ITS 832 CHAPTER 15 VISUAL DECISION SUPPORT FOR POLICY MAKING: ADVANCING POLICY ANALYSIS WITH VISUALIZATION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY DR. JORDON SHAW INTRODUCTION • Background • Approach • Case Studies • Optimization • Social Simulation • Urban Planning • Conclusion BACKGROUND • Assessing policy options for societal problems is difficult • Decision making methods • Data driven • Model driven • Visual decision supports helps in evaluating model output • Information visualization and visual analytics • Makes complex results accessible to many • Policy analysis • Part of process aimed at solving societal problems DATA VISUALIZATION POLICY CYCLE APPROACH • Characterization of stakeholders • Policy makers • Policy analysts • Modeling experts • Domain experts • Public stakeholders • Bridging knowledge gaps • With information visualization (IV) • Cohesive view of model representation VISUAL SUPPORT FOR POLICY ANALYSIS APPROACH, CONT’D. • Synergy effects of applying IV to policy analysis • Communication - facilitated • Complexity - reduced • Subjectivity - reduced • Validation - improved • Transparency and reproducibility of results - increased CASE STUDIES • Optimization • Optimization of regional energy plans considering impacts • Environmental • Economical • Social • Social Simulation • Simulation of the impact of different policy instruments on the adoption of photovoltaic (PV) panels by homeowners • Urban planning • Integration of heterogenous data sources in planning activities SUMMARY OF CASE STUDIES CONCLUSION • Current model output is often difficult to understand • Not accessible for non-specialists • Information visualization (IV) • Makes model output more accessible • This paper applies IV to policy analysis • Contributions • Defined collaborations • Identified hurdles • Defined interface methodology Running Head: PROFESSIONAL GOALS 1 PROFESSIONAL GOALS 4 Professional Goals and Objectives Name University Affiliation Date Professional Goals and Objectives Within the parameters of the field of Children and Family affairs, I have professional goals and objectives that relate to improving my communication skills, my leadership attributes, learn of new technology, as well as gain experiences while working in teams. Through enhancing my communication skills, it will be easier to offer assistance to APS units while ensuring that I am able to conduct case reviews for the cases in point which will play a big part in monitoring the state standards as to whether they are complied with or not (Garthwait, 2017). As an extemporary intern, I can excel at receiving information from individuals and families while also providing correct responses that are clear verbally and in writing. My main objective is to be ambiguous and easy to understand. Leadership is another professional goal that I have set so as to attain the qualities that are important in a care ...

1. ITS 832 CHAPTER 15
VISUAL DECISION SUPPORT FOR POLICY MAKING:
ADVANCING POLICY ANALYSIS
WITH VISUALIZATION
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY
DR. JORDON SHAW
INTRODUCTION
• Background
• Approach
• Case Studies
• Optimization
• Social Simulation
• Urban Planning
• Conclusion
BACKGROUND
• Assessing policy options for societal problems is difficult

2. • Decision making methods
• Data driven
• Model driven
• Visual decision supports helps in evaluating model output
• Information visualization and visual analytics
• Makes complex results accessible to many
• Policy analysis
• Part of process aimed at solving societal problems
DATA VISUALIZATION
POLICY CYCLE
APPROACH
• Characterization of stakeholders
• Policy makers
• Policy analysts
• Modeling experts
• Domain experts
• Public stakeholders
• Bridging knowledge gaps
• With information visualization (IV)

3. • Cohesive view of model representation
VISUAL SUPPORT FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
APPROACH, CONT’D.
• Synergy effects of applying IV to policy analysis
• Communication - facilitated
• Complexity - reduced
• Subjectivity - reduced
• Validation - improved
• Transparency and reproducibility of results - increased
CASE STUDIES
• Optimization
• Optimization of regional energy plans considering impacts
• Environmental
• Economical
• Social
• Social Simulation

4. • Simulation of the impact of different policy instruments on the
adoption of photovoltaic (PV) panels by
homeowners
• Urban planning
• Integration of heterogenous data sources in planning activities
SUMMARY OF CASE STUDIES
CONCLUSION
• Current model output is often difficult to understand
• Not accessible for non-specialists
• Information visualization (IV)
• Makes model output more accessible
• This paper applies IV to policy analysis
• Contributions
• Defined collaborations
• Identified hurdles
• Defined interface methodology
Running Head: PROFESSIONAL GOALS
1

