Sample records for academic decision making

  1. Academic Libraries, Information Sources, and Shared Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McClure, Charles R.

    1980-01-01

    Analyzes the relationship of academic librarians' contact with information sources and their involvement in library decision making. Findings suggest that individuals rich in information sources are most closely linked to the decision-making process. (RAA)

  2. Academic Decision Making: Faculty Appointments and Reappointments.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Renner, K. Edward

    1987-01-01

    The rapidly rising costs of the academic salary budget and the lack of flexibility for making new academic appointments or for reallocating resources to new and emerging educational demands are discussed. Personnel decisions made in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Dalhousie University are described. (MLW)

  3. Academic Support Services and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy in Student Athletes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burns, Gary N.; Jasinski, Dale; Dunn, Steve; Fletcher, Duncan

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the relationship between evaluations of academic support services and student athletes' career decision-making self-efficacy. One hundred and fifty-eight NCAA athletes (68% male) from 11 Division I teams completed measures of satisfaction with their academic support services, career decision-making self-efficacy, general…

  4. Higher Education Department Chairs and Academic Human Resource Decision Making: Does Unionization Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dzwik, Leigh Settlemoir

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess faculty unionization's impact on academic human resource decision making for department chairs. The academic human resource decisions included in the study were: academic hiring; re-employment, promotion and tenure; other faculty evaluation decisions; and discipline and discharge. The first purpose of this…

  5. To Achieve or Not To Achieve: A Self-Regulation Perspective on Adolescents' Academic Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, David C.; Byrnes, James P.

    2001-01-01

    This study investigated the utility of the self-regulation model of decision making for explaining and predicting adolescents' academic decision making. Measures included an assessment of decision-making skill; academic goals; select scales of Learning and Study Strategies Inventory; and teacher ratings of achievement behavior. Adolescents'…

  6. Academic decision making and prospect theory.

    PubMed

    Mowrer, Robert R; Davidson, William B

    2011-08-01

    Two studies are reported that investigate the applicability of prospect theory to college students' academic decision making. Exp. 1 failed to provide support for the risk-seeking portion of the fourfold pattern predicted by prospect theory but did find the greater weighting of losses over gains. Using a more sensitive dependent measure, in Exp. 2 the results of the first experiment were replicated in terms of the gain-loss effect and also found some support for the fourfold pattern in the interaction between probabilities and gain versus loss. The greatest risk-seeking was found in the high probability loss condition.

  7. Exploratory Honors Students: Academic Major and Career Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carduner, Jessie; Padak, Gary M.; Reynolds, Jamie

    2011-01-01

    In this qualitative study, we investigated the academic major and career decision-making processes of honors college students who were declared as "exploratory" students in their freshman year at a large, public, midwestern university. We used semistandardized interviews and document analysis as primary data collection methods to answer…

  8. Faculty Participation in Academic Decision Making. Report of a Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dykes, Archie R.

    Personal interviews with a random sample of 106 faculty members of a large midwestern university dealt with the role of faculty in decision making on academic, financial, and student affairs, personnel matters, capital improvements, and public and alumni relations. While the faculty members interviewed indicated that faculty should have a strong,…

  9. Preschool Teaching Students' Prediction of Decision Making Strategies and Academic Achievement on Learning Motivations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Acat, M. Bahaddin; Dereli, Esra

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify problems and motivation sources and strategies of decision-making of the students' attending preschool education teacher department, was to determine the relationship between learning motivation and strategies of decision-making, academic achievement of students, was to determine whether strategies of…

  10. Dimensionality of Helicopter Parenting and Relations to Emotional, Decision-Making, and Academic Functioning in Emerging Adults.

    PubMed

    Luebbe, Aaron M; Mancini, Kathryn J; Kiel, Elizabeth J; Spangler, Brooke R; Semlak, Julie L; Fussner, Lauren M

    2016-08-24

    The current study tests the underlying structure of a multidimensional construct of helicopter parenting (HP), assesses reliability of the construct, replicates past relations of HP to poor emotional functioning, and expands the literature to investigate links of HP to emerging adults' decision-making and academic functioning. A sample of 377 emerging adults (66% female; ages 17-30; 88% European American) were administered several items assessing HP as well as measures of other parenting behaviors, depression, anxiety, decision-making style, grade point average, and academic functioning. Exploratory factor analysis results suggested a four-factor, 23-item measure that encompassed varying levels of parental involvement in the personal and professional lives of their children. A bifactor model was also fit to the data and suggested the presence of a reliable overarching HP factor in addition to three reliable subfactors. The fourth subfactor was not reliable and item variances were subsumed by the general HP factor. HP was found to be distinct from, but correlated in expected ways with, other reports of parenting behavior. HP was also associated with poorer functioning in emotional functioning, decision making, and academic functioning. Parents' information-seeking behaviors, when done in absences of other HP behaviors, were associated with better decision making and academic functioning. © The Author(s) 2016.

  11. Family Decision-Making Style, Peer Group Affiliation and Prior Academic Achievement as Predictors of the Academic Achievement of African American Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engerman, Kimarie

    2006-01-01

    A study analyzed family decision-making style, peer group affiliation, and academic achievement in 10th grade as predictors of academic achievement of African American students in 12th grade. Findings indicated that though peer groups were known to influence academic performance, affiliation with learning oriented peers in 10th grade did not…

  12. Developing Effective Academic Accommodations in Higher Education: A Collaborative Decision-Making Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsiao, Feilin; Zeiser, Shelly; Nuss, Daniel; Hatschek, Keith

    2018-01-01

    This case study describes a collaborative decision-making process for developing effective academic accommodations for a music major with a disability, whose prior accommodations suggested by the Disability Support Services (DSS) failed to address her needs. Cross-departmental collaboration between the DSS and the School of Music, as well as…

  13. Difficult Decisions: A Qualitative Exploration of the Statistical Decision Making Process from the Perspectives of Psychology Students and Academics.

    PubMed

    Allen, Peter J; Dorozenko, Kate P; Roberts, Lynne D

    2016-01-01

    Quantitative research methods are essential to the development of professional competence in psychology. They are also an area of weakness for many students. In particular, students are known to struggle with the skill of selecting quantitative analytical strategies appropriate for common research questions, hypotheses and data types. To begin understanding this apparent deficit, we presented nine psychology undergraduates (who had all completed at least one quantitative methods course) with brief research vignettes, and asked them to explicate the process they would follow to identify an appropriate statistical technique for each. Thematic analysis revealed that all participants found this task challenging, and even those who had completed several research methods courses struggled to articulate how they would approach the vignettes on more than a very superficial and intuitive level. While some students recognized that there is a systematic decision making process that can be followed, none could describe it clearly or completely. We then presented the same vignettes to 10 psychology academics with particular expertise in conducting research and/or research methods instruction. Predictably, these "experts" were able to describe a far more systematic, comprehensive, flexible, and nuanced approach to statistical decision making, which begins early in the research process, and pays consideration to multiple contextual factors. They were sensitive to the challenges that students experience when making statistical decisions, which they attributed partially to how research methods and statistics are commonly taught. This sensitivity was reflected in their pedagogic practices. When asked to consider the format and features of an aid that could facilitate the statistical decision making process, both groups expressed a preference for an accessible, comprehensive and reputable resource that follows a basic decision tree logic. For the academics in particular, this aid

  14. Ethical Decision-Making in Academic Administration: A Qualitative Study of College Deans' Ethical Frameworks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Catacutan, Maria Rosario G.; de Guzman, Allan B.

    2015-01-01

    Ethical decision-making in school administration has received considerable attention in educational leadership literature. However, most research has focused on principals working in secondary school settings while studies that explore ethical reasoning processes of academic deans have been significantly few. This qualitative study aims to…

  15. A Qualitative Study of the Influences on Clinical Academic Physicians' Postdoctoral Career Decision-Making.

    PubMed

    Ranieri, Veronica F; Barratt, Helen; Rees, Geraint; Fulop, Naomi J

    2018-01-23

    To describe the influences on clinical academic physicians' postdoctoral career decision-making. Thirty-five doctoral trainee physicians from University College London took part in semi-structured interviews in 2015 and 2016. Participants were asked open-ended questions about their career to-date, their experiences undertaking a PhD, and their career plans post-PhD. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to generate, review, and define themes from the transcripts. Emerging differences and similarities in participants' reasons for pursuing a PhD were then grouped to produce typologies to explore how their experiences influenced their career decision-making. Participants described four key reasons for undertaking a PhD, which formed the basis of the four typologies identified. These reasons included: to pursue a clinical academic career; to complete an extensive period of research to understand whether a clinical academic career was the desired path forward; to improve clinical career prospects; and to take a break from clinical training. These findings highlight the need to target efforts at retaining clinical academic physicians according to their reasons for pursuing a PhD and their subsequent experiences with the process. Those responsible for overseeing clinical training must be well-informed of the long-term benefits of training academically-qualified physicians. In light of current political uncertainty, universities, hospitals, and external agencies alike must increase their efforts to inspire and assuage early-career clinical academic physicians' fears regarding their academic future.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

  16. Difficult Decisions: A Qualitative Exploration of the Statistical Decision Making Process from the Perspectives of Psychology Students and Academics

    PubMed Central

    Allen, Peter J.; Dorozenko, Kate P.; Roberts, Lynne D.

    2016-01-01

    Quantitative research methods are essential to the development of professional competence in psychology. They are also an area of weakness for many students. In particular, students are known to struggle with the skill of selecting quantitative analytical strategies appropriate for common research questions, hypotheses and data types. To begin understanding this apparent deficit, we presented nine psychology undergraduates (who had all completed at least one quantitative methods course) with brief research vignettes, and asked them to explicate the process they would follow to identify an appropriate statistical technique for each. Thematic analysis revealed that all participants found this task challenging, and even those who had completed several research methods courses struggled to articulate how they would approach the vignettes on more than a very superficial and intuitive level. While some students recognized that there is a systematic decision making process that can be followed, none could describe it clearly or completely. We then presented the same vignettes to 10 psychology academics with particular expertise in conducting research and/or research methods instruction. Predictably, these “experts” were able to describe a far more systematic, comprehensive, flexible, and nuanced approach to statistical decision making, which begins early in the research process, and pays consideration to multiple contextual factors. They were sensitive to the challenges that students experience when making statistical decisions, which they attributed partially to how research methods and statistics are commonly taught. This sensitivity was reflected in their pedagogic practices. When asked to consider the format and features of an aid that could facilitate the statistical decision making process, both groups expressed a preference for an accessible, comprehensive and reputable resource that follows a basic decision tree logic. For the academics in particular, this aid

  17. An Examination of the Effects of Career Development Courses on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, Adjustment to College, Learning Integration, and Academic Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Michele J.; Pedersen, Joan S.

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of career development courses on career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE), college adjustment, learning integration, academic achievement, and retention among undecided undergraduates. It also investigated the effects of course format on career decision-making abilities and academic success outcomes and…

  18. Understanding Academic Clinicians' Decision Making for the Treatment of Childhood Obesity.

    PubMed

    Bailey, Karen; Cunningham, Charles; Pemberton, Julia; Rimas, Heather; Morrison, Katherine M

    2015-12-01

    Although most clinicians agree that obesity is a major problem, treatment rates remain low. We conducted this discrete choice experiment (DCE) to understand academic clinicians' decisions in treating childhood obesity. A total of 198 academic pediatric surgeons, pediatricians, family physicians, and allied health professionals were recruited from 15 teaching hospitals across Canada to participate in this DCE. Participants completed 15 tasks choosing between three obesity treatment scenarios to identify the scenario in which they would most likely treat pediatric obesity. Latent class analysis revealed two classes with early intervention and late intervention preferences. Participants in the early intervention group (30%) were sensitive to variations in patient and family support. They would likely intervene if patients were obese, with normal lipid levels, were prediabetic, had high blood pressure, and when obesity was lifestyle associated. Late intervention clinicians (70%) were more likely to intervene if patients were morbidly obese, had abnormal lipid levels, required insulin for diabetes, had very high blood pressure, or when obesity impacted the patient's mental health. Simulations predicted that increasing colleague support for intervention, providing expert consultation, and mobilizing multidisciplinary support would increase the likelihood of treating pediatric obesity earlier from 16.1% to 81.5%. This DCE was implemented to understand the factors clinicians use in making decisions. Most academic clinicians choose to intervene late in the clinical course when more-severe obesity-related morbidities are present. Increased support from colleagues, expert consultation, and multidisciplinary support are likely to lead to earlier treatment of obesity among academic clinicians caring for children.

  19. Learning Strategy Preferences, Decision-Making Styles, Ways of Knowing, and Cultural Awareness of Members of the National Academic Advising Association

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trout, Donna K.

    2009-01-01

    Academic advisors help students with the process of decision making, of making sense of their world, of understanding how they go about learning, and of understanding how to appreciate diversity in their world. If advisors are to help students in these areas, academic advisors should be aware of the cognitive processes of how they make sense of…

  20. Learning to Make Decisions Through Constructive Controversy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tjosvold, Dean

    Students must make decisions about their lifestyle, future careers, academic pursuits, and classroom and school issues. Learning to make effective decisions for themselves and for society is an important aspect of competence. They can learn decision making through interacting and solving problems with others. A central ingredient for successful…

  1. The Decision-Making Structure and the Dean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Betty M.; George, Shirley A.

    1987-01-01

    Characteristics in the college academic setting and the external environment that affect the decision-making structure and that the dean should consider before reorganization are examined. Concepts and theories about governance, decision-making, organizational structure, and characteristics of effective decision makers are also briefly reviewed. A…

  2. Principles of educational outreach ('academic detailing') to improve clinical decision making.

    PubMed

    Soumerai, S B; Avorn, J

    1990-01-26

    With the efficacy and costs of medications rising rapidly, it is increasingly important to ensure that drugs be prescribed as rationally as possible. Yet, physicians' choices of drugs frequently fall short of the ideal of precise and cost-effective decision making. Evidence indicates that such decisions can be improved in a variety of ways. A number of theories and principles of communication and behavior changes can be found that underlie the success of pharmaceutical manufacturers in influencing prescribing practices. Based on this behavioral science and several field trials, it is possible to define the theory and practice of methods to improve physicians' clinical decision making to enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness of care. Some of the most important techniques of such "academic detailing" include (1) conducting interviews to investigate baseline knowledge and motivations for current prescribing patterns, (2) focusing programs on specific categories of physicians as well as on their opinion leaders, (3) defining clear educational and behavioral objectives, (4) establishing credibility through a respected organizational identity, referencing authoritative and unbiased sources of information, and presenting both sides of controversial issues, (5) stimulating active physician participation in educational interactions, (6) using concise graphic educational materials, (7) highlighting and repeating the essential messages, and (8) providing positive reinforcement of improved practices in follow-up visits. Used by the nonprofit sector, the above techniques have been shown to reduce inappropriate prescribing as well as unnecessary health care expenditures.

  3. Moogle, Google, and Garbage Cans: The Impact of Technology on Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sellers, Martin P.

    2005-01-01

    Decision makers are faced daily with making important and pervasive decisions. This is especially significant in higher education, where decisions about academics will have considerable impact on the next generation of leaders. In place of rational decisions about the substance of learning and instruction, academic administrators make incremental…

  4. Who Governs? Academic Decision-Making in US Four-Year Colleges and Universities, 2000-2012

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Apkarian, Jacob; Mulligan, Kerry; Rotondi, Matthew B.; Brint, Steven

    2014-01-01

    This study compares the explanatory power of two models of academic governance: dual and managerial control. The research is based on characterizations by chief academic officers of the primary decision-makers involved in 13 types of recurrent academic decisions. We examine change between responses to surveys fielded to US four-year colleges and…

  5. Reflective Decision Making among University Department Heads across Academic Disciplines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kampmann, Jennifer A.

    2012-01-01

    Within the scope of leadership and management, decision making greatly defines the role of university administrator, in particular, the university department head and his/her ability to be a reflective practitioner in the realm of decision making. Decision making is one characteristic of university department head work which warrants close…

  6. The Impact of Cooperative Learning on Developing the Sixth Grade Students Decision-Making Skill and Academic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Asha, Intisar K.; Al Hawi, Asma M.

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed at investigating the effect of cooperative learning on developing the sixth graders' decision making skill and their academic achievement. The study sample, which was selected randomly, consisted of (46) students and divided into two groups: the experimental group that taught using the cooperative learning strategy and the control…

  7. [Shared decision making].

    PubMed

    Floer, B; Schnee, M; Böcken, J; Streich, W; Kunstmann, W; Isfort, J; Butzlaff, M

    2004-10-29

    The demand for integration of patients in medical decisions becomes more and more obvious. Little is known about whether patients are willing and ready to share therapeutic decisions. So far information is lacking, whether existing communication skills of both -- patients and physicians -- are sufficient for shared decision making (SDM). This paper presents new data on patients perspectives regarding SDM. Standardized survey of 3058 German speaking people (1565 females, 1493 males), aged 18-79 years, a population based random sample of an access panel (pool of german households available for specific surveys) regarding the following topics: medical decision making in practice, communication skills and behaviour of physicians. A majority of patients approved the model of SDM. However, some subgroups of patients, especially older patients, were less interested in the concept of SDM. Necessary communication skills which may help patients to participate in decision making were used rather scarcely. Patients who approved the model of SDM more often experienced a common and trustful exchange of information. Most patients favour the concept of SDM. The communication skills necessary for this process are to be promoted and extended. Research on patients' preferences and their participation in health care reform should be intensified. Academic and continuous medical education should focus on knowledge transfer to patients.

  8. Examination of the Relationship Amongst Parenting Dimensions, Academic Achievement, Career Decision Making, and Commitment Anxiety among African American High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bennett-Garraway, Jocelyn M.

    2011-01-01

    Do parents play a significant role in the academic achievement and career decision making process of African American children? Studies have confirmed the importance of the role of parents and have even identified preferred parenting styles as having the best academic achievement (Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, & Fraleigh, 1987;…

  9. First Generation College Students in Engineering: A Grounded Theory Study of Family Influence on Academic Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simmons, Denise Rutledge

    2012-01-01

    This work develops a constructivist grounded theory describing the influence of family and those that serve a role similar to family on the academic decision making of undergraduate first generation in college (FGC) students majoring in engineering. FGC students, in this study, are students with neither parent having attained a bachelor's…

  10. A Survey on Turkish nursing students' perception of clinical learning environment and its association with academic motivation and clinical decision making.

    PubMed

    Aktaş, Yeşim Yaman; Karabulut, Neziha

    2016-01-01

    Nursing education is a process that includes theoretical and practical learning and requires the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and skill. Nursing students need a good clinical practice environment in order to apply their knowledge and skills due to the fact that the clinical practice settings play an important role in the nursing profession. This study was carried out in an effort to explore nursing students' perception of the clinical learning environment and its association with academic motivation and clinical decision making. A descriptive survey design was used. This study was conducted in Giresun University in Turkey. Participants were second-, third- and fourth-year undergraduate students (n=222) in the Bachelor of Nursing Science Degree in the academic spring term of 2014-2015. The data was collected using the 'Clinical Learning Environment Scale', the 'Academic Motivation, and the 'The Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Scale'. Of the respondents in this study, 45% of the students were second class, 30.6% of the students were third class and 24.3% of the students were fourth class. There was a statistically significant positive correlation found between the clinical learning environment and the nursing students' academic motivation (r=0.182, p<.05). However, there was no correlation between the clinical learning environment and clinical decision making (r=0.082, p>.05). One of the prerequisites for the training of qualified students is to provide nursing students with a qualified clinical environment. It was found that nursing students' academic motivation increased as the quality of their clinical learning environment improved. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Parent-Child Engagement in Decision Making and the Development of Adolescent Affective Decision Capacity and Binge Drinking

    PubMed Central

    Xiao, Lin; Bechara, Antoine; Palmer, Paula H.; Trinidad, Dennis R.; Wei, Yonglan; Jia, Yong; Johnson, C. Anderson

    2010-01-01

    The goal of this study was to investigate how parents’ engagement of their child in everyday decision-making influenced their adolescent’s development on two neuropsychological functions, namely, affective decision-making and working memory, and its effect on adolescent binge-drinking behavior. We conducted a longitudinal study of 192 Chinese adolescents. In 10th grade, the adolescents were tested for their affective decision-making ability using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and working memory capacity using the Self-ordered Pointing Test (SOPT). Questionnaires were used to assess perceived parent-child engagement in decision-making, academic performance and drinking behavior. At one-year follow-up, the same neuropsychological tasks and questionnaires were repeated. Results indicate that working memory and academic performance were uninfluenced by parent-child engagement in decision-making. However, compared to adolescents whose parents made solitary decisions for them, adolescents engaged in everyday decision-making showed significant improvement on affective decision capacity and significantly less binge-drinking one year later. These findings suggest that parental engagement of children in everyday decision-making might foster the development of neurocognitive functioning relative to affective decision-making and reduce adolescent substance use behaviors. PMID:21804682

  12. Goal Setting, Decision-Making Skills and Academic Performance of Undergraduate Distance Learners: Implications for Retention and Support Services

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tanglang, Nebath; Ibrahim, Aminu Kazeem

    2015-01-01

    The study adopted an ex-post facto research design. Randomization sampling technique was used to select 346 undergraduate distance learners and the learners were grouped into four, High and Low Goal setter learners and High and Low Decision-making skills learners. The instruments for data collection were Undergraduate Academic Goal Setting Scale…

  13. Stereotype threat affects financial decision making.

    PubMed

    Carr, Priyanka B; Steele, Claude M

    2010-10-01

    The research presented in this article provides the first evidence that one's decision making can be influenced by concerns about stereotypes and the devaluation of one's identity. Many studies document gender differences in decision making, and often attribute these differences to innate and stable factors, such as biological and hormonal differences. In three studies, we found that stereotype threat affected decision making and led to gender differences in loss-aversion and risk-aversion behaviors. In Study 1, women subjected to stereotype threat in academic and business settings were more loss averse than both men and women who were not facing the threat of being viewed in light of negative stereotypes. We found no gender differences in loss-aversion behavior in the absence of stereotype threat. In Studies 2a and 2b, we found the same pattern of effects for risk-aversion behavior that we had observed for loss-aversion behavior. In addition, in Study 2b, ego depletion mediated the effects of stereotype threat on women's decision making. These results suggest that individuals' decision making can be influenced by stereotype concerns.

  14. Understanding shared decision making in pediatric otolaryngology.

    PubMed

    Chorney, Jill; Haworth, Rebecca; Graham, M Elise; Ritchie, Krista; Curran, Janet A; Hong, Paul

    2015-05-01

    The aim of this study was to describe the level of decisional conflict experienced by parents considering surgery for their children and to determine if decisional conflict and perceptions of shared decision making are related. Prospective cohort study. Academic pediatric otolaryngology clinic. Sixty-five consecutive parents of children who underwent surgical consultation for elective otolaryngological procedures were prospectively enrolled. Participants completed the Shared Decision Making Questionnaire and the Decisional Conflict Scale. Surgeons completed the Shared Decision Making Questionnaire-Physician version. Eleven participants (16.9%) scored over 25 on the Decisional Conflict Scale, a previously defined clinical cutoff indicating significant decisional conflict. Parent years of education and parent ratings of shared decision making were significantly correlated with decisional conflict (positively and negatively correlated, respectively). A logistic regression indicated that shared decision making but not education predicted the presence of significant decisional conflict. Parent and physician ratings of shared decision making were not related, and there was no correlation between physician ratings of shared decision making and parental decisional conflict. Many parents experienced considerable decisional conflict when making decisions about their child's surgical treatment. Parents who perceived themselves as being more involved in the decision-making process reported less decisional conflict. Parents and physicians had different perceptions of shared decision making. Future research should develop and assess interventions to increase parents' involvement in decision making and explore the impact of significant decisional conflict on health outcomes. © American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

  15. School and District Intervention: A Decision-Making Framework for Policymakers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bowles, Susan A.; Churchill, Andrew M.; Effrat, Andrew; McDermott, Kathryn A.

    This paper seeks to help state policymakers understand their relatively new role in improving the academic performance of local schools and districts. The first section, "Intervention Decision-Making Framework," focuses on the intervention decision making framework model, performance criteria, strategic criteria, diagnostic…

  16. Structural Equation Models of Management and Decision-Making Styles with Job Satisfaction of Academic Staff in Malaysian Research University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amzat, Ismail Hussein; Idris, Datuk Abdul Rahman

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effect of management and decision-making styles on the job satisfaction of academic staff in a Malaysian Research University. Design/methodology/approach: The sample consisted of 218 respondents. The instruments used in the study were the Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Decision…

  17. A Reliable Sounding Board: Parent Involvement in Students' Academic and Career Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simmons, Andrew N.

    2008-01-01

    With concern over parental involvement in students' academic lives on the rise, research is needed to provide guidance for advisors and parents. In this article, student-parent interactions about academic and career decisions are examined. Data come from the Brown University Office of Institutional Research and semi-structured interviews with…

  18. Residents values in a rational decision-making model: an interest in academics in emergency medicine.

    PubMed

    Burkhardt, John Christian; Smith-Coggins, Rebecca; Santen, Sally

    2016-10-01

    Academic physicians train the next generation of doctors. It is important to understand the factors that lead residents to choose an academic career to continue to effectively recruit residents who will join the national medical faculty. A decision-making theory-driven, large scale assessment of this process has not been previously undertaken. To examine the factors that predict an Emergency resident's interest in pursuing an academic career at the conclusion of training. This study employs the ABEM Longitudinal Survey (n = 365). A logistic regression model was estimated using an interest in an academic career in residency as the dependent variable. Independent variables include gender, under-represented minority status, survey cohort, number of dependent children, possession of an advanced degree, ongoing research, publications, and the appeal of science, independence, and clinical work in choosing EM. Logistic regression resulted in a statistically significant model (p < 0.001). Residents who chose EM due to the appeal of science, had peer-reviewed publications and ongoing research were more likely to be interested in an academic career at the end of residency (p < 0.05). An increased number of children (p < 0.05) was negatively associated with an interest in academics. Individual resident career interests, research productivity, and lifestyle can help predict an interest in pursuing an academic career. Recruitment and enrichment of residents who have similar values and behaviors should be considered in programs interested in generating more graduates who enter an academic career.

  19. Academic Library Administration: A Case Examination of Faculty-Librarian Perceptions of Journal Cancellations and the Decision-Making Process in a Large, Urban Institution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walther, James Harmon

    As the academic library plays the roles of intermediary and adjudicator of collection purchases and cancellations, faculty involvement in library resource decisions is not only commonplace, but essential to making such decisions. Faculty involvement in cancellation projects is often enhanced by a thorough explanation of the depth of financial…

  20. Variations in Decision-Making Approach to Tertiary Teaching: A Case Study in Vietnam

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nguyen, Thanh Tien

    2016-01-01

    Although the question of what to teach and how to teach has received much attention from the literature, little was known about the way in which academics in teaching groups make decision on what and how to teach. This paper reports an analysis of variations in the decision-making approach to tertiary teaching through academics' practices of…

  1. Challenging the Academically Adrift: A New Decision-Making Tool to Help Improve Student Commitment to Academic Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis, Carolyn D.

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes research in progress concerning the development and use of a newly created tool, the Decision-Making Grid, which was designed to teach undergraduate management students to develop and use metacognitive regulation skills to improve decision-making by requiring students to construct improved decision-making models in a boundedly…

  2. A Utility Model for Teaching Load Decisions in Academic Departments.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Massey, William F.; Zemsky, Robert

    1997-01-01

    Presents a utility model for academic department decision making and describes the structural specifications for analyzing it. The model confirms the class-size utility asymmetry predicted by the authors' academic rachet theory, but shows that marginal utility associated with college teaching loads is always negative. Curricular structure and…

  3. Strategic Decision-Making by Deans in Academic Health Centers: A Framework Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keeney, Brianne

    2012-01-01

    This study examines strategic decision-making at the college level in relation to seven theoretical frames. Strategic decisions are those made by top executives, have wide-ranging influence throughout the organization, affect the long-term future of the organization, and are connected to the external environment. The seven decision-making frames…

  4. Creating Smarter Classrooms: Data-Based Decision Making for Effective Classroom Management

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gage, Nicholas A.; McDaniel, Sara

    2012-01-01

    The term "data-based decision making" (DBDM) has become pervasive in education and typically refers to the use of data to make decisions in schools, from assessment of an individual student's academic progress to whole-school reform efforts. Research suggests that special education teachers who use progress monitoring data (a DBDM…

  5. Classifying clinical decision making: a unifying approach.

    PubMed

    Buckingham, C D; Adams, A

    2000-10-01

    This is the first of two linked papers exploring decision making in nursing which integrate research evidence from different clinical and academic disciplines. Currently there are many decision-making theories, each with their own distinctive concepts and terminology, and there is a tendency for separate disciplines to view their own decision-making processes as unique. Identifying good nursing decisions and where improvements can be made is therefore problematic, and this can undermine clinical and organizational effectiveness, as well as nurses' professional status. Within the unifying framework of psychological classification, the overall aim of the two papers is to clarify and compare terms, concepts and processes identified in a diversity of decision-making theories, and to demonstrate their underlying similarities. It is argued that the range of explanations used across disciplines can usefully be re-conceptualized as classification behaviour. This paper explores problems arising from multiple theories of decision making being applied to separate clinical disciplines. Attention is given to detrimental effects on nursing practice within the context of multidisciplinary health-care organizations and the changing role of nurses. The different theories are outlined and difficulties in applying them to nursing decisions highlighted. An alternative approach based on a general model of classification is then presented in detail to introduce its terminology and the unifying framework for interpreting all types of decisions. The classification model is used to provide the context for relating alternative philosophical approaches and to define decision-making activities common to all clinical domains. This may benefit nurses by improving multidisciplinary collaboration and weakening clinical elitism.

  6. Real-life decision making in college students. I: Consistency across specific decisions.

    PubMed

    Galotti, Kathleen M; Wiener, Hillary J D; Tandler, Jane M

    2014-01-01

    First-year undergraduates participated in a short-term longitudinal study of real-life decision making over their first 14 months of college. They were surveyed about 7 different decisions: choosing courses for an upcoming term (3 different terms), choosing an academic major (twice), planning for the upcoming summer, and planning for sophomore-year housing. Participants showed moderate levels of consistency in the options they considered and in the criteria they used to decide between options, with about half of the options or criteria being used at 2 different points on the decision repeatedly studied. Participants varied somewhat in structural consistency, the tendency to consider the same number of options or criteria across decisions. They also varied in the way they integrated information across decision-making tasks. We suggest that people attempt to keep the information demands of the task within workable limits, sometimes sacrificing consistency as a result.

  7. Parental Influence on Exploratory Students' College Choice, Major, and Career Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Workman, Jamie L.

    2015-01-01

    This article explores parental influence on exploratory students' college choice, major, and career decision making. The research began with examination of a first year academic advising model and Living Learning Community. Parental influence emerged as a key theme in student decision making processes. The project was conducted using grounded…

  8. Shaping Strategy: An Institutional Analysis of Decision Making in the Middle Tier

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vasquez, Alejandro

    2017-01-01

    The intent of this single-case study was to explore the effects of a competitive environment on organizational decision making. The study examines the decision making processes that resulted in the adoption of an undergraduate business major at a traditional, middle-tier Liberal Arts College and offers an analysis of academic leaders' perspectives…

  9. Principles of Classroom Management: A Professional Decision-Making Model, 7th Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levin, James; Nolan, James F.

    2014-01-01

    This text takes a decision-making model approach to classroom management. It provides teachers with a very practical system to influence students to choose to behave productively and to strive for academic success. This widely used text presents an array of decision-making options that guide teachers in developing positive, pro-social classroom…

  10. School Psychologist Diagnostic Decision-Making: A Pilot Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnard-Brak, Lucy; Stevens, Tara; Robinson, Eric; Holt, Ann

    2013-01-01

    The current study examined the diagnostic decision-making of school psychologists as a function of a student's disability and academic performance with three research questions using a randomly-selected sample of school psychologists from the state of Texas. Results from the first research question indicated that school psychologists significantly…

  11. The Academic Game. A Simulation of Policy-Making in a University For 8 to 20 Players.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jaques, David

    The Academic Game, considered a valuable exercise for academics and administrators in investigating some of the problems of decision-making and possible ways of facilitating organizational decisions, is described. The major objective of the game is to achieve on agreed promotion policy. The roles and organization structure are designed to ensure…

  12. Factors and outcomes of decision making for cancer clinical trial participation.

    PubMed

    Biedrzycki, Barbara A

    2011-09-01

    To describe factors and outcomes related to the decision-making process regarding participation in a cancer clinical trial. Cross-sectional, descriptive. Urban, academic, National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the mid-Atlantic United States. 197 patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer. Mailed survey using one investigator-developed instrument, eight instruments used in published research, and a medical record review. disease context, sociodemographics, hope, quality of life, trust in healthcare system, trust in health professional, preference for research decision control, understanding risks, and information. decision to accept or decline research participation and satisfaction with this decision. All of the factors within the Research Decision Making Model together predicted cancer clinical trial participation and satisfaction with this decision. The most frequently preferred decision-making style for research participation was shared (collaborative) (83%). Multiple factors affect decision making for cancer clinical trial participation and satisfaction with this decision. Shared decision making previously was an unrecognized factor and requires further investigation. Enhancing the process of research decision making may facilitate an increase in cancer clinical trial enrollment rates. Oncology nurses have unique opportunities as educators and researchers to support shared decision making by those who prefer this method for deciding whether to accept or decline cancer clinical trial participation.

  13. The state of shared decision making in Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Lee, Yew Kong; Ng, Chirk Jenn

    2017-06-01

    Shared decision making (SDM) activities in Malaysia began around 2010. Although the concept is not widespread, there are opportunities to implement SDM in both the public and private healthcare sectors. Malaysia has a multicultural society and cultural components (such as language differences, medical paternalism, strong family involvement, religious beliefs and complementary medicine) influence medical decision making. In terms of policy, the Ministry of Health has increasingly mentioned patient-centered care as a component of healthcare delivery while the Malaysian Medical Council's guidelines on doctors' duties mentioned collaborative partnerships as a goal of doctor-patient relationships. Current research on SDM comprises baseline surveys of decisional role preferences, development and implementation of locally developed patient decision aids, and conducting of SDM training workshops. Most of this research is carried out by public research universities. In summary, the current state of SDM in Malaysia is still at its infancy. However, there are increasing recognition and efforts from the academic institutions and Ministry of Health to conduct research in SDM, develop patient decision support tools and initiate national discussion on patient involvement in decision making. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  14. Decision making.

    PubMed

    Chambers, David W

    2011-01-01

    A decision is a commitment of resources under conditions of risk in expectation of the best future outcome. The smart decision is always the strategy with the best overall expected value-the best combination of facts and values. Some of the special circumstances involved in decision making are discussed, including decisions where there are multiple goals, those where more than one person is involved in making the decision, using trigger points, framing decisions correctly, commitments to lost causes, and expert decision makers. A complex example of deciding about removal of asymptomatic third molars, with and without an EBD search, is discussed.

  15. The 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, Shared Decision Making in the Emergency Department: Development of a Policy-relevant Patient-centered Research Agenda May 10, 2016, New Orleans, LA.

    PubMed

    Grudzen, Corita R; Anderson, Jana R; Carpenter, Christopher R; Hess, Erik P

    2016-12-01

    Shared decision making in emergency medicine has the potential to improve the quality, safety, and outcomes of emergency department (ED) patients. Given that the ED is the gateway to care for patients with a variety of illnesses and injuries and the safety net for patients otherwise unable to access care, shared decision making in the ED is relevant to numerous disciplines and the interests of the United States (U.S.) public. On May 10, 2016 the 16th annual Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM) consensus conference, "Shared Decision Making: Development of a Policy-Relevant Patient-Centered Research Agenda" was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. During this one-day conference clinicians, researchers, policy-makers, patient and caregiver representatives, funding agency representatives, trainees, and content experts across many areas of medicine interacted to define high priority areas for research in 1 of 6 domains: 1) diagnostic testing; 2) policy, 3) dissemination/implementation and education, 4) development and testing of shared decision making approaches and tools in practice, 5) palliative care and geriatrics, and 6) vulnerable populations and limited health literacy. This manuscript describes the current state of shared decision making in the ED context, provides an overview of the conference planning process, the aims of the conference, the focus of each respective breakout session, the roles of patient and caregiver representatives and an overview of the conference agenda. The results of this conference published in this issue of AEM provide an essential summary of the future research priorities for shared decision making to increase quality of care and patient-centered outcomes. © 2016 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  16. Shared Decision-making in the Emergency Department: Respecting Patient Autonomy When Seconds Count.

    PubMed

    Hess, Erik P; Grudzen, Corita R; Thomson, Richard; Raja, Ali S; Carpenter, Christopher R

    2015-07-01

    Shared decision-making (SDM), a collaborative process in which patients and providers make health care decisions together, taking into account the best scientific evidence available, as well as the patient's values and preferences, is being increasingly advocated as the optimal approach to decision-making for many health care decisions. The rapidly paced and often chaotic environment of the emergency department (ED), however, is a unique clinical setting that offers many practical and contextual challenges. Despite these challenges, in a recent survey emergency physicians reported there to be more than one reasonable management option for over 50% of their patients and that they take an SDM approach in 58% of such patients. SDM has also been selected as the topic on which to develop a future research agenda at the 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference, "Shared Decision-making in the Emergency Department: Development of a Policy-relevant Patient-centered Research Agenda" (http://www.saem.org/annual-meeting/education/2016-aem-consensus-conference). In this paper the authors describe the conceptual model of SDM as originally conceived by Charles and Gafni and highlight aspects of the model relevant to the practice of emergency medicine. In addition, through the use of vignettes from the authors' clinical practices, the applicability of SDM to contemporary EM practice is illustrated and the ethical and pragmatic implications of taking an SDM approach are explored. It is hoped that this document will be read in advance of the 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference, to facilitate group discussions at the conference. © 2015 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  17. Decision Accuracy in Computer-Mediated versus Face-to-Face Decision-Making Teams.

    PubMed

    Hedlund; Ilgen; Hollenbeck

    1998-10-01

    Changes in the way organizations are structured and advances in communication technologies are two factors that have altered the conditions under which group decisions are made. Decisions are increasingly made by teams that have a hierarchical structure and whose members have different areas of expertise. In addition, many decisions are no longer made via strictly face-to-face interaction. The present study examines the effects of two modes of communication (face-to-face or computer-mediated) on the accuracy of teams' decisions. The teams are characterized by a hierarchical structure and their members differ in expertise consistent with the framework outlined in the Multilevel Theory of team decision making presented by Hollenbeck, Ilgen, Sego, Hedlund, Major, and Phillips (1995). Sixty-four four-person teams worked for 3 h on a computer simulation interacting either face-to-face (FtF) or over a computer network. The communication mode had mixed effects on team processes in that members of FtF teams were better informed and made recommendations that were more predictive of the correct team decision, but leaders of CM teams were better able to differentiate staff members on the quality of their decisions. Controlling for the negative impact of FtF communication on staff member differentiation increased the beneficial effect of the FtF mode on overall decision making accuracy. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

  18. Composite collective decision-making

    PubMed Central

    Czaczkes, Tomer J.; Czaczkes, Benjamin; Iglhaut, Carolin; Heinze, Jürgen

    2015-01-01

    Individual animals are adept at making decisions and have cognitive abilities, such as memory, which allow them to hone their decisions. Social animals can also share information. This allows social animals to make adaptive group-level decisions. Both individual and collective decision-making systems also have drawbacks and limitations, and while both are well studied, the interaction between them is still poorly understood. Here, we study how individual and collective decision-making interact during ant foraging. We first gathered empirical data on memory-based foraging persistence in the ant Lasius niger. We used these data to create an agent-based model where ants may use social information (trail pheromones), private information (memories) or both to make foraging decisions. The combined use of social and private information by individuals results in greater efficiency at the group level than when either information source was used alone. The modelled ants couple consensus decision-making, allowing them to quickly exploit high-quality food sources, and combined decision-making, allowing different individuals to specialize in exploiting different resource patches. Such a composite collective decision-making system reaps the benefits of both its constituent parts. Exploiting such insights into composite collective decision-making may lead to improved decision-making algorithms. PMID:26019155

  19. A Middle School Principal's and Teachers' Perceptions of Leadership Practices in Data-Driven Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Godreau Cimma, Kelly L.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe one Connecticut middle school's voluntary implementation of a data-driven decision making process in order to improve student academic performance. Data-driven decision making is a component of Connecticut's accountability system to assist schools in meeting the requirements of the No…

  20. The Calculus of Yes and No: How One Professor Makes Decisions about Academic Service

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffin, Kimberly A.

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the author, Kimberly A. Griffin, a faculty member at a research-intensive institution, reflects on what has guided her decision to say "yes" or "no" when requests for academic service are presented. She reports she is evaluated on how much she engages in research, teaching, and service, and that tenure and…

  1. Real-life decision making in college students. II: Do individual differences show reliable effects?

    PubMed

    Galotti, Kathleen M; Tandler, Jane M; Wiener, Hillary J D

    2014-01-01

    First-year undergraduates participated in a short-term longitudinal study of real-life decision making over their first 14 months of college. They were surveyed about 7 different decisions: choosing courses for upcoming terms (on 3 different occasions), choosing an academic major (twice), planning for the upcoming summer, and planning for sophomore-year housing. They also completed a survey of self-reported decision-making styles and the Need for Cognition survey (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) to assess their focus on rationality and enjoyment of analytic thinking. Results showed few statistically significant correlations between stylistic measures and behavioral measures of decision making, in either the amount of information considered or the way in which the information integration tracked predictions of linear models of decision making applied to each participant's data. However, there were consistent correlations, across the 7 decisions, between stylistic measures and affective reactions to, or retrospective descriptions of, episodes of decision making. We suggest that decision-making styles instruments may better reflect the construction of narratives of self as a decision maker more than they do actual behavior during decision making.

  2. Composite collective decision-making.

    PubMed

    Czaczkes, Tomer J; Czaczkes, Benjamin; Iglhaut, Carolin; Heinze, Jürgen

    2015-06-22

    Individual animals are adept at making decisions and have cognitive abilities, such as memory, which allow them to hone their decisions. Social animals can also share information. This allows social animals to make adaptive group-level decisions. Both individual and collective decision-making systems also have drawbacks and limitations, and while both are well studied, the interaction between them is still poorly understood. Here, we study how individual and collective decision-making interact during ant foraging. We first gathered empirical data on memory-based foraging persistence in the ant Lasius niger. We used these data to create an agent-based model where ants may use social information (trail pheromones), private information (memories) or both to make foraging decisions. The combined use of social and private information by individuals results in greater efficiency at the group level than when either information source was used alone. The modelled ants couple consensus decision-making, allowing them to quickly exploit high-quality food sources, and combined decision-making, allowing different individuals to specialize in exploiting different resource patches. Such a composite collective decision-making system reaps the benefits of both its constituent parts. Exploiting such insights into composite collective decision-making may lead to improved decision-making algorithms. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  3. Categorization = Decision Making + Generalization

    PubMed Central

    Seger, Carol A; Peterson, Erik J.

    2013-01-01

    We rarely, if ever, repeatedly encounter exactly the same situation. This makes generalization crucial for real world decision making. We argue that categorization, the study of generalizable representations, is a type of decision making, and that categorization learning research would benefit from approaches developed to study the neuroscience of decision making. Similarly, methods developed to examine generalization and learning within the field of categorization may enhance decision making research. We first discuss perceptual information processing and integration, with an emphasis on accumulator models. We then examine learning the value of different decision making choices via experience, emphasizing reinforcement learning modeling approaches. Next we discuss how value is combined with other factors in decision making, emphasizing the effects of uncertainty. Finally, we describe how a final decision is selected via thresholding processes implemented by the basal ganglia and related regions. We also consider how memory related functions in the hippocampus may be integrated with decision making mechanisms and contribute to categorization. PMID:23548891

  4. Perceptions of shared decision making and decision aids among rural primary care clinicians.

    PubMed

    King, Valerie J; Davis, Melinda M; Gorman, Paul N; Rugge, J Bruin; Fagnan, L J

    2012-01-01

    Shared decision making (SDM) and decision aids (DAs) increase patients' involvement in health care decisions and enhance satisfaction with their choices. Studies of SDM and DAs have primarily occurred in academic centers and large health systems, but most primary care is delivered in smaller practices, and over 20% of Americans live in rural areas, where poverty, disease prevalence, and limited access to care may increase the need for SDM and DAs. To explore perceptions and practices of rural primary care clinicians regarding SDM and DAs. Cross-sectional survey. Setting and Participants Primary care clinicians affiliated with the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network. Surveys were returned by 181 of 231 eligible participants (78%); 174 could be analyzed. Two-thirds of participants were physicians, 84% practiced family medicine, and 55% were male. Sixty-five percent of respondents were unfamiliar with the term shared decision making, but following definition, 97% reported that they found the approach useful for conditions with multiple treatment options. Over 90% of clinicians perceived helping patients make decisions regarding chronic pain and health behavior change as moderate/hard in difficulty. Although 69% of respondents preferred that patients play an equal role in making decisions, they estimate that this happens only 35% of the time. Time was reported as the largest barrier to engaging in SDM (63%). Respondents were receptive to using DAs to facilitate SDM in print- (95%) or web-based formats (72%), and topic preference varied by clinician specialty and decision difficulty. Rural clinicians recognized the value of SDM and were receptive to using DAs in multiple formats. Integration of DAs to facilitate SDM in routine patient care may require addressing practice operation and reimbursement.

  5. Stop making plans; start making decisions.

    PubMed

    Mankins, Michael C; Steele, Richard

    2006-01-01

    Many executives have grown skeptical of strategic planning. Is it any wonder? Despite all the time and energy that go into it, strategic planning most often acts as a barrier to good decision making and does little to influence strategy. Strategic planning fails because of two factors: It typically occurs annually, and it focuses on individual business units. As such, the process is completely at odds with the way executives actually make important strategy decisions, which are neither constrained by the calendar nor defined by unit boundaries. Thus, according to a survey of 156 large companies, senior executives often make strategic decisions outside the planning process, in an ad hoc fashion and without rigorous analysis or productive debate. But companies can fix the process if they attack its root problems. A few forward-looking firms have thrown out their calendar-driven, business-unit-focused planning procedures and replaced them with continuous, issues-focused decision making. In doing so, they rely on several basic principles: They separate, but integrate, decision making and plan making. They focus on a few key themes. And they structure strategy reviews to produce real decisions. When companies change the timing and focus of strategic planning, they also change the nature of senior management's discussions about strategy--from "review and approve" to "debate and decide," in which top executives actively think through every major decision and its implications for the company's performance and value. The authors have found that these companies make more than twice as many important strategic decisions per year as companies that follow the traditional planning model.

  6. Patient and physician views of shared decision making in cancer.

    PubMed

    Tamirisa, Nina P; Goodwin, James S; Kandalam, Arti; Linder, Suzanne K; Weller, Susan; Turrubiate, Stella; Silva, Colleen; Riall, Taylor S

    2017-12-01

    Engaging patients in shared decision making involves patient knowledge of treatment options and physician elicitation of patient preferences. Our aim was to explore patient and physician perceptions of shared decision making in clinical encounters for cancer care. Patients and physicians were asked open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of shared decision making throughout their cancer care. Transcripts of interviews were coded and analysed for shared decision-making themes. At an academic medical centre, 20 cancer patients with a range of cancer diagnoses, stages of cancer and time from diagnosis, and eight physicians involved in cancer care were individually interviewed. Most physicians reported providing patients with written information. However, most patients reported that written information was too detailed and felt that the physicians did not assess the level of information they wished to receive. Most patients wanted to play an active role in the treatment decision, but also wanted the physician's recommendation, such as what their physician would choose for him/herself or a family member in a similar situation. While physicians stated that they incorporated patient autonomy in decision making, most provided data without making treatment recommendations in the format preferred by most patients. We identified several communication gaps in cancer care. While patients want to be involved in the decision-making process, they also want physicians to provide evidence-based recommendations in the context of their individual preferences. However, physicians often are reluctant to provide a recommendation that will bias the patient. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Designing a Decision Support System (DSS) for Academic Library Managers Using Preprogrammed Application Software on a Microcomputer.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonald, Joseph

    1986-01-01

    Focusing on management decisions in academic libraries, this article compares management information systems (MIS) with decision support systems (DSS) and discusses the decision-making process, information needs of library managers, sources of data, reasons for choosing microcomputer, preprogrammed application software, prototyping a system, and…

  8. Decision Making and Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Reyna, Valerie F.; Nelson, Wendy L.; Han, Paul K.; Pignone, Michael P.

    2014-01-01

    We review decision-making along the cancer continuum in the contemporary context of informed and shared decision making, in which patients are encouraged to take a more active role in their health care. We discuss challenges to achieving informed and shared decision making, including cognitive limitations and emotional factors, but argue that understanding the mechanisms of decision making offers hope for improving decision support. Theoretical approaches to decision making that explain cognition, emotion, and their interaction are described, including classical psychophysical approaches, dual-process approaches that focus on conflicts between emotion versus cognition (or reason), and modern integrative approaches such as fuzzy-trace theory. In contrast to the earlier emphasis on rote use of numerical detail, modern approaches emphasize understanding the bottom-line gist of options (which encompasses emotion and other influences on meaning) and retrieving relevant social and moral values to apply to those gist representations. Finally, research on interventions to support better decision making in clinical settings is reviewed, drawing out implications for future research on decision making and cancer. PMID:25730718

  9. Decision making and cancer.

    PubMed

    Reyna, Valerie F; Nelson, Wendy L; Han, Paul K; Pignone, Michael P

    2015-01-01

    We review decision making along the cancer continuum in the contemporary context of informed and shared decision making in which patients are encouraged to take a more active role in their health care. We discuss challenges to achieving informed and shared decision making, including cognitive limitations and emotional factors, but argue that understanding the mechanisms of decision making offers hope for improving decision support. Theoretical approaches to decision making that explain cognition, emotion, and their interaction are described, including classical psychophysical approaches, dual-process approaches that focus on conflicts between emotion versus cognition (or reason), and modern integrative approaches such as fuzzy-trace theory. In contrast to the earlier emphasis on rote use of numerical detail, modern approaches emphasize understanding the bottom-line gist of options (which encompasses emotion and other influences on meaning) and retrieving relevant social and moral values to apply to those gist representations. Finally, research on interventions to support better decision making in clinical settings is reviewed, drawing out implications for future research on decision making and cancer. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Depressive symptoms and decision-making preferences in patients with comorbid illnesses.

    PubMed

    Moise, Nathalie; Ye, Siqin; Alcántara, Carmela; Davidson, Karina W; Kronish, Ian

    2017-01-01

    Shared decision-making (SDM) is increasingly promoted in the primary care setting, but depressive symptoms, which are associated with cognitive changes, may influence decision-making preferences. We sought to assess whether elevated depressive symptoms are associated with decision-making preference in patients with comorbid chronic illness. We enrolled 195 patients ≥18years old with uncontrolled hypertension from two urban, academic primary care clinics. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Clinician-directed decision-making preference was assessed according to the Control Preference Scale. The impact of depressive symptoms on decision-making preference was assessed using generalized linear mixed models adjusted for age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, Medicaid status, Charlson Comorbidity Index, partner status, and clustering within clinicians. The mean age was 64.2years; 72% were women, 77% Hispanic, 38% Black, and 33% had elevated depressive symptoms. Overall, 35% of patients preferred clinician-directed decision-making, 19% mostly clinician-directed, 39% shared, and 7% some or little clinician-input. Patients with (vs. without) elevated depressive symptoms were more likely to prefer clinician-directed decision-making (46% versus 29%; p=0.02; AOR 2.51, 95% CI 1.30-4.85, p=0.005). Remitted depressive symptoms (vs. never depressed) were not associated with preference. Elevated depressive symptoms are associated with preference for clinician-directed decision-making. We suggest that clinicians should be aware of this effect when incorporating preference into their communication styles and take an active role in eliciting patient values and exchanging information about treatment choice, all important components of shared decision-making, particularly when patients are depressed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Improving decision making in crisis.

    PubMed

    Higgins, Guy; Freedman, Jennifer

    2013-01-01

    The most critical activity during emergencies or crises is making decisions about what to do next. This paper provides insights into the challenges that people face in making decisions at any time, but particularly during emergencies and crises. It also introduces the reader to the concept of different sense-making/decision-making domains, the human behaviours that can adversely affect decision making - decision derailers - and ways in which emergency responders can leverage this knowledge to make better decisions. While the literature on decision making is extensive, this paper is focused on those aspects that apply particularly to decision making in emergencies or times of crisis.

  12. The adaptive decision-making, risky decision, and decision-making style of Internet gaming disorder.

    PubMed

    Ko, C-H; Wang, P-W; Liu, T-L; Chen, C-S; Yen, C-F; Yen, J-Y

    2017-07-01

    Persistent gaming, despite acknowledgment of its negative consequences, is a major criterion for individuals with Internet gaming disorder (IGD). This study evaluated the adaptive decision-making, risky decision, and decision-making style of individuals with IGD. We recruited 87 individuals with IGD and 87 without IGD (matched controls). All participants underwent an interview based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Edition) diagnostic criteria for IGD and completed an adaptive decision-making task; the Preference for Intuition and Deliberation Scale, Chen Internet Addiction Scale, and Barratt Impulsivity Scale were also assessed on the basis of the information from the diagnostic interviews. The results demonstrated that the participants in both groups tend to make more risky choices in advantage trials where their expected value (EV) was more favorable than those of the riskless choice. The tendency to make a risky choice in advantage trials was stronger among IGD group than that among controls. Participants of both groups made more risky choices in the loss domain, a risky option to loss more versus sure loss option, than they did in the gain domain, a risky option to gain more versus sure gain. Furthermore, the participants with IGD made more risky choices in the gain domain than did the controls. Participants with IGD showed higher and lower preferences for intuitive and deliberative decision-making styles, respectively, than controls and their preferences for intuition and deliberation were positively and negatively associated with IGD severity, respectively. These results suggested that individuals with IGD have elevated EV sensitivity for decision-making. However, they demonstrated risky preferences in the gain domain and preferred an intuitive rather than deliberative decision-making style. This might explain why they continue Internet gaming despite negative consequences. Thus, therapists should focus more on decision-making

  13. Effects of increased overnight supervision on resident education, decision-making, and autonomy.

    PubMed

    Haber, Lawrence A; Lau, Catherine Y; Sharpe, Bradley A; Arora, Vineet M; Farnan, Jeanne M; Ranji, Sumant R

    2012-10-01

    New supervisory regulations highlight the challenge of balancing housestaff supervision and autonomy. To better understand the impact of increased supervision on residency training, we investigated housestaff perceptions of education, autonomy, and clinical decision-making before and after implementation of an in-hospital, overnight attending physician (nocturnist). We established a nocturnist program in July 2010 at our academic, tertiary care medical center. We administered pre-surveys and post-surveys of internal medicine residents on night float rotation during the 2010-2011 academic year. We surveyed residents before and after experiencing the nocturnist program. Housestaff reported an increase in the clinical value of the night float rotation (3.95 vs 4.27, P = 0.01) and the adequacy of overnight supervision (3.65 vs 4.30, P < 0.0001) without a change in decision-making autonomy (4.35 vs 4.45, P = 0.44). Trainees agreed that nocturnist supervision positively impacted patient outcomes (3.79 vs 4.30, P = 0.002). Housestaff contacted attendings more frequently for transfers from outside facilities (2.00 vs 3.20, P = 0.006), during adverse events (2.51 vs 3.25, P = 0.04), prior to ordering invasive diagnostics (1.75 vs 2.76, P = 0.004), and prior to vasopressor use (1.52 vs 2.40, P = 0.004). Residents' fear of revealing knowledge gaps and desire to make decisions independently did not change. Increased overnight supervision enhanced the clinical value of the night float rotation, increased rates of attending contact during critical clinical decision-making, and improved perception of patient care. These changes occurred without a decrease in housestaff's perceived decision-making autonomy. Copyright © 2012 Society of Hospital Medicine.

