4.12: IV Glossary
ADOPIE: A mnemonic for the components of the nursing process: Assessment, Diagnosis, Outcomes Identification, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation.
Affect: A client’s expression of emotion.
Akathisia: Motor restlessness.
Alexithymia: The inability to describe emotions with how one is feeling.
Anhedonia: The lack of experiencing pleasure in activities normally found enjoyable.
Apathy: A lack of feelings, emotions, interests, or concerns.
Biological therapies: Any form of treatment for mental health disorders that attempts to alter physiological functioning, including drug therapies, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychosurgery.” [1]
Blunted: A diminished range and intensity of affect or mood.
Chief complaint: The patient’s primary reasons for seeking care.
Circumstantial: Speaking with many unnecessary or tedious details without getting to the point of the conversation.
Clang associations: Stringing words together that rhyme without logical association and do not convey rational meaning. For example, a client exhibiting clang associations may state, “Here she comes with a cat catch a rat match.”
Clouded consciousness: A state of reduced awareness to stimuli.
Cognition: The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. It includes thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem-solving.
Cognitive impairment: Impaired mental processes that drive how an individual understands and acts in the world, affecting the acquisition of information and knowledge. Components of cognitive functioning include attention, decision-making, general knowledge, judgment, language, memory, perception, planning, and reasoning. [2]
Coma: A state of unarousable unresponsiveness, where vigorous noxious stimuli may not elicit reflex motor responses.
Congruence: Consistency of verbal and nonverbal communication.
Countertransference: A tendency for the examiner to displace (transfer) their own feelings onto the client, and these feelings may influence the client.
Cultural humility: A humble and respectful attitude toward individuals of other cultures that pushes one to challenge their own cultural biases, realize they cannot know everything about other cultures, and approach learning about other cultures as a life-long goal and process. [3]
Delirium: An onset of an abnormal mental state, often with fluctuating levels of consciousness, disorientation, irritability, and hallucinations. Delirium is often associated with infection, metabolic disorders, or toxins in the central nervous system.
Delusions: A fixed, false belief not held by cultural peers and persisting in the face of objective contradictory evidence. For example, a client may have the delusion that the CIA is listening to their conversations via satellites.
Development: Physical, social, and cognitive changes that occur continuously throughout one’s life.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): The manual used to make mental health diagnoses established by mental health experts.
Disheveled: A client’s hair, clothes, or hygiene appears untidy, disordered, unkempt, or messy.
Distractibility: A state when the client’s attention is easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli.
Dyskinesia: Uncontrolled, involuntary movements.
Dysphoric: A client’s mood or affect exhibiting persistent sadness or depression.
Euphoric: A pathologically elevated sense of well-being.
Euthymic: Normal affect and mood with a wide range of emotion appropriate for the situation.
Family dynamics: Patterns of interactions among relatives, their roles and relationships, and the various factors that shape their interactions. Because family members rely on each other for emotional, physical, and economic support, they are primary sources of relationship security or stress. Family dynamics and the quality of family relationships can have either a positive or negative impact on an individual’s health.
Flat: No emotional expression.
Flight of ideas: A state where the client frequently shifts from one topic to another with rapid speech, making it seem fragmented. The examiner may feel the client is rambling and changing topics faster than they can keep track, and they probably can’t get a word in edgewise. [4] An example of client exhibiting a flight of ideas is, “My father sent me here. He drove me in a car. The car is yellow in color. Yellow color looks good on me.” [5]
Grandiose delusions: A state of false attribution to the self of great ability, knowledge, importance or worth, identity, prestige, power, accomplishment. [6] Clients may withdraw into an inner fantasy world that’s not equivalent to reality, where they have inflated importance, powers, or a specialness that is opposite of what their actual life is like.
Hallucinations: False sensory perceptions not associated with real external stimuli that can include any of the five senses (auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory and tactile). For example, a client may see spiders climbing on the wall or hear voices telling them to do things. These are referred to as “visual hallucinations” or “auditory hallucinations.”
Homicidal ideation: Threats or acts of life-threatening harm towards another person.
Illusions: Misperceptions of real stimuli. For example, a client may misperceive tree branches blowing in the wind at night to be the arms of monsters trying to grab them.
Inclusiveness: The practice of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those having physical or mental disabilities or belonging to other minority groups. [7]
Insight: The client demonstrates awareness of their situation.
Integrative therapies: Psychotherapy that selects theoretical models or techniques from various therapeutic schools to suit the client’s particular problems. [8]
Intellectual disability: A diagnostic term that describes intellectual and adaptive functioning deficits identified during the developmental period prior to the age 18.
Labile: Rapid changes in emotional responses, mood, or affect that are inappropriate for the moment or the situation.
Loose associations: Jumping from one idea to an unrelated idea in the same sentence. For example, the client might state, “I like to dance; my feet are wet.” [9] The term “word salad” refers to severely disorganized and virtually incomprehensible speech or writing, marked by severe loosening of associations. [10]
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: A theory commonly used to prioritize the most urgent patient needs.
Mental status examination: An assessment of a client’s level of consciousness and orientation, appearance and general behavior, speech, motor activity, affect and mood, thought and perception, attitude and insight, and cognitive abilities.
Milieu therapy: Nursing interventions used to assist health care consumers to make positive change and promote recovery by creating a therapeutic milieu. Milieu therapy includes interventions such as providing empathy, assisting in problem-solving, acting as a role model, demonstrating leadership, confronting discrepancies, encouraging self-efficacy, decreasing stimuli when necessary, and manipulating the environment so that the above interventions can be effective. [11]
Mood: The predominant emotion expressed by an individual. [12]
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI): Intentional self-inflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intention and for purposes not socially sanctioned. Common forms of NSSI include behaviors such as cutting, burning, scratching, and self-hitting.
Nursing diagnosis: A clinical judgment concerning a human response to health conditions/life processes or a vulnerability for that response, by an individual, family, group, or community.
Nursing process: A critical thinking model based on a systematic approach to patient-centered care. Nurses use the nursing process to perform clinical reasoning and make clinical judgments when providing patient care.
Obsessions: Persistent thoughts, ideas, images, or impulses that are experienced as intrusive or inappropriate and result in anxiety, distress, or discomfort. Common obsessions include repeated thoughts about contamination, a need to have things in a particular order or sequence, repeated doubts, aggressive impulses, and sexual imagery. Obsessions are distinguished from excessive worries about everyday occurrences because they are not concerned with real-life problems. [13]
Obtundation: A moderate reduction in the client’s level of awareness so that mild to moderate stimuli do not awaken the client. When arousal does occur, the patient is slow to respond.
Outcome: A measurable behavior demonstrated by the patient who is responsive to nursing interventions.
Paranoia: A condition characterized by delusions of persecution. [14] Clients often experience extreme suspiciousness, mistrust, or expression of fear. For example, a resident of a long-term care facility may have delusions that the staff is trying to poison him.
Poverty of content: A conversation in which the client talks without stating anything related to the question, or their speech in general is vague and meaningless.
Prioritization: The process of identifying the most significant problems and the most important interventions to implement based on a client’s current status.
Psychiatric-mental health nursing: The nursing practice specialty committed to promoting mental health through the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of behavioral problems, mental disorders, and comorbid conditions across the life span. Psychiatric-mental health nursing intervention is an art and a science, employing a purposeful use of self and a wide range of nursing, psychosocial, and neurobiological evidence to produce effective outcomes. [15]
Psychomotor agitation: A condition of purposeless, non-goal-directed activity.
Psychomotor retardation: A condition of extremely slow physical movements, slumped posture, or slow speech patterns.
Psychosocial assessment: A component of the nursing assessment process that obtains additional subjective data to detect risks and identify treatment opportunities and resources.
Psychotherapy interventions: Generally accepted and evidence-based methods of brief or long-term therapy, including individual therapy, group therapy, marital or couple therapy, and family therapy. These interventions use a range of therapy models including, but not limited to, psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, and supportive interpersonal therapies to promote insight, produce behavioral change, maintain function, and promote recovery. [16]
Racing thoughts: Fast-moving and often repetitive thought patterns that can be overwhelming. They may focus on a single topic, or they may represent multiple different lines of thought. For example, a client may have racing thoughts about a financial issue or an embarrassing moment.
