- Sep 2016
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techwritingf16.robinwharton.net techwritingf16.robinwharton.netTW44-1C.vp89
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Instructors of technical communication are uniquely positioned to engagestudents with concrete problems in local workplaces and community settings.
This engagement of concrete problems is done by asking thought provoking question, which make the student provide a deeper analysis of the problem. It's not enough to provide a "yes" or "no"answer for a solution to a problem
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2010 Gulf oil spill are noteworthy in thisregard: that is, because they are so complex in their causes and effects, theycannot necessarily be “solved” in any simple sense of the term
The complexity of this problem causes a chain reaction which effects the whole world not only the gulf. Gas prices start to increase and oil miners have to find new resources of oil
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we are reinforcing practical wisdom that ideally translates intoprudent social action
Wisdom= Spark in taking action.Once you understand the savarity of the problem it becomes harder to ignore.
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“If we hope to instill in our students a sense of responsibilityto be active citizens and advocates for social change,” she suggests, “we mustshow them that their civic engagement can be applied beyond the classroom”
Wow this is so true. Now I understand why we are going to have real life clients in this class! https://alexandragetsreal.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/shitgotreal.jpg
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The structure of this article is as follows. First, I briefly review scholarshipthat has theorized the concept of wicked problems in social theory anddesign studies; second, I show how I applied a wicked problems frameworkin a technical writing course I taught during Fall 2010; and finally, I offer somesuggestions for developing this approach and applying it toward other topicsand social issues.
Overall skeleton of this article. Pretty much enough said
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hemorrhaging of oil into the Gulf ofMexico can be traced to faulty technologies
Interesting. In the medical sense hemorrhaging is a term used to described mass amounts of blood loss but here it's used to describe the catastrophic oil spill
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Overall this article is about how real life problems affect everyone else indirectly or directly. Wickman used the example of the Gulf oil spill to cover many avenues of wickedness. It was explained that the ruptured well of the Gulf was unpredictable and unpreventable means of other problems that arise from offshore drilling. Part of the article that caught my attention was when Wickman made clear that in class learning and experience can be used in the real world. It's true that as a student we're taught to study for a grade and not understanding. This article allowed me to realize that sometimes a solution to a problem doesn't necessarily fix the greater issue but temporarily corrects an unintended accident.
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the deathsof 11 rig workers; millions of gallons of oil being released into the Gulf of Mexico;an untold amount of toxic chemicals being used to disperse the oil
Just a few of the consequences reported to the media. I wonder if there was more than 11 deaths????
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The spill warranted these varied approaches: itwas not a problem that could be fixed, let alone solved, in any simple sense of theterm.
This also reflects how Wickman sees technical communication as an area in which people with different skill sets work with one another with a common goal in mind, in this example cleaning up the coastal oil spill. Wickman also describes how the context of the problem was a complex one that didn't have one simple and concrete solution but different disciplines working together. This also reflects how the author sees problem solving in general with some problems having solutions and some being more difficult to resolve resulting in contrasting people working on the same project.
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Every solution to a wickedproblem is a “one-shotoperation”; because thereis no opportunity to learnby trial-and-error, everyattempt countssignificantly
This is definitely true in the context of the oil spill. If the spill wasn't stopped as soon as possible the situation would get worse. By stressing the importance of each action I think the author is also emphasizing how important the thinking before an action takes place is. I think it's interesting how Wickman sees solutions and critical thinking as both important measures to take before action but also promoting action itself, like in the socially active example Wickman gives.
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praxis
Praxis. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/149425?redirectedFrom=praxis#eid
"Action or practice; spec. the practice or exercise of a technical subject or art, as distinct from the theory of it; (also) accepted or habitual practice or custom."
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topoi
Topos. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/203433?redirectedFrom=topos#eid
"A traditional motif or theme (in a literary composition); a rhetorical commonplace, a literary convention or formula."
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As distinguished from problems in the natural sciences, which are definableand separable and may have solutions that are findable, the problemsof governmental planning—and especially those of social or policyplanning—are ill-defined; and they rely upon elusive political judgmentfor resolution. (Not “solution.” Social problems are never solved. At bestthey are only re-solved—over and over again) [p. 160].
Even more complicated problems arise when they are interdisciplinary, that is, encapsulating both natural sciences and governmental planning problems. An example would be disease epidemics, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s (even though HIV/AIDS continues to be an ongoing epidemic). It posed a problem to researchers in the field of natural sciences as they tried to determine what caused the disease, and it posed a problem to the general public due to social discrimination that was ongoing against homosexual men during the decade. I would classify the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a "wicked problem" because it meets at least four of the 10 characterizations of a wicked problem that were discussed in this article.
(1) It (currently) has no stopping rule, people are on antiretroviral drugs, but they do not cure the disease, and individuals and their relationships are still being impacted by the disease
(2) Solutions may or may not be effective; not every solution works (or is accessible) to every individual.
(3) Uniqueness: the virus itself is unique, and its structure is part of what makes it so difficult to "fix" the disease.
(4) Wicked problems do not have an enumerable set of potential solutions; as mentioned beforehand, not every solution is feasible to implement.
Both cover pages create a sense of unease, which elicits an emotional response from the audience.
Rothman, L. (2015, April 20). What Caused the Worst Oil Spill in American History. Retrieved September 06, 2016, from http://time.com/3818144/deepwater-horizon-anniversary/
Pierce, B. (n.d.). TIME Magazine Cover: AIDS Hysteria - July 4, 1983. Retrieved September 06, 2016, from http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19830704,00.html
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Even so, lingering effects of the spill continue to persist,from the long-term impact on marine life to environmental policies that continueto be revised to accommodate offshore drilling in the United States.