  14. Decision Making Under Uncertainty

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-11-01

    A sound approach to rational decision making requires a decision maker to establish decision objectives, identify alternatives, and evaluate those...often violate the axioms of rationality when making decisions under uncertainty. The systematic description of such observations may lead to the...which leads to “anchoring” on the initial value. The fact that individuals have been shown to deviate from rationality when making decisions

  15. Dissociation of emotional decision-making from cognitive decision-making in chronic schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Lee, Yanghyun; Kim, Yang-Tae; Seo, Eugene; Park, Oaktae; Jeong, Sung-Hun; Kim, Sang Heon; Lee, Seung-Jae

    2007-08-30

    Recent studies have examined the decision-making ability of schizophrenic patients using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). These studies, however, were restricted to the assessment of emotional decision-making. Decision-making depends on cognitive functions as well as on emotion. The purpose of this study was to examine the performance of schizophrenic patients on the IGT and the Game of Dice Task (GDT), a decision-making task with explicit rules for gains and losses. In addition, it was intended to test whether poor performance on IGT is attributable to impairments in reversal learning within the schizophrenia group using the Simple Reversal Learning Task (SRLT), which is sensitive to measure the deficit of reversal learning following ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage. A group of 23 stable schizophrenic patients and 28 control subjects performed computerized versions of the IGT, GDT, SRLT and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). While schizophrenic patients performed poorly on the IGT relative to normal controls, there was no significant difference between the two groups on GDT performance. The performance of the schizophrenia group on the SRLT was poorer than that of controls, but was not related to IGT performance. These data suggest that schizophrenic patients have impaired emotional decision-making but intact cognitive decision-making, suggesting that these two processes of decision-making are different. Furthermore, the impairments in reversal learning did not contribute to poor performance on the IGT in schizophrenia. Therefore, schizophrenic patients have difficulty in making decisions under ambiguous and uncertain situations whereas they make choices easily in clear and unequivocal ones. The emotional decision-making deficits in schizophrenia might be attributable more to another mechanism such as a somatic marker hypothesis than to an impairment in reversal learning.

  16. Decision Making in Action

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, Judith; Statler, Irving C. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The importance of decision-making to safety in complex, dynamic environments like mission control centers and offshore installations has been well established. NASA-ARC has a program of research dedicated to fostering safe and effective decision-making in the manned spaceflight environment. Because access to spaceflight is limited, environments with similar characteristics, including aviation and nuclear power plants, serve as analogs from which space-relevant data can be gathered and theories developed. Analyses of aviation accidents cite crew judgement and decision making as causes or contributing factors in over half of all accidents. A similar observation has been made in nuclear power plants. Yet laboratory research on decision making has not proven especially helpful in improving the quality of decisions in these kinds of environments. One reason is that the traditional, analytic decision models are inappropriate to multidimensional, high-risk environments, and do not accurately describe what expert human decision makers do when they make decisions that have consequences. A new model of dynamic, naturalistic decision making is offered that may prove useful for improving decision making in complex, isolated, confined and high-risk environments. Based on analyses of crew performance in full-mission simulators and accident reports, features that define effective decision strategies in abnormal or emergency situations have been identified. These include accurate situation assessment (including time and risk assessment), appreciation of the complexity of the problem, sensitivity to constraints on the decision, timeliness of the response, and use of adequate information. More effective crews also manage their workload to provide themselves with time and resources to make good decisions. In brief, good decisions are appropriate to the demands of the situation. Effective crew decision making and overall performance are mediated by crew communication. Communication

  17. [Decision Making and Electrodermal Activity].

    PubMed

    Kobayakawa, Mutsutaka

    2016-08-01

    Decision making is aided by emotions. Bodily responses, such as sweating, heartbeat, and visceral sensation, are used to monitor the emotional state during decision making. Because decision making in dairy life is complicated and cognitively demanding, these bodily signals are thought to facilitate the decision making process by assigning positive or negative values for each of the behavioral options. The sweat response in a decision making task is measured by skin conductance response (SCR). SCR in decision making is divided into two categories: anticipatory SCR is observed before making decisions, and reward/punishment SCR is observed after the outcome of the decision is perceived. Brain lesion studies in human revealed that the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are important in decision making. Patients with lesinon in the amygdala exhibit neither the anticipatory nor reward/punishment SCRs, while patients with the ventromedial prefrontal lesions have deficits only in the anticipatory SCRs. Decision making tasks and SCR analysis have contributed to reveal the implicit aspects of decision making. Further research is necessary for clarifying the role of explicit process of decision making and its relationship with the implicit process.

  18. Older adults newly diagnosed with symptomatic myeloma and treatment decision making.

    PubMed

    Tariman, Joseph D; Doorenbos, Ardith; Schepp, Karen G; Singhal, Seema; Berry, Donna L

    2014-07-01

    To describe the preferences for participation in decision making of older adult patients newly diagnosed with symptomatic myeloma and to explore the association between sociodemographic variables and decisional role preferences. Descriptive, cross-sectional design. Participants' homes and two large academic cancer centers in Seattle, WA, and Chicago, IL. A convenience sample of 20 older adults (60 years of age and older) with symptomatic myeloma diagnosed within the past six months. The Control Preferences Scale was administered followed by an in-person, one-time, semistructured interview. Role preferences for participation in treatment decision making, age, gender, race, work status, personal relationship status, education, and income. Fifty-five percent of the participants preferred a shared role with the physician and 40% preferred to make the decisions after seriously considering the opinion of their physicians. Only one participant preferred to leave the decision to the doctor, as long as the doctor considered the patient's treatment preferences. The study findings indicate that older adults newly diagnosed with myeloma want to participate in treatment decision making. Oncology nurses must respect the patient's desired role preference and oncology clinicians must listen to the patient and allow him or her to be autonomous in making treatment decisions. Nurses and other oncology clinicians can elicit a patient's preferred level of participation in treatment decision making. Oncology nurses can make sure patients receive disease- and treatment-related information, encourage them to express their decisional role preference to the physician, develop a culture of mutual respect and value their desire for autonomy for treatment decision making, acknowledge that the right to make a treatment choice belongs to the patient, and provide support during treatment decision making throughout the care continuum.

  19. The Relations between Decision Making in Social Relationships and Decision Making Styles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sari, Enver

    2008-01-01

    The research reported in this paper aimed to examine the relationships between decisiveness in social relationships, and the decision-making styles of a group of university students and to investigate the contributions of decision-making styles in predicting decisiveness in social relationship (conflict resolution, social relationship selection…

  20. Using the Situated Clinical Decision-Making framework to guide analysis of nurses' clinical decision-making.

    PubMed

    Gillespie, Mary

    2010-11-01

    Nurses' clinical decision-making is a complex process that holds potential to influence the quality of care provided and patient outcomes. The evolution of nurses' decision-making that occurs with experience has been well documented. In addition, literature includes numerous strategies and approaches purported to support development of nurses' clinical decision-making. There has been, however, significantly less attention given to the process of assessing nurses' clinical decision-making and novice clinical educators are often challenged with knowing how to best support nurses and nursing students in developing their clinical decision-making capacity. The Situated Clinical Decision-Making framework is presented for use by clinical educators: it provides a structured approach to analyzing nursing students' and novice nurses' decision-making in clinical nursing practice, assists educators in identifying specific issues within nurses' clinical decision-making, and guides selection of relevant strategies to support development of clinical decision-making. A series of questions is offered as a guide for clinical educators when assessing nurses' clinical decision-making. The discussion presents key considerations related to analysis of various decision-making components, including common sources of challenge and errors that may occur within nurses' clinical decision-making. An exemplar illustrates use of the framework and guiding questions. Implications of this approach for selection of strategies that support development of clinical decision-making are highlighted. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Call for shared decision making in China: Challenges and opportunities.

    PubMed

    Yao, Mi; Finnikin, Samuel; Cheng, K K

    2017-06-01

    China's healthcare system has undergone extensive changes over recent years and the most recent reforms are designed to shift the emphasis away from hospital based services towards a more primary care based system. There is an increasing recognition that shared decision making needs to play a central role in the delivery of healthcare in China, but there are several significant barriers to overcome before this aspiration becomes a reality. Doctor-patient relationships in China are poor, consultations are often brief transactions and levels of trust are low. Implementing a shared decision making process developed in the Western World may be hampered by cultural differences, although this remains an under-researched area. There is, however, a suggestion that the academic community is starting to take an interest in encouraging shared decision making in practice and indications that the Chinese public may be willing to consider this new approach to healthcare. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  2. Teacher Decision-Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Carl B.

    Since teaching is fundamentally a decision-making process, analyzing teachers' decisions can lead to a better understanding of learning and of management in the classroom. Three major features of teacher decision making are (1) that teaching is an intensely active profession; (2) that most of the work of teaching occurs in a group setting; and (3)…

  3. [Interoception and decision-making].

    PubMed

    Ohira, Hideki

    2015-02-01

    We sometimes make decisions relying not necessarily on deliberative thoughts but on intuitive and emotional processes in uncertain situations. The somatic marker hypothesis proposed by Damasio argued that interoception, which means bodily responses such as sympathetic activity, can be represented in the insula and anterior cingulate cortex and can play critical roles in decision-making. Though this hypothesis has been criticized in its theoretical and empirical aspects, recent studies are expanding the hypothesis to elucidate multiple bodily responses including autonomic, endocrine, and immune activities that affect decision-making. In addition, cumulative findings suggest that the anterior insula where the inner model of interoception is represented can act as an interface between the brain and body in decision-making. This article aims to survey recent findings on the brain-body interplays underlying decision-making, and to propose hypotheses on the significance of the body in decision-making.

  4. Teachers' Grading Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Isnawati, Ida; Saukah, Ali

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated teachers' grading decision making, focusing on their beliefs underlying their grading decision making, their grading practices and assessment types, and factors they considered in grading decision making. Two teachers from two junior high schools applying different curriculum policies in grade reporting in Indonesian…

  5. Accuracy of 'My Gut Feeling:' Comparing System 1 to System 2 Decision-Making for Acuity Prediction, Disposition and Diagnosis in an Academic Emergency Department.

    PubMed

    Cabrera, Daniel; Thomas, Jonathan F; Wiswell, Jeffrey L; Walston, James M; Anderson, Joel R; Hess, Erik P; Bellolio, M Fernanda

    2015-09-01

    Current cognitive sciences describe decision-making using the dual-process theory, where a System 1 is intuitive and a System 2 decision is hypothetico-deductive. We aim to compare the performance of these systems in determining patient acuity, disposition and diagnosis. Prospective observational study of emergency physicians assessing patients in the emergency department of an academic center. Physicians were provided the patient's chief complaint and vital signs and allowed to observe the patient briefly. They were then asked to predict acuity, final disposition (home, intensive care unit (ICU), non-ICU bed) and diagnosis. A patient was classified as sick by the investigators using previously published objective criteria. We obtained 662 observations from 289 patients. For acuity, the observers had a sensitivity of 73.9% (95% CI [67.7-79.5%]), specificity 83.3% (95% CI [79.5-86.7%]), positive predictive value 70.3% (95% CI [64.1-75.9%]) and negative predictive value 85.7% (95% CI [82.0-88.9%]). For final disposition, the observers made a correct prediction in 80.8% (95% CI [76.1-85.0%]) of the cases. For ICU admission, emergency physicians had a sensitivity of 33.9% (95% CI [22.1-47.4%]) and a specificity of 96.9% (95% CI [94.0-98.7%]). The correct diagnosis was made 54% of the time with the limited data available. System 1 decision-making based on limited information had a sensitivity close to 80% for acuity and disposition prediction, but the performance was lower for predicting ICU admission and diagnosis. System 1 decision-making appears insufficient for final decisions in these domains but likely provides a cognitive framework for System 2 decision-making.

  6. Anxiety and Decision-Making

    PubMed Central

    Hartley, Catherine A.; Phelps, Elizabeth A.

    2013-01-01

    While the everyday decision-making of clinically anxious individuals is clearly influenced by their excessive fear and worry, the relationship between anxiety and decision-making remains relatively unexplored in neuroeconomic studies. In this review, we attempt to explore the role of anxiety in decision-making using a neuroeconomic approach. We first review the neural systems mediating fear and anxiety, which overlap with a network of brain regions implicated in studies of economic decision-making. We then discuss the potential influence of cognitive biases associated with anxiety upon economic choice, focusing on a set of decision-making biases involving choice in the face of potential aversive outcomes. We propose that the neural circuitry supporting fear learning and regulation may mediate the influence of anxiety upon choice, and suggest that techniques for altering fear and anxiety may also change decisions. PMID:22325982

  7. Hospice decision making: diagnosis makes a difference.

    PubMed

    Waldrop, Deborah P; Meeker, Mary Ann

    2012-10-01

    This study explored the process of decision making about hospice enrollment and identified factors that influence the timing of that decision. This study employed an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional design and was conducted using qualitative methods. In-depth in-person semistructured interviews were conducted with 36 hospice patients and 55 caregivers after 2 weeks of hospice care. The study was guided by Janis and Mann's conflict theory model (CTM) of decision making. Qualitative data analysis involved a directed content analysis using concepts from the CTM. A model of hospice enrollment decision making is presented. Concepts from the CTM (appraisal, surveying and weighing the alternatives, deliberations, adherence) were used as an organizing framework to illustrate the dynamics. Distinct differences were found by diagnosis (cancer vs. other chronic illness, e.g., heart and lung diseases) during the pre-encounter phase or before the hospice referral but no differences emerged during the post-encounter phase. Differences in decision making by diagnosis suggest the need for research about effective means for tailored communication in end-of-life decision making by type of illness. Recognition that decision making about hospice admission varies is important for clinicians who aim to provide person-centered and family-focused care.

  8. Distributed decision making in action: diagnostic imaging investigations within the bigger picture.

    PubMed

    Makanjee, Chandra R; Bergh, Anne-Marie; Hoffmann, Willem A

    2018-03-01

    Decision making in the health care system - specifically with regard to diagnostic imaging investigations - occurs at multiple levels. Professional role players from various backgrounds are involved in making these decisions, from the point of referral to the outcomes of the imaging investigation. The aim of this study was to map the decision-making processes and pathways involved when patients are referred for diagnostic imaging investigations and to explore distributed decision-making events at the points of contact with patients within a health care system. A two-phased qualitative study was conducted in an academic public health complex with the district hospital as entry point. The first phase included case studies of 24 conveniently selected patients, and the second phase involved 12 focus group interviews with health care providers. Data analysis was based on Rapley's interpretation of decision making as being distributed across time, situations and actions, and including different role players and technologies. Clinical decisions incorporating imaging investigations are distributed across the three vital points of contact or decision-making events, namely the initial patient consultation, the diagnostic imaging investigation and the post-investigation consultation. Each of these decision-making events is made up of a sequence of discrete decision-making moments based on the transfer of retrospective, current and prospective information and its transformation into knowledge. This paper contributes to the understanding of the microstructural processes (the 'when' and 'where') involved in the distribution of decisions related to imaging investigations. It also highlights the interdependency in decision-making events of medical and non-medical providers within a single medical encounter. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation

  9. Training for Aviation Decision Making: The Naturalistic Decision Making Perspective

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, Judith; Shafto, Michael G. (Technical Monitor)

    1995-01-01

    This paper describes the implications of a naturalistic decision making (NDM) perspective for training air crews to make flight-related decisions. The implications are based on two types of analyses: (a) identification of distinctive features that serve as a basis for classifying a diverse set of decision events actually encountered by flight crews, and (b) performance strategies that distinguished more from less effective crews flying full-mission simulators, as well as performance analyses from NTSB accident investigations. Six training recommendations are offered: (1) Because of the diversity of decision situations, crews need to be aware that different strategies may be appropriate for different problems; (2) Given that situation assessment is essential to making a good decision, it is important to train specific content knowledge needed to recognize critical conditions, to assess risks and available time, and to develop strategies to verify or diagnose the problem; (3) Tendencies to oversimplify problems may be overcome by training to evaluate options in terms of goals, constraints, consequences, and prevailing conditions; (4) In order to provide the time to gather information and consider options, it is essential to manage the situation, which includes managing crew workload, prioritizing tasks, contingency planning, buying time (e.g., requesting holding or vectors), and using low workload periods to prepare for high workload; (5) Evaluating resource requirements ("What do I need?") and capabilities ("'What do I have?" ) are essential to making good decisions. Using resources to meet requirements may involve the cabin crew, ATC, dispatchers, and maintenance personnel; (6) Given that decisions must often be made under high risk, time pressure, and workload, train under realistic flight conditions to promote the development of robust decision skills.

  10. Students' Involvement in Decision Making and Their Academic Performance in Embu West Sub-County of Kenya

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mati, Alexander; Gatumu, Jane Ciumwari; Chandi, John Rugendo

    2016-01-01

    Although studies have shown that involving students in decisions that impact their educational outcomes may improve their academic performance, little effort has been put in collating students' views on the appropriate extent of such involvement. Students are key stakeholders and beneficiaries of educational outcomes, as well as determinants of…

  11. Disciplinary and Academic Decisions Pertaining to Students: A Review of the 1997 Judicial Decisions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoner, Edward N.; Schupansky, Susan P.

    1998-01-01

    Reviews key cases concerning disciplinary and academic decisions in higher education handed down by courts in 1997. Cases touched on procedural due process (for medical residents, academic versus disciplinary decisions, other notable issues), double jeopardy, breach of contract, student discipline records under the Family Education Rights and…

  12. Dementia, Decision Making, and Capacity.

    PubMed

    Darby, R Ryan; Dickerson, Bradford C

    After participating in this activity, learners should be better able to:• Assess the neuropsychological literature on decision making and the medical and legal assessment of capacity in patients with dementia• Identify the limitations of integrating findings from decision-making research into capacity assessments for patients with dementia ABSTRACT: Medical and legal professionals face the challenge of assessing capacity and competency to make medical, legal, and financial decisions in dementia patients with impaired decision making. While such assessments have classically focused on the capacity for complex reasoning and executive functions, research in decision making has revealed that motivational and metacognitive processes are also important. We first briefly review the neuropsychological literature on decision making and on the medical and legal assessment of capacity. Next, we discuss the limitations of integrating findings from decision-making research into capacity assessments, including the group-to-individual inference problem, the unclear role of neuroimaging in capacity assessments, and the lack of capacity measures that integrate important facets of decision making. Finally, we present several case examples where we attempt to demonstrate the potential benefits and important limitations of using decision-making research to aid in capacity determinations.

  13. Culinary Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curtis, Rob

    1987-01-01

    Advises directors of ways to include day care workers in the decision-making process. Enumerates benefits of using staff to help focus and direct changes in the day care center and discusses possible pitfalls in implementation of a collective decision-making approach to management. (NH)

  14. Defining decision making: a qualitative study of international experts' views on surgical trainee decision making.

    PubMed

    Rennie, Sarah C; van Rij, Andre M; Jaye, Chrystal; Hall, Katherine H

    2011-06-01

    Decision making is a key competency of surgeons; however, how best to assess decisions and decision makers is not clearly established. The aim of the present study was to identify criteria that inform judgments about surgical trainees' decision-making skills. A qualitative free text web-based survey was distributed to recognized international experts in Surgery, Medical Education, and Cognitive Research. Half the participants were asked to identify features of good decisions, characteristics of good decision makers, and essential factors for developing good decision-making skills. The other half were asked to consider these areas in relation to poor decision making. Template analysis of free text responses was performed. Twenty-nine (52%) experts responded to the survey, identifying 13 categories for judging a decision and 14 for judging a decision maker. Twelve features/characteristics overlapped (considered, informed, well timed, aware of limitations, communicated, knowledgeable, collaborative, patient-focused, flexible, able to act on the decision, evidence-based, and coherent). Fifteen categories were generated for essential factors leading to development of decision-making skills that fall into three major themes (personal qualities, training, and culture). The categories compiled from the perspectives of good/poor were predominantly the inverse of each other; however, the weighting given to some categories varied. This study provides criteria described by experts when considering surgical decisions, decision makers, and development of decision-making skills. It proposes a working definition of a good decision maker. Understanding these criteria will enable clinical teachers to better recognize and encourage good decision-making skills and identify poor decision-making skills for remediation.

  15. A Qualitative Analysis of Parental Decision-Making in Regards to Homeschooling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campbell, Pamela Lou Rogers

    2012-01-01

    Researchers have spent a relatively small amount of time focusing on homeschooling. The few studies which have been completed regarding homeschooling have skirted the question of the decision-making process taken by parents as they choose to begin or discontinue homeschooling. The void in the academic knowledge regarding this growing trend in…

  16. Making the School Uniform Decision: Is It Right for "Your" School?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDaniel, Thomas R.

    2013-01-01

    Do school uniforms make a difference in student academic performance, school spirit, discipline, and safety? What are the legal restrictions that bear on the school uniform decision in public schools? Do uniform policies lead to less school violence? Do they impose an economic hardship, outweighing the advantages, on low-income families? The…

  17. An Engineering Degree Does Not (Necessarily) an Engineer Make: Career Decision Making among Undergraduate Engineering Majors. Research Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lichtenstein, Gary; Loshbaugh, Heidi G.; Claar, Brittany; Chen, Helen L.; Jackson, Kristyn; Sheppard, Sheri

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores the career-related decision making of seniors enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs at two nationally recognized institutions. This strand of the Academic Pathways Study (APS) research revealed that many engineering students were undecided about their career plans, even late into their senior years and that many were…

  18. Participatory Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, M. Bruce; And Others

    Shifting from traditional, hierarchical bureaucracies to participatory governance and decision making is a major theme in school restructuring. This paper focuses on the involvement of teachers in key aspects of school decision making. Specifically, the paper describes how changes in power relations supported teachers' focus on improving the…

  19. Decision Making in the Airplane

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, Judith; Shafto, Michael G. (Technical Monitor)

    1995-01-01

    The Importance of decision-making to safety in complex, dynamic environments like mission control centers, aviation, and offshore installations has been well established. NASA-ARC has a program of research dedicated to fostering safe and effective decision-making in the manned spaceflight environment. Because access to spaceflight is limited, environments with similar characteristics, including aviation and nuclear power plants, serve as analogs from which space-relevant data can be gathered and theories developed. Analyses of aviation accidents cite crew judgement and decision making as causes or contributing factors in over half of all accidents. Yet laboratory research on decision making has not proven especially helpful In improving the quality of decisions in these kinds of environments. One reason is that the traditional, analytic decision models are inappropriate to multi-dimensional, high-risk environments, and do not accurately describe what expert human decision makers do when they make decisions that have consequences. A new model of dynamic, naturalistic decision making is offered that may prove useful for improving decision making in complex, isolated, confined and high-risk environments. Based on analyses of crew performance in full-mission simulators and accident reports, features that define effective decision strategies in abnormal or emergency situations have been identified. These include accurate situation assessment (including time and risk assessment), appreciation of the complexity of the problem, sensitivity to constraints on the decision, timeliness of the response, and use of adequate information. More effective crews also manage their workload to provide themselves with time and resources to make good decisions. In brief, good decisions are appropriate to the demands of the situation. Effective crew decision making and overall performance are mediated by crew communication. Communication contributes to performance because it assures that

  20. Sustainability Based Decision Making

    EPA Science Inventory

    With sustainability as the “true north” for EPA research, a premium is placed on the ability to make decisions under highly complex and uncertain conditions. The primary challenge is reconciling disparate criteria toward credible and defensible decisions. Making decisions on on...

  1. Decision Making Styles and Progress in Occupational Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, Susan D.; And Others

    1984-01-01

    Examined the role of rational, intuitive, and dependent decisional strategies in facilitating decisions about postcollege occupation among college students (N=71). Results indicated that the use of a dependent decision-making style was the single most powerful predictor of progress. (LLL)

  2. Providing Global Change Information for Decision-Making: Capturing and Presenting Provenance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ma, Xiaogang; Fox, Peter; Tilmes, Curt; Jacobs, Katherine; Waple, Anne

    2014-01-01

    Global change information demands access to data sources and well-documented provenance to provide evidence needed to build confidence in scientific conclusions and, in specific applications, to ensure the information's suitability for use in decision-making. A new generation of Web technology, the Semantic Web, provides tools for that purpose. The topic of global change covers changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric composition and or chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life and support human systems. Data and findings associated with global change research are of great public, government, and academic concern and are used in policy and decision-making, which makes the provenance of global change information especially important. In addition, since different types of decisions benefit from different types of information, understanding how to capture and present the provenance of global change information is becoming more of an imperative in adaptive planning.

  3. Justice and care: decision making by medical school student Promotions Committees

    PubMed Central

    Green, Emily P.; Gruppuso, Philip A.

    2017-01-01

    CONTEXT The function of medical school entities that determine student advancement or dismissal has gone largely unexplored. Decision making of “academic progress” or student promotions committees is examined using a theoretical framework contrasting ethics of justice and care, with roots in the moral development work of theorists Kohlberg and Gilligan. OBJECTIVES To ascertain promotions committee members’ conceptualization of the role of their committee, ethical orientations used in member decision making, and student characteristics most influential to that decision making. METHODS An electronic survey was distributed to voting members of promotions committees at 143 accredited allopathic medical schools in the U.S. Descriptive statistics were calculated and data were analyzed by gender, role, institution type and class size. RESULTS Respondents included 241 voting members of promotions committees at 55 medical schools. Respondents endorsed various promotions committee roles, including acting in the best interest of learners’ future patients and graduating highly qualified learners. Implementing policy was assigned lower importance. The overall pattern of responses did not indicate a predominant orientation toward an ethic of justice or care. Respondents indicated that committees have discretion to take individual student characteristics into consideration during deliberations, and that they do so in practice. Among the student characteristics with the greatest influence on decision making, professionalism and academic performance were paramount. Eighty-five percent of participants indicated that they received no training. CONCLUSIONS Promotions committee members do not regard orientations of justice and care as being mutually exclusive, and endorse an array of statements regarding committee purpose that may conflict with one another. The considerable variance in the influence of student characteristics, and the general absence of committee member

  4. Shared decision making in West Africa: The forgotten area.

    PubMed

    Diouf, Ndeye Thiab; Ben Charif, Ali; Adisso, Lionel; Adekpedjou, Rhéda; Zomahoun, Hervé Tchala Vignon; Agbadjé, Titilayo Tatiana; Dogba, Mama Joyce; Garvelink, Mirjam Marjolein

    2017-06-01

    Up to now, little attention has been paid to West Africa when it comes to shared decision making (SDM). West African countries seem to lag behind with regard to SDM initiatives compared to many other countries in the world. There is some interest in informed decision making or informed consent, but little in a full SDM process. Few decision-making tools are available for healthcare professionals and the majority are not designed to support decision-making with patients. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, there are no training programs for implementing SDM in healthcare teams. Many barriers exist to implementing SDM in West Africa, including lack of options, few or poor health resources and low levels of education. However, African countries present many opportunities for SDM as well. Existing SDM innovations developed for other populations with low literacy could be explored and adapted to the West African context, and research on implementation and outcomes in West Africa could contribute to SDM worldwide. West African countries are in an excellent position to both learn from other countries and contribute to SDM development in other parts of the world. In this paper we reflect on SDM challenges and opportunities, and propose a research agenda for West Africa. We hope to awaken interest in SDM in West Africa and encourage future collaborations on SDM with various West African stakeholders, including patients, healthcare professionals, policymakers, non-government organisations (NGOs) and academic institutions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  5. Decision-Making under Criteria Uncertainty

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kureychik, V. M.; Safronenkova, I. B.

    2018-05-01

    Uncertainty is an essential part of a decision-making procedure. The paper deals with the problem of decision-making under criteria uncertainty. In this context, decision-making under uncertainty, types and conditions of uncertainty were examined. The decision-making problem under uncertainty was formalized. A modification of the mathematical decision support method under uncertainty via ontologies was proposed. A critical distinction of the developed method is ontology usage as its base elements. The goal of this work is a development of a decision-making method under criteria uncertainty with the use of ontologies in the area of multilayer board designing. This method is oriented to improvement of technical-economic values of the examined domain.

  6. Cognitive-emotional decision making (CEDM): a framework of patient medical decision making.

    PubMed

    Power, Tara E; Swartzman, Leora C; Robinson, John W

    2011-05-01

    Assistance for patients faced with medical decisions has largely focussed on the clarification of information and personal values. Our aim is to draw on the decision research describing the role of emotion in combination with health behaviour models to provide a framework for conceptualizing patient decisions. A review of the psychological and medical decision making literature concerned with the role of emotion/affect in decision making and health behaviours. Emotion plays an influential role in decision making. Both current and anticipated emotions play a motivational role in choice. Amalgamating these findings with that of Leventhal's (1970) SRM provide a framework for thinking about the influence of emotion on a patient medical decision. Our framework suggests that a patient must cope with four sets of elements. The first two relate to the need to manage the cognitive and emotional aspects of the health threat. The second set relate to the management of the cognitive and emotional elements of the decision, itself. The framework provides a way for practitioners and researchers to frame thinking about a patient medical decision in order to assist the patient in clarifying decisional priorities. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Decision Aid to Technologically Enhance Shared decision making (DATES): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Clinicians face challenges in promoting colorectal cancer screening due to multiple competing demands. A decision aid that clarifies patient preferences and improves decision quality can aid shared decision making and be effective at increasing colorectal cancer screening rates. However, exactly how such an intervention improves shared decision making is unclear. This study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, seeks to provide detailed understanding of how an interactive decision aid that elicits patient’s risks and preferences impacts patient-clinician communication and shared decision making, and ultimately colorectal cancer screening adherence. Methods/Design This is a two-armed single-blinded randomized controlled trial with the target of 300 patients per arm. The setting is eleven community and three academic primary care practices in Metro Detroit. Patients are men and women aged between 50 and 75 years who are not up to date on colorectal cancer screening. ColoDATES Web (intervention arm), a decision aid that incorporates interactive personal risk assessment and preference clarification tools, is compared to a non-interactive website that matches ColoDATES Web in content but does not contain interactive tools (control arm). Primary outcomes are patient uptake of colorectal cancer screening; patient decision quality (knowledge, preference clarification, intent); clinician’s degree of shared decision making; and patient-clinician concordance in the screening test chosen. Secondary outcome incorporates a Structural Equation Modeling approach to understand the mechanism of the causal pathway and test the validity of the proposed conceptual model based on Theory of Planned Behavior. Clinicians and those performing the analysis are blinded to arms. Discussion The central hypothesis is that ColoDATES Web will improve colorectal cancer screening adherence through improvement in patient behavioral factors, shared decision making between the

  8. Magisterial Decision-Making: How Fifteen Stipendiary Magistrates Make Court-Room Decisions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawrence, Jeanette A.; Browne, Myra A.

    This report describes the cognitive procedures which a group of Australian stipendiary utilize in court to make decisions. The study was based on an assumption that magistrates represent a group of professionals whose work involves making decisions of human significance, and on an assumption that the magistrates' own perceptions of their ways of…

  9. Shared decision-making in epilepsy management.

    PubMed

    Pickrell, W O; Elwyn, G; Smith, P E M

    2015-06-01

    Policy makers, clinicians, and patients increasingly recognize the need for greater patient involvement in clinical decision-making. Shared decision-making helps address these concerns by providing a framework for clinicians and patients to make decisions together using the best evidence. Shared decision-making is applicable to situations where several acceptable options exist (clinical equipoise). Such situations occur commonly in epilepsy, for example, in decisions regarding the choice of medication, treatment in pregnancy, and medication withdrawal. A talk model is a way of implementing shared decision-making during consultations, and decision aids are useful tools to assist in the process. Although there is limited evidence available for shared decision-making in epilepsy, there are several benefits of shared decision-making in general including improved decision quality, more informed choices, and better treatment concordance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. From Career Decision-Making Styles to Career Decision-Making Profiles: A Multidimensional Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gati, Itamar; Landman, Shiri; Davidovitch, Shlomit; Asulin-Peretz, Lisa; Gadassi, Reuma

    2010-01-01

    Previous research on individual differences in career decision-making processes has often focused on classifying individuals into a few types of decision-making "styles" based on the most dominant trait or characteristic of their approach to the decision process (e.g., rational, intuitive, dependent; Harren, 1979). In this research, an…

  11. The amygdala and decision-making.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Rupa; Koscik, Timothy R; Bechara, Antoine; Tranel, Daniel

    2011-03-01

    Decision-making is a complex process that requires the orchestration of multiple neural systems. For example, decision-making is believed to involve areas of the brain involved in emotion (e.g., amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex) and memory (e.g., hippocampus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). In this article, we will present findings related to the amygdala's role in decision-making, and differentiate the contributions of the amygdala from those of other structurally and functionally connected neural regions. Decades of research have shown that the amygdala is involved in associating a stimulus with its emotional value. This tradition has been extended in newer work, which has shown that the amygdala is especially important for decision-making, by triggering autonomic responses to emotional stimuli, including monetary reward and punishment. Patients with amygdala damage lack these autonomic responses to reward and punishment, and consequently, cannot utilize "somatic marker" type cues to guide future decision-making. Studies using laboratory decision-making tests have found deficient decision-making in patients with bilateral amygdala damage, which resembles their real-world difficulties with decision-making. Additionally, we have found evidence for an interaction between sex and laterality of amygdala functioning, such that unilateral damage to the right amygdala results in greater deficits in decision-making and social behavior in men, while left amygdala damage seems to be more detrimental for women. We have posited that the amygdala is part of an "impulsive," habit type system that triggers emotional responses to immediate outcomes. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Pilot Decision-Making Training

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-05-01

    Pilot Decisional Attitude Questionnaire (PDAQ). 2. Aeronautical Decision Making . a. The pilot judgment problem b. Relationship of judgment to training...lmEr OAT . REPOR TYPE ANO GATES COVEIRO May 1990 Final - June 1985 - December 1988 4 .MU AN m . .m m t 4i C ’u. SUM L FUNING MUMBRS Pilot Decision - Making ...13 AGSTRACT (Maxu’m 200 wo f -The effectiveness of a simulator-based approach to training pilot skills in risk assessment and decision making was

  13. Strategies of Decision Making

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-05-01

    6.11.02.B 74F n/a n/a 11. TITLE (Include Security Classification) Strategies of Decision Making 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Gary A. Klein 13a. TYPE OF...NOTATION Judith Orasanu, contracting officer’s representative Arailability: Klein, G. Strategies of decision making . in Military Review. May 1989.(see...T.aIng pI(l( i ’I , / Decision making ) Com bat 19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number) This article posits that

  14. Modelling decision-making by pilots

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Patrick, Nicholas J. M.

    1993-01-01

    Our scientific goal is to understand the process of human decision-making. Specifically, a model of human decision-making in piloting modern commercial aircraft which prescribes optimal behavior, and against which we can measure human sub-optimality is sought. This model should help us understand such diverse aspects of piloting as strategic decision-making, and the implicit decisions involved in attention allocation. Our engineering goal is to provide design specifications for (1) better computer-based decision-aids, and (2) better training programs for the human pilot (or human decision-maker, DM).

  15. Affective decision-making predictive of Chinese adolescent drinking behaviors

    PubMed Central

    XIAO, LIN; BECHARA, ANTOINE; GRENARD, L. JERRY; STACY, W. ALAN; PALMER, PAULA; WEI, YONGLAN; JIA, YONG; FU, XIAOLU; JOHNSON, C. ANDERSON

    2013-01-01

    The goal of the current investigation was to address whether affective decision making would serve as a unique neuropsychological marker to predict drinking behaviors among adolescents. We conducted a longitudinal study of 181 Chinese adolescents in Chengdu city, China. In their 10th grade (ages 15–16), these adolescents were tested for their affective decision-making ability using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and working memory capacity using the Self-Ordered Pointing Test. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess academic performance and drinking behaviors. At 1-year follow-up, questionnaires were completed to assess drinking behaviors, and the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale was used to examine four dimensions of impulsivity: urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking. Results indicated that those adolescents who progressed to binge drinking or exhibited consistent binge drinking not only performed poorly on the IGT but also scored significantly higher in urgency compared to those who never or occasionally drank. Moreover, better IGT scores predicted fewer drinking problems and fewer drinks 1 year later after controlling for demographic variables, the previous drinking behaviors, working memory, and impulsivity. These findings suggest that deficits in affective decision making may be important independent determinants of compulsive drinking and potentially addictive behavior in adolescents. PMID:19573273

  16. Self-Esteem in Decision Making and Decision-Making Styles of Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Temel, Veysel; Birol, Sefa Sahan; Nas, Kazim; Akpinar, Selahattin; Tekin, Murat

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the study was to examine the self-esteem in decision-making and decision-making styles of the teachers in various branches of Çat town of Erzurum Province, Turkey in terms of some variables in 2014-2015 year. A total of 153 teachers (84 females and 69 males) (age (? = 1.6536 ± 0.72837) from different departments participated in the…

  17. Administrative decision making: a stepwise method.

    PubMed

    Oetjen, Reid M; Oetjen, Dawn M; Rotarius, Timothy

    2008-01-01

    Today's health care organizations face tremendous challenges and fierce competition. These pressures impact the decisions that managers must execute on any given day, not to mention the ever-present constraints of time, personnel, competencies, and finances. The importance of making quality and informed decisions cannot be underestimated. Traditional decision making methods are inadequate for today's larger, more complex health care organizations and the rapidly changing health care environment. As a result, today's health care managers and their teams need new approaches to making decisions for their organizations. This article examines the managerial decision making process and offers a model that can be used as a decision making template to help managers successfully navigate the choppy health care seas. The administrative decision making model will enable health care managers and other key decision makers to avoid the common pitfalls of poor decision making and guide their organizations to success.

  18. Clinical holistic medicine: factors influencing the therapeutic decision-making. From academic knowledge to emotional intelligence and spiritual "crazy" wisdom.

    PubMed

    Ventegodt, Søren; Kandel, Isack; Merrick, Joav

    2007-12-10

    Scientific holistic medicine is built on holistic medical theory, on therapeutic and ethical principles. The rationale is that the therapist can take the patient into a state of salutogenesis, or existential healing, using his skills and knowledge. But how ever much we want to make therapy a science it remains partly an art, and the more developed the therapist becomes, the more of his/her decisions will be based on intuition, feeling and even inspiration that is more based on love and human concern and other spiritual motivations than on mental reason and rationality in a simple sense of the word. The provocative and paradoxal medieval western concept of the "truth telling clown", or the eastern concepts of "crazy wisdom" and "holy madness" seems highly relevant here. The problem is how we can ethically justify this kind of highly "irrational" therapeutic behavior in the rational setting of a medical institution. We argue here that holistic therapy has a very high success rate and is doing no harm to the patient, and encourage therapists, psychiatrists, psychologist and other academically trained "helpers" to constantly measure their own success-rate. This paper discusses many of the important factors that influence clinical holistic decision-making. Sexuality could, as many psychoanalysts from Freud to Reich and Searles have believed, be the most healing power that exists and also the most difficult for the mind to comprehend, and thus the most "crazy-wise" tool of therapy.

  19. Core competencies for shared decision making training programs: insights from an international, interdisciplinary working group.

    PubMed

    Légaré, France; Moumjid-Ferdjaoui, Nora; Drolet, Renée; Stacey, Dawn; Härter, Martin; Bastian, Hilda; Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique; Borduas, Francine; Charles, Cathy; Coulter, Angela; Desroches, Sophie; Friedrich, Gwendolyn; Gafni, Amiram; Graham, Ian D; Labrecque, Michel; LeBlanc, Annie; Légaré, Jean; Politi, Mary; Sargeant, Joan; Thomson, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Shared decision making is now making inroads in health care professionals' continuing education curriculum, but there is no consensus on what core competencies are required by clinicians for effectively involving patients in health-related decisions. Ready-made programs for training clinicians in shared decision making are in high demand, but existing programs vary widely in their theoretical foundations, length, and content. An international, interdisciplinary group of 25 individuals met in 2012 to discuss theoretical approaches to making health-related decisions, compare notes on existing programs, take stock of stakeholders concerns, and deliberate on core competencies. This article summarizes the results of those discussions. Some participants believed that existing models already provide a sufficient conceptual basis for developing and implementing shared decision making competency-based training programs on a wide scale. Others argued that this would be premature as there is still no consensus on the definition of shared decision making or sufficient evidence to recommend specific competencies for implementing shared decision making. However, all participants agreed that there were 2 broad types of competencies that clinicians need for implementing shared decision making: relational competencies and risk communication competencies. Further multidisciplinary research could broaden and deepen our understanding of core competencies for shared decision making training. Copyright © 2013 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

  20. Adapting Scott and Bruce's General Decision-Making Style Inventory to Patient Decision Making in Provider Choice.

    PubMed

    Fischer, Sophia; Soyez, Katja; Gurtner, Sebastian

    2015-05-01

    Research testing the concept of decision-making styles in specific contexts such as health care-related choices is missing. Therefore, we examine the contextuality of Scott and Bruce's (1995) General Decision-Making Style Inventory with respect to patient choice situations. Scott and Bruce's scale was adapted for use as a patient decision-making style inventory. In total, 388 German patients who underwent elective joint surgery responded to a questionnaire about their provider choice. Confirmatory factor analyses within 2 independent samples assessed factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the scale. The final 4-dimensional, 13-item patient decision-making style inventory showed satisfactory psychometric properties. Data analyses supported reliability and construct validity. Besides the intuitive, dependent, and avoidant style, a new subdimension, called "comparative" decision-making style, emerged that originated from the rational dimension of the general model. This research provides evidence for the contextuality of decision-making style to specific choice situations. Using a limited set of indicators, this report proposes the patient decision-making style inventory as valid and feasible tool to assess patients' decision propensities. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Role of affect in decision making.

    PubMed

    Bandyopadhyay, Debarati; Pammi, V S Chandrasekhar; Srinivasan, Narayanan

    2013-01-01

    Emotion plays a major role in influencing our everyday cognitive and behavioral functions, including decision making. We introduce different ways in which emotions are characterized in terms of the way they influence or elicited by decision making. This chapter discusses different theories that have been proposed to explain the role of emotions in judgment and decision making. We also discuss incidental emotional influences, both long-duration influences like mood and short-duration influences by emotional context present prior to or during decision making. We present and discuss results from a study with emotional pictures presented prior to decision making and how that influences both decision processes and postdecision experience as a function of uncertainty. We conclude with a summary of the work on emotions and decision making in the context of decision-making theories and our work on incidental emotions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Surviving Surrogate Decision-Making: What Helps and Hampers the Experience of Making Medical Decisions for Others

    PubMed Central

    Starks, Helene; Taylor, Janelle S.; Hopley, Elizabeth K.; Fryer-Edwards, Kelly

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND A majority of end-of-life medical decisions are made by surrogate decision-makers who have varying degrees of preparation and comfort with their role. Having a seriously ill family member is stressful for surrogates. Moreover, most clinicians have had little training in working effectively with surrogates. OBJECTIVES To better understand the challenges of decision-making from the surrogate’s perspective. DESIGN Semistructured telephone interview study of the experience of surrogate decision-making. PARTICIPANTS Fifty designated surrogates with previous decision-making experience. APPROACH We asked surrogates to describe and reflect on their experience of making medical decisions for others. After coding transcripts, we conducted a content analysis to identify and categorize factors that made decision-making more or less difficult for surrogates. RESULTS Surrogates identified four types of factors: (1) surrogate characteristics and life circumstances (such as coping strategies and competing responsibilities), (2) surrogates’ social networks (such as intrafamily discord about the “right” decision), (3) surrogate–patient relationships and communication (such as difficulties with honoring known preferences), and (4) surrogate–clinician communication and relationship (such as interacting with a single physician whom the surrogate recognizes as the clinical spokesperson vs. many clinicians). CONCLUSIONS These data provide insights into the challenges that surrogates encounter when making decisions for loved ones and indicate areas where clinicians could intervene to facilitate the process of surrogate decision-making. Clinicians may want to include surrogates in advance care planning prior to decision-making, identify and address surrogate stressors during decision-making, and designate one person to communicate information about the patient’s condition, prognosis, and treatment options. PMID:17619223

  3. Getting the Balance Right: Conceptual Considerations Concerning Legal Capacity and Supported Decision-Making.

    PubMed

    Parker, Malcolm

    2016-09-01

    The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities urges and requires changes to how signatories discharge their duties to people with intellectual disabilities, in the direction of their greater recognition as legal persons with expanded decision-making rights. Australian jurisdictions are currently undertaking inquiries and pilot projects that explore how these imperatives should be implemented. One of the important changes advocated is to move from guardianship models to supported or assisted models of decision-making. A driving force behind these developments is a strong allegiance to the social model of disability, in the formulation of the Convention, in inquiries and pilot projects, in implementation and in the related academic literature. Many of these instances suffer from confusing and misleading statements and conceptual misinterpretations of certain elements such as legal capacity, decision-making capacity, and support for decision-making. This paper analyses some of these confusions and their possible negative implications for supported decision-making instruments and those whose interests these instruments would serve, and advises a more incremental development of existing guardianship regimes. This provides a more realistic balance between neglecting the real limits of those with mental disabilities and thereby ignoring their identity and particularity, and continuing to bring them equally and fully into society.

  4. Respiratory therapists' attitudes about participative decision making: relationship between managerial decision-making style and job satisfaction.

    PubMed

    Blake, Shane S; Kester, Lucy; Stoller, James K

    2004-08-01

    Studies of non-health-care work environments indicate that non-managerial employee job satisfaction is higher in companies that use participative (as opposed to autocratic) decision making. It has not been determined whether managerial decision-making style influences job satisfaction among respiratory therapists (RTs) and which managerial decision-making style RTs prefer. We surveyed Nebraska RTs' attitudes regarding their job satisfaction, their perceptions of their managers' decision-making styles (autocratic, consultative, and/or delegative), and which decision-making style they would prefer their managers to use. We sought to determine whether there is a significant correlation between RTs' perceptions of their managers' decision-making styles and the RTs' job satisfaction. The study population was 792 licensed and practicing non-managerial RTs in Nebraska, from which we randomly selected 565 RTs to survey. The self-administered, descriptive survey used 2 Likert scales (one for decision-making style and one for job satisfaction) and inquired about 57 items. The survey was mailed on October 1, 1999. On October 28, 1999, we sent a second mailing to RTs who had not responded. We received 271 responses (response rate 47.9%). The respondents were generally satisfied with their jobs (mean +/- SD Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire score 73.46 +/- 11.63). The sub-scale scores ranged from 20 ("very dissatisfied") to 100 ("very satisfied"). The respondents did not want autocratic managerial decision making (mean +/- SD autocratic sub-scale score 4.29 +/- 0.60). Autocratic decision making was associated with lower job satisfaction (r = 0.49), whereas consultative and delegative decision making were associated with higher job satisfaction (r = -0.31 and -0.48, respectively). RTs who worked in departments that had < 25 RT employees reported higher job satisfaction than did RTs in larger departments (p = 0.029). Our survey data indicate that (1) RTs prefer delegative and

  5. The Self in Decision Making and Decision Implementation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beach, Lee Roy; Mitchell, Terence R.

    Since the early 1950's the principal prescriptive model in the psychological study of decision making has been maximization of Subjective Expected Utility (SEU). This SEU maximization has come to be regarded as a description of how people go about making decisions. However, while observed decision processes sometimes resemble the SEU model,…

  6. Trait Anxiety Has Effect on Decision Making under Ambiguity but Not Decision Making under Risk

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Long; Wang, Kai; Zhu, Chunyan; Yu, Fengqiong; Chen, Xingui

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies have reported that trait anxiety (TA) affects decision making. However, results remain largely inconsistent across studies. The aim of the current study was to further address the interaction between TA and decision making. 304 subjects without depression from a sample consisting of 642 participants were grouped into high TA (HTA), medium TA (MTA) and low TA (LTA) groups based on their TA scores from State Trait Anxiety Inventory. All subjects were assessed with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) that measures decision making under ambiguity and the Game of Dice Task (GDT) that measures decision making under risk. While the HTA and LTA groups performed worse on the IGT compared to the MTA group, performances on the GDT between the three groups did not differ. Furthermore, the LTA and HTA groups showed different individual deck level preferences in the IGT: the former showed a preference for deck B indicating that these subjects focused more on the magnitude of rewards, and the latter showed a preference for deck A indicating significant decision making impairment. Our findings suggest that trait anxiety has effect on decision making under ambiguity but not decision making under risk and different levels of trait anxiety related differently to individual deck level preferences in the IGT. PMID:26000629

  7. Space and Power in the Ivory Tower: Effective Space Management and Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanchette, Sandra

    2012-01-01

    At a time when there are enormous economic pressures on campuses to use resources effectively, space being one of these resources, the academic culture of shared governance, with its fragmented roles for decision making, presents additional challenges. These roles are fragmented due to independent faculty and administrative action. They are…

  8. The Effect of Decision-Making Skill Training Programs on Self-Esteem and Decision-Making Styles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colakkadioglu, Oguzhan; Celik, D. Billur

    2016-01-01

    Problem Statement: Decision making is a critical cognitive process in every area of human life. In this process, the individuals play an active role and obtain outputs with their functional use of decision-making skills. Therefore, the decision-making process can affect the course of life, life satisfaction, and the social relations of an…

  9. Twelve myths about shared decision making.

    PubMed

    Légaré, France; Thompson-Leduc, Philippe

    2014-09-01

    As shared decision makes increasing headway in healthcare policy, it is under more scrutiny. We sought to identify and dispel the most prevalent myths about shared decision making. In 20 years in the shared decision making field one of the author has repeatedly heard mention of the same barriers to scaling up shared decision making across the healthcare spectrum. We conducted a selective literature review relating to shared decision making to further investigate these commonly perceived barriers and to seek evidence supporting their existence or not. Beliefs about barriers to scaling up shared decision making represent a wide range of historical, cultural, financial and scientific concerns. We found little evidence to support twelve of the most common beliefs about barriers to scaling up shared decision making, and indeed found evidence to the contrary. Our selective review of the literature suggests that twelve of the most commonly perceived barriers to scaling up shared decision making across the healthcare spectrum should be termed myths as they can be dispelled by evidence. Our review confirms that the current debate about shared decision making must not deter policy makers and clinicians from pursuing its scaling up across the healthcare continuum. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  10. Justice and care: decision making by medical school student promotions committees.

    PubMed

    Green, Emily P; Gruppuso, Philip A

    2017-06-01

    The function of medical school entities that determine student advancement or dismissal has gone largely unexplored. The decision making of 'academic progress' or student promotions committees is examined using a theoretical framework contrasting ethics of justice and care, with roots in the moral development work of theorists Kohlberg and Gilligan. To ascertain promotions committee members' conceptualisation of the role of their committee, ethical orientations used in member decision making, and student characteristics most influential in that decision making. An electronic survey was distributed to voting members of promotions committees at 143 accredited allopathic medical schools in the USA. Descriptive statistics were calculated and data were analysed by gender, role, institution type and class size. Respondents included 241 voting members of promotions committees at 55 medical schools. Respondents endorsed various promotions committee roles, including acting in the best interest of learners' future patients and graduating highly qualified learners. Implementing policy was assigned lower importance. The overall pattern of responses did not indicate a predominant orientation toward an ethic of justice or care. Respondents indicated that committees have discretion to take individual student characteristics into consideration during deliberations, and that they do so in practice. Among the student characteristics with the greatest influence on decision making, professionalism and academic performance were paramount. Eighty-five per cent of participants indicated that they received no training. Promotions committee members do not regard orientations of justice and care as being mutually exclusive and endorse an array of statements regarding the committee's purpose that may conflict with one another. The considerable variance in the influence of student characteristics and the general absence of committee member training indicate a need for clear delineation of the

  11. Collaborative Decision Making in METOC

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-01-01

    desired effect (Eagly, & Chaiken, 1993). Arguably, artificial intelligence is representative of the best of approaches in rational decision - making ...2001), The quantum of social action and the function of emotion in decision - making , Emotional and Intelligent II: The Tangled Knot of Social...Collaborative decision making in METOC W.F. Lawless Paine College, Departments of Mathematics and Psychology Augusta, GA 30901-3182 ph: 706

  12. Advancing in the Career Decision-Making Process: The Role of Coping Strategies and Career Decision-Making Profiles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perez, Maya; Gati, Itamar

    2017-01-01

    We tested the associations among the career decision-making difficulties, the career decision status, and either (a) the career decision-making profiles of 575 young adults, or (b) the coping strategies of 379 young adults. As hypothesized, a more advanced decision status was negatively associated with both career decision-making difficulties…

  13. Discrete event simulation for healthcare organizations: a tool for decision making.

    PubMed

    Hamrock, Eric; Paige, Kerrie; Parks, Jennifer; Scheulen, James; Levin, Scott

    2013-01-01

    Healthcare organizations face challenges in efficiently accommodating increased patient demand with limited resources and capacity. The modern reimbursement environment prioritizes the maximization of operational efficiency and the reduction of unnecessary costs (i.e., waste) while maintaining or improving quality. As healthcare organizations adapt, significant pressures are placed on leaders to make difficult operational and budgetary decisions. In lieu of hard data, decision makers often base these decisions on subjective information. Discrete event simulation (DES), a computerized method of imitating the operation of a real-world system (e.g., healthcare delivery facility) over time, can provide decision makers with an evidence-based tool to develop and objectively vet operational solutions prior to implementation. DES in healthcare commonly focuses on (1) improving patient flow, (2) managing bed capacity, (3) scheduling staff, (4) managing patient admission and scheduling procedures, and (5) using ancillary resources (e.g., labs, pharmacies). This article describes applicable scenarios, outlines DES concepts, and describes the steps required for development. An original DES model developed to examine crowding and patient flow for staffing decision making at an urban academic emergency department serves as a practical example.