Resilience: The ability to overcome serious hardship or traumatic experiences.
Rumination: Obsessional thinking involving excessive, repetitive thoughts that interfere with other forms of mental activity. [17]
Safety plan: A prioritized written list of coping strategies and sources of support that clients can use before or during a suicidal crisis. The plan should be brief, in the client’s own words, and easy to read. After the plan is developed, the nurse should problem solve with the client to identify barriers or obstacles to using the plan. It should be discussed where the client will keep the safety plan and how it will be located during a crisis.
SMART outcomes: Outcome statements should contain five components easily remembered using the “SMART” mnemonic: Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Action-oriented, Relevant/Realistic, with a Time frame.
Spirituality: A sense of connection to something larger than oneself that typically involves a search for meaning and purpose in life.
Stupor: A state of unresponsiveness unless a vigorous stimulus is applied, such as a sternal rub. The client quickly drifts back into a deep sleep-like state on cessation of the stimulation.
Suicide attempt: An action in which there is intent to end one’s life but the individual does not die as a result of their actions.
Suicidal ideation: When an individual has been thinking about suicide but does not necessarily have an intention to act on that idea.
Suicide plan: An individual who has a plan for suicide, has the means to injury oneself, and has the intent to die.
Therapeutic milieu: A safe, welcoming, supportive, and functional physical treatment environment.
Transference: When the client projects (i.e., transfers) their feelings to the nurse. For example, a client is feeling angry at a family member related to a previous disagreement and displaces the anger to the nurse during the interview.
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵
- Schofield, D. W. (2018, December 26). Cognitive deficits. Medscape. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/917629-overview ↵
- American Nurses Association. (2021). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.). American Nurses Association. ↵
- Martin, D. C. (1990). The mental status examination. In Walker, H. K., Hall, W. D., Hurst, J. W., (Eds.), Clinical methods: The history, physical, and laboratory examinations. (3rd ed.). Butterworths. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK320/ ↵
- PsychologGenie. (n.d.). The true meaning of flight of ideas explained with examples. https://psychologenie.com/flight-of-ideas-meaning-examples ↵
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵
- Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. (n.d.). Inclusion. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/inclusion ↵
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵
- American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses. (2014). Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2nd ed.) Nursebooks.org. ↵
- Martin, D. C. (1990). The mental status examination. In Walker, H. K., Hall, W. D., Hurst, J. W., (Eds.), C linical methods: The history, physical, and laboratory examinations. (3rd ed.). Butterworths. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK320/ ↵
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵
- American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses. (2014). Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2nd ed.). Nursebooks.org ↵
- American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses. (2014). Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2nd ed.). Nursebooks.org ↵
- American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/ ↵


3: Orbits and Gravity
How would you find a new planet at the outskirts of our solar system that is too dim to be seen with the unaided eye and is so far away that it moves very slowly among the stars? This was the problem confronting astronomers during the nineteenth century as they tried to pin down a full inventory of our solar system.
If we could look down on the solar system from somewhere out in space, interpreting planetary motions would be much simpler. But the fact is, we must observe the positions of all the other planets from our own moving planet. Scientists of the Renaissance did not know the details of Earth’s motions any better than the motions of the other planets. Their problem, as we saw in Observing the Sky: The Birth of Astronomy, was that they had to deduce the nature of all planetary motion using only their earthbound observations of the other planets’ positions in the sky. To solve this complex problem more fully, better observations and better models of the planetary system were needed.
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- 3.2: The Laws of Planetary Motion
- Tycho Brahe’s accurate observations of planetary positions provided the data used by Johannes Kepler to derive his three fundamental laws of planetary motion. Kepler’s laws describe the behavior of planets in their orbits as follows: (1) planetary orbits are ellipses with the Sun at one focus; (2) in equal intervals, a planet’s orbit sweeps out equal areas; and (3) the relationship between the orbital period (P) and the semimajor axis (a) of an orbit is given by \(P^2 = a^3\) (when a is in units
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- 3.3: Newton’s Great Synthesis
- In his Principia, Isaac Newton established the three laws that govern the motion of objects: (1) objects continue to be at rest or move with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an outside force; (2) an outside force causes an acceleration (and changes the momentum) for an object; and (3) for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Momentum is a measure of the motion of an object and depends on both its mass and its velocity.
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- 3.4: Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation
- Gravity, the attractive force between all masses, is what keeps the planets in orbit. Newton’s universal law of gravitation relates the gravitational force to mass and distance. The force of gravity is what gives us our sense of weight. Unlike mass, which is constant, weight can vary depending on the force of gravity (or acceleration) you feel. When Kepler’s laws are reexamined in the light of Newton’s gravitational law, it becomes clear that the masses of both objects are important for the thir
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- 3.5: Orbits in the Solar System
- The closest point in a satellite orbit around Earth is its perigee, and the farthest point is its apogee (corresponding to perihelion and aphelion for an orbit around the Sun). The planets follow orbits around the Sun that are nearly circular and in the same plane. Most asteroids are found between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt, whereas comets generally follow orbits of high eccentricity.
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- 3.6: Motions of Satellites and Spacecraft
- The orbit of an artificial satellite depends on the circumstances of its launch. The circular satellite velocity needed to orbit Earth’s surface is 8 kilometers per second, and the escape speed from our planet is 11 kilometers per second. There are many possible interplanetary trajectories, including those that use gravity-assisted flybys of one object to redirect the spacecraft toward its next target.
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- 3.7: Gravity with More Than Two Bodies
- Calculating the gravitational interaction of more than two objects is complicated and requires large computers. If one object (like the Sun in our solar system) dominates gravitationally, it is possible to calculate the effects of a second object in terms of small perturbations. This approach was used by John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier to predict the position of Neptune from its perturbations of the orbit of Uranus and thus discover a new planet mathematically.
Thumbnail: This space habitat and laboratory orbits Earth once every 90 minutes. (credit: modification of work by NASA)


21.4: Types of Transmission Lines
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Two common types of transmission line are coaxial line (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)) and microstrip line (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). Both are examples of transverse electromagnetic (TEM) transmission lines. A TEM line employs a single electromagnetic wave “mode” having electric and magnetic field vectors in directions perpendicular to the axis of the line, as shown in Figures \(\PageIndex{3}\) and \(\PageIndex{4}\). TEM transmission lines appear primarily in radio frequency applications.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Structure of a coaxial transmission line. ( CC BY 3.0 (modified)). Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Structure of a microstrip transmission line. ( CC BY SA 3.0 (modified))TEM transmission lines such as coaxial lines and microstrip lines are designed to support a single electromagnetic wave that propagates along the length of the transmission line with electric and magnetic field vectors perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
Not all transmission lines exhibit TEM field structure. In non-TEM transmission lines, the electric and magnetic field vectors that are not necessarily perpendicular to the axis of the line, and the structure of the fields is complex relative to the field structure of TEM lines. An example of a transmission line that exhibits non-TEM field structure is the waveguide (see example in Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\)). Waveguides are most prevalent at radio frequencies, and tend to appear in applications where it is important to achieve very low loss or where power levels are very high. Another example is common “multimode” optical fiber (Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\)). Optical fiber exhibits complex field structure because the wavelength of light is very small compared to the cross-section of the fiber, making the excitation and propagation of non-TEM waves difficult to avoid. (This issue is overcome in a different type of optical fiber, known as “single mode” fiber, which is much more difficult and expensive to manufacture.)
Higher-order transmission lines, including radio-frequency waveguides and multimode optical fiber, are designed to guide waves that have relatively complex structure.


6.2: Importance of International Management
- Why is it important to understand and appreciate the importance of international management in today’s world?
International management is a critical area for any serious student of management because of globalization , the worldwide phenomenon whereby the countries of the world are becoming more interconnected and where trade barriers among nations are disappearing. Companies of all kinds are no longer limited to producing and selling their goods and services in domestic markets. In fact, companies are encouraged to explore global markets to stay competitive and are thus likely to have business activity anywhere in the world. Globalization is being facilitated by several key factors, and companies that want to succeed in this environment must understand the key factors that are making the business world more globally connected.
