Professor Julie R. Newell

Expanded STS Analysis Tool

• what choices are being made?
• how has the choice been framed ?
• by whom?
  
• why?
  
• what options have already been eliminated?
• by whom?
  
• why?
  
•  who is doing the choosing?
• “experts”?
  
• which ones?
  
• what is the basis of their expertise?
  
• members of the community expected to benefit from the choice?
  
• members of the community bearing the cost of the choice?
  
• members of the community bearing the risks of the choice?
  

• how and why access to knowledge or technology is controlled and distributed
• Before:
• who has access to the information necessary to participate in the choice process?
  
•  if access to such information is being actively limited, why and on what basis is access granted?
  
•  if access to such information is being passively limited, what barriers to access exist and how might they be eliminated? (such barriers might be technological, educational, economic or bureaucratic, for instance)
  
• After:
• access to knowledge or technology may be limited as a result of the choice being considered
  
• these barriers may be active or passive
  
• have the potential limits to access been evaluated as part of the costs and benefits of the choice? 

• what risks are involved?
• how is risk being defined?
• by whom?
• how is risk being measured and weighed?
• by whom?
• are potential risks not easily quantified being eliminated or minimized in the decision process?
• how are long-term risks being weighted relative to short-term or immediate risks?
• are those potentially at risk involved in the decision making process?
• is this a self-defined or an externally defined group?
•  if those at risk are included, at what stage of the process?
• what weight are their concerns being given in the decision-making process? 

• what costs are involved?
  
• how is cost being defined?
  
• by whom?
  
• does “cost” mean just “dollars and cents” or does it include other impacts such as economic, environmental, and social impacts?
• how is cost being measured and weighed?
  
• by whom?
  
• are potential costs not easily quantified being eliminated or minimized in the decision process?
  
• how are long-term costs being weighted relative to short-term or immediate costs?
  
• are those expected to bear the cost involved in the decision making process?
  
• is this a self-defined or an externally defined group?
  
•  if those bearing the cost are included, at what stage of the process?
  
• what weight are their concerns being given in the decision-making process? 

• responsibility may be an issue with regard to any issue of choice, access, cost, risk, or benefit
  
• responsibility may lie at any one of, or at several of, the following levels:
  
• individual
  
• social
  
• professional
  
• governmental
  
• how is responsibility being defined?
  
•  moral / ethical?
  
•  financial?
  
• rules (including laws)?
  
• other?
  
• how is responsibility being assigned or assumed?
  
• by whom?
  
•  limited or unlimited?
  
• for choosing, for implementing the choice, or for the outcomes of implementation?
  
• for what period of time?
  
• for intended or unintended outcomes? 

• what are the potential benefits?
  
• how is benefit being defined?
  
• by whom?
  
• how is benefit being measured and weighed?
  
• by whom?
  
• are potential benefits not easily quantified being eliminated or minimized in the decision process?
  
• how are long-term benefits being weighted relative to short-term or immediate benefits?
  
• are the benefits widely or narrowly distributed?
  
• are those expected to reap the benefits involved in the decision making process?
  
• is this a self-defined or an externally defined group?
  
• if those expected to benefit are included, at what stage of the process?
  
• what weight are their concerns being given in the decision-making process?
  
• to what degree do those benefiting from a given choice:
  
• bear the responsibility?
  
• accrue the costs?
  
• take the risks?