  14. Serotonin and decision making processes.

    PubMed

    Homberg, Judith R

    2012-01-01

    Serotonin (5-HT) is an important player in decision making. Serotonergic antidepressant, anxiolytic and antipsychotic drugs are extensively used in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by impaired decision making, and exert both beneficial and harmful effects in patients. Detailed insight into the serotonergic mechanisms underlying decision making is needed to strengthen the first and weaken the latter. Although much remains to be done to achieve this, accumulating studies begin to deliver a coherent view. Thus, high central 5-HT levels are generally associated with improved reversal learning, improved attentional set shifting, decreased delay discounting, and increased response inhibition, but a failure to use outcome representations. Based on 5-HT's evolutionary role, I hypothesize that 5-HT integrates expected, or changes in, relevant sensory and emotional internal/external information, leading to vigilance behaviour affecting various decision making processes. 5-HT receptor subtypes play distinctive roles in decision making. 5-HT(2A) agonists and 5-HT2c antagonists decrease compulsivity, whereas 5-HT(2A) antagonists and 5-HT(2C) agonists decrease impulsivity. 5-HT(6) antagonists univocally affect decision making processes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Doing Academic Planning: Effective Tools for Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nedwek, Brian P., Ed.

    This sourcebook was designed to provide academic planners with the tools to perform core functions and activities that facilitate the transformation of higher education institutions from provider-centered cultures and organizations to learner-centered franchises. The readings examine partnerships and alliances needed for higher education to…

  16. Shared decision-making - Rhetoric and reality: Women's experiences and perceptions of adjuvant treatment decision-making for breast cancer.

    PubMed

    Mahmoodi, Neda; Sargeant, Sally

    2017-01-01

    This interview-based study uses phenomenology as a theoretical framework and thematic analysis to challenge existing explanatory frameworks of shared decision-making, in an exploration of women's experiences and perceptions of shared decision-making for adjuvant treatment in breast cancer. Three themes emerged are as follows: (1) women's desire to participate in shared decision-making, (2) the degree to which shared decision-making is perceived to be shared and (3) to what extent are women empowered within shared decision-making. Studying breast cancer patients' subjective experiences of adjuvant treatment decision-making provides a broader perspective on patient participatory role preferences and doctor-patient power dynamics within shared decision-making for breast cancer.

  17. Decision making on fitness landscapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arthur, R.; Sibani, P.

    2017-04-01

    We discuss fitness landscapes and how they can be modified to account for co-evolution. We are interested in using the landscape as a way to model rational decision making in a toy economic system. We develop a model very similar to the Tangled Nature Model of Christensen et al. that we call the Tangled Decision Model. This is a natural setting for our discussion of co-evolutionary fitness landscapes. We use a Monte Carlo step to simulate decision making and investigate two different decision making procedures.

  18. Command Decision-Making: Experience Counts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-03-18

    USAWC STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT COMMAND DECISION - MAKING : EXPERIENCE COUNTS by Lieutenant Colonel Kelly A. Wolgast United States Army Colonel Charles...1. REPORT DATE 18 MAR 2005 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Command Decision Making Experience Counts 5a. CONTRACT...Colonel Kelly A. Wolgast TITLE: Command Decision - making : Experience Counts FORMAT: Strategy Research Project DATE: 18 March 2005 PAGES: 30 CLASSIFICATION

  19. The PRC Decision-Making Process

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-03-01

    REPORT DATE March 2002 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The PRC Decision - Making ...of crisis. It explores who has the authority to make decisions in China today and who will have this authority as new leaders...security and foreign policy decision - making during times of crisis. The April 2001 EP-3 incident is examined to assess high-level

  20. How to make an academic poster.

    PubMed

    Gundogan, Buket; Koshy, Kiron; Kurar, Langhit; Whitehurst, Katharine

    2016-11-01

    Academic posters are an excellent way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. They can be used in poster presentations and serve as a summary of your project. In this how to article, we demonstrate how trainees can make and deliver a successful academic poster.

  1. Academic or community practice? What is driving decision-making and career choices.

    PubMed

    Goudreau, Bernadette J; Hassinger, Taryn E; Hedrick, Traci L; Slingluff, Craig L; Schroen, Anneke T; Dengel, Lynn T

    2018-06-18

    Identifying factors that impact progression of surgery trainees into academic versus non-academic practices may permit tailoring residency experiences to promote academic careers in institutions charged with the training of future surgeon scientists. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with progression of surgery trainees into academic versus non-academic practice. A survey was distributed to 135 surgeons graduating from the University of Virginia residency program from 1964-2016, a single academic institution. Questions addressed practice type, research productivity, work/life balance, mentorship, and overall sentiment toward research and academic surgery. A 5-point Likert scale measured career satisfaction and influence of factors in practice setting choice. Of the 135 surveys that were electronically distributed, 69 participants responded (response rate: 51%). Of the 54 with known current practice types, 34 (63%) were academic and 20 (37%) non-academic. Academic surgeons reported more publications by the conclusion of surgery training (56% vs 25% with >10 publications, P = .02). More academic surgeons reported >$100,000 in student debt at graduation (44% vs 25%, P < .05). Factors encouraging an academic career were similar for both types of surgeons, including involvement in education of trainees and access to mentorship. Both groups were discouraged from an academic practice by requirements of grant-writing and funding responsibilities. Surgeons in academic practice were more likely to recommend surgery as a career to a current medical student (100% vs 70%, P = .001). This knowledge may help to tailor training experiences to promote academic careers. By supporting funding mechanisms and grant-writing programs, while encouraging mentorship and productive research experiences, current surgical trainees may be more enthusiastic about a career in academic practice. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Decision Making in Adults with ADHD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Montyla, Timo; Still, Johanna; Gullberg, Stina; Del Missier, Fabio

    2012-01-01

    Objectives: This study examined decision-making competence in ADHD by using multiple decision tasks with varying demands on analytic versus affective processes. Methods: Adults with ADHD and healthy controls completed two tasks of analytic decision making, as measured by the Adult Decision-Making Competence (A-DMC) battery, and two affective…

  3. One Way of Thinking About Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dalis, Gus T.; Strasser, Ben B.

    The authors present the DALSTRA model of decision making, a descriptive statement of ways individuals or groups respond to different kinds of decision-making problems they encounter. Decision making is viewed in two phases: the decision-making antecedents (whether to decide, how to decide) and the modes of decision making (Chance/Impulse,…

  4. Decision-making impairment in anorexia nervosa: New insights into the role of age and decision-making style.

    PubMed

    Giannunzio, Valeria; Degortes, Daniela; Tenconi, Elena; Collantoni, Enrico; Solmi, Marco; Santonastaso, Paolo; Favaro, Angela

    2018-07-01

    Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) often report difficulties in decision making, which may interfere with treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate decision making in a large sample of adolescent and adult patients with AN, by using the Iowa gambling task. Participants were 611 female individuals (310 patients and 301 controls) who underwent neuropsychological and clinical assessment. Significantly poorer decision-making performance was observed in adult patients, whereas no difference emerged between affected and nonaffected adolescents. Both adolescent and adult patients were characterized by trends for higher levels of attention to losses in comparison with healthy controls. Although healthy adult women exhibited better decision-making performance than healthy adolescents, in AN, there was no improvement of decision making with age. A cluster analysis identified 2 different styles of decision making in both patients and controls: a conservative style and an impulsive style. Our study provides evidence of dysfunctional decision making in adult patients with AN and reveals an association between poor decision making and excessive punishment sensitivity in AN. The clinical and scientific implications of these findings merit further exploration. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

  5. Motivations Underlying Career Decision-Making Activities: The Career Decision-Making Autonomy Scale (CDMAS)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guay, Frederic

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of the present research was to develop and validate a measure of motivation toward career decision-making activities, the Career Decision-Making Autonomy Scale (CDMAS). The CDMAS is designed to assess the constructs of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, and external regulation. A longitudinal study was…

  6. Decision making: the neuroethological turn

    PubMed Central

    Pearson, John M.; Watson, Karli K.; Platt, Michael L.

    2014-01-01

    Neuroeconomics applies models from economics and psychology to inform neurobiological studies of choice. This approach has revealed neural signatures of concepts like value, risk, and ambiguity, which are known to influence decision-making. Such observations have led theorists to hypothesize a single, unified decision process that mediates choice behavior via a common neural currency for outcomes like food, money, or social praise. In parallel, recent neuroethological studies of decision-making have focused on natural behaviors like foraging, mate choice, and social interactions. These decisions strongly impact evolutionary fitness and thus are likely to have played a key role in shaping the neural circuits that mediate decision-making. This approach has revealed a suite of computational motifs that appear to be shared across a wide variety of organisms. We argue that the existence of deep homologies in the neural circuits mediating choice may have profound implications for understanding human decision-making in health and disease. PMID:24908481

  7. Making Better Re/Insurance Underwriting and Capital Management Decisions with Public-Private-Academic Partnerships

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michel, G.; Gunasekera, R.; Werner, A.; Galy, H.

    2012-04-01

    Similar to 2001, 2004, and 2005, 2011 was another year of unexpected international catastrophe events, in which insured losses were more than twice the expected long-term annual average catastrophe losses of USD 30 to 40bn. Key catastrophe events that significantly contributed these losses included the Mw 9.0 Great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the Jan. 2011 floods in Queensland, the October 2011 floods in Thailand, the Mw 6.1 Christchurch earthquake and Convective system (Tornado) in United States. However, despite considerable progress in catastrophe modelling, the advent of global catastrophe models, increasing risk model coverage and skill in the detailed modelling, the above mentioned events were not satisfactorily modelled by the current mainstream Re/Insurance catastrophe models. This presentation therefore address problems in models and incomplete understanding identified from recent catastrophic events by considering: i) the current modelling environment, and ii) how the current processes could be improved via: a) the understanding of risk within science networks such as the Willis Research Network, and b) the integration of risk model results from available insurance catastrophe models and tools. This presentation aims to highlight the needed improvements in decision making and market practices, thereby advancing the current management of risk in the Re/Insurance industry. This also increases the need for better integration of Public-Private-Academic partnerships and tools to provide better estimates of not only financial loss but also humanitarian and infrastructural losses as well.

  8. Shared decision-making and patient autonomy.

    PubMed

    Sandman, Lars; Munthe, Christian

    2009-01-01

    In patient-centred care, shared decision-making is advocated as the preferred form of medical decision-making. Shared decision-making is supported with reference to patient autonomy without abandoning the patient or giving up the possibility of influencing how the patient is benefited. It is, however, not transparent how shared decision-making is related to autonomy and, in effect, what support autonomy can give shared decision-making. In the article, different forms of shared decision-making are analysed in relation to five different aspects of autonomy: (1) self-realisation; (2) preference satisfaction; (3) self-direction; (4) binary autonomy of the person; (5) gradual autonomy of the person. It is argued that both individually and jointly these aspects will support the models called shared rational deliberative patient choice and joint decision as the preferred versions from an autonomy perspective. Acknowledging that both of these models may fail, the professionally driven best interest compromise model is held out as a satisfactory second-best choice.

  9. Measuring Shared Decision Making in Psychiatric Care

    PubMed Central

    Salyers, Michelle P.; Matthias, Marianne S.; Fukui, Sadaaki; Holter, Mark C.; Collins, Linda; Rose, Nichole; Thompson, John; Coffman, Melinda; Torrey, William C.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Shared decision making is widely recognized to facilitate effective health care; tools are needed to measure the level of shared decision making in psychiatric practice. Methods A coding scheme assessing shared decision making in medical settings (1) was adapted, including creation of a manual. Trained raters analyzed 170 audio recordings of psychiatric medication check-up visits. Results Inter-rater reliability among three raters for a subset of 20 recordings ranged from 67% to 100% agreement for the presence of each of nine elements of shared decision making and 100% for the overall agreement between provider and consumer. Just over half of the decisions met minimum criteria for shared decision making. Shared decision making was not related to length of visit after controlling for complexity of decision. Conclusions The shared decision making rating scale appears to reliably assess shared decision making in psychiatric practice and could be helpful for future research, training, and implementation efforts. PMID:22854725

  10. Navigating the Decision Space: Shared Medical Decision Making as Distributed Cognition.

    PubMed

    Lippa, Katherine D; Feufel, Markus A; Robinson, F Eric; Shalin, Valerie L

    2017-06-01

    Despite increasing prominence, little is known about the cognitive processes underlying shared decision making. To investigate these processes, we conceptualize shared decision making as a form of distributed cognition. We introduce a Decision Space Model to identify physical and social influences on decision making. Using field observations and interviews, we demonstrate that patients and physicians in both acute and chronic care consider these influences when identifying the need for a decision, searching for decision parameters, making actionable decisions Based on the distribution of access to information and actions, we then identify four related patterns: physician dominated; physician-defined, patient-made; patient-defined, physician-made; and patient-dominated decisions. Results suggests that (a) decision making is necessarily distributed between physicians and patients, (b) differential access to information and action over time requires participants to transform a distributed task into a shared decision, and (c) adverse outcomes may result from failures to integrate physician and patient reasoning. Our analysis unifies disparate findings in the medical decision-making literature and has implications for improving care and medical training.

  11. Risk assessment and clinical decision making for colorectal cancer screening.

    PubMed

    Schroy, Paul C; Caron, Sarah E; Sherman, Bonnie J; Heeren, Timothy C; Battaglia, Tracy A

    2015-10-01

    Shared decision making (SDM) related to test preference has been advocated as a potentially effective strategy for increasing adherence to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, yet primary care providers (PCPs) are often reluctant to comply with patient preferences if they differ from their own. Risk stratification advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACN) provides a rational strategy for reconciling these differences. To assess the importance of risk stratification in PCP decision making related to test preference for average-risk patients and receptivity to use of an electronic risk assessment tool for ACN to facilitate SDM. Mixed methods, including qualitative key informant interviews and a cross-sectional survey. PCPs at an urban, academic safety-net institution. Screening preferences, factors influencing patient recommendations and receptivity to use of a risk stratification tool. Nine PCPs participated in interviews and 57 completed the survey. Despite an overwhelming preference for colonoscopy by 95% of respondents, patient risk (67%) and patient preferences (63%) were more influential in their decision making than patient comorbidities (31%; P < 0.001). Age was the single most influential risk factor (excluding family history), with <20% of respondents choosing factors other than age. Most respondents reported that they would be likely to use a risk stratification tool in their practice either 'often' (43%) or sometimes (53%). Risk stratification was perceived to be important in clinical decision making, yet few providers considered risk factors other than age for average-risk patients. Providers were receptive to the use of a risk assessment tool for ACN when recommending an appropriate screening test for select patients. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Making the Connection between Environmental Science and Decision Making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woodhouse, C. A.; Crimmins, M.; Ferguson, D. B.; Garfin, G. M.; Scott, C. A.

    2011-12-01

    As society is confronted with population growth, limited resources, and the impacts of climate variability and change, it is vital that institutions of higher education promote the development of professionals who can work with decision-makers to incorporate scientific information into environmental planning and management. Skills for the communication of science are essential, but equally important is the ability to understand decision-making contexts and engage with resource managers and policy makers. It is increasingly being recognized that people who understand the linkages between science and decision making are crucial if science is to better support planning and policy. A new graduate-level seminar, "Making the Connection between Environmental Science and Decision Making," is a core course for a new post-baccalaureate certificate program, Connecting Environmental Science and Decision Making at the University of Arizona. The goal of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the dynamics between scientists and decision makers that result in scientific information being incorporated into environmental planning, policy, and management decisions. Through readings from the environmental and social sciences, policy, and planning literature, the course explores concepts including scientific information supply and demand, boundary organizations, co-production of knowledge, platforms for engagement, and knowledge networks. Visiting speakers help students understand some of the challenges of incorporating scientific information into planning and decision making within institutional and political contexts. The course also includes practical aspects of two-way communication via written, oral, and graphical presentations as well as through the interview process to facilitate the transfer of scientific information to decision makers as well as to broader audiences. We aspire to help students develop techniques that improve communication and

  13. Decision-Making Quality in Parents Considering Adenotonsillectomy or Tympanostomy Tube Insertion for Their Children.

    PubMed

    Hong, Paul; Maguire, Erin; Purcell, Mary; Ritchie, Krista C; Chorney, Jill

    2017-03-01

    Shared decision making is a process in which clinicians and patients make health care decisions in a collaborative manner using the most up-to-date evidence, while considering patient values and preferences. Shared decision making is thought to have a positive influence on the decision-making process in medicine. To describe the level of decisional conflict and decisional regret experienced by parents considering surgery for their children and to determine relations among decisional conflict, decisional regret, and shared decision making. A prospective cohort study was conducted at an academic pediatric otolaryngology clinic. Participants included 126 parents of children younger than 6 years who underwent consultation for adenotonsillectomy or tympanostomy tube insertion. Parent participants completed the Shared Decision Making Questionnaire-Parent version, Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS), and Decisional Regret Scale (DRS). Surgeons completed the Shared Decision Making Questionnaire-Physician version. This study included 126 parents; 102 women (mean [SD] age, 33.2 [5.1] years) and 24 men (mean [SD] age, 35.6 [6.3] years). Overall, 34 parents (26%) reported clinically significant decisional conflict. Only 1 parent experienced moderate to strong decisional regret; 28 parents (43.7%) had mild decisional regret. Both parent and physician ratings of shared decision making were significantly negatively correlated with total DCS scores. Parent SDM-Q-9 and total DCS scores were significantly negatively correlated (rs[118] = -0.582; P < .001). Similarly, physician SDM-Q-Doc and total DCS scores were also significantly negatively correlated (rs[118] = -0.221; P = .04). Only parent ratings of shared decision making were significantly negatively correlated with total DRS scores (rs[63] = -0.254; P = .045). Those parents with clinically significant decisional conflict had significantly higher DRS scores (P = .02). Many parents experienced significant

  14. The Relation between Academic Motivation and Cheating

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderman, Eric M.; Koenka, Alison C.

    2017-01-01

    Academic cheating occurs frequently in schools. Cheating is a deliberative act, in that students make a conscious decision to engage in academic dishonesty. Students' achievement goals, which are malleable, often guide the ways that students make such decisions. Educators can incorporate various instructional practices and support academic…

  15. Family communication and decision making at the end of life: a literature review.

    PubMed

    Wallace, Cara L

    2015-06-01

    Patients and families coping with a terminal illness are faced with a number of decisions over the course of their disease. The role that family communication plays in the process of decision making is an important one. The objectives for this review are to examine the current state of empirical literature on the relationship between family communication and decision making about end-of-life care, to identify gaps, and to discuss implications for policy, practice, and future research. Articles were identified using systematic keyword searches within the following relevant databases: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Plus, Communications and Mass Media Complete, ERIC, PsychINFO, MEDLINE, SocINDEX, and ProQuest. The three bodies of relevant literature that emerged during this review include: (1) the importance of family communication at the end of life (EoL); (2) family decision making at the EoL; and (3) the interrelationship of communication (both within the family and with healthcare professionals) and decision making at the EoL. While the literature highlights the role of communication between medical professionals and the patient or family members, there is very little focus on the process of how family communication among the family members themselves contributes to decision making at the end of life. Barriers to end-of-life care are important considerations for helping patients to access timely and appropriate services. Understanding the pertinent role of family communication as it relates to the decision for EoL care is the first step in working to provide another avenue for overcoming these barriers.

  16. Shared decision making in the United States: policy and implementation activity on multiple fronts.

    PubMed

    Frosch, Dominick L; Moulton, Benjamin W; Wexler, Richard M; Holmes-Rovner, Margaret; Volk, Robert J; Levin, Carrie A

    2011-01-01

    Shared decision making in the United States has become an important element in health policy debates. The recently passed federal health care reform legislation includes several key provisions related to shared decision making (SDM) and patient decision support. Several states have passed or are considering legislation that incorporates SDM as a key component of improved health care provision. Research on SDM is funded by a range of public and private organizations. Non-profit, for-profit, academic and government organizations are developing decision support interventions for numerous conditions. Some interventions are publicly available; others are distributed to patients through health insurance and healthcare providers. A significant number of clinical implementation projects are underway to test and evaluate different ways of incorporating SDM and patient decision support into routine clinical care. Numerous professional organizations are advocating for SDM and social networking efforts are increasing their advocacy as well. Policy makers are intrigued by the potential of SDM to improve health care provision and potentially lower costs. The role of shared decision making in policy and practice will be part of the larger health care reform debate. 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  17. Academic Career Making and the Double-Edged Role of Academic Housework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heijstra, Thamar Melanie; Steinthorsdóttir, Finnborg Salome; Einarsdóttir, Thorgerdur

    2017-01-01

    Internationalisation, competition and performance orientation are nowadays essential in the managing and financing of universities. This pattern has intensified with the austerity measures and fiscal consolidation that followed the financial crisis in 2008. This article examines the academic labour process and career making of academics from a…

  18. Measuring shared decision making in the consultation: a comparison of the OPTION and Informed Decision Making instruments.

    PubMed

    Weiss, Marjorie C; Peters, Tim J

    2008-01-01

    To investigate the applied and conceptual relationship between two measures of shared decision making using the OPTION instrument developed in Wales and the Informed Decision Making instrument developed in Seattle, USA using audio-taped consultation data from a UK general practice population. Twelve general practitioners were recruited from 6 general practices in the southwest of England. One hundred twenty-three GP-patient consultations were audio-recorded. Audiotapes were sent off to, and rated by, respective experts in the use of the OPTION and the Informed Decision Making instruments. Compared to earlier work using the Informed Decision Making tool, consultations in this sample were shorter, had fewer decisions and tended to have a greater number of elements present. Similar to previous research using the OPTION, values using the OPTION instrument were low with two items, giving the patient opportunities to ask questions and checking patient understanding, exhibiting the most variability. Using a 'key' decision in each consultation as the basis for comparison, the Informed Decision Making score was not related to the overall OPTION score (Spearman's rho=0.14, p=0.13). Both instruments also predicted different 'best' and 'worst' doctors. Using a Bland-Altman plot for assessing agreement, the mean difference between the two measures was 1.11 (CI 0.66-1.56) and the limits of agreement were -3.94 to 6.16. There were several elements between the two instruments that appeared conceptually similar and correlations for these were generally higher. These were: discussing alternatives or options (Spearman's rho=0.35, p=0.0001), discussion of the patient's role in decision making (Spearman's rho=0.23, p=0.012), discussion of the pros/cons of the alternatives (Spearman's rho=0.20, p=0.024) and assessment of the patient's understanding (Spearman's rho=0.19, p=0.03). Measures of shared decision making are helpful in identifying those shared decision making skills which may

  19. Decision-making capacity should not be decisive in emergencies.

    PubMed

    Hubbeling, Dieneke

    2014-05-01

    Examples of patients with anorexia nervosa, depression or borderline personality disorder who have decision-making capacity as currently operationalized, but refuse treatment, are discussed. It appears counterintuitive to respect their treatment refusal because their wish seems to be fuelled by their illness and the consequences of their refusal of treatment are severe. Some proposed solutions have focused on broadening the criteria for decision-making capacity, either in general or for specific patient groups, but these adjustments might discriminate against particular groups of patients and render the process less transparent. Other solutions focus on preferences expressed when patients are not ill, but this information is often not available. The reason for such difficulties with assessing decision-making capacity is that the underlying psychological processes of normal decision-making are not well known and one cannot differentiate between unwise decisions caused by an illness or other factors. The proposed alternative, set out in this paper, is to allow compulsory treatment of patients with decision-making capacity in cases of an emergency, if the refusal is potentially life threatening, but only for a time-limited period. The argument is also made for investigating hindsight agreement, in particular after compulsory measures.

  20. Judgment and decision making.

    PubMed

    Fischhoff, Baruch

    2010-09-01

    The study of judgment and decision making entails three interrelated forms of research: (1) normative analysis, identifying the best courses of action, given decision makers' values; (2) descriptive studies, examining actual behavior in terms comparable to the normative analyses; and (3) prescriptive interventions, helping individuals to make better choices, bridging the gap between the normative ideal and the descriptive reality. The research is grounded in analytical foundations shared by economics, psychology, philosophy, and management science. Those foundations provide a framework for accommodating affective and social factors that shape and complement the cognitive processes of decision making. The decision sciences have grown through applications requiring collaboration with subject matter experts, familiar with the substance of the choices and the opportunities for interventions. Over the past half century, the field has shifted its emphasis from predicting choices, which can be successful without theoretical insight, to understanding the processes shaping them. Those processes are often revealed through biases that suggest non-normative processes. The practical importance of these biases depends on the sensitivity of specific decisions and the support that individuals have in making them. As a result, the field offers no simple summary of individuals' competence as decision makers, but a suite of theories and methods suited to capturing these sensitivities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Investment decision making in the health care industry: the future.

    PubMed Central

    Long, H W

    1979-01-01

    The economic and political environment in which providers of health care will operate during the 1980s will continue to be increasingly restrictive. Any private-sector organization's long-run survival depends directly on the quality of its investment decisions, broadly defined. This decision making will require three major innovations if private sector health care providers are to survive: 1) traditional biases about the economics of not-for-profit entities must be abandoned; 2) standard data, procedures, and personnel from the accounting discipline must be supplemented with information, methodologies, and people from the discipline of corporate finance; and 3) economic and fiscal risk must be measured and incorporated into both investment decisions and interactions with external regulators. Practitioners can begin to implement these innovations immediately. Although substantial literature exists developing all these concepts generally and applying them to for-profit settings, the literature purporting to treat investment decision making for private-sector health care providers is, on average, replete with conceptual error, simplistic thinking, erroneous applications, and out-of-date methodologies. The literature is, in a word, horrid. Authors, both practitioner and academic, should stop writing terrible books and booklike periodicals for easy royalty dollars, and, instead, pursue sound applied research and disseminate their results in classrooms and in refereed journals. PMID:391771

  2. Toward a Psychology of Surrogate Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Tunney, Richard J; Ziegler, Fenja V

    2015-11-01

    In everyday life, many of the decisions that we make are made on behalf of other people. A growing body of research suggests that we often, but not always, make different decisions on behalf of other people than the other person would choose. This is problematic in the practical case of legally designated surrogate decision makers, who may not meet the substituted judgment standard. Here, we review evidence from studies of surrogate decision making and examine the extent to which surrogate decision making accurately predicts the recipient's wishes, or if it is an incomplete or distorted application of the surrogate's own decision-making processes. We find no existing domain-general model of surrogate decision making. We propose a framework by which surrogate decision making can be assessed and a novel domain-general theory as a unifying explanatory concept for surrogate decisions. © The Author(s) 2015.

  3. Multicriteria decision analysis: Overview and implications for environmental decision making

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hermans, Caroline M.; Erickson, Jon D.; Erickson, Jon D.; Messner, Frank; Ring, Irene

    2007-01-01

    Environmental decision making involving multiple stakeholders can benefit from the use of a formal process to structure stakeholder interactions, leading to more successful outcomes than traditional discursive decision processes. There are many tools available to handle complex decision making. Here we illustrate the use of a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) outranking tool (PROMETHEE) to facilitate decision making at the watershed scale, involving multiple stakeholders, multiple criteria, and multiple objectives. We compare various MCDA methods and their theoretical underpinnings, examining methods that most realistically model complex decision problems in ways that are understandable and transparent to stakeholders.

  4. Shared decision-making, gender and new technologies.

    PubMed

    Zeiler, Kristin

    2007-09-01

    Much discussion of decision-making processes in medicine has been patient-centred. It has been assumed that there is, most often, one patient. Less attention has been given to shared decision-making processes where two or more patients are involved. This article aims to contribute to this special area. What conditions need to be met if decision-making can be said to be shared? What is a shared decision-making process and what is a shared autonomous decision-making process? Why make the distinction? Examples are drawn from the area of new reproductive medicine and clinical genetics. Possible gender-differences in shared decision-making are discussed.

  5. Neural substrates of decision-making.

    PubMed

    Broche-Pérez, Y; Herrera Jiménez, L F; Omar-Martínez, E

    2016-06-01

    Decision-making is the process of selecting a course of action from among 2 or more alternatives by considering the potential outcomes of selecting each option and estimating its consequences in the short, medium and long term. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has traditionally been considered the key neural structure in decision-making process. However, new studies support the hypothesis that describes a complex neural network including both cortical and subcortical structures. The aim of this review is to summarise evidence on the anatomical structures underlying the decision-making process, considering new findings that support the existence of a complex neural network that gives rise to this complex neuropsychological process. Current evidence shows that the cortical structures involved in decision-making include the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). This process is assisted by subcortical structures including the amygdala, thalamus, and cerebellum. Findings to date show that both cortical and subcortical brain regions contribute to the decision-making process. The neural basis of decision-making is a complex neural network of cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical connections which includes subareas of the PFC, limbic structures, and the cerebellum. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  6. Establishing a regional network of academic centers to support decision making for new vaccine introduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: the ProVac experience.

    PubMed

    Toscano, C M; Jauregui, B; Janusz, C B; Sinha, A; Clark, A D; Sanderson, C; Resch, S; Ruiz Matus, C; Andrus, J K

    2013-07-02

    The Pan American Health Organization's ProVac Initiative, designed to strengthen national decision making regarding the introduction of new vaccines, was initiated in 2004. Central to realizing ProVac's vision of regional capacity building, the ProVac Network of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) was established in 2010 to provide research support to the ProVac Initiative, leveraging existing capacity at Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) universities. We describe the process of establishing the ProVac Network of CoEs and its initial outcomes and challenges. A survey was sent to academic, not-for-profit institutions in LAC that had recently published work in the areas of clinical decision sciences and health economic analysis. Centers invited to join the Network were selected by an international committee on the basis of the survey results. Selection criteria included academic productivity in immunization-related work, team size and expertise, successful collaboration with governmental agencies and international organizations, and experience in training and education. The Network currently includes five academic institutions across LAC. Through open dialog and negotiation, specific projects were assigned to centers according to their areas of expertise. Collaboration among centers was highly encouraged. Faculty from ProVac's technical partners were assigned as focal points for each project. The resulting work led to the development and piloting of tools, methodological guides, and training materials that support countries in assessing existing evidence and generating new evidence on vaccine introduction. The evidence generated is shared with country-level decision makers and the scientific community. As the ProVac Initiative expands to other regions of the world with support from immunization and public health partners, the establishment of other regional and global networks of CoEs will be critical. The experience of LAC in creating the current network could benefit the

  7. Computational Complexity and Human Decision-Making.

    PubMed

    Bossaerts, Peter; Murawski, Carsten

    2017-12-01

    The rationality principle postulates that decision-makers always choose the best action available to them. It underlies most modern theories of decision-making. The principle does not take into account the difficulty of finding the best option. Here, we propose that computational complexity theory (CCT) provides a framework for defining and quantifying the difficulty of decisions. We review evidence showing that human decision-making is affected by computational complexity. Building on this evidence, we argue that most models of decision-making, and metacognition, are intractable from a computational perspective. To be plausible, future theories of decision-making will need to take into account both the resources required for implementing the computations implied by the theory, and the resource constraints imposed on the decision-maker by biology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Changing Times, Complex Decisions: Presidential Values and Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hornak, Anne M.; Garza Mitchell, Regina L.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: The objective of this article is to delve more deeply into the thought processes of the key decision makers at community colleges and understand how they make decisions. Specifically, this article focuses on the role of the community college president's personal values in decision making. Method: We conducted interviews with 13…

  9. Multi-disciplinary decision making in general practice.

    PubMed

    Kirby, Ann; Murphy, Aileen; Bradley, Colin

    2018-04-09

    Purpose Internationally, healthcare systems are moving towards delivering care in an integrated manner which advocates a multi-disciplinary approach to decision making. Such an approach is formally encouraged in the management of Atrial Fibrillation patients through the European Society of Cardiology guidelines. Since the emergence of new oral anticoagulants switching between oral anticoagulants (OACs) has become prevalent. This case study considers the role of multi-disciplinary decision making, given the complex nature of the agents. The purpose of this paper is to explore Irish General Practitioners' (GPs) experience of switching between all OACs for Arial Fibrillation (AF) patients; prevalence of multi-disciplinary decision making in OAC switching decisions and seeks to determine the GP characteristics that appear to influence the likelihood of multi-disciplinary decision making. Design/methodology/approach A probit model is used to determine the factors influencing multi-disciplinary decision making and a multinomial logit is used to examine the factors influencing who is involved in the multi-disciplinary decisions. Findings Results reveal that while some multi-disciplinary decision-making is occurring (64 per cent), it is not standard practice despite international guidelines on integrated care. Moreover, there is a lack of patient participation in the decision-making process. Female GPs and GPs who have initiated prescriptions for OACs are more likely to engage in multi-disciplinary decision-making surrounding switching OACs amongst AF patients. GPs with training practices were less likely to engage with cardiac consultants and those in urban areas were more likely to engage with other (non-cardiac) consultants. Originality/value For optimal decision making under uncertainty multi-disciplinary decision-making is needed to make a more informed judgement and to improve treatment decisions and reduce the opportunity cost of making the wrong decision.

  10. Inside the black box of shared decision making: distinguishing between the process of involvement and who makes the decision

    PubMed Central

    Edwards, Adrian; Elwyn, Glyn

    2006-01-01

    Abstract Background  Shared decision making has practical implications for everyday health care. However, it stems from largely theoretical frameworks and is not widely implemented in routine practice. Aims  We undertook an empirical study to inform understanding of shared decision making and how it can be operationalized more widely. Method  The study involved patients visiting UK general practitioners already well experienced in shared decision making. After these consultations, semi‐structured telephone interviews were conducted and analysed using the constant comparative method of content analysis. Results  All patients described at least some components of shared decision making but half appeared to perceive the decision as shared and half as ‘patient‐led’. However, patients exhibited some uncertainty about who had made the decision, reflecting different meanings of decision making from those described in the literature. A distinction is indicated between the process of involvement (option portrayal, exchange of information and exploring preferences for who makes the decision) and the actual decisional responsibility (who makes the decision). The process of involvement appeared to deliver benefits for patients, not the action of making the decision. Preferences for decisional responsibility varied during some consultations, generating unsatisfactory interactions when actual decisional responsibility did not align with patient preferences at that stage of a consultation. However, when conducted well, shared decision making enhanced reported satisfaction, understanding and confidence in the decisions. Conclusions  Practitioners can focus more on the process of involving patients in decision making rather than attaching importance to who actually makes the decision. They also need to be aware of the potential for changing patient preferences for decisional responsibility during a consultation and address non‐alignment of patient preferences

  11. Facets of Career Decision-Making Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amir, Tami; Gati, Itamar

    2006-01-01

    The present research investigated the relations among the measured and the expressed career decision-making difficulties in a sample of 299 young adults who intended to apply to college or university. As hypothesised, the correlations between career decision-making difficulties, as measured by the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire…

  12. Decision making in urological surgery.

    PubMed

    Abboudi, Hamid; Ahmed, Kamran; Normahani, Pasha; Abboudi, May; Kirby, Roger; Challacombe, Ben; Khan, Mohammed Shamim; Dasgupta, Prokar

    2012-06-01

    Non-technical skills are important behavioural aspects that a urologist must be fully competent at to minimise harm to patients. The majority of surgical errors are now known to be due to errors in judgment and decision making as opposed to the technical aspects of the craft. The authors reviewed the published literature regarding decision-making theory and in practice related to urology as well as the current tools available to assess decision-making skills. Limitations include limited number of studies, and the available studies are of low quality. Decision making is the psychological process of choosing between alternative courses of action. In the surgical environment, this can often be a complex balance of benefit and risk within a variable time frame and dynamic setting. In recent years, the emphasis of new surgical curriculums has shifted towards non-technical surgical skills; however, the assessment tools in place are far from objective, reliable and valid. Surgical simulators and video-assisted questionnaires are useful methods for appraisal of trainees. Well-designed, robust and validated tools need to be implemented in training and assessment of decision-making skills in urology. Patient safety can only be ensured when safe and effective decisions are made.

  13. [Cognitive errors in diagnostic decision making].

    PubMed

    Gäbler, Martin

    2017-10-01

    Approximately 10-15% of our diagnostic decisions are faulty and may lead to unfavorable and dangerous outcomes, which could be avoided. These diagnostic errors are mainly caused by cognitive biases in the diagnostic reasoning process.Our medical diagnostic decision-making is based on intuitive "System 1" and analytical "System 2" diagnostic decision-making and can be deviated by unconscious cognitive biases.These deviations can be positively influenced on a systemic and an individual level. For the individual, metacognition (internal withdrawal from the decision-making process) and debiasing strategies, such as verification, falsification and rule out worst-case scenarios, can lead to improved diagnostic decisions making.

  14. Adaptive Strategy Selection in Decision Making.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-07-31

    information processing capabilities of a decision maker, given any " reasonable " time limit for making the decision. If use of a more normative rule...DECISION MAKING JOHN W. PAYNE DTIC DUKE UNIVERSITY L.CT E AUG 13 JAMES R. BETTMAN DUKE. UNIVERSITY ERIC J. JOHNSON CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY...REPORT & PERIOD COVERED ADAPTIVE STRATEGY SELECTION IN DECISION MAKING Research 6. PERFORMING ORO. REPORT NUMSER 7. AUTNORfe) e. CONTRACT ON GRANT

  15. Adolescent Sexual Decision-Making: An Integrative Review.

    PubMed

    Hulton, Linda J.

    2001-10-03

    PURPOSE: The purpose of this integrative review was to summarize the present literature to identify factors associated with adolescent sexual decision-making. Thirty-eight salient research studies were selected as a basis of this review from the databases of Medline, CINAHL, and Psychinfo using the Cooper methodology. CONCLUSIONS: Two categories of decision-making were identified: 1) The research on factors related to the decisions that adolescents make to become sexually active or to abstain from sexual activity; 2) The research on factors related to contraceptive decision-making. The most consistent findings were that the factors of gender differences, cognitive development, perception of benefits, parental influences, social influences, and sexual knowledge were important variables in the decision-making processes of adolescents. IMPLICATIONS: Practice implications for nursing suggest that clinicians should assess adolescent sexual decision-making in greater detail and address the social and psychological context in which sexual experiences occur. Nurses must be aware of the differences between adolescent and adult decision-making processes and incorporate knowledge of growth and development into intervention strategies. Moreover, to the degree that adolescent sexual decision-making proves to be less than rational, interventions designed to improve competent sexual decision-making are needed.

  16. Quantitative Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baldwin, Grover H.

    The use of quantitative decision making tools provides the decision maker with a range of alternatives among which to decide, permits acceptance and use of the optimal solution, and decreases risk. Training line administrators in the use of these tools can help school business officials obtain reliable information upon which to base district…

  17. Considering Risk and Resilience in Decision-Making

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the concepts of decision-making, risk analysis, uncertainty and resilience analysis. The relation between risk, vulnerability, and resilience is analyzed. The paper describes how complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity are the most critical factors in the definition of the approach and criteria for decision-making. Uncertainty in its various forms is what limits our ability to offer definitive answers to questions about the outcomes of alternatives in a decision-making process. It is shown that, although resilience-informed decision-making would seem fundamentally different from risk-informed decision-making, this is not the case as resilience-analysis can be easily incorporated within existing analytic-deliberative decision-making frameworks.

  18. 24 CFR 55.20 - Decision making process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Decision making process. 55.20... Decision making process. The decision making process for compliance with this part contains eight steps... decision making process are: (a) Step 1. Determine whether the proposed action is located in a 100-year...

  19. Shared clinical decision making

    PubMed Central

    AlHaqwi, Ali I.; AlDrees, Turki M.; AlRumayyan, Ahmad; AlFarhan, Ali I.; Alotaibi, Sultan S.; AlKhashan, Hesham I.; Badri, Motasim

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: To determine preferences of patients regarding their involvement in the clinical decision making process and the related factors in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a major family practice center in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between March and May 2012. Multivariate multinomial regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with patients preferences. Results: The study included 236 participants. The most preferred decision-making style was shared decision-making (57%), followed by paternalistic (28%), and informed consumerism (14%). The preference for shared clinical decision making was significantly higher among male patients and those with higher level of education, whereas paternalism was significantly higher among older patients and those with chronic health conditions, and consumerism was significantly higher in younger age groups. In multivariate multinomial regression analysis, compared with the shared group, the consumerism group were more likely to be female [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) =2.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31-6.27, p=0.008] and non-dyslipidemic (AOR=2.90, 95% CI: 1.03-8.09, p=0.04), and the paternalism group were more likely to be older (AOR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.05, p=0.04), and female (AOR=2.47, 95% CI: 1.32-4.06, p=0.008). Conclusion: Preferences of patients for involvement in the clinical decision-making varied considerably. In our setting, underlying factors that influence these preferences identified in this study should be considered and tailored individually to achieve optimal treatment outcomes. PMID:26620990

  20. Intergroup Conflict and Rational Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Martínez-Tur, Vicente; Peñarroja, Vicente; Serrano, Miguel A.; Hidalgo, Vanesa; Moliner, Carolina; Salvador, Alicia; Alacreu-Crespo, Adrián; Gracia, Esther; Molina, Agustín

    2014-01-01

    The literature has been relatively silent about post-conflict processes. However, understanding the way humans deal with post-conflict situations is a challenge in our societies. With this in mind, we focus the present study on the rationality of cooperative decision making after an intergroup conflict, i.e., the extent to which groups take advantage of post-conflict situations to obtain benefits from collaborating with the other group involved in the conflict. Based on dual-process theories of thinking and affect heuristic, we propose that intergroup conflict hinders the rationality of cooperative decision making. We also hypothesize that this rationality improves when groups are involved in an in-group deliberative discussion. Results of a laboratory experiment support the idea that intergroup conflict –associated with indicators of the activation of negative feelings (negative affect state and heart rate)– has a negative effect on the aforementioned rationality over time and on both group and individual decision making. Although intergroup conflict leads to sub-optimal decision making, rationality improves when groups and individuals subjected to intergroup conflict make decisions after an in-group deliberative discussion. Additionally, the increased rationality of the group decision making after the deliberative discussion is transferred to subsequent individual decision making. PMID:25461384

  1. Intergroup conflict and rational decision making.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Tur, Vicente; Peñarroja, Vicente; Serrano, Miguel A; Hidalgo, Vanesa; Moliner, Carolina; Salvador, Alicia; Alacreu-Crespo, Adrián; Gracia, Esther; Molina, Agustín

    2014-01-01

    The literature has been relatively silent about post-conflict processes. However, understanding the way humans deal with post-conflict situations is a challenge in our societies. With this in mind, we focus the present study on the rationality of cooperative decision making after an intergroup conflict, i.e., the extent to which groups take advantage of post-conflict situations to obtain benefits from collaborating with the other group involved in the conflict. Based on dual-process theories of thinking and affect heuristic, we propose that intergroup conflict hinders the rationality of cooperative decision making. We also hypothesize that this rationality improves when groups are involved in an in-group deliberative discussion. Results of a laboratory experiment support the idea that intergroup conflict -associated with indicators of the activation of negative feelings (negative affect state and heart rate)- has a negative effect on the aforementioned rationality over time and on both group and individual decision making. Although intergroup conflict leads to sub-optimal decision making, rationality improves when groups and individuals subjected to intergroup conflict make decisions after an in-group deliberative discussion. Additionally, the increased rationality of the group decision making after the deliberative discussion is transferred to subsequent individual decision making.

  2. 'My kidneys, my choice, decision aid': supporting shared decision making.

    PubMed

    Fortnum, Debbie; Smolonogov, Tatiana; Walker, Rachael; Kairaitis, Luke; Pugh, Debbie

    2015-06-01

    For patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are progressing to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) a decision of whether to undertake dialysis or conservative care is a critical component of the patient journey. Shared decision making for complex decisions such as this could be enhanced by a decision aid, a practice which is well utilised in other disciplines but limited for nephrology. A multidisciplinary team in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) utilised current decision-making theory and best practice to develop the 'My Kidneys, My Choice', a decision aid for the treatment of kidney disease. A patient-centred, five-sectioned tool is now complete and freely available to all ANZ units to support the ESKD education and shared decision-making process. Distribution and education have occurred across ANZ and evaluation of the decision aid in practice is in the first phase. Development of a new tool such as an ESKD decision aid requires vision, multidisciplinary input and ongoing implementation resources. This tool is being integrated into ANZ, ESKD education practice and is promoting the philosophy of shared decision making. © 2014 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

  3. Sterilization surgery - making a decision

    MedlinePlus

    ... medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002138.htm Sterilization surgery - making a decision To use the sharing features on this page, ... about all the options available to you before making the decision to have a sterilization procedure. Alternative Names Deciding ...

  4. Distributed Cognition in Cancer Treatment Decision Making: An Application of the DECIDE Decision-Making Styles Typology.

    PubMed

    Krieger, Janice L; Krok-Schoen, Jessica L; Dailey, Phokeng M; Palmer-Wackerly, Angela L; Schoenberg, Nancy; Paskett, Electra D; Dignan, Mark

    2017-07-01

    Distributed cognition occurs when cognitive and affective schemas are shared between two or more people during interpersonal discussion. Although extant research focuses on distributed cognition in decision making between health care providers and patients, studies show that caregivers are also highly influential in the treatment decisions of patients. However, there are little empirical data describing how and when families exert influence. The current article addresses this gap by examining decisional support in the context of cancer randomized clinical trial (RCT) decision making. Data are drawn from in-depth interviews with rural, Appalachian cancer patients ( N = 46). Analysis of transcript data yielded empirical support for four distinct models of health decision making. The implications of these findings for developing interventions to improve the quality of treatment decision making and overall well-being are discussed.

  5. Social Influences in Sequential Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Schöbel, Markus; Rieskamp, Jörg; Huber, Rafael

    2016-01-01

    People often make decisions in a social environment. The present work examines social influence on people’s decisions in a sequential decision-making situation. In the first experimental study, we implemented an information cascade paradigm, illustrating that people infer information from decisions of others and use this information to make their own decisions. We followed a cognitive modeling approach to elicit the weight people give to social as compared to private individual information. The proposed social influence model shows that participants overweight their own private information relative to social information, contrary to the normative Bayesian account. In our second study, we embedded the abstract decision problem of Study 1 in a medical decision-making problem. We examined whether in a medical situation people also take others’ authority into account in addition to the information that their decisions convey. The social influence model illustrates that people weight social information differentially according to the authority of other decision makers. The influence of authority was strongest when an authority's decision contrasted with private information. Both studies illustrate how the social environment provides sources of information that people integrate differently for their decisions. PMID:26784448

  6. Social Influences in Sequential Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Schöbel, Markus; Rieskamp, Jörg; Huber, Rafael

    2016-01-01

    People often make decisions in a social environment. The present work examines social influence on people's decisions in a sequential decision-making situation. In the first experimental study, we implemented an information cascade paradigm, illustrating that people infer information from decisions of others and use this information to make their own decisions. We followed a cognitive modeling approach to elicit the weight people give to social as compared to private individual information. The proposed social influence model shows that participants overweight their own private information relative to social information, contrary to the normative Bayesian account. In our second study, we embedded the abstract decision problem of Study 1 in a medical decision-making problem. We examined whether in a medical situation people also take others' authority into account in addition to the information that their decisions convey. The social influence model illustrates that people weight social information differentially according to the authority of other decision makers. The influence of authority was strongest when an authority's decision contrasted with private information. Both studies illustrate how the social environment provides sources of information that people integrate differently for their decisions.

  7. The potential for shared decision-making and decision aids in rehabilitation medicine.

    PubMed

    van Til, Janine A; Drossaert, Constance H C; Punter, R Annemiek; Ijzerman, Maarten J

    2010-06-01

    Shared decision-making and the use of decision aids are increasingly promoted in various healthcare settings. The extent of their current use and potential in rehabilitation medicine is unknown. The aim of the present study was to explore the barriers to and facilitators of shared decision-making and use of decision aids in daily practice, and to explore the perceptions of physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) physicians toward them. A cross-sectional survey of 408 PRM physicians was performed (response rate 31%). PRM physicians expressed the highest levels of comfort with shared decision-making as opposed to paternalistic and informed decision-making. The majority reported that shared decision-making constituted their usual approach. The most important barriers to shared decision-making were cases in which the patient received conflicting recommendations and when the patient had difficulty accepting the disease. Key facilitators were the patient's trust in the PRM physician and the patient being knowledgeable about the disease and about treatment options. PRM physicians' attitudes towards the use of decision aids to inform patients were moderately positive. Shared decision-making appears to have great potential in the rehabilitation setting. Increasing the use of decision aids may contribute to the further implementation of shared decision-making.

  8. Characteristics Associated With Preferences for Parent-Centered Decision Making in Neonatal Intensive Care.

    PubMed

    Weiss, Elliott Mark; Xie, Dawei; Cook, Noah; Coughlin, Katherine; Joffe, Steven

    2018-05-01

    Little is known about how characteristics of particular clinical decisions influence decision-making preferences by patients or their surrogates. A better understanding of the factors underlying preferences is essential to improve the quality of shared decision making. To identify the characteristics of particular decisions that are associated with parents' preferences for family- vs medical team-centered decision making across the spectrum of clinical decisions that arise in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This cross-sectional survey assessed parents' preferences for parent- vs medical team-centered decision making across 16 clinical decisions, along with parents' assessments of 7 characteristics of those decisions. Respondents included 136 parents of infants in 1 of 3 academically affiliated hospital NICUs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from January 7 to July 8, 2016. Respondents represented a wide range of educational levels, employment status, and household income but were predominantly female (109 [80.1%]), white (68 [50.0%]) or African American (53 [39.0%]), and married (81 of 132 responding [61.4%]). Preferences for parent-centered decision making. For each decision characteristic (eg, urgency), multivariable analyses tested whether middle and high levels of that characteristic (compared with low levels) were associated with a preference for parent-centered decision making, resulting in 2 odds ratios (ORs) per decision characteristic. Among the 136 respondents (109 women [80.1%] and 27 men [19.9%]; median age, 30 years [range, 18-43 years]), preferences for parent-centered decision making were positively associated with decisions that involved big-picture goals (middle OR, 2.01 [99% CI, 0.83-4.86]; high OR, 3.38 [99% CI, 1.48-7.75]) and that had the potential to harm the infant (middle OR, 1.32 [99% CI, 0.84-2.08]; high OR, 2.62 [99% CI, 1.67-4.11]). In contrast, preferences for parent-centered decision making were inversely associated with the

  9. Faculty Participation in Decision Making: Necessity or Luxury? ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 8, 1985.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Floyd, Carol Everly

    The literature concerning higher education and generic organization theory is reviewed to address various questions relating to faculty participation in institutional decision-making. Attention is directed to: the rationale for faculty participation, alternative types of participation, participation in academic senates, participation by functional…

  10. Neuroanatomical basis for recognition primed decision making.

    PubMed

    Hudson, Darren

    2013-01-01

    Effective decision making under time constraints is often overlooked in medical decision making. The recognition primed decision making (RPDM) model was developed by Gary Klein based on previous recognized situations to develop a satisfactory solution to the current problem. Bayes Theorem is the most popular decision making model in medicine but is limited by the need for adequate time to consider all probabilities. Unlike other decision making models, there is a potential neurobiological basis for RPDM. This model has significant implication for health informatics and medical education.

  11. Clinical Holistic Medicine: Factors Influencing The Therapeutic Decision-Making. From Academic Knowledge to Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual “Crazy” Wisdom

    PubMed Central

    Ventegodt, Søren; Kandel, Isack; Merrick, Joav

    2007-01-01

    Scientific holistic medicine is built on holistic medical theory, on therapeutic and ethical principles. The rationale is that the therapist can take the patient into a state of salutogenesis, or existential healing, using his skills and knowledge. But how ever much we want to make therapy a science it remains partly an art, and the more developed the therapist becomes, the more of his/her decisions will be based on intuition, feeling and even inspiration that is more based on love and human concern and other spiritual motivations than on mental reason and rationality in a simple sense of the word. The provocative and paradoxal medieval western concept of the “truth telling clown”, or the eastern concepts of “crazy wisdom” and “holy madness” seems highly relevant here. The problem is how we can ethically justify this kind of highly “irrational” therapeutic behavior in the rational setting of a medical institution. We argue here that holistic therapy has a very high success rate and is doing no harm to the patient, and encourage therapists, psychiatrists, psychologist and other academically trained “helpers” to constantly measure their own success-rate. This paper discusses many of the important factors that influence clinical holistic decision-making. Sexuality could, as many psychoanalysts from Freud to Reich and Searles have believed, be the most healing power that exists and also the most difficult for the mind to comprehend, and thus the most “crazy-wise” tool of therapy. PMID:18167609

  12. Shared Problem Models and Crew Decision Making

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, Judith; Statler, Irving C. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The importance of crew decision making to aviation safety has been well established through NTSB accident analyses: Crew judgment and decision making have been cited as causes or contributing factors in over half of all accidents in commercial air transport, general aviation, and military aviation. Yet the bulk of research on decision making has not proven helpful in improving the quality of decisions in the cockpit. One reason is that traditional analytic decision models are inappropriate to the dynamic complex nature of cockpit decision making and do not accurately describe what expert human decision makers do when they make decisions. A new model of dynamic naturalistic decision making is offered that may prove more useful for training or aiding cockpit decision making. Based on analyses of crew performance in full-mission simulation and National Transportation Safety Board accident reports, features that define effective decision strategies in abnormal or emergency situations have been identified. These include accurate situation assessment (including time and risk assessment), appreciation of the complexity of the problem, sensitivity to constraints on the decision, timeliness of the response, and use of adequate information. More effective crews also manage their workload to provide themselves with time and resources to make good decisions. In brief, good decisions are appropriate to the demands of the situation and reflect the crew's metacognitive skill. Effective crew decision making and overall performance are mediated by crew communication. Communication contributes to performance because it assures that all crew members have essential information, but it also regulates and coordinates crew actions and is the medium of collective thinking in response to a problem. This presentation will examine the relation between communication that serves to build performance. Implications of these findings for crew training will be discussed.