Likewise, we must continue to come up with new solutions (and revise old ones) to continue to combat these ongoing environmental problems. Throughout the paper, the issue is termed as a "wicked problem" because it does not have one solution, and the solutions that fix the situation (or seem to fix the situation) must continually be resolved.
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we mustbe able to grapple with problems that arise in time (e.g., capping the rupturedwell and containing the spread of oil) and with problems that continue toemerge over time (e.g., revitalizing the coastal ecology and scrutinizing environ-mental policies that allow for domestic drilling in the United States).
The rhetorical/classical Greek idea of kairos can be applied to this. To elaborate, kairos is to take advantage of a circumstance that arises out of a specific time; it is the "right place at the right time." In this article, the issue of the Gulf oil spill was a time sensitive one. For many complicated problems, it is necessary to develop a workable plan of action and implement it at the right time. To be effective, the plan of action must be implemented in the right social situation.
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pedagogy
Pedagogy. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/139520?redirectedFrom=pedagogy#eid
"The art, occupation, or practice of teaching. Also: the theory or principles of education; a method of teaching based on such a theory."
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heuristic
Heuristic. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/86554?redirectedFrom=heuristic#eid
"A heuristic process or method for problem-solving, decision-making, or discovery; a rule or piece of information used in such a process."
In this paper, the students formulated solutions through their own research -- with little direction from the instructor. The framework in this article can be used as a heuristic, or reference tool for other students to create solutions that develop throughout their lives.
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rhetoric
Rhetoric. (n.d.) In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/view/Entry/165178?rskey=Nuf1dR&result=1#eid
"The art of using language effectively so as to persuade or influence others, esp. the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques to this end; the study of principles and rules to be followed by a speaker or writer striving for eloquence, esp. as formulated by ancient Greek and Roman writers."
Rhetorical conventions and inventions are used throughout this article.
Rhetoric searches for persuasive ways to present info and elicit an audience response
Rhetoric uses concise organization in its media; in technical writing, we utilize different modes
Rhetorical conventions include precise, compelling, and appropriate language. Technical writers must always keep their audience in mind, and must use the right type of language for their user base. It should not be too technical or too simplified.
Rhetoric functions off of a framework and purposeful planning; technical writing should have a work log, drafts, and revisions.
Rhetoric and technical communication have a heavily audience-based delivery.
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problem-based inquiry
Problem-based inquiry is valuable because it shifts the "teaching" responsibility from the teacher and encourages student-based learning. It stimulates students to think critically and gives them an opportunity to learn using hands-on techniques.This method is important for us, as students, because it develops skills that are applicable to class situations, professionals situations, and day-to-day situations.
Problem-based inquiry can also teach us to be more engaged and active citizens. It is important that we think critically for ourselves, and question information we come into contact with.
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Table 1. Rittel and Webber’s Wicked Problems andRelation to the Gulf Spil
It is really interesting to see all the information of Webber and Rittel's information on what they would have thought were wicked problems in the Gulf spill. It helps to make a clearer understanding of what exactly were the issues that were addressed in the situation. I am really glad that he added this into the reading because I feel that it laid out all the information affectively.
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When we choose to address incidents likethe Gulf spill, we accordingly take part in a rhetorical act in which we definespecific issues according to perspectives that have been shaped by social, cultural,disciplinary, and political factors (to name a few).
I never saw taking place socially in an issue as defining that issue but I now realize that everyone has a small part in doing so especially when we are responding rhetorically, which is hard not to do in most cases. Social and cultural issues are usually environments where persuasion and rhetoric thrive and encourage argument and counterarguments. I can see how disasters create situations, especially political ones, where rhetorical problem solving occurs.
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suggests that technical communication scholarship has oftenbeen motivated by a desire to engage with controversies and enact social change
Rhetoric <=> Technical communication
Rhetoricians aim to persuade their audience, or influence them to make an action. Engaging with controversial topics, developing a provoking argument, and encouraging social change through the language they use; whether it be through a speech, essay, article, etc.
Technical communicators are crafty rhetors; technical communication is a form of rhetoric. The two fields have an overlapping relationship. For technical communicators to be effective they must be open and aware of the situation at hand and more importantly, their audience. (Likewise, rhetoricians must have the same awareness). Timeliness and appropriateness are two additional factors that technical writers and rhetoricians must keep in mind while trying to solve problems.
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wo important lessons emerged out of these student collaborations. First, theoutput of each group’s research was often complicated by the indeterminacy ofthe issue(s) that the groups as a whole were investigating. Indeed, even though thewell was officially capped on September 19th, 2010, the spill continued to be anongoing point of disputation. One prominent issue for my students—and a usefullesson for me as an instructor—was that individual groups did not always agreewith one another regarding the information they were gathering. How much oilhad actually been released into the Gulf? What effects would dispersants haveon the marine ecology? Who was ultimately to blame for the incident?
I really enjoyed that WIckman used the Gulf spill to demonstrate the use of wicked problems, this really had his students take on a whole new meaning of critical thinking when addressing research. And like i stated before this research didn't just take place in a environment research but also in politics and economics.
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Such thinking is exemplified, for instance,in research that has explored documents and rhetorical practices related tothe shuttle Challenger explosion
I think Wickman uses the Challenger explosion as another example because it shows how a failure in communication on a routine or seemingly small part of a process can cause a breakdown of the whole system. I think it's interesting that there is enough documentation on these disasters and the communication issues that created them to write whole books about them and how they could have easily been averted in some cases.