Globalization Factor 1: Lowering Trade Barriers
The first critical factor is the lowering of trade barriers through trade agreements , government policies through which countries agree to eliminate cross-border barriers to trade and to promote global integration. To understand the importance of trade agreements, it is necessary to note that countries have long used tariffs to protect local industries and companies. Tariffs are taxes that are added to the price of imported international products. Because these tariffs are usually passed along to the consumer in the form of higher prices, imposing tariffs on imported goods gives domestic companies a price advantage and protects them from foreign competition. 2 The goal of most trade agreements has been to reduce or eliminate tariffs and other barriers to make cross-border trade easier.
One of the more significant worldwide trade agreements are the rules members in the World Trade Organization (WTO) agree to. 3 The WTO is the only truly global organization that deals with the rules of trade around the world. It was established January 1, 1995, and had 164 country members as of July 2016. The WTO serves many functions, but the four most important are 1) providing the mechanism for countries to negotiate trade agreements, 2) monitoring such agreements, 3) providing the means to handle trade disputes, and 4) providing training to less-developed countries to implement agreements.
Globalization Factor 2: Foreign Direct Investment
Foreign direct investment (FDI) refers to deliberate efforts of a country or company to invest in another country through the form of ownership positions in companies in another country. In 2017, global FDI flows amounted to USD $1.52 trillion.
Exhibit 6.2 shows the top 15 recipients of FDI in 2016. As you can see, many of the world’s developed economies, such as the U.S., Germany, Canada, and France, are among the top recipients of FDI. However, it is also important to note that many emerging markets, such as China, Brazil, Mexico, and India, figure prominently on this list. Emerging markets , defined as those markets in nondeveloped countries that present tremendous potential for multinationals, have played a critical role in the global business environment for the last decade. Countries such as Brazil, India, China, and South Africa have all experienced tremendous growth and are driving business trends.
An important consequence of the rise of emerging markets has been the growing importance of emerging market multinationals. Emerging market multinationals are influential companies from emerging markets that compete head-on with established multinationals and rewrite the rules of competition by using new business models. Consider the case of CEMEX, the Mexican cement manufacturer; Shoprite, the South African retailer; and WIPRO and Infosys, India’s leading software companies. These emerging market multinationals are industry leaders in their fields and are pushing more established multinationals to the competitive edge.
The lowering of trade barriers and the increase in foreign direct investment indicate that global trade will continue to stay strong and contribute to globalization. Such trends suggest that companies will need to continue to contend with and take advantage of global opportunities. The rising competition from emerging markets and emerging market multinationals means that companies will need to continue to understand and manage the global environment to compete.
Globalization Factor 3: The Internet
Thanks to the pervasiveness of the Internet today, any company in the world can sell its products to anyone in the world. In fact, the developments in information technology and the reduction in costs of technological equipment mean that any multinational can reach anyone in the world. Social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, also provide a means for multinationals to build relationships with customers worldwide. Data also suggests that even countries that previously had little access to the Internet are now experiencing tremendous growth. To give you more insights on Internet growth, consider Exhibit 6.4.
As Exhibit 6.4 shows, the pervasiveness of the Internet cannot be ignored. Collectively, Internet users amount to 3.8 billion individuals, representing half of the world’s population. Additionally, while the penetration rates in some regions such as Europe and North America are high, the rates of penetration in regions in Asia (46.7%) and Africa (31.2%) suggest that these countries have great potential. When coupled with the dizzying growth rates of the Internet in regions such as Africa (more than 8000% increase from 2000 to 2017), Latin America (2137%), and the Middle East (4374%), any multinationals have to appreciate the importance of the growth of the Internet.
What are the implications of this factor for international management? As mentioned earlier, companies located anywhere in the world will be able to find new markets and new ways to reach new customers. Consider the case of Russian entrepreneur Dmitrii Dvornikov, who was selling jewelry and table clocks made from Russian semiprecious stones. 4 Until 2013, Dvornikov was not able to expand beyond local markets. However, he decided to list his products on eBay. This has allowed his business sales to grow by 30%. Such success was spurred by the implementation of software by eBay’s operators in Russia. This software enabled smaller companies to sell anywhere in the world. Such factors have greatly expanded e-commerce , the buying and selling of products using the Internet.
E-commerce doesn’t necessarily have to be between companies and individual customers. In fact, there are many other forms of e-commerce, such as business-to-consumer (e.g., eBay), business-to-business (B2B, where companies sell to each other), consumer-to-business (C2B, where consumers can sell to businesses), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C, where consumers can sell to other consumers). These forms of e-commerce are all contributing to making the global business world more interconnected.
It is critical for multinationals to appreciate the importance of the Internet. Not only can companies reach new consumers, but they can also improve their business models. Additionally, the Internet provides the opportunity to companies to build relationships with consumers worldwide.
- Describe the lowering of trade barriers and its impact on international business.
- What is foreign direct investment?
- What has the role of the Internet had on international business?
References
2. Divesh Kaul, “Eliminating trade barriers through preferential trade agreements: perspectives from South Asia,” Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law , Vol 25, pp. 355-402.
4. Bloomberg BusinessWeek,”Now on EBay: Russian micro-multinationals,” 3-20-17, businessweek.com


2.2: Three Frameworks for Ethical Problem-Solving in Business and the Professions
Module Introduction
In this module, you will learn and practice three frameworks designed to integrate ethics into decision making in the areas of practical and occupational ethics. The first framework divides the decision making process into four stages: problem specification, solution generation, solution testing, and solution implementation. It is based on an analogy between ethics and design problems that is detailed in a table presented below. The second framework focuses on the process of testing solution alternatives for their ethics by deploying three ethics tests that will help you to evaluate and rank alternative courses of action. The reversibility, harm, and publicity tests each "encapsulate" or summarize an important ethical theory. Finally, a feasibility test will help you to uncover interest, resource, and technical constraints that will affect and possibly impede the realization of your solution or decision. Taken together, these three frameworks will help steer you toward designing and implementing ethical solutions to problems in the professional and occupational areas.
Two online resources provide more extensive background information. The first, www.computingcases.org, provides background information on the ethics tests, socio-technical analysis, and intermediate moral concepts. The second, onlineethics.org/essays/educa.../teaching.html, explores in more detail the analogy between ethics and design problems. Much of this information will be published in Good Computing: A Virtue Approach to Computer Ethics, a textbook of cases and decision-making techniques in computer ethics that is being authored by Chuck Huff, William Frey, and Jose A. Cruz-Cruz.
Problem-Solving or Decision-Making Framework: Analogy between ethics and design
Traditionally, problem-solving frameworks in professional and occupational ethics have been taken from rational decision procedures used in economics. While these are useful, they lead one to think that ethical decisions are already "out there" waiting to be discovered. In contrast, taking a design approach to ethical decision making emphasizes that ethical decisions must be created, not discovered. This, in turn, emphasizes the importance of moral imagination and moral creativity. Carolyn Whitbeck in Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research describes this aspect of ethical decision making through the analogy she draws between ethics and design problems in chapter one. Here she rejects the idea that ethical problems are multiple-choice problems. We solve ethical problems not by choosing between ready-made solutions given with the situation; rather we use our moral creativity and moral imagination to design these solutions. Chuck Huff builds on this by modifying the design method used in software engineering so that it can help structure the process of framing ethical situations and creating actions to bring these situations to a successful and ethical conclusion. The key points in the analogy between ethical and design problems are summarized in the table presented just below.
| Analogy between design and ethics problem-solving | |
| Design Problem | Ethical Problem |
| Construct a prototype that optimizes (or satisfices) designated specifications | Construct a solution that integrates and realizes ethical values (justice, responsibility, reasonableness, respect, and safety) |
| Resolve conflicts between different specifications by means of integration | Resolve conflicts between values (moral vs. moral or moral vs. non-moral) by integration |
| Test prototype over the different specifications | Test solution over different ethical considerations encapsulated in ethics tests |
| Implement tested design over background constraints | Implement ethically tested solution over resource, interest, and technical constraints |
Software Development Cycle: Four Stages
(1) problem specification, (2) solution generation, (3) solution testing, and (4) solution implementation.
