Identification of Factors and Components of Environmentally Ethical Technology Development: A Qualitative Study Using Grounded Theory
Keywords:
Development, Technology, Environmental Ethics, Department of EnvironmentAbstract
The present article was conducted with the aim of identifying the factors and components of environmentally ethical technology development. In terms of purpose, the research is applied; in terms of data, it is qualitative; and in terms of implementation method, it was conducted using the systematic grounded theory approach. The statistical population consisted of key informants in the field of research within the Tehran Province Department of Environment, and interviews were conducted with 11 individuals using the snowball sampling method until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through both library research (documents and records) and field research (semi-structured interviews). To assess the validity of the research instrument, three triangulation methods were used: methodological triangulation (71%), investigator triangulation (77%), and participant triangulation (83%), indicating that the instrument had acceptable validity. Data analysis was performed using theoretical coding (based on the paradigm model of grounded theory). The coding results showed that environmentally ethical technology development consisted of 133 open codes (indicators), 26 axial codes (components), and 6 selective codes (dimensions).
Downloads
References
Ahani amineh, Z., & Boorghani Farahani, S. (2015). Challenges of social ethics in the field of technology. Ethics in Science and Technology, 11(4), 1-11. https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-428-en.html
Bacon, F. (2016). The New Organon. Cambridge University press. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_New_Organon.html?id=MUm8Yzmq5NUC
Bandari, A., Jamshidi, O., & Sobhani, S. M. (2019). Analysis of the relationship between dimensions of environmental ethics among agricultural students. Quarterly Journal of Ethics in Science and Technology, 14(3). https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-1532-en.html
Carlsson, V., & Rönnblom, M. (2022). From politics to ethics: Transformations in EU policies on digital technology. Technology in Society, 71, 102145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102145
Dashtaki, N., Majedi, H., & Farah, H. (2021). Explaining citizens' environmental ethics in environmental excellence: Presenting a conceptual model. Scientific-Research Quarterly of Urban Planning, 12(44), 157-172. https://ensani.ir/fa/article/459174/
Dehghan, F., Karami, J., Yazdanbakhsh, K., & Salehi, S. (2018). Predicting environmental ethics based on environmental values and norms. Quarterly Journal of Ethics in Science and Technology, 14(4). https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-1614-en.html
Fanaei, A., & Behrouzi, S. (2017). Human responsibilities toward the environment from Islamic and ethical perspectives: Overlapping consensus in environmental ethics. Quarterly Journal of Existence and Cognition, 8(2), 37-56. https://philosophy.mofidu.ac.ir/article_36956.html?lang=en
Haghkhah, D., Moosakhani, M., Meamarzadeh, G. R., & Kazemi, A. (2017). Designing a model of competitive ethical values for managers of the Iranian administrative system. Ethics in Science and Technology, 12(1), 41-48. https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-534-en.html
Hasanpour, A., Abbasi, T., & Hadipour, A. (2017). Identifying and prioritizing the ways of institutionalizing ethics in the organization. Ethics in Science and Technology, 12(1), 17-23. https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-530-en.html
Hemmati, Z., & Shobeiri, S. M. (2016). Analysis of the elements of improving environmental protection case study: the citizens of the city of Shiraz. Cultural Research Quarterly, 8(4), 197-215. https://www.jicr.ir/article_297.html
Horst, M., Kuttschreuter, M., & Gutteling, J. M. (2007). Perceived usefulness, personal experiences, risk perception and trust as determinants of adoption of e-government services in The Netherlands. Computers in human Behavior, 23, 1838-1852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2005.11.003
Hosseinloo, F. (2020). Environmental ethics in engineering education: A missing link. Iranian Journal of Engineering Education, 22(88), 91-101. https://ijee.ias.ac.ir/article_120987.html?lang=en
Kazim, E., & Soares Koshiyam, A. (2021). A high-level overview of AI ethics. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3609292
Khaleghi, A. H. (2015). A Study on the technology ethics, A framework for analysis. Journal of Science and Technology Policy, 7(1), 69-103. https://en.civilica.com/doc/1708837/
Khanahmadi, M., Farhud, D., Ranjbar, B., & Malmir, M. (2016). Ethics in the convergence of science and technology. Quarterly Journal of Ethics in Science and Technology, 11(2), 1-10. https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-298-en.html
Mahboobi, M., & Ramazani, N. (2011). Evaluating environmental ethics of villagers in Golestan province. Ethics in Science and Technology, 6(3), 1-10. https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-740-en.html
Manders-Huits, N. (2011). What Values in Design? The Challenge of Incorporating Moral Values into Design. Science and Engineering Ethics, 271-287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-010-9198-2
Mena, M. M. (2019). The Fundamentals of environmental engineering education. Workshop on the Fundamentals of Environmental Education, Christchurch, New Zealand. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.114604164244651#
Mohammad Oghli Reyhan, F., & Alizadeh, S. S. (2018). A survey on the status of engineering ethics in Iranian engineering education: A systematic review. Iranian Journal of Engineering Education, 19(76), 79-97. https://ijee.ias.ac.ir/article_63062.html?lang=en
Mokhtari, M. (2019). Prospective analysis of the relationship between emerging transhumanist technologies and moral values. Scientific Journal of Ethics Research, 12(44), 33-46. https://www.magiran.com/paper/2131736/a-priori-analysis-of-the-relationship-between-emerging-trans-human-technologies-and-ethical-values?lang=en
Rahimi, Y., Rangriz, H., & Fatemi, A. (2021). Designing a human resource organization model with an environmental (green) ethics approach in Iranian government organizations. Journal of Ethics in Science and Technology, 16(1), 79-86. https://www.magiran.com/paper/2635937/designing-a-model-for-organizing-human-resources-with-the-approach-of-environmental-ethics-green-in-iranian-government-organizations?lang=en
Randall, A. (2025). Environmental ethics for environmental economists. In Encyclopedia of Energy, Natural Resource, and Environmental Economics (Vol. 3, pp. 16-26). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91013-2.00008-3
Rasekh, M., Akhundi, M. M., & Ameri, F. (2016). Determining national priorities in bioethics and ethics in science and technology. 4th Annual Congress of Medical Ethics in Iran & 4th Annual Congress of Nursing Ethics,
Saleh Ahmadi, Z. (2011). Models of technology acceptance and their application in technology transfer. Journal of Information Technology, 66, 63-70. https://www.magiran.com/paper/882507/
Seghatoleslami, A., Akbari, M., & Javadi, M. (2011). IT ethics based on the technological determinism approach. Ethics in Science and Technology, 9(4), 1-10. https://ethicsjournal.ir/article-1-67-en.html
Van de Poel, I., & Kroes, P. (2014). Can technology embody values. In The Moral Status of Technical Artefacts (pp. 103-124). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7914-3_7
Verbeek, P. P. C. C. (2011). The morality of things: A postphenomenological inquiry. In Postphenomenology: a critical companion to Ihde (pp. 117-128). State University of New York Press. https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/the-morality-of-things-a-postphenomenological-inquiry
White, A. (2015). Environmental harms, causation, and act utilitarianism. Environmental Ethics, 26, 180-206. https://philpapers.org/rec/WHIEHC-2
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Seyedeh Faezeh Hosseini (Author); Majid Motamedi (Corresponding author); Mohammad Hossein Darvish Motavali, Mohammad Mehdi Movahedi (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.