  13. Do Teachers Make Decisions Like Firefighters? Applying Naturalistic Decision-Making Methods to Teachers' In-Class Decision Making in Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jazby, Dan

    2014-01-01

    Research into human decision making (DM) processes from outside of education paint a different picture of DM than current DM models in education. This pilot study assesses the use of critical decision method (CDM)--developed from observations of firefighters' DM -- in the context of primary mathematics teachers' in-class DM. Preliminary results…

  14. Collective decision-making in microbes

    PubMed Central

    Ross-Gillespie, Adin; Kümmerli, Rolf

    2014-01-01

    Microbes are intensely social organisms that routinely cooperate and coordinate their activities to express elaborate population level phenotypes. Such coordination requires a process of collective decision-making, in which individuals detect and collate information not only from their physical environment, but also from their social environment, in order to arrive at an appropriately calibrated response. Here, we present a conceptual overview of collective decision-making as it applies to all group-living organisms; we introduce key concepts and principles developed in the context of animal and human group decisions; and we discuss, with appropriate examples, the applicability of each of these concepts in microbial contexts. In particular, we discuss the roles of information pooling, control skew, speed vs. accuracy trade-offs, local feedbacks, quorum thresholds, conflicts of interest, and the reliability of social information. We conclude that collective decision-making in microbes shares many features with collective decision-making in higher taxa, and we call for greater integration between this fledgling field and other allied areas of research, including in the humanities and the physical sciences. PMID:24624121

  15. Risk perception & strategic decision making :general insights, a framework, and specific application to electricity generation using nuclear energy.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brewer, Jeffrey D.

    The objective of this report is to promote increased understanding of decision making processes and hopefully to enable improved decision making regarding high-consequence, highly sophisticated technological systems. This report brings together insights regarding risk perception and decision making across domains ranging from nuclear power technology safety, cognitive psychology, economics, science education, public policy, and neural science (to name a few). It forms them into a unique, coherent, concise framework, and list of strategies to aid in decision making. It is suggested that all decision makers, whether ordinary citizens, academics, or political leaders, ought to cultivate their abilities to separate themore » wheat from the chaff in these types of decision making instances. The wheat includes proper data sources and helpful human decision making heuristics; these should be sought. The chaff includes ''unhelpful biases'' that hinder proper interpretation of available data and lead people unwittingly toward inappropriate decision making ''strategies''; obviously, these should be avoided. It is further proposed that successfully accomplishing the wheat vs. chaff separation is very difficult, yet tenable. This report hopes to expose and facilitate navigation away from decision-making traps which often ensnare the unwary. Furthermore, it is emphasized that one's personal decision making biases can be examined, and tools can be provided allowing better means to generate, evaluate, and select among decision options. Many examples in this report are tailored to the energy domain (esp. nuclear power for electricity generation). The decision making framework and approach presented here are applicable to any high-consequence, highly sophisticated technological system.« less

  16. Emotion, decision-making and the brain.

    PubMed

    Chang, Luke J; Sanfey, Alan G

    2008-01-01

    Initial explorations in the burgeoning field of neuroeconomics have highlighted evidence supporting a potential dissociation between a fast automatic system and a slow deliberative controlled system. Growing research in the role of emotion in decision-making has attempted to draw parallels to the automatic system. This chapter will discuss a theoretical framework for understanding the role of emotion in decision-making and evidence supporting the underlying neural substrates. This chapter applies a conceptual framework to understanding the role of emotion in decision-making, and emphasizes a distinction between expected and immediate emotions. Expected emotions refer to anticipated emotional states associated with a given decision that are never actually experienced. Immediate emotions, however, are experienced at the time of decision, and either can occur in response to a particular decision or merely as a result of a transitory fluctuation. This chapter will review research from the neuroeconomics literature that supports a neural dissociation between these two classes of emotion and also discuss a few interpretive caveats. Several lines of research including regret, uncertainty, social decision-making, and moral decision-making have yielded evidence consistent with our formulization--expected and immediate emotions may invoke dissociable neural systems. This chapter provides a more specific conceptualization of the mediating role of emotions in the decision-making process, which has important implications for understanding the interacting neural systems underlying the interface between emotion and cognition--a topic of immediate value to anyone investigating topics within the context of social-cognitive-affective-neuroscience.

  17. Analyzing Individual Decision Making Versus Group Decision Making for Alternative Selection

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-06-01

    35 SDVF Single Dimensional Value Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 ENAER Empresa Nacional de Aeronautica... de - viate further from balanced strategies than do individuals” [16]. Kocher and Sutter compared decisions by individuals and groups in beauty...Michaelsen, Watson, and Black de - termined that there have been no studies on individual versus group decision making that provided any significant

  18. Administrators' Decisions about Resource Allocation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knight, William E.; Folkins, John W.; Hakel, Milton D.; Kennell, Richard P.

    2011-01-01

    Do academic administrators make decisions about resource allocation differently depending on the discipline receiving the funding? Does an administrator's academic identity influence these decisions? This study explored those questions with a sample of 1,690 academic administrators at doctoral-research universities. Participants used fictional…

  19. Geospatial decision support systems for societal decision making

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bernknopf, R.L.

    2005-01-01

    While science provides reliable information to describe and understand the earth and its natural processes, it can contribute more. There are many important societal issues in which scientific information can play a critical role. Science can add greatly to policy and management decisions to minimize loss of life and property from natural and man-made disasters, to manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources, and in general, to enhance and protect our quality of life. However, the link between science and decision-making is often complicated and imperfect. Technical language and methods surround scientific research and the dissemination of its results. Scientific investigations often are conducted under different conditions, with different spatial boundaries, and in different timeframes than those needed to support specific policy and societal decisions. Uncertainty is not uniformly reported in scientific investigations. If society does not know that data exist, what the data mean, where to use the data, or how to include uncertainty when a decision has to be made, then science gets left out -or misused- in a decision making process. This paper is about using Geospatial Decision Support Systems (GDSS) for quantitative policy analysis. Integrated natural -social science methods and tools in a Geographic Information System that respond to decision-making needs can be used to close the gap between science and society. The GDSS has been developed so that nonscientists can pose "what if" scenarios to evaluate hypothetical outcomes of policy and management choices. In this approach decision makers can evaluate the financial and geographic distribution of potential policy options and their societal implications. Actions, based on scientific information, can be taken to mitigate hazards, protect our air and water quality, preserve the planet's biodiversity, promote balanced land use planning, and judiciously exploit natural resources. Applications using the

  20. Graphic Representations as Tools for Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howard, Judith

    2001-01-01

    Focuses on the use of graphic representations to enable students to improve their decision making skills in the social studies. Explores three visual aids used in assisting students with decision making: (1) the force field; (2) the decision tree; and (3) the decision making grid. (CMK)

  1. Shared decision making or paternalism in nursing consultations? A qualitative study of primary care asthma nurses’ views on sharing decisions with patients regarding inhaler device selection

    PubMed Central

    Upton, Jane; Fletcher, Monica; Madoc‐Sutton, Hazel; Sheikh, Aziz; Caress, Ann‐Louise; Walker, Samantha

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Background  Although patients with asthma would like more involvement in the decision‐making process, and UK government policy concerning chronic conditions supports shared decision making, it is not widely used in practice. Objective  To investigate how nurses approach decision making in relation to inhaler choice and long‐term inhaler use within a routine asthma consultation and to better understand the barriers and facilitators to shared decision making in practice. Setting and participants  Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with post‐registration, qualified nurses who routinely undertook asthma consultations and were registered on a respiratory course. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using the Framework approach. Results  Twenty participants were interviewed. Despite holding positive views about shared decision making, limited shared decision making was reported. Opportunities for patients to share decisions were only offered in relation to inhaler device, which were based on the nurse’s pre‐selected recommendations. Giving patients this ‘choice’ was seen as key to improving adherence. Discussion  There is a discrepancy between nurses’ understanding of shared decision making and the depictions of shared decision making presented in the academic literature and NHS policy. In this study, shared decision making was used as a tool to support the nurses’ agenda, rather than as a natural expression of equality between the nurse and patient. Conclusion  There is a misalignment between the goals of practice nurses and the rhetoric regarding patient empowerment. Shared decision making may therefore only be embraced if it improves patient outcomes. This study indicates attitudinal shifts and improvements in knowledge of ‘shared decision‐making’ are needed if policy dictates are to be realised. PMID:21323822

  2. Primary care clinicians' experiences with treatment decision making for older persons with multiple conditions.

    PubMed

    Fried, Terri R; Tinetti, Mary E; Iannone, Lynne

    2011-01-10

    Clinicians are caring for an increasing number of older patients with multiple diseases in the face of uncertainty concerning the benefits and harms associated with guideline-directed interventions. Understanding how primary care clinicians approach treatment decision making for these patients is critical to the design of interventions to improve the decision-making process. Focus groups were conducted with 40 primary care clinicians (physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) in academic, community, and Veterans Affairs-affiliated primary care practices. Participants were given open-ended questions about their approach to treatment decision making for older persons with multiple medical conditions. Responses were organized into themes using qualitative content analysis. The participants were concerned about their patients' ability to adhere to complex regimens derived from guideline-directed care. There was variability in beliefs regarding, and approaches to balancing, the benefits and harms of guideline-directed care. There was also variability regarding how the participants involved patients in the process of decision making, with clinicians describing conflicts between their own and their patients' goals. The participants listed a number of barriers to making good treatment decisions, including the lack of outcome data, the role of specialists, patient and family expectations, and insufficient time and reimbursement. The experiences of practicing clinicians suggest that they struggle with the uncertainties of applying disease-specific guidelines to their older patients with multiple conditions. To improve decision making, they need more data, alternative guidelines, approaches to reconciling their own and their patients' priorities, the support of their subspecialist colleagues, and an altered reimbursement system.

  3. Emotion and decision making.

    PubMed

    Lerner, Jennifer S; Li, Ye; Valdesolo, Piercarlo; Kassam, Karim S

    2015-01-03

    A revolution in the science of emotion has emerged in recent decades, with the potential to create a paradigm shift in decision theories. The research reveals that emotions constitute potent, pervasive, predictable, sometimes harmful and sometimes beneficial drivers of decision making. Across different domains, important regularities appear in the mechanisms through which emotions influence judgments and choices. We organize and analyze what has been learned from the past 35 years of work on emotion and decision making. In so doing, we propose the emotion-imbued choice model, which accounts for inputs from traditional rational choice theory and from newer emotion research, synthesizing scientific models.

  4. Decision-Making Deficits Among Maltreated Children

    PubMed Central

    Weller, Joshua A.; Fisher, Philip A.

    2013-01-01

    Although maltreated children involved with child welfare services are known to exhibit elevated levels of health-risking behaviors, little is known about their decision-making processes leading to these behaviors. Research findings suggest that maltreated children exhibit developmental delays in neurocognitive and emotional regulation systems that could adversely impact their abilities to make decisions under conditions of risk. Whereas prior researchers have examined risky decision making as a global construct, maltreated children’s decision making was examined in two contexts in the present study: potential gains and potential losses. Comparing maltreated children (n = 25) and a nonmaltreated community group (n = 112), it was found that the maltreated children showed decision-making impairments for both domains: This impairment was especially prominent in the loss domain. The maltreated children took excessive risks and were insensitive to changes in expected value. Follow-up analyses revealed that these differences were primarily associated with insensitivity to changes in outcome magnitude for the risky option. Finally, response latency analyses indicated that the maltreated children were slower to make choices, reinforcing underlying differences in decision processes between groups. These results have implications for basic and translational science. PMID:23220788

  5. Decision-making in the adolescent brain.

    PubMed

    Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne; Robbins, Trevor W

    2012-09-01

    Adolescence is characterized by making risky decisions. Early lesion and neuroimaging studies in adults pointed to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and related structures as having a key role in decision-making. More recent studies have fractionated decision-making processes into its various components, including the representation of value, response selection (including inter-temporal choice and cognitive control), associative learning, and affective and social aspects. These different aspects of decision-making have been the focus of investigation in recent studies of the adolescent brain. Evidence points to a dissociation between the relatively slow, linear development of impulse control and response inhibition during adolescence versus the nonlinear development of the reward system, which is often hyper-responsive to rewards in adolescence. This suggests that decision-making in adolescence may be particularly modulated by emotion and social factors, for example, when adolescents are with peers or in other affective ('hot') contexts.

  6. Decision-making based on emotional images.

    PubMed

    Katahira, Kentaro; Fujimura, Tomomi; Okanoya, Kazuo; Okada, Masato

    2011-01-01

    The emotional outcome of a choice affects subsequent decision making. While the relationship between decision making and emotion has attracted attention, studies on emotion and decision making have been independently developed. In this study, we investigated how the emotional valence of pictures, which was stochastically contingent on participants' choices, influenced subsequent decision making. In contrast to traditional value-based decision-making studies that used money or food as a reward, the "reward value" of the decision outcome, which guided the update of value for each choice, is unknown beforehand. To estimate the reward value of emotional pictures from participants' choice data, we used reinforcement learning models that have successfully been used in previous studies for modeling value-based decision making. Consequently, we found that the estimated reward value was asymmetric between positive and negative pictures. The negative reward value of negative pictures (relative to neutral pictures) was larger in magnitude than the positive reward value of positive pictures. This asymmetry was not observed in valence for an individual picture, which was rated by the participants regarding the emotion experienced upon viewing it. These results suggest that there may be a difference between experienced emotion and the effect of the experienced emotion on subsequent behavior. Our experimental and computational paradigm provides a novel way for quantifying how and what aspects of emotional events affect human behavior. The present study is a first step toward relating a large amount of knowledge in emotion science and in taking computational approaches to value-based decision making.

  7. Shared Decision Making for Better Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brost, Paul

    2000-01-01

    Delegating decision making to those closest to implementation can result in better decisions, more support for improvement initiatives, and increased student performance. Shared decision making depends on capable school leadership, a professional community, instructional guidance mechanisms, knowledge and skills, information sharing, power, and…

  8. Nursing Faculty and Academic Integrity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Cecilia E.

    2013-01-01

    Insufficient information exists regarding the process influencing faculty decisions, specifically in the area of maintaining academic integrity in an online environment. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences and decision-making process of nursing faculty related to maintaining academic integrity in an online environment. The…

  9. Judgment and decision making.

    PubMed

    Mellers, B A; Schwartz, A; Cooke, A D

    1998-01-01

    For many decades, research in judgment and decision making has examined behavioral violations of rational choice theory. In that framework, rationality is expressed as a single correct decision shared by experimenters and subjects that satisfies internal coherence within a set of preferences and beliefs. Outside of psychology, social scientists are now debating the need to modify rational choice theory with behavioral assumptions. Within psychology, researchers are debating assumptions about errors for many different definitions of rationality. Alternative frameworks are being proposed. These frameworks view decisions as more reasonable and adaptive that previously thought. For example, "rule following." Rule following, which occurs when a rule or norm is applied to a situation, often minimizes effort and provides satisfying solutions that are "good enough," though not necessarily the best. When rules are ambiguous, people look for reasons to guide their decisions. They may also let their emotions take charge. This chapter presents recent research on judgment and decision making from traditional and alternative frameworks.

  10. Leadership of risk decision making in a complex, technology organization: The deliberative decision making model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flaming, Susan C.

    2007-12-01

    The continuing saga of satellite technology development is as much a story of successful risk management as of innovative engineering. How do program leaders on complex, technology projects manage high stakes risks that threaten business success and satellite performance? This grounded theory study of risk decision making portrays decision leadership practices at one communication satellite company. Integrated product team (IPT) leaders of multi-million dollar programs were interviewed and observed to develop an extensive description of the leadership skills required to navigate organizational influences and drive challenging risk decisions to closure. Based on the study's findings the researcher proposes a new decision making model, Deliberative Decision Making, to describe the program leaders' cognitive and organizational leadership practices. This Deliberative Model extends the insights of prominent decision making models including the rational (or classical) and the naturalistic and qualifies claims made by bounded rationality theory. The Deliberative Model describes how leaders proactively engage resources to play a variety of decision leadership roles. The Model incorporates six distinct types of leadership decision activities, undertaken in varying sequence based on the challenges posed by specific risks. Novel features of the Deliberative Decision Model include: an inventory of leadership methods for managing task challenges, potential stakeholder bias and debates; four types of leadership meta-decisions that guide decision processes, and aligned organizational culture. Both supporting and constraining organizational influences were observed as leaders managed major risks, requiring active leadership on the most difficult decisions. Although the company's engineering culture emphasized the importance of data-based decisions, the uncertainties intrinsic to satellite risks required expert engineering judgment to be exercised throughout. An investigation into

  11. Analyzing Decision Logs to Understand Decision Making in Serious Crime Investigations.

    PubMed

    Dando, Coral J; Ormerod, Thomas C

    2017-12-01

    Objective To study decision making by detectives when investigating serious crime through the examination of decision logs to explore hypothesis generation and evidence selection. Background Decision logs are used to record and justify decisions made during serious crime investigations. The complexity of investigative decision making is well documented, as are the errors associated with miscarriages of justice and inquests. The use of decision logs has not been the subject of an empirical investigation, yet they offer an important window into the nature of investigative decision making in dynamic, time-critical environments. Method A sample of decision logs from British police forces was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to explore hypothesis generation and evidence selection by police detectives. Results Analyses revealed diversity in documentation of decisions that did not correlate with case type and identified significant limitations of the decision log approach to supporting investigative decision making. Differences emerged between experienced and less experienced officers' decision log records in exploration of alternative hypotheses, generation of hypotheses, and sources of evidential inquiry opened over phase of investigation. Conclusion The practical use of decision logs is highly constrained by their format and context of use. Despite this, decision log records suggest that experienced detectives display strategic decision making to avoid confirmation and satisficing, which affect less experienced detectives. Application Potential applications of this research include both training in case documentation and the development of new decision log media that encourage detectives, irrespective of experience, to generate multiple hypotheses and optimize the timely selection of evidence to test them.

  12. Nonrational processes in ethical decision making.

    PubMed

    Rogerson, Mark D; Gottlieb, Michael C; Handelsman, Mitchell M; Knapp, Samuel; Younggren, Jeffrey

    2011-10-01

    Most current ethical decision-making models provide a logical and reasoned process for making ethical judgments, but these models are empirically unproven and rely upon assumptions of rational, conscious, and quasilegal reasoning. Such models predominate despite the fact that many nonrational factors influence ethical thought and behavior, including context, perceptions, relationships, emotions, and heuristics. For example, a large body of behavioral research has demonstrated the importance of automatic intuitive and affective processes in decision making and judgment. These processes profoundly affect human behavior and lead to systematic biases and departures from normative theories of rationality. Their influence represents an important but largely unrecognized component of ethical decision making. We selectively review this work; provide various illustrations; and make recommendations for scientists, trainers, and practitioners to aid them in integrating the understanding of nonrational processes with ethical decision making.

  13. Decision making in midwifery: rationality and intuition.

    PubMed

    Steinhauer, Suyai

    2015-04-01

    Decision making in midwifery is a complex process that shapes and underpins clinical practice and determines, to a large extent, the quality of care. Effective decision making and professional accountability are central to clinical governance, and being able.to justify all decisions is a professional and legal requirement. At the same time, there is an emphasis in midwifery on shared decision making, and keeping women at the centre of their care, and research reveals that feelings of choice, control and autonomy are central to a positive birth experience. However the extent to which decisions are really shared and care truly woman-centred is debatable and affected by environment and culture. Using a case study of a decision made in clinical practice around amniotomy, this article explores the role of the intuitive thinking system in midwifery decision making, and highlights the importance of involving women in the decision making process.

  14. Rodent models of adaptive decision making.

    PubMed

    Izquierdo, Alicia; Belcher, Annabelle M

    2012-01-01

    Adaptive decision making affords the animal the ability to respond quickly to changes in a dynamic environment: one in which attentional demands, cost or effort to procure the reward, and reward contingencies change frequently. The more flexible the organism is in adapting choice behavior, the more command and success the organism has in navigating its environment. Maladaptive decision making is at the heart of much neuropsychiatric disease, including addiction. Thus, a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie normal, adaptive decision making helps achieve a better understanding of certain diseases that incorporate maladaptive decision making as a core feature. This chapter presents three general domains of methods that the experimenter can manipulate in animal decision-making tasks: attention, effort, and reward contingency. Here, we present detailed methods of rodent tasks frequently employed within these domains: the Attentional Set-Shift Task, Effortful T-maze Task, and Visual Discrimination Reversal Learning. These tasks all recruit regions within the frontal cortex and the striatum, and performance is heavily modulated by the neurotransmitter dopamine, making these assays highly valid measures in the study of psychostimulant addiction.

  15. Parental decision making in pediatric otoplasty: The role of shared decision making in parental decisional conflict and decisional regret.

    PubMed

    Hong, Paul; Gorodzinsky, Ayala Y; Taylor, Benjamin A; Chorney, Jill MacLaren

    2016-07-01

    To date, there has been little research on shared decision making and decisional outcomes in pediatric surgery. The objectives of this study were to describe the level of decisional conflict and decisional regret experienced by parents considering otoplasty for their children, and to determine if they are related to perceptions of shared decision making. Prospective cohort clinical study. Sixty-five consecutive parents of children who underwent surgical consultation for otoplasty were prospectively enrolled. Participants completed the Demographic Form, the Decisional Conflict Scale, and the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire after the consultation visit. The consulting surgeons completed the physician version of the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire. Six months after surgery, parents completed the Decisional Regret Scale. The median decisional conflict was 15.63; 21 (32.8%) parents scored 25 or above, a previously defined cutoff indicating clinically significant decisional conflict. Parent ratings of shared decision making and decisional conflict were significantly negatively correlated (P < 0.001); however, there was no significant correlation between physician ratings of shared decision making and parental decisional conflict. Significant decisional regret was reported in two (3.2%) participants. Decisional regret and parent and physician ratings of shared decision making were both significantly negatively correlated (P = 0.044 and P = 0.001, respectively). Decisional regret and decisional conflict scores were significantly positively correlated (P = 0.001). Parent and physician ratings of shared decision making were correlated (intraclass correlation = 0.625, P < 0.001). Many parents experienced significant decisional conflict when making decisions about their child's elective surgical treatment. Fewer parents experienced significant decisional regret after the procedure. Parents who perceived themselves as being more involved in the decision making process

  16. The Politics of Information: Building a Relational Database To Support Decision-Making at a Public University.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedman, Debra; Hoffman, Phillip

    2001-01-01

    Describes creation of a relational database at the University of Washington supporting ongoing academic planning at several levels and affecting the culture of decision making. Addresses getting started; sharing the database; questions, worries, and issues; improving access to high-demand courses; the advising function; management of instructional…

  17. Cognitive processes in anesthesiology decision making.

    PubMed

    Stiegler, Marjorie Podraza; Tung, Avery

    2014-01-01

    The quality and safety of health care are under increasing scrutiny. Recent studies suggest that medical errors, practice variability, and guideline noncompliance are common, and that cognitive error contributes significantly to delayed or incorrect diagnoses. These observations have increased interest in understanding decision-making psychology.Many nonrational (i.e., not purely based in statistics) cognitive factors influence medical decisions and may lead to error. The most well-studied include heuristics, preferences for certainty, overconfidence, affective (emotional) influences, memory distortions, bias, and social forces such as fairness or blame.Although the extent to which such cognitive processes play a role in anesthesia practice is unknown, anesthesia care frequently requires rapid, complex decisions that are most susceptible to decision errors. This review will examine current theories of human decision behavior, identify effects of nonrational cognitive processes on decision making, describe characteristic anesthesia decisions in this context, and suggest strategies to improve decision making.

  18. Making sense of adolescent decision-making: challenge and reality.

    PubMed

    Unguru, Yoram

    2011-08-01

    Few topics in pediatric bioethics are as vexing as decision-making. Decision-making in pediatrics presents challenges for children, parents, and physicians alike. The related, yet distinct, concepts of assent and consent are central to pediatric decision-making. Although informed consent is largely regarded as a worthwhile adult principle, assent has been, and continues to be, mired in debate. Controversial subjects include a meaningful definition of assent; how old children should be to assent; who should be included in the assent process; parental permission; how to resolve disputes between children and their parents; the relationship between assent and consent; the quantity and quality of information to disclose to children and their families; how much and what information children desire and need; the necessity and methods for assessing both children's understanding of disclosed information and of the assent process itself; reconciling ethical and legal attitudes toward assent; and finally, an effective, practical, and realistically applicable decision-making model.

  19. A canonical theory of dynamic decision-making.

    PubMed

    Fox, John; Cooper, Richard P; Glasspool, David W

    2013-01-01

    Decision-making behavior is studied in many very different fields, from medicine and economics to psychology and neuroscience, with major contributions from mathematics and statistics, computer science, AI, and other technical disciplines. However the conceptualization of what decision-making is and methods for studying it vary greatly and this has resulted in fragmentation of the field. A theory that can accommodate various perspectives may facilitate interdisciplinary working. We present such a theory in which decision-making is articulated as a set of canonical functions that are sufficiently general to accommodate diverse viewpoints, yet sufficiently precise that they can be instantiated in different ways for specific theoretical or practical purposes. The canons cover the whole decision cycle, from the framing of a decision based on the goals, beliefs, and background knowledge of the decision-maker to the formulation of decision options, establishing preferences over them, and making commitments. Commitments can lead to the initiation of new decisions and any step in the cycle can incorporate reasoning about previous decisions and the rationales for them, and lead to revising or abandoning existing commitments. The theory situates decision-making with respect to other high-level cognitive capabilities like problem solving, planning, and collaborative decision-making. The canonical approach is assessed in three domains: cognitive and neuropsychology, artificial intelligence, and decision engineering.

  20. A Canonical Theory of Dynamic Decision-Making

    PubMed Central

    Fox, John; Cooper, Richard P.; Glasspool, David W.

    2012-01-01

    Decision-making behavior is studied in many very different fields, from medicine and economics to psychology and neuroscience, with major contributions from mathematics and statistics, computer science, AI, and other technical disciplines. However the conceptualization of what decision-making is and methods for studying it vary greatly and this has resulted in fragmentation of the field. A theory that can accommodate various perspectives may facilitate interdisciplinary working. We present such a theory in which decision-making is articulated as a set of canonical functions that are sufficiently general to accommodate diverse viewpoints, yet sufficiently precise that they can be instantiated in different ways for specific theoretical or practical purposes. The canons cover the whole decision cycle, from the framing of a decision based on the goals, beliefs, and background knowledge of the decision-maker to the formulation of decision options, establishing preferences over them, and making commitments. Commitments can lead to the initiation of new decisions and any step in the cycle can incorporate reasoning about previous decisions and the rationales for them, and lead to revising or abandoning existing commitments. The theory situates decision-making with respect to other high-level cognitive capabilities like problem solving, planning, and collaborative decision-making. The canonical approach is assessed in three domains: cognitive and neuropsychology, artificial intelligence, and decision engineering. PMID:23565100

  1. Fair Play: Developing Self-Concept and Decision-Making Skills in the Middle School. Implementation Handbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Florida State Univ., Tallahassee.

    This handbook is designed to assist schools in carrying out the following goals of the Fair Play program: to strengthen and expand students' female or male self-concepts, to increase their decision-making skills, and to increase their academic achievement by changing their stereotypic attitude toward particular content areas. The Fair Play program…

  2. The functional neuroanatomy of decision-making.

    PubMed

    Rosenbloom, Michael H; Schmahmann, Jeremy D; Price, Bruce H

    2012-01-01

    Decision-making is a complex executive function that draws on past experience, present goals, and anticipation of outcome, and which is influenced by prevailing and predicted emotional tone and cultural context. Functional imaging investigations and focal lesion studies identify the orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices as critical to decision-making. The authors review the connections of these prefrontal regions with the neocortex, limbic system, basal ganglia, and cerebellum, highlight current ideas regarding the cognitive processes of decision-making that these networks subserve, and present a novel integrated neuroanatomical model for decision-making. Finally, clinical relevance of this circuitry is illustrated through a discussion of frontotemporal dementia, traumatic brain injury, and sociopathy.

  3. Does future-oriented thinking predict adolescent decision making?

    PubMed

    Eskritt, Michelle; Doucette, Jesslyn; Robitaille, Lori

    2014-01-01

    A number of theorists, as well as plain common sense, suggest that future-oriented thinking (FOT) should be involved in decision making; therefore, the development of FOT should be related to better quality decision making. FOT and quality of the decision making were measured in adolescents as well as adults in 2 different experiments. Though the results of the first experiment revealed an increase in quality of decision making across adolescence into adulthood, there was no relationship between FOT and decision making. In the second experiment, FOT predicted performance on a more deliberative decision-making task independent of age, but not performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Performance on the IGT was instead related to emotion regulation. The study's findings suggest that FOT can be related to reflective decision making but not necessarily decision making that is more intuitive.

  4. Decision-Making Strategies for College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morey, Janis T.; Dansereau, Donald F.

    2010-01-01

    College students' decision making is often less than optimal and sometimes leads to negative consequences. The effectiveness of two strategies for improving student decision making--node-link mapping and social perspective taking (SPT)--are examined. Participants using SPT were significantly better able to evaluate decision options and develop…

  5. Autonomy and couples' joint decision-making in healthcare.

    PubMed

    Osamor, Pauline E; Grady, Christine

    2018-01-11

    Respect for autonomy is a key principle in bioethics. However, respecting autonomy in practice is complex because most people define themselves and make decisions influenced by a complex network of social relationships. The extent to which individual autonomy operates for each partner within the context of decision-making within marital or similar relationships is largely unexplored. This paper explores issues related to decision-making by couples (couples' joint decision-making) for health care and the circumstances under which such a practice should be respected as compatible with autonomous decision-making. We discuss the concept of autonomy as it applies to persons and to actions, human interdependency and gender roles in decision-making, the dynamics and outcomes of couples' joint decision-making, and the ethics of couples' joint decision-making. We believe that the extent to which couples' joint decision-making might be deemed ethically acceptable will vary depending on the context. Given that in many traditional marriages the woman is the less dominant partner, we consider a spectrum of scenarios of couples' joint decision-making about a woman's own health care that move from those that are acceptably autonomous to those that are not consistent with respecting the woman's autonomous decision-making. To the extent that there is evidence that both members of a couple understand a decision, intend it, and that neither completely controls the other, couples' joint decision-making should be viewed as consistent with the principle of respect for the woman's autonomy. At the other end of the spectrum are decisions made by the man without the woman's input, representing domination of one partner by the other. We recommend viewing the dynamics of couples' joint decision-making as existing on a continuum of degrees of autonomy. This continuum-based perspective implies that couples' joint decision-making should not be taken at face value but should be assessed against

  6. A communication model of shared decision making: accounting for cancer treatment decisions.

    PubMed

    Siminoff, Laura A; Step, Mary M

    2005-07-01

    The authors present a communication model of shared decision making (CMSDM) that explicitly identifies the communication process as the vehicle for decision making in cancer treatment. In this view, decision making is necessarily a sociocommunicative process whereby people enter into a relationship, exchange information, establish preferences, and choose a course of action. The model derives from contemporary notions of behavioral decision making and ethical conceptions of the doctor-patient relationship. This article briefly reviews the theoretical approaches to decision making, notes deficiencies, and embeds a more socially based process into the dynamics of the physician-patient relationship, focusing on cancer treatment decisions. In the CMSDM, decisions depend on (a) antecedent factors that have potential to influence communication, (b) jointly constructed communication climate, and (c) treatment preferences established by the physician and the patient.

  7. Evidence Based Medicine and Shared Decision Making: the challenge of getting both evidence and preferences into health care.

    PubMed

    Barratt, Alexandra

    2008-12-01

    Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) and Shared Medical Decision Making (SDM) are changing the nature of health care decisions. It is broadly accepted that health care decisions require the integration of research evidence and individual preferences. These approaches are justified on both efficacy grounds (that evidence based practice and Shared Decision Making should lead to better health outcomes and may lead to a more cost-effective use of health care resources) and ethical grounds (patients' autonomy should be respected in health care). However, despite endorsement by physicians and consumers of these approaches, implementation remains limited in practice, particularly outside academic and tertiary health care centres. There are practical problems of implementation, which include training, access to research, and development of and access to tools to display evidence and support decision making. There may also be philosophical difficulties, and some have even suggested that the two approaches (evidence based practice and Shared Decision Making) are fundamentally incompatible. This paper look at the achievements of EBM and SDM so far, the potential tensions between them, and how things might progress in the future.

  8. Toward an Expanded Definition of Adaptive Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, Susan D.

    1997-01-01

    Uses the lifespan, life-space model to examine the definition of adaptive decision making. Reviews the existing definition of adaptive decision making as "rational" decision making and offers alternate perspectives on decision making with an emphasis on the implications of using the model. Makes suggestions for future theory, research,…

  9. Decision sidestepping: How the motivation for closure prompts individuals to bypass decision making.

    PubMed

    Otto, Ashley S; Clarkson, Joshua J; Kardes, Frank R

    2016-07-01

    We all too often have to make decisions-from the mundane (e.g., what to eat for breakfast) to the complex (e.g., what to buy a loved one)-and yet there exists a multitude of strategies that allows us to make a decision. This work focuses on a subset of decision strategies that allows individuals to make decisions by bypassing the decision-making process-a phenomenon we term decision sidestepping. Critical to the present manuscript, however, we contend that decision sidestepping stems from the motivation to achieve closure. We link this proposition back to the fundamental nature of closure and how those seeking closure are highly bothered by decision making. As such, we argue that the motivation to achieve closure prompts a reliance on sidestepping strategies (e.g., default bias, choice delegation, status quo bias, inaction inertia, option fixation) to reduce the bothersome nature of decision making. In support of this framework, five experiments demonstrate that (a) those seeking closure are more likely to engage in decision sidestepping, (b) the effect of closure on sidestepping stems from the bothersome nature of decision making, and (c) the reliance on sidestepping results in downstream consequences for subsequent choice. Taken together, these findings offer unique insight into the cognitive motivations stimulating a reliance on decision sidestepping and thus a novel framework by which to understand how individuals make decisions while bypassing the decision-making process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Hospice Decision Making: Diagnosis Makes a Difference

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waldrop, Deborah P.; Meeker, Mary Ann

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: This study explored the process of decision making about hospice enrollment and identified factors that influence the timing of that decision. Methods: This study employed an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional design and was conducted using qualitative methods. In-depth in-person semistructured interviews were conducted with 36…

  11. Understanding medical decision making in hand surgery.

    PubMed

    Myers, John; McCabe, Steven J

    2005-10-01

    The practice of medicine takes place in an environment of uncertainty. Expected value decision making, prospect theory, and regret theory are three theories of decision making under uncertainty that may be used to help us learn how patients and physicians make decisions. These theories form the underpinnings of decision analysis and provide the opportunity to introduce the broad discipline of decision science. Because decision analysis and economic analysis are underrepresented in upper extremity surgery, the authors believe these are important areas for future research.

  12. Mothers' process of decision making for gastrostomy placement.

    PubMed

    Brotherton, Ailsa; Abbott, Janice

    2012-05-01

    In this article we present the findings of an exploration of mothers' discourses on decision making for gastrostomy placement for their child. Exploring in-depth interviews of a purposive sample, we analyzed the mothers' discourses of the decision-making process to understand how their experiences of the process influenced their subsequent constructions of decision making. Mothers negotiated decision making by reflecting on their personal experiences of feeding their child, either orally or via a tube, and interwove their background experiences with the communications from members of the health care team until a decision was reached. Decision making was often fraught with difficulty, resulting in anxiety and guilt. Experiences of decision making ranged from perceived coercion to true choice, which encompasses a truly child-centered decision. The resulting impact of the decision-making process on the mothers was profound. We conclude with an exploration of the implications for clinical practice and describe how health care professionals can support mothers to ensure that decision-making processes for gastrostomy placement in children are significantly improved.

  13. Comparing perceptual and preferential decision making.

    PubMed

    Dutilh, Gilles; Rieskamp, Jörg

    2016-06-01

    Perceptual and preferential decision making have been studied largely in isolation. Perceptual decisions are considered to be at a non-deliberative cognitive level and have an outside criterion that defines the quality of decisions. Preferential decisions are considered to be at a higher cognitive level and the quality of decisions depend on the decision maker's subjective goals. Besides these crucial differences, both types of decisions also have in common that uncertain information about the choice situation has to be processed before a decision can be made. The present work aims to acknowledge the commonalities of both types of decision making to lay bare the crucial differences. For this aim we examine perceptual and preferential decisions with a novel choice paradigm that uses the identical stimulus material for both types of decisions. This paradigm allows us to model the decisions and response times of both types of decisions with the same sequential sampling model, the drift diffusion model. The results illustrate that the different incentive structure in both types of tasks changes people's behavior so that they process information more efficiently and respond more cautiously in the perceptual as compared to the preferential task. These findings set out a perspective for further integration of perceptual and preferential decision making in a single ramework.

  14. Shared Decision Making--The First Year.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothstein, Richard

    This report summarizes an evaluation of Shared Decision Making (SDM) in Los Angeles (California) schools and also includes some comments about School Based Management (SBM). SDM is a democratization of local school decision making that delegates decisions formerly made by principals to local school leadership councils composed of teachers,…

  15. School Counselors and Ethical Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    West, Dana R.

    2016-01-01

    Students and their parents/guardians rely on school counselors to provide counseling services based on ethically sound principles. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence about what influences a school counselor's ethical decision making. Ethical decision making for this study was defined as the degree to which decisions pertaining to…

  16. Donor Motivations and Decision Making: Understanding the Major Gift Development Process from a Donor's Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morrison, Anna Lee

    2015-01-01

    Higher education is faced with a challenge to its traditional funding structure. As a result, academic programs must seek alternative sources of support. Chief among these sources is philanthropy in the form of major gifts. Insight into donor motivations and decision making when approached to consider a major gift may help to maximize the success…

  17. Patients' Values in Clinical Decision-Making.

    PubMed

    Faggion, Clovis Mariano; Pachur, Thorsten; Giannakopoulos, Nikolaos Nikitas

    2017-09-01

    Shared decision-making involves the participation of patient and dental practitioner. Well-informed decision-making requires that both parties understand important concepts that may influence the decision. This fourth article in a series of 4 aims to discuss the importance of patients' values when a clinical decision is made. We report on how to incorporate important concepts for well-informed, shared decision-making. Here, we present patient values as an important issue, in addition to previously established topics such as the risk of bias of a study, cost-effectiveness of treatment approaches, and a comparison of therapeutic benefit with potential side effects. We provide 2 clinical examples and suggestions for a decision tree, based on the available evidence. The information reported in this article may improve the relationship between patient and dental practitioner, resulting in more well-informed clinical decisions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Styles of Career Decision-Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bimrose, Jenny; Barnes, Sally-Anne

    2007-01-01

    Distinctive styles of client decision-making have emerged from case study research into the effectiveness of career guidance. This paper explores some findings from the third year of a longitudinal study currently underway in England, which relate to the ways clients approach transition points in their careers and make the decisions that move them…

  19. Crew decision making under stress

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, J.

    1992-01-01

    Flight crews must make decisions and take action when systems fail or emergencies arise during flight. These situations may involve high stress. Full-missiion flight simulation studies have shown that crews differ in how effectively they cope in these circumstances, judged by operational errors and crew coordination. The present study analyzed the problem solving and decision making strategies used by crews led by captains fitting three different personality profiles. Our goal was to identify more and less effective strategies that could serve as the basis for crew selection or training. Methods: Twelve 3-member B-727 crews flew a 5-leg mission simulated flight over 1 1/2 days. Two legs included 4 abnormal events that required decisions during high workload periods. Transcripts of videotapes were analyzed to describe decision making strategies. Crew performance (errors and coordination) was judged on-line and from videotapes by check airmen. Results: Based on a median split of crew performance errors, analyses to date indicate a difference in general strategy between crews who make more or less errors. Higher performance crews showed greater situational awareness - they responded quickly to cues and interpreted them appropriately. They requested more decision relevant information and took into account more constraints. Lower performing crews showed poorer situational awareness, planning, constraint sensitivity, and coordination. The major difference between higher and lower performing crews was that poorer crews made quick decisions and then collected information to confirm their decision. Conclusion: Differences in overall crew performance were associated with differences in situational awareness, information management, and decision strategy. Captain personality profiles were associated with these differences, a finding with implications for crew selection and training.

  20. Medical Decision-Making for Adults Who Lack Decision-Making Capacity and a Surrogate: State of the Science.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hyejin; Song, Mi-Kyung

    2018-01-01

    Adults who lack decision-making capacity and a surrogate ("unbefriended" adults) are a vulnerable, voiceless population in health care. But little is known about this population, including how medical decisions are made for these individuals. This integrative review was to examine what is known about unbefriended adults and identify gaps in the literature. Six electronic databases were searched using 4 keywords: "unbefriended," "unrepresented patients," "adult orphans," and "incapacitated patients without surrogates." After screening, the final sample included 10 data-based articles for synthesis. Main findings include the following: (1) various terms were used to refer to adults who lack decision-making capacity and a surrogate; (2) the number of unbefriended adults was sizable and likely to grow; (3) approaches to medical decision-making for this population in health-care settings varied; and (4) professional guidelines and laws to address the issues related to this population were inconsistent. There have been no studies regarding the quality of medical decision-making and its outcomes for this population or societal impact. Extremely limited empirical data exist on unbefriended adults to develop strategies to improve how medical decisions are made for this population. There is an urgent need for research to examine the quality of medical decision-making and its outcomes for this vulnerable population.

  1. Enhanced decision making through neuroscience

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Szu, Harold; Jung, TP; Makeig, Scott

    2012-06-01

    We propose to enhance the decision making of pilot, co-pilot teams, over a range of vehicle platforms, with the aid of neuroscience. The goal is to optimize this collaborative decision making interplay in time-critical, stressful situations. We will research and measure human facial expressions, personality typing, and brainwave measurements to help answer questions related to optimum decision-making in group situations. Further, we propose to examine the nature of intuition in this decision making process. The brainwave measurements will be facilitated by a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) developed wireless Electroencephalography (EEG) sensing cap. We propose to measure brainwaves covering the whole head area with an electrode density of N=256, and yet keep within the limiting wireless bandwidth capability of m=32 readouts. This is possible because solving Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and finding the hidden brainwave sources allow us to concentrate selective measurements with an organized sparse source -->s sensing matrix [Φs], rather than the traditional purely random compressive sensing (CS) matrix[Φ].

  2. Sex and Career Decision-Making Styles.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lunneborg, Patricia W.

    1978-01-01

    Tested the hypothesis of greater reliance on the intuitive style by females and on the planning style by males in making career decisions. There were no sex differences in these high school and college samples for stage or style of decision making, vocational self-concept crystallization, or self-rated vocational decisiveness. (Author/BEF)

  3. Determinants of Evidence Use in Academic Librarian Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koufogiannakis, Denise

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this qualitative study was to identify and explain challenges encountered by academic librarians when trying to incorporate evidence into their practice. The findings resulted in the identification of five main determinants that act as either obstacles or enablers of evidence use. The identification of these determinants provide…

  4. Goal-Directed Decision Making with Spiking Neurons.

    PubMed

    Friedrich, Johannes; Lengyel, Máté

    2016-02-03

    Behavioral and neuroscientific data on reward-based decision making point to a fundamental distinction between habitual and goal-directed action selection. The formation of habits, which requires simple updating of cached values, has been studied in great detail, and the reward prediction error theory of dopamine function has enjoyed prominent success in accounting for its neural bases. In contrast, the neural circuit mechanisms of goal-directed decision making, requiring extended iterative computations to estimate values online, are still unknown. Here we present a spiking neural network that provably solves the difficult online value estimation problem underlying goal-directed decision making in a near-optimal way and reproduces behavioral as well as neurophysiological experimental data on tasks ranging from simple binary choice to sequential decision making. Our model uses local plasticity rules to learn the synaptic weights of a simple neural network to achieve optimal performance and solves one-step decision-making tasks, commonly considered in neuroeconomics, as well as more challenging sequential decision-making tasks within 1 s. These decision times, and their parametric dependence on task parameters, as well as the final choice probabilities match behavioral data, whereas the evolution of neural activities in the network closely mimics neural responses recorded in frontal cortices during the execution of such tasks. Our theory provides a principled framework to understand the neural underpinning of goal-directed decision making and makes novel predictions for sequential decision-making tasks with multiple rewards. Goal-directed actions requiring prospective planning pervade decision making, but their circuit-level mechanisms remain elusive. We show how a model circuit of biologically realistic spiking neurons can solve this computationally challenging problem in a novel way. The synaptic weights of our network can be learned using local plasticity rules

  5. Goal-Directed Decision Making with Spiking Neurons

    PubMed Central

    Lengyel, Máté

    2016-01-01

    Behavioral and neuroscientific data on reward-based decision making point to a fundamental distinction between habitual and goal-directed action selection. The formation of habits, which requires simple updating of cached values, has been studied in great detail, and the reward prediction error theory of dopamine function has enjoyed prominent success in accounting for its neural bases. In contrast, the neural circuit mechanisms of goal-directed decision making, requiring extended iterative computations to estimate values online, are still unknown. Here we present a spiking neural network that provably solves the difficult online value estimation problem underlying goal-directed decision making in a near-optimal way and reproduces behavioral as well as neurophysiological experimental data on tasks ranging from simple binary choice to sequential decision making. Our model uses local plasticity rules to learn the synaptic weights of a simple neural network to achieve optimal performance and solves one-step decision-making tasks, commonly considered in neuroeconomics, as well as more challenging sequential decision-making tasks within 1 s. These decision times, and their parametric dependence on task parameters, as well as the final choice probabilities match behavioral data, whereas the evolution of neural activities in the network closely mimics neural responses recorded in frontal cortices during the execution of such tasks. Our theory provides a principled framework to understand the neural underpinning of goal-directed decision making and makes novel predictions for sequential decision-making tasks with multiple rewards. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Goal-directed actions requiring prospective planning pervade decision making, but their circuit-level mechanisms remain elusive. We show how a model circuit of biologically realistic spiking neurons can solve this computationally challenging problem in a novel way. The synaptic weights of our network can be learned using

  6. [Treatment Decision-Making Process of Cancer Patients].

    PubMed

    Lee, Shiu-Yu C Katie

    2016-10-01

    The decision-making process that is used by cancer patients to determine their treatment has become more multi-foci, difficult and complicated in recent years. This has in part been attributed to the increasing incidence rate of cancer in Taiwan and the rapid development of medical technologies and treatment modalities. Oncology nurses must assist patients and family to make informed and value-based treatment decisions. Decision-making is an information process that involves appraising one's own expectation and values based on his/her knowledge on cancer and treatment options. Because cancer treatment involves risks and uncertainties, and impacts quality of life, the treatment decision-making for cancer is often stressful, or even conflicting. This paper discusses the decision-making behaviors of cancer patients and the decisional conflict, participation, and informational needs that are involved in cancer treatment. The trend toward shared decision-making and decisional support will be also explored in order to facilitate the future development of appropriate clinical interventions and research.

  7. The involvement of the striatum in decision making

    PubMed Central

    Goulet-Kennedy, Julie; Labbe, Sara; Fecteau, Shirley

    2016-01-01

    Decision making has been extensively studied in the context of economics and from a group perspective, but still little is known on individual decision making. Here we discuss the different cognitive processes involved in decision making and its associated neural substrates. The putative conductors in decision making appear to be the prefrontal cortex and the striatum. Impaired decision-making skills in various clinical populations have been associated with activity in the prefrontal cortex and in the striatum. We highlight the importance of strengthening the degree of integration of both cognitive and neural substrates in order to further our understanding of decision-making skills. In terms of cognitive paradigms, there is a need to improve the ecological value of experimental tasks that assess decision making in various contexts and with rewards; this would help translate laboratory learnings into real-life benefits. In terms of neural substrates, the use of neuroimaging techniques helps characterize the neural networks associated with decision making; more recently, ways to modulate brain activity, such as in the prefrontal cortex and connected regions (eg, striatum), with noninvasive brain stimulation have also shed light on the neural and cognitive substrates of decision making. Together, these cognitive and neural approaches might be useful for patients with impaired decision-making skills. The drive behind this line of work is that decision-making abilities underlie important aspects of wellness, health, security, and financial and social choices in our daily lives. PMID:27069380

  8. Decision Making and Health Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duryea, Elias J.

    1983-01-01

    A position statement is offered that clarifies the function, role, and emphasis of decision making within the field of health education, and a rationale that proposes that health decision-making efforts be limited to areas where evidence links a health behavior (i.e., smoking) to a health problem (i.e., lung cancer) is presented. (Author/CJ)

  9. Heuristic decision making in medicine

    PubMed Central

    Marewski, Julian N.; Gigerenzer, Gerd

    2012-01-01

    Can less information be more helpful when it comes to making medical decisions? Contrary to the common intuition that more information is always better, the use of heuristics can help both physicians and patients to make sound decisions. Heuristics are simple decision strategies that ignore part of the available information, basing decisions on only a few relevant predictors. We discuss: (i) how doctors and patients use heuristics; and (ii) when heuristics outperform information-greedy methods, such as regressions in medical diagnosis. Furthermore, we outline those features of heuristics that make them useful in health care settings. These features include their surprising accuracy, transparency, and wide accessibility, as well as the low costs and little time required to employ them. We close by explaining one of the statistical reasons why heuristics are accurate, and by pointing to psychiatry as one area for future research on heuristics in health care. PMID:22577307

  10. Heuristic decision making in medicine.

    PubMed

    Marewski, Julian N; Gigerenzer, Gerd

    2012-03-01

    Can less information be more helpful when it comes to making medical decisions? Contrary to the common intuition that more information is always better, the use of heuristics can help both physicians and patients to make sound decisions. Heuristics are simple decision strategies that ignore part of the available information, basing decisions on only a few relevant predictors. We discuss: (i) how doctors and patients use heuristics; and (ii) when heuristics outperform information-greedy methods, such as regressions in medical diagnosis. Furthermore, we outline those features of heuristics that make them useful in health care settings. These features include their surprising accuracy, transparency, and wide accessibility, as well as the low costs and little time required to employ them. We close by explaining one of the statistical reasons why heuristics are accurate, and by pointing to psychiatry as one area for future research on heuristics in health care.

  11. Impaired Decision Making in Adolescent Suicide Attempters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bridge, Jeffrey A.; McBee-Strayer, Sandra M.; Cannon, Elizabeth A.; Sheftall, Arielle H.; Reynolds, Brady; Campo, John V.; Pajer, Kathleen A.; Barbe, Remy P.; Brent, David A.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: Decision-making deficits have been linked to suicidal behavior in adults. However, it remains unclear whether impaired decision making plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of youth suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine decision-making processes in adolescent suicide attempters and never-suicidal comparison…

  12. A Review of Shared Decision-Making and Patient Decision Aids in Radiation Oncology.

    PubMed

    Woodhouse, Kristina Demas; Tremont, Katie; Vachani, Anil; Schapira, Marilyn M; Vapiwala, Neha; Simone, Charles B; Berman, Abigail T

    2017-06-01

    Cancer treatment decisions are complex and may be challenging for patients, as multiple treatment options can often be reasonably considered. As a result, decisional support tools have been developed to assist patients in the decision-making process. A commonly used intervention to facilitate shared decision-making is a decision aid, which provides evidence-based outcomes information and guides patients towards choosing the treatment option that best aligns with their preferences and values. To ensure high quality, systematic frameworks and standards have been proposed for the development of an optimal aid for decision making. Studies have examined the impact of these tools on facilitating treatment decisions and improving decision-related outcomes. In radiation oncology, randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that decision aids have the potential to improve patient outcomes, including increased knowledge about treatment options and decreased decisional conflict with decision-making. This article provides an overview of the shared-decision making process and summarizes the development, validation, and implementation of decision aids as patient educational tools in radiation oncology. Finally, this article reviews the findings from decision aid studies in radiation oncology and offers various strategies to effectively implement shared decision-making into clinical practice.

  13. Assessment of Healthcare Decision-making Capacity

    PubMed Central

    Palmer, Barton W.; Harmell, Alexandrea L.

    2016-01-01

    It is often necessary for neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, and other healthcare professionals to assess an individual's capacity to consent to treatment related to healthcare. This task can be challenging and requires a delicate balance of both respect for individuals' autonomy, as well as the protection of individuals with diminished capacity to make an autonomous decision. The purpose of the present review is to provide an overview of the conceptual model of decisional capacity as well as a brief summary of some of the currently available instruments designed to help evaluate medical decision making. In addition, current empirical literature on the relationship between neuropsychological abilities and decision-making capacity is discussed and a brief set of recommendations is provided to further aid clinicians or consultants when they are required to complete the ethically important but difficult task of making determinations about healthcare decision-making capacity. PMID:27551024

  14. The emergency patient's participation in medical decision-making.

    PubMed

    Wang, Li-Hsiang; Goopy, Suzanne; Lin, Chun-Chih; Barnard, Alan; Han, Chin-Yen; Liu, Hsueh-Erh

    2016-09-01

    The purpose of this research was to explore the medical decision-making processes of patients in emergency departments. Studies indicate that patients should be given enough time to acquire relevant information and receive adequate support when they need to make medical decisions. It is difficult to satisfy these requirements in emergency situations. Limited research has addressed the topic of decision-making among emergency patients. This qualitative study used a broadly defined grounded theory approach to explore decision-making in an emergency department in Taiwan. Thirty emergency patients were recruited between June and December 2011 for semi-structured interviews that were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The study identified three stages in medical decision-making by emergency patients: predecision (interpreting the problem); decision (a balancing act) and postdecision (reclaiming the self). Transference was identified as the core category and pattern of behaviour through which patients resolved their main concerns. This transference around decision-making represents a type of bricolage. The findings fill a gap in knowledge about the decision-making process among emergency patients. The results inform emergency professionals seeking to support patients faced with complex medical decision-making and suggest an emphasis on informed patient decision-making, advocacy, patient-centred care and in-service education of health staff. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Decision-Making Behavioral Change in Students Connected With Their Participation in a First Theoretical Management Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Badley, Tommy D.