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Rittel and Webber claim that responding to wicked problems is at once avaluative and deliberative process. It isvaluativein the sense that doing soinvolves making choices and identifying problems within a causal network; andit isdeliberativein the sense that it involves promoting some course of actionbased on one’s assessment of the situation at hand.
In this part Wickman addresses valuative and deliberative in a sense of definition to explain what Rittel and Webber meant when it was important to respond in this way toward wicked problems. I appreciated this very much, because I wasn't very sure exactly what was meant when saying the two for this process. I like that he mentions this before going into more depth on what the two were saying.
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Buchanan associates these placements with a corresponding emphasis onsigns,things,actions, andthoughts. All provide viable strategies—individually andcollectively—for conceptualizing and responding to wicked problems that mustbe addressed on multiple fronts.
I really like what Buchanan did here with identifying placements to help take note of wicked problems. These steps ike stated helps others to notice signs, things, actions and thoughts. This will allow others to really take in critical thinking to a whole new level because they are looking at so many different ascents of the wicked problems.
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I will show how this framework can be used,specifically, to help students develop strategies for rhetorical invention; defineproblems and develop sustainable research projects; refine their disciplinaryexpertise and abilities to take part in inter-disciplinary collaborations; respondto multiple audiences through their writing; and write for social action.
The interdisciplinary nature of rhetoric and technical communication are a resounding theme in many of the articles, like Sullivans. I think this is because both authors acknowledge the importance of knowing ones audience and how it is essential to adapt your message and medium to fit that audience and purpose. Wickman again ties social action and also a sense of social awareness to rhetorical invention and problem solving as well. Being able to respond to multiple audiences at one time is also an important skill to have when engaging with situations that can be multimodal.
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The Gulf spill elicited an extensive response from citizens, advocacy groups,and environmental organizations around the world
The Gulf spill demonstrates a wicked problem that occurred in real life. It caused many questions from who did it and caused the situation. What we were supposed to do next when handing the oil spill. Why the it was still spilling when the well was closed. This is a great way to discuss a dilemma and find multiple issues with when looking into research.
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Rittel and Webber’s
Horst Rittel and Melvin M. Webber are the ones who created the term wicked problems as I made note of before. They wrote together "Dilemmas In A General Theory of Planning" and both studied at the University of Berkley.
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we are equipping students with practical skillsthat they can use to obtain employment and write for the workplace;
I think Wickman is also vouching for the applicable nature of technical communication here in more than one area. For example, the author doesn't just see technical communication only in the context of education or the workplace but also a tool that enables people to make informed decisions and make the right action, something that becomes especially relevant in a decision making situation like a crisis.
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I found that Buchanan’s essay “Wicked problems in design thinking” clarifiedstudent understanding of wicked problems, and his doctrine of placements offeredthem a functional heuristic for developing coherent research projects.
By Wickman giving his students this guide of Buchman's essay it did help to assist them in the research issue of wicked problems and help them to address the issues of the Gulf spill. Wickman points out that there are things that he could have done better when addressing the relationship between rhetoric and design to his students in a way that could helped them further understand theory and practice of technical communication.
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Indeed, many of the issues that demand our collective attention(e.g., global climate change, educational reform, widespread unemployment)are so “wicked,” andill-defined, that they require us to expand our thinkingbeyond a linear, definition/solution model for research and social planning
I found this line interesting because I think it mirrors Sullivan's view of technical communication in some ways as well. For example, in both texts social issues ,and technical communication itself in Sullivan's article, are both defined as fluid terms with nonlinear and changing meanings. I also think it's interesting the relationship the author draws between pedagogy and technical communication, using issues like climate change and educational reform to teach effective ways of communication.
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A Wicked Problems Framework
Like ccooper51 stated (wouldn't allow me to comment on his post), this would be a very effective way to help encourage students to think critically in school. By using the way that Rittel and Webber characterized wicked problems it helped for his students to expand their thinking to not just how the Gulf spill affected the environment but also how it was affected economically and politically. It allowed them to have "multiple perspectives" when analyzing the situation that was then at hand.
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Instructors of technical communication are uniquely positioned to engagestudents with concrete problems in local workplaces and community settings
Technical communicators are essential in catastrophic situations because it is such an important time for messages and contexts to be analyzed, created and relayed effectively so the crisis can be managed and dealt with, especially when dealing with a time constraint like in the Gulf Coast oil spill. In this situation responders success depended on first how quickly they could stop the oil from spilling and then cleaning up the oil left behind. Without proper analysis of the situation the situation could have become even worse.
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The value (and potential frustration) of focusing on wicked problems is thatthe object of analysis is ill defined and thus requires careful engagement withmultiple issues.
Again like I stated before in one of my annotations, the wicked problems that we face can cause a major challenge and frustration.There isn't just one solution or conclusion to it there are multiple issues that are at hand with them. Overtime though, as Wickman states here, people are able to identify them.
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socio-technical issues
"We analyse the reasons for this, highlighting some of the problems with the better known socio-technical design methods. Based on this analysis we propose a new pragmatic framework for socio-technical systems engineering (STSE) which builds on the (largely independent) research of groups investigating work design, information systems, computer-supported cooperative work, and cognitive systems engineering. STSE bridges the traditional gap between organisational change and system development using two main types of activity: sensitisation and awareness; and constructive engagement."http://iwc.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/1/4.full
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Rittel and Webber [9] developed the concept of “wicked problem” as a wayto characterize social policy issues that cannot be addressed through techno-scientific rationality alone.
Not mush of a note for the text, but I found this really interesting and amusing that the term this two men came up with was "wicked term" for a problem that they had when trying to address social policy. But it points out that not everything involving this topic with have solutions to the answer. Only some parts of it can be truly understood, others there can be many conclusions drawn.
