Value-Sensitive Design of Unmanned Aerial Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-34
Author(s):  
Tabitha Andersen ◽  
Dylan Cawthorne
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Research Organization ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Value Sensitive Design ◽  
A Value ◽  
System Engineer ◽  
Practice Gap ◽  
Theory Practice Gap ◽  
Aerial Systems

What happens when an engineer attempts to address the value-neutral paradigm and the holistic deficits in engineering science? This paper sets out to account for the interplay between an unmanned aerial system engineer acting as a “champion” of value sensitive design (VSD) and their more objectivist research organization. Action research methods are used by the authors in an attempt to implement VSD in a real-world research organization and thereby bridge the theory-practice gap. Primary empirical data are collected which indicate the engineer has internalized and often utilizes a VSD approach. Both barriers and catalysts to wider adoption of VSD within the organization are experienced, and recommendations for overcoming paradigmatic, strategic, structural, and cultural barriers are addressed. This work demonstrates how action research can be used to shift engineering away from a value-neutral paradigm towards the value-sensitive approach advocated by the authors.

Evaluation of Information System Investments: A Value Dials approach to closing the theory-practice gap

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Elisabeth Frisk ◽  
Frank Bannister ◽  
Rikard Lindgren
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
A Value ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Practice Gap ◽  
Theory Practice Gap

Failed or partially failed information systems (IS) investments continue to be a problem in both public and private sectors. Although there are many causes of such failure, lack of clarity about the goals and benefits expected and how they are to be realized is one of the major contributors. This is particularly so in the public sector where the purpose of IS investment is not to increase profits, but to accomplish social and political goals. One way of reducing failure and wastage rates is to have ex-ante evaluation. Over the past three decades IS research has proposed a plethora of new theoretical approaches to improving ex-ante evaluation, but with a few exceptions, these have had little impact on practice. This paper presents a way to address this gap between theory and practice. It proposes a way in which managers can improve IS investment evaluation by changing perspective from a focus on traditional analytic tools towards a design attitude that seeks to develop multi-criteria IS evaluation approach based on contextual experience and prior knowledge. The proposed approach enables organizations to design and develop a value case using value dials as a common language that defines what constitutes the value of particular IS investments for a specific context. To assess its effectiveness, this approach was applied using a multilevel dialogical action research project within a Swedish public organization. The findings show that managers in this organization significantly improved the effectiveness of their evaluation of IS investments.

scholarly journals Use of a Value Model to Ethically Govern Various Applications of Small UAS

Drones ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Philpott ◽  
Benjamin Kwasa ◽  
Christina Bloebaum
Keyword(s):  
Federal Aviation Administration ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Us ◽  
Value Model ◽  
Aerial Systems

Widespread use of small unmanned aircraft systems is becoming prominent in the US. From structural health monitoring to journalism, small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) are allowing people to gain a view of their surroundings and conduct their jobs in ways like never before. With this come many ethical concerns that must be addressed before the sight of a sUAS flying overhead is a widely acceptable occurrence to a majority of the population. Currently, UAS operations used in civil airspace are governed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 107 rules, but these regulations do not address certain ethical considerations. This paper will use the concept of a value model to quantify these ethical concerns so that they may be encoded into the design of a UAS and evaluation of missions before the missions are conducted. This could prove valuable in addressing the ethical challenges that are faced when implementing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operations into the airspace, especially when UASs are in airspace in densely populated areas.

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