Design for Digital Media Processes 3

1. Design for Digital Media Processes 3 Ethics & Assignment pointers Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

2. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • A typical code of ethics: • Have respect for Human DignityYou should respect human dignity at all times. • Have Respect for Freedom of ChoiceMake sure that everybody who assists you with your work does so willingly and is aware of the purpose of what you are doing • Have respect for Vulnerable Persons Give children or other vulnerable persons special protection against abuse, exploitation or discrimination. • Have Respect for Privacy and Confidentiality Apply ethical standards of privacy and confidentiality to protect the access, control and dissemination of personal information about other people. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

3. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • A typical code of ethics: (cont.) • Have Respect for Justice and InclusivenessDo not exclude or discriminate against individuals or groups according to religion, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other grounds. • Have Respect for Life Treat all forms of life with respect and take care to minimize your impact on the environment. • Minimise Harm You have a duty to avoid, prevent or minimise harm. This includes attention to the health and safety of your colleagues and to the potential environmental impact of your work. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

4. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • It isn't always easy to act ethically. Sometimes it involves difficult and even painful choices, but we can summarise our ethics code in two simple statements: • Avoid doing harm • Act positively to do good Web link Video link Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

5. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • While rules of engagement already exist, with regard to legal requirements for e-mail (Can-SPAM) and online marketing (search engine rules), they don't necessarily prevent us from taking short-cuts that involve crossing the lines of acceptable behaviour. • There are speed limits on highways, but people still speed. • There are anti-discrimination laws, but people still discriminate. • The truth is that legislation doesn't necessarily change behaviour. • A code of ethics won't necessarily change behaviour either, but it might cause people who straddle the line to consider their actions in terms of social responsibility and fair play, rather than complying to a set of complex rules and regulations that are often complicated to understand or misinterpreted.  Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

6. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • To that end, here is the beginning of a Code of Ethics that you should consider: • My Customer Determines Relevance: • It is not my role to assume that my message is relevant to customers within my graphic design. Customers will determine its relevance. I will not push my marketing to customers online or in e-mail unless I have their permission to do so. If anyone asks not to be contacted anymore, I will immediately cease from doing so.  Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

7. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • I Will Not Deceive: • I will not deceive Internet users by misrepresenting my content, products or graphic design services, intentionally in order to drive traffic to my site or to gather subscriptions to my e-mail list. I will honestly represent my offerings in search engines, e-mails, discussion boards, advertising, press releases and social networks.  • I Will Be Objective: • I will not engage in self-promotional tactics out of context when participating in online community discussions or posting blog comments. I will provide information about the products and services that I represent only when applicable and in hopes that it might add value to the discussion or when such information is requested by members of the community. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

8. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • I Will Be Responsible: • I will be responsible with my use of technology and graphic design to reach customers. I will not misuse technology to manipulate search engines, adversely affect my competition, send Spam, or drive traffic in any other way to the websites that I represent. My actions will have the customers' needs in mind rather than my own desire to reach or influence them at any cost.  • I Will Be Available: • I will not hide behind anonymity in my communication online. I will include contact information, a reply-to address and any other information that recipients of my message need if they require additional information or should they have a question or complaint. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

9. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Personal • Too often, we tend to rationalise non-adherence to law - doing 64mph in a 60mph zone for example. Likewise, legislation is complicated and often difficult to access. • How many marketers have actually read the Can-SPAM Law? Do you know where to find it? • What about other legislation pertaining to Internet Use and Conduct? • A Code of Ethics deals with standards of behaviour rather than complex rules and regulations. • It encourages us to act responsibly and to be considerate of the community we are participating in. • And good, common sense ethical consideration goes a long way - perhaps even further than any law could ever hope to. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

10. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Professional • Quotes.. • Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. — Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist (1879-1955) • Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself. — Thomas J. Watson, founder of IBM (1874-1956) • Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. — Albert Schweitzer, German physician, musician, theologian, philosopher (1875-11965) Web link - AWDP Blog link – are you a good designer Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

11. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Professional • Your ethical behaviour at work is how you ethically earn your income. We presume here that your job will fundamentally be an ethical undertaking. • The extent to which you earn "an honest living" has much to do with how ethically honest you are. • Thus, to be ethical, you must do honest work. Ethical work in an ethical work place helps you keep your job, too. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

12. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Professional • Truthfulness, honesty, fairness, dependability, quality, helpfulness, etc., all help form public opinion of your group and industry. • Politicians, the media, lawyers, bankers, bureaucrats, and the like all bear the impact of a negative label. • You as an individual who is thoughtful and responsible have the opportunity to leave others with positive memories of their dealings with you. • Frankly, many positive memories fade away, but negative ones often outlive their usefulness. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

13. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Professional • Companies are increasingly writing guidelines for professional ethics online. Guidelines that are specific to blogging, wikis, forums and virtual worlds. • While behaviour online should be guided by Things to Do and Things Not to Do there are ways to act unprofessionally online through a lack of experience or understanding of the media being used. • Examples of professional ethics for online behaviour: • IBM Virtual Worlds Guidelines • Sun policy on public discourse Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

14. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Professional • Things to Do: • Do return value to your customer (internal and external) in all business decisions • Do return value to your community locally and globally • Do deliver quality in a timely fashion • Do be honest in your work by telling the client, customer, or boss that the task or project you are working on will not meet the target date. • Do ask for help in order to meet the project or task deadline. A professional will not feel slighted if he or she acknowledges that he or she needs help. • When you accept an assignment, Do start using words like we, us and ours. A professional never works at cross-purpose with the employer. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

15. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Professional • Things to Do • If the employer wants respect from employees, he/she should treat all employees as professionals in their own right. Remember, if you treat someone as a professional, they will (hopefully) treat you like one too. • Promote your profession i.e. Information Technology • Do things for the good of yourself, the customer and the profession. You are not a true professional if you don't deliver outcomes that satisfy all three of these areas. • Do provide respect to others. This means truly thinking of their beliefs and desires, and the contribution they make to the organisation, however small. Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

16. Processes 3 Ethical Codes: Professional • Things to Not Do • Do not tell the client, customer, or boss that you can do something when you cannot. • When you accept an assignment, Do not use words like me, mine, you and yours. • Do not steal from your employer. • Do not underestimate your capabilities Video link Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

17. Processes 3 Previous Year Assignment pointers: Street Crime Pinball – The Law Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

18. Processes 3 Assignment notes: • 1949 In a Saturday Night article, parents complain that the influx of violent American crime comic books is "poisoning the minds" of our children. • The House of Commons introduces a bill aimed at banning the comics and prosecuting their publishers. • Legislators assure the nation that they are not targeting legitimate "funnies," and subsequently amend the Criminal Code to outlaw the printing, selling or distributing of crime comics unless the "public good was served" by their publication. • The law is still on the books. • 1977 Following the legalization of pinball machines by the federal government in 1976-- they were previously banned ... Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

19. Processes 3 Assignment notes: • Researching: • the legalisation of pinball games • the ethics of pinball games with regards to street crime designs • knowing these factors, how would you go about creating and selling street crime pinball games for the web? • how would you protect your designs? Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009

20. Design for Digital Media Processes 3 Ethics & Assignment pointers Debs.Wilson@winchester.ac.uk Debs Wilson MA Sept 2009