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Rittel and Webber claim that responding to wicked problems is at once avaluative and deliberative process.
Surely not at ONCE. Wouldn't deliberating on a problem before you've properly identified lead to a conclusion based on incomplete information? Or do you keep evaluating the problem as it evolves?
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Indeed, many of the issues that demand our collective attention(e.g., global climate change, educational reform, widespread unemployment)are so “wicked,” andill-defined, that they require us to expand our thinkingbeyond a linear, definition/solution model for research and social planning.Environmental catastrophes like the 2010 Gulf oil spill are noteworthy in thisregard: that is, because they are so complex in their causes and effects, theycannot necessarily be “solved” in any simple sense of the term.
This is very true. Real world problems are far too sophisticated for quick fix answers. Instead, they require long term solutions, and for those solutions to come to fruition, there has to be a significant amount of planning and communication involved. This is where technical writing can be very useful.
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Rather, they needto be addressed continuously, through careful scrutiny and ongoing action thatextends beyond the proximity of our immediate communities—and beyond thescope of course requirements and classroom assignments. What follows is anattempt to show how the wicked problems framework worked for my coursesand how it might be modified to accommodate other types of inquiry in theteaching of technical and professional communication.
I find this statement central to tackling wicked problems such as homelessness and environmental problems within a classroom. Oftentimes, when students are asked to propose a solution to a problem in a persuasive essay format, students can research a narrow issue to find a reasonable solution that could potentially fix it. When students must address a wicked problem, it is a different story. Not only must students address the issue from the perspective of several disciplines, but they must also consider the longevity of solutions to problems and news ways to address wicked problems as society and circumstances evolve. Wicked problems are not problems that can be solved with a single solution, but rather with multiple solutions that constantly change and grow in scope over time.
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A relatedissue involved the individual proposals that each group made based on theirresearch. It might make sense, for instance, to limit fishing in the Gulf if marinelife were contaminated by the oil or chemical dispersants; yet it also makes senseto keep workers in the fishing industry from being laid off. The research processthus became an object of deliberation and tapped into issues of problem definitionand policy planning that we were forced to confront throughout the term
This statement exemplifies the difficulty of policy making regarding the oil spill as well as general policy making in the United States. In regards to Wickman's example, limiting fishing in the gulf would seem to be a viable option to nutritionists and other healthcare professionals. However, sociologists, activists, and workers would be concerned about fishermen losing jobs. Many people are under the impression that policymakers must only consider public opinion in regards to the political binary of liberal/conservative, but countless groups are affected by policy changes in various ways. For instance, Wickman's example of limiting fishing in the gulf would affect several other groups indirectly. If fishing was limited in the gulf, local grocers and restaurants would experience profit decrease, which would then negatively affect the local economy.
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“wicked problemsare not objectively given but their formulation already depends on the viewpointof those presenting them” [17, p. 6]. When we choose to address incidents likethe Gulf spill, we accordingly take part in a rhetorical act in which we definespecific issues according to perspectives that have been shaped by social, cultural,disciplinary, and political factors (to name a few)
Coyne's statement here appears to be both a cornerstone of wicked problems as well as a weakness. First, as noted earlier in the article, wicked problems differ from tame problems in their complexity. As Coyne noted, the issues within a wicked problem are constructed, depending on "social, cultural, disciplinary, and political factors." Therefore, there is not one single problem or solution to the gulf spill because people will view the issues and circumstances within the problem differently. For example, as Wickman noted, nutritionists may be concerned with the effect of the spill on the safety of fish for human consumption, while engineers may be concerned with the technical errors that caused the spill in the first place. Second, the non-objective nature and social construction of wicked problems could make it difficult to declare certain problems wicked, even if they fit the criteria. For example, to many people, global warming is a complex wicked problem, but to some people, it is not a problem at all and is actually a myth. Although only a small subset of people in the United States believe that global warming is a myth, the fact that "wicked problem deniers" may exist should be considered in addressing any wicked problem.
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Indeed, students researched the Gulf spill and its effects in different ways: frominterviews with business owners along the coast to surveys that attempted todetermine perceived risks and consumption habits of everyday citizens in thecoastal states more generally. Through these activities, they learned to defineproblems in concrete ways and pose questions similar to those raised by expertsin their fields; they also learned to situate their inquiries in relation to otherproblems that continued to arise throughout the duration of our course—andthat would continue to arise well after the course came to an end.
Wickman's decision to use the Gulf spill as the wicked problem for his class projects was a very smart one. Earlier in the article, i noted that the Gulf spill is a very difficult wicked problem to tackle because it is a current event, rather than a historical event, like the space shuttle Challenger. Because the issue is so current, academic resources pertaining to the spill would be limited, so students would have to research creatively. Luckily, Wickman and his students live in the gulf area, so they had the privilege to gain insight from primary sources and in-field research by interviewing individual business owners affected by the Gulf spill. Because the students utilized their location to produce better data, it is likely that their projects were much stronger than they would be if Wickman's class was in the Midwest. Also, their firsthand experiences with the Gulf spill and hands-on research would add to the credibility, or ethos, of their projects.
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Similar to the Challenger tragedy, the explosion onboard Deepwater Horizonled to disastrous consequences.