Problem specification
Problem specification involves exercising moral imagination to specify the socio-technical system (including the stakeholders) that will influence and will be influenced by the decision we are about to make. Stating the problem clearly and concisely is essential to design problems; getting the problem right helps structure and channel the process of designing and implementing the solution. There is no algorithm available to crank out effective problem specification. Instead, we offer a series of guidelines or rules of thumb to get you started in a process that is accomplished by the skillful exercise of moral imagination.
For a broader problem framing model see Harris, Pritchard, and Rabins, Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, 2nd Edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2000, pp. 30-56. See also Cynthia Brincat and Victoria Wike, Morality and Professional Life: Values at Work, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999.
Different Ways of Specifying the Problem
- Many problems can be specified as disagreements. For example, you disagree with your supervisor over the safety of the manufacturing environment. Disagreements over facts can be resolved by gathering more information. Disagreements over concepts (you and your supervisor have different ideas of what safety means) require working toward a common definition.
- Other problems involve conflicting values. You advocate installing pollution control technology because you value environmental quality and safety. Your supervisor resists this course of action because she values maintaining a solid profit margin. This is a conflict between a moral value (safety and environmental quality) and a nonmoral value (solid profits). Moral values can also conflict with one another in a given situation. Using John Doe lawsuits to force Internet Service Providers to reveal the real identities of defamers certainly protects the privacy and reputations of potential targets of defamation. But it also places restrictions on legitimate free speech by making it possible for powerful wrongdoers to intimidate those who would publicize their wrongdoing. Here the moral values of privacy and free speech are in conflict. Value conflicts can be addressed by harmonizing the conflicting values, compromising on conflicting values by partially realizing them, or setting one value aside while realizing the other (=value trade offs).
- If you specify your problem as a disagreement, you need to describe the facts or concepts about which there is disagreement.
- If you specify your problem as a conflict, you need to describe the values that conflict in the situation.
- One useful way of specifying a problem is to carry out a stakeholder analysis. A stakeholder is any group or individual that has a vital interest at risk in the situation. Stakeholder interests frequently come into conflict and solving these conflicts requires developing strategies to reconcile and realize the conflicting stakes.
- Another way of identifying and specifying problems is to carry out a socio-technical analysis. Socio-technical systems (STS) embody values. Problems can be anticipated and prevented by specifying possible value conflicts. Integrating a new technology, procedure, or policy into a socio-technical system can create three kinds of problem. (1) Conflict between values in the technology and those in the STS. For example, when an attempt is made to integrate an information system into the STS of a small business, the values present in an information system can conflict with those in the socio-technical system. (Workers may feel that the new information system invades their privacy.) (2) Amplification of existing value conflicts in the STS. The introduction of a new technology may magnify an existing value conflict. Digitalizing textbooks may undermine copyrights because digital media is easy to copy and disseminate on the Internet. (3) Harmful consequences. Introducing something new into a socio-technical system may set in motion a chain of events that will eventually harm stakeholders in the socio-technical system. For example, giving laptop computers to public school students may produce long term environmental harm when careless disposal of spent laptops releases toxic materials into the environment.
- The following table helps summarize some of these problem categories and then outlines generic solutions.
| Problem Type | Sub-Type | Solution Outline | |||||
| Disagreement |
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||||||
| Conflict |
|
Value Integrative | Partially Value Integrative | Trade Off | |||
| Moral Ecologies |
|
Strategy for dissenting from a staff position where one is outside decision-making | Practicing ethical advocacy when "going to the mat" on ethical perspectives in group decision-making | Ability to draw attention to ethical values that form center of organization identity | |||
| Likely Concepts in Conceptual Disagreement | Public Intellectual Property, Faithful Agency, Professional Integrity, Loyalty, Public Safety and Health, Due Process, Responsible Dissent | Working from Legal Definitions | Bridging: moving from cases to concepts | Discussion: Playing on shared values and trust to reach consensus through dialogue |
The materials on moral ecologies come from Huff, C., Barnard, L., and Frey, W. (2008). “Good computing: a pedagogically focused model of virtue in the practice of computing (parts 1 and 2)”, Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Volume 6, Issues 3 and 4: 246-316. See also, Michael Davis, Thinking Like An Engineer, Oxford, 1998, 119-156.
Instructions for Using Problem Classification Table
- Is your problem a conflict? Moral versus moral value? Moral versus non-moral values? Non-moral versus non-moral values? Identify the conflicting values as concisely as possible. Example: In Toysmart, the financial values of creditors come into conflict with the privacy of individuals in the database: financial versus privacy values.
- Is your problem a disagreement? Is the disagreement over basic facts? Are these facts observable? Is it a disagreement over a basic concept? What is the concept? Is it a factual disagreement that, upon further reflection, changes into a conceptual disagreement?
- Does your problem arise from an impending harm? What is the harm? What is its magnitude? What is the probability that it will occur?
- If your problem is a value conflict then can these values be fully integrated in a value integrating solution? Or must they be partially realized in a compromise or traded off against one another?
- If your problem is a factual disagreement, what is the procedure for gathering the required information, if this is feasible?
- If your problem is a conceptual disagreement, how can this be overcome? By consulting a government policy or regulation? (OSHA on safety for example.) By consulting a theoretical account of the value in question? (Reading a philosophical analysis of privacy.) By collecting past cases that involve the same concept and drawing analogies and comparisons to the present case?
Moral Ecologies
- "Moral Ecology" refers to the organization in which one works. Calling this organization an "ecology" conveys the idea that it is a system of interrelated parts. These "ecologies" differ depending on the content of the organization's central, identity-conferring values.
- In finance-driven companies, financial values form the core of the organization's identity. Ethical advocacy requires skills in bringing ethical issues to the attention of decision-makers and getting them to take these issues seriously. It helps to state ethical concerns in multi-disciplinary language. (For example, show that ignoring ethical concerns will cost the company money in the long run.)
- Customer-driven ecologies place customer values like usability, affordability, and efficiency, in the forefront of group deliberation and decision-making. Often, one must play the role of "ethics advocate" in deliberation and decision-making. One is expected to argue forcefully and persistently ("go to the mat") to make sure that ethical considerations are integrated into group deliberations and decision-making.
- Quality-driven companies place ethical values into the core of group deliberations and decision-making. Here one is not so much ethics advocate as ethics enabler. This new role requires that one help one's group find creative ways of integrating ethical values with other concerns like customer and financial values.
If you are having problems specifying your problem
- Try identifying the stakeholders. Stakeholders are any group or individual with a vital interest at stake in the situation at hand.
- Project yourself imaginatively into the perspectives of each stakeholder. How does the situation look from their standpoint? What are their interests? How do they feel about their interests?
- Compare the results of these different imaginative projections. Do any stakeholder interests conflict? Do the stakeholders themselves stand in conflict?
- If the answer to one or both of these questions is "yes" then this is your problem statement. How does one reconcile conflicting stakeholders or conflicting stakeholder interests in this situation?
Framing Your Problem
- We miss solutions to problems because we choose to frame them in only one way.
- For example, the Mountain Terrorist Dilemma is usually framed in only one way: as a dilemma, that is, a forced decision between two equally undesirable alternatives. (Gilbane Gold is also framed as a dilemma: blow the whistle on Z-Corp or go along with the excess polution.)
- Framing a problem differently opens up new horizons of solution. Your requirement from this point on in the semester is to frame every problem you are assigned in at least two different ways.
- For examples of how to frame problems using socio-technical system analysis see module m14025.
- These different frames are summarized in the next box below.
Different Frames for Problems
- Technical Frame: Engineers frame problems technically, that is, they specify a problem as raising a technical issue and requiring a technical design for its resolution. For example, in the Hughes case, a technical frame would raise the problem of how to streamline the manufacturing and testing processes of the chips.
- Physical Frame: In the Laminating Press case, the physical frame would raise the problem of how the layout of the room could be changed to reduce the white powder. Would better ventilation eliminate or mitigate the white powder problem?
