Practical Ethics for the Expert Witness in Ergonomics and Human Factors Forensic Cases
This chapter describes how many texts concerning the intersection of law and applied disciplines address ethical concerns in passing or do not address them at all. Ethical concerns are like skin, skin is our larges organ and the one that interacts with the world around us. However, it is simply overlooked until something goes wrong – and so it with ethics. If ethical concerns are unaddressed, they will surely emerge during forensic consultation and often with potentially disastrous results. The objective of this chapter is to alert the reader to some concerns which, if addressed appropriately, lead to the immense satisfaction of doing a job professionally and also serving society. The chapter will address the ethical questions that face the expert at the beginning of a case, followed by some questions that might arise during the data gathering and consultation state, and the chapter concludes with questions that arise during the concluding stage.
Copyright 2009 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. All rights reserved. 10.1518/107118109X12524442635581
Every aspect of human factors consulting in litigation presents opportunities and challenges for acting in an ethical manner. This article discusses three types of misrepresentation that pose ethical problems: (1) disregarding information, (2) misrepresenting existing research, and (3) misrepresenting facts in a case. These examples are demonstrated in the context of three different lawsuits involving forensic human factors experts. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of the forensic expert to help reveal the truth, and a suggestion to revise the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Code of Ethics.
Mechanical behaviour and durability of high volume fly ash cementitious composites
The purpose of this research is to separate different morphological particles of ASTM class F fly ash, and study their effect on mechanical behaviour and durability of high volume cementitious mixtures. In this research wet separation of raw fly ash is carried out, which resulted in three layers of different morphological particles. The first layer of particles float, comprise of about 1-5% of fly ash, is identified as cenospheres or hollow spheres. The second layer of particles is measured to be 55-60% of raw fly ash and consisting of porous spherical and rounded particles rich in Si and Al. The third layer particles is measured to be about 35-40% of raw fly ash. High volume fly ash cementitious composites containing second or third layer particles are tested under compression and bending, highlighting a higher strength and ductility in comparison to cementitious ones containing raw fly ash particles. KEYWORDS. Cementitious matrix; Raw fly ash; Second layer particles; Third layer particles.