THE CENTER

The Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics  (CAAE) is attached to
the Department of Philosophy within the College of Humanities and Social
Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University.  In addition to six core
research, teaching, and support staff the CAAE has several Research
Associates who collaborate on projects. The work of the Center focuses
on teaching people practical methods for analyzing and responding to
real ethical problems. Its activities in education, research and
curricular innovation involve: 

~       Delivery of practical training and theoretical grounding in ethics to
academic, corporate, public and non-profit audiences;

~       Exploration of new methods and models for analysis and management of
complex real world conflicts;

~       Design, implementation, and dissemination of innovations in ethics
curricula, course delivery, and classroom design; 

~       Development of interactive multimedia packages that address current
topics in applied ethics through realistic case materials in
challenging, highly accessible formats.

The Center~s members combine knowledge and practical experience from
different areas, including: interactive multimedia, business and
professional ethics, and conflict resolution.

INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA

The Center has pioneered the research and development of interactive
videodisc and multimedia CD-ROM in the humanities. Project THEORIA is
the flagship title for a series of interactive multimedia products
designed to provide users with experiential learning in ethical and
value issues. Two programs have won the Best Humanities Software Award
in the EDUCOM Higher Education Awards Program: A Right to Die? The Case
of Dax Cowart (1989) and Art or Forgery? The Strange Case of Han Van
Meegeren (1990). A number of other interactive multimedia programs are
under development, including: Fight or Flight? Dispute Mediation Skills;
Birth or Abortion? The Human Face of a Dilemma; Art or Obscenity? The
Case of Robert Mapplethorpe; Ethics, Art, & Money in the Work of J.S.G.
Boggs; and A Right to Kill? Iowa v Willems.

MULTIMEDIA IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

The field of Applied Ethics addresses the diverse needs of many
professions. The Center has utilized its unique approach to media in
order to co-produce an award winning program entitled Ethical Issues in
Professional Life:  The Multimedia Course. Designed as a distance
learning course, it is also ideal for regular in-class applications. The
course materials include 14 one-half hour videotapes along with
audiotapes and an accompanying text. Videos showcase nationally known
professionals and ethicists. The text provides users with a framework
for analyzing ethical problems and dilemmas in a variety of professions.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Ethical action requires a repertoire of practical tools for analyzing
and managing real situations, especially situations of conflict over
values, resources, or power. Conflict Resolution is the application of a
set of skills and techniques that de-escalates conflicts, opens lines of
communication, disentangles values, personalities and substantive
issues, and generates integrative solutions. Teaching in this field has
been advanced through development of video demonstrations and case
studies as well as interactive exercises incorporated in the Center~s
Flight or Flight? multimedia package. Our research focuses on
applications of conflict resolution models in major public controversies
such as gun control and abortion, in situations involving lethal threat,
and in conflicts arising from cultural differences. 

OUTREACH

Aside from teaching courses in the Department of Philosophy and the
Heinz School of Public Policy, the Center organizes and participates in
national and international conferences and workshops. It has
co-sponsored the 8th annual Computing and Philosophy Conference and
workshops on lethal force and police ethics.

The Center also offers a variety of on-site training programs in applied
ethics for managers and executives.  The programs are designed to
develop skills in moral reasoning and in the resolution of the many
moral mazes and ethical quandaries which are common in today~s
workplace. Specific topics addressed by such training include illegal
and questionable practices, conflicts of interest, employee rights and
responsibilities, sexual harassment, whistleblowing and managing AIDS in
the workplace. Current clients include:  ALCOA, National Security
Agency, PPG Industries, Phillips Petroleum and Westinghouse Electric
Corporation.

Staff at the Center consult regularly in areas as diverse as the
requirements of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Commission on compliance
issues, community-based conflict resolution programs, standards and
practices in law enforcement training, and varied aspects of educational
computing.


Further information

For further information on specific Center activities, contact:  Robert
Cavalier (educational technology), Preston Covey (law enforcement),
Martha Harty (conflict resolution), Peter Madsen (professional ethics)
at (412) 268-7641 or CAAE,  Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA
15213.
Peter Madsen
Executive Director
Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics
Carnegie Mellon University
pm2n@andrew.cmu.edu