    The educational discipline of Management is an inexact science. Because of the difficulty in measuring the effects of the academic study of Management on decision-making and related behaviors, a commercial instrument, the "How Supervise?" questionnaire, was tested as a possible means of measuring "before and after treatment" behaviors. The…

  16. A Study of Perceived Leadership Styles as It Affects the Decision-Making Process Employed by Eleven Catholic School Principals in South Texas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agbakoba, Mary Olivia

    2017-01-01

    Catholic School principals play an important role in the development of students' spiritual, social, and academic wellbeing. Consequently, in order to improve students' spiritual, social, and academic skill, it is vital to study the perceived leadership styles and decision-making of Catholic School Principals. Research questions include: "Is…

  17. Premarital Childbearing Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oakley, Deborah

    1985-01-01

    Investigated premarital decision-making among community college students. Results concluded that premarital decisions about the number of children to have is associated with certain characteristics of the rational-comprehensive thinker, but is also associated with non-normative childbearing expectations, whether they are above or below the popular…

  18. Goal-Proximity Decision-Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veksler, Vladislav D.; Gray, Wayne D.; Schoelles, Michael J.

    2013-01-01

    Reinforcement learning (RL) models of decision-making cannot account for human decisions in the absence of prior reward or punishment. We propose a mechanism for choosing among available options based on goal-option association strengths, where association strengths between objects represent previously experienced object proximity. The proposed…

  19. 44 CFR 9.6 - Decision-making process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Decision-making process. 9.6... HOMELAND SECURITY GENERAL FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF WETLANDS § 9.6 Decision-making process... protection decision-making process to be followed by the Agency in applying the Orders to its actions. While...

  20. Biotechnology and Consumer Decision-Making.

    PubMed

    Sax, Joanna K

    Society is facing major challenges in climate change, health care and overall quality of life. Scientific advances to address these areas continue to grow, with overwhelming evidence that the application of highly tested forms of biotechnology is safe and effective. Despite scientific consensus in these areas, consumers appear reluctant to support their use. Research that helps to understand consumer decision-making and the public’s resistance to biotechnologies such as vaccines, fluoridated water programs and genetically engineered food, will provide great social value. This article is forward-thinking in that it suggests that important research in behavioral decision-making, specifically affect and ambiguity, can be used to help consumers make informed choices about major applications of biotechnology. This article highlights some of the most controversial examples: vaccinations, genetically engineered food, rbST treated dairy cows, fluoridated water, and embryonic stem cell research. In many of these areas, consumers perceive the risks as high, but the experts calculate the risks as low. Four major thematic approaches are proposed to create a roadmap for policymakers to consider for policy design and implementation in controversial areas of biotechnology. This article articulates future directions for studies that implement decision-making research to allow consumers to appropriately assign risk to their options and make informed decisions.

  1. Mixed Frames and Risky Decision-Making.

    PubMed

    Peng, Jiaxi; Zhang, Jiaxi; Sun, Hao; Zeng, Zhicong; Mai, Yuexia; Miao, Danmin

    2017-01-01

    By applying unitive vocabulary, "die" or "save," to respective frames of the Asian disease problem, Tversky and Kahneman were able to define framing effect. In this study, we preliminarily explored the effect of mixed frames, which are characterized by the use of different vocabulary in one frame. In study 1, we found that only the sure option description had significant effect on decision-making, while the effects of risky option descriptions were not significant, nor were interactions between descriptions. In study 2, the results suggested that after controlling the effects of the hedonic tone of the sure options, risky option description did not significantly predict decision-making. In study 3, we found that neither the sure-to-risky option presentation order nor presentation order within risky options had significant effect on decision-making. We thus concluded that sure option description can serve as the decision-making foundation (reference point) for decision-makers in mixed frames.

  2. Decision-making in nursing practice: An integrative literature review.

    PubMed

    Nibbelink, Christine W; Brewer, Barbara B

    2018-03-01

    To identify and summarise factors and processes related to registered nurses' patient care decision-making in medical-surgical environments. A secondary goal of this literature review was to determine whether medical-surgical decision-making literature included factors that appeared to be similar to concepts and factors in naturalistic decision making (NDM). Decision-making in acute care nursing requires an evaluation of many complex factors. While decision-making research in acute care nursing is prevalent, errors in decision-making continue to lead to poor patient outcomes. Naturalistic decision making may provide a framework for further exploring decision-making in acute care nursing practice. A better understanding of the literature is needed to guide future research to more effectively support acute care nurse decision-making. PubMed and CINAHL databases were searched, and research meeting criteria was included. Data were identified from all included articles, and themes were developed based on these data. Key findings in this review include nursing experience and associated factors; organisation and unit culture influences on decision-making; education; understanding patient status; situation awareness; and autonomy. Acute care nurses employ a variety of decision-making factors and processes and informally identify experienced nurses to be important resources for decision-making. Incorporation of evidence into acute care nursing practice continues to be a struggle for acute care nurses. This review indicates that naturalistic decision making may be applicable to decision-making nursing research. Experienced nurses bring a broad range of previous patient encounters to their practice influencing their intuitive, unconscious processes which facilitates decision-making. Using naturalistic decision making as a conceptual framework to guide research may help with understanding how to better support less experienced nurses' decision-making for enhanced patient

  3. The hidden traps in decision making.

    PubMed

    Hammond, J S; Keeney, R L; Raiffa, H

    1998-01-01

    Bad decisions can often be traced back to the way the decisions were made--the alternatives were not clearly defined, the right information was not collected, the costs and benefits were not accurately weighted. But sometimes the fault lies not in the decision-making process but rather in the mind of the decision maker. The way the human brain works can sabotage the choices we make. John Hammond, Ralph Keeney, and Howard Raiffa examine eight psychological traps that are particularly likely to affect the way we make business decisions: The anchoring trap leads us to give disproportionate weight to the first information we receive. The statusquo trap biases us toward maintaining the current situation--even when better alternatives exist. The sunk-cost trap inclines us to perpetuate the mistakes of the past. The confirming-evidence trap leads us to seek out information supporting an existing predilection and to discount opposing information. The framing trap occurs when we misstate a problem, undermining the entire decision-making process. The overconfidence trap makes us overestimate the accuracy of our forecasts. The prudence trap leads us to be overcautious when we make estimates about uncertain events. And the recallability trap leads us to give undue weight to recent, dramatic events. The best way to avoid all the traps is awareness--forewarned is forearmed. But executives can also take other simple steps to protect themselves and their organizations from the various kinds of mental lapses. The authors show how to take action to ensure that important business decisions are sound and reliable.

  4. A cognitive prosthesis for complex decision-making.

    PubMed

    Tremblay, Sébastien; Gagnon, Jean-François; Lafond, Daniel; Hodgetts, Helen M; Doiron, Maxime; Jeuniaux, Patrick P J M H

    2017-01-01

    While simple heuristics can be ecologically rational and effective in naturalistic decision making contexts, complex situations require analytical decision making strategies, hypothesis-testing and learning. Sub-optimal decision strategies - using simplified as opposed to analytic decision rules - have been reported in domains such as healthcare, military operational planning, and government policy making. We investigate the potential of a computational toolkit called "IMAGE" to improve decision-making by developing structural knowledge and increasing understanding of complex situations. IMAGE is tested within the context of a complex military convoy management task through (a) interactive simulations, and (b) visualization and knowledge representation capabilities. We assess the usefulness of two versions of IMAGE (desktop and immersive) compared to a baseline. Results suggest that the prosthesis helped analysts in making better decisions, but failed to increase their structural knowledge about the situation once the cognitive prosthesis is removed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. "Decisions, decisions, decisions": transfer and specificity of decision-making skill between sports.

    PubMed

    Causer, Joe; Ford, Paul R

    2014-08-01

    The concept of transfer of learning holds that previous practice or experience in one task or domain will enable successful performance in another related task or domain. In contrast, specificity of learning holds that previous practice or experience in one task or domain does not transfer to other related tasks or domains. The aim of the current study is to examine whether decision-making skill transfers between sports that share similar elements, or whether it is specific to a sport. Participants (n = 205) completed a video-based temporal occlusion decision-making test in which they were required to decide on which action to execute across a series of 4 versus 4 soccer game situations. A sport engagement questionnaire was used to identify 106 soccer players, 43 other invasion sport players and 58 other sport players. Positive transfer of decision-making skill occurred between soccer and other invasion sports, which are related and have similar elements, but not from volleyball, supporting the concept of transfer of learning.

  6. Decision-making in diabetes mellitus type 1.

    PubMed

    Rustad, James K; Musselman, Dominique L; Skyler, Jay S; Matheson, Della; Delamater, Alan; Kenyon, Norma S; Cáceda, Ricardo; Nemeroff, Charles B

    2013-01-01

    Decreased treatment adherence in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 (type 1 DM) may reflect impairments in decision-making and underlying associated deficits in working memory and executive functioning. Other factors, including comorbid major depression, may also interfere with decision-making. The authors sought to review the clinically relevant characteristics of decision-making in type 1 DM by surveying the literature on decision-making by patients with type 1 DM. Deficiencies in decision-making in patients with type 1 DM or their caregivers contribute to treatment nonadherence and poorer metabolic control. Animal models of type 1 DM reveal deficits in hippocampal-dependent memory tasks, which are reversible with insulin. Neurocognitive studies of patients with type 1 DM reveal lowered performance on ability to apply knowledge to solve problems in a new situation and acquired scholarly knowledge, psychomotor efficiency, cognitive flexibility, visual perception, speed of information-processing, and sustained attention. Other factors that might contribute to poor decision-making in patients with type 1 DM, include "hypoglycemia unawareness" and comorbid major depression (given its increased prevalence in type 1 DM). Future studies utilizing novel treatment strategies to help patients with type 1 DM make better decisions about their disease may improve their glycemic control and quality of life, while minimizing the impact of end-organ disease.

  7. Improving accountability in vaccine decision-making.

    PubMed

    Timmis, James Kenneth; Black, Steven; Rappuoli, Rino

    2017-11-01

    Healthcare decisions, in particular those affecting entire populations, should be evidence-based and taken by decision-makers sharing broad alignment with affected stakeholders. However, criteria, priorities and procedures for decision-making are sometimes non-transparent, frequently vary considerably across equivalent decision-bodies, do not always consider the broader benefits of new health-measures, and therefore do not necessarily adequately represent the relevant stakeholder-spectrum. Areas covered: To address these issues in the context of the evaluation of new vaccines, we have proposed a first baseline set of core evaluation criteria, primarily selected by members of the vaccine research community, and suggested their implementation in vaccine evaluation procedures. In this communication, we review the consequences and utility of stakeholder-centered core considerations to increase transparency in and accountability of decision-making procedures, in general, and of the benefits gained by their inclusion in Multi-Criteria-Decision-Analysis tools, exemplified by SMART Vaccines, specifically. Expert commentary: To increase effectiveness and comparability of health decision outcomes, decision procedures should be properly standardized across equivalent (national) decision bodies. To this end, including stakeholder-centered criteria in decision procedures would significantly increase their transparency and accountability, support international capacity building to improve health, and reduce societal costs and inequity resulting from suboptimal health decision-making.

  8. What Learning Environments Help Improve Decision-Making?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connor, Donna; Larkin, Paul; Williams, A. Mark

    2017-01-01

    Background: Decision-making is a key component of performance in sport. However, there has been minimal investigation of how coaches may adapt practice sessions to specifically develop decision-making. Purpose: The aim in this exploratory study was to investigate the pedagogical approaches coaches use to develop decision-making in soccer. Method:…

  9. A mechanism for value-sensitive decision-making.

    PubMed

    Pais, Darren; Hogan, Patrick M; Schlegel, Thomas; Franks, Nigel R; Leonard, Naomi E; Marshall, James A R

    2013-01-01

    We present a dynamical systems analysis of a decision-making mechanism inspired by collective choice in house-hunting honeybee swarms, revealing the crucial role of cross-inhibitory 'stop-signalling' in improving the decision-making capabilities. We show that strength of cross-inhibition is a decision-parameter influencing how decisions depend both on the difference in value and on the mean value of the alternatives; this is in contrast to many previous mechanistic models of decision-making, which are typically sensitive to decision accuracy rather than the value of the option chosen. The strength of cross-inhibition determines when deadlock over similarly valued alternatives is maintained or broken, as a function of the mean value; thus, changes in cross-inhibition strength allow adaptive time-dependent decision-making strategies. Cross-inhibition also tunes the minimum difference between alternatives required for reliable discrimination, in a manner similar to Weber's law of just-noticeable difference. Finally, cross-inhibition tunes the speed-accuracy trade-off realised when differences in the values of the alternatives are sufficiently large to matter. We propose that the model, and the significant role of the values of the alternatives, may describe other decision-making systems, including intracellular regulatory circuits, and simple neural circuits, and may provide guidance in the design of decision-making algorithms for artificial systems, particularly those functioning without centralised control.

  10. Conflict and Group Decision-Making: A New Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dace, Karen L.

    In the opinion of decision-making scholars, conflict is a natural component of group decision-making. A new direction for conflict and group decision-making theory and research will help dispel the confusion as to the promotive or disruptive nature of disagreement in group decision-making. Conflict literature is replete with descriptions of the…

  11. What is known about parents' treatment decisions? A narrative review of pediatric decision making.

    PubMed

    Lipstein, Ellen A; Brinkman, William B; Britto, Maria T

    2012-01-01

    With the increasing complexity of decisions in pediatric medicine, there is a growing need to understand the pediatric decision-making process. To conduct a narrative review of the current research on parent decision making about pediatric treatments and identify areas in need of further investigation. Articles presenting original research on parent decision making were identified from MEDLINE (1966-6/2011), using the terms "decision making," "parent," and "child." We included papers focused on treatment decisions but excluded those focused on information disclosure to children, vaccination, and research participation decisions. We found 55 papers describing 52 distinct studies, the majority being descriptive, qualitative studies of the decision-making process, with very limited assessment of decision outcomes. Although parents' preferences for degree of participation in pediatric decision making vary, most are interested in sharing the decision with the provider. In addition to the provider, parents are influenced in their decision making by changes in their child's health status, other community members, prior knowledge, and personal factors, such as emotions and faith. Parents struggle to balance these influences as well as to know when to include their child in decision making. Current research demonstrates a diversity of influences on parent decision making and parent decision preferences; however, little is known about decision outcomes or interventions to improve outcomes. Further investigation, using prospective methods, is needed in order to understand how to support parents through the difficult treatment decisions.

  12. Risky Decision Making in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.

    PubMed

    Unterberger, Iris; Zamarian, Laura; Prieschl, Manuela; Bergmann, Melanie; Walser, Gerald; Luef, Gerhard; Javor, Andrija; Ransmayr, Gerhard; Delazer, Margarete

    2018-01-01

    It is not known whether patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) differ from healthy people in decision making under risk, i.e., when the decision-making context offers explicit information about options, probabilities, and consequences already from the beginning. In this study, we adopted the Game of Dice Task-Double to investigate decision making under risk in a group of 36 patients with JME (mean age 25.25/SD 5.29 years) and a group of 38 healthy controls (mean age 26.03/SD 4.84 years). Participants also underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment focused on frontal executive functions. Significant group differences were found in tests of psychomotor speed and divided attention, with the patients scoring lower than the controls. Importantly, patients made risky decisions more frequently than controls. In the patient group, poor decision making was associated with poor executive control, poor response inhibition, and a short interval since the last seizure episode. Executive control and response inhibition could predict 42% of variance in the frequency of risky decisions. This study indicates that patients with JME with poorer executive functions are more likely to make risky decisions than healthy controls. Decision making under risk is of major importance in every-day life, especially with regard to treatment decisions and adherence to long-term medical therapy. Since even a single disadvantageous decision may have long-lasting consequences, this finding is of high relevance.

  13. Decision making within a community provider organization.

    PubMed

    Berggren, Ingela; Carlstrom, Eric

    2010-12-01

    To explore community nurses' experiences of decision making within the community provider organization. Recent changes in health care with an increasing number of patients being cared for outside of institutions can put considerable pressure on the nurse with respect to decision making. In-depth interviews were performed with 6 registered nurses in two communities. The interviews were analysed by means of phenomenological hermeneutics. The community nurses' experiences of decision making were interpreted as spiders or octopuses, consultants and troubleshooters. The subthemes were; networking and structuring, responsibility, availability and knowledge, assessment power, information selection, avoiding rules and bypassing managers. In accordance with hermeneutical phenomenology, the findings were discussed and explained with reference to Ofstad's philosophy of freedom to make decisions. In their decision making, community nurses are committed to finding administrative solutions that satisfy patient needs.

  14. Impaired decision-making and brain shrinkage in alcoholism.

    PubMed

    Le Berre, A-P; Rauchs, G; La Joie, R; Mézenge, F; Boudehent, C; Vabret, F; Segobin, S; Viader, F; Allain, P; Eustache, F; Pitel, A-L; Beaunieux, H

    2014-03-01

    Alcohol-dependent individuals usually favor instant gratification of alcohol use and ignore its long-term negative consequences, reflecting impaired decision-making. According to the somatic marker hypothesis, decision-making abilities are subtended by an extended brain network. As chronic alcohol consumption is known to be associated with brain shrinkage in this network, the present study investigated relationships between brain shrinkage and decision-making impairments in alcohol-dependent individuals early in abstinence using voxel-based morphometry. Thirty patients performed the Iowa Gambling Task and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging investigation (1.5T). Decision-making performances and brain data were compared with those of age-matched healthy controls. In the alcoholic group, a multiple regression analysis was conducted with two predictors (gray matter [GM] volume and decision-making measure) and two covariates (number of withdrawals and duration of alcoholism). Compared with controls, alcoholics had impaired decision-making and widespread reduced gray matter volume, especially in regions involved in decision-making. The regression analysis revealed links between high GM volume in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and right hippocampal formation, and high decision-making scores (P<0.001, uncorrected). Decision-making deficits in alcoholism may result from impairment of both emotional and cognitive networks. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. Mental fatigue impairs soccer-specific decision-making skill.

    PubMed

    Smith, Mitchell R; Zeuwts, Linus; Lenoir, Matthieu; Hens, Nathalie; De Jong, Laura M S; Coutts, Aaron J

    2016-07-01

    This study aimed to investigate the impact of mental fatigue on soccer-specific decision-making. Twelve well-trained male soccer players performed a soccer-specific decision-making task on two occasions, separated by at least 72 h. The decision-making task was preceded in a randomised order by 30 min of the Stroop task (mental fatigue) or 30 min of reading from magazines (control). Subjective ratings of mental fatigue were measured before and after treatment, and mental effort (referring to treatment) and motivation (referring to the decision-making task) were measured after treatment. Performance on the soccer-specific decision-making task was assessed using response accuracy and time. Visual search behaviour was also assessed throughout the decision-making task. Subjective ratings of mental fatigue and effort were almost certainly higher following the Stroop task compared to the magazines. Motivation for the upcoming decision-making task was possibly higher following the Stroop task. Decision-making accuracy was very likely lower and response time likely higher in the mental fatigue condition. Mental fatigue had unclear effects on most visual search behaviour variables. The results suggest that mental fatigue impairs accuracy and speed of soccer-specific decision-making. These impairments are not likely related to changes in visual search behaviour.

  16. Naturalistic decision making in forensic science: toward a better understanding of decision making by forensic team leaders.

    PubMed

    Helsloot, Ira; Groenendaal, Jelle

    2011-07-01

    This study uses the naturalistic decision-making (NDM) perspective to examine how Dutch forensic team leaders (i.e., the officers in charge of criminal forensic research from the crime scene until the use of laboratory assistance) make decisions in real-life settings and identifies the contextual factors that might influence those decisions. First, a focus group interview was conducted to identify four NDM mechanisms in day-to-day forensic decision making. Second, a serious game was conducted to examine the influence of three of these contextual mechanisms. The results uncovered that forensic team leaders (i) were attracted to obtain further information when more information was initially made available, (ii) were likely to devote more attention to emotionally charged cases, and (iii) used not only forensic evidence in the decision making but also tactical, unverified information of the police inquiry. Interestingly, the measured contextual influences did not deviate significantly from a control group of laypeople. © 2011 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  17. How shrinks think: decision making in psychiatry.

    PubMed

    Bhugra, Dinesh; Malliaris, Yanni; Gupta, Susham

    2010-10-01

    Psychiatrists use biopsychosocial models in identifying aetiological factors in assessing their patients and similar approaches in planning management. Models in decision making will be influenced by previous experience, training, age and gender, among other factors. Critical thinking and evidence base are both important components in the process of reaching clinical decisions. Expected outcome of treatment may be another factor. The way we think influences our decision making, clinical or otherwise. With patients expecting and taking larger roles in their own management, there needs to be a shift towards patient-centred care in decision making. Further exploration in how clinical decisions are made by psychiatrists is necessary. An understanding of the manner in which therapeutic alliances are formed between the clinician and the patient is necessary to understand decision making.

  18. What counts as a decision? Predictors of perceived decision making.

    PubMed

    Chapman, G B; Niedermayer, L Y

    2001-09-01

    We examined lay perceptions of what counts as a decision. Eighty-six subjects read 10 scenarios that described clear decisions (e.g., choosing a graduate school), clear "nondecisions" (e.g., an accidental wrong turn), or ambiguous actions (e.g., eating a donut when on a diet or allowing someone else to make the decision). The subjects rated each scenario as to whether the actor had made a decision and also rated six other attributes. The scenarios were rated as clearly illustrating a decision if the actor engaged in a lot of thought and did not act reflexively. Consideration of consequences and having alternatives were moderately related to decision ratings, whereas having self-control problems and the influence of physiological drives showed little relationship with decision ratings. Thus, lay concepts of decision making differ from decision theory in that thoughtful, intentional behavior is more important in defining a decision than are decision theoretic components, such as alternatives and consequences.

  19. A brief history of decision making.

    PubMed

    Buchanan, Leigh; O'Connell, Andrew

    2006-01-01

    Sometime around the middle of the past century, telephone executive Chester Barnard imported the term decision making from public administration into the business world. There it began to replace narrower terms, like "resource allocation" and "policy making," shifting the way managers thought about their role from continuous, Hamlet-like deliberation toward a crisp series of conclusions reached and actions taken. Yet, decision making is, of course, a broad and ancient human pursuit, flowing back to a time when people sought guidance from the stars. From those earliest days, we have strived to invent better tools for the purpose, from the Hindu-Arabic systems for numbering and algebra, to Aristotle's systematic empiricism, to friar Occam's advances in logic, to Francis Bacon's inductive reasoning, to Descartes's application of the scientific method. A growing sophistication with managing risk, along with a nuanced understanding of human behavior and advances in technology that support and mimic cognitive processes, has improved decision making in many situations. Even so, the history of decision-making strategies--captured in this time line and examined in the four accompanying essays on risk, group dynamics, technology, and instinct--has not marched steadily toward perfect rationalism. Twentieth-century theorists showed that the costs of acquiring information lead executives to make do with only good-enough decisions. Worse, people decide against their own economic interests even when they know better. And in the absence of emotion, it's impossible to make any decisions at all. Erroneous framing, bounded awareness, excessive optimism: The debunking of Descartes's rational man threatens to swamp our confidence in our choices. Is it really surprising, then, that even as technology dramatically increases our access to information, Malcolm Gladwell extols the virtues of gut decisions made, literally, in the blink of an eye?

  20. Aid-Assisted Decision-Making and Colorectal Cancer Screening

    PubMed Central

    Schroy, Paul C.; Emmons, Karen M.; Peters, Ellen; Glick, Julie T.; Robinson, Patricia A.; Lydotes, Maria A.; Mylvaganam, Shamini R.; Coe, Alison M.; Chen, Clara A.; Chaisson, Christine E.; Pignone, Michael P.; Prout, Marianne N.; Davidson, Peter K.; Heeren, Timothy C.

    2014-01-01

    Background Shared decision-making (SDM) is a widely recommended yet unproven strategy for increasing colorectal cancer (CRC) screening uptake. Previous trials of decision aids to increase SDM and CRC screening uptake have yielded mixed results. Purpose To assess the impact of decision aid–assisted SDM on CRC screening uptake. Design RCT. Setting/participants The study was conducted at an urban, academic safety-net hospital and community health center between 2005 and 2010. Participants were asymptomatic, average-risk patients aged 50–75 years due for CRC screening. Intervention Study participants (n=825) were randomized to one of two intervention arms (decision aid plus personalized risk assessment or decision aid alone) or control arm. The interventions took place just prior to a routine office visit with their primary care providers. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was completion of a CRC screening test within 12 months of the study visit. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of test completion and mediators of the intervention effect. Analysis was completed in 2011. Results Patients in the decision-aid group were more likely to complete a screening test than control patients (43.1% vs 34.8%; p=0.046) within 12 months of the study visit; conversely, test uptake for the decision aid and decision aid plus personalized risk assessment arms was similar (43.1% vs 37.1%; p=0.15). Assignment to the decision-aid arm (AOR 1.48; 95% CI=1.04, 2.10), black race (AOR 1.52, 95% CI=1.12, 2.06) and a preference for a patient-dominant decisionmaking approach (AOR, 1.55; 95% CI=1.02, 2.35) were independent determinants of test completion. Activation of the screening discussion and enhanced screening intentions mediated the intervention effect. Conclusions Decision aid–assisted SDM has a modest impact on CRC screening uptake. A decision aid plus personalized risk assessment tool is no more effective than a decision aid alone. PMID:23159252

  1. Capturing a Commander's decision making style

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santos, Eugene; Nguyen, Hien; Russell, Jacob; Kim, Keumjoo; Veenhuis, Luke; Boparai, Ramnjit; Stautland, Thomas Kristoffer

    2017-05-01

    A Commander's decision making style represents how he weighs his choices and evaluates possible solutions with regards to his goals. Specifically, in the naval warfare domain, it relates the way he processes a large amount of information in dynamic, uncertain environments, allocates resources, and chooses appropriate actions to pursue. In this paper, we describe an approach to capture a Commander's decision style by creating a cognitive model that captures his decisionmaking process and evaluate this model using a set of scenarios using an online naval warfare simulation game. In this model, we use the Commander's past behaviors and generalize Commander's actions across multiple problems and multiple decision making sequences in order to recommend actions to a Commander in a manner that he may have taken. Our approach builds upon the Double Transition Model to represent the Commander's focus and beliefs to estimate his cognitive state. Each cognitive state reflects a stage in a Commander's decision making process, each action reflects the tasks that he has taken to move himself closer to a final decision, and the reward reflects how close he is to achieving his goal. We then use inverse reinforcement learning to compute a reward for each of the Commander's actions. These rewards and cognitive states are used to compare between different styles of decision making. We construct a set of scenarios in the game where rational, intuitive and spontaneous decision making styles will be evaluated.

  2. DECISION-MAKING SPARK CHAMBERS,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    of scattering of a particle and coplanarity of two particles. Decision - making spark chambers are used to trigger an optical spark chamber of two...the position of a spark and the separation of two sparks. Many other kinds of spatial decisions can be made with these devices such as the recognition

  3. Designing for Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jonassen, David H.

    2012-01-01

    Decision making is the most common kind of problem solving. It is also an important component skill in other more ill-structured and complex kinds of problem solving, including policy problems and design problems. There are different kinds of decisions, including choices, acceptances, evaluations, and constructions. After describing the centrality…

  4. How social cognition can inform social decision making

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Victoria K.; Harris, Lasana T.

    2013-01-01

    Social decision-making is often complex, requiring the decision-maker to make inferences of others' mental states in addition to engaging traditional decision-making processes like valuation and reward processing. A growing body of research in neuroeconomics has examined decision-making involving social and non-social stimuli to explore activity in brain regions such as the striatum and prefrontal cortex, largely ignoring the power of the social context. Perhaps more complex processes may influence decision-making in social vs. non-social contexts. Years of social psychology and social neuroscience research have documented a multitude of processes (e.g., mental state inferences, impression formation, spontaneous trait inferences) that occur upon viewing another person. These processes rely on a network of brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), superior temporal sulcus (STS), temporal parietal junction, and precuneus among others. Undoubtedly, these social cognition processes affect social decision-making since mental state inferences occur spontaneously and automatically. Few studies have looked at how these social inference processes affect decision-making in a social context despite the capability of these inferences to serve as predictions that can guide future decision-making. Here we review and integrate the person perception and decision-making literatures to understand how social cognition can inform the study of social decision-making in a way that is consistent with both literatures. We identify gaps in both literatures—while behavioral economics largely ignores social processes that spontaneously occur upon viewing another person, social psychology has largely failed to talk about the implications of social cognition processes in an economic decision-making context—and examine the benefits of integrating social psychological theory with behavioral economic theory. PMID:24399928

  5. How social cognition can inform social decision making.

    PubMed

    Lee, Victoria K; Harris, Lasana T

    2013-12-25

    Social decision-making is often complex, requiring the decision-maker to make inferences of others' mental states in addition to engaging traditional decision-making processes like valuation and reward processing. A growing body of research in neuroeconomics has examined decision-making involving social and non-social stimuli to explore activity in brain regions such as the striatum and prefrontal cortex, largely ignoring the power of the social context. Perhaps more complex processes may influence decision-making in social vs. non-social contexts. Years of social psychology and social neuroscience research have documented a multitude of processes (e.g., mental state inferences, impression formation, spontaneous trait inferences) that occur upon viewing another person. These processes rely on a network of brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), superior temporal sulcus (STS), temporal parietal junction, and precuneus among others. Undoubtedly, these social cognition processes affect social decision-making since mental state inferences occur spontaneously and automatically. Few studies have looked at how these social inference processes affect decision-making in a social context despite the capability of these inferences to serve as predictions that can guide future decision-making. Here we review and integrate the person perception and decision-making literatures to understand how social cognition can inform the study of social decision-making in a way that is consistent with both literatures. We identify gaps in both literatures-while behavioral economics largely ignores social processes that spontaneously occur upon viewing another person, social psychology has largely failed to talk about the implications of social cognition processes in an economic decision-making context-and examine the benefits of integrating social psychological theory with behavioral economic theory.

  6. Multi-view Decision Making (MVDM) Workshop

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-02-01

    reflect the realities of system-of-systems development, acquisition, fielding and support: multi-view decision making (MVDM). MVDM addresses the...including mission risk, interoperable acquisition, and operational security and survivability. Hence, a multi-view approach to decision making is

  7. Who Calls the Shots? Sports and University Leadership, Culture, and Decision Making. ASHE Higher Education Report, Volume 30, Number 5

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Estler, Suzanne E., Ed.; Nelson, Laurie J., Ed.

    2005-01-01

    This monograph seeks, through a synthesis of existing literature, to understand better how external forces operating through an enterprise on the academic margins can lead institutions and their leaders to make decisions that appear to many observers to make little sense relative to the institution's mission. Through the athletics enterprise, the…

  8. What Is Known about Parents’ Treatment Decisions? A Narrative Review of Pediatric Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Lipstein, Ellen A.; Brinkman, William B.; Britto, Maria T.

    2013-01-01

    Background With the increasing complexity of decisions in pediatric medicine, there is a growing need to understand the pediatric decision-making process. Objective To conduct a narrative review of the current research on parent decision making about pediatric treatments and identify areas in need of further investigation. Methods Articles presenting original research on parent decision making were identified from MEDLINE (1966–6/2011), using the terms “decision making,” “parent,” and “child.” We included papers focused on treatment decisions but excluded those focused on information disclosure to children, vaccination, and research participation decisions. Results We found 55 papers describing 52 distinct studies, the majority being descriptive, qualitative studies of the decision-making process, with very limited assessment of decision outcomes. Although parents’ preferences for degree of participation in pediatric decision making vary, most are interested in sharing the decision with the provider. In addition to the provider, parents are influenced in their decision making by changes in their child’s health status, other community members, prior knowledge, and personal factors, such as emotions and faith. Parents struggle to balance these influences as well as to know when to include their child in decision making. Conclusions Current research demonstrates a diversity of influences on parent decision making and parent decision preferences; however, little is known about decision outcomes or interventions to improve outcomes. Further investigation, using prospective methods, is needed in order to understand how to support parents through the difficult treatment decisions. PMID:21969136

  9. Development of the Supported Decision Making Inventory System.

    PubMed

    Shogren, Karrie A; Wehmeyer, Michael L; Uyanik, Hatice; Heidrich, Megan

    2017-12-01

    Supported decision making has received increased attention as an alternative to guardianship and a means to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to exercise their right to legal capacity. Assessments are needed that can used by people with disabilities and their systems of supports to identify and plan for needed supports to enable decision making. This article describes the steps taken to develop such an assessment tool, the Supported Decision Making Inventory System (SDMIS), and initial feedback received from self-advocates with intellectual disability. The three sections of the SDMIS (Supported Decision Making Personal Factors Inventory, Supported Decision Making Environmental Demands Inventory, and Decision Making Autonomy Inventory) are described and implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

  10. Making Market Decisions in the Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, Stephen A.

    1986-01-01

    Computer software that will help intermediate and secondary social studies students learn to make rational decisions about personal and societal concerns are described. The courseware places students in the roles of business managers who make decisions about operating their firms. (RM)

  11. Evaluating Utility in Diagnostic Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harber, Jean R.

    1981-01-01

    The utility of the procedures special educators apply in making decisions about the identification of handicapped individuals has not been thoroughly studied. The paper examines the utility of diagnostic decision making from the perspective of receiver operating curve analysis. (Author)

  12. Decision Making in Action: Applying Research to Practice

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, Judith; Hart, Sandra G. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The importance of decision-making to safety in complex, dynamic environments like mission control centers, aviation, and offshore installations has been well established. NASA-ARC has a program of research dedicated to fostering safe and effective decision-making in the manned spaceflight environment: Because access to spaceflight is limited, environments with similar characteristics, including aviation and nuclear power plants, serve as analogs from which space-relevant data can be gathered and theories developed. Analyses of aviation accidents cite crew judgement and decision making as causes or contributing factors in over half of all accidents. Yet laboratory research on decision making has not proven especially helpful in improving the quality of decisions in these kinds of environments. One reason is that the traditional, analytic decision models are inappropriate to multi-dimensional, high-risk environments, and do not accurately describe what expert human decision makers do when they make decisions that have consequences. A new model of dynamic, naturalistic decision making is offered that may prove useful for improving decision making in complex, isolated, confined and high-risk environments. Based on analyses of crew performance in full-mission simulators and accident reports, features that define effective decision strategies in abnormal or emergency situations have been identified. These include accurate situation assessment (including time and risk assessment), appreciation of the complexity of the problem, sensitivity to constraints on the decision, timeliness of the response, and use of adequate information. More effective crews also manage their workload to provide themselves with time and resources to make good good decisions are appropriate to the demands of the situation. Effective crew decision making and overall performance are mediated by crew communication. Communication contributes to performance because it assures that all crew members have

  13. Cognitive Continuum Theory in nursing decision-making.

    PubMed

    Cader, Raffik; Campbell, Steve; Watson, Don

    2005-02-01

    The purpose of this paper is to analyse and evaluate Cognitive Continuum Theory and to provide evidence for its relevance to nurses' decision-making. It is critical that theories used in nursing are evaluated to provide an understanding of their aims, concepts and usefulness. With the advent of evidence-based care, theories on decision-making have acquired increased significance. The criteria identified by Fawcett's framework has been used to analyse and evaluate Hammond's Cognitive Continuum Theory. Findings. There is empirical evidence to support many of the concepts and propositions of Cognitive Continuum Theory. The theory has been applied to the decision-making process of many professionals, including medical practitioners and nurses. Existing evidence suggests that Cognitive Continuum Theory can provide the framework to explain decision-making in nursing. Cognitive Continuum Theory has the potential to make major contributions towards understanding the decision-making process of nurses in the clinical environment. Knowledge of the theory in nursing practice has become crucial.

  14. 36 CFR 907.14 - Corporation decision making procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Corporation decision making... CORPORATION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY § 907.14 Corporation decision making procedures. To ensure that at major decision making points all relevant environmental concerns are considered by the Decision Maker, the...

  15. Integrating Trends in Decision-Making Research

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-01

    Address correspondence to Cleotilde Gonzalez, Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Dynamic Decision Making Lab, Carnegie Mellon University...Cleotilde Gonzalez, Carnegie Mellon University, and Joachim Meyer, Tel-Aviv University Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making 201X, Volume XX...Number X, Month 2016, pp. 1 –3 DOI: 10.1177/1555343416655256 Copyright © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. at CARNEGIE MELLON UNIV LIBRARY

  16. Making better decisions in groups

    PubMed Central

    Frith, Chris D.

    2017-01-01

    We review the literature to identify common problems of decision-making in individuals and groups. We are guided by a Bayesian framework to explain the interplay between past experience and new evidence, and the problem of exploring the space of hypotheses about all the possible states that the world could be in and all the possible actions that one could take. There are strong biases, hidden from awareness, that enter into these psychological processes. While biases increase the efficiency of information processing, they often do not lead to the most appropriate action. We highlight the advantages of group decision-making in overcoming biases and searching the hypothesis space for good models of the world and good solutions to problems. Diversity of group members can facilitate these achievements, but diverse groups also face their own problems. We discuss means of managing these pitfalls and make some recommendations on how to make better group decisions. PMID:28878973

  17. Iowa pavement asset management decision-making framework.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-10-01

    Most local agencies in Iowa currently make their pavement treatment decisions based on their limited experience due primarily to : lack of a systematic decision-making framework and a decision-aid tool. The lack of objective condition assessment data...

  18. Framing bioremediation decision making as negotiation: Rationale & guidelineFraming bioremediation decision making as negotiation: Rationale & guidelines

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bjornstad, David J.; Wolfe, Amy K.

    Framing remediation decision making as negotiation: (1) social choice, not technology choice; (2) prompts decision makers to identify interested and affected parties, anticipate objections, effectively address and ameliorate objections, and avoid unacceptable decisions.

  19. Strategic Decision Making Paradigms: A Primer for Senior Leaders

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-07-01

    decision making . STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING Strategic Change: There are several strategic...influenced by stakeholders outside of the organization. The Ontology of Strategic Decision Making . Strategic decisions are non-routine and involve...Coates USAWC, July 2009 5 The Complexity of Strategic Decision Making Strategic decisions entail “ill-structured,”6 “messy” or

  20. Engaging patients in health care decisions in the emergency department through shared decision-making: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Flynn, Darren; Knoedler, Meghan A; Hess, Erik P; Murad, M Hassan; Erwin, Patricia J; Montori, Victor M; Thomson, Richard G

    2012-08-01

    children with small lacerations; 2) options for rehydrating children presenting with vomiting or diarrhea or both; 3) risk of bacteremia (and associated complications), tests, and treatment options for febrile children; and 4) short-term risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in adults with low-risk nontraumatic chest pain. Three studies had poor IPDASi probabilities and development process scores and lacked development informed by theory or involvement of clinicians and patients in development and usability testing. Overall, DSIs were associated with improvements in patients' knowledge and satisfaction with the explanation of their care, preferences for involvement, and engagement in decision-making and demonstrated utility for eliciting patients' preferences and values about management and treatment options. Two computerized DSIs (designed to predict risk of ACS in adults presenting to the ED with chest pain) were shown to reduce health care use without evidence of harm. None of the studies reported lack of feasibility of SDM in the ED. Early investigation of SDM in the ED suggests that patients may benefit from involvement in decision-making and offers no empirical evidence to suggest that SDM is not feasible. Future work is needed to develop and test additional SDM interventions in the ED and to identify contextual barriers and facilitators to implementation in practice. © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  1. Competence and Quality in Real-Life Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Geisler, Martin; Allwood, Carl Martin

    2015-01-01

    What distinguishes a competent decision maker and how should the issue of decision quality be approached in a real-life context? These questions were explored in three studies. In Study 1, using a web-based questionnaire and targeting a community sample, we investigated the relationships between objective and subjective indicators of real-life decision-making success. In Study 2 and 3, targeting two different samples of professionals, we explored if the prevalent cognitively oriented definition of decision-making competence could be beneficially expanded by adding aspects of competence in terms of social skills and time-approach. The predictive power for each of these three aspects of decision-making competence was explored for different indicators of real-life decision-making success. Overall, our results suggest that research on decision-making competence would benefit by expanding the definition of competence, by including decision-related abilities in terms of social skills and time-approach. Finally, the results also indicate that individual differences in real-life decision-making success profitably can be approached and measured by different criteria.

  2. Competence and Quality in Real-Life Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    What distinguishes a competent decision maker and how should the issue of decision quality be approached in a real-life context? These questions were explored in three studies. In Study 1, using a web-based questionnaire and targeting a community sample, we investigated the relationships between objective and subjective indicators of real-life decision-making success. In Study 2 and 3, targeting two different samples of professionals, we explored if the prevalent cognitively oriented definition of decision-making competence could be beneficially expanded by adding aspects of competence in terms of social skills and time-approach. The predictive power for each of these three aspects of decision-making competence was explored for different indicators of real-life decision-making success. Overall, our results suggest that research on decision-making competence would benefit by expanding the definition of competence, by including decision-related abilities in terms of social skills and time-approach. Finally, the results also indicate that individual differences in real-life decision-making success profitably can be approached and measured by different criteria. PMID:26545239

  3. Patient Preferences regarding Shared Decision-making in the Emergency Department: Findings from a multi-site survey.

    PubMed

    Schoenfeld, Elizabeth M; Kanzaria, Hemal K; Quigley, Denise D; Marie, Peter St; Nayyar, Nikita; Sabbagh, Sarah H; Gress, Kyle L; Probst, Marc A

    2018-06-13

    As Shared Decision-Making (SDM) has received increased attention as a method to improve the patient-centeredness of emergency department (ED) care, we sought to determine patients' desired level of involvement in medical decisions and their perceptions of potential barriers and facilitators to SDM in the ED. We surveyed a cross-sectional sample of adult ED patients at three academic medical centers across the United States. The survey included 32 items regarding patient involvement in medical decisions including a modified Control Preference Scale (CPS) and questions about barriers and facilitators to SDM in the ED. Items were developed and refined based on prior literature and qualitative interviews with ED patients. Research assistants administered the survey in person. Of 797 patients approached, 661 (83%) agreed to participate. Participants were 52% female, 45% white, and 30% Hispanic. The majority of respondents (85-92%, depending on decision type) expressed a desire for some degree of involvement in decision-making in the ED, while 8-15% preferred to leave decision-making to their physician alone. Ninety-eight percent wanted to be involved with decisions when "something serious is going on." The majority of patients (94%) indicated that self-efficacy was not a barrier to SDM in the ED. However, most patients (55%) reported a tendency to defer to the physician's decision-making during an ED visit, with about half reporting they would wait for a physician to ask them to be involved. We found the majority of ED patients in our large, diverse sample wanted to be involved in medical decisions, especially in the case of a "serious" medical problem, and felt that they had the ability to do so. Nevertheless, many patients were unlikely to actively seek involvement and defaulted to allowing the physician to make decisions during the ED visit. After fully explaining the consequences of a decision, clinicians should make an effort to explicitly ascertain patients

  4. An Integrated Decision-Making Model for Categorizing Weather Products and Decision Aids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Elgin, Peter D.; Thomas, Rickey P.

    2004-01-01

    The National Airspace System s capacity will experience considerable growth in the next few decades. Weather adversely affects safe air travel. The FAA and NASA are working to develop new technologies that display weather information to support situation awareness and optimize pilot decision-making in avoiding hazardous weather. Understanding situation awareness and naturalistic decision-making is an important step in achieving this goal. Information representation and situation time stress greatly influence attentional resource allocation and working memory capacity, potentially obstructing accurate situation awareness assessments. Three naturalistic decision-making theories were integrated to provide an understanding of the levels of decision making incorporated in three operational situations and two conditions. The task characteristics associated with each phase of flight govern the level of situation awareness attained and the decision making processes utilized. Weather product s attributes and situation task characteristics combine to classify weather products according to the decision-making processes best supported. In addition, a graphical interface is described that affords intuitive selection of the appropriate weather product relative to the pilot s current flight situation.

  5. Realism and Impartiality: Making Sustainability Effective in Decision-Making.

    PubMed

    Bastons, Miquel; Armengou, Jaume

    2017-08-01

    There is both individual and collective widespread concern in society about the impact of human activity and the effects of our decisions on the physical and social environment. This concern is included within the idea of sustainability. The meaning of the concept is still ambiguous and its practical effectiveness disputed. Like many other authors, this article uses as a starting point the definition proposed by the World Commission on Environment and Development (Our common future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987), considering it to be a proposal for changing the assessment of the effects of decisions, from at least two perspectives: (1) what effects we should consider and (2) how we should assess them. Based on this double perspective, sustainability is explored as a method for decision-making which both expands the assessment of the consequences, and also provides an objective criterion for such assessment. It will be argued that the idea of sustainability, seen from this perspective, brings to decision-making two qualities which had been partially lost: realism and impartiality. In turn, the criteria for realism and impartiality in decision-making can be used to identify the limitations of some partial approaches to sustainability, which suffer from insufficient realism (emotional altruism), insufficient impartiality (tactical altruism) or both phenomena at once (egoism). The article concludes by demonstrating how realism and impartiality provide the basis for a new form of sustainable decision-making (ethical sustainability), which is dependent on the development of two moral virtues, prudence and benevolence, and which brings practical effectiveness and ethical sense to the concept of sustainability.

  6. Collective Decision Making in Organizations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Svenning, Lynne L.

    Based on the assumption that educators can adopt new patterns of organization and management to improve the quality of decision and change in education, this paper attempts to make decision theory and small group process theory relevant to practical decision situations confronting educational managers. Included are (1) a discussion of the…

  7. Framing effects and risk-sensitive decision making.

    PubMed

    Mishra, Sandeep; Gregson, Margaux; Lalumière, Martin L

    2012-02-01

    Prospect theory suggests that people are risk-averse when facing gains, but risk-prone when facing losses, a pattern known as the framing effect. Although framing effects have been widely demonstrated, few studies have investigated framing effects under conditions of need. Risk-sensitivity theory predicts that decision makers should prefer high-risk options in situations of high need, when lower risk options are unlikely to meet those needs. In two experiments, we examined (1) whether framing effects occurred in behavioural tasks involving risky decision making from description and decision making from experience, (2) whether participants' risky decision making conformed to the predictions of risk-sensitivity theory, and (3) whether decision framing interacted with conditions of need to influence decision making under risk. The results suggest that under all circumstances, risky decision making conformed to the predictions of risk-sensitivity theory. Framing effects were at least partially demonstrable under all experimental conditions. Finally, negative frames interacted with situations of high need to produce particularly elevated levels of risky choice. Together, the results suggest that risk-sensitivity theory can augment prospect theory to explain choice under conditions of need. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  8. Decision Making in Action: Applying Research to Practice

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, Judith; Statler, Irving C. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    The importance of decision-making to safety in complex, dynamic environments like mission control centers and offshore installations has been well established. NASA-ARC has a program of research dedicated to fostering safe and effective decision-making in the manned spaceflight environment. Because access to spaceflight is limited, environments with similar characteristics, including aviation and nuclear power plants, serve as analogs from which space-relevant data can be gathered and theories developed. Analyses of aviation accidents cite crew judgement and decision making as causes or contributing factors in over half of all accidents. A similar observation has been made in nuclear power plants. Yet laboratory research on decision making has not proven especially helpful in improving the quality of decisions in these kinds of environments. One reason is that the traditional, analytic decision models are inappropriate to multidimensional, high-risk environments, and do not accurately describe what expert human decision makers do when they make decisions that have consequences. A new model of dynamic, naturalistic decision making is offered that may prove useful for improving decision making in complex, isolated, confined and high-risk environments. Based on analyses of crew performance in full-mission simulators and accident reports, features that define effective decision strategies in abnormal or emergency situations have been identified. These include accurate situation assessment (including time and risk assessment), appreciation of the complexity of the problem, sensitivity to constraints on the decision, timeliness of the response, and use of adequate information. More effective crews also manage their workload to provide themselves with time and resources to make good decisions. In brief, good decisions are appropriate to the demands of the situation. Effective crew decision making and overall performance are mediated by crew communication. Communication

  9. Structure and Style in Career Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kortas, Linda; And Others

    1992-01-01

    The Career Decision Scale, Assessment of Career Decision Making, and Cognitive Differentiation Grid were administered to 598 community college students. Results indicated a relationship between decision-making styles and vocational construct structure. Poorly developed vocational schemas predispose individuals toward dependent and intuitive…

  10. Development of a program theory for shared decision-making: a realist review protocol.

    PubMed

    Groot, Gary; Waldron, Tamara; Carr, Tracey; McMullen, Linda; Bandura, Lori-Ann; Neufeld, Shelley-May; Duncan, Vicky

    2017-06-17

    The practicality of applying evidence to healthcare systems with the aim of implementing change is an ongoing challenge for practitioners, policy makers, and academics. Shared decision- making (SDM), a method of medical decision-making that allows a balanced relationship between patients, physicians, and other key players in the medical decision process, is purported to improve patient and system outcomes. Despite the oft-mentioned benefits, there are gaps in the current literature between theory and implementation that would benefit from a realist approach given the value of this methodology to analyze complex interventions. In this protocol, we outline a study that will explore: "In which situations, how, why, and for whom does SDM between patients and health care providers contribute to improved decision making?" A seven step iterative process will be described including preliminary theory development, establishment of a search strategy, selection and appraisal of literature, data extraction, analysis and synthesis of extracted results from literature, and formation of a revised program theory with the input of patients, physicians, nurse navigators, and policy makers from a stakeholder session. The goal of the realist review will be to identify and refine a program theory for SDM through the identification of mechanisms which shape the characteristics of when, how, and why SDM will, and will not, work. PROSPERO CRD42017062609.

  11. Gender and internet consumers' decision-making.

    PubMed

    Yang, Chyan; Wu, Chia-Chun

    2007-02-01

    The purpose of this research is to provide managers of shopping websites information regarding consumer purchasing decisions based on the Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI). According to the CSI, one can capture what decision-making styles online shoppers use. Furthermore, this research also discusses the gender differences among online shoppers. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to understand the decision-making styles and discriminant analysis was used to distinguish the differences between female and male shoppers. The result shows that there are differences in purchasing decisions between online female and male Internet users.

  12. Defining and Measuring Decision-Making for the Management of Trauma Patients.

    PubMed

    Madani, Amin; Gips, Amanda; Razek, Tarek; Deckelbaum, Dan L; Mulder, David S; Grushka, Jeremy R

    Effective management of trauma patients is heavily dependent on sound judgment and decision-making. Yet, current methods for training and assessing these advanced cognitive skills are subjective, lack standardization, and are prone to error. This qualitative study aims to define and characterize the cognitive and interpersonal competencies required to optimally manage injured patients. Cognitive and hierarchical task analyses for managing unstable trauma patients were performed using qualitative methods to map the thoughts, behaviors, and practices that characterize expert performance. Trauma team leaders and board-certified trauma surgeons participated in semistructured interviews that were transcribed verbatim. Data were supplemented with content from published literature and prospectively collected field notes from observations of the trauma team during trauma activations. The data were coded and analyzed using grounded theory by 2 independent reviewers. A framework was created based on 14 interviews with experts (lasting 1-2 hours each), 35 field observations (20 [57%] blunt; 15 [43%] penetrating; median Injury Severity Score 20 [13-25]), and 15 literary sources. Experts included 11 trauma surgeons and 3 emergency physicians from 7 Level 1 academic institutions in North America (median years in practice: 12 [8-17]). Twenty-nine competencies were identified, including 17 (59%) related to situation awareness, 6 (21%) involving decision-making, and 6 (21%) requiring interpersonal skills. Of 40 potential errors that were identified, root causes were mapped to errors in situation awareness (20 [50%]), decision-making (10 [25%]), or interpersonal skills (10 [25%]). This study defines cognitive and interpersonal competencies that are essential for the management of trauma patients. This framework may serve as the basis for novel curricula to train and assess decision-making skills, and to develop quality-control metrics to improve team and individual performance

  13. Beyond the Academic Journal: Unfreezing Misconceptions About Mental Illness and Gun Violence Through Knowledge Translation to Decision-Makers.

    PubMed

    Horwitz, Joshua; Grilley, Anna; Kennedy, Orla

    2015-06-01

    In a policy arena characterized by polarized debate, such as the consideration of legal interventions to prevent gun violence, research evidence is an important tool to inform decision-making processes. However, unless the evidence is communicated to stakeholders who can influence policy decisions, the research will often remain an academic exercise with little practical impact. The Educational Fund to Stop Violence's process of "unfreezing" individual perceptions and conventional interpretations of the relationship between mental illness and gun violence, forming a consensus, and translating this knowledge to stakeholders through state discussion forums is one way to inform policy change. The recent passage of gun violence prevention legislation in California provides an example of successfully closing the knowledge translation gap between research and decision-making processes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Expert decision-making strategies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mosier, Kathleen L.

    1991-01-01

    A recognition-primed decisions (RPD) model is employed as a framework to investigate crew decision-making processes. The quality of information transfer, a critical component of the team RPD model and an indicator of the team's 'collective consciouness', is measured and analyzed with repect to crew performance. As indicated by the RPD model, timing and patterns of information search transfer were expected to reflect extensive and continual situation assessment, and serial evaluation of alternative states of the world or decision response options.

  15. Repeated Causal Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hagmayer, York; Meder, Bjorn

    2013-01-01

    Many of our decisions refer to actions that have a causal impact on the external environment. Such actions may not only allow for the mere learning of expected values or utilities but also for acquiring knowledge about the causal structure of our world. We used a repeated decision-making paradigm to examine what kind of knowledge people acquire in…

  16. Incorporating Science into Decision-Making

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Karl, Herman A.; Turner, Christine E.

