textbook: Ethics, Technology, and engineering: an introduction (1st edition) Cha
ID: 116912 • Letter: T
Question
textbook: Ethics, Technology, and engineering: an introduction (1st edition)
Chapter 6 question 10.
10 In many mobile phones and laptop computers, the material tantalum is used.3 Most of the worldwide tantalum supply comes from legitimate mining operations in Australia, Canada and Brazil, but tantalum is also extracted from the metallic ore coltan that is mined in Congo. Rebel groups exploit coltan mining to raise funds for the civil war that is going on in Congo and in which thousands of people have been killed. Some organizations have alleged that “there is a direct link between the mining of coltan in Congo and the human right abuses.” Coltan mining by rebels in Congo also causes environmental degradation. Some manufacturers have shown concerns about the use of coltan from Congo or have declared that they will no longer use coltan from Congo, but such policies are hard to implement because in many cases it is hard to find out where coltan that is traded on the world market is actually coming from. It might well be smuggled to another African coun- try from Congo before it is sold. Banning coltan from such other African countries would, however, affect countries that are legitimately mining coltan and for which the product may be an important source of income.
(a). At which stage of the design process are decisions made about the materials used?
(b). Why is the choice of material ethically relevant in this case?
(c). Do designers have a responsibility to avoid the negative consequences associated with the use of tantalum and coltan?
(d). Should the designers try to avoid the use of tantalum? Would this justify opting for radical design if necessary?
Please help me this questions in details.
Explanation / Answer
These are the common Stages of the Engineering Design Process
1 Research
2 Design requirements – this step decides which material to be used.
The design requirements is the step which controls the design of the project throughout the engineering design process. These generally include basic things like the functions as well as attributes, and specifications – these are generally determined after assessing user needs. Some design requirements also include hardware as well as software parameters. Maintainability, availability, as well as testability are also important here.
3 Feasibility
4 Conceptualization
5 Preliminary design
6 Detailed design
7 Design for manufacturability
8 Production planning
B.Development is very important for any economy in the word, but the ethical question is whether the “Trickle-Down Effect” is taking place to all the sections of the society. Capitalist controlling the economy is a dangerous situation because their sole motive is profit at any cost and not the public welfare. Hence the choice of material is ethically relevant as it has far reaching effect on every section the society and humanity should not be compromised for the capitalist class.
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