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Fw: Help Evaluate the Hanford Decision Mapping System
The following posted at the request of Christie Drew:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 16:53:33 -0800 (PST)
> From: C. Drew <cdrew@u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Help Evaluate the Hanford Decision Mapping System
>
>
> Dear Internet User:
>
> Are you interested in improving environmental decision information on the
> Internet? Do you ever wonder if complex environmental decisions could be
> more understandable? Do you want to learn more about the Hanford plutonium
> production facility?
>
> If so, I could use your help!
>
> I am a graduate student at the University of Washington working on an
> Internet-based tool called the Decision Mapping System (DMS). The DMS is
> intended to allow more people to understand and participate in cleanup
> decisions at Hanford - a nuclear weapons production site in Washington
> State. Lessons we learn at Hanford could be applied in many environmental
> cleanup situations.
>
> Now that the pilot DMS website is up and running, the next task is to find
> out what people think about it. Please help me evaluate the DMS by taking
> an on-line questionnaire (see URLs below). The questionnaire is anonymous
> - no identifying information (like your name or email address) will be
> collected. However, if you would like to receive study updates by email or
> regular mail you may submit contact information.
>
> The purpose of the questionnaire is to learn more about the information
> people need to participate in the decision making process at Hanford. In
> other words: What makes a decision "transparent"? Our working definition
> of a transparent decision is that people can understand what is being
> done, where, and why. Participating in this UW Research study may help you
> learn more about transparency and about how decisions are made at Hanford.
> With your help, we hope to improve the way the public engages in
> environmental cleanup decisions at all Department of Energy sites.
>
> Participating in the study will take about 45 minutes of your time. I know
> that this amount is significant, but cleaning up Hanford is a very complex
> problem that costs taxpayers more than $1 Billion every year (more details
> about Hanford can be found at the end of this email and in the DMS).
>
> Please begin by taking a 20 minute tour of the Decision Mapping System
> http://nalu.geog.washington.edu/dms/tour.html.
>
> Then, please fill out the anonymous questionnaire (15-25 minutes):
>
(https://catalyst.washington.edu/webtools/webq/survey.cgi?user=cdrew&survey=
6)
> You may choose not to answer any of the questions on the survey.
>
> Anyone with access to the Internet may participate in the study - the more
> responses we get, the stronger our findings and recommendations will be.
> Please forward this invitation to colleagues, friends and family who might
> be interested.
>
> The remainder of this email contains additional background information
> about the project. If you have any questions or would like to be kept
> informed of our progress, please do not hesitate to contact me.
>
> Thank you for participating!
> Sincerely, Christie
>
> Christina H. Drew, Ph.C.
> University of Washington, Department of Geography
> Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP)
> Tel: (206) 616-7413 Email: cdrew@u.washington.edu
>
> This is a University of Washington research study. It is supported by the
> Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP)
> under a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE Award No.
> DE-FG26-00NT40938).
>
>
>
> BACKGROUND INFORMATION
>
> Decisions at Hanford are vitally important
> * Huge and valuable tracts of land are at stake
> * Cleanup is expected to be very costly
> * Contaminants persist in the environment for long periods
> * Contaminants can be very harmful to humans and the environment.
>
> Understanding Hanford decisions is difficult for many reasons.
> * Decision processes are long and complex
> * Relationships among various projects are not made clear
> * Values upon which decisions are based are not always clear.
>
> The main purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of complex
> environmental decisions like those that occur at Hanford. The study
> evolved directly from interactions with the Hanford Openness Workshops
> (HOW).
>
> The specific objectives of this research are to:
> * Improve our general understanding of transparent decisions
> * Develop a framework for measuring decision transparency, and
> * Improve the transparency of publicly available information about a
> specific decision (soil cleanup in the Hanford 100 Area).
>
>
> APPROACH
>
> Initially we developed a systematic definition of transparency based on a
> broad literature review. We found that transparent decisions must be:
> * clear
> * integrated into a broader context
> * logical and rational
> * accessible
> * truthful and accurate
> * open (i.e., involve stakeholders), and
> * accountable.
>
> We have also begun to think about how a framework to measure transparency
> might be applied to a specific decision.
>
> Next, with the help of active Hanford stakeholders, we developed a
> prototype for what we call a Decision Mapping System (DMS).
> * The DMS consists of a series of inter-related Web pages that describe
> and explain spatial, temporal and socio-cultural dimensions of the
> decision. It uses the 100 Area Soil Cleanup as a case study.
> * You can access the DMS by pointing your Internet browser to:
> http://nalu.geog.washington.edu/dms.
> * A participatory design process was use to implement the DMS.
> * A report summarizing the design and implementation of the DMS is
> available for review and can be downloaded at:
> http://nalu.geog.washington.edu/dms/pdf/DMS-designreport.pdf .
>
> EXPECTED RESULTS AND BENEFITS
> * The Decision Mapping System (DMS) is a publicly available
> Internet-based tool.
>
> * In the short term, we expect it to promote the transparency of a real
> decision situation - Soil cleanup in the Hanford 100 Area:
> o Those less familiar with Hanford can use the DMS as a learning tool
> o Those more familiar with Hanford can use the DMS to track decisions
> over time.
>
> * In the long run, we hope the project will increase awareness of
> Hanford issues, and promote more involvement in decision-making
> procedures.
> * This in turn could promote broader participation in the
> decision-making processes and result in more creative, more sustainable
> decision processes and outcomes.
>
> * Ultimately, the project will generate suggestions for improving the
> public record that will support long-term stewardship at the Department of
> Energy's former weapons manufacturing facilities.
>
> For more information contact:
> Christie Drew, Doctoral Candidate
> University of Washington, Department of Geography
> Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP)
> Box 353550, Seattle WA 98195
> Tel: (206) 616-7413 cdrew@u.washington.edu
> http://nalu.geog.washington.edu/dms
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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