The Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster
On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere after a 17-day mission. This case details the interactions among the chair of NASA's Mission Management Team, one of NASA's chief engineers, and other members of the shuttle program management from the days before Columbia's takeoff until the end of its journey. Through a study of these communications, students explore whether the disaster was avoidable.
Case id: 100416
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Professor Ames's research focuses on social judgment and behavior. He examines how people form impressions of individuals and groups as well as the consequences of these impressions on prosocial behaviors (e.g., trust, cooperation, helping), competitive interaction (e.g., conflict, exploitation, aggression), and justice judgments (e.g., praise, blame, punishment). A central aspect of this work is how people "read minds" to make inferences about... View Full profile
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