Most of my research and writing strives to learn how to
live more beautifully with the environment and technology that surround us.
Publications
Book Review: Catia Faria, Animal Ethics in the Wild:
Wild Animal Suffering and Intervention in Nature
October 2024
Ronald Sandler, Mark Wells, Ryan Baylon, Anya Ghai
& Ricardo Hernandez (2024) Animal Ethics in the Wild:
Wild Animal Suffering and Intervention in Nature.
Ethics, Policy & Environment, 496-500.
DOI: 10.1080/21550085.2024.2411929
Book Review: Martha Nussbaum, Justice for Animals:
Our Collective Responsibility
July 2023
Ronald Sandler, Ryan Baylon & Anya Ghai (2023) Justice
for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility. Ethics, Policy & Environment
26(3), 496-500.
DOI: 10.1080/21550085.2023.2242746
The effectiveness of embedded values analysis modules in
Computer Science education: An empirical study
June 2023
Matthew Kopec, Meica Magnani, Vance Ricks, Roben Torosyan,
John Basl, Nicholas Miklaucic, Felix Muzny, Ronald Sandler, Christo Wilson,
Adam Wisiewski-Jensen, Cora Lundgren, Ryan Baylon, Kevin Mills & Mark Wells
(2023). The effectiveness of embedded values analysis modules in Computer
Science education: An empirical study. Big Data & Society, 10(1), 1-13. DOI:
10.1177/20539517231176230
Eric Katz on "De-Extinction": Ontology, Value and Normativity
May 2022
Ronald Sandler, Espen Dyrnes Stabell, Ryan Baylon,
Cora Lundgren, Philine Weisbeek, Benjamin Yelle & Markus Zaba (2022).
Eric Katz on "De-Extinction": Ontology, Value and Normativity. Ethics,
Policy & Environment, 25(2), 104–108. DOI:
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071554
In Progress
Here is some stuff coming down the pipeline to look forward to.
Response: Should We Kill One Owl to Save Another?
In Review
A response to Jay Odenbaugh's "Should We Kill One Owl to Save Another?". The original debate is around
whether the US ought to protect the native Northern Spotted Owl from the invasive Barred Owl by slaughtering 500,000 of the latter.
In short, we found his expected value calculation hasty, and point out some other contingencies which would impact the decision calculus.
Computer Science Community College Transfers
Awaiting data validation
At the center for inclusive computing, my main research project focused on
increasing the accessability of computer science transfer from Massachusetts community
colleges. The results of the paper show that, across the 165 community college / state school pairs,
only slightly over half of the courses required for a CS degree at a state school will have been completed
as a part of an Associate's degree. So far, I have presented these preliminary results to our collaborating
universities and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley's office.
What We Owe Wild Animals
Awaiting my final edits
Since working at the Ethics Institute, I have been researching the so-called
'Problem of Wild Animal Suffering,' trying to figure out what, if anything,
humans owe wild animals suffering from disease, predation, or starvation. I argue there are
targeted and important cases where we ought to intervene in the lives of wild animals. I
use the case of White Nose Syndrome in bats to explore the ethical landscape.
The Rat Project
I have recently taken an interest in Boston rat policy, given that rats
themselves are stakeholders in these decisions. So far, I have talked with
the Rat Czar of Somerville where he talked me through the city's rat policy
and its gaps. We have also started an initial literature review on the
philosophy of pests.
Obsidian
I take all of my notes on a wiki-style markdown editor called Obsidian.
It's a locally hosted, community supported, and free notes app that
is built to replicate how the brain actually recalls information.
It's a wonderful notes app that I cannot recommend enough.
Because the notes files are stored locally, I've decided to publish
some of them so they can be a resource for folks curious in the same
sort of stuff I am. In a future update to this website, I want to add
native support, but for now, all notes are linked in my GitHub (to the right).
At this point,
a lot of the notes are kind of sprawling, but my goal is to make the
base more comprehensive with time. Hopefully, despite its current state,
the notes can still be useful for you.