Because of the similarities to the Gulf spill, Wickman could have used the Challenger tragedy of 1986 as the wicked problem for his class project. However, because of the timing of the Gulf spill, it proved to be a much more difficult task than hypothetically addressing the issues of the Challenger tragedy. Because the Gulf spill is such a recent occurrence, less concrete, accurate information is available about the Gulf spill. In part, this is due to the urgency of publications regarding the spill, meaning that proper fact-checking was no deemed as vital as getting the story out as fast as possible. Addressing the Gulf spill as a wicked problem is also more challenging than addressing the Challenger explosion because effects of the spill continue today. The long-term impact of the Gulf spill is still a mystery, so in tackling the wicked problem, students must also predict all of the possible effects of the spill 5, 10, and even 15 years down the road.
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WICKEDPROBLEMSINTECHNICALCOMMUNICATION
Summary
Chad Wickman’s article, “Wicked Problems in Technical Communication,” begins by discussing problem-based inquiry as a method for teaching technical communication. In teaching problem-based inquiry, students can become equipped to address real –world problems in both the classroom and professional settings. Many non-linear, complex problems such as the Gulf spill, can be defined as “wicked,” because they are “ill-defined,” and lack concrete solutions. Based off of Ritel and Webber’s “Dilemmas for a General Theory of Planning,” Wickman further explains the definition of a wicked problem by comparing their “10 Characteristics of Wicked Problems,” to the Gulf spill via a chart on the following two pages. Next, Wickman discusses Richard Buchannan’s concept of “placements,” which act as commonplaces for students or researchers to utilize in addressing wicked problems at the invention stage. In the following section, Wickman explores how he utilized the wicked problems framework for addressing the Gulf spill in his technical communication class. He established several objectives for the Gulf spill project, such as addressing a wicked problem with multiple potential solutions, “understanding problem-definition as a rhetorical and methodological activity, and applying general rules of technical communication and rhetoric “toward documents that are designed to address particular audiences and situations.” In addressing a wicked problem that was also local in nature, Wickman’s students were able to engage in broadening their overall social consciousness, while learning technical writing skills that would prove beneficial in academic and professional settings. During the Gulf spill project, students worked in interdisciplinary groups and utilized a variety of data-collecting methods to promote solutions that address the multiple varying issues that occurred as a result of the Gulf spill. In closing, Wickman noted one benefit of addressing wicked problems. By engaging with a wicked problem like the Gulf spill, students can learn effective ways to address complicated, unforeseen problems in the future as well as the importance of research and writing when it comes to solving complex, large-scale problems.
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I will show how this framework can be used,specifically, to help students develop strategies for rhetorical invention; defineproblems and develop sustainable research projects; refine their disciplinaryexpertise and abilities to take part in inter-disciplinary collaborations; respondto multiple audiences through their writing; and write for social action.
In Patricia Sullivan's article, "Beyond a Narrow Conception of Usability Testing," she noted that usability researchers, and especially technical communicators who study usability, must strategically develop plans of action utilizing a variety of methods, to effectively find a solution a problem of usability. Similarly, Wickman's students also had to develop a rhetorical strategy in order to tackle the wicked problem of the Gulf spill. However, addressing a usability problem has one major advantage over addressing a wicked problem: testing. For example, if a website has proven to be hard for users to navigate, technical communicators and other usability testers can conduct experiments that test proposed solutions by analyzing individuals' responses to changes in the website. In regards to a wicked problems, students cannot test whether or not limiting fishing in the gulf would be beneficial to the local population. Instead, they can only predict the results of potential solutions.
Sullivan, Patricia (1989). Beyond a Narrow Conception of Usability Testing. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 32(4).
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Buchanan has argued that both rhetoric and designare productive arts that, together, help to unite words with things and bring theoryinto line with practice. He also suggests that despite this potential, “traditionalrhetoricians have been slow to recognize their resources for exploring the newdirections of technology” and, further, have not fully “considered the way inwhich design—as the intellectual and practical art that provides discipline in thecreation of the human-made world—employs rhetorical doctrines and devices”[19, pp. 187-188]. Scholars of rhetoric and technical communicationhaveinfact drawn on principles of design in their research and teaching [20-22]. Evenso, these developments often reflect disciplinary imperatives (e.g., adapting tothe needs of multimedia environments) rather than interdisciplinary problemsolving applied to issues in the public sphere.
Although design is not the first thing that comes to mind in regards to addressing a wicked problem, it is a key tool in addressing rhetorical situations, especially in multimodal and non-linear projects. According to Writer/Designer: A Guide to Multimodal Projects, a rhetorical situation is the "set of circumstances in which an author creates a text." The five design concepts, emphasis, contrast, organization, alignment, and proximity do not look applicable to the oil spill project in Wickman's class at first glance. However, they can all be utilized to produce rhetorically strong projects addressing the wicked problem. For example, students should use the design concept of contrast when drafting multiple documents for the project. By noting within texts how one document contrasts another, both documents will appear rhetorically stronger and a connection between multiple documents will be made.
Arola, C. (2014). Analyzing Multimodal Projects. Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects, 20-40.
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According to Buchanan, placements are systematic yet flexible tools for invention.Similar to rhetoricaltopoi, they serve as loci, or commonplaces, where studentscan initiate their inquiry, gather data, create arguments, and, importantly, developnovel ways of thinking about novel problems. Under this description, placementsconstrain meaning but are not determinate; thus, they do not re-inscribe existingmethods or ways of thinking, but, rather, facilitate invention and discovery in theface of wicked problems
By using Buchanan's method of placement, students can incorporate one of the five canons of rhetoric in their projects. The first canon, invention, is rooted in "invenire" which means "to find." At this "finding" stage, students begin to develop and explore their argument utilizing topoi, or topics, such as cause and effect. Similarly, Buchanan's placements, act as loci, or "commonplaces" regarding "signs, things, actions, and thoughts." These commonplaces act as starting points for students to generate ideas within the invention stage. Because wicked problems are so complex, it is difficult to know where to begin from a rhetorical standpoint, but Buchanan's placements are like prompts that get students to brainstorm about different aspects of the oil spill. One excellent aspect of the placements is the fact that students can begin by examining and researching any one of the four placements. This breaks down the concept issue into a more manageable and organized process.