- Social Frame: In the "When in Aguadilla" case, the Japanese engineer is uncomfortable working with the Puerto Rican woman engineer because of social and cultural beliefs concerning women still widely held by men in Japan. Framing this as a social problem would involve asking whether there would be ways of getting the Japanese engineer to see things from the Puerto Rican point of view.
- Financial or Market-Based Frames: The DOE, in the Risk Assessment case below, accuses the laboratory and its engineers of trying to extend the contract to make more money. The supervisor of the head of the risk assessment team pressures the team leader to complete the risk assessment as quickly as possible so as not to lose the contract. These two framings highlight financial issues.
- Managerial Frame: As the leader of the Puerto Rican team in the "When in Aguadilla" case, you need to exercise leadership in your team. The refusal of the Japanese engineer to work with a member of your team creates a management problem. What would a good leader, a good manager, do in this situation? What does it mean to call this a management problem? What management strategies would help solve it?
- Legal Frame: OSHA may have clear regulations concerning the white powder produced by laminating presses. How can you find out about these regulations? What would be involved in complying with them? If they cost money, how would you get this money? These are questions that arise when you frame the Laminating Press case as a legal problem.
- Environmental Framing: Finally, viewing your problem from an environmental frame leads you to consider the impact of your decision on the environment. Does it harm the environment? Can this harm be avoided? Can it be mitigated? Can it be offset?  Could you develop a short term environmental solution to "buy time" for designing and implementing a longer term solution? Framing your problem as an environmental problem requires that you ask whether this solution harms the environment and whether this harming can be avoided or remedied in some other way.
Solution Generation
In solution generation, agents exercise moral creativity by brainstorming to come up with solution options designed to resolve the disagreements and value conflicts identified in the problem specification stage. Brainstorming is crucial to generating nonobvious solutions to difficult, intractable problems. This process must take place within a non-polarized environment where the members of the group respect and trust one another. (See the module on the Ethics of Group Work for more information on how groups can be successful and pitfalls that commonly trip up groups.) Groups effectively initiate the brainstorming process by suspending criticism and analysis. After the process is completed (say, by meeting a quota), then participants can refine the solutions generated by combining them, eliminating those that don't fit the problem, and ranking them in terms of their ethics and feasibility. If a problem can't be solved, perhaps it can be dissolved through reformulation. If an entire problem can't be solved, perhaps the problem can be broken down into parts some of which can be readily solved.
Having trouble generating solutions?
- One of the most difficult stages in problem-solving is to jump-start the process of brainstorming solutions. If you are stuck then here are some generic options guaranteed to get you "unstuck."
- Gather Information: Many disagreements can be resolved by gathering more information. Because this is the easiest and least painful way of reaching consensus, it is almost always best to start here. Gathering information may not be possible because of different constraints: there may not be enough time, the facts may be too expensive to gather, or the information required goes beyond scientific or technical knowledge. Sometimes gathering more information does not solve the problem but allows for a new, more fruitful formulation of the problem. Harris, Pritchard, and Rabins in Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases show how solving a factual disagreement allows a more profound conceptual disagreement to emerge.
- Nolo Contendere. Nolo Contendere is Latin for not opposing or contending. Your interests may conflict with your supervisor but he or she may be too powerful to reason with or oppose. So your only choice here is to give in to his or her interests. The problem with nolo contendere is that non-opposition is often taken as agreement. You may need to document (e.g., through memos) that your choosing not to oppose does not indicate agreement.
- Negotiate. Good communication and diplomatic skills may make it possible to negotiate a solution that respects the different interests. Value integrative solutions are designed to integrate conflicting values. Compromises allow for partial realization of the conflicting interests. (See the module, The Ethics of Team Work, for compromise strategies such as logrolling or bridging.) Sometimes it may be necessary to set aside one's interests for the present with the understanding that these will be taken care of at a later time. This requires trust.
- Oppose. If nolo contendere and negotiation are not possible, then opposition may be necessary. Opposition requires marshaling evidence to document one's position persuasively and impartially. It makes use of strategies such as leading an "organizational charge" or "blowing the whistle." For more on whistle-blowing consult the discussion of whistleblowing in the Hughes case that can be found in computing cases.
- Exit. Opposition may not be possible if one lacks organizational power or documented evidence. Nolo contendere will not suffice if non-opposition implicates one in wrongdoing. Negotiation will not succeed without a necessary basis of trust or a serious value integrative solution. As a last resort, one may have to exit from the situation by asking for reassignment or resigning.
Refining solutions
- Are any solutions blatantly unethical or unrealizable?
- Do any solutions overlap? Can these be integrated into broader solutions?
- Can solutions be brought together as courses of action that can be pursued simultaneously?
- Go back to the problem specification? Can any solutions be eliminated because they do not address the problem? (Or can the problem be revised to better fit what, intuitively, is a good solution.)
- Can solutions be brought together as successive courses of action? For example, one solution represents Plan A; if it does not work then another solution, Plan B, can be pursued. (You negotiate the problem with your supervisor. If she fails to agree, then you oppose your supervisor on the grounds that her position is wrong. If this fails, you conform or exit.)
- The goal here is to reduce the solution list to something manageable, say, a best, a second best, and a third best. Try adding a bad solution to heighten strategic points of comparison. The list should be short so that the remaining solutions can be intensively examined as to their ethics and feasibility.
Solution Testing: The solutions developed in the second stage must be tested in various ways.
- Reversibility: Would I still think the choice of this option good if I were one of those adversely affected by it? (Davis uses this formulation in various publications.) I identify different stakeholders and then take up their roles. Through this imaginative projection, I should consider how the action under consideration will affect them and how they will view, interpret, and experience this affect.
- Harm: Does this option do less harm than any available alternative? Here I try to design an action that will minimize harmful effects. I should factor in the likely results of the action under consideration but I should also evaluate how justly these results will be distributed among stakeholders.
- Publicity: What kind of person will I become if I choose this action? This is Davis' formulation of this test as a virtue test. The key to this test is that you associate the agent with the action. If I (the agent) am publicly judged as a person in terms of this action, what does this say about me as a person? Am I comfortable being judged an irresponsible person on the basis of my being identified with my irresponsible action?
- Meta-Test - Convergence: Do a quick inventory here. Do the ethics tests come together and agree on ranking this solution as a strong one? Then this solution satisfies the convergence meta-test and this provides independent evidence of the strength of the solution.
- Meta-Test - Divergence: Again, do a quick inventory of your solution evaluation matrix results to this point. Do the tests differ or diverge on this point? This is independent evidence of the weakness of this solution. Think about why this solution may be strong under one test but weak under the others.
- The solution evaluation matrix presented just below models and summarizes the solution testing process.
| Solution/Test | Reversibility | Harm | Publicity | Meta-Test: Convergence | Meta-Test: Divergence |
| Description | Would I still think the choice of this option good if I were one of those adversely affected by it? (Davis) | Does this option do less harm than any available alternative? | What person would I become were I to choose and perform this action? (Associating my character with the moral color of the action.) | Do the three ethics tests (reversibility, harm, publicity) come together on this solution? | Do the three ethics tests (reversibility, harm, publicity) differ on this solution? |
| Your best solution | |||||
| A good (but not the best) solution | |||||
| Your worst solution or a really bad solution |
Solution Implementation
The chosen solution must be examined in terms of how well it responds to various situational constraints that could impede its implementation. What will be its costs? Can it be implemented within necessary time constraints? Does it honor recognized technical limitations or does it require pushing these back through innovation and discovery? Does it comply with legal and regulatory requirements? Finally, could the surrounding organizational, political, and social environments give rise to obstacles to the implementation of the solution? In general this phase requires looking at interest, technical, and resource constraints or limitations. A Feasibility Matrix helps to guide this process.