    2003-01-01

    Alan Leshner's Editorial “Public engagement with science” (14 Feb., p. 977) highlights a conundrum: Why is science often ignored in important societal decisions, even as the call for decisions based on sound science escalates? One reason is that decision-making is often driven by a variety of nonscientific, adversarial, and stakeholder dynamics

  17. What are the decision-making preferences of patients in vascular surgery? A mixed-methods study.

    PubMed

    Santema, T B Katrien; Stoffer, E Anniek; Kunneman, Marleen; Koelemay, Mark J W; Ubbink, Dirk T

    2017-02-10

    Shared decision-making (SDM) has been advocated as the preferred method of choosing a suitable treatment option. However, patient involvement in treatment decision-making is not yet common practice in the field of vascular surgery. The aim of this mixed-methods study was to explore patients' decision-making preferences and to investigate which facilitators and barriers patients perceive as important for the application of SDM in vascular surgery. Patients were invited to participate after visiting the vascular surgical outpatient clinic of an Academic Medical Center in the Netherlands. A treatment decision was made during the consultation for an abdominal aortic aneurysm or peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Patients filled in a number of questionnaires (quantitative part) and a random subgroup of patients participated in an in-depth interview (qualitative part). A total of 67 patients participated in this study. 58 per cent of them (n=39) indicated that they preferred a shared role in decision-making. In more than half of the patients (55%; n=37) their preferred role was in disagreement with what they had experienced. 31 per cent of the patients (n=21) preferred a more active role in the decision-making process than they had experienced. Patients indicated a good patient-doctor relationship as an important facilitator for the application of SDM. The vast majority of vascular surgical patients preferred, but did not experience a shared role in the decision-making process, although the concept of SDM was insufficiently clear to some patients. This emphasises the importance of explaining the concept of SDM and implementing it in the clinical encounter. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  18. Emergency physician perceptions of shared decision-making.

    PubMed

    Kanzaria, Hemal K; Brook, Robert H; Probst, Marc A; Harris, Dustin; Berry, Sandra H; Hoffman, Jerome R

    2015-04-01

    Despite the potential benefits of shared decision-making (SDM), its integration into emergency care is challenging. Emergency physician (EP) perceptions about the frequency with which they use SDM, its potential to reduce medically unnecessary diagnostic testing, and the barriers to employing SDM in the emergency department (ED) were investigated. As part of a larger project examining beliefs on overtesting, questions were posed to EPs about SDM. Qualitative analysis of two multispecialty focus groups was done exploring decision-making around resource use to generate survey items. The survey was then pilot-tested and revised to focus on advanced diagnostic imaging and SDM. The final survey was administered to EPs recruited at four emergency medicine (EM) conferences and 15 ED group meetings. This report addresses responses regarding SDM. A purposive sample of 478 EPs from 29 states were approached, of whom 435 (91%) completed the survey. EPs estimated that, on average, multiple reasonable management options exist in over 50% of their patients and reported employing SDM with 58% of such patients. Respondents perceived SDM as a promising solution to reduce overtesting. However, despite existing research to the contrary, respondents also commonly cited beliefs that 1) "many patients prefer that the physician decides," 2) "when offered a choice, many patients opt for more aggressive care than they need," and 3) "it is too complicated for patients to know how to choose." Most surveyed EPs believe SDM is a potential high-yield solution to overtesting, but many perceive patient-related barriers to its successful implementation. © 2015 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  19. Fostering climate dialogue by introducing students to uncertainty in decision-making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Addor, N.; Ewen, T.; Johnson, L.; Coltekin, A.; Derungs, C.; Muccione, V.

    2014-12-01

    Uncertainty is present in all fields of climate research, spanning from climate projections, to assessing regional impacts and vulnerabilities to adaptation policy and decision-making. The complex and interdisciplinary nature of climate information, however, makes the decision-making process challenging. This process is further hindered by a lack of institutionalized dialogue between climate researchers, decision-makers and user groups. Forums that facilitate such dialogue would allow these groups to actively engage with each other to improve decisions. In parallel, introducing students to these challenges is one way to foster such climate dialogue. We present the design and outcome of an innovative workshop-seminar series we convened at the University of Zurich to demonstrate the pedagogical importance of such forums. An initial two-day workshop brought together 50 participants, including bachelor, master and PhD students and academic staff, and nine speakers from academia, industry, government, and philanthropy. The main objectives were to provide participants with tools to communicate uncertainty in their current or future research projects, to foster exchange between practitioners, students and scientists from different backgrounds and finally to expose students to multidisciplinary collaborations and real-world problems involving decisions under uncertainty. An opinion survey conducted before and after the workshop enabled us to observe changes in participants' perspectives on what information and tools should be exchanged between researchers and decision-makers to better address uncertainty. Responses demonstrated a marked shift from a pre-workshop vertical conceptualization of researcher-user group interaction to a post-workshop horizontal mode: in the former, researchers were portrayed as bestowing data-based products to decision-makers, while in the latter, both sets of actors engaged in frequent communication, exchanging their needs and expertise. Drawing

  20. Risky decision making in adults with ADHD.

    PubMed

    Matthies, S; Philipsen, A; Svaldi, J

    2012-09-01

    Risky decision making and disadvantageous choices constitute core characteristics of patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Consequences include negative psychosocial and health-related outcomes. However, risky decision making and its interrelations with emotional states in ADHD are poorly understood. Therefore, the authors investigated risky decision making without and after boredom induction in adults with and without ADHD. In study 1, ADHD patients (n = 15) and age/education matched controls (CG; n = 16) were compared on the Game of Dice Task (GDT), an established task measuring decision making in unambiguous situations. In study 2, ADHD patients (n = 14) and CG (n = 13) underwent boredom induction prior to the GDT. In study 1, ADHD patients selected the disadvantageous alternatives significantly more often than CG. In study 2, no significant group differences were found due to an increase in risky decision making in CG following the boredom induction. Even if severity of depression did not affect our results, it may be necessary to compare GDT responses in ADHD patients with and without current depression. Risk as a motor of disadvantageous decision making needs to be taken into account in therapeutic contexts as a maintenance factor of dysfunctional behaviour. The findings of study 2 are in line with postulated alterations of emotional state adjustment in ADHD. The link between decisions making and emotional regulation in ADHD needs further attention in research. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. An Interactive Model of Career Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amundson, Norman E.

    1995-01-01

    The decision-making model described highlights the interaction between contextual factors, decision triggers, establishing a frame of the problem, reframing, and action planning. The interactive perspective is based on process and change. Career counseling with an interactive decision-making approach requires an acknowledgment of external…

  2. Cellular and molecular basis of decision-making

    PubMed Central

    Yapici, Nilay; Zimmer, Manuel; Domingos, Ana I

    2014-01-01

    People think they are in control of their own decisions: what to eat or drink, whom to marry or pick a fight with, where to live, what to buy. Behavioural economists and neurophysiologists have long studied decision-making behaviours. However, these behaviours have only recently been studied through the light of molecular genetics. Here, we review recent research in mice, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans, that analyses the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying decision-making. These studies interrogate decision-making about food, sexual behaviour, aggression or foraging strategies, and add molecular and cell biology understanding onto the consilience of brain and decision. PMID:25239948

  3. Shared Decision-Making for Nursing Practice: An Integrative Review

    PubMed Central

    Truglio-Londrigan, Marie; Slyer, Jason T.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Shared decision-making has received national and international interest by providers, educators, researchers, and policy makers. The literature on shared decision-making is extensive, dealing with the individual components of shared decision-making rather than a comprehensive process. This view of shared decision-making leaves healthcare providers to wonder how to integrate shared decision-making into practice. Objective: To understand shared decision-making as a comprehensive process from the perspective of the patient and provider in all healthcare settings. Methods: An integrative review was conducted applying a systematic approach involving a literature search, data evaluation, and data analysis. The search included articles from PubMed, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PsycINFO from 1970 through 2016. Articles included quantitative experimental and non-experimental designs, qualitative, and theoretical articles about shared decision-making between all healthcare providers and patients in all healthcare settings. Results: Fifty-two papers were included in this integrative review. Three categories emerged from the synthesis: (a) communication/ relationship building; (b) working towards a shared decision; and (c) action for shared decision-making. Each major theme contained sub-themes represented in the proposed visual representation for shared decision-making. Conclusion: A comprehensive understanding of shared decision-making between the nurse and the patient was identified. A visual representation offers a guide that depicts shared decision-making as a process taking place during a healthcare encounter with implications for the continuation of shared decisions over time offering patients an opportunity to return to the nurse for reconsiderations of past shared decisions. PMID:29456779

  4. Shared Decision-Making for Nursing Practice: An Integrative Review.

    PubMed

    Truglio-Londrigan, Marie; Slyer, Jason T

    2018-01-01

    Shared decision-making has received national and international interest by providers, educators, researchers, and policy makers. The literature on shared decision-making is extensive, dealing with the individual components of shared decision-making rather than a comprehensive process. This view of shared decision-making leaves healthcare providers to wonder how to integrate shared decision-making into practice. To understand shared decision-making as a comprehensive process from the perspective of the patient and provider in all healthcare settings. An integrative review was conducted applying a systematic approach involving a literature search, data evaluation, and data analysis. The search included articles from PubMed, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PsycINFO from 1970 through 2016. Articles included quantitative experimental and non-experimental designs, qualitative, and theoretical articles about shared decision-making between all healthcare providers and patients in all healthcare settings. Fifty-two papers were included in this integrative review. Three categories emerged from the synthesis: (a) communication/ relationship building; (b) working towards a shared decision; and (c) action for shared decision-making. Each major theme contained sub-themes represented in the proposed visual representation for shared decision-making. A comprehensive understanding of shared decision-making between the nurse and the patient was identified. A visual representation offers a guide that depicts shared decision-making as a process taking place during a healthcare encounter with implications for the continuation of shared decisions over time offering patients an opportunity to return to the nurse for reconsiderations of past shared decisions.

  5. Making Insulation Decisions through Mathematical Modeling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yanik, H. Bahadir; Memis, Yasin

    2014-01-01

    Engaging students in studies about conservation and sustainability can support their understanding of making environmental conscious decisions to conserve Earth. This article aims to contribute these efforts and direct students' attention to how they can use mathematics to make environmental decisions. Contributors to iSTEM: Integrating…

  6. A description of nurses' decision-making in managing electrocardiographic monitor alarms.

    PubMed

    Gazarian, Priscilla K; Carrier, Natalie; Cohen, Rachel; Schram, Haley; Shiromani, Samara

    2015-01-01

    To describe the cues and factors that nurses use in their decision-making when responding to clinical alarms. Alarms are designed to be very sensitive, and as a result, they are not very specific. Lack of adherence to the practice standards for electrocardiographic monitoring in hospital settings has been observed, resulting in overuse of the electrocardiographic monitoring. Monitoring without consideration of clinical indicators uses scarce healthcare resources and may even produce untoward circumstances because of alarm fatigue. With so many false alarms, alarm fatigue represents a symptom of a larger problem. It cannot be fixed until all of the factors that contribute to its existence have been examined. This was a qualitative descriptive study. This study was conducted at an academic medical centre located in the Northeast United States. Eight participants were enrolled using purposive sampling. Nurses were observed for two three-hour periods. Following each observation, the nurse was interviewed using the critical decision method to describe the cognitive processes related to the alarm activities. Qualitative data from the conducted interviews were analysed via an a priori framework founded in the critical decision method. This study reveals information, experience, guidance and decision-making as the four prominent categories contributing to nurses' decision-making in relation to alarm management. Managing technology was a category not identified a priori that emerged in the data analysis. Nurses revealed a breadth of information needed to adequately identify and interpret monitor alarms, and how they used that information to put the alarms into the particular context of an individual patient's situations. Understanding the cues and factors nurses use when responding to cardiac alarms will guide the development of learning experiences and inform policies to guide practice. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Health-Related Decision-Making in HIV Disease

    PubMed Central

    Doyle, Katie L.; Woods, Steven Paul; Morgan, Erin E.; Iudicello, Jennifer E.; Cameron, Marizela V.; Gilbert, Paul E.; Beltran, Jessica

    2016-01-01

    Individuals living with HIV show moderate decision-making deficits, though no prior studies have evaluated the ability to make optimal health-related decisions across the HIV healthcare continuum. Forty-three HIV+ individuals with HIV−associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND+), 50 HIV+ individuals without HAND (HAND−), and 42 HIV− participants were administered two measures of health-related decision-making as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery: 1) The Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS), and 2) The Modified UCSD Brief Assessment for Capacity to Consent (UBACC-T). Multiple regression analyses revealed that HAND was an independent predictor of both the DCS and the UBACC-T, such that the HAND+ sample evidenced significantly poorer scores relative to comparison groups. Within the HIV+ sample, poorer health-related decision-making was associated with worse performance on tests of episodic memory, risky decision-making, and health literacy. Findings indicate that individuals with HAND evidence moderate deficits in effectively comprehending and evaluating various health-related choices. PMID:26946300

  8. Trust and Decision Making: An Empirical Platform

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-06-01

    13th ICCRTS “C2 for Complex Endeavors” Trust and Decision Making : An Empirical Platform Topic(s): Cognitive and Social Issues...and Decision Making : An Empirical Platform 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e...PERSON a. REPORT unclassified b. ABSTRACT unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Trust and Decision Making : An Empirical Platform Dr. Joseph B

  9. Decision Making Analysis: Critical Factors-Based Methodology

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-04-01

    the pitfalls associated with current wargaming methods such as assuming a western view of rational values in decision - making regardless of the cultures...Utilization theory slightly expands the rational decision making model as it states that “actors try to maximize their expected utility by weighing the...items to categorize the decision - making behavior of political leaders which tend to demonstrate either a rational or cognitive leaning. Leaders

  10. Embodied Choice: How Action Influences Perceptual Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Lepora, Nathan F.; Pezzulo, Giovanni

    2015-01-01

    Embodied Choice considers action performance as a proper part of the decision making process rather than merely as a means to report the decision. The central statement of embodied choice is the existence of bidirectional influences between action and decisions. This implies that for a decision expressed by an action, the action dynamics and its constraints (e.g. current trajectory and kinematics) influence the decision making process. Here we use a perceptual decision making task to compare three types of model: a serial decision-then-action model, a parallel decision-and-action model, and an embodied choice model where the action feeds back into the decision making. The embodied model incorporates two key mechanisms that together are lacking in the other models: action preparation and commitment. First, action preparation strategies alleviate delays in enacting a choice but also modify decision termination. Second, action dynamics change the prospects and create a commitment effect to the initially preferred choice. Our results show that these two mechanisms make embodied choice models better suited to combine decision and action appropriately to achieve suitably fast and accurate responses, as usually required in ecologically valid situations. Moreover, embodied choice models with these mechanisms give a better account of trajectory tracking experiments during decision making. In conclusion, the embodied choice framework offers a combined theory of decision and action that gives a clear case that embodied phenomena such as the dynamics of actions can have a causal influence on central cognition. PMID:25849349

  11. Embodied choice: how action influences perceptual decision making.

    PubMed

    Lepora, Nathan F; Pezzulo, Giovanni

    2015-04-01

    Embodied Choice considers action performance as a proper part of the decision making process rather than merely as a means to report the decision. The central statement of embodied choice is the existence of bidirectional influences between action and decisions. This implies that for a decision expressed by an action, the action dynamics and its constraints (e.g. current trajectory and kinematics) influence the decision making process. Here we use a perceptual decision making task to compare three types of model: a serial decision-then-action model, a parallel decision-and-action model, and an embodied choice model where the action feeds back into the decision making. The embodied model incorporates two key mechanisms that together are lacking in the other models: action preparation and commitment. First, action preparation strategies alleviate delays in enacting a choice but also modify decision termination. Second, action dynamics change the prospects and create a commitment effect to the initially preferred choice. Our results show that these two mechanisms make embodied choice models better suited to combine decision and action appropriately to achieve suitably fast and accurate responses, as usually required in ecologically valid situations. Moreover, embodied choice models with these mechanisms give a better account of trajectory tracking experiments during decision making. In conclusion, the embodied choice framework offers a combined theory of decision and action that gives a clear case that embodied phenomena such as the dynamics of actions can have a causal influence on central cognition.

  12. Shared Decision-Making in the Management of Congenital Vascular Malformations.

    PubMed

    Horbach, Sophie E R; Ubbink, Dirk T; Stubenrouch, Fabienne E; Koelemay, Mark J W; van der Vleuten, Carine J M; Verhoeven, Bas H; Reekers, Jim A; Schultze Kool, Leo J; van der Horst, Chantal M A M

    2017-03-01

    In shared decision-making, clinicians and patients arrive at a joint treatment decision, by incorporating best available evidence and the patients' personal values and preferences. Little is known about the role of shared decision-making in managing patients with congenital vascular malformations, for which preference-sensitive decision-making seems obvious. The authors investigated preferences regarding decision-making and current shared decision-making behavior during physician-patient encounters. In two Dutch university hospitals, adults and children with congenital vascular malformations facing a treatment-related decision were enrolled. Before the consultation, patients (or parents of children) expressed their preference regarding decision-making (Control Preferences Scale). Afterward, participants completed shared decision-making-specific questionnaires (nine-item Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire, CollaboRATE, and satisfaction), and physicians completed the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Physician questionnaire. Consultations were audiotaped and patient involvement was scored by two independent researchers using the five-item Observing Patient Involvement instrument. All questionnaire results were expressed on a scale of 0 to 100 (optimum shared decision-making). Fifty-five participants (24 parents and 31 adult patients) were included. Two-thirds preferred the shared decision-making approach (Control Preferences Scale). Objective five-item Observing Patient Involvement scores were low (mean ± SD, 31 ± 15), whereas patient and physician Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire scores were high, with means of 68 ± 18 and 68 ± 19, respectively. The median CollaboRATE score was 93. There was no clear relationship between shared decision-making and satisfaction scores. Although adults and parents of children with vascular malformations express a strong desire for shared decision-making, objective shared decision-making behavior is still lacking, most

  13. Decision Making: Rational, Nonrational, and Irrational.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simon, Herbert A.

    1993-01-01

    Describes the current state of knowledge about human decision-making and problem-solving processes, explaining recent developments and their implications for management and management training. Rational goal-setting is the key to effective decision making and accomplishment. Bounded rationality is a realistic orientation, because the world is too…

  14. Prenatal diagnostic decision-making in adolescents.

    PubMed

    Plaga, Stacey L; Demarco, Kristin; Shulman, Lee P

    2005-04-01

    We sought to evaluate the prenatal decision-making of pregnant adolescents identified at increased risk for identifiable fetal genetic abnormalities. A retrospective review of records of gravid women 19 years old or younger undergoing genetic counseling from 2001-2003 (inclusive) was undertaken. Hospital-based academic center. Thirty-seven women were identified; four cases did not meet inclusion criteria. None. Decision to undergo or forgo invasive prenatal testing. Of the 33 women included in this study, the average age was 17.6 years (range: 15-19). Eighteen were Latinas, eight were African-Americans, and seven were Caucasians. Sixteen women had positive maternal serum screening outcomes; nine women sought counseling because of personal/family histories of genetic abnormalities, seven sought counseling after fetal structural anomalies were detected by ultrasound, and one woman sought counseling because she and her partner were positive for Mendelian disorder screening (sickle cell disease). Sixteen of the women (48.5%) chose to undergo invasive testing (15 amniocenteses, one chorionic villus sampling) whereas 17 (51.5%) chose to forgo invasive testing. Adolescents offered invasive prenatal diagnosis will chose to undergo or forgo such testing based on diagnostic and personal criteria as do adult women. Nonetheless, unique adolescent issues may make the process by which information is obtained and communicated during counseling to be different from counseling provided to adults. The development of new genetic screening and diagnostic protocols has and will increase the number of pregnant adolescent women who will be offered genetic counseling during their pregnancies. Such an increase in numbers will place considerably more pressure on an already taxed genetic counseling system; accordingly, new counseling paradigms will need to be developed to provide service to an expanded patient population seeking information for an increasing number of genetic issues.

  15. Conceptualizing Surrogate Decision-Making at End of Life in the Intensive Care Unit using Cognitive Task Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Dionne-Odom, J. Nicholas; Willis, Danny G.; Bakitas, Marie; Crandall, Beth; Grace, Pamela J.

    2014-01-01

    Background Surrogate decision-makers (SDMs) face difficult decisions at end of life (EOL) for decisionally incapacitated intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Purpose Identify and describe the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision-making for adults at EOL in the ICU. Method Qualitative case study design using a cognitive task analysis (CTA) interviewing approach. Participants were recruited from October 2012 to June 2013 from an academic tertiary medical center’s ICU located in the rural Northeastern United States. Nineteen SDMs for patients who had died in the ICU completed in-depth semi-structured CTA interviews. Discussion The conceptual framework formulated from data analysis reveals that three underlying, iterative, psychological dimensions: gist impressions, distressing emotions, and moral intuitions impact a SDM’s judgment about the acceptability of either the patient’s medical treatments or his or her condition. Conclusion The framework offers initial insights about the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision-making and may facilitate enhanced decision support for SDMs. PMID:25982772

  16. Conceptualizing surrogate decision making at end of life in the intensive care unit using cognitive task analysis.

    PubMed

    Dionne-Odom, J Nicholas; Willis, Danny G; Bakitas, Marie; Crandall, Beth; Grace, Pamela J

    2015-01-01

    Surrogate decision makers (SDMs) face difficult decisions at end of life (EOL) for decisionally incapacitated intensive care unit (ICU) patients. To identify and describe the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision making for adults at EOL in the ICU. Qualitative case study design using a cognitive task analysis interviewing approach. Participants were recruited from October 2012 to June 2013 from an academic tertiary medical center's ICU located in the rural Northeastern United States. Nineteen SDMs for patients who had died in the ICU completed in-depth semistructured cognitive task analysis interviews. The conceptual framework formulated from data analysis reveals that three underlying, iterative, psychological dimensions (gist impressions, distressing emotions, and moral intuitions) impact an SDM's judgment about the acceptability of either the patient's medical treatments or his or her condition. The framework offers initial insights about the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision making and may facilitate enhanced decision support for SDMs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. How well-run boards make decisions.

    PubMed

    Useem, Michael

    2006-11-01

    In the aftermath of seismic debacles like those that toppled Enron and WorldCom, corporate boards have been shaken up and made over. More directors are independent these days, for instance, and corporations now disclose directors' salaries and committee members' names. Research shows that most of the changes are having a positive effect on companies' performance. They are primarily structural, though, and don't go to the heart of a board's work: making the choices that shape a firm's future. Which decisions boards own and how those calls are made are largely hidden from the public. As a result, boards are often unable to learn from the best governance practices of their counterparts at other companies. This article pulls back the curtain and provides an inside look. Drawing on interviews with board members and executives at 31 companies, along with a close examination of three boardroom decisions, the author identifies several formal processes that can help companies improve their decision making: creating calendars that specify when the board and the standing committees will consider key items; drafting charters that define the decisions committees are responsible for; and developing decision protocols that divvy up responsibilities between directors and executives. The author also identifies a number of informal decision-making principles: Items that are strategically significant and touch on the firm's core values should go to the board. Large decisions should be divided into small pieces, so the board can devote sufficient attention to each one. Directors must remain vigilant to ensure that their decisions are effectively implemented. The CEO and either the nonexecutive chair or the lead director should engage in ongoing dialogue regarding which decisions to take to the full board and when. And directors should challenge assumptions before making yes-or-no decisions on management proposals.

  18. Shared decision-making.

    PubMed

    Godolphin, William

    2009-01-01

    Shared decision-making has been called the crux of patient-centred care and identified as a key part of change for improved quality and safety in healthcare. However, it rarely happens, is hard to do and is not taught - for many reasons. Talking with patients about options is not embedded in the attitudes or communication skills training of most healthcare professionals. Information tools such as patient decision aids, personal health records and the Internet will help to shift this state, as will policy that drives patient and public involvement in healthcare delivery and training.

  19. "If it's worth my time, i will make the time": school-based providers' decision-making about participating in an evidence-based psychotherapy consultation program.

    PubMed

    Lyon, Aaron R; Ludwig, Kristy; Romano, Evalynn; Leonard, Skyler; Stoep, Ann Vander; McCauley, Elizabeth

    2013-11-01

    This study evaluated influences on school-based clinicians' decision-making surrounding participation in a modular psychotherapy training and consultation program lasting one academic year. Clinicians were recruited from three participation groups: those who never engaged, those who engaged and then discontinued, and those who participated fully. Qualitative interviews explored influences on initial and continued participation, as well as differences in decision-making by participation group, knowledge about evidence-based practices, and attitudes toward evidence-based practices. Eight major themes were identified: time, practice utility, intervention/training content, training process, attitudes toward training, social influences, commitment to training, and expectations. Some themes were discussed universally across all comparison groups, while others varied in frequency or content. Recommendations for increasing participation are presented, based on the findings.

  20. Neural Basis of Strategic Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Daeyeol; Seo, Hyojung

    2015-01-01

    Human choice behaviors during social interactions often deviate from the predictions of game theory. This might arise partly from the limitations in cognitive abilities necessary for recursive reasoning about the behaviors of others. In addition, during iterative social interactions, choices might change dynamically, as knowledge about the intentions of others and estimates for choice outcomes are incrementally updated via reinforcement learning. Some of the brain circuits utilized during social decision making might be general-purpose and contribute to isomorphic individual and social decision making. By contrast, regions in the medial prefrontal cortex and temporal parietal junction might be recruited for cognitive processes unique to social decision making. PMID:26688301

  1. A spiral model of musical decision-making.

    PubMed

    Bangert, Daniel; Schubert, Emery; Fabian, Dorottya

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes a model of how musicians make decisions about performing notated music. The model builds on psychological theories of decision-making and was developed from empirical studies of Western art music performance that aimed to identify intuitive and deliberate processes of decision-making, a distinction consistent with dual-process theories of cognition. The model proposes that the proportion of intuitive (Type 1) and deliberate (Type 2) decision-making processes changes with increasing expertise and conceptualizes this change as movement along a continually narrowing upward spiral where the primary axis signifies principal decision-making type and the vertical axis marks level of expertise. The model is intended to have implications for the development of expertise as described in two main phases. The first is movement from a primarily intuitive approach in the early stages of learning toward greater deliberation as analytical techniques are applied during practice. The second phase occurs as deliberate decisions gradually become automatic (procedural), increasing the role of intuitive processes. As a performer examines more issues or reconsiders decisions, the spiral motion toward the deliberate side and back to the intuitive is repeated indefinitely. With increasing expertise, the spiral tightens to signify greater control over decision type selection. The model draws on existing theories, particularly Evans' (2011) Intervention Model of dual-process theories, Cognitive Continuum Theory Hammond et al. (1987), Hammond (2007), Baylor's (2001) U-shaped model for the development of intuition by level of expertise. By theorizing how musical decision-making operates over time and with increasing expertise, this model could be used as a framework for future research in music performance studies and performance science more generally.

  2. A spiral model of musical decision-making

    PubMed Central

    Bangert, Daniel; Schubert, Emery; Fabian, Dorottya

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes a model of how musicians make decisions about performing notated music. The model builds on psychological theories of decision-making and was developed from empirical studies of Western art music performance that aimed to identify intuitive and deliberate processes of decision-making, a distinction consistent with dual-process theories of cognition. The model proposes that the proportion of intuitive (Type 1) and deliberate (Type 2) decision-making processes changes with increasing expertise and conceptualizes this change as movement along a continually narrowing upward spiral where the primary axis signifies principal decision-making type and the vertical axis marks level of expertise. The model is intended to have implications for the development of expertise as described in two main phases. The first is movement from a primarily intuitive approach in the early stages of learning toward greater deliberation as analytical techniques are applied during practice. The second phase occurs as deliberate decisions gradually become automatic (procedural), increasing the role of intuitive processes. As a performer examines more issues or reconsiders decisions, the spiral motion toward the deliberate side and back to the intuitive is repeated indefinitely. With increasing expertise, the spiral tightens to signify greater control over decision type selection. The model draws on existing theories, particularly Evans’ (2011) Intervention Model of dual-process theories, Cognitive Continuum Theory Hammond et al. (1987), Hammond (2007), Baylor’s (2001) U-shaped model for the development of intuition by level of expertise. By theorizing how musical decision-making operates over time and with increasing expertise, this model could be used as a framework for future research in music performance studies and performance science more generally. PMID:24795673

  3. Shared Decision Making with Collective Bargaining.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steimel, Eric L.

    This paper examines the changing role of school leaders, in light of the current trend toward participative decision making. Executive Order 12871 mandates the formation of a partnership between unions and management, which will result in teachers playing an active role in decision making. Leaders, particularly leaders of Department of Defense…

  4. Transformational Leadership & Decision Making in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brower, Robert E.; Balch, Bradley V.

    2005-01-01

    It is essential for every school leader to possess the savvy to effect positive change, raise achievement levels, and foster a positive school climate. Now it seems that the struggle for school leaders to make productive decisions has become clouded with ever-growing uncertainty and skepticism. "Transformational Leadership & Decision Making in…

  5. Instructional decision making of high school science teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carver, Jeffrey S.

    The instructional decision-making processes of high school science teachers have not been well established in the literature. Several models for decision-making do exist in other teaching disciplines, business, computer game programming, nursing, and some fields of science. A model that incorporates differences in science teaching that is consistent with constructivist theory as opposed to conventional science teaching is useful in the current climate of standards-based instruction that includes an inquiry-based approach to teaching science. This study focuses on three aspects of the decision-making process. First, it defines what factors, both internal and external, influence high school science teacher decision-making. Second, those factors are analyzed further to determine what instructional decision-making processes are articulated or demonstrated by the participants. Third, by analyzing the types of decisions that are made in the classroom, the classroom learning environments established as a result of those instructional decisions are studied for similarities and differences between conventional and constructivist models. While the decision-making process for each of these teachers was not clearly articulated by the teachers themselves, the patterns that establish the process were clearly exhibited by the teachers. It was also clear that the classroom learning environments that were established were, at least in part, established as a result of the instructional decisions that were made in planning and implementation of instruction. Patterns of instructional decision-making were different for each teacher as a result of primary instructional goals that were different for each teacher. There were similarities between teachers who exhibited more constructivist epistemological tendencies as well as similarities between teachers who exhibited a more conventional epistemology. While the decisions that will result from these two camps may be different, the six step

  6. Multimorbidity and Decision-Making Preferences Among Older Adults.

    PubMed

    Chi, Winnie C; Wolff, Jennifer; Greer, Raquel; Dy, Sydney

    2017-11-01

    Understanding individuals' preferences for participating in health care decisions is foundational to delivering person-centered care. We aimed to (1) explore preferences for health care decision making among older adults, and (2) identify multimorbidity profiles associated with preferring less active, ie, passive, participation among older US adults. Ours was a cross-sectional, nationally representative study of 2,017 National Health and Aging Trends Study respondents. Passive decision-making preference was defined as preferring to leave decisions to physicians. Multimorbidity profiles, based on 13 prevalent chronic conditions, were examined as (1) presence of 2 or more conditions, (2) a simple conditions count, and (3) a condition clusters count. Multiple logistic regression was used with adjustment for age, sex, education, English proficiency, and mobility limitation. Most older adults preferred to participate actively in making health care decisions. Older adults with 4 or more conditions, however, and those with multiple condition clusters are relatively less likely to prefer active decision making. Primary care physicians should initiate a shared decision-making process with older adults with 4 or more conditions or multiple condition clusters. Physicians should anticipate variation in decision-making preferences among older adults and adapt a decision-making process that suits individuals' preferences for participation to ensure person-centered care delivery. © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

  7. Neural basis of quasi-rational decision making.

    PubMed

    Lee, Daeyeol

    2006-04-01

    Standard economic theories conceive homo economicus as a rational decision maker capable of maximizing utility. In reality, however, people tend to approximate optimal decision-making strategies through a collection of heuristic routines. Some of these routines are driven by emotional processes, and others are adjusted iteratively through experience. In addition, routines specialized for social decision making, such as inference about the mental states of other decision makers, might share their origins and neural mechanisms with the ability to simulate or imagine outcomes expected from alternative actions that an individual can take. A recent surge of collaborations across economics, psychology and neuroscience has provided new insights into how such multiple elements of decision making interact in the brain.

  8. EFFICIENTLY ESTABLISHING CONCEPTS OF INFERENTIAL STATISTICS AND HYPOTHESIS DECISION MAKING THROUGH CONTEXTUALLY CONTROLLED EQUIVALENCE CLASSES

    PubMed Central

    Fienup, Daniel M; Critchfield, Thomas S

    2010-01-01

    Computerized lessons that reflect stimulus equivalence principles were used to teach college students concepts related to inferential statistics and hypothesis decision making. Lesson 1 taught participants concepts related to inferential statistics, and Lesson 2 taught them to base hypothesis decisions on a scientific hypothesis and the direction of an effect. Lesson 3 taught the conditional influence of inferential statistics over decisions regarding the scientific and null hypotheses. Participants entered the study with low scores on the targeted skills and left the study demonstrating a high level of accuracy on these skills, which involved mastering more relations than were taught formally. This study illustrates the efficiency of equivalence-based instruction in establishing academic skills in sophisticated learners. PMID:21358904

  9. 36 CFR 907.14 - Corporation decision making procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Corporation decision making... CORPORATION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY § 907.14 Corporation decision making procedures. To ensure that at major... Corporation's decision making process to ensure adequate consideration of environmental factors. (b) The...

  10. 36 CFR 907.14 - Corporation decision making procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Corporation decision making... CORPORATION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY § 907.14 Corporation decision making procedures. To ensure that at major... Corporation's decision making process to ensure adequate consideration of environmental factors. (b) The...

  11. 36 CFR 907.14 - Corporation decision making procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Corporation decision making... CORPORATION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY § 907.14 Corporation decision making procedures. To ensure that at major... Corporation's decision making process to ensure adequate consideration of environmental factors. (b) The...

  12. The 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, "Shared Decision Making in the Emergency Department: Development of a Policy-relevant Patient-centered Research Agenda" Diagnostic Testing Breakout Session Report.

    PubMed

    Barrett, Tyler W; Rising, Kristin L; Bellolio, M Fernanda; Hall, M Kennedy; Brody, Aaron; Dodd, Kenneth W; Grieser, Mira; Levy, Phillip D; Raja, Ali S; Self, Wesley H; Weingarten, Gail; Hess, Erik P; Hollander, Judd E

    2016-12-01

    Diagnostic testing is an integral component of patient evaluation in the emergency department (ED). Emergency clinicians frequently use diagnostic testing to more confidently exclude "worst-case" diagnoses rather than to determine the most likely etiology for a presenting complaint. Increased utilization of diagnostic testing has not been associated with reductions in disease-related mortality but has led to increased overall healthcare costs and other unintended consequences (e.g., incidental findings requiring further workup, unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation or potentially nephrotoxic contrast). Shared decision making (SDM) presents an opportunity for clinicians to discuss the benefits and harms associated with diagnostic testing with patients to more closely tailor testing to patient risk. This article introduces the challenges and opportunities associated with incorporating SDM into emergency care by summarizing the conclusions of the diagnostic testing group at the 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference on SDM. Three primary domains emerged: 1) characteristics of a condition or test appropriate for SDM, 2) critical elements of and potential barriers to SDM discussions on diagnostic testing, and 3) financial aspects of SDM applied to diagnostic testing. The most critical research questions to improve engagement of patients in their acute care diagnostic decisions were determined by consensus. © 2016 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  13. An introduction to behavioural decision-making theories for paediatricians.

    PubMed

    Haward, Marlyse F; Janvier, Annie

    2015-04-01

    Behavioural decision-making theories provide insights into how people make choices under conditions of uncertainty. However, few have been studied in paediatrics. This study introduces these theories, reviews current research and makes recommendations for their application within the context of shared decision-making. As parents are expected to share decision-making in paediatrics, it is critical that the fields of behavioural economics, communication and decision sciences merge with paediatric clinical ethics to optimise decision-making. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Decision Making and Confidence Given Uncertain Advice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Michael D.; Dry, Matthew J.

    2006-01-01

    We study human decision making in a simple forced-choice task that manipulates the frequency and accuracy of available information. Empirically, we find that people make decisions consistent with the advice provided, but that their subjective confidence in their decisions shows 2 interesting properties. First, people's confidence does not depend…

  15. Developing and Teaching Ethical Decision Making Skills.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, John

    1991-01-01

    Student leaders and campus activities professionals can use a variety of techniques to help college students develop skill in ethical decision making, including teaching about the decision-making process, guiding students through decisions with a series of questions, playing ethics games, exploring assumptions, and best of all, role modeling. (MSE)

  16. Decision Making: New Paradigm for Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wales, Charles E.; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Defines education's new paradigm as schooling based on decision making, the critical thinking skills serving it, and the knowledge base supporting it. Outlines a model decision-making process using a hypothetical breakfast problem; a late riser chooses goals, generates ideas, develops an action plan, and implements and evaluates it. (4 references)…

  17. Patient decision making among older individuals with cancer.

    PubMed

    Strohschein, Fay J; Bergman, Howard; Carnevale, Franco A; Loiselle, Carmen G

    2011-07-01

    Patient decision making is an area of increasing inquiry. For older individuals experiencing cancer, variations in health and functional status, physiologic aspects of aging, and tension between quality and quantity of life present unique challenges to treatment-related decision making. We used the pragmatic utility method to analyze the concept of patient decision making in the context of older individuals with cancer. We first evaluated its maturity in existing literature and then posed analytical questions to clarify aspects found to be only partially mature. In this context, we found patient decision making to be an ongoing process, changing with time, reflecting individual and relational components, as well as analytical and emotional ones. Assumptions frequently associated with patient decision making were not consistent with the empirical literature. Careful attention to the multifaceted components of patient decision making among older individuals with cancer provides guidance for research, supportive interventions, and targeted follow-up care.

  18. Utilizing a Web-Based Career Development Workshop to Address Career Decision-Making Difficulty among Community College Distance Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Johanna Michele

    2011-01-01

    Career decision making difficulty, as it relates to undecided college students and career indecision, has been a concern for counselors and academic advisors for decades (Gordon, 2006; Mau, 2004). Individuals struggling with career indecision often seek assistance via career counseling, self-help tools, and/or computer-assisted career guidance…

  19. Health decision making: lynchpin of evidence-based practice.

    PubMed

    Spring, Bonnie

    2008-01-01

    Health decision making is both the lynchpin and the least developed aspect of evidence-based practice. The evidence-based practice process requires integrating the evidence with consideration of practical resources and patient preferences and doing so via a process that is genuinely collaborative. Yet, the literature is largely silent about how to accomplish integrative, shared decision making. for evidence-based practice are discussed for 2 theories of clinician decision making (expected utility and fuzzy trace) and 2 theories of patient health decision making (transtheoretical model and reasoned action). Three suggestions are offered. First, it would be advantageous to have theory-based algorithms that weight and integrate the 3 data strands (evidence, resources, preferences) in different decisional contexts. Second, patients, not providers, make the decisions of greatest impact on public health, and those decisions are behavioral. Consequently, theory explicating how provider-patient collaboration can influence patient lifestyle decisions made miles from the provider's office is greatly needed. Third, although the preponderance of data on complex decisions supports a computational approach, such an approach to evidence-based practice is too impractical to be widely applied at present. More troublesomely, until patients come to trust decisions made computationally more than they trust their providers' intuitions, patient adherence will remain problematic. A good theory of integrative, collaborative health decision making remains needed.

  20. Health Decision Making: Lynchpin of Evidence-Based Practice

    PubMed Central

    Spring, Bonnie

    2008-01-01

    Health decision making is both the lynchpin and the least developed aspect of evidence-based practice. The evidence-based practice process requires integrating the evidence with consideration of practical resources and patient preferences and doing so via a process that is genuinely collaborative. Yet, the literature is largely silent about how to accomplish integrative, shared decision making. Implications for evidence-based practice are discussed for 2 theories of clinician decision making (expected utility and fuzzy trace) and 2 theories of patient health decision making (transtheoretical model and reasoned action). Three suggestions are offered. First, it would be advantageous to have theory-based algorithms that weight and integrate the 3 data strands (evidence, resources, preferences) in different decisional contexts. Second, patients, not providers, make the decisions of greatest impact on public health, and those decisions are behavioral. Consequently, theory explicating how provider-patient collaboration can influence patient lifestyle decisions made miles from the provider's office is greatly needed. Third, although the preponderance of data on complex decisions supports a computational approach, such an approach to evidence-based practice is too impractical to be widely applied at present. More troublesomely, until patients come to trust decisions made computationally more than they trust their providers’ intuitions, patient adherence will remain problematic. A good theory of integrative, collaborative health decision making remains needed. PMID:19015288

  1. Putting informed and shared decision making into practice.

    PubMed

    Towle, Angela; Godolphin, William; Grams, Garry; Lamarre, Amanda

    2006-12-01

    To investigate the practice, experiences and views of motivated and trained family physicians as they attempt to implement informed and shared decision making (ISDM) in routine practice and to identify and understand the barriers they encounter. Patient involvement in decision making about their health care has been the focus of much academic activity. Although significant conceptual and experimental work has been done, ISDM rarely occurs. Physician attitudes and lack of training are identified barriers. Qualitative analysis of transcripts of consultations and key informant group interviews. Six family physicians received training in the ISDM competencies. Audiotapes of office consultations were made before and after training. Transcripts of consultations were examined to identify behavioural markers associated with each competency and the range of expression of the competencies. The physicians attended group interviews at the end of the study to explore experiences of ISDM. The physicians liked the ISDM model and thought that they should put it into practice. Evidence from transcripts indicated they were able to elicit concerns, ideas and expectations (although not about management) and agree an action plan. They did not elicit preferences for role or information. They sometimes offered choices. They had difficulty achieving full expression of any of the competencies and integrating ISDM into their script for the medical interview. The study also identified a variety of competency-specific barriers. A major barrier to the practice of ISDM by motivated physicians appears to be the need to change well-established patterns of communication with patients.

  2. The use of decision analysis to examine ethical decision making by critical care nurses.

    PubMed

    Hughes, K K; Dvorak, E M

    1997-01-01

    To examine the extent to which critical care staff nurses make ethical decisions that coincide with those recommended by a decision analytic model. Nonexperimental, ex post facto. Midwestern university-affiliated 500 bed tertiary care medical center. One hundred critical care staff nurses randomly selected from seven critical care units. Complete responses were obtained from 82 nurses (for a final response rate of 82%). The dependent variable--consistent decision making--was measured as staff nurses' abilities to make ethical decisions that coincided with those prescribed by the decision model. Subjects completed two instruments, the Ethical Decision Analytic Model, a computer-administered instrument designed to measure staff nurses' abilities to make consistent decisions about a chemically-impaired colleague; and a Background Inventory. The results indicate marked consensus among nurses when informal methods were used. However, there was little consistency between the nurses' informal decisions and those recommended by the decision analytic model. Although 50% (n = 41) of all nurses chose a course of action that coincided with the model's least optimal alternative, few nurses agreed with the model as to the most optimal course of action. The findings also suggest that consistency was unrelated (p > 0.05) to the nurses' educational background or years of clinical experience; that most subjects reported receiving little or no education in decision making during their basic nursing education programs; but that exposure to decision-making strategies was related to years of nursing experience (p < 0.05). The findings differ from related studies that have found a moderate degree of consistency between nurses and decision analytic models for strictly clinical decision tasks, especially when those tasks were less complex. However, the findings partially coincide with other findings that decision analysis may not be particularly well-suited to the critical care environment

  3. Reimbursement decisions in health policy--extending our understanding of the elements of decision-making.

    PubMed

    Wirtz, Veronika; Cribb, Alan; Barber, Nick

    2005-09-08

    Previous theoretical and empirical work on health policy decisions about reimbursement focuses on specific rationales such as effectiveness, economic considerations and equal access for equal needs. As reimbursement decisions take place in a social and political context we propose that the analysis of decision-making should incorporate factors, which go beyond those commonly discussed. As an example we chose three health technologies (sildenafil, rivastigmine and statins) to investigate how decisions about reimbursement of medicines are made in the United Kingdom National Health Service and what factors influence these decisions. From face-to-face, in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 20 regional and national policy makers and stakeholders we identified two dimensions of decision-making, which extend beyond the rationales conventionally cited. The first dimension relates to the role of 'subjectivity' or 'the personal' in the decisions, including personal experiences of the condition and excitement about the novelty or potential benefit of the technology-these factors affect what counts as evidence, or how evidence is interpreted, in practice. The second dimension relates to the social and political function of decision-making and broadens what counts as the relevant ends of decision-making to include such things as maintaining relationships, avoiding organisational burden, generating politically and legally defensible decisions and demonstrating the willingness to care. More importantly, we will argue that these factors should not be treated as contaminants of an otherwise rational decision-making. On the contrary we suggest that they seem relevant, reasonable and also of substantial importance in considering in decision-making. Complementing the analysis of decision-making about reimbursement by incorporating these factors could increase our understanding and potentially improve decision-making.

  4. Serial, parallel and hierarchical decision making in primates

    PubMed Central

    Zylberberg, Ariel; Lorteije, Jeannette AM; Ouellette, Brian G; De Zeeuw, Chris I; Sigman, Mariano; Roelfsema, Pieter

    2017-01-01

    The study of decision-making has mainly focused on isolated decisions where choices are associated with motor actions. However, problem-solving often involves considering a hierarchy of sub-decisions. In a recent study (Lorteije et al. 2015), we reported behavioral and neuronal evidence for hierarchical decision making in a task with a small decision tree. We observed a first phase of parallel evidence integration for multiple sub-decisions, followed by a phase in which the overall strategy formed. It has been suggested that a 'flat' competition between the ultimate motor actions might also explain these results. A reanalysis of the data does not support the critical predictions of flat models. We also examined the time-course of decision making in other, related tasks and report conditions where evidence integration for successive decisions is decoupled, which excludes flat models. We conclude that the flexibility of decision-making implies that the strategies are genuinely hierarchical. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17331.001 PMID:28648172

  5. Reasoning in explanation-based decision making.

    PubMed

    Pennington, N; Hastie, R

    1993-01-01

    A general theory of explanation-based decision making is outlined and the multiple roles of inference processes in the theory are indicated. A typology of formal and informal inference forms, originally proposed by Collins (1978a, 1978b), is introduced as an appropriate framework to represent inferences that occur in the overarching explanation-based process. Results from the analysis of verbal reports of decision processes are presented to demonstrate the centrality and systematic character of reasoning in a representative legal decision-making task.

  6. Decision making about pre-medication to children.

    PubMed

    Proczkowska-Björklund, M; Runeson, I; Gustafsson, P A; Svedin, C G

    2008-11-01

    Inviting the child to participate in medical decisions regarding common medical procedures might influence the child's behaviour during the procedures. We wanted to study nurse decision-making communication regarding pre-medication before ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery. In total, 102 children (3-6 years) signed for ENT surgery were video-filmed during the pre-medication process. The nurse decision-making communication was identified, transcribed and grouped in six main categories dependent on the level of participation (self-determination, compromise, negotiation, questioning, information, lack of communication). Associations between child factors (age, gender, verbal communication and non-verbal communication) and different nurse decision-making communication were studied. Associations between the decision-making communication and verbal hesitation and/or the child's compliance in taking pre-medication were also studied. Totally, information was the most frequently used category of decision making communication followed by negotiation and questioning. To the children showing signs of shyness, the nurse used more negotiation, questions and self-determination communication and less information. The nurse used more compromise, negotiation and gave less information to children with less compliance. No specific type of nurse decision-making communication was associated with verbal hesitation. The most important predictors for verbal hesitation were none or hesitant eye contact with nurse (OR = 4.5) and placement nearby or in parent's lap (OR = 4.7). Predictors for less compliance in taking pre-medication were verbal hesitation from the child (OR = 22.7) and children who did not give any verbal answer to nurse initial questions (OR = 5.5). Decision-making communication could not predict the child's compliance during pre-medication. Although negotiation, questioning and self-determination communication were associated with more unwillingness to take pre

  7. Protocol-based care: the standardisation of decision-making?

    PubMed

    Rycroft-Malone, Jo; Fontenla, Marina; Seers, Kate; Bick, Debra

    2009-05-01

    To explore how protocol-based care affects clinical decision-making. In the context of evidence-based practice, protocol-based care is a mechanism for facilitating the standardisation of care and streamlining decision-making through rationalising the information with which to make judgements and ultimately decisions. However, whether protocol-based care does, in the reality of practice, standardise decision-making is unknown. This paper reports on a study that explored the impact of protocol-based care on nurses' decision-making. Theoretically informed by realistic evaluation and the promoting action on research implementation in health services framework, a case study design using ethnographic methods was used. Two sites were purposively sampled; a diabetic and endocrine unit and a cardiac medical unit. Within each site, data collection included observation, postobservation semi-structured interviews with staff and patients, field notes, feedback sessions and document review. Data were inductively and thematically analysed. Decisions made by nurses in both sites were varied according to many different and interacting factors. While several standardised care approaches were available for use, in reality, a variety of information sources informed decision-making. The primary approach to knowledge exchange and acquisition was person-to-person; decision-making was a social activity. Rarely were standardised care approaches obviously referred to; nurses described following a mental flowchart, not necessarily linked to a particular guideline or protocol. When standardised care approaches were used, it was reported that they were used flexibly and particularised. While the logic of protocol-based care is algorithmic, in the reality of clinical practice, other sources of information supported nurses' decision-making process. This has significant implications for the political goal of standardisation. The successful implementation and judicious use of tools such as

  8. Heuristics in Managing Complex Clinical Decision Tasks in Experts' Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Islam, Roosan; Weir, Charlene; Del Fiol, Guilherme

    2014-09-01

    Clinical decision support is a tool to help experts make optimal and efficient decisions. However, little is known about the high level of abstractions in the thinking process for the experts. The objective of the study is to understand how clinicians manage complexity while dealing with complex clinical decision tasks. After approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), three clinical experts were interviewed the transcripts from these interviews were analyzed. We found five broad categories of strategies by experts for managing complex clinical decision tasks: decision conflict, mental projection, decision trade-offs, managing uncertainty and generating rule of thumb. Complexity is created by decision conflicts, mental projection, limited options and treatment uncertainty. Experts cope with complexity in a variety of ways, including using efficient and fast decision strategies to simplify complex decision tasks, mentally simulating outcomes and focusing on only the most relevant information. Understanding complex decision making processes can help design allocation based on the complexity of task for clinical decision support design.

  9. 36 CFR 1010.13 - Trust decision-making procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Trust decision-making procedures. 1010.13 Section 1010.13 Parks, Forests, and Public Property PRESIDIO TRUST ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY § 1010.13 Trust decision-making procedures. To ensure that at major decision-making points all relevant...

  10. A control-theory model for human decision-making

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levison, W. H.; Tanner, R. B.

    1971-01-01

    A model for human decision making is an adaptation of an optimal control model for pilot/vehicle systems. The models for decision and control both contain concepts of time delay, observation noise, optimal prediction, and optimal estimation. The decision making model was intended for situations in which the human bases his decision on his estimate of the state of a linear plant. Experiments are described for the following task situations: (a) single decision tasks, (b) two-decision tasks, and (c) simultaneous manual control and decision making. Using fixed values for model parameters, single-task and two-task decision performance can be predicted to within an accuracy of 10 percent. Agreement is less good for the simultaneous decision and control situation.

  11. Scientific Literacy for Democratic Decision-Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yacoubian, Hagop A.

    2018-01-01

    Scientifically literate citizens must be able to engage in making decisions on science-based social issues. In this paper, I start by showing examples of science curricula and policy documents that capitalise the importance of engaging future citizens in decision-making processes whether at the personal or at the societal levels. I elucidate the…

  12. Association of Decision-making with Patients' Perceptions of Care and Knowledge during Longitudinal Pulmonary Nodule Surveillance.

    PubMed

    Sullivan, Donald R; Golden, Sara E; Ganzini, Linda; Wiener, Renda Soylemez; Eden, Karen B; Slatore, Christopher G

    2017-11-01

    Patient participation in medical decision-making is widely advocated, but outcomes are inconsistent. We examined the associations between medical decision-making roles, and patients' perceptions of their care and knowledge while undergoing pulmonary nodule surveillance. The study setting was an academically affiliated Veterans Affairs hospital network in which 121 participants had 319 decision-making encounters. The Control Preferences Scale was used to assess patients' decision-making roles. Associations between decision-making, including role concordance (i.e., agreement between patients' preferred and actual roles), shared decision-making (SDM), and perceptions of care and knowledge, were assessed using logistic regression and generalized estimating equations. Participants had a preferred role in 98% of encounters, and most desired an active role (shared or patient controlled). For some encounters (36%), patients did not report their actual decision-making role, because they did not know what their role was. Role concordance and SDM occurred in 56% and 26% of encounters, respectively. Role concordance was associated with greater satisfaction with medical care (adjusted odds ratio [Adj-OR], 5.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.68-17.26), higher quality of patient-reported care (Adj-OR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.31-6.27), and more disagreement that care could be better (Adj-OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.12-4.16). Role concordance was not associated with improved pulmonary nodule knowledge with respect to lung cancer risk (Adj-OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.63-2.00) or nodule information received (Adj-OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.31-4.13). SDM was not associated with perceptions of care or knowledge. Among patients undergoing longitudinal nodule surveillance, a majority had a preference for having active roles in decision-making. Interestingly, during some encounters, patients did not know what their role was or that a decision was being made. Role concordance was associated with greater patient

  13. Nurse educators and decision making: a female perspective.

    PubMed

    Valentine, P E

    1992-01-01

    Quality of work life issues are major concerns of nurses today. Decision making is one such issue. This article is part of a larger case study of a Canadian hospital school of nursing that asked whether women nurse educators bring unique orientations to the workplace that have relevance for the administration of nursing organizations. The process of decision making, a small part of the larger study, is discussed in this article. The results suggested that women nurse educators used a cooperative, collaborative, highly participatory style of decision making that resulted in decisions based on consensus. The implications this female style of decision making has for nurses and nurse administrators is discussed.

  14. Neural Basis of Strategic Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Lee, Daeyeol; Seo, Hyojung

    2016-01-01

    Human choice behaviors during social interactions often deviate from the predictions of game theory. This might arise partly from the limitations in the cognitive abilities necessary for recursive reasoning about the behaviors of others. In addition, during iterative social interactions, choices might change dynamically as knowledge about the intentions of others and estimates for choice outcomes are incrementally updated via reinforcement learning. Some of the brain circuits utilized during social decision making might be general-purpose and contribute to isomorphic individual and social decision making. By contrast, regions in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and temporal parietal junction (TPJ) might be recruited for cognitive processes unique to social decision making. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Effort-Based Decision-Making in Schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Culbreth, Adam J; Moran, Erin K; Barch, Deanna M

    2018-08-01

    Motivational impairment has long been associated with schizophrenia but the underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. Recently, a small but growing literature has suggested that aberrant effort-based decision-making may be a potential contributory mechanism for motivational impairments in psychosis. Specifically, multiple reports have consistently demonstrated that individuals with schizophrenia are less willing than healthy controls to expend effort to obtain rewards. Further, this effort-based decision-making deficit has been shown to correlate with severity of negative symptoms and level of functioning, in many but not all studies. In the current review, we summarize this literature and discuss several factors that may underlie aberrant effort-based decision-making in schizophrenia.

