Eight-dimensional methodology for innovative thinking about the case and ethics of the mount graham,large binocular telescope project

This paper introduces the Eight Dimensional Methodology for Innovative Thinking (the Eight Dimensional Methodology), for innovative problem solving, as a unified approach to case analysis that builds on comprehensive problem solving knowledge from industry, business, marketing, math, science, engineering, technology, arts, and daily life. It is designed to stimulate innovation by quickly generating unique “out of the box” unexpected and high quality solutions. It gives new insights and thinking strategies to solve everyday problems faced in the workplace, by helping decision makers to see otherwise obscure alternatives and solutions. Daniel Raviv, the engineer who developed the Eight Dimensional Methodology, and paper co-author, technology ethicist Rosalyn Berne, suggest that this tool can be especially useful in identifying solutions and alternatives for particular problems of engineering, and for the ethical challenges which arise with them. First, the Eight Dimensional Methodology helps to elucidate how what may appear to be a basic engineering problem also has ethical dimensions. In addition, it offers to the engineer a methodology for penetrating and seeing new dimensions of those problems. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the Eight Dimensional Methodology as an analytical tool for thinking about ethical challenges to engineering, the paper presents the case of the construction of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham in Arizona. Analysis of the case offers to decision makers the use of the Eight Dimensional Methodology in considering alternative solutions for how they can proceed in their goals of exploring space. It then follows that same process through the second stage of exploring the ethics of each of those different solutions. The LBT project pools resources from an international partnership of universities and research institutes for the construction and maintenance of a highly sophisticated, powerful new telescope. It will soon mark the erection of the world’s largest and most powerful optical telescope, designed to see fine detail otherwise visible only from space. It also represents a controversial engineering project that is being undertaken on land considered to be sacred by the local, native Apache people. As presented, the case features the University of Virginia, and its challenges in consideration of whether and how to join the LBT project consortium. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the “Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology” meeting, New Orlenas, 2003 and at the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) annual Meeting, 2003.     

An Anatomy of Political Beliefs: A Study of Their Centrality, Confidence, Contents, and Epistemic Authority

The present study is a simultaneous investigation of the contents of political beliefs and their characteristics among Israeli students. In addition, it examines their perceived use of information sources. The results indicate that political beliefs regarding the Israeli-Arab conflicts are organized systematically around the dove/hawk dimension. Also, a positive relationship was found between centrality of beliefs and confidence in them; between well-defined political identification and centrality and confidence; and between agreement with the beliefs and confidence. Finally, the results show that the perceived use of information sources is related to political identification. The performed investigation demonstrates the importance of combining the study of the contents of beliefs with that of their characteristics, since the latter have important implications for understanding individuals' cognitive, affective, and behavioral reactions.     

Measuring epistemic authority: studies of politicians and professors

Two studies assessed the perception of epistemic authority (denoting a source of information which has a determinative influence on the acquisition of knowledge) by means of a scale (Epistemic Authority Scale) which was constructed for this purpose. The first study showed that individuals perceive political leaders with similar political orientations as greater epistemic authorities than political leaders with different political orientations. In addition, the study investigated the reasons used by the subjects to explain reliance or lack of reliance on political leaders. In general, the responses showed that leaders' expressed opinions and characteristics were important determinants in epistemic authority selection. The second study found that students of statistics departments have a greater tendency to perceive their professors as epistemic authorities in their disciplinary knowledge than students of psychology departments, while the latter are more likely than the former to perceive their professors as epistemic authorities in general knowledge domains. Analysis of the Reason scores for reliance on the professors in the two departments reveals that expertness received the highest ratings.     

Radio psychology: A comparison of listeners and non-listeners

The major objective of this study was the application of help-seeking models to the study of radio psychology. A total of 443 subjects was divided into two research groups, non-listeners (n = 246) and listeners (n = 197) to at least one of two Israeli radio counselling programmes dealing with parent-child and interpersonal relationships. Through telephone interviews the subjects' responses to the instruments designed specifically for this type of study were reported: listening motivations, attitudes towards psychological help and reasons for non-listening. The results revealed that while listeners do not necessarily perceive themselves as help-seekers they, as well as the non-listeners, attributed listening to the motivations of curiosity, comparison with others and attaining psychological knowledge. The results suggested that listening to radio psychology programmes is a means of facilitating the earlier stages of the help-seeking process.     