Burton, G. O. The Five Canons. Silva Rhetoricae, Brigham Young University. http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Canons/Invention.htm
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The Gulf spill elicited an extensive response from citizens, advocacy groups,and environmental organizations around the world. Living and working in acoastal state, I also found that members of my university community respondedto it in their own, more localized ways. Some were engineers who developedstrategies to cap the ruptured well and keep oil from seeping into the coastalestuaries; some were sociologists who interviewed citizens along the coast abouttheir perceptions of the incident; and others were communication experts whoexamined how mass media discourse shaped public understanding of BritishPetroleum’s activities in the Gulf. The spill warranted these varied approaches: itwas not a problem that could be fixed, let alone solved, in any simple sense of theterm. By August 2010, then, at the start of our Fall term, students on campus wereabsorbing information about the incident through multiple avenues (e.g., throughfriends and relatives along the coast, through their classes) and were thus learningabout it as a multi-dimensional problem that could be addressed through theirdisciplines and, eventually, through the rhetorical expertise they would developthrough their experience in the technical writing classroom.
Because the author lives in the gulf area, he was able to see both localized and global responses to the gulf spill. On a university campus, he was also able to witness the various reactions to the spill among several disciplines. His students were also able to absorb information about the oil spill through multiple avenues. Because the spill was such a "wicked problem," it could not be solved in one particular discipline or with one simple solution, so it is important that multiple disciplines were engaged in discussing potential solutions. The concept of multiple disciplines engaging with a wicked problem reminds me of the concept of "dialectic," or a conversation between several people in an effort to find a truth or "essence," of an idea (such as in Plato's Gorgias). In this situation, solutions could likely be found if as many people as possible, from a variety of disciplines, were to engage in a dialogue to narrow down potential solutions.
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They differ from conventionaltopoi, however, in the sense that they encompassnot only language but also the visual, material, functional, and organizational focithat Buchanan describes.
Multi-modal communication is very useful when working with placements as it is key to combining the various types of information (visual, lingual, auditory, etc.) that you may come across or even create while researching using a placement.
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Indeed, even though thewell was officially capped on September 19th, 2010, the spill continued to be anongoing point of disputation.
This is an excellent example of the "No Ultimate Solution" component of of a wicked problem. Even after a plan has been implement there is still discussion about whether the plan worked as well as it should have and whether the plan will cause problems in the future.
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There is no immediateand no ultimate test of asolution to a wickedproblem.
This is why rhetoric and dialogue are so important when searching for a solution. After a solution is implemented, there is no easy way to tell how well it is working or if another solution would have worked better. Weighing your options and considering how to apply their various components carefully is central to technical writing and to rhetoric in general.
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Placements function in a similar way as rhetorical topics in the sense that theyare ostensibly universal in scope but can be applied in particular situations.They differ from conventionaltopoi, however, in the sense that they encompassnot only language but also the visual, material, functional, and organizational focithat Buchanan describes.
Multi-modal communication is useful when presenting placements as it is key to combining the various forms of information (visual, lingual, auditory, etc.) that you may come across or even create while researching using a placement.
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One prominent issue for my students—and a usefullesson for me as an instructor—was that individual groups did not always agreewith one another regarding the information they were gathering. How much oilhad actually been released into the Gulf? What effects would dispersants haveon the marine ecology? Who was ultimately to blame for the incident? Simply put,we quickly learned that the process of inquiry—even the seemingly “basic” task oflocating reliable information—was a wicked problem in its own right.
People might be more biased towards one explanation depending on where they started in their research. Interfacing with other research groups is a good way to broaden you own perspective, and technical writing is an important skill when sharing your research with others.
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Buchanan associates these placements with a corresponding emphasis onsigns,things,actions, andthoughts. All provide viable strategies—individually andcollectively—for conceptualizing and responding to wicked problems that mustbe addressed on multiple fronts.
The emphasis on signs, things, actions, and thoughts can be correlated to different modes. Signs, things, and actions can correlate to gestural or visual modes. Thoughts can be translated into speech and therefore be a linguistic mode.
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One prominent issue for my students—and a usefullesson for me as an instructor—was that individual groups did not always agreewith one another regarding the information they were gathering
Perhaps because the students brought biases from their disciplines and ideology into consideration?
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Yet it is alsopossible to view it as an opportunity to use diverse interests and expertise towork toward shared goals.
Diverse interests bring in diverse points of view onto the table
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I wanted them to develop a socio-politicalconsciousness that they could use to direct their writing, and their rhetoricalknowledge, toward a wicked problem that they could legitimately address asstudents, citizens, and professionals
As a rhetorician, it is important to have this type of consciousness in order to be more credible and connected to your audience.
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Every solution to a wickedproblem is a “one-shotoperation”; because thereis no opportunity to learnby trial-and-error, everyattempt countssignificantly
This characterization is closely correlated to the one above it -- when trying to come up with a solution to a wicked problem, we just have to hope that it works. When it comes to scientific problems, scientists can perform experiments with many trials to test if the solution works or not. With "wicked problems," each solution is one trial, and if it turns out poorly (which is a possibility since testing the solution beforehand is not an easy task) it can result in further problems.
