Abstract
Design ethics has been offered as a course in undergraduate design programs in Taiwan for over a decade, but research on teaching design ethics and the results of teaching these courses is scant. We conducted two tests to examine (1) the effect of an ethics course, and (2) the differences among the effects of design department, gender, and study year on student opinions regarding ethical design standards (EDSs) at the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (YunTech) in Taiwan. The participants comprised 934 undergraduates (660 women and 274 men) from the five design departments at YunTech’s College of Design from Years 1–4. The results confirmed the effect of an ethics course on student EDS opinions. In addition, we observed significant variations among students according to design departments, suggesting that the characteristics of the design departments also affected students’ EDS opinions. The results indicated that gender did not significantly affect design students’ EDS opinions; however, students in their early years of study produced higher scores than those in their advanced years of study did, based on the six EDS opinions. The implications of these results for teaching design ethics and future research are discussed in this paper.
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Notes
The six professional design organizations are listed as follows: the Association of Chartered Industrial Designers of Ontario, the Chartered Society of Designers, the Design Institute of Australia, the Industrial Designers Society of America, the Industrial Designers Society of Hong Kong, and the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.
For the complete content of the Building Act, please refer to the following URL: http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0070109.
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Acknowledgments
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2012 Design Research Society International Conference. This study was partly supported by the National Science Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Project No. NSC 99-2410-H-224-016-MY2. We would like to thank the faculty and students at YunTech’s College of Design who participated in our survey.
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Appendix: The Questionnaire
Appendix: The Questionnaire
I believe designers shall: | Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly agree | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Be advocacy for user’s health and safety | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
2 | Consider every potential user | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
3 | Think of the whole value chain, from production to sales and the use of product | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
4 | Realize the importance of humane design | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
5 | Strive to design a work with respect for the environment | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
6 | Use specific processes and materials which are the result of sustainable and/or renewable natural resources | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
7 | Use eco-friendly material to reduce pollution | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
8 | Create classic and minimize waste | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
9 | Use professional knowledge and skill for the safety of human well-being | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
10 | Use professional knowledge and skill to further the aesthetic standards of the community | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
11 | Use professional knowledge and skill to further the development of economics | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
12 | Understand the possibilities and use of new technology | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
13 | Be willing to use new technology to improve current designs | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
14 | Strive to use our influence to convince people to support eco-friendly designs | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
15 | Share information that will help designers make the best choices in specifying materials and processes for environment with other designers | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
16 | Strive to embody the cultural diversity of society through design | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
17 | Not disclose work to the public without the authorization of the design team | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
18 | Not take any credit without the consent of the employer or team concerned | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
19 | Establish clear contractual understandings regarding obligations of both parties before accepting an assignment | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
20 | Define the total remuneration exactly and comprehensively to the client before accepting an assignment | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
21 | Ensure that fees and charges for provided design service reflect the time and effort involved in the commission to which they relate | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
22 | Consent mutually to the total remuneration and the completion of relevant documents before undertaking an assignment | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
23 | Treat all knowledge and information relating to clients’ or employers’ businesses as confidential during design processes | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
24 | Not divulge clients’ or employers’ business information to any third parties unless expressly permitted to disclose such information by the client | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
25 | Not issue public statements on behalf of clients or employers without the express authority of said parties | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
26 | Ensure that all members of staff are similarly bound to the confidentiality of clients’ privileged information | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
27 | Not work simultaneously on assignments that are in direct competition | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
28 | Work on competing product lines simultaneously only with the agreement of all concerned parties | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
29 | Act in the client’s best interests within the limits of the designer’s professional duties | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
30 | Advise our clients and employers when we have serious reservations concerning projects we have been assigned | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
31 | Not plagiarize knowingly the work of another designer | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
32 | Not accept instructions that knowingly involve plagiarism | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
33 | Give constructive criticism to fellow designers | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
34 | Accept constructive criticism from fellow designers | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
35 | Not denigrate the work or reputation of other designers | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
36 | Issue truthful, objective and non-misleading public statements and promotional materials | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
37 | Compete with colleagues fairly based on the quality of work | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
38 | Not attempt to compete with other designers by means of a deliberate reduction of fee | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
39 | Not perform any work by means of free services to uphold fair competition | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
40 | Be able to perform work without fee or at a reduced rate for charitable or non-profit organizations | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
41 | Not seek to supplant another designer who has a firm commitment with a client in relation to a particular project | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
42 | Not accept knowingly any professional assignment on which another designer has been acting without notifying said designer | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
43 | Support team members to complete projects in a timely manner | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
44 | Be supportive of designers whose careers are placed in jeopardy by adherence to ethical conduct | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
45 | Accept no payment from designers after recommending said designer | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
46 | Accept no payment from the client of a designer after recommending said designer | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
47 | Assume necessary responsibility for being paid for recommending designers to clients | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
48 | Disclose payment for recommending designers to clients | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
49 | Reveal relevant information pertaining to designers recommended to clients | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
50 | Provide employed designers opportunities to extend their education | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
51 | Support employed designers’ career development | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
52 | Provide employed designers, insofar as is possible, with challenging assignments and responsibilities commensurate with their skills | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
53 | Establish clear contractual understandings regarding employments of both parties | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
54 | Provide employed designers with appropriate work environments | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
55 | Provide employed designers with appropriate working hours | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
56 | Provide employed designers with appropriate compensation for working overtime | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
57 | Credit employed designers appropriately for their accomplished work | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
58 | Provide students opportunities for internships and observation of practicing designers | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
59 | Respect students’ rights to ownership of their designs | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
60 | Credit students fairly for their accomplished work | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
61 | Uphold inclusive curricula and require satisfactory proficiency to enable students to enter the profession with adequate knowledge and skills | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
62 | Provide design work with high quality and completeness | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
63 | Provide design work with originality | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
64 | Participate in appropriate professional societies | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
65 | Participate in community and government affairs | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
66 | Absorb new knowledge constantly in the design profession | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
67 | Absorb new knowledge constantly in design ethics | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
68 | Uphold and advance our professional competence throughout our careers through further education | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
69 | Apply professional skills in challenging assignments | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
70 | Be willing to engage in challenging assignments | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
71 | Publish in design related journals to encourage information exchange | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
72 | Publish in professional ethics-related journals to further the development of design ethics | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
73 | Not assume or accept knowingly a position in which your personal interests conflict with your professional duty | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
74 | Not engage in a design competition as both participator and referee | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
75 | Uphold the dignity and honor of the design profession | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
76 | Complete assignments enthusiastically | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
77 | Complete assignments with honesty and integrity | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
78 | Provide design service to people with no partiality under the law | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
79 | Use designer’s name for the promotion of articles designed or service provided only in a manner which is appropriate to the status of the profession | □ | □ | □ | □ | □ |
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Lee, Y., You, M. & Yang, MY. A Survey of Student Opinions on Ethical Design Standards in Taiwan. Sci Eng Ethics 21, 505–530 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-014-9546-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-014-9546-8