Social factors and mental health symptoms among women who have experienced involuntary job loss

The growing proportion of women in the labor force and the current economic crisis has made women a target population for job loss. In that situation, they are likely to experience recurrent layoffs, which force them to cope with multiple job loss and with unemployment. The present study aimed to examine sociodemographic factors that help women succeed in coping with single or multiple experiences of job loss, and that even enhance their self-efficacy in returning to work. The population of participants consisted of 134 Israeli women aged 30-45 who had been laid off. The findings indicate that the women who had experienced multiple job loss expressed a stronger desire to return to work than did those who had been laid off only once. Married women showed a greater tendency to become accustomed to stress after being laid off than did never-married women. However, even though multiple job loss might be a forced solution to home-work conflict, never-married women were found to be at risk for distress responses after being laid off. There is a need to develop responses for women who are at risk for multiple job loss, and to enhance employers' awareness of the situation faced by women who are laid off.     

Teachers' Epistemic Authority: Perceptions of Students and Teachers

The present study examines students' perception of the teacher's role as epistemic authorities, that is, a source of determinative influence on the formation of individuals' knowledge, from three perspectives. First, it examines 7th and 10th graders' perception of their teachers as epistemic authorities. The results showed that a teacher's subject matter, as well as students' age and gender, influence perception of him/her as an epistemic authority. In addition, interest in the subject matter was found to be an important predictor of students' perception. The second part focuses on teachers' self-perceptions as epistemic authorities. The results indicated that teachers' personal efficacy is the most powerful predictor of their self-perception. Finally, the study compares students' perceptions of teachers as epistemic authorities, teachers' self-perceptions in these terms and teachers' perceptions of how their students perceive them. Two main findings showed the following: (a) teachers perceive themselves as being more of an epistemic authority than their students consider them; (b) teachers believe that students perceive them as being more of an epistemic authority than the students actually think.     

The need and ability to achieve cognitive structuring: individual differences that moderate the effect of stress on information processing.

The authors examined the hypothesis that the interaction between the need for cognitive structure (NCS) and the ability to achieve cognitive structure (AACS) moderates the effect of stress on information processing. NCS is the preference for using cognitive structuring, as opposed to piecemeal processes, as a means to achieve certainty. AACS is the extent to which individuals are able to apply information processes that are consistent with their levels of NCS. The hypothesis was validated in 4 studies, which showed that stress increased high-AACS participants' use of cognitive structuring if they had high NCS and reduced it if they had low NCS. An opposite effect was found for low-AACS participants. The implications of these results for the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the effect of stress on information processing are discussed.     

Perception of epistemic authority and attribution for its choice as a function of knowledge area and age

Three age groups of children and adolescents (9–10, 13–14, and 17–18 years old) were asked to indicate sources of information which serve as their epistemic authority in nine knowledge areas and to attribute reasons for their choices. In general, the results showed that children and adolescents differentiate among sources and select their epistemic authorities according to knowledge areas. It was found that while the perception of parents as epistemic authorities decreases with age, the perception of self increases considerably and becomes an important epistemic authority. In spite of the decrease in the perception of parents as epistemic authorities, they continue to be a significant source of knowledge. In addition, the perception of friends as epistemic authority increases relatively in social knowledge areas. With regard to causal explanation, it was found that children and adolescents use various reasons to explain their selection of epistemic authority. They differentiated among their reasons on the basis of the selected source. Knowledge-denotating source expertise was used as the most important reason. The selection of oneself was mainly attributed to familiarity, and helpfulness was used to explain the selection of mother, friend and father as epistemic authorities. Friend was also selected because of similarity. Age differences with regard to use of reasons reflected changes in source selection. This line of research sheds light on the interpersonal nature of knowledge acquisition.     

Influence of physical activity on concentration among junior high-school students

The level and quality of concentration were tested before and after each lesson in one class session. Two of the four classes participated in physical education activities, and the other two studied science. Each subject matter was studied the beginning and at the end of the school day. The research design was 2 x 2 x 2 factorial (two subject matters, two times of the school day, and as a repeated measure two times of test for each group at the beginning and end of each lesson). The level and the quality of concentration found at the end of each lesson were significantly higher than at the beginning. The subject matters did not influence concentration. It may be concluded that the time of day was the main influence on concentration, so teachers' claims against physical education activity lessons can be rejected. The increase in concentration toward the end of the lesson implies the need for careful lesson planning or even the consideration of increasing duration of lessons.