5. PROFESSIONAL GOALS
4
Professional Goals and Objectives
Name
University Affiliation
Date
Professional Goals and Objectives
Within the parameters of the field of Children and Family
affairs, I have professional goals and objectives that relate to
improving my communication skills, my leadership attributes,
learn of new technology, as well as gain experiences while
working in teams. Through enhancing my communication skills,
it will be easier to offer assistance to APS units while ensuring
that I am able to conduct case reviews for the cases in point
which will play a big part in monitoring the state standards as to
whether they are complied with or not (Garthwait, 2017). As an
extemporary intern, I can excel at receiving information from
individuals and families while also providing correct responses
that are clear verbally and in writing. My main objective is to
be ambiguous and easy to understand.
Leadership is another professional goal that I have set so as to
attain the qualities that are important in a career setting. For
example, at the office I work at, my seniors seem to appreciate
motivation, the appreciating initiative, as well as the attitude
that compels people to take charge. I believe there are increased
opportunities when one is considered to have leadership
qualities. Some of the important qualities that I consider

6. important for a leader to have included the ability to plan for
events and recruiting volunteers to help.
In a professional setting, I also prioritize on gaining teamwork
experiences and learning new technology. The internship has
helped me to realize the importance of preferring team players
who are not interested in looking out for their own interests but
rather the interests of a group. This ensures that the group has a
shared vision (Garthwait, 2017). Even though technology
changes, I have made it my objective to understand the
technology that is provided in the Office of Children and
Family Services.
The goals and objectives outlined might be reflected back to the
agency learning agreement as they will play a big role in
understating the initiatives that are already streamlined, the
development of new ideas and initiatives, as well as in the
response of complaints and inquiries (Wayne et al., 2010).
Through participating avidly in the office practices and
initiatives, or at times with other agencies, it will be beneficial
to all parties as tasks will be done more confidently and without
fault. Since the personal objectives are in line with the vision of
the company, the streamlining of the two will translate to
professional developments.
References
Garthwait, C. L. (2017). The social work practicum: A guide
and workbook for students (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson. Chapter 1, “The Purpose and Expectations for
Practicum” (pp. 1–11)
Wayne, J., Bogo, M., & Raskin, M. (2010). Field education as
the signature pedagogy of social work education. Journal of
Social Work Education, 46(3), 327–339.

7. Learning Agreement
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Learning Agreement
During my field attachment at the office of children and family
services, New York, I was supposed to develop cultural
competence and self-reflection values and skills that are
important in ethical and professional development. In practice, I
maintained the integrity and ensured I learned as much as
possible from my fellow workers. Also, I helped clients from
whom I had context, kept privacy and confidentiality with them
and always used polite language with my clients. Nonetheless, I
would seek consultation from the supervisor and other
experienced fellows when I was stranded in ethical matters.
Secondly, the course required one to engage diversity and

8. difference in practice. I would listen and help clients regardless
of their age, gender, religion, social or economic status
following the challenges and struggles they were facing. I also
discussed with my colleagues about the challenges and issue I
was facing during my sessions with people from different
categories, and also learned from them how to deal with such
cases in future. I was also able to recognize when I was being
biased to a particular group and dealt with such instances.
Moreover, I shared my knowledge and experiences with the
staff on the diverse groups that I have associated with, and the
resulting discussion expanded my understanding of the same. In
the end, I had developed self-composure that is essential in the
social working career. However, I learned that getting being
friendly and avoiding being judgmental helped in understanding
different people; thus I would do the same in future.
Third, I needed to learn to advocate for fairness with regards to
how people were treated at the agency and avoid being
judgmental on issues that I did not understand well. I did all my
very best to understand mechanisms of oppression and
discrimination; advocated for human rights and social and
economic justice, and engaged in practices that advance social
and economic justice. I was also able to inform myself about
different agencies, guidelines regarding oppression and
discrimination. Moreover, I actively participated in meetings
aimed explicitly at addressing client, agency and community
needs. As such, I achieved social, economic and environmental
justice. My experienced colleagues provided that not every
piece of technical information needed translation into the
fieldwork, but should get adequately analyzed and researched to
ensure they hold in a particular situation. Therefore, in the next
field activity and future, I would continue to consult and
conduct an in-depth analysis of issues I find relevant to the task
at hand.
I also needed to learn how to incorporate more evidence-based
practices and approaches in my fieldwork. This would give me a
better understanding and appreciation of how vital research is to