  16. Staged decision making based on probabilistic forecasting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Booister, Nikéh; Verkade, Jan; Werner, Micha; Cranston, Michael; Cumiskey, Lydia; Zevenbergen, Chris

    2016-04-01

    Flood forecasting systems reduce, but cannot eliminate uncertainty about the future. Probabilistic forecasts explicitly show that uncertainty remains. However, as - compared to deterministic forecasts - a dimension is added ('probability' or 'likelihood'), with this added dimension decision making is made slightly more complicated. A technique of decision support is the cost-loss approach, which defines whether or not to issue a warning or implement mitigation measures (risk-based method). With the cost-loss method a warning will be issued when the ratio of the response costs to the damage reduction is less than or equal to the probability of the possible flood event. This cost-loss method is not widely used, because it motivates based on only economic values and is a technique that is relatively static (no reasoning, yes/no decision). Nevertheless it has high potential to improve risk-based decision making based on probabilistic flood forecasting because there are no other methods known that deal with probabilities in decision making. The main aim of this research was to explore the ways of making decision making based on probabilities with the cost-loss method better applicable in practice. The exploration began by identifying other situations in which decisions were taken based on uncertain forecasts or predictions. These cases spanned a range of degrees of uncertainty: from known uncertainty to deep uncertainty. Based on the types of uncertainties, concepts of dealing with situations and responses were analysed and possible applicable concepts where chosen. Out of this analysis the concepts of flexibility and robustness appeared to be fitting to the existing method. Instead of taking big decisions with bigger consequences at once, the idea is that actions and decisions are cut-up into smaller pieces and finally the decision to implement is made based on economic costs of decisions and measures and the reduced effect of flooding. The more lead-time there is in

  17. How contextual issues can distort shared decision making.

    PubMed

    Gartlehner, Gerald; Matyas, Nina

    2016-12-01

    Shared decision making in medicine has become a widely promoted approach. The goal is for patients and physicians to reach a mutual, informed decision by taking into consideration scientific evidence, clinical experience, and the patient's personal values or preferences. Shared decision making, however, is not a straightforward process. In practice, it might fall short of what it promises and might even be misused to whitewash monetary motives. In this article, which summarizes a presentation given at the 17 th Annual Conference of the German Network Evidence-based Medicine on March 4 th , 2016 in Cologne, Germany, we discuss three contextual factors that in our opinion can have a tremendous impact on any informed decision making: 1) opinions and convictions of physicians or other clinicians; 2) uncertainty of the evidence regarding benefits and harms; 3) uncertainty of patients about their own values and preferences. But despite barriers and shortcomings, modern medicine currently does not have an alternative to shared decision making. Shared decision making has become a central theme in good quality health care because it has a strong ethical component. Advocates of shared decision making, however, must realize that not all patients prefer to participate in decision making. For those who do, however, we must ensure that shared decisions can be made in a neutral environment as free of biases and conflicts of interest as possible. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  18. Autonomy, evidence and intuition: nurses and decision-making.

    PubMed

    Traynor, Michael; Boland, Maggie; Buus, Niels

    2010-07-01

    This paper is a report of a study conducted to examine how nurses represent professional clinical decision-making processes, and to determine what light Jamous and Peloille's 'Indeterminacy/Technicality ratio' concept can shed on these representations. Classic definitions of professional work feature autonomy of decision-making and control over the field of work. Sociologists Jamous and Peloille have described professional work as being high in 'indeterminacy' (the use of tacit judgements) relative to technicality (activity able to be codified). The rise of the evidence-based practice movement has been seen as increasing the realm of technical decision-making in healthcare, and it is relevant to analyse nurses' professional discourse and study how they respond to this increase. Three focus groups with qualified nurses attending post-qualifying courses at a London university were held in 2008. Participants were asked to talk about influences on their decision-making. The discussions were tape-recorded, transcribed and subjected to discourse analysis. Participants described their decision-making as influenced by both indeterminate and technical features. They acknowledged useful influences from both domains, but pointed to their personal 'experience' as the final arbiter of decision-making. Their accounts of decision-making created a sense of professional autonomy while at the same time protecting it against external critique. Pre- and post-registration nurse education could encourage robust discussion of the definition and roles of 'irrational' aspects of decision-making and how these might be understood as components of credible professional practice.

  19. Cognitive reflection vs. calculation in decision making

    PubMed Central

    Sinayev, Aleksandr; Peters, Ellen

    2015-01-01

    Scores on the three-item Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) have been linked with dual-system theory and normative decision making (Frederick, 2005). In particular, the CRT is thought to measure monitoring of System 1 intuitions such that, if cognitive reflection is high enough, intuitive errors will be detected and the problem will be solved. However, CRT items also require numeric ability to be answered correctly and it is unclear how much numeric ability vs. cognitive reflection contributes to better decision making. In two studies, CRT responses were used to calculate Cognitive Reflection and numeric ability; a numeracy scale was also administered. Numeric ability, measured on the CRT or the numeracy scale, accounted for the CRT's ability to predict more normative decisions (a subscale of decision-making competence, incentivized measures of impatient and risk-averse choice, and self-reported financial outcomes); Cognitive Reflection contributed no independent predictive power. Results were similar whether the two abilities were modeled (Study 1) or calculated using proportions (Studies 1 and 2). These findings demonstrate numeric ability as a robust predictor of superior decision making across multiple tasks and outcomes. They also indicate that correlations of decision performance with the CRT are insufficient evidence to implicate overriding intuitions in the decision-making biases and outcomes we examined. Numeric ability appears to be the key mechanism instead. PMID:25999877

  20. Cognitive reflection vs. calculation in decision making.

    PubMed

    Sinayev, Aleksandr; Peters, Ellen

    2015-01-01

    Scores on the three-item Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) have been linked with dual-system theory and normative decision making (Frederick, 2005). In particular, the CRT is thought to measure monitoring of System 1 intuitions such that, if cognitive reflection is high enough, intuitive errors will be detected and the problem will be solved. However, CRT items also require numeric ability to be answered correctly and it is unclear how much numeric ability vs. cognitive reflection contributes to better decision making. In two studies, CRT responses were used to calculate Cognitive Reflection and numeric ability; a numeracy scale was also administered. Numeric ability, measured on the CRT or the numeracy scale, accounted for the CRT's ability to predict more normative decisions (a subscale of decision-making competence, incentivized measures of impatient and risk-averse choice, and self-reported financial outcomes); Cognitive Reflection contributed no independent predictive power. Results were similar whether the two abilities were modeled (Study 1) or calculated using proportions (Studies 1 and 2). These findings demonstrate numeric ability as a robust predictor of superior decision making across multiple tasks and outcomes. They also indicate that correlations of decision performance with the CRT are insufficient evidence to implicate overriding intuitions in the decision-making biases and outcomes we examined. Numeric ability appears to be the key mechanism instead.

  1. Assessing Professional Decision-Making Abilities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNergney, Robert; Hinson, Stephanie

    1985-01-01

    Describes Teacher Development Decision Exercises, a computer-based method of diagnosing abilities of elementary and secondary school supervisors (principals, staff developers, curriculum coordinators) to make professional preactive or planning decisions. This approval simulates assessment of supervisors' abilities to use professional knowledge to…

  2. Shared decision-making and decision support: their role in obstetrics and gynecology.

    PubMed

    Tucker Edmonds, Brownsyne

    2014-12-01

    To discuss the role for shared decision-making in obstetrics/gynecology and to review evidence on the impact of decision aids on reproductive health decision-making. Among the 155 studies included in a 2014 Cochrane review of decision aids, 31 (29%) addressed reproductive health decisions. Although the majority did not show evidence of an effect on treatment choice, there was a greater uptake of mammography in selected groups of women exposed to decision aids compared with usual care; and a statistically significant reduction in the uptake of hormone replacement therapy among detailed decision aid users compared with simple decision aid users. Studies also found an effect on patient-centered outcomes of care, such as medication adherence, quality-of-life measures, and anxiety scores. In maternity care, only decision analysis tools affected final treatment choice, and patient-directed aids yielded no difference in planned mode of birth after cesarean. There is untapped potential for obstetricians/gynecologists to optimize decision support for reproductive health decisions. Given the limited evidence-base guiding practice, the preference-sensitive nature of reproductive health decisions, and the increase in policy efforts and financial incentives to optimize patients' satisfaction, it is increasingly important for obstetricians/gynecologists to appreciate the role of shared decision-making and decision support in providing patient-centered reproductive healthcare.

  3. Post-decision consolidation in large group decision-making.

    PubMed

    Bäck, Emma A; Esaiasson, Peter; Gilljam, Mikael; Svenson, Ola; Lindholm, Torun

    2011-08-01

    Decision-makers tend to change the psychological attractiveness of decision alternatives in favor of their own preferred alternative after the decision is made. In two experiments, the present research examined whether such decision consolidation occurs also among individual group members in a large group decision-making situation. High-school students were presented with a decision scenario on an important issue in their school. The final decision was made by in-group authority, out-group authority or by majority after a ballot voting. Results showed that individual members of large groups changed the attractiveness of their preferred alternative from a pre- to a post-decision phase, that these consolidation effects increased when decisions were made by in-group members, and when participants identified strongly with their school. Implications of the findings for understanding of group behavior and subgroup relations are discussed. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  4. Data-Based Decision Making in Education: Challenges and Opportunities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schildkamp, Kim, Ed.; Lai, Mei Kuin, Ed.; Earl, Lorna, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    In a context where schools are held more and more accountable for the education they provide, data-based decision making has become increasingly important. This book brings together scholars from several countries to examine data-based decision making. Data-based decision making in this book refers to making decisions based on a broad range of…

  5. Neurocognitive Models of Medical Decision-Making Capacity in Traumatic Brain Injury Across Injury Severity.

    PubMed

    Triebel, Kristen L; Novack, Thomas A; Kennedy, Richard; Martin, Roy C; Dreer, Laura E; Raman, Rema; Marson, Daniel C

    2016-01-01

    To identify neurocognitive predictors of medical decision-making capacity (MDC) in participants with mild and moderate/severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Academic medical center. Sixty adult controls and 104 adults with TBI (49 mild, 55 moderate/severe) evaluated within 6 weeks of injury. Prospective cross-sectional study. Participants completed the Capacity to Consent to Treatment Instrument to assess MDC and a neuropsychological test battery. We used factor analysis to reduce the battery test measures into 4 cognitive composite scores (verbal memory, verbal fluency, academic skills, and processing speed/executive function). We identified cognitive predictors of the 3 most clinically relevant Capacity to Consent to Treatment Instrument consent standards (appreciation, reasoning, and understanding). In controls, academic skills (word reading, arithmetic) and verbal memory predicted understanding; verbal fluency predicted reasoning; and no predictors emerged for appreciation. In the mild TBI group, verbal memory predicted understanding and reasoning, whereas academic skills predicted appreciation. In the moderate/severe TBI group, verbal memory and academic skills predicted understanding; academic skills predicted reasoning; and academic skills and verbal fluency predicted appreciation. Verbal memory was a predictor of MDC in controls and persons with mild and moderate/severe TBI. In clinical practice, impaired verbal memory could serve as a "red flag" for diminished consent capacity in persons with recent TBI.

  6. Personal practical theories, self-identity, and astronomy teachers' interactive decision making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Richmond, Marvin Elliot

    2005-12-01

    Research has suggested that beliefs play a major role in selecting and defining teaching tasks and organizing the knowledge needed to perform those tasks. Teachers, consciously or unconsciously, depend on beliefs because they work in ill-structured domains where traditional problem solving techniques and academic knowledge do not work as well. The goal of this project was to establish, if possible, a causal link between teacher beliefs and interactive decision making through empirical, qualitative research. The hypothesis was, that when faced with those sorts of situations, the participants would fall back on belief systems that did not necessarily have a rational basis. The research focused on astronomy teachers in community colleges. Since most science reform efforts are directed toward primary and secondary schools, community college science teaching remains a neglected area of study. Yet community colleges are predicted to play an increasingly important role in higher education in the near future. For many students, community college science classes may represent their last encounter with formal, academic, science programs. The three participants were interviewed and observed in the classroom over an extended period. Initial interviews were conducted with each participant to capture stated beliefs. After the extensive classroom observations, stimulated recall interviews were held with each participant viewing short, edited segments of the classroom videotapes. No direct causal link between beliefs (in the conventional sense of the word) and participant decision making is apparent from this empirical research. However, the construct of personal practical theories, which includes beliefs as one component, shows promise as a significant determining factor in interactive decision making. Themes have been developed that represent each participant's personal practical theories. The strongest theme, applicable to all participants, is based on the notion of

  7. Making objective decisions in mechanical engineering problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raicu, A.; Oanta, E.; Sabau, A.

    2017-08-01

    Decision making process has a great influence in the development of a given project, the goal being to select an optimal choice in a given context. Because of its great importance, the decision making was studied using various science methods, finally being conceived the game theory that is considered the background for the science of logical decision making in various fields. The paper presents some basic ideas regarding the game theory in order to offer the necessary information to understand the multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) problems in engineering. The solution is to transform the multiple-criteria problem in a one-criterion decision problem, using the notion of utility, together with the weighting sum model or the weighting product model. The weighted importance of the criteria is computed using the so-called Step method applied to a relation of preferences between the criteria. Two relevant examples from engineering are also presented. The future directions of research consist of the use of other types of criteria, the development of computer based instruments for decision making general problems and to conceive a software module based on expert system principles to be included in the Wiki software applications for polymeric materials that are already operational.

  8. Communication practices that encourage and constrain shared decision making in health-care encounters: Systematic review of conversation analytic research.

    PubMed

    Land, Victoria; Parry, Ruth; Seymour, Jane

    2017-12-01

    Shared decision making (SDM) is generally treated as good practice in health-care interactions. Conversation analytic research has yielded detailed findings about decision making in health-care encounters. To map decision making communication practices relevant to health-care outcomes in face-to-face interactions yielded by prior conversation analyses, and to examine their function in relation to SDM. We searched nine electronic databases (last search November 2016) and our own and other academics' collections. Published conversation analyses (no restriction on publication dates) using recordings of health-care encounters in English where the patient (and/or companion) was present and where the data and analysis focused on health/illness-related decision making. We extracted study characteristics, aims, findings relating to communication practices, how these functioned in relation to SDM, and internal/external validity issues. We synthesised findings aggregatively. Twenty-eight publications met the inclusion criteria. We sorted findings into 13 types of communication practices and organized these in relation to four elements of decision-making sequences: (i) broaching decision making; (ii) putting forward a course of action; (iii) committing or not (to the action put forward); and (iv) HCPs' responses to patients' resistance or withholding of commitment. Patients have limited opportunities to influence decision making. HCPs' practices may constrain or encourage this participation. Patients, companions and HCPs together treat and undertake decision making as shared, though to varying degrees. Even for non-negotiable treatment trajectories, the spirit of SDM can be invoked through practices that encourage participation (eg by bringing the patient towards shared understanding of the decision's rationale). © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Supporting end of life decision making: Case studies of relational closeness in supported decision making for people with severe or profound intellectual disability.

    PubMed

    Watson, Joanne; Wilson, Erin; Hagiliassis, Nick

    2017-11-01

    The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the use of supported decision making in lieu of substitute decision making. To date, there has been a lack of focus on supported decision making for people with severe or profound intellectual disability, including for end of life decisions. Five people with severe or profound intellectual disability's experiences of supported decision making were examined. This article is particularly focused on one participant's experiences at the end of his life. All five case studies identified that supporters were most effective in providing decision-making support for participants when they were relationally close to the person and had knowledge of the person's life story, particularly in relation to events that demonstrated preference. Findings from this study provide new understandings of supported decision making for people with severe or profound intellectual disability and have particular relevance for supporting decision making at the end of life. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Clinical decision making: how surgeons do it.

    PubMed

    Crebbin, Wendy; Beasley, Spencer W; Watters, David A K

    2013-06-01

    Clinical decision making is a core competency of surgical practice. It involves two distinct types of mental process best considered as the ends of a continuum, ranging from intuitive and subconscious to analytical and conscious. In practice, individual decisions are usually reached by a combination of each, according to the complexity of the situation and the experience/expertise of the surgeon. An expert moves effortlessly along this continuum, according to need, able to apply learned rules or algorithms to specific presentations, choosing these as a result of either pattern recognition or analytical thinking. The expert recognizes and responds quickly to any mismatch between what is observed and what was expected, coping with gaps in information and making decisions even where critical data may be uncertain or unknown. Even for experts, the cognitive processes involved are difficult to articulate as they tend to be very complex. However, if surgeons are to assist trainees in developing their decision-making skills, the processes need to be identified and defined, and the competency needs to be measurable. This paper examines the processes of clinical decision making in three contexts: making a decision about how to manage a patient; preparing for an operative procedure; and reviewing progress during an operative procedure. The models represented here are an exploration of the complexity of the processes, designed to assist surgeons understand how expert clinical decision making occurs and to highlight the challenge of teaching these skills to surgical trainees. © 2013 The Authors. ANZ Journal of Surgery © 2013 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  11. Writing as decision-making

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Souther, J. W.

    1981-01-01

    The need to teach informational writing as a decision-making process is discussed. Situational analysis, its relationship to decisions in writing, and the need for relevant assignments are considered. Teaching students to ask the right questions is covered. The need to teach writing responsiveness is described. Three steps to get started and four teaching techniques are described. The information needs of the 'expert' and the 'manager' are contrasted.

  12. Dynamics of Sequential Decision Making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rabinovich, Mikhail I.; Huerta, Ramón; Afraimovich, Valentin

    2006-11-01

    We suggest a new paradigm for intelligent decision-making suitable for dynamical sequential activity of animals or artificial autonomous devices that depends on the characteristics of the internal and external world. To do it we introduce a new class of dynamical models that are described by ordinary differential equations with a finite number of possibilities at the decision points, and also include rules solving this uncertainty. Our approach is based on the competition between possible cognitive states using their stable transient dynamics. The model controls the order of choosing successive steps of a sequential activity according to the environment and decision-making criteria. Two strategies (high-risk and risk-aversion conditions) that move the system out of an erratic environment are analyzed.

  13. Sex Differences in Animal Models of Decision-Making

    PubMed Central

    Orsini, Caitlin A.; Setlow, Barry

    2016-01-01

    The ability to weigh the costs and benefits of various options in order to make an adaptive decision is critical to an organism’s survival and well-being. Many psychiatric diseases are characterized by maladaptive decision-making, indicating the need to better understand the mechanisms underlying this process and the ways in which it is altered in pathological conditions. Great strides have been made in uncovering these mechanisms, but the majority of what is known comes from studies conducted solely in male subjects. In recent years, decision-making research has begun to include females to determine whether sex differences exist and to identify the mechanisms that contribute to such differences. This review will begin by describing studies that have examined sex differences in animal (largely rodent) models of decision-making. Possible explanations, both theoretical and biological, for such differences in decision- making will then be considered. The review will conclude with a discussion of the implications of sex differences in decision-making for understanding psychiatric conditions. PMID:27870448

  14. Decision Making and Binge Drinking: A Longitudinal Study

    PubMed Central

    Goudriaan, Anna E.; Grekin, Emily R.; Sher, Kenneth J.

    2009-01-01

    Background: Behavioral decision making, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is found to be diminished in individuals with substance dependence and other types of disinhibitory psychopathology. However, little is known regarding the relation between heavy alcohol use and decision-making skills in young adults. This study therefore investigated whether binge drinking is related to disadvantageous decision making, as measured by the IGT. We also examined the relation between decision making and impulsivity. Methods: Latent class growth analysis was used to classify college students into 4 groups (each group n = 50, 50% male), based on their binge drinking trajectories over a 2-year time period (precollege through second year of college). Participants were 200 college students, divided in 4 subgroups: (1) low binge drinkers, (2) stable moderate binge drinkers, (3) increasing binge drinkers, and (4) stable high binge drinkers. A measure of decision making, the IGT, impulsivity questionnaires, and multiple indicators of heavy alcohol use were included. Results: The stable high binge-drinking group made less advantageous choices on the IGT than the low binge-drinking group. Impulsivity was not related to decision-making performance. Decision-making performance did not differ by gender, but deck preferences and decision time patterns did differ; women preferred low frequency, high amount punishments to a greater extent than men. Conclusions: Although disadvantageous decision making is related to binge-drinking patterns in emerging adulthood, this relation is independent of impulsivity. Additionally, the association appears attributable to those who engage in heavy (binge) drinking at an early age, but not to age of onset of drinking in general. PMID:17403069

  15. Enrollment Management in Academic Units

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeBiaso, Nick

    2012-01-01

    This study provides an understanding of how administrative leaders make decisions regarding enrollment management within academic units at a major research university in the southwestern United States. Key enrollment management functions of recruiting, admissions, marketing, orientation, financial aid/scholarships, academic advising, student…

  16. Factors Influencing College Decision-Making for First-Generation Appalachian Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wood, Kristy Lynn

    2012-01-01

    This investigation determined the degree of importance for selected personal-psychological, academic, peer, financial, and family factors influencing the decision to attend college by first-generation, Appalachian (FGA) sophomore students. Outcomes were further related to the degree of academic and social integration in college and the likelihood…

  17. Repeated causal decision making.

    PubMed

    Hagmayer, York; Meder, Björn

    2013-01-01

    Many of our decisions refer to actions that have a causal impact on the external environment. Such actions may not only allow for the mere learning of expected values or utilities but also for acquiring knowledge about the causal structure of our world. We used a repeated decision-making paradigm to examine what kind of knowledge people acquire in such situations and how they use their knowledge to adapt to changes in the decision context. Our studies show that decision makers' behavior is strongly contingent on their causal beliefs and that people exploit their causal knowledge to assess the consequences of changes in the decision problem. A high consistency between hypotheses about causal structure, causally expected values, and actual choices was observed. The experiments show that (a) existing causal hypotheses guide the interpretation of decision feedback, (b) consequences of decisions are used to revise existing causal beliefs, and (c) decision makers use the experienced feedback to induce a causal model of the choice situation even when they have no initial causal hypotheses, which (d) enables them to adapt their choices to changes of the decision problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Guardianship and End-of-Life Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Cohen, Andrew B.; Wright, Megan S.; Cooney, Leo; Fried, Terri

    2015-01-01

    As the population ages, more adults will develop impaired decision-making capacity and have no family members or friends available to make medical decisions on their behalf. In such situations, a professional guardian is often appointed by the court. This is an official who has no pre-existing relationship with the impaired individual but is paid to serve as a surrogate decision-maker. When a professional guardian is faced with decisions concerning life-sustaining treatment, substituted judgment may be impossible, and reports have repeatedly suggested that guardians are reluctant to make the decision to limit care. Clinicians are well positioned to assist guardians with these decisions and safeguard the rights of the vulnerable persons they represent. Doing so effectively requires knowledge of the laws governing end-of-life decisions by guardians. Clinicians, however, are often uncertain about whether guardians are empowered to withhold treatment and when their decisions require judicial review. To address this issue, we analyzed state guardianship statutes and reviewed recent legal cases in order to characterize the authority of a guardian over choices about end-of-life treatment. We found that a large majority of state guardianship statutes have no language about end-of-life decisions and identified just five legal cases over the past decade that addressed a guardian’s authority over these decisions, with only one case providing a broad framework applicable to clinical practice. Work to improve end-of-life decision-making by guardians may benefit from a multi-disciplinary effort to develop comprehensive standards that can guide clinicians and guardians when treatment decisions need to be made. PMID:26258634

  19. Modelling elderly cardiac patients decision making using Cognitive Work Analysis: identifying requirements for patient decision aids.

    PubMed

    Dhukaram, Anandhi Vivekanandan; Baber, Chris

    2015-06-01

    Patients make various healthcare decisions on a daily basis. Such day-to-day decision making can have significant consequences on their own health, treatment, care, and costs. While decision aids (DAs) provide effective support in enhancing patient's decision making, to date there have been few studies examining patient's decision making process or exploring how the understanding of such decision processes can aid in extracting requirements for the design of DAs. This paper applies Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) to analyse patient's decision making in order to inform requirements for supporting self-care decision making. This study uses focus groups to elicit information from elderly cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients concerning a range of decision situations they face on a daily basis. Specifically, the focus groups addressed issues related to the decision making of CVD in terms of medication compliance, pain, diet and exercise. The results of these focus groups are used to develop high level views using CWA. CWA framework decomposes the complex decision making problem to inform three approaches to DA design: one design based on high level requirements; one based on a normative model of decision-making for patients; and the third based on a range of heuristics that patients seem to use. CWA helps in extracting and synthesising decision making from different perspectives: decision processes, work organisation, patient competencies and strategies used in decision making. As decision making can be influenced by human behaviour like skills, rules and knowledge, it is argued that patients require support to different types of decision making. This paper also provides insights for designers in using CWA framework for the design of effective DAs to support patients in self-management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Brain mechanisms controlling decision making and motor planning.

    PubMed

    Ramakrishnan, Arjun; Murthy, Aditya

    2013-01-01

    Accumulator models of decision making provide a unified framework to understand decision making and motor planning. In these models, the evolution of a decision is reflected in the accumulation of sensory information into a motor plan that reaches a threshold, leading to choice behavior. While these models provide an elegant framework to understand performance and reaction times, their ability to explain complex behaviors such as decision making and motor control of sequential movements in dynamic environments is unclear. To examine and probe the limits of online modification of decision making and motor planning, an oculomotor "redirect" task was used. Here, subjects were expected to change their eye movement plan when a new saccade target appeared. Based on task performance, saccade reaction time distributions, computational models of behavior, and intracortical microstimulation of monkey frontal eye fields, we show how accumulator models can be tested and extended to study dynamic aspects of decision making and motor control. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Dynamic Decision Making under Uncertainty and Partial Information

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-01-30

    order to address these problems, we investigated efficient computational methodologies for dynamic decision making under uncertainty and partial...information. In the course of this research, we developed and studied efficient simulation-based methodologies for dynamic decision making under...uncertainty and partial information; (ii) studied the application of these decision making models and methodologies to practical problems, such as those

  2. Problems for judgment and decision making.

    PubMed

    Hastie, R

    2001-01-01

    This review examines recent developments during the past 5 years in the field of judgment and decision making, written in the form of a list of 16 research problems. Many of the problems involve natural extensions of traditional, originally rational, theories of decision making. Others are derived from descriptive algebraic modeling approaches or from recent developments in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

  3. An integrated review of the correlation between critical thinking ability and clinical decision-making in nursing.

    PubMed

    Lee, Daphne Sk; Abdullah, Khatijah Lim; Subramanian, Pathmawathi; Bachmann, Robert Thomas; Ong, Swee Leong

    2017-12-01

    . There is also a need for qualitative studies to provide a fresh approach in exploring the relationship between these variables uncovering currently unknown contributing factors. This review confirmed that evidence to support the existence of relationships between critical thinking and clinical decision-making is still unsubstantiated. Therefore, it serves as a call for nurse leaders and nursing academics to produce quality studies in order to firmly support or reject the hypothesis that there is a statistically significant correlation between critical thinking and clinical decision-making. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Weather to Make a Decision

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoyle, Julie E.; Mjelde, James W.; Litzenberg, Kerry K.

    2006-01-01

    DECIDE is a teacher-friendly, integrated approach designed to stimulate learning by allowing students to make decisions about situations they face in their lives while using scientific weather principles. This learning unit integrates weather science, decision theory, mathematics, statistics, geography, and reading in a context of decision…

  5. Do patients want to participate in medical decision making?

    PubMed

    Strull, W M; Lo, B; Charles, G

    1984-12-07

    Although shared decision making by patients and clinicians has been advocated, little is known about the degree of participation in decision making that patients actually prefer or about clinicians' appreciation of these preferences. We administered questionnaires about three aspects of decision making to 210 hypertensive outpatients and to their 50 clinicians, who represented three types of medical practices. We found that 41% of patients preferred more information about hypertension; clinicians underestimated patient preferences for discussion about therapy in 29% of cases and overestimated 11% (k = .22); and 53% of patients preferred to participate in making decisions, while clinicians believed that their patients desired to participate in 78% of cases. Many patients who preferred not to make initial therapeutic decisions did want to participate in ongoing evaluation of therapy. Thus, clinicians underestimate patients' desire for information and discussion but overestimate patients' desire to make decisions. Awareness of this discrepancy may facilitate communication and decision making.

  6. Participatory modeling and structured decision making

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Robinson, Kelly F.; Fuller, Angela K.

    2016-01-01

    Structured decision making (SDM) provides a framework for making sound decisions even when faced with uncertainty, and is a transparent, defensible, and replicable method used to understand complex problems. A hallmark of SDM is the explicit incorporation of values and science, which often includes participation from multiple stakeholders, helping to garner trust and ultimately result in a decision that is more likely to be implemented. The core steps in the SDM process are used to structure thinking about natural resources management choices, and include: (1) properly defining the problem and the decision context, (2) determining the objectives that help describe the aspirations of the decision maker, (3) devising management actions or alternatives that can achieve those objectives, (4) evaluating the outcomes or consequences of each alternative on each of the objectives, (5) evaluating trade-offs, and (6) implementing the decision. Participatory modeling for SDM includes engaging stakeholders in some or all of the steps of the SDM process listed above. In addition, participatory modeling often is crucial for creating qualitative and quantitative models of how the system works, providing data for these models, and eliciting expert opinion when data are unavailable. In these ways, SDM provides a framework for decision making in natural resources management that includes participation from stakeholder groups throughout the process, including the modeling phase.

  7. Heuristics in Managing Complex Clinical Decision Tasks in Experts’ Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Islam, Roosan; Weir, Charlene; Del Fiol, Guilherme

    2016-01-01

    Background Clinical decision support is a tool to help experts make optimal and efficient decisions. However, little is known about the high level of abstractions in the thinking process for the experts. Objective The objective of the study is to understand how clinicians manage complexity while dealing with complex clinical decision tasks. Method After approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), three clinical experts were interviewed the transcripts from these interviews were analyzed. Results We found five broad categories of strategies by experts for managing complex clinical decision tasks: decision conflict, mental projection, decision trade-offs, managing uncertainty and generating rule of thumb. Conclusion Complexity is created by decision conflicts, mental projection, limited options and treatment uncertainty. Experts cope with complexity in a variety of ways, including using efficient and fast decision strategies to simplify complex decision tasks, mentally simulating outcomes and focusing on only the most relevant information. Application Understanding complex decision making processes can help design allocation based on the complexity of task for clinical decision support design. PMID:27275019

  8. Substituted decision making: elder guardianship.

    PubMed

    Leatherman, Martha E; Goethe, Katherine E

    2009-11-01

    The goal of this column is to help experienced clinicians navigate the judicial system when they are confronted with requests for capacity evaluations that involve guardianship (conservatorship). The interface between the growing elderly medical population and increasing requests for substituted decision making is becoming more complex. This column will help practicing psychiatrists understand the medical, legal, and societal factors involved in adult guardianship. Such understanding is necessary in order to effectively perform guardianship evaluations and adequately inform courts, patients, and families about the psychiatric diagnoses central to substituted decision making.

  9. End-of-life decision making is more than rational.

    PubMed

    Eliott, Jaklin A; Olver, Ian N

    2005-01-01

    Most medical models of end-of-life decision making by patients assume a rational autonomous adult obtaining and deliberating over information to arrive at some conclusion. If the patient is deemed incapable of this, family members are often nominated as substitutes, with assumptions that the family are united and rational. These are problematic assumptions. We interviewed 23 outpatients with cancer about the decision not to resuscitate a patient following cardiopulmonary arrest and examined their accounts of decision making using discourse analytical techniques. Our analysis suggests that participants access two different interpretative repertoires regarding the construct of persons, invoking a 'modernist' repertoire to assert the appropriateness of someone, a patient or family, making a decision, and a 'romanticist' repertoire when identifying either a patient or family as ineligible to make the decision. In determining the appropriateness of an individual to make decisions, participants informally apply 'Sanity' and 'Stability' tests, assessing both an inherent ability to reason (modernist repertoire) and the presence of emotion (romanticist repertoire) which might impact on the decision making process. Failure to pass the tests respectively excludes or excuses individuals from decision making. The absence of the romanticist repertoire in dominant models of patient decision making has ethical implications for policy makers and medical practitioners dealing with dying patients and their families.

  10. Parent Preferences for Shared Decision-making in Acute Versus Chronic Illness.

    PubMed

    Tom, Dina M; Aquino, Christian; Arredondo, Anthony R; Foster, Byron A

    2017-10-01

    The goal of this study was to examine preferences for shared decision-making (SDM) in parents of acutely ill versus chronically ill children in the inpatient setting. Additionally, we explored the effect of parental perception of illness severity and uncertainty in illness on decision-making preference. In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed parents of children admitted to pediatric inpatient units at an academic, tertiary-care hospital. Surveys were administered in person and used validated tools to assess SDM preferences and uncertainty in illness. Descriptive statistics evaluated associations stratified by acute versus chronic illness, and multivariable analyses were performed. Of the 200 parents who participated, the majority were women (78%), Hispanic (81.5%), English speaking (73%), between 30 and 39 years old (37.5%), and had an education achievement of less than a college degree (77%). The mean age of hospitalized children was 8.1 years, and half reported a chronic illness. Most parents preferred an active (43%) or collaborative (40%) role in SDM. There was no association with SDM preference by demographics, number of previous hospitalizations, perception of illness severity, or uncertainty. However, parents of chronically ill children significantly preferred a passive role in SDM when they perceived a high level of uncertainty in illness. Most parents of hospitalized children prefer to take an active or collaborative role in SDM. However, parents of chronically ill children who perceive high levels of uncertainty surrounding their children's illness prefer a passive role, thus illustrating the complexity in decision-making among this parent population. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  11. Robust Decision Making: The Cognitive and Computational Modeling of Team Problem Solving for Decision Making under Complex and Dynamic Conditions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-07-14

    AFRL-OSR-VA-TR-2015-0202 Robust Decision Making: The Cognitive and Computational Modeling of Team Problem Solving for Decision Making under Complex...Computational Modeling of Team Problem Solving for Decision Making Under Complex and Dynamic Conditions 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER FA9550-12-1...functioning as they solve complex problems, and propose the means to improve the performance of teams, under changing or adversarial conditions. By

  12. One night of sleep loss impairs innovative thinking and flexible decision making.

    PubMed

    Harrison, Y; Horne, J A

    1999-05-01

    Recent findings with clinically oriented neuropsychological tests suggest that one night without sleep causes particular impairment to tasks requiring flexible thinking and the updating of plans in the light of new information. This relatively little investigated field of sleep deprivation research has real-world implications for decision makers having lost a night's sleep. To explore this latter perspective further, we adapted a dynamic and realistic marketing decision making "game" embodying the need for these skills, and whereby such performance could be measured. As the task relied on the comprehension of a large amount of written information, a critical reasoning test was also administered to ascertain whether any failure at the marketing game might lie with information acquisition rather than with failures in decision making. Ten healthy highly motivated and trained participants underwent two counterbalanced 36 h trials, sleep vs no sleep. The critical reasoning task was unaffected by sleep loss, whereas performance at the game significantly deteri orated after 32-36 h of sleep loss, when sleep deprivation led to more rigid thinking, increased perseverative errors, and marked difficulty in appreciating an updated situation. At this point, and despite the sleep-deprived participants' best efforts to do well, their play collapsed, unlike that of the nonsleep-deprived participants. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

  13. [Shared decision-making in medical practice--patient-centred communication skills].

    PubMed

    van Staveren, Remke

    2011-01-01

    Most patients (70%) want to participate actively in important healthcare decisions, the rest (30%) prefer the doctor to make the decision for them. Shared decision-making provides more patient satisfaction, a better quality of life and contributes to a better doctor-patient relationship. Patients making their own decision generally make a well considered and medically sensible choice. In shared decision-making the doctor asks many open questions, gives and requests much information, asks if the patient wishes to participate in the decision-making and explicitly takes into account patient circumstances and preferences. Shared decision-making should remain an individual choice and should not become a new dogma.

  14. Matriarchal Decision-Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warner, Linda Sue

    In contrast to European cultures, many American Indian societies have been matriarchal. Indian women have had a great deal of power, both as individuals and as groups, and have held various leadership roles within their tribes. Traditionally, Indian women have worked in partnership with men, and decision-making has been related to consensus…

  15. Registered nurses' decision-making regarding documentation in patients' progress notes.

    PubMed

    Tower, Marion; Chaboyer, Wendy; Green, Quentine; Dyer, Kirsten; Wallis, Marianne

    2012-10-01

    To examine registered nurses' decision-making when documenting care in patients' progress notes. What constitutes effective nursing documentation is supported by available guidelines. However, ineffective documentation continues to be cited as a major cause of adverse events for patients. Decision-making in clinical practice is a complex process. To make an effective decision, the decision-maker must be situationally aware. The concept of situation awareness and its implications for making safe decisions has been examined extensively in air safety and more recently is being applied to health. The study was situated in a naturalistic paradigm. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 17 registered nurses who used think-aloud research methods when making decisions about documenting information in patients' progress notes. Follow-up interviews were conducted to validate interpretations. Data were analysed systematically for evidence of cues that demonstrated situation awareness as nurses made decisions about documentation. Three distinct decision-making scenarios were illuminated from the analysis: the newly admitted patient, the patient whose condition was as expected and the discharging patient. Nurses used mental models for decision-making in documenting in progress notes, and the cues nurses used to direct their assessment of patients' needs demonstrated situation awareness at different levels. Nurses demonstrate situation awareness at different levels in their decision-making processes. While situation awareness is important, it is also important to use an appropriate decision-making framework. Cognitive continuum theory is suggested as a decision-making model that could support situation awareness when nurses made decisions about documenting patient care. Because nurses are key decision-makers, it is imperative that effective decisions are made that translate into safe clinical care. Including situation awareness training, combined with employing cognitive

  16. Fostering Academic Vocabulary Use in Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brun-Mercer, Nicole; Zimmerman, Cheryl Boyd

    2015-01-01

    Though research has established a relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic success and identified features to guide the L2 word learner through academic tasks (see Nation, 2013), less is known regarding student perceptions of academic vocabulary and the conscious decision-making process of these learners while they are writing. In…

  17. Acceptance of shared decision making with reference to an electronic library of decision aids (arriba-lib) and its association to decision making in patients: an evaluation study.

    PubMed

    Hirsch, Oliver; Keller, Heidemarie; Krones, Tanja; Donner-Banzhoff, Norbert

    2011-07-07

    Decision aids based on the philosophy of shared decision making are designed to help patients make informed choices among diagnostic or treatment options by delivering evidence-based information on options and outcomes. A patient decision aid can be regarded as a complex intervention because it consists of several presumably relevant components. Decision aids have rarely been field tested to assess patients' and physicians' attitudes towards them. It is also unclear what effect decision aids have on the adherence to chosen options. The electronic library of decision aids (arriba-lib) to be used within the clinical encounter has a modular structure and contains evidence-based decision aids for the following topics: cardiovascular prevention, atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, oral antidiabetics, conventional and intensified insulin therapy, and unipolar depression. We conducted an evaluation study in which 29 primary care physicians included 192 patients. After the consultation, patients filled in questionnaires and were interviewed via telephone two months later. We used generalised estimation equations to measure associations within patient variables and traditional crosstab analyses. Patients were highly satisfied with arriba-lib and the process of shared decision making. Two-thirds of patients reached in the telephone interview wanted to be counselled again with arriba-lib. There was a high congruence between preferred and perceived decision making. Of those patients reached in the telephone interview, 80.7% said that they implemented the decision, independent of gender and education. Elderly patients were more likely to say that they implemented the decision. Shared decision making with our multi-modular electronic library of decision aids (arriba-lib) was accepted by a high number of patients. It has positive associations to general aspects of decision making in patients. It can be used for patient groups with a wide range of individual

  18. Bridging the gap between science and decision making.

    PubMed

    von Winterfeldt, Detlof

    2013-08-20

    All decisions, whether they are personal, public, or business-related, are based on the decision maker's beliefs and values. Science can and should help decision makers by shaping their beliefs. Unfortunately, science is not easily accessible to decision makers, and scientists often do not understand decision makers' information needs. This article presents a framework for bridging the gap between science and decision making and illustrates it with two examples. The first example is a personal health decision. It shows how a formal representation of the beliefs and values can reflect scientific inputs by a physician to combine with the values held by the decision maker to inform a medical choice. The second example is a public policy decision about managing a potential environmental hazard. It illustrates how controversial beliefs can be reflected as uncertainties and informed by science to make better decisions. Both examples use decision analysis to bridge science and decisions. The conclusions suggest that this can be a helpful process that requires skills in both science and decision making.

  19. Bridging the gap between science and decision making

    PubMed Central

    von Winterfeldt, Detlof

    2013-01-01

    All decisions, whether they are personal, public, or business-related, are based on the decision maker’s beliefs and values. Science can and should help decision makers by shaping their beliefs. Unfortunately, science is not easily accessible to decision makers, and scientists often do not understand decision makers’ information needs. This article presents a framework for bridging the gap between science and decision making and illustrates it with two examples. The first example is a personal health decision. It shows how a formal representation of the beliefs and values can reflect scientific inputs by a physician to combine with the values held by the decision maker to inform a medical choice. The second example is a public policy decision about managing a potential environmental hazard. It illustrates how controversial beliefs can be reflected as uncertainties and informed by science to make better decisions. Both examples use decision analysis to bridge science and decisions. The conclusions suggest that this can be a helpful process that requires skills in both science and decision making. PMID:23940310

  20. Decision making in a human population living sustainably.

    PubMed

    Hicks, John S; Burgman, Mark A; Marewski, Julian N; Fidler, Fiona; Gigerenzer, Gerd

    2012-10-01

    The Tiwi people of northern Australia have managed natural resources continuously for 6000-8000 years. Tiwi management objectives and outcomes may reflect how they gather information about the environment. We qualitatively analyzed Tiwi documents and management techniques to examine the relation between the social and physical environment of decision makers and their decision-making strategies. We hypothesized that principles of bounded rationality, namely, the use of efficient rules to navigate complex decision problems, explain how Tiwi managers use simple decision strategies (i.e., heuristics) to make robust decisions. Tiwi natural resource managers reduced complexity in decision making through a process that gathers incomplete and uncertain information to quickly guide decisions toward effective outcomes. They used management feedback to validate decisions through an information loop that resulted in long-term sustainability of environmental use. We examined the Tiwi decision-making processes relative to management of barramundi (Lates calcarifer) fisheries and contrasted their management with the state government's management of barramundi. Decisions that enhanced the status of individual people and their attainment of aspiration levels resulted in reliable resource availability for Tiwi consumers. Different decision processes adopted by the state for management of barramundi may not secure similarly sustainable outcomes. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

  1. Asserting Academic Legitimacy: The Influence of the University of Technology Sectoral Agendas on Curriculum Decision-Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coleman, Lynn

    2016-01-01

    This paper argues that curriculum decision-making in the South African University of Technology (UoT) environment is affected not only by industry and disciplinary demands, but also by socio-structural features and ideologies particular to this educational sector. It supports the view that recontextualisation processes are subject to multiple…

  2. Conceptual and Empirical Approaches to Financial Decision-making by Older Adults: Results from a Financial Decision-making Rating Scale.

    PubMed

    Lichtenberg, Peter A; Ocepek-Welikson, Katja; Ficker, Lisa J; Gross, Evan; Rahman-Filipiak, Analise; Teresi, Jeanne A

    2018-01-01

    The objectives of this study were threefold: (1) to empirically test the conceptual model proposed by the Lichtenberg Financial Decision-making Rating Scale (LFDRS); (2) to examine the psychometric properties of the LFDRS contextual factors in financial decision-making by investigating both the reliability and convergent validity of the subscales and total scale, and (3) extending previous work on the scale through the collection of normative data on financial decision-making. A convenience sample of 200 independent function and community dwelling older adults underwent cognitive and financial management testing and were interviewed using the LFDRS. Confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency measures, and hierarchical regression were used in a sample of 200 community-dwelling older adults, all of whom were making or had recently made a significant financial decision. Results confirmed the scale's reliability and supported the conceptual model. Convergent validity analyses indicate that as hypothesized, cognition is a significant predictor of risk scores. Financial management scores, however, were not predictive of decision-making risk scores. The psychometric properties of the LFDRS support the scale's use as it was proposed. The LFDRS instructions and scale are provided for clinicians to use in financial capacity assessments.

  3. Naturalistic Decision Making: Implications for Design

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-04-01

    Cognitive Task Analysis Decision Making Design Engineer Design System Human-Computer Interface System Development 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 182 16...people use to select a course of action. The SOAR explains how stress affects the decision making of both individuals and teams. COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSIS : This...procedures for Cognitive Task Analysis , contrasting the strengths and weaknesses of each, and showing how a Cognitive Task Analysis

  4. Father- and Mother-Adolescent Decision-Making in Mexican-Origin Families

    PubMed Central

    Perez-Brena, Norma; Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.

    2013-01-01

    Understanding the prevalence and correlates of decisional autonomy within specific cultural contexts is necessary to fully understand how family processes are embedded within culture. The goals of this study were to describe mothers’ and fathers’ decision-making with adolescents (M = 12.51 years, SD = 0.58; 51% female), including parent-unilateral, joint, and youth-unilateral decision-making, and to examine the socio-cultural and family characteristics associated with these different types of decision-making in 246 Mexican-origin families. Mothers reported more joint and youth-unilateral decision-making and less parent-unilateral decision-making than did fathers. Fathers reported more youth-unilateral decision-making with sons than with daughters. Further, for mothers, more traditional gender role attitudes and higher levels of mother-adolescent conflict were associated with more parent-unilateral and less joint decision-making. In contrast, for fathers, lower levels of respect values were associated with more youth-unilateral decision-making with sons, and higher levels of parent-adolescent warmth was associated with more youth-unilateral decision-making with daughters. The importance of understanding the different correlates of mothers’ and fathers’ decision-making with sons versus daughters is discussed. PMID:21484288

  5. Goal Setting and Decision Making by At-Risk Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Galotti, Kathleen M.; Kozberg, Steven F.; Gustafon, Mary

    2009-01-01

    Typically, adolescence is a time when individuals begin to make consequential, life-framing decisions. However, much of the decision-making literature focuses on high-risk decisions, such as the use of drugs and alcohol, while much less is known about how adolescents make positive decisions, for example, regarding their educational or career…

  6. Emotion expression, decision-making and well-being.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Erte

    2008-01-01

    This chapter discusses the role of emotion expression in decision-making. To understand connections between emotion and decision it is helpful first to differentiate between emotion experience and emotion expression. Understanding how emotion expression influences decision-making is important as a practical matter. However, in contrast to emotion experience, economic research has paid little attention to the significance of emotion expression in decision-making. I review recent studies on emotion expression, paying specific attention to possible connections between emotion expression, punishment, fair economic exchange, and well-being. In contrast to emotions, which are typically difficult to control, I suggest that opportunities for emotion expression can feasibly be manipulated through appropriately designed policies. I further suggest that this approach may have the ability to positively affect well-being and economic outcomes. VALUE OF THE CHAPTER: The chapter provides new perspectives on how policy-makers can benefit by understanding the effect of emotion expression in decision-making. The chapter also suggests future research to improve our understanding of emotion expression.

  7. Shared Decision Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lashway, Larry

    1997-01-01

    In shared decision making (SDM), principals collaborate with teachers and sometimes parents to take actions aimed at improving instruction and school climate. While research on SDM outcomes is still inconclusive, the literature shows that SDM brings both benefits and problems, and that the principal is a key figure. This brief offers a sampling of…

  8. Decision-Making Styles and Problem-Solving Appraisal.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, Susan D.; And Others

    1984-01-01

    Compared decision-making style and problem-solving appraisal in 243 undergraduates. Results suggested that individuals who employ rational decision-making strategies approach problematic situations, while individuals who endorse dependent decisional strategies approach problematic situations without confidence in their problem-solving abilities.…

  9. Association of patient preferences for participation in decision making with length of stay and costs among hospitalized patients.

    PubMed

    Tak, Hyo Jung; Ruhnke, Gregory W; Meltzer, David O

    2013-07-08

    Patient participation in medical decision making has been associated with improved patient satisfaction and health outcomes. However, there is little evidence concerning its effects on resource utilization. Patient participation in medical decision making has been hypothesized to decrease excess utilization but might be expected to increase utilization when other decision makers have incentives to reduce utilization, as under prospective payment systems for hospital care. To examine the relationship between patient preferences for participation in medical decision making and health care utilization among hospitalized patients. Survey study in an academic research setting. A survey that included questions about preferences to receive medical information and to participate in medical decision making was administered to all patients admitted to the University of Chicago Medical Center general internal medicine service between July 1, 2003, and August 31, 2011, and completed by 21,754 (69.6%) of admitted patients. The survey data were linked with administrative data, including length of stay and total hospitalization costs. We used generalized linear models to measure the association of patient preference for participation in decision making with length of stay and costs. The mean length of stay was 5.34 days, and the mean hospitalization costs were $14,576. While 96.3% of patients expressed a desire to receive information about their illnesses and treatment options, 71.1% of patients preferred to leave medical decision making to their physician. Preference to participate in decision making increased with educational level and with private health insurance. Compared with patients who had a strong desire to delegate decisions to their physician, patients who preferred to participate in decision making concerning their care had a 0.26-day (95% CI, 0.06-0.47 day) longer length of stay (P = .01) and $865 (95% CI, $155-$1575) higher total hospitalization costs (P = .02

  10. Sensemaking Strategies for Ethical Decision-making.

    PubMed

    Caughron, Jay J; Antes, Alison L; Stenmark, Cheryl K; Thiel, Chaise E; Wang, Xiaoqian; Mumford, Michael D

    2011-01-01

    The current study uses a sensemaking model and thinking strategies identified in earlier research to examine ethical decision-making. Using a sample of 163 undergraduates, a low fidelity simulation approach is used to study the effects personal involvement (in causing the problem and personal involvement in experiencing the outcomes of the problem) could have on the use of cognitive reasoning strategies that have been shown to promote ethical decision-making. A mediated model is presented which suggests that environmental factors influence reasoning strategies, reasoning strategies influence sensemaking, and sensemaking in turn influences ethical decision-making. Findings were mixed but generally supported the hypothesized model. Interestingly, framing the outcomes of ethically charged situations in terms of more global organizational outcomes rather than personal outcomes was found to promote the use of pro-ethical cognitive reasoning strategies.

  11. Aging and the neuroeconomics of decision making: A review.

    PubMed

    Brown, Stephen B R E; Ridderinkhof, K Richard

    2009-12-01

    Neuroeconomics refers to a combination of paradigms derived from neuroscience, psychology, and economics for the study of decision making and is an area that has received considerable scientific attention in the recent literature. Using realistic laboratory tasks, researchers seek to study the neurocognitive processes underlying economic decision making and outcome-based decision learning, as well as individual differences in these processes and the social and affective factors that modulate them. To this point, one question has remained largely unanswered: What happens to decision-making processes and their neural substrates during aging? After all, aging is associated with neurocognitive change, which may affect outcome-based decision making. In our study, we use the subjective expected utility model-a well-established decision-making model in economics-as a descriptive framework. After a short survey of the brain areas and neurotransmitter systems associated with outcome-based decision making-and of the effects of aging thereon-we review a number of decision-making studies. Their general data pattern indicates that the decision-making process is changed by age: The elderly perform less efficiently than younger participants, as demonstrated, for instance, by the smaller total rewards that the elderly acquire in lab tasks. These findings are accounted for in terms of age-related deficiencies in the probability and value parameters of the subjective expected utility model. Finally, we discuss some implications and suggestions for future research.

  12. Dissociation between decision-making under risk and decision-making under ambiguity in premanifest and manifest Huntington's disease.

    PubMed

    Adjeroud, Najia; Besnard, Jeremy; Verny, Christophe; Prundean, Adriana; Scherer, Clarisse; Gohier, Bénédicte; Bonneau, Dominique; Massioui, Nicole El; Allain, Philippe

    2017-08-01

    We investigated decision-making under ambiguity (DM-UA) and decision making under risk (DM-UR) in individuals with premanifest and manifest Huntington's disease (HD). Twenty individuals with premanifest HD and 23 individuals with manifest HD, on one hand, and 39 healthy individuals divided into two control groups, on the other, undertook a modified version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), an adaptation of a DM-UA task, and a modified version of the Game of Dice Task (GDT), an adaptation of a DM-UR task. Participants also filled in a questionnaire of impulsivity and responded to cognitive tests specifically designed to assess executive functions. Compared to controls, individuals with premanifest HD were unimpaired in performing executive tests as well as in decision-making tasks, except for the Stroop task. In contrast, individuals with manifest HD were impaired in both the IGT and executive tasks, but not in the GDT. No sign of impulsivity was observed in individuals with premanifest or manifest HD. Our results suggest that the progression of HD impairs DM-UA without affecting DM-UR, and indicate that decision-making abilities are preserved during the premanifest stage of HD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Quantum probability and quantum decision-making.

    PubMed

    Yukalov, V I; Sornette, D

    2016-01-13

    A rigorous general definition of quantum probability is given, which is valid not only for elementary events but also for composite events, for operationally testable measurements as well as for inconclusive measurements, and also for non-commuting observables in addition to commutative observables. Our proposed definition of quantum probability makes it possible to describe quantum measurements and quantum decision-making on the same common mathematical footing. Conditions are formulated for the case when quantum decision theory reduces to its classical counterpart and for the situation where the use of quantum decision theory is necessary. © 2015 The Author(s).

