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A Survey of Student Opinions on Ethical Design Standards in Taiwan

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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

  1. 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.

  2. 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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Correspondence to Yingying Lee.

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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