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ethics of design for sustainable behaviour |
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Design for sustainable behaviour is an emerging activity
under the banner of sustainable design which aims to reduce the
environmental and social impacts of products by moderating users’
interaction with them. Influence can be exerted to a greater or lesser
extent through the selection of appropriate
strategies.
Designers’ ability to influence user behaviour and the resulting tension
between choice and control raises some interesting ethical issues.
Interventions which steer user behaviour towards more sustainable
behaviour without restricting interaction may be more widely accepted
than those which exert greater control. Coercive, automated or
ubiquitous technologies, however, could arguably be more effective than
informative ones in ensuring change, but is it better to educate the
consumer and risk failure or overrule users and “force” behavioural
changes in order to achieve demonstrable results?
assessment tools:
Research conducted by Lilley and Lofthouse [1,2] resulted in the
development of a suite of assessment tools which may better equip
designers to influence consumption patterns without compromising users’
autonomy and privacy.
| matrix
[A] |
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identifying
and evaluating the impacts of user behaviour:
a weighted matrix which facilitates the evaluation of behavioural
issues identified through
observing users interacting with existing products against three
parameters; the impact on society and the environment, the longevity of
the effects produced and the permanency of the conditions resulting from
the effects of user behaviours identified. Prompt
questions such as; “could the continued practice of this behaviour
damage or degrade the environment (either locally or globally)?” are
provided to aid analysis. To begin using this tool
<download matrix A>. |
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| matrix
[B] |
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identifying and evaluating behaviours
resulting from design concepts:
a weighted matrix which encourages reflection on the ways in which a
re-designed product could be used and who may be affected by its use
either directly or indirectly. Behaviours are rated in terms of their
severity and longevity, the permanency of the consequences of that
behaviour and the likelihood of that behaviour occurring. Those which
score highly in terms of impact, are considered long term, irreversible
and have a high or medium probability of occurring can be highlighted
for deeper consideration. To begin using this tool
<download matrix B> |
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| good
design checklist |
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assessing the environmental, social and
ethical impacts of design concepts:
a checklist of probing prompt questions to encourage designers to
consider a range of social, environmental, economic and ethical
considerations when evaluating design concepts such as; the designers
intent; validity of the targeted behaviour; level of control exerted and
whether this can be justified in relation to the perceived severity of
the behaviour targeted; privacy and security issues related to data
collection, transfer and storage, accuracy, reliability and
trustworthiness; and the overall impact on stakeholders. To begin using
this tool
<download the good design checklist>. |
For more information on these tools and
more detail on the ethical issues associated with design for sustainable
behaviour read:
Lilley. D and Lofthouse. V. A (2010) Teaching Ethics
for Design for Sustainable Behaviour: A Pilot Study, Design and
Technology Education: an International Journal, Vol. 15, No.2, June
2010, pp. 55-68
If you use these tools to support practical design
activities within teaching, research or industry please do credit the
Sustainable Design Research Group and e-mail any feedback to
debra.
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References:
[1] Lilley. D and Lofthouse. V. A (2010) Teaching Ethics for Design for
Sustainable Behaviour: A Pilot Study, Design and Technology Education: an
International Journal, Vol. 15, No.2, June 2010, pp. 55-68
[2] Lofthouse. V. A and Lilley. D (2009) Teaching Ethics in Design: A Review
of Current Practice, In: International Conference on Engineering Design,
ICED'09, 24th-27th August 2009, Stanford University, Stanford, CA,
USA |
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This content was
updated:
17/07/2011
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