The Feasibility Tests focuses on situational constraints. How could these hinder the implementation of the solution? Should the solution be modified to ease implementation? Can the constraints be removed or remodeled by negotiation, compromise, or education? Can implementation be facilitated by modifying both the solution and changing the constraints?
| Feasibility Matrix | ||
| Resource Constraints | Technical Constraints | Interest Constraints |
| Personalities | ||
| Time | Organizational | |
| Cost | Applicable Technology | Legal |
| Materials | Manufacturability | Social, Political, Cultural |
Different Feasibility Constraints
- The Feasibility Test identifies the constraints that could interfere with realizing a solution. This test also sorts out these constraints into resource (time, cost, materials), interest (individuals, organizations, legal, social, political), and technical limitations. By identifying situational constraints, problem-solvers can anticipate implementation problems and take early steps to prevent or mitigate them.
- Time. Is there a deadline within which the solution has to be enacted? Is this deadline fixed or negotiable?
- Financial. Are there cost constraints on implementing the ethical solution? Can these be extended by raising more funds? Can they be extended by cutting existing costs? Can agents negotiate for more money for implementation?
- Technical. Technical limits constrain the ability to implement solutions. What, then, are the technical limitations to realizing and implementing the solution? Could these be moved back by modifying the solution or by adopting new technologies?
- Manufacturability. Are there manufacturing constraints on the solution at hand? Given time, cost, and technical feasibility, what are the manufacturing limits to implementing the solution? Once again, are these limits fixed or flexible, rigid or negotiable?
- Legal. How does the proposed solution stand with respect to existing laws, legal structures, and regulations? Does it create disposal problems addressed in existing regulations? Does it respond to and minimize the possibility of adverse legal action? Are there legal constraints that go against the ethical values embodied in the solution? Again, are these legal constraints fixed or negotiable?
- Individual Interest Constraints. Individuals with conflicting interests may oppose the implementation of the solution. For example, an insecure supervisor may oppose the solution because he fears it will undermine his authority. Are these individual interest constraints fixed or negotiable?
- Organizational. Inconsistencies between the solution and the formal or informal rules of an organization may give rise to implementation obstacles. Implementing the solution may require support of those higher up in the management hierarchy. The solution may conflict with organization rules, management structures, traditions, or financial objectives. Once again, are these constraints fixed or flexible?
- Social, Cultural, or Political. The socio-technical system within which the solution is to be implemented contains certain social structures, cultural traditions, and political ideologies. How do these stand with respect to the solution? For example, does a climate of suspicion of high technology threaten to create political opposition to the solution? What kinds of social, cultural, or political problems could arise? Are these fixed or can they be altered through negotiation, education, or persuasion?
Ethics Tests For Solution Evaluation
Three ethics tests (reversibility, harm/beneficence, and public identification) encapsulate three ethical approaches (deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics) and form the basis of stage three of the SDC, solution testing. A fourth test (a value realization test) builds upon the public identification/virtue ethics test by evaluating a solution in terms of the values it harmonizes, promotes, protects, or realizes. Finally a code test provides an independent check on the ethics tests and also highlights intermediate moral concepts such as safety, health, welfare, faithful agency, conflict of interest, confidentiality, professional integrity, collegiality, privacy, property, free speech, and equity/access). The following section provides advice on how to use these tests. More information can be found at www.computingcases.org.
Setting Up the Ethics Tests: Pitfalls to avoid
Set-Up Pitfalls: Mistakes in this area lead to the analysis becoming unfocused and getting lost in irrelevancies. (a) Agent-switching where the analysis falls prey to irrelevancies that crop up when the test application is not grounded in the standpoint of a single agent, (b) Sloppy action-description where the analysis fails because no specific action has been tested, (c) Test-switching where the analysis fails because one test is substituted for another. (For example, the public identification and reversibility tests are often reduced to the harm/beneficence test where harmful consequences are listed but not associated with the agent or stakeholders.)
Set up the test
- Identify the agent (the person who is going to perform the action)
- Describe the action or solution that is being tested (what the agent is going to do or perform)
- Identify the stakeholders (those individuals or groups who are going to be affected by the action), and their stakes (interests, values, goods, rights, needs, etc.
- Identify, sort out, and weigh the consequences (the results the action is likely to bring about)
Harm/Beneficence Test
- What harms would accompany the action under consideration? Would it produce physical or mental suffering, impose financial or non-financial costs, or deprive others of important or essential goods?
- What benefits would this action bring about? Would it increase safety, quality of life, health, security, or other goods both moral and non-moral?
- What is the magnitude of each these consequences? Magnitude includes likelihood it will occur (probability), the severity of its impact (minor or major harm) and the range of people affected.
- Identify one or two other viable alternatives and repeat these steps for them. Some of these may be modifications of the basic action that attempt to minimize some of the likely harms. These alternatives will establish a basis for assessing your alternative by comparing it with others.
- Decide on the basis of the test which alternative produces the best ratio of benefits to harms?
- Check for inequities in the distribution of harms and benefits. Do all the harms fall on one individual (or group)? Do all of the benefits fall on another? If harms and benefits are inequitably distributed, can they be redistributed? What is the impact of redistribution on the original solution imposed?
Pitfalls of the Harm/Beneficence Test
- “Paralysis of Analysis" comes from considering too many consequences and not focusing only on those relevant to your decision.
- Incomplete Analysis results from considering too few consequences. Often it indicates a failure of moral imagination which, in this case, is the ability to envision the consequences of each action alternative.
- Failure to compare different alternatives can lead to a decision that is too limited and one-sided.
- Failure to weigh harms against benefits occurs when decision-makers lack the experience to make the qualitative comparisons required in ethical decision making.
- Finally, justice failures result from ignoring the fairness of the distribution of harms and benefits. This leads to a solution which may maximize benefits and minimize harms but still give rise to serious injustices in the distribution of these benefits and harms.
Reversibility Test
- Set up the test by (i) identifying the agent, (ii) describing the action, and (iii) identifying the stakeholders and their stakes.
- Use the stakeholder analysis to identify the relations to be reversed.
- Reverse roles between the agent (you) and each stakeholder: put them in your place (as the agent) and yourself in their place (as the one subjected to the action).
- If you were in their place, would you still find the action acceptable?
Cross Checks for Reversibility Test (These questions help you to check if you have carried out the reversibility test properly.)
- Does the proposed action treat others with respect? (Does it recognize their autonomy or circumvent it?)
- Does the action violate the rights of others? (Examples of rights: free and informed consent, privacy, freedom of conscience, due process, property, freedom of expression)
- Would you recommend that this action become a universal rule?
- Are you, through your action, treating others merely as means?
Pitfalls of the Reversibility Test
- Leaving out a key stakeholder relation
- Failing to recognize and address conflicts between stakeholders and their conflicting stakes
- Confusing treating others with respect with capitulating to their demands (“Reversing with Hitler”)
- Failing to reach closure, i.e., an overall, global reversal assessment that takes into account all the stakeholders the agent has reversed with.
Steps in Applying the Public Identification Test
- Set up the analysis by identifying the agent, describing the action, and listing the key values or virtues at play in the situation.
- Association the action with the agent.
- Describe what the action says about the agent as a person. Does it reveal him or her as someone associated with a virtue or a vice?
Alternative Version of Public Identification
- Does the action under consideration realize justice or does it pose an excess or defect of justice?
- Does the action realize responsibility or pose an excess or defect of responsibility?
- Does the action realize reasonableness or pose too much or too little reasonableness?
- Does the action realize honesty or pose too much or too little honesty?
- Does the action realize integrity or pose too much or too little integrity?
Pitfalls of Public Identification
- Action not associated with agent. The most common pitfall is failure to associate the agent and the action. The action may have bad consequences and it may treat individuals with respect but these points are not as important in the context of this test as what they imply about the agent as a person who deliberately performs such an action.
- Failure to specify moral quality, virtue, or value. Another pitfall is to associate the action and agent but only ascribe a vague or ambiguous moral quality to the agent. To say, for example, that willfully harming the public is bad fails to zero in on precisely what moral quality this ascribes to the agent. Does it render him or her unjust, irresponsible, corrupt, dishonest, or unreasonable? The virtue list given above will help to specify this moral quality.
Code of Ethics Test
- Does the action hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the public, i.e., those affected by the action but not able to participate in its design or execution?
- Does the action maintain faithful agency with the client by not abusing trust, avoiding conflicts of interest, and maintaining confidences?
- Is the action consistent with the reputation, honor, dignity, and integrity of the profession?
