A micro-ethical view on computing practice

Bittner, Peter; Hornecker, Eva

doi:10.1145/1094562.1094571

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In the field of engineering and computing, '"micro-ethics" include concern with individuals and the internal relations of the engineering profession' (Herkert 2005). The focus is on professional codes of conduct, such as being attentive to the risks embedded in a system's design (Bittner and Hornecker 2005), and contrasts these codes with taking responsibilities for the larger societal impact of a technology.…”

Section: Micro-ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In the details: the micro-ethics of negotiations and in-situ judgements in participatory design with marginalised children

et al. 2020

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Engaging marginalised children, such as disabled children, in Participatory Design (PD) entails particular challenges. The processes can effect social changes by decidedly attending to their lived experience as expertise. However, involving marginalised children in research also requires maintaining a delicate balance between ensuring their right to participation as well as their protection from harm. The resulting tensions are politically charged, affected by myriads of power differences and create moral dilemmas. We present seven case studies, drawing from two participatory design research projects. They illustrate the in-situ judgements taken to address specific dilemmas and provide nuanced insights into the trade-offs required by child-led participatory design processes. Subsequently, we identify three challenges: positioning our work to the children's carers' values, protecting ourselves, and enabling the (relative) risk-taking associated with participation for children. We call for this microethical approach to be used when reporting research ethics in practice, and as a guidance for the training of researchers and practitioners.

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Section: Micro-ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In the details: the micro-ethics of negotiations and in-situ judgements in participatory design with marginalised children

et al. 2020

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“…In the field of engineering and computing (or in professional ethics in general), "'microethics' can be seen to include concern with individuals and the internal relations of the engineering profession" [29]. The concept focuses on professional codes of conduct and responsibilities in technical choices, such as being attentive to the risks embedded in a system's design [8], and contrasts this with taking responsibilities for the impact of a technology on society.…”

Section: Micro-ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Child-led PD requires researchers to negotiate between all participants. Finally, codes of professional conduct -that are considered as micro-ethics in engineering [8,31] -sometimes prevent forms of commitment beneficial to the researcher and to the children, whereas the personal position researchers bring into the collaboration remains present and influential to the processes and outcomes-which coincides with the micro-ethics considerations in health care [34,64].…”

Section: Micro-ethics As a Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-ethics for participatory design with marginalised children

Spiel

Brulé

Frauenberger

et al. 2018

Proceedings of the 15th Participatory Design Conference: Full Papers - Volume 1

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Marginalised children are uniquely vulnerable within western societies. Conducting participatory design research with them comes with particular ethical challenges, some of which we illustrate in this paper. Through several examples across two different participatory design projects (one with autistic children, another with visually impaired children), we reflect on the often overlooked tensions on the level of micro-ethics. We argue we are often required to rely on multiple moral frames of references. We discuss issues that the immediate interaction between researchers and marginalised children in participatory projects can bring and offer an understanding of how micro-ethics manifest in these collaborations. We contribute to a theoretical exploration of ethical encounters based on empirical grounds, which can guide other researchers in their participatory endeavours. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Participatory design; Accessibility theory, concepts and paradigms; • Social and professional topics → Codes of ethics;

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“…Komesaroff (1995) states that micro-ethics is an attempt to develop concepts for the navigation, negotiation, responses, decisions, and relationships which exist in every interaction between human beings, and to relate these to the particular relationship between a researcher and participants in concrete research situations. Microethics are considered in the field of engineering (Bittner & Hornecker, 2005), and in the health care area, where the personal position that researchers bring into collaborative situations remain present and influential to the processes and outcomes of the collaboration. This coincides with micro-ethics considerations (Komesaroff, 1995;Spiel et al, 2018;Truog et al 2015).…”

Section: Micro-ethical Moments In Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-ethical Moments as a Part of Involving Children in Research

Schürer

Jensen

2022

Designs for Learning

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Involving children in a participatory research design entails certain ethical challenges that require the researcher to consider how to respond and act 'right here and right now'. All child and childhood researchers are familiar with their obligation to inform and obtain consent from parents and teachers, before involving children in research. However, even with the signed consent, the research can easily take another direction than first planned. This study explored how involving children in research forces ethical dilemmas in-situ which require a 'right here and right now' response from the researcher. Data from this study were gathered through the multi-method mosaic approach. Originally, this study focused on children's learning paths as they transition from pre-school to primary school, however, when analysing the transcribed and coded data through a constructivist grounded theory, we revealed micro-ethical moments where the research repeatedly took another direction than first planned. Thus, the research topic changed focus. Based on the analysis of interview transcripts, two types of ethical considerations emerged as important when involving children in research:(1) researchers' response in-situ when micro-ethical moments occur (2) continuing the data collection when the research topic is changing. Considering this, the results point to a need for reframing the research design which includes what we have termed 'ethical sensitivity' when it comes to processual aspects of data generation. The process may entail arising ethical dilemmas, which in turn may influence how the children participate in the research and the generated data.

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A micro-ethical view on computing practice

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

In the details: the micro-ethics of negotiations and in-situ judgements in participatory design with marginalised children

In the details: the micro-ethics of negotiations and in-situ judgements in participatory design with marginalised children

Micro-ethics for participatory design with marginalised children

Micro-ethical Moments as a Part of Involving Children in Research

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