9. social work. However, my internship was more centered on case
management. All the same, I went through the past cases in an
attempt to understand the methods that have been used to help
clients. Additionally, I read several current articles relating to
best approaches to deal with people in the society and discussed
what I had learned with my colleagues also conducted in-depth
research about how these approaches could become improved to
ensure efficient services to our subjects. In the end, I had
developed research skills and how to incorporate the research in
social work practices. In the next field education, I will focus
on the Research-Informed Practice rather than case
management, which is more profound and detailed. In future I
will continue to engage in an analysis of numerous new cases
since it’s important to be continuously informed; people and
interventions often changes.
Another course goal was to familiarize oneself with the state
laws of Nassau County so that one can identify when the client
is being misinformed. I achieved this goal by accessing the
policies from the website and discussed the same with the
colleagues in an attempt to determine how they affected
particular groups in society. I also enquired from the staff how
they offered services to clients, tried to align the findings to the
existing policies. I learned that clients often get taken
advantage of because they don’t know their rights. In the end, I
had gained critical thinking and assessment skills in enforcing
and advocating for policies that implement human rights and
justice across all fields. In the next terms field education, I will
try as much as possible to align the existing laws with the
current affairs, and in future, I would enforce and advocate for
these reforms. I found out that I paid more attention to the
social and economic relations and did little policies studies
concerning environmental issues; thus, I will improve on that
bit next time.
The course also required one to understand how to engage with
people, families, organizations and the community. I was able
to do this by shadowing a caseworker on initial home visits and

10. follow-ups. I also worked with APS customer service
employees. At the same time, I interacted with families,
community members and reached out to other agencies for
possible referrals for clients. I employed my knowledge of
human behavior and made sure I asked all the assessment tool
questions when interacting with clients. This strategy ensured
that the subjects opened up to my team and I thus we were able
to help them efficiently. In the end, I had gained association
skills that are elemental in social work. In the next field
assignment and future, I will maintain the social and open
environment for the clients to share freely.
Moreover, I needed to learn how to use “APS assessment tool:
information to clarity form” and APS customer service protocol.
To collect, organize, conduct assessment and interpret
information from the clients. In practice, I ensured that I ask all
the key questions essential for individual client complaints and
initial visits. I assessed family support systems for clients that
support intervention goals and strategies, developed a needs
assessment for clients’ development and assessed the gaps in,
how other organizations address people’s affairs. Also, I
determined the role the community plays in providing services
for the clients. I realized that I had trouble deciding a group
compared to individual activities. In future studies and career, I
would choose an assessment tool focusing on the individual
client.
Also, the course required that the student learn how to intervene
with individuals, families, groups, communities, and
organizations. As such I would help them meet their goals. I
achieved this objective by choosing agency-appropriate
processes to help clients set goals. I also participated in
progress reviews of selected interventions, modified goals and
services as needed and involved in termination of services when
appropriate. Also, I provided crisis management services if a
client complaint is life-threatening. In the end, I had gained
negotiation and facilitation skills that I would use in future and
the improvement of my next term field practice.

11. Lastly, the course required the development of understanding on
how to evaluate clients is to monitor and critically analyze. I
achieved this by using my knowledge of human behavior to
analyze and evaluate my client’s progress following an
intervention and make improvements or changes. I also chose a
method that was approved and funded by the agency. I learned
how important discussing the response with the supervisor is for
the budgetary and approval purposes. In future and I would still
consult and explore the best evaluation model for client
outcome.
LEARNING AGREEMENT
Running head: LEARNING AGREEMENT
ITS 832 CHAPTER 13
MANAGEMENT OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS: TOWARD
AGENT-BASED GAMING FOR POLICY
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY
DR. JORDON SHAW
INTRODUCTION
• Simulating/Managing Social Complex Phenomena
• Leadership and Management in Complex Systems
• Serious Gaming