- Does the action serve to maintain collegial relations with professional peers?
Meta Tests
- The ethics and feasibility tests will not always converge on the same solution. There is a complicated answer for why this is the case but the simple version is that the tests do not always agree on a given solution because each test (and the ethical theory it encapsulates) covers a different domain or dimension of the action situation. Meta tests turn this disadvantage to your advantage by feeding the interaction between the tests on a given solution back into the evaluation of that solution.
- When the ethics tests converge on a given solution, this convergence is a sign of the strength and robustness of the solution and counts in its favor.
- When a given solution responds well to one test but does poorly under another, this is a sign that the solution needs further development and revision. It is not a sign that one test is relevant while the others are not. Divergence between test results is a sign that the solution is weak.
Application Exercise
You will now practice the four stages of decision making with a real-world case. This case, Risk Assessment, came from a retreat on Business, Science, and Engineering Ethics held in Puerto Rico in December 1998. It was funded by the National Science Foundation, Grant SBR 9810253.
Risk Assessment ScenarioCase Scenario: You supervise a group of engineers working for a private laboratory with expertise in nuclear waste disposal and risk assessment. The DOE (Department of Energy) awarded a contract to your laboratory six years ago to do a risk assessment of various nuclear waste disposal sites. During the six years in which your team has been doing the study, new and more accurate calculations in risk assessment have become available. Your laboratory’s study, however, began with the older, simpler calculations and cannot integrate the newer without substantially delaying completion. You, as the leader of the team, propose a delay to the DOE on the grounds that it is necessary to use the more advanced calculations. Your position is that the laboratory needs more time because of the extensive calculations required; you argue that your group must use state of the art science in doing its risk assessment. The DOE says you are using overly high standards of risk assessment to prolong the process, extend the contract, and get more money for your company. They want you to use simpler calculations and finish the project; if you are unwilling to do so, they plan to find another company that thinks differently. Meanwhile, back at the laboratory, your supervisor (a high level company manager) expresses to you the concern that while good science is important in an academic setting, this is the real world and the contract with the DOE is in jeopardy. What should you do?
Part One: Problem Specification
- Specify the problem in the above scenario. Be as concise and specific as possible
- Is your problem best specifiable as a disagreement? Between whom? Over what?
- Can your problem be specified as a value conflict? What are the values in conflict? Are the moral, nonmoral, or both?
Part Two: Solution Generation
- Quickly and without analysis or criticism brainstorm 5 to ten solutions
- Refine your solution list. Can solutions be eliminated? (On what basis?) Can solutions be combined? Can solutions be combined as plan a and plan b?
- If you specified your problem as a disagreement, how do your solutions resolve the disagreement? Can you negotiate interests over positions? What if your plan of action doesn't work?
- If you formulated your problem as a value conflict, how do your solutions resolve this conflict? By integrating the conflicting values? By partially realizing them through a value compromise? By trading one value off for another?
Part Three: Solution Testing
- Construct a solution evaluation matrix to compare two to three solution alternatives.
- Choose a bad solution and then compare to it the two strongest solutions you have.
- Be sure to avoid the pitfalls described above and set up each test carefully.
Part Four: Solution Implementation
- Develop an implementation plan for your best solution. This plan should anticipate obstacles and offer means for overcoming them.
- Prepare a feasibility table outlining these issues using the table presented above.
- Remember that each of these feasibility constraints is negotiable and therefore flexible. If you choose to set aside a feasibility constraint then you need to outline how you would negotiate the extension of that constraint.
Problem Solving Presentation
Decision Making Manual V5.pptxShortened Presentation for Fall 2012
Decision Making Manual V6.pptxVigo Socio-Technical System Table and Problems
Vigo STS.docxTest Rubric Fall 2009: Problem-Solving
PE_Rubric_EO_S09.docx


7.7: Distribution of Sample Proportions (4 of 6)
Learning Objectives
- Describe the sampling distribution for sample proportions and use it to identify unusual (and more common) sample results.
The simulations on the previous page reinforce what we have observed about patterns in random sampling.
- Proportions from random samples approximate the population proportion, p , so sample proportions average out to the population proportion.
- Larger random samples better approximate the population proportion, so large samples have sample proportions closer to p . In other words, a sampling distribution for large samples has less variability.
- The distribution of sample proportions appears normal (at least for the examples we have investigated).
We can describe the sampling distribution with a mathematical model that has these same features.
Sampling Distribution of Sample Proportions
For a categorical variable, imagine a population with a proportion p of successes. (For example, for the variable gender, imagine a population of part-time college students with p = 0.60 female. Note that a success is the category of interest. It is what we are counting. Here a success is a female.) We create a mathematical model that describes the sample proportions from all possible random samples of size n from this population. The model has the following center, spread, and shape.
Center: Mean of the sample proportions is p , the population proportion.
Spread: Standard deviation of the sample proportions is . The standard deviation of the sampling distribution is also called the standard error .
Shape: A normal model is a good fit if the expected number of successes and failures is at least 10. We can translate these conditions into formulas:
Comment
The distribution of sample proportions for ALL samples of the same size is called the sampling distribution of sample proportions.
In a simulation, we collect thousands of random samples to examine the distribution of sample proportions. But when we model this distribution, our model describes the sampling distribution that comes from ALL possible random samples of the same size.
Example
Applying the Model for the Sampling Distribution
Let’s apply this model to our previous example about the population of part-time college students to see how it compares to our simulation. Recall that we assumed the population of part-time college students is 60% female. We selected samples of 25 part-time college students and calculated the proportion of females in each sample.
| Simulation: Thousands of random samples, each with 25 individuals | Mathematical Model: ALL possible samples, each with 25 individuals | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean of sample proportions | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Standard Deviation of sample proportions (Standard error) | 0.97 | |
| Shape of distribution of sample proportions | Approximately normal | Normal because conditions are met: |
Compare the mean and standard deviation we observed in the simulation to the mathematical model. Notice that the conditions are met, so a normal model is a good fit. We see that the model is a good description of the center, spread, and shape we observed in the simulation.
Try It
According to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education in 2008, 62% of graduates from public universities had student loans.
https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/3578
Contributors and Attributions
- Concepts in Statistics. Provided by : Open Learning Initiative. Located at : http://oli.cmu.edu . License : CC BY: Attribution


• Define, understand and give examples of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
• Understand opposing theories on motivation
• Describe Self Determinaton Theory and provide examples of how to meet students' needs
Defining Motivation: What makes you move?
mo•ti•va•tion
: the act or process of motivating b: the condition of being motivated: a motivating force, stimulus, or influence : INCENTIVE , DRIVE ( Merriam Webster, 2008)
The subject of motivation has been researched and analyzed by countless scholars in various fields such as psychology, philosophy and education. What makes people behave in certain ways? What makes them “move”? In the 1940's, a pioneer of motivation theory, Abraham Maslow, described his own theory on human motivation. He proposed that people have a hierarchy of needs that motivate them to do all things (Maslow, 1946). These basic needs must be met in order of precedence, meaning that the needs at the bottom of the hierarchy must be met before the needs at the top of the list can be (Maslow, 1946).
In this model, certain needs must be met in order for a person to be motivated to learn. Later research expands on this idea, as noted in the following sections. In Educational Psychology, it is a common belief that teachers can “motivate” their students by providing an environment or situation that may enhance learning. Researchers have been studying motivation for several decades, attempting to understand how to use motivation to specifically benefit the learning process. Motivation has been classified into two generally accepted forms:
•
Intrinsic motivation
is motivation that comes from within the student (e.g. contentment, enjoyment, pride, sense of accomplishment, responsibility)
•
Extrinsic motivation
is motivation that comes from an external source (e.g. tangible rewards, trophies, stickers, gifts, applause, praise)
Instrinsic versus Extrinsic?
So, which is better for use in the classroom? Is one more effective than the other? Or can both be used?
On one hand, some could say that extrinsic rewards are more effective and reflective of the "real world" - people aren't motivated to work without paychecks. So does extrinsic motivation prepare students for the "real world"? Or are we just bribing them?
