Colloquia

Summary

This thesis covers the development of an Ethics Lab design from a nebulous idea with differing interpretations to a singular concept for the Ethics and Technology lectorate of the Saxion University of Applied Sciences. The research questions, as such, focus on uncovering what exact purpose the Ethics Lab should serve. Multiple options were explored through analysing literature on non-use, critical design, experiential learning, and the current state of ethics education, as well as interviewing members of the lectorate on their views of the Ethics Lab. The results were synthesized into various scenarios that embodied an aspect of the interpretations within the E&T lectorate. The scenarios with best reception were used as input for a concept, together with requirements based on the literature and interview analyses from before. This concept encompasses a three-stage framework representing (1) the physical properties and affordances of the lab, (2) the activities and experiences that can be had within the lab, and (3) the knowledge and tools that serve as an intellectual foundation for the other stages. The first stage is illustrated with a 3D model and render-based artificial intelligence impressions; the currently used methods and installations of the lectorate are demonstrated to fit seamlessly into the levels of expertise-based set-up of the second stage; and the third stage is explored by means of a case study into a tool.

This work provides an academical contribution to the design research field in the form of a theoretical three-stage framework on the composition of labs and a matrix for identifying aspects of critical sensibility, and a practical contribution to the lectorate in the form of a base concept of the Ethics Lab.