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There is no separating individual parts from the collective whole; there is onlyan ongoing effort to re-solve problems as they evolve over time and in light ofnew exigencies.
This is what makes is so difficult to fix any "wicked problem." Especially socio-economic issues that have been problematic for decades. More people need to know that collaboration, particularly effective and willing collaboration, is necessary to continue to create solutions to these problems as they continue to persist.
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We can identify causes of the spill (e.g., the Obamaadministration’s policies, Halliburton’s failure toadequately cement the blow-out preventer) andenergy consumption habits in general. Addressingany one cause, however, leads us to different“solutions” or possible outcomes
This idea illustrates why it is essential for interdisciplinary collaboration to take place as we try to develop solutions for "wicked problems." One individual or discipline may be biased and associate one isolated cause to the "wicked problem." Likewise, one individual or discipline may be biased in creating an isolated solution for the "wicked problem." Rhetorical inventions should be unbiased and consider all points of view.
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As Herndl, Fennell, and Miller suggestin “Understanding Failures in Organizational Discourse: The Accident at Three-Mile Island and the Shuttle Challenger Disaster,” such events involve “failuresof communication among ordinary professional people, mistakes committed inthe course of routine work on the job, small mishaps with grotesque conse-quences”
The challenger explosion relates here because it is traced to a technological problem, and problems of rhetoric and technical communication; technological in origin due to the part of the shuttle that malfunctioned and rhetorical/technical communication error due to media and societal involvement. Another example of a "wicked problem" or catastrophe to the same effect of the Gulf oil spill and challenger explosion is the crash of ValuJet 592.
Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion [Digital image]. (1986, January 28). Retrieved September 05, 2016, from http://library.artstor.org.ezproxy.gsu.edu/library/iv2.html?parent=true
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we can also think about the incident as linked to problems ofrhetoric and technical communication. Such thinking is exemplified, for instance,in research that has explored documents and rhetorical practices related tothe shuttle Challenger explosion
This is an interesting thought-- that even though the technical failures are at fault for disaster, there is still liability for the technical writers.
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where they learned the giveand take of organized activities) but also in class discussions (e.g., where theydeveloped strategies for deliberating about issues, and arguing for their plansof action, as a collective
Rhetorically, this emphasizes the public speaking skill and how to maneuver different audiences. It is a very different scenario to address, define, and defend a topic in an intimate group versus a large group (i.e class discussions). The approach and availability of simple connection changes as the audience grows.
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The individual plannerthus plays a constructive role in deciding—or, in some cases, prescribing—howproblems should be defined and how, therefore, they ought to be addressed.
An important step of Rhetorical consideration; create boundaries to solutions to visualize what an ideal solution would/should look like.
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A range of academic and professional fields were represented during the 2010Fall term: these included wildlife and forestry, engineering, architecture, buildingscience, physics, social work, finance, health and nutrition, communication, edu-cation, and English.
Rhetoric spans over multiple fields, and technical writing bridges the gaps by creating a unified language to correlate different levels of expertise together.
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Simply put,we quickly learned that the process of inquiry—even the seemingly “basic” task oflocating reliable information—was a wicked problem in its own right.
Finding information that matches up on a controversial topic across multiple sources can be difficult-- and as such can put a wrench in technical writing writing goals. After all, how can you clearly communicate a given goal if the basis of information is skewed?
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learning about multiple ways they can be addressed—if not ulti-mately solved—through research and writing
Is the goal of technical writers (generally) to address or solve their content?
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I have often found that students produce better writing when it is directedtoward specific audiences and concrete problems
Beyond a Narrow Conception of Usability Testing illustrates the benefit of specific goals (or problems) to focus on while discussing the various communication professionals' priorities when reviewing audiences and usability. Essentially, every successful platform, document, and interface is created with a clear goal in mind, making it easier for a user to access and understand the information
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between the fields of rhetoric and design, between placements andtopoi, andbetween theory and practice in technical and professional communication
These relationships are highlighted in Beyond a Narrow Conception of Usability Testing as different communication fields are being discussed. Each relationship holds different priorities, and serve different purposes within their markets.
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One way to promote this type of approach is to takeRittel and Webber’s 10 characteristics for defining wicked problems and use itas a basis for getting students to expand their thinking about research anddocument production in a principled way
Introducing this style of problem solving to our educational system would encourage critical thinking in a real-world scale. It would allow students to effectively experiment with the importance of perspectives. If students were able to justify prior lessons learned by utilizing them in a multi-field issue, then there would be a higher motivation to understanding and pursuing intellectual pursuits.
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As distinguished from problems in the natural sciences, which are definableand separable and may have solutions that are findable, the problemsof governmental planning—and especially those of social or policyplanning—are ill-defined; and they rely upon elusive political judgmentfor resolution. (Not “solution.” Social problems are never solved. At bestthey are only re-solved—over and over again) [p. 160]
Finding resolutions to problems such as these are not easy. As stated, governmental planning plays a big factor. It's the government's job to solve problems quickly, which often leads to the lack of finding a solution that also has quality. This reiterates the emphasis placed on finding resolutions, rather than solutions.
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Instructors of technical communication are uniquely positioned to engagestudents with concrete problems in local workplaces and community settings.The benefits of this pedagogy are well documented [3-8]. Problem-definition,however, can be a complicated rhetorical and methodological undertaking inits own right. Indeed, many of the issues that demand our collective attention(e.g., global climate change, educational reform, widespread unemployment)are so “wicked,” andill-defined, that they require us to expand our thinkingbeyond a linear, definition/solution model for research and social planning.
