Chapter 6 -- Ethical Questions in the Design of Technology Flashcards
engineering design
the activity in which certain functions are translated into a blueprint for an artifact, system, or service that can fulfill these functions with the help of engineering knowledge
design process
an iterative process in which certain functions are translated into a blueprint for an artifact, system, or service
six stages: problem analysis & formulation, conceptual design, simulation, decision, detail design, prototype development and testing
problem analysis
formulation of design requirements
conceptual design
creation of alternative conceptual solutions to the design problem and possible reformulation of the problem
simulation
testing one or more concept designs to see how well they meet design requirements
decision
choice of one conceptual solution from a set of possible solutions
detail design
design is further detailed
prototype development and testing
a prototype is developed and tested; may lead to adaptations in the design
problem analysis stage
stage of the design process in which the designer or the design team analyses and formulates the design problem, including the design requirements
design requirements
requirements that a good or acceptable design has to meet
technical codes
legal requirements that are enforced by a governmental body to protect safety, health, and other relevant values
technical standards
usually recommendations rather than legal requirements that are written by engineering experts in standardization committees
certification
the process in which it is judged whether a certain technology meets the applicable technical codes and standards
conceptual design stage
stage in which the designer or the design team generates concept designs; focus is on an integral approach to the design problem
creativity
virtue of being able to think out or invent new, often unexpected, options or ideas; important professional virtue for designers
simulation stage
stage of the design process in which the designer or the design team checks through calculations, tests, and simulations whether the concept designs meet the design requirements
decision stage
stage of the design process in which various concept designs are compared with each other and a choice is made for a design that has to be detailed
design criteria
kind of design requirements which are formulated in such a way that products meet them to a greater or lesser extent; often used to compare and choose between different concept designs
trade off
compromise between design criteria
organizational deviance
norms that are seen as deviant or unethical outside the organization are seen within the organization as normal and legitimate
detail design stage
stage in which a chosen design is elaborated on and detailed
test
the execution of a technology in circumstances set and controlled by the experimenter, and in which data are gathered systematically about how the technology functions in practice
value conflict
arises if (1) a choice has to be made between at least two options for which at least two values are relevant as choice criteria (2) at least two different values select at least two different options as best, and (3) the values do not trump each other
trumping of values
if one value trumps another any (small) amount of the first value is worth more than any (large) amount of the second value
cost-benefit analysis
method for comparing alternatives in which all the relevant advantages (benefits) and disadvantages (costs) of the options are expressed in monetary units and the overall monetary cost or benefit of each alternative is calculated
discount rate
rate that is used in cost-benefit analysis to discount future benefits (or costs)
contingent validation
an approach to express values like safety or sustainability in monetary units by asking people how much they are willing to pay for a certain level of safety or sustainability
incommensurability
two (or more) values are incommensurable if they cannot be expressed or measured on a common scale or in terms of a common value measure
multiple criteria analysis
method for comparing alternatives in which various decision criteria are distinguished on basis of which alternatives are scored; on the basis of the score of each of the alternatives on the individual criteria, usually a total score is calculated for each alternative
ordinal scale
measurement scale in which only the order of the items of the scale has meaning
interval scale
measurement scale in which addition to the order of items also the distance between the items has meaning
ratio scale
measurement scale in which the ratio between items on a scale has meaning
threshold
minimal level of a (design) criterion or value that an alternative has to meet in order to be acceptable with respect to that criterion or value
value sensitive design
an approach that aims at integrating values of ethical importance in a systematic way in engineering design
advantages/disadvantages of cost-benefit analysis
advantages: options are made comparable
dis: values are treated as commensurable; may be difficult to adequately express all relevant concerns in monetary terms
advantages/disadvantages of multiple criteria analysis
adv: options are made comparable
dis: values are treated as commensurable; result depends on measurement scale
advantages/disadvantages of thresholds
adv: selected alternatives meet the thresholds; no direct trade-off between the criteria
dis: can the thresholds be determined independently from each other?; less achieved than possible
advantages/disadvantages of reasoning
adv: might solve value conflict by reason and judgement
dis: not all value conflicts can be solved in this way
advantages/disadvantages of value sensitive design
adv: can lead to alternatives that are clearly better than all of the present alternatives
dis: does not solve the choice problem in many cases
regulatory framework
the totality of (product-specific) rules that apply to the design and development of a technology
normal design
design in which the normal configuration and working principle of the product remain the same
radical design
opposite of normal design; design in which either the normal configuration or the working principle (or both) of an existing product is changed
working principle
the (scientific) principle on which the working of a product is based