12. • Agent-Based Games for Testing Leadership and Management
• Single and Multiplayer Settings
• Summary and conclusions
SIMULATING AND MANAGING SOCIAL COMPLEX
PHENOMENA
• Study of how people interact
• Scale prohibits experimentation with real populations
• Agent-Base modeling (ABM)
• Networked agents
• Each agent is an individual
• Interaction may modify agent behavior
• Managing complex phenomena introduces complexity
• Techniques to manage turbulent situations vary
• Technique success depends on responding to agent behavior
• Which may change based on interactions
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN COMPLEX
SYSTEMS
• Traditional leadership research
• Generally focuses on single period in time

13. • Doesn’t address dynamic relationships
• Timing of leadership principle application matters
• Primary leadership functions
• Instructional and regulatory
• Developmental
• Simulations offer promise to help model leadership in complex
systems
SERIOUS GAMING
• Applying gaming techniques to real life situations
• Flight simulators
• Effective for evaluating complex environments
• Player must interact with multiple actors and situations
• Currently used for side range of training applications
• Leadership use
• Deterministic – limited scope
• ABMs in serious gaming can help understand more complex
interactions
AGENT-BASED GAMES FOR TESTING LEADERSHIP
AND MANAGEMENT

14. • ABM games with autonomous AI population
• Test leadership style effectiveness
• Explore which styles work best in different situations
• Determine the best choice for a given scenario
• Current state of the art is more conceptual
• Advances needed in interfaces
• Need to allow users to interact with simulation
• Keep players engaged
BEHAVIOR IMPACTED BY MULTIPLE FACTORS
SINGLE AND MULTIPLAYER GAMES
• AI may react poorly to management input
• Simulating unexpected consequences of decisions
• Overactive AI may degrade realism
• Players can dynamically see how decisions affect others
• Early simulations allow for only single players
• Multiple real players adds more realistic interaction
• Players replace some AI
• Players interact with each other and AI

15. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
• ABM-based gaming can measure behaviors of players
• Supports experimentation in controlled environment
• Study leaderships and management in complex systems
• Focus
• Interaction with leadership
• Interaction with players as a result of leadership action
ITS 832 CHAPTER 16
ANALYSIS OF FIVE POLICY CASES IN THE FIELD OF
ENERGY POLICY
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY
DR. JORDON SHAW
OVERVIEW
• Introduction
• Theoretical grounds of policy implementation
• Approaches to policy implementation

16. • Five case studies
• Lessons learned
• Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
• Population and burning fossil fuels
• Factors of high pollution
• Environmental policy is high priority
• Most nations initiated projects to improve climate
• Focus
• Sustainable energy management
• Renewable energy sources
• Five case studies on climate change and energy use
• Comparative investigation
• What approaches are used?
• How can implications be measured?
• How easily can approaches be applied to other domains?
THEORETICAL GROUNDS OF POLICY
IMPLEMENTATION

17. • Policy implementation
• Turning theory into practice
• Gaps often occur / Formulated versus implemented policy
• Instruments for climate change policy
• Financial measures
• Legal / regulatory instruments
• Organizational measures
• Certificates or marketable permits / quotas
• Policy instruments for renewable energy
• Regulations and standards
• Quantity instruments
• Price instruments
• Public procurement
• Auction
APPROACHES TO POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
• Top-down
• Policies are communicated from policy-makers

18. • Bottom-up
• Focus is on policy implementers
• Macro- and micro-implementation
• Macro -Government -> local authorities
• Micro – Local government -> local polices
• Principal-agent theory
• Policy makers (principals) delegate responsibility to officials
(agents)
INVESTIGATING FIVE CASE STUDIES
• Assessing the EU Policy Package in Climate Change and
Renewables
• German Nuclear Phase-Out and Energy Transition Policy
• KNOWBRIDGE: Cross-Border Knowledge Bridge in the RES
Cluster in East
Slovakia and North Hungary
• KSR’s Strategy for the Use of Renewable Energy Sources
• MODEL: Management of Domains Related to Energy in Local
Authorities
LESSONS LEARNED
• Main common focus
• Renewable energy sources

19. • Some projects defined clear goals
• Dates
• Quantifiable targets
• Others focused on long-term strategies
• Precise targets versus investigating issues
• Biggest takeaway
• Involving consumers in policy making increases
implementation success
CONCLUSION
• Climate change and transition to RES is a serious issue
• Awareness is growing
• But not fast enough
• Public policy is necessary to move away from fossil fuels
• Projects show how RES can be possible and sustainable
• However
• Transition to RES is expensive
• One reason for slow adoption