Because intrinsic motivation comes from within, it is considered by many to be the more effective of the two when it comes to learning. Intrinsic motivation can foster life long excitement for learning, resulting in students who are eager to learn new things. Their experience is more meaningful and they go deeper in their learning to fully understand it. It helps develop a student’s attitude towards education and ensures more lasting success. Of course, we all want our children to want to go to school and learn because they enjoy learning. But what about subjects that just don't interest them or that are difficult for them to master? Is it possibly to be intrinsically motivated for all things?
We're back at our question.....which works better? Intrinsic or Extrinsic Rewards? Let's look a little closer at each...
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation can take the form of anything that doesn't come from within a person. Examples range from a smiley face on a paper or a "great job" sticker to a hefty pay raise or bonus for an adult. It can be getting the approval of a teacher or being accepted by peers. Extrinsic motivation can also be negative in the form of punishment or taking rewards away.
Extrinsic motivation may be more effective when a student has a less-desirable task ahead of them. For example, the student who dislikes math, might be more motivated to do well on the math test to get a good grade. Many argue, however, that once the reward is gone, the student will not continue to be motivated (Vockell, 2008). The predominance of researchers seem to agree that intrinsic motivation is more desirable, encouraging a more lasting desire to learn; however, extrinsic motivation is sometimes more popular when the task is not as appealing or if the technique seems to be more effective for the task at hand and for certain types of learners. For example, if Susan hates her math homework and is simply not interested in doing it, it might give her incentive to do her homework if she knows she will get a good grade, a reward or praise from her teacher.
Intrinsic Rewards & Self Determination Theory
Many believe that motivation is the most powerful when it comes from within, rather than from outside forces. Some go farther to describe one or more factors that can promote intrinsic motivation. Some of these factors are challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation, or recognition (Vockell, 2008).
Self Determination Theory (SDT) started evolving over 30 years ago with the research of Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. The basis of their theory is that people have three basic needs: the need for a sense of autonomy, the need for relatedness (or belonging), and the need for competence (Deci & Ryan. 1991). Many theories on teaching motivation have centered on meeting these three needs:
1. Sense of
Autonomy
- Students need to feel a sense of control and self-determination
2. Sense of
Belonging
– Students need to feel accepted by peers and teachers
3. Sense of
Competence
– Students need to feel capable of succeeding
SDT proposes that all individuals have a “seed” for learning and with the right nutrients or environment, they can be encouraged to be self motivated (or intrinsically motivated) (Deci & Ryan, 1991). This implies that if all these basic needs are met for our students, then their natural curiosity and thirst for learning can shine through.
Note
To be self determined is to endorse one's actions at the highest level of reflection. When self determined people experience a sense of freedom to do what is interesting, personally important, and vitalizing. - Edward L. Deci & Richard M. Ryan
Deci & Ryan went even further to claim that extrinsic motivation can undermine intrinsic motivation (Deci et al. 2001). In 1994, Cameron & Pierce challenged this theory saying that the effect of extrinsic rewards was "minimal and inconsequential." Deci and Ryan countered this claim with newer research in 1995 which proved that "tangible rewards do indeed have a substantial undermining effect" (Deci et al. 2001).
Need for Autonomy
Need for Belonging
Need for Competence
Encourage sense of personal control for successes and failures
Recognize and try to tap into students’ interests and reasons for valuing content
Giving choices and allowing self direction
De-emphasize extrinsic rewards as much as possible
Promote mutual respect
Allow social interaction
Provide recognition and feedback privately
Ensure equal participation and opportunities for all students
Promote “caring” for one another
Setting challenging but attainable goals for students
Provide effective feedback on goal attainment
Using appropriate models to build self-efficacy
Keep feedback confidential
(Adapted from Anderman & Leake, 2005)
An Argument Against Motivation Theories
On the opposite end of the educational motivation research field are some that believe that motivation theories are not valid, such as Steven Reiss. Reiss, a professor of pscyology at Ohio State University, claims that Deci & Ryan and other similarly minded researchers are "taking many diverse human needs and motivations, putting them into just two categories, and then saying one type of motivation is better than another. But there is no real evidence that intrinsic motivation even exists" (Reiss, 2008). Reiss believes that different people can be motivated in different ways and there is no right or wrong way to motivate. "Individuals differ enormously in what makes them happy - for some competition, winning and wealth are the greatest sources of happiness, but for others, feeling competent or socializing may be more satisfying. The point is that you can't say some motivations, like money (or other tangible rewards), are inherently inferior." While some children are "inherently curious", other children are not as much so, for which extrinsic rewards may be more effective. Reiss further argues that extrinsic rewards may encourage students to pursue activities that they would normally have shyed away from.
OVERVIEW
Your third grade class is very active today. The energy level is high as the kids get ready for an end-of-the-day holiday party. But before they can go, they need to finish an important history lesson which they will be quizzed on. You know getting their attention will be hard. What do you do? Do you offer them all a "homework-free" night as a reward for paying attention?  Or if you make it a fun, interactive game will they all jump in and get the job done because they'll be enjoying themselves? Or perhaps giving them the choice of giving up some of their recess in order to spend more time on the history lesson would encourage them to make good choices?
People can be motivated differently for a variety of reasons, from age to culture to special needs. As teachers, we will each have various scenarious where one might work better than another or a combination of the two is a better approach. While many of our actions are motivated extrinsically, intrinsic motivation must be there as well to encourage long term interest and learning. Being aware of different theories (such as intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, self-determination theory) and being flexibile in our methods will be important in order to be the most effective teachers we can be.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)
1. According to the intrinsic motivation theories of Deci & Ryan, which of the following would be the least effective in a classroom setting:
a. Giving students the choice between two different learning activities
b. Providing a one-on-one feedback session
c. Making sure each student gets exactly 15 minutes for their presentation
d. Giving each student a letter grade based on a clearly comunicated rubric
2. According to the Self-Determination Theory, which of the following is NOT one of the basic needs:
a. The need to be part of a group
b. The need to express yourself
c. The need to have a certain amount of control
d. The need to feel competent
3. Mrs. Jenkins has noticed that Kevin is not participating in the classroom activities. He seems to prefer solitary activities and never raises his hands or talks to his classmates. She is concerned that he feels isolated or alone. Which basic need could be unmet in Kevin, according to the Self-Determination Theory?
a. Autonomy
b. Belonging
c. Communication
d. Competence
4. At the end of each student presentation, Mr. Oliver asks the entire class to cheer for the presenter. This could be an example of:
a. Intrinsic motivation
b. Extrinsic motivation
c. Neither
d. Both a & b
Answer
1. d
2. b
3. b
4. b
References
Anderman, L. & Leake, V. (2005). The ABCs of Motivation: An Alternative Framework for Teaching Preservice Teachers about Motivation.
The Clearing House,
78(5), 192-196.
Deci, E. L., Koestner, R.,& Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic Rewards and Intrisic Motivation: Reconsidered Once Again.
Review of Education Research, 71(1),
1-27.
Grabmeier, J. (2008). Intrinsic Motivation Doesn't Exist, Researcher Says. Retrieved Sept. 18, 2008 from Ohio State Universary Research News Website: researchnews.osu.edu/archive/inmotiv.htm
Lepper, M., Corpus, J., & Iyengar, S. (2005). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations in the Classrooms: Age Differences and Academic Correlates.
Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 97 (2),
184-196.
Maslow, A. H. (1946). A Theory of Human Motivation. In P. Harriman (Ed.),
Twentieth Century Psychology: Recent Developments in Psychology
(pp. 22–48). New York: Philosophical Library.
Motivation (2008). In
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
. Retrieved Sept. 18, 2008 from Merriam Webster Online Dictionary:
http://www.merriam-webster.com
Vallerand, R.J., Pelletier, L.G., Blais, M.R., Briere, N.M., Senecal, C. & Vallieres, E.F. (1992) The Academic Motivation Scale: A Measure of Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Amotivation in Education.
Educational and Psychological Measurement
(52), 1003-1017.
Vockell, E. (2008). Education Psychology: A Practical Approach. Retrieved September 18, 2008 from education.calumet.perdue.edu/Vockell/EdPsyBook