I found this section of text interesting because modern curriculum in classrooms is extremely concrete and fact based. As a result, more complex problem solving skills are lacking. Creating solutions to problems that aren't "linear" is nearly impossible for someone who has never had to do it before.
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“wicked problem” as a wayto characterize social policy issues that cannot be addressed through techno-scientific rationality alone.
The purpose can be defined with this text
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Identifying the Gulf spill as a wicked problem encouraged students to learnabout systemic issues that demand attention in themselves but that also connect toother concrete problems that can be addressed through more local engagements.
I could also assume that because the "wicked problem" was so close to home, and had an emotional, physical, and economic effect on the students, they were more engaged and willing to find solutions to the issue. An example of this would be Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane was one of the largest, if not the largest, natural disasters in US history. Coastal and Southern states felt the effect of the hurricane through avenues such as mass migration into bordering states.But it was more than likely less prevalent in Midwestern states.
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Table 2. Assignments, Objectives, and Outcomes Rela
This chart will be a helpful reference when attacking our client-service projects at the end of the semester. This will be a great reference.
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1. the design of symbolic and visual communications;2. the design of material objects;3. the design of activities and organized services; and4. the design of complex systems or environments for living, working, playing,and learning.
"Wicked problems" are never truly solved. All solutions are temporary. My only question is whose job is it to manage those "solutions" post national emergency? What happens when the novelty wears off? For example, attending college in the city means being confronted with homelessness everyday. It's natural for a person to become conditioned to their surroundings. How can we ever find solutions to things that we're emotionally disconnected from?
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The value (and potential frustration) of focusing on wicked problems is thatthe object of analysis is ill defined and thus requires careful engagement withmultiple issues
Another value of "wicked problems" is the advantage of using a collective of different people with different opinions and contributions. This creates more than one viable option to solve one fluid issue.
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I believe that these types of incidentsoffer a powerful basis for teaching students how to address problems on a localscale—through their research, writing, and emerging professional expertise—andfor addressing the array of global entanglements that continue to arise well afterthe semester has come to an end
Real-life application provides students with experience and further develops the skills they've learned in the rhetoric class. Students will never retain skills and information if they never put it to practice.
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Those involved in the response and clean-up effortshave an ethical responsibility to consider the out-comes of their actions (e.g., applying dispersantsand not knowing their long-term effects).
I understand the ethical obligation to predict outcomes, but it is nearly impossible to guess every single one, especially with a problem that will seemingly never end.
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Placements have boundaries to shape and constrain meaning, but are notrigidly fixed and determinate. The boundary of a placement gives a contextor orientation to thinking, but the application to a specific situation cangenerate a new perception of that situation and, hence, a new possibility tobe tested. Therefore, placements are sources of new ideas and possibilitieswhen applied to problems in concrete circumstances [18, p. 13].
Placements are not concrete but provide great plans of attack in situations that require immediate response.
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To implement this focus, I used Rittel and Webber’s 10 characteristics (seeTable 1) to identify the Gulf spill as a wicked problem; and to teach strategiesfor rhetorical invention, I used Buchanan’s doctrine of placements as a heuristicfor addressing specific issues based on students’ personal, disciplinary, andprofessional interests.
It is a very good idea to combine these techniques when you are identifying and troubleshooting a problem. Often you have trouble thinking of solutions because you haven't identified the problem. Other times you have trouble weighing your solutions because you've haven't done a good enough idea of identifying the problem.
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Students used placements strategically both within and between groups. Forexample, a group that included wildlife and forestry majors could adopt “activitiesand organized services” as a starting point. Taking this approach allowed themto manage the scope of their inquiry (e.g., they could focus, generally, on theways in which oil was affecting flora and fauna along the coast) and guidethem in developing specific projects (e.g., they could design and propose theimplementation of new, cost-effective wildlife habitats in the coastal estuaries).
The students will have a fuller and more objective idea of the wicked problem after they combine the research they attained from different their various starting point. This decreases the chance of the whole class having biased information. Since they began researching different, more specific topics, they will all have to go to different sources. Now it will be easier to spot flawed information.
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1. the design of symbolic and visual communications;2. the design of material objects;3. the design of activities and organized services; and4. the design of complex systems or environments for living, working, playing,and learning.
I imagine it is difficult to solve a wicked problem if you don't have a large community of participants among the general population to assist you and give your solution rhetorical credibility. Using these heuristics widen the amount of people who are able to understand and, consequently, assist.
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Both are wicked in the ways that Rittel and Webberdescribe. They confirm, for instance, that “there is no definite formulation ofa wicked problem” (e.g., the sinking of Deepwater Horizon warranted a varietyof responses based on different assessments of the incident) and that “everywicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem” (e.g.,the spill can be linked to human fallibility but also to energy consumption habitsthat can be used to warrant, even if they may not necessitate, drilling for oil inthe Gulf of Mexico).
Identifying what the problem is and what facets of it need to be solved can be the most difficult part of the process. Using the oil spill example, while many environmentalists might consider the damage to the ecosystem to be the most important problem facing the regions, others might deny the importance of the ecosystem all together and want to focus instead on stimulating the local economies that have been depressed by the disaster.
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causal network
Can I get an example of a causal network?
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Environmental catastrophes like the 2010 Gulf oil spill are noteworthy in thisregard: that is, because they are so complex in their causes and effects, theycannot necessarily be “solved” in any simple sense of the term.
I like how the article compares the unique thinking or day to day world issues to the 2010 Gulf oil spill. As stated the problems are so complex they cannot necessarily be fixed in one action
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active citizens
Important term
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we are equipping students with practical skillsthat they can use to obtain employment and write for the workplace; on the
This is very important for the future generations.
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