goals of peace, social justice and environmental sustainability.
 

SGR ethical careers briefing by David Webb; April 2004

This briefing provides an insight into the implications of choosing a career in any field associated with space exploration or space technology. The forces that drive developments in space technology are complex, often political, and very often linked – either overtly or covertly – with a military imperative. The briefing aims to facilitate a deeper appreciation of these forces by offering a perspective on this military influence on the space industry that’s rarely seen elsewhere.
 

SGR ethical careers briefing by Philip Webber; December 2003

This briefing provides insight into a new way of thinking and an innovative approach that can help you and your colleagues to work in a way that makes a positive, rather than a negative, impact on sustainability. Readers will gain greater awareness of choices and decisions regarding their work and career that will enable them to make a valuable contribution to sustainable development.
 

SGR ethical careers briefing by Stuart Parkinson; March 2003

This briefing provides an overview of the climate change crisis: its causes, its potential impacts and the economic influences that make the problem harder to solve. Readers will gain insight into ways in which career choice can help alleviate (or worsen) the situation.
 

SGR ethical careers briefing by Tim Foxon; March 2003

This briefing provides background insight into some of the approaches and technologies that are designed to reduce the impact of human activities and industry on the environment. Readers will gain greater awareness of possible career choices (and a shift in thinking) that can make a positive contribution to sustainable development.
 

SGR ethical careers briefing by Gill Langley; March 2003

This briefing provides background insight into the issues surrounding the use of animals in scientific experiments and the underlying factors that have given rise to the current legislative and cultural setting. Readers will gain greater awareness of how their choice of career makes a positive or negative impact on the welfare of laboratory animals as well as some pointers to alternative career routes.
 

Short report summarising the arguments against the War on Iraq.

Philip Webber and Vanessa Spedding

27 March 2003

Summary by Philip Webber, SGR, June 2002