On Measuring Engineering Risk Attitudes

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Van Bossuyt ◽  
Lucila Carvalho ◽  
Andy Dong ◽  
Irem Y. Tumer
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Risk Seeking ◽  
Risk Treatment ◽  
Identification Analysis

Theories of rational decision making hold that decision makers should select the best alternative from the available choices, but it is now well known that decision makers employ heuristics and are subject to a set of psychological biases. Risk aversion or risk seeking attitude has a framing effect and can bias the decision maker towards inaction or action. Understanding decision-makers’ attitudes to risk is thus integral to understanding how they make decisions and psychological biases that might be at play. This paper presents the Engineering-Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (E-DOSPERT) test to measure the risk aversion and risk seeking attitude that engineers have in four domains of engineering risk management: identification, analysis, evaluation and treatment. The creation of the instrument, an analysis of its reliability based on surveying undergraduate engineering students in Australia and the United States, and the validity of the four domains are discussed. The instrument is found to be statistically reliable to measure engineering risk aversion and risk seeking, and to measure engineering risk aversion and risk seeking to risk identification and risk treatment. However, factor analysis of the results suggest that four other domains may better describe the factors in engineers’ attitude to risk.

Experimental Data

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Peterson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Experimental Data ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Geometric Method ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Rational Agents ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Experimental Findings

This chapter presents some empirical findings detailing how experts (philosophers) and laypeople (engineering students) have actually applied the geometric method. The upshot is that, on a group level, experts as well as laypeople apply domain-specific principles in roughly the manner prescribed by the geometric method. The author’s studies are based on data gathered from 240 academic philosophers in the United States and Europe, as well as two groups of 583 and 541 engineering students at Texas A&M University. By showing that experts as well as laypeople exhibit the ability to apply the geometric method in a coherent manner, doubts regarding its viability and complexity can be rebutted. The experimental findings demonstrate that many of us can apply geometrically construed moral principles to real-world cases. Therefore it would be a mistake to think that only fully rational agents with unlimited cognitive capacities are able to adopt the geometric method.

Academic Dishonesty among Engineering Undergraduates in the United States

2017 ◽  
pp. 160-181
Author(s):  
Trevor S. Harding ◽  
Cynthia J. Finelli ◽  
Donald D. Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Academic Dishonesty ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Unethical Behaviors

Over the past 15-years the authors have undertaken a series of research studies examining the tendency of undergraduate engineering students to participate in unethical behaviors, such as academic dishonesty, and the nature of the decision-making that such students use when faced with an opportunity to behave unethically. The four studies, PACES-1, WES, PACES-2, and SEED, have elucidated the extent of the problem of academic dishonesty among engineering students and demonstrated that cheating in college is associated with unethical workplace behaviors. They have also confirmed that a model of ethical decision-making can successfully predict an individual's intention to engage in unethical behavior in the future. Finally, the studies have shown that, while engineering students' ethical reasoning improves throughout college, their tendency to engage in unethical behaviors such as cheating actually increases, suggesting there is a gap between moral judgment capacity and moral behavior.

CONCEPTUALISING RISK CULTURE ON ERM IMPLEMENTATION IN CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Ching Ching Wong
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
The Body ◽  
Risk Indicators ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Risk Appetite ◽  
Risk Culture ◽  
Risk Treatment ◽  
Managing Risk ◽  
The Relationship

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is an effective technique in managing risk within an organization strategically and holistically. Risk culture relates to the general awareness, attitudes and behaviours towards risk management in an organisation. This paper presents a conceptual model that shows the relationship between risk culture and ERM implementation. The dependent variable is ERM implementation, which is measured by the four processes namely risk identification and risk assessment; risk treatment; monitor and consult; communicate and consult. The independent variables under risk culture are risk policy and risk appetite; key risk indicators; accountability; incentives; risk language and internal relationships. This study aims to empirically test the relationship between risk culture and ERM implementation among Malaysian construction public listed companies. Risk culture is expected to have direct effects and significantly influence ERM. This study contributes to enhance the body of knowledge in ERM especially in understanding significant of risk culture that influence its’ implementation from Malaysian perspective.

HOW STUDENTS DEFINE THEIR SUCCESS: A RESEARCH STUDY

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Ullrich ◽  
David S. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Survey Instrument ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Full Study ◽  
Definition Of Success ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Diverse Groups

How undergraduate engineering students define their success and plan for their future differs notably amongst students. With a push for greater diversity and inclusion in engineering schools, it is valuable to also better understand the differences in these areas among different students to allow institutions to better serve the needs of these diverse groups.  The purpose of this research study is to explore students’ definition of success both in the present and projecting forward 5 to 10 years, as well as to understand to what level students reflect on, and plan for, the future. The proposed survey instrument for the pilot stage of this research includes 56 closed-ended questions and 3 open-ended questions. Evidence for the validity of the research instrument is established through a mixed-method pilot study. This paper will discuss the survey instrument, the pilot study, and outline plans for the full study.

School Building Administrator Reports of Screening Practices Across Academic, Behavioral, and Health Domains

2021 ◽  
pp. 109830072110033
Author(s):  
Amy M. Briesch ◽  
Sandra M. Chafouleas ◽  
Jennifer N. Dineen ◽  
D. Betsy McCoach ◽  
Aberdine Donaldson
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
School Building ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Behavioral Screening ◽  
Screening Practices ◽  
School Based ◽  
Health Domains ◽  
K 12

Research conducted to date provides a limited understanding of the landscape of school-based screening practices across academic, behavioral, and health domains, thus providing an impetus for the current survey study. A total of 475 K–12 school building administrators representing 409 unique school districts across the United States completed an online survey, which assessed current school-based screening practices across domains from the point of data collection to intervention selection. Whereas 70% to 81% of the respondents reported the use of universal screening across health and academic domains, respectively, only 9% of the respondents endorsed the use of universal social, emotional, and behavioral screening. In addition, discrepancies were identified across domains with regard to such factors as (a) who reviews screening data, (b) how screening data are used to determine student risk, and (c) how interventions are designed for those students demonstrating risk. The lack of consensus in practice calls for dissemination concerning best practices in the implementation of social, emotional, and behavioral screening; risk identification; and Tier 1 intervention.

Human-Centered and Psychological Concepts in Undergraduate Engineering Project Documentation

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 505-509
Author(s):  
Rod D. Roscoe ◽  
Samuel T. Arnold ◽  
Chelsea K. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Engineering Project ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Project Documentation ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Psychological Concepts

The success of engineering and design is facilitated by a working understanding of human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In this study, we explored how undergraduate engineering students included such human-centered and psychological concepts in their project documentation. Although, we observed a range of concepts related to design processes, teams, cognition, and motivation, these concepts appeared infrequently and superficially. We discuss how this analysis and approach may help to identify topics that could be leveraged for future human-centered engineering instruction.

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