  14. Integrating Decision Making and Mental Health Interventions Research: Research Directions

    PubMed Central

    Wills, Celia E.; Holmes-Rovner, Margaret

    2006-01-01

    The importance of incorporating patient and provider decision-making processes is in the forefront of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) agenda for improving mental health interventions and services. Key concepts in patient decision making are highlighted within a simplified model of patient decision making that links patient-level/“micro” variables to services-level/“macro” variables via the decision-making process that is a target for interventions. The prospective agenda for incorporating decision-making concepts in mental health research includes (a) improved measures for characterizing decision-making processes that are matched to study populations, complexity, and types of decision making; (b) testing decision aids in effectiveness research for diverse populations and clinical settings; and (c) improving the understanding and incorporation of preference concepts in enhanced intervention designs. PMID:16724158

  15. Nordic couples' decision-making processes during assisted reproduction treatments.

    PubMed

    Sol Olafsdottir, Helga; Wikland, Matts; Möller, Anders

    2013-06-01

    To study couples' perceptions of their decision-making process during the first three years of infertility treatments. This study is a part of a larger project studying the decision-making processes of 22 infertile heterosexual couples, recruited from fertility clinics in all five Nordic countries, over a three year period. A descriptive qualitative method was used. Process of decision-making during assisted reproduction treatments. Seventeen couples had succeeded in becoming parents after approximately three years. Our study suggests that the decision-making process during fertility treatments has three phases: (i) recognizing the decisions to be made, with subcategories; the driving force, mutual project, (ii) gathering knowledge and experience about the options, with subcategories; trust, patient competence, personalized support, and (iii) adapting decisions to possible options, with subcategories; strategic planning, adaption. The core category was "maintaining control in a situation of uncertainty." Two parallel processes affect couples' decision-making process, one within themselves and their relationship, and the other in their contact with the fertility clinic. Couples struggle to make decisions, trusting clinic personnel for guidance, knowledge, and understanding. Nevertheless, couples expressed disappointment with the clinics' reactions to their requests for shared decision-making. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Parental influences on adolescent decision making and contraceptive use.

    PubMed

    Commendador, Kathleen A

    2010-01-01

    This article reviews the literature in the area of parental and maternal influences on contraceptive decision making, thus determining future directions of research and potential interventions. A review of published literature using PubMed, CINAHL, Infotrak, Science and Technology, and Medline spanning 1980-2007 was used to gather information. Results from 35 research studies and 15 scholarly articles were included. The search terms adolescent decision making, maternal influences on adolescent contraceptive decision making, adolescent contraceptive decision making, paternal influences on adolescent decision making, and contraception were used to gather data. The literature reveals there is an association between parental communication, parenting style, and adolescent sexual activity and contraception use. Maternal communication has been shown to delay sexual intercourse and increase contraceptive use. Maternal communication has rich potential as an intervention to impact positive adolescent sexual decision making and contraception use. Gaps in the research identified were the lack of studies on the influences on parenting style and the father/adolescent influences on sexual initiation and contraceptive decision making.

  17. [Impact of shared-decision making on patient satisfaction].

    PubMed

    Suh, Won S; Lee, Chae Kyung

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of shared-decision making on patient satisfaction. The study is significant since it focuses on developing appropriate methodologies and analyzing data to identify patient preferences, with the goals of optimizing treatment selection, and substantiating the relationship between such preferences and their impact on outcomes. A thorough literature review that developed the framework illustrating key dimensions of shared decision making was followed by a quantitative assessment and regression analysis of patient-perceived satisfaction, and the degree of shared-decision making. A positive association was evident between shared-decision making and patient satisfaction. The impact of shared decision making on patient satisfaction was greater than other variable including gender, education, and number of visits. Patients who participate in care-related decisions and who are given an explanation of their health problems are more likely to be satisfied with their care. It would benefit health care organizations to train their medical professionals in this communication method, and to include it in their practice guidelines.

  18. Argumentation for Decision Making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amgoud, Leila

    Decision making, often viewed as a form of reasoning toward action, has raised the interest of many scholars including economists, psychologists, and computer scientists for a long time. Any decision problem amounts to selecting the “best” or sufficiently “good” action(s) that are feasible among different alternatives, given some available information about the current state of the world and the consequences of potential actions. Available information may be incomplete or pervaded with uncertainty. Besides, the goodness of an action is judged by estimating how much its possible consequences fit the preferences of the decision maker. This agent is assumed to behave in a rational way [29] amgoud-woold, at least in the sense that his decisions should be as much as possible consistent with his preferences.

  19. How Critical Thinking Shapes the Military Decision Making Process

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-05-17

    emotional rebuttal. Conversely, people cannot make good rational decisions without at least a twinge of emotion attached to the decision . 2) Our minds... decision they make . If emotions overwhelm reason, then decisions should be postponed.27 Service biases are one of the strongest emotional bias. Any...FINAL 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE How Critical Thinking Shapes the Military Decision Making Process 5a. CONTRACT

  20. Affective decision-making deficits, linked to a dysfunctional ventromedial prefrontal cortex, revealed in 10th-grade Chinese adolescent smokers

    PubMed Central

    Xiao, Lin; Bechara, Antoine; Cen, Steven; Grenard, Jerry L.; Stacy, Alan W.; Gallaher, Peggy; Wei, Yonglan; Jia, Yong; Johnson, C. Anderson

    2008-01-01

    This study addressed the question of whether poor decision making would be associated with adolescent past 7-day smoking. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 208 10th-grade adolescents in Chengdu City, China. We used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) to assess decision-making, and the Self-ordered Pointing Task (SOPT) to assess working memory capacity. Paper and pencil questionnaires assessed the school academic performance (SAP) and smoking variables. The results showed that a significantly higher proportion of past 7-day smokers (91.7%) were susceptible to future smoking and cigarette offers from best friends compared to other levels of smokers (never, ever and past 30-day smokers). Consistent with these behavioral data, the neuropsychological assessments revealed that relative to never smokers, past 7-day adolescent smokers (but not ever smokers or past 30-day smokers) demonstrated significantly lower scores on the IGT. Moreover, a higher proportion of past 7-day smokers (91.7%) performed poorly (no more than an overall net score of 10) on the IGT than nonsmokers and irregular (ever or past 30-day) smokers (about 65.3%). There were no differences on working memory performance for smokers (at any level) compared to never smokers after adjusting for school-type. In addition, logistic regression showed that the IGT significantly predicted past 7-day smoking after controlling for the working memory, school academic performance and demographic variables. These results suggest that poor affective decision making might predispose some adolescents to smoking in the future or in the social situations where their peers are smoking. Intervention targeting affective decision making might hold promise for reducing adolescents’ risks for substance use. PMID:18584472

  1. Putting informed and shared decision making into practice

    PubMed Central

    Towle, Angela; Godolphin, William; Grams, Garry; LaMarre, Amanda

    2006-01-01

    Abstract Objective  To investigate the practice, experiences and views of motivated and trained family physicians as they attempt to implement informed and shared decision making (ISDM) in routine practice and to identify and understand the barriers they encounter. Background  Patient involvement in decision making about their health care has been the focus of much academic activity. Although significant conceptual and experimental work has been done, ISDM rarely occurs. Physician attitudes and lack of training are identified barriers. Design  Qualitative analysis of transcripts of consultations and key informant group interviews. Settings and participants  Six family physicians received training in the ISDM competencies. Audiotapes of office consultations were made before and after training. Transcripts of consultations were examined to identify behavioural markers associated with each competency and the range of expression of the competencies. The physicians attended group interviews at the end of the study to explore experiences of ISDM. Results  The physicians liked the ISDM model and thought that they should put it into practice. Evidence from transcripts indicated they were able to elicit concerns, ideas and expectations (although not about management) and agree an action plan. They did not elicit preferences for role or information. They sometimes offered choices. They had difficulty achieving full expression of any of the competencies and integrating ISDM into their script for the medical interview. The study also identified a variety of competency‐specific barriers. Conclusion  A major barrier to the practice of ISDM by motivated physicians appears to be the need to change well‐established patterns of communication with patients. PMID:17083559

  2. Frequencies of decision making and monitoring in adaptive resource management

    PubMed Central

    Johnson, Fred A.

    2017-01-01

    Adaptive management involves learning-oriented decision making in the presence of uncertainty about the responses of a resource system to management. It is implemented through an iterative sequence of decision making, monitoring and assessment of system responses, and incorporating what is learned into future decision making. Decision making at each point is informed by a value or objective function, for example total harvest anticipated over some time frame. The value function expresses the value associated with decisions, and it is influenced by system status as updated through monitoring. Often, decision making follows shortly after a monitoring event. However, it is certainly possible for the cadence of decision making to differ from that of monitoring. In this paper we consider different combinations of annual and biennial decision making, along with annual and biennial monitoring. With biennial decision making decisions are changed only every other year; with biennial monitoring field data are collected only every other year. Different cadences of decision making combine with annual and biennial monitoring to define 4 scenarios. Under each scenario we describe optimal valuations for active and passive adaptive decision making. We highlight patterns in valuation among scenarios, depending on the occurrence of monitoring and decision making events. Differences between years are tied to the fact that every other year a new decision can be made no matter what the scenario, and state information is available to inform that decision. In the subsequent year, however, in 3 of the 4 scenarios either a decision is repeated or monitoring does not occur (or both). There are substantive differences in optimal values among the scenarios, as well as the optimal policies producing those values. Especially noteworthy is the influence of monitoring cadence on valuation in some years. We highlight patterns in policy and valuation among the scenarios, and discuss management

  3. Frequencies of decision making and monitoring in adaptive resource management

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Williams, Byron K.; Johnson, Fred A.

    2017-01-01

    Adaptive management involves learning-oriented decision making in the presence of uncertainty about the responses of a resource system to management. It is implemented through an iterative sequence of decision making, monitoring and assessment of system responses, and incorporating what is learned into future decision making. Decision making at each point is informed by a value or objective function, for example total harvest anticipated over some time frame. The value function expresses the value associated with decisions, and it is influenced by system status as updated through monitoring. Often, decision making follows shortly after a monitoring event. However, it is certainly possible for the cadence of decision making to differ from that of monitoring. In this paper we consider different combinations of annual and biennial decision making, along with annual and biennial monitoring. With biennial decision making decisions are changed only every other year; with biennial monitoring field data are collected only every other year. Different cadences of decision making combine with annual and biennial monitoring to define 4 scenarios. Under each scenario we describe optimal valuations for active and passive adaptive decision making. We highlight patterns in valuation among scenarios, depending on the occurrence of monitoring and decision making events. Differences between years are tied to the fact that every other year a new decision can be made no matter what the scenario, and state information is available to inform that decision. In the subsequent year, however, in 3 of the 4 scenarios either a decision is repeated or monitoring does not occur (or both). There are substantive differences in optimal values among the scenarios, as well as the optimal policies producing those values. Especially noteworthy is the influence of monitoring cadence on valuation in some years. We highlight patterns in policy and valuation among the scenarios, and discuss management

  4. Humans Optimize Decision-Making by Delaying Decision Onset

    PubMed Central

    Teichert, Tobias; Ferrera, Vincent P.; Grinband, Jack

    2014-01-01

    Why do humans make errors on seemingly trivial perceptual decisions? It has been shown that such errors occur in part because the decision process (evidence accumulation) is initiated before selective attention has isolated the relevant sensory information from salient distractors. Nevertheless, it is typically assumed that subjects increase accuracy by prolonging the decision process rather than delaying decision onset. To date it has not been tested whether humans can strategically delay decision onset to increase response accuracy. To address this question we measured the time course of selective attention in a motion interference task using a novel variant of the response signal paradigm. Based on these measurements we estimated time-dependent drift rate and showed that subjects should in principle be able trade speed for accuracy very effectively by delaying decision onset. Using the time-dependent estimate of drift rate we show that subjects indeed delay decision onset in addition to raising response threshold when asked to stress accuracy over speed in a free reaction version of the same motion-interference task. These findings show that decision onset is a critical aspect of the decision process that can be adjusted to effectively improve decision accuracy. PMID:24599295

  5. Decision making in cancer primary prevention and chemoprevention.

    PubMed

    Gorin, Sherri Sheinfeld; Wang, Catharine; Raich, Peter; Bowen, Deborah J; Hay, Jennifer

    2006-12-01

    We know very little about how individuals decide to undertake, maintain, or discontinue cancer primary prevention or chemoprevention. The aims of this article are to (a) examine whether and, if so, how traditional health behavior change models are relevant for decision making in this area; (b) review the application of decision aids to forming specific, personal choices between options; and (c) identify the challenges of evaluating these decision processes to suggest areas for future research. Theoretical models and frameworks derived from the health behavior change and decision-making fields were applied to cancer primary prevention choices. Decision aids for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and tamoxifen were systematically examined. Traditional concepts such as decisional balance and cues to action are relevant to understanding cancer primary prevention choices; Motivational Interviewing, Self-Determination Theory, and the Preventive Health Model may also explain the facilitators of decision making. There are no well-tested HPV vaccine decision aids, although there have been some studies on aids for HPV testing. There are several effective decision aids for HRT and tamoxifen; evidence-based decision aid components have also been identified. Additional theory-based empirical research on decision making in cancer primary prevention and chemoprevention, particularly at the interface of psychology and behavioral economics, is suggested.

  6. Decision dissonance: evaluating an approach to measuring the quality of surgical decision making.

    PubMed

    Fowler, Floyd J; Gallagher, Patricia M; Drake, Keith M; Sepucha, Karen R

    2013-03-01

    Good decision making has been increasingly cited as a core component of good medical care, and shared decision making is one means of achieving high decision quality. If it is to be a standard, good measures and protocols are needed for assessing the quality of decisions. Consistency with patient goals and concerns is one defining characteristic of a good decision. A new method for evaluating decision quality for major surgical decisions was examined, and a methodology for collecting the needed data was developed. For a national probability sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries who had a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), a lumpectomy or a mastectomy for breast cancer, or surgery for prostate cancer during the last half of 2008, a mail-survey of selected patients was carried out about one year after the procedures. Patients' goals and concerns, knowledge, key aspects of interactions with clinicians, and feelings about the decisions were assessed. A decision dissonance score was created that measured the extent to which patient ratings of goals ran counter to the treatment received. The construct and predictive validity of the decision dissonance score was then assessed. When data were averaged across all four procedures, patients with more knowledge and those who reported more involvement reported significantly lower Decision Dissonance Scores. Patients with lower Decision Dissonance Scores also reported more confidence in their decisions and feeling more positively about how the treatment turned out, and they were more likely to say that they would make the same decision again. Surveying discharged surgery patients is a feasible way to evaluate decision making, and Decision Dissonance appears to be a promising approach to validly measuring decision quality.

  7. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: content, commentary, controversy.

    PubMed

    Kelly, B D

    2015-03-01

    Ireland's Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill (2013) aims to reform the law relating to persons who require assistance exercising their decision-making capacity. When finalised, the Bill will replace Ireland's outdated Ward of Court system which has an all-or-nothing approach to capacity; does not adequately define capacity; is poorly responsive to change; makes unwieldy provision for appointing decision-makers; and has insufficient provision for review. To explore the content and implications of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill. Review of the content of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill and related literature. The new Bill includes a presumption of capacity and defines lack of capacity. All interventions must minimise restriction of rights and freedom, and have due regard for "dignity, bodily integrity, privacy and autonomy". The Bill proposes legal frameworks for "assisted decision-making" (where an individual voluntarily appoints someone to assist with specific decisions relating to personal welfare or property and affairs, by, among other measures, assisting the individual to communicate his or her "will and preferences"); "co-decision-making" (where the Circuit Court declares the individual's capacity is reduced but he or she can make specific decisions with a co-decision-maker to share authority); "decision-making representatives" (substitute decision-making); "enduring power of attorney"; and "informal decision-making on personal welfare matters" (without apparent oversight). These measures, if implemented, will shift Ireland's capacity laws away from an approach based on "best interests" to one based on "will and preferences", and increase compliance with the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

  8. Age Effects and Heuristics in Decision Making*

    PubMed Central

    Besedeš, Tibor; Deck, Cary; Sarangi, Sudipta; Shor, Mikhael

    2011-01-01

    Using controlled experiments, we examine how individuals make choices when faced with multiple options. Choice tasks are designed to mimic the selection of health insurance, prescription drug, or retirement savings plans. In our experiment, available options can be objectively ranked allowing us to examine optimal decision making. First, the probability of a person selecting the optimal option declines as the number of options increases, with the decline being more pronounced for older subjects. Second, heuristics differ by age with older subjects relying more on suboptimal decision rules. In a heuristics validation experiment, older subjects make worse decisions than younger subjects. PMID:22544977

  9. Age Effects and Heuristics in Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Besedeš, Tibor; Deck, Cary; Sarangi, Sudipta; Shor, Mikhael

    2012-05-01

    Using controlled experiments, we examine how individuals make choices when faced with multiple options. Choice tasks are designed to mimic the selection of health insurance, prescription drug, or retirement savings plans. In our experiment, available options can be objectively ranked allowing us to examine optimal decision making. First, the probability of a person selecting the optimal option declines as the number of options increases, with the decline being more pronounced for older subjects. Second, heuristics differ by age with older subjects relying more on suboptimal decision rules. In a heuristics validation experiment, older subjects make worse decisions than younger subjects.

  10. Decision-making Strategies and Performance among Seniors1

    PubMed Central

    Besedeš, Tibor; Deck, Cary; Sarangi, Sudipta; Shor, Mikhael

    2011-01-01

    Using paper and pencil experiments administered in senior centers, we examine decision-making performance in multi-attribute decision problems. We differentiate the effects of declining cognitive performance and changing cognitive process on decision-making performance of seniors as they age. We find a significant decline in performance with age due to reduced reliance on common heuristics and increased decision-making randomness among our oldest subjects. However, we find that increasing the number of options in a decision problem increases the number of heuristics brought to the task. This challenges the choice overload view that people give up when confronted with too much choice. PMID:22408282

  11. Game theory and neural basis of social decision making

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Daeyeol

    2008-01-01

    Decision making in a social group displays two unique features. First, humans and other animals routinely alter their behaviors in response to changes in their physical and social environment. As a result, the outcomes of decisions that depend on the behaviors of multiple decision makers are difficult to predict, and this requires highly adaptive decision-making strategies. Second, decision makers may have other-regarding preferences and therefore choose their actions to improve or reduce the well-beings of others. Recently, many neurobiological studies have exploited game theory to probe the neural basis of decision making, and found that these unique features of social decision making might be reflected in the functions of brain areas involved in reward evaluation and reinforcement learning. Molecular genetic studies have also begun to identify genetic mechanisms for personal traits related to reinforcement learning and complex social decision making, further illuminating the biological basis of social behavior. PMID:18368047

  12. Modeling Human Elements of Decision-Making

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-06-01

    59 LIST OF REFERENCES Agor , Weston H ., The Logic of Intuitive Decision Making, Greenwood Press 1998 Barrick, M., Mount, M., "The Big Five...of sources discuss the concept of intuition. In The Logic of Intuitive Decision-making, Weston Agor refers to intuition as a highly rational...both factual and feeling 16 cues. Agor studied over 3000 individuals in leadership positions in a variety of organizations to determine the role

  13. Integrated Risk-Informed Decision-Making for an ALMR PRISM

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Muhlheim, Michael David; Belles, Randy; Denning, Richard S.

    Decision-making is the process of identifying decision alternatives, assessing those alternatives based on predefined metrics, selecting an alternative (i.e., making a decision), and then implementing that alternative. The generation of decisions requires a structured, coherent process, or a decision-making process. The overall objective for this work is that the generalized framework is adopted into an autonomous decision-making framework and tailored to specific requirements for various applications. In this context, automation is the use of computing resources to make decisions and implement a structured decision-making process with limited or no human intervention. The overriding goal of automation is to replace ormore » supplement human decision makers with reconfigurable decision-making modules that can perform a given set of tasks rationally, consistently, and reliably. Risk-informed decision-making requires a probabilistic assessment of the likelihood of success given the status of the plant/systems and component health, and a deterministic assessment between plant operating parameters and reactor protection parameters to prevent unnecessary trips and challenges to plant safety systems. The probabilistic portion of the decision-making engine of the supervisory control system is based on the control actions associated with an ALMR PRISM. Newly incorporated into the probabilistic models are the prognostic/diagnostic models developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These allow decisions to incorporate the health of components into the decision–making process. Once the control options are identified and ranked based on the likelihood of success, the supervisory control system transmits the options to the deterministic portion of the platform. The deterministic portion of the decision-making engine uses thermal-hydraulic modeling and components for an advanced liquid-metal reactor Power Reactor Inherently Safe Module. The deterministic multi

  14. Supporting End of Life Decision Making: Case Studies of Relational Closeness in Supported Decision Making for People with Severe or Profound Intellectual Disability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watson, Joanne; Wilson, Erin; Hagiliassis, Nick

    2017-01-01

    Background: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the use of supported decision making in lieu of substitute decision making. To date, there has been a lack of focus on supported decision making for people with severe or profound intellectual disability, including for end of life decisions.…

  15. An operational structured decision making framework for ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Pressure to develop an operational framework for decision makers to employ the concepts of ecosystem goods and services for assessing changes to human well-being has been increasing since these concepts gained widespread notoriety after the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report. Many conceptual frameworks have been proposed, but most do not propose methodologies and tools to make this approach to decision making implementable. Building on common components of existing conceptual frameworks for ecosystem services and human well-being assessment we apply a structured decision making approach to develop a standardized operational framework and suggest tools and methods for completing each step. The structured decision making approach consists of six steps: 1) Clarify the Decision Context 2) Define Objectives and Evaluation Criteria 3) Develop Alternatives 4) Estimate Consequences 5) Evaluate Trade-Offs and Select and 6) Implement and Monitor. These six steps include the following activities, and suggested tools, when applied to ecosystem goods and services and human well-being conceptual frameworks: 1) Characterization of decision specific human beneficiaries using the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) approach and Classification System (FEGS-CS) 2) Determine beneficiaries’ relative priorities for human well-being domains in the Human Well-Being Index (HWBI) through stakeholder engagement and identify beneficiary-relevant metrics of FEGS using the Nat

  16. Excessive Internet gaming and decision making: do excessive World of Warcraft players have problems in decision making under risky conditions?

    PubMed

    Pawlikowski, Mirko; Brand, Matthias

    2011-08-15

    The dysfunctional behavior of excessive Internet gamers, such as preferring the immediate reward (to play World of Warcraft) despite the negative long-term consequences may be comparable with the dysfunctional behavior in substance abusers or individuals with behavioral addictions, e.g. pathological gambling. In these disorders, general decision-making deficits have been demonstrated. Hence, the aim of the present work was to examine decision-making competences of excessive World of Warcraft players. Nineteen excessive Internet gamers (EIG) and a control group (CG) consisting of 19 non-gamers were compared with respect to decision-making abilities. The Game of Dice Task (GDT) was applied to measure decision-making under risky conditions. Furthermore psychological-psychiatric symptoms were assessed in both groups. The EIG showed a reduced decision-making ability in the GDT. Furthermore the EIG group showed a higher psychological-psychiatric symptomatology in contrast to the CG. The results indicate that the reduced decision-making ability of EIG is comparable with patients with other forms of behavioral addiction (e.g. pathological gambling), impulse control disorders or substance abusers. Thus, these results suggest that excessive Internet gaming may be based on a myopia for the future, meaning that EIG prefer to play World of Warcraft despite the negative long-term consequences in social or work domains of life. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Decision blocks: A tool for automating decision making in CLIPS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eick, Christoph F.; Mehta, Nikhil N.

    1991-01-01

    The human capability of making complex decision is one of the most fascinating facets of human intelligence, especially if vague, judgemental, default or uncertain knowledge is involved. Unfortunately, most existing rule based forward chaining languages are not very suitable to simulate this aspect of human intelligence, because of their lack of support for approximate reasoning techniques needed for this task, and due to the lack of specific constructs to facilitate the coding of frequently reoccurring decision block to provide better support for the design and implementation of rule based decision support systems. A language called BIRBAL, which is defined on the top of CLIPS, for the specification of decision blocks, is introduced. Empirical experiments involving the comparison of the length of CLIPS program with the corresponding BIRBAL program for three different applications are surveyed. The results of these experiments suggest that for decision making intensive applications, a CLIPS program tends to be about three times longer than the corresponding BIRBAL program.

  18. Treatment decision-making among breast cancer patients in Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Nies, Yong Hui; Islahudin, Farida; Chong, Wei Wen; Abdullah, Norlia; Ismail, Fuad; Ahmad Bustamam, Ros Suzanna; Wong, Yoke Fui; Saladina, J J; Mohamed Shah, Noraida

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated breast cancer patients' involvement level in the treatment decision-making process and the concordance between patients' and physician's perspectives in decision-making. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving physicians and newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from three public/teaching hospitals in Malaysia. The Control Preference Scale (CPS) was administered to patients and physicians, and the Krantz Health Opinion Survey (KHOS) was completed by the patients alone. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the association between sociodemographic characteristics, the patients' involvement in treatment decision-making, and patients' preference for behavioral involvement and information related to their disease. The majority of patients preferred to share decision-making with their physicians (47.5%), while the second largest group preferred being passive (42.6%) and a small number preferred being active (9.8%). However, the physicians perceived that the majority of patients preferred active decision-making (56.9%), followed by those who desired shared decision-making (32.8%), and those who preferred passive decision-making (10.3%). The overall concordance was 26.5% (54 of 204 patient-physician dyads). The median of preference for information score and behavioral involvement score was 4 (interquartile range [IQR] =3-5) and 2 (IQR =2-3), respectively. In univariate analysis, the ethnicity and educational qualification of patients were significantly associated with the patients' preferred role in the process of treatment decision-making and the patients' preference for information seeking ( p >0.05). However, only educational qualification ( p =0.004) was significantly associated with patients' preference for information seeking in multivariate analysis. Physicians failed to understand patients' perspectives and preferences in treatment decision-making. The concordance between physicians' perception and patients' perception

  19. Community College Faculty Involvement in Decision-Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thaxter, Lynn P.; Graham, Steven W.

    1999-01-01

    Explores community college faculty's perception of their involvement in decision making. Reports the responses of 70 Midwest community college instructors in five areas: finance, instruction, personnel, goals, and students. Finds that respondents feel little sense of decision-making involvement. Warns that presidents may alienate the faculty if…

  20. A Structured approach to incidental take decision making

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McGowan, Conor P.

    2013-01-01

    Decision making related to incidental take of endangered species under U.S. law lends itself well to a structured decision making approach. Incidental take is the permitted killing, harming, or harassing of a protected species under the law as long as that harm is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity and does not “reduce appreciably the probability of survival and recovery in the wild.” There has been inconsistency in the process used for determining incidental take allowances across species and across time for the same species, and structured decision making has been proposed to improve decision making. I use an example decision analysis to demonstrate the process and its applicability to incidental take decisions, even under significant demographic uncertainty and multiple, competing objectives. I define the example problem, present an objectives statement and a value function, use a simulation model to assess the consequences of a set of management actions, and evaluate the tradeoffs among the different actions. The approach results in transparent and repeatable decisions.

  1. Risk approximation in decision making: approximative numeric abilities predict advantageous decisions under objective risk.

    PubMed

    Mueller, Silke M; Schiebener, Johannes; Delazer, Margarete; Brand, Matthias

    2018-01-22

    Many decision situations in everyday life involve mathematical considerations. In decisions under objective risk, i.e., when explicit numeric information is available, executive functions and abilities to handle exact numbers and ratios are predictors of objectively advantageous choices. Although still debated, exact numeric abilities, e.g., normative calculation skills, are assumed to be related to approximate number processing skills. The current study investigates the effects of approximative numeric abilities on decision making under objective risk. Participants (N = 153) performed a paradigm measuring number-comparison, quantity-estimation, risk-estimation, and decision-making skills on the basis of rapid dot comparisons. Additionally, a risky decision-making task with exact numeric information was administered, as well as tasks measuring executive functions and exact numeric abilities, e.g., mental calculation and ratio processing skills, were conducted. Approximative numeric abilities significantly predicted advantageous decision making, even beyond the effects of executive functions and exact numeric skills. Especially being able to make accurate risk estimations seemed to contribute to superior choices. We recommend approximation skills and approximate number processing to be subject of future investigations on decision making under risk.

  2. Maternal psychological distress and child decision-making.

    PubMed

    Flouri, Eirini; Ioakeimidi, Sofia; Midouhas, Emily; Ploubidis, George B

    2017-08-15

    There is much research to suggest that maternal psychological distress is associated with many adverse outcomes in children. This study examined, for the first time, if it is related to children's affective decision-making. Using data from 12,080 families of the Millennium Cohort Study, we modelled the effect of trajectories of maternal psychological distress in early-to-middle childhood (3-11 years) on child affective decision-making, measured with a gambling task at age 11. Latent class analysis showed four longitudinal types of maternal psychological distress (chronically high, consistently low, moderate-accelerating and moderate-decelerating). Maternal distress typology predicted decision-making but only in girls. Specifically, compared to girls growing up in families with never-distressed mothers, those exposed to chronically high maternal psychological distress showed more risk-taking, bet more and exhibited poorer risk-adjustment, even after correction for confounding. Most of these effects on girls' decision-making were not robust to additional controls for concurrent internalising and externalising problems, but chronically high maternal psychological distress was associated positively with risk-taking even after this adjustment. Importantly, this association was similar for those who had reached puberty and those who had not. Given the study design, causality cannot be inferred. Therefore, we cannot propose that treating chronic maternal psychological distress will reduce decision-making pathology in young females. Our study suggests that young daughters of chronically distressed mothers tend to be particularly reckless decision-makers. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Evidence, values, guidelines and rational decision-making.

    PubMed

    Barrett, Bruce

    2012-02-01

    Medical decision-making involves choices, which can lead to benefits or to harms. Most benefits and harms may or may not occur, and can be minor or major when they do. Medical research, especially randomized controlled trials, provides estimates of chance of occurrence and magnitude of event. Because there is no universally accepted method for weighing harms against benefits, and because the ethical principle of autonomy mandates informed choice by patient, medical decision-making is inherently an individualized process. It follows that the practice of aiming for universal implementation of standardized guidelines is irrational and unethical. Irrational because the possibility of benefits is implicitly valued more than the possibility of comparable harms, and unethical because guidelines remove decision making from the patient and give it instead to a physician, committee or health care system. This essay considers the cases of cancer screening and diabetes management, where guidelines often advocate universal implementation, without regard to informed choice and individual decision-making.

  4. Dissociating sensory from decision processes in human perceptual decision making.

    PubMed

    Mostert, Pim; Kok, Peter; de Lange, Floris P

    2015-12-15

    A key question within systems neuroscience is how the brain translates physical stimulation into a behavioral response: perceptual decision making. To answer this question, it is important to dissociate the neural activity underlying the encoding of sensory information from the activity underlying the subsequent temporal integration into a decision variable. Here, we adopted a decoding approach to empirically assess this dissociation in human magnetoencephalography recordings. We used a functional localizer to identify the neural signature that reflects sensory-specific processes, and subsequently traced this signature while subjects were engaged in a perceptual decision making task. Our results revealed a temporal dissociation in which sensory processing was limited to an early time window and consistent with occipital areas, whereas decision-related processing became increasingly pronounced over time, and involved parietal and frontal areas. We found that the sensory processing accurately reflected the physical stimulus, irrespective of the eventual decision. Moreover, the sensory representation was stable and maintained over time when it was required for a subsequent decision, but unstable and variable over time when it was task-irrelevant. In contrast, decision-related activity displayed long-lasting sustained components. Together, our approach dissects neuro-anatomically and functionally distinct contributions to perceptual decisions.

  5. Dissociating sensory from decision processes in human perceptual decision making

    PubMed Central

    Mostert, Pim; Kok, Peter; de Lange, Floris P.

    2015-01-01

    A key question within systems neuroscience is how the brain translates physical stimulation into a behavioral response: perceptual decision making. To answer this question, it is important to dissociate the neural activity underlying the encoding of sensory information from the activity underlying the subsequent temporal integration into a decision variable. Here, we adopted a decoding approach to empirically assess this dissociation in human magnetoencephalography recordings. We used a functional localizer to identify the neural signature that reflects sensory-specific processes, and subsequently traced this signature while subjects were engaged in a perceptual decision making task. Our results revealed a temporal dissociation in which sensory processing was limited to an early time window and consistent with occipital areas, whereas decision-related processing became increasingly pronounced over time, and involved parietal and frontal areas. We found that the sensory processing accurately reflected the physical stimulus, irrespective of the eventual decision. Moreover, the sensory representation was stable and maintained over time when it was required for a subsequent decision, but unstable and variable over time when it was task-irrelevant. In contrast, decision-related activity displayed long-lasting sustained components. Together, our approach dissects neuro-anatomically and functionally distinct contributions to perceptual decisions. PMID:26666393

  6. URBAN DECISION-MAKING, THE UNIVERSITY'S ROLE.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    BAILEY, STEPHEN K.

    THE AUTHOR EXAMINES THE VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH THE UNIVERSITY CAN AND SHOULD INFLUENCE URBAN DECISION MAKING. THE CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ROLE IS SENSITIZING THE DECISION MAKERS AND THE CITIZENS TO HUMAN MISERY, SUCH AS BIGOTRY, SQUALOR, DISEASE, UGLINESS, POVERTY, AND IGNORANCE. LONG-RANGE ROLES ARE PINPOINTING THE PROBLEMS URBAN DECISION MAKERS SHOULD…

  7. Quantum-like dynamics of decision-making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asano, Masanari; Basieva, Irina; Khrennikov, Andrei; Ohya, Masanori; Tanaka, Yoshiharu

    2012-03-01

    In cognitive psychology, some experiments for games were reported, and they demonstrated that real players did not use the “rational strategy” provided by classical game theory and based on the notion of the Nasch equilibrium. This psychological phenomenon was called the disjunction effect. Recently, we proposed a model of decision making which can explain this effect (“irrationality” of players) Asano et al. (2010, 2011) [23,24]. Our model is based on the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics, because psychological fluctuations inducing the irrationality are formally represented as quantum fluctuations Asano et al. (2011) [55]. In this paper, we reconsider the process of quantum-like decision-making more closely and redefine it as a well-defined quantum dynamics by using the concept of lifting channel, which is an important concept in quantum information theory. We also present numerical simulation for this quantum-like mental dynamics. It is non-Markovian by its nature. Stabilization to the steady state solution (determining subjective probabilities for decision making) is based on the collective effect of mental fluctuations collected in the working memory of a decision maker.

  8. Aging and consumer decision making

    PubMed Central

    Carpenter, Stephanie M.; Yoon, Carolyn

    2013-01-01

    Research on consumer decision making and aging is especially important for fostering a better understanding of ways to maintain consumer satisfaction and high decision quality across the life span. We provide a review of extant research on the effects of normal aging on cognition and decision processes and how these age-related processes are influenced by task environment, meaningfulness of the task, and consumer expertise. We consider how research centered on these topics generates insights about changes in consumption decisions that occur with aging and identify a number of gaps and directions for future research. PMID:22360794

  9. Dual processing model of medical decision-making.

    PubMed

    Djulbegovic, Benjamin; Hozo, Iztok; Beckstead, Jason; Tsalatsanis, Athanasios; Pauker, Stephen G

    2012-09-03

    Dual processing theory of human cognition postulates that reasoning and decision-making can be described as a function of both an intuitive, experiential, affective system (system I) and/or an analytical, deliberative (system II) processing system. To date no formal descriptive model of medical decision-making based on dual processing theory has been developed. Here we postulate such a model and apply it to a common clinical situation: whether treatment should be administered to the patient who may or may not have a disease. We developed a mathematical model in which we linked a recently proposed descriptive psychological model of cognition with the threshold model of medical decision-making and show how this approach can be used to better understand decision-making at the bedside and explain the widespread variation in treatments observed in clinical practice. We show that physician's beliefs about whether to treat at higher (lower) probability levels compared to the prescriptive therapeutic thresholds obtained via system II processing is moderated by system I and the ratio of benefit and harms as evaluated by both system I and II. Under some conditions, the system I decision maker's threshold may dramatically drop below the expected utility threshold derived by system II. This can explain the overtreatment often seen in the contemporary practice. The opposite can also occur as in the situations where empirical evidence is considered unreliable, or when cognitive processes of decision-makers are biased through recent experience: the threshold will increase relative to the normative threshold value derived via system II using expected utility threshold. This inclination for the higher diagnostic certainty may, in turn, explain undertreatment that is also documented in the current medical practice. We have developed the first dual processing model of medical decision-making that has potential to enrich the current medical decision-making field, which is still to the

  10. Dual processing model of medical decision-making

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Dual processing theory of human cognition postulates that reasoning and decision-making can be described as a function of both an intuitive, experiential, affective system (system I) and/or an analytical, deliberative (system II) processing system. To date no formal descriptive model of medical decision-making based on dual processing theory has been developed. Here we postulate such a model and apply it to a common clinical situation: whether treatment should be administered to the patient who may or may not have a disease. Methods We developed a mathematical model in which we linked a recently proposed descriptive psychological model of cognition with the threshold model of medical decision-making and show how this approach can be used to better understand decision-making at the bedside and explain the widespread variation in treatments observed in clinical practice. Results We show that physician’s beliefs about whether to treat at higher (lower) probability levels compared to the prescriptive therapeutic thresholds obtained via system II processing is moderated by system I and the ratio of benefit and harms as evaluated by both system I and II. Under some conditions, the system I decision maker’s threshold may dramatically drop below the expected utility threshold derived by system II. This can explain the overtreatment often seen in the contemporary practice. The opposite can also occur as in the situations where empirical evidence is considered unreliable, or when cognitive processes of decision-makers are biased through recent experience: the threshold will increase relative to the normative threshold value derived via system II using expected utility threshold. This inclination for the higher diagnostic certainty may, in turn, explain undertreatment that is also documented in the current medical practice. Conclusions We have developed the first dual processing model of medical decision-making that has potential to enrich the current medical

  11. Making Decisions about Treatment

    MedlinePlus

    ... advocacy HIV policy HIV prevention CONTRIBUTORS Project Inform Twitter Feed Project Inform ProjectInform ProjectInform #HIV cure : (Let ... February 17, 2011 Making decisions about treatment Facebook Twitter Google + Email Print January 2011Â Â Â View ...

  12. Understanding Decision Making in Critical Care

    PubMed Central

    Lighthall, Geoffrey K.; Vazquez-Guillamet, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    Background Human decision making involves the deliberate formulation of hypotheses and plans as well as the use of subconscious means of judging probability, likely outcome, and proper action. Rationale There is a growing recognition that intuitive strategies such as use of heuristics and pattern recognition described in other industries are applicable to high-acuity environments in medicine. Despite the applicability of theories of cognition to the intensive care unit, a discussion of decision-making strategies is currently absent in the critical care literature. Content This article provides an overview of known cognitive strategies, as well as a synthesis of their use in critical care. By understanding the ways by which humans formulate diagnoses and make critical decisions, we may be able to minimize errors in our own judgments as well as build training activities around known strengths and limitations of cognition. PMID:26387708

  13. Sensemaking Strategies for Ethical Decision-making

    PubMed Central

    Caughron, Jay J.; Antes, Alison L.; Stenmark, Cheryl K.; Thiel, Chaise E.; Wang, Xiaoqian; Mumford, Michael D.

    2015-01-01

    The current study uses a sensemaking model and thinking strategies identified in earlier research to examine ethical decision-making. Using a sample of 163 undergraduates, a low fidelity simulation approach is used to study the effects personal involvement (in causing the problem and personal involvement in experiencing the outcomes of the problem) could have on the use of cognitive reasoning strategies that have been shown to promote ethical decision-making. A mediated model is presented which suggests that environmental factors influence reasoning strategies, reasoning strategies influence sensemaking, and sensemaking in turn influences ethical decision-making. Findings were mixed but generally supported the hypothesized model. Interestingly, framing the outcomes of ethically charged situations in terms of more global organizational outcomes rather than personal outcomes was found to promote the use of pro-ethical cognitive reasoning strategies. PMID:26257505

  14. Complementary cognitive capabilities, economic decision making, and aging.

    PubMed

    Li, Ye; Baldassi, Martine; Johnson, Eric J; Weber, Elke U

    2013-09-01

    Fluid intelligence decreases with age, yet evidence about age declines in decision-making quality is mixed: Depending on the study, older adults make worse, equally good, or even better decisions than younger adults. We propose a potential explanation for this puzzle, namely that age differences in decision performance result from the interplay between two sets of cognitive capabilities that impact decision making, one in which older adults fare worse (i.e., fluid intelligence) and one in which they fare better (i.e., crystallized intelligence). Specifically, we hypothesized that older adults' higher levels of crystallized intelligence can provide an alternate pathway to good decisions when the fluid intelligence pathway declines. The performance of older adults relative to younger adults therefore depends on the relative importance of each type of intelligence for the decision at hand. We tested this complementary capabilities hypothesis in a broad sample of younger and older adults, collecting a battery of standard cognitive measures and measures of economically important decision-making "traits"--including temporal discounting, loss aversion, financial literacy, and debt literacy. We found that older participants performed as well as or better than younger participants on these four decision-making measures. Structural equation modeling verified our hypothesis: Older participants' greater crystallized intelligence offset their lower levels of fluid intelligence for temporal discounting, financial literacy, and debt literacy, but not for loss aversion. These results have important implications for public policy and for the design of effective decision environments for older adults.

  15. Sexual picture processing interferes with decision-making under ambiguity.

    PubMed

    Laier, Christian; Pawlikowski, Mirko; Brand, Matthias

    2014-04-01

    Many people watch sexually arousing material on the Internet in order to receive sexual arousal and gratification. When browsing for sexual stimuli, individuals have to make several decisions, all possibly leading to positive or negative consequences. Decision-making research has shown that decisions under ambiguity are influenced by consequences received following earlier decisions. Sexual arousal might interfere with the decision-making process and should therefore lead to disadvantageous decision-making in the long run. In the current study, 82 heterosexual, male participants watched sexual pictures, rated them with respect to sexual arousal, and were asked to indicate their current level of sexual arousal before and following the sexual picture presentation. Afterwards, subjects performed one of two modified versions of the Iowa Gambling Task in which sexual pictures were displayed on the advantageous and neutral pictures on the disadvantageous card decks or vice versa (n = 41/n = 41). Results demonstrated an increase of sexual arousal following the sexual picture presentation. Decision-making performance was worse when sexual pictures were associated with disadvantageous card decks compared to performance when the sexual pictures were linked to the advantageous decks. Subjective sexual arousal moderated the relationship between task condition and decision-making performance. This study emphasized that sexual arousal interfered with decision-making, which may explain why some individuals experience negative consequences in the context of cybersex use.

  16. The Use of Intuition in Homeopathic Clinical Decision Making: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study

    PubMed Central

    Brien, Sarah; Dibb, Bridget; Burch, Alex

    2011-01-01

    While intuition plays a role in clinical decision making within conventional medicine, little is understood about its use in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate intuition from the perspective of homeopathic practitioners; its' manifestation, how it was recognized, its origins and when it was used within daily clinical practice. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with clinically experienced non-National Health Service (NHS) UK homeopathic practitioners. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the data. Homeopaths reported many similarities with conventional medical practitioner regarding the nature, perceived origin and manifestation of their intuitions in clinical practice. Intuition was used in two key aspects of the consultation: (i) to enhance the practitioner-patient relationship, these were generally trusted; and (ii) intuitions relating to the prescribing decision. Homeopaths were cautious about these latter intuitions, testing any intuitive thoughts through deductive reasoning before accepting them. Their reluctance is not surprising given the consequences for patient care, but we propose this also reflects homeopaths' sensitivity to the academic and medical mistrust of both homeopathy and intuition. This study is the first to explore the use of intuition in decision making in any form of complementary medicine. The similarities with conventional practitioners may provide confidence in validating intuition as a legitimate part of the decision making process for these specific practitioners. Further work is needed to elucidate if these findings reflect intuitive use in clinical practice of other CAM practitioners in both private and NHS (i.e., time limited) settings. PMID:19773389

  17. Group Dynamics and Decision Making: Backcountry Recreationists in Avalanche Terrain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bright, Leslie Shay

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe and determine the prevalence of decision-making characteristics of recreational backcountry groups when making a decision of where to travel and ride in avalanche terrain from the perspective of individuals. Decision-making characteristics encompassed communication, decision-making processes, leadership,…

  18. Patient decision-making preference and physician decision-making style for contraceptive method choice in an Asian culture: does concordance matter?

    PubMed

    Alden, Dana Latham; Merz, Miwa Yamazaki; Thi, Le Minh

    2010-12-01

    This study investigates preferences for patient-physician decision-making in an emerging economy with an Asian culture. A survey of 445 randomly sampled women, aged 20-40 in Hanoi, Vietnam, revealed that pre-consultation attitudes were most positive toward a "shared" decision-making approach with the physician for contraceptive method choice. However, following random assignment to one of three vignettes (passive, shared or autonomous) featuring a young Vietnamese woman reaching a contraceptive method decision with her physician, preference was highest for the "autonomous" approach. Furthermore, discordance between pre-consultation preference for decision-making style and the physician's decision-making style negatively impacted evaluations under some but not all circumstances. This study demonstrates that, despite living in a hierarchic Asian culture, active participation in contraceptive method choice is desired by many urban Vietnamese women. However, there is variation on this dimension and adjusting the physician's style to be concordant with patient preference appears important to maximizing patient satisfaction.

  19. Willingness-to-pay for a probabilistic flood forecast: a risk-based decision-making game

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arnal, Louise; Ramos, Maria-Helena; Coughlan de Perez, Erin; Cloke, Hannah Louise; Stephens, Elisabeth; Wetterhall, Fredrik; van Andel, Schalk Jan; Pappenberger, Florian

    2016-08-01

    Probabilistic hydro-meteorological forecasts have over the last decades been used more frequently to communicate forecast uncertainty. This uncertainty is twofold, as it constitutes both an added value and a challenge for the forecaster and the user of the forecasts. Many authors have demonstrated the added (economic) value of probabilistic over deterministic forecasts across the water sector (e.g. flood protection, hydroelectric power management and navigation). However, the richness of the information is also a source of challenges for operational uses, due partially to the difficulty in transforming the probability of occurrence of an event into a binary decision. This paper presents the results of a risk-based decision-making game on the topic of flood protection mitigation, called "How much are you prepared to pay for a forecast?". The game was played at several workshops in 2015, which were attended by operational forecasters and academics working in the field of hydro-meteorology. The aim of this game was to better understand the role of probabilistic forecasts in decision-making processes and their perceived value by decision-makers. Based on the participants' willingness-to-pay for a forecast, the results of the game show that the value (or the usefulness) of a forecast depends on several factors, including the way users perceive the quality of their forecasts and link it to the perception of their own performances as decision-makers.

  20. A review of clinical decision making: models and current research.

    PubMed

    Banning, Maggi

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this paper was to review the current literature clinical decision-making models and the educational application of models to clinical practice. This was achieved by exploring the function and related research of the three available models of clinical decision making: information-processing model, the intuitive-humanist model and the clinical decision-making model. Clinical decision making is a unique process that involves the interplay between knowledge of pre-existing pathological conditions, explicit patient information, nursing care and experiential learning. Historically, two models of clinical decision making are recognized from the literature; the information-processing model and the intuitive-humanist model. The usefulness and application of both models has been examined in relation the provision of nursing care and care related outcomes. More recently a third model of clinical decision making has been proposed. This new multidimensional model contains elements of the information-processing model but also examines patient specific elements that are necessary for cue and pattern recognition. Literature review. Evaluation of the literature generated from MEDLINE, CINAHL, OVID, PUBMED and EBESCO systems and the Internet from 1980 to November 2005. The characteristics of the three models of decision making were identified and the related research discussed. Three approaches to clinical decision making were identified, each having its own attributes and uses. The most recent addition to the clinical decision making is a theoretical, multidimensional model which was developed through an evaluation of current literature and the assessment of a limited number of research studies that focused on the clinical decision-making skills of inexperienced nurses in pseudoclinical settings. The components of this model and the relative merits to clinical practice are discussed. It is proposed that clinical decision making improves as the nurse gains experience of

  1. The decision-making threshold and the factors that affect it: A qualitative study of patients' decision-making in knee replacement surgery.

    PubMed

    Barlow, T; Scott, P; Thomson, L; Griffin, D; Realpe, A

    2018-03-01

    Osteoarthritis is a significant cause of burden to the ageing population and knee replacement is a common operation for treatment of end-stage disease. We aimed to explore these factors to help understand patients' decision-making, which is critical in informing patient-centred care. These can be used to enhance decision-making and dialogue between clinicians and patients, allowing a more informed choice. The study consisted of two focus groups, in a patient cohort after total knee replacement followed by more in-depth interviews to further test and explore themes from the focus groups, in patients in either the deliberation stage or the decision-making stage. Using qualitative research methods (iterative thematic analysis) reviewing decision-making and deliberation phases of making informed choices we found nine key themes that emerged from the study groups. An awareness of the deliberation phase, the factors that influence it, the stress associated with it, preferred models of care, and the influence of the decision-making threshold will aid useful communication between doctors and patients. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Understanding patient perceptions of shared decision making.

    PubMed

    Shay, L Aubree; Lafata, Jennifer Elston

    2014-09-01

    This study aims to develop a conceptual model of patient-defined SDM, and understand what leads patients to label a specific, decision-making process as shared. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 primary care patients following a recent appointment. Patients were asked about the meaning of SDM and about specific decisions that they labeled as shared. Interviews were coded using qualitative content analysis. Patients' conceptual definition of SDM included four components of an interactive exchange prior to making the decision: both doctor and patient share information, both are open-minded and respectful, patient self-advocacy, and a personalized physician recommendation. Additionally, a long-term trusting relationship helps foster SDM. In contrast, when asked about a specific decision labeled as shared, patients described a range of interactions with the only commonality being that the two parties came to a mutually agreed-upon decision. There is no one-size-fits all process that leads patients to label a decision as shared. Rather, the outcome of "agreement" may be more important than the actual decision-making process for patients to label a decision as shared. Studies are needed to better understand how longitudinal communication between patient and physicians and patient self-advocacy behaviors affect patient perceptions of SDM. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  3. Incorporating affective bias in models of human decision making

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nygren, Thomas E.

    1991-01-01

    Research on human decision making has traditionally focused on how people actually make decisions, how good their decisions are, and how their decisions can be improved. Recent research suggests that this model is inadequate. Affective as well as cognitive components drive the way information about relevant outcomes and events is perceived, integrated, and used in the decision making process. The affective components include how the individual frames outcomes as good or bad, whether the individual anticipates regret in a decision situation, the affective mood state of the individual, and the psychological stress level anticipated or experienced in the decision situation. A focus of the current work has been to propose empirical studies that will attempt to examine in more detail the relationships between the latter two critical affective influences (mood state and stress) on decision making behavior.

  4. The Legal Implications of Administrative Decision-Making.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bender, Louis W.

    Administrative decision-making encompasses three levels on which increasing legal challenges and liability and their implications need to be considered. At the local level, this may involve violations of procedural due process. A second level concerns state laws and regulations. Line administrators, who frequently make decisions on programs,…

  5. Decision Dissonance: Evaluating an Approach to Measuring the Quality of Surgical Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Fowler, Floyd J.; Gallagher, Patricia M.; Drake, Keith M.; Sepucha, Karen R.

    2013-01-01

    Background Good decision making has been increasingly cited as a core component of good medical care, and shared decision making is one means of achieving high decision quality. If it is to be a standard, good measures and protocols are needed for assessing the quality of decisions. Consistency with patient goals and concerns is one defining characteristic of a good decision. A new method for evaluating decision quality for major surgical decisions was examined, and a methodology for collecting the needed data was developed. Methods For a national probability sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries who had a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), a lumpectomy or a mastectomy for breast cancer, or surgery for prostate cancer during the last half of 2008, a mail survey of selected patients was carried out about one year after the procedures. Patients’ goals and concerns, knowledge, key aspects of interactions with clinicians, and feelings about the decisions were assessed. A Decision Dissonance Score was created that measured the extent to which patient ratings of goals ran counter to the treatment received. The construct and predictive validity of the Decision Dissonance Score was then assessed. Results When data were averaged across all four procedures, patients with more knowledge and those who reported more involvement reported significantly lower Decision Dissonance Scores. Patients with lower Decision Dissonance Scores also reported more confidence in their decisions and feeling more positively about how the treatment turned out, and they were more likely to say that they would make the same decision again. Conclusions Surveying discharged surgery patients is a feasible way to evaluate decision making, and Decision Dissonance appears to be a promising approach to validly measuring decision quality. PMID:23516764

  6. Towards Supporting Patient Decision-making In Online Diabetes Communities

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jing; Marmor, Rebecca; Huh, Jina

    2017-01-01

    As of 2014, 29.1 million people in the US have diabetes. Patients with diabetes have evolving information needs around complex lifestyle and medical decisions. As their conditions progress, patients need to sporadically make decisions by understanding alternatives and comparing options. These moments along the decision-making process present a valuable opportunity to support their information needs. An increasing number of patients visit online diabetes communities to fulfill their information needs. To understand how patients attempt to fulfill the information needs around decision-making in online communities, we reviewed 801 posts from an online diabetes community and included 79 posts for in-depth content analysis. The findings revealed motivations for posters’ inquiries related to decision-making including the changes in disease state, increased self-awareness, and conflict of information received. Medication and food were the among the most popular topics discussed as part of their decision-making inquiries. Additionally, We present insights for automatically identifying those decision-making inquiries to efficiently support information needs presented in online health communities. PMID:29854261

  7. What you don't know about making decisions.

    PubMed

    Garvin, D A; Roberto, M A

    2001-09-01

    Most executives think of decision making as a singular event that occurs at a particular point in time. In reality, though, decision making is a process fraught with power plays, politics, personal nuances, and institutional history. Leaders who recognize this make far better decisions than those who persevere in the fantasy that decisions are events they alone control. That said, some decision-making processes are far more effective than others. Most often, participants use an advocacy process, possibly the least productive way to get things done. They view decision making as a contest, arguing passionately for their preferred solutions, presenting information selectively, withholding relevant conflicting data so they can make a convincing case, and standing firm against opposition. Much more powerful is an inquiry process, in which people consider a variety of options and work together to discover the best solution. Moving from advocacy to inquiry requires careful attention to three critical factors: fostering constructive, rather than personal, conflict; making sure everyone knows that their viewpoints are given serious consideration even if they are not ultimately accepted; and knowing when to bring deliberations to a close. The authors discuss in detail strategies for moving from an advocacy to an inquiry process, as well as for fostering productive conflict, true consideration, and timely closure. And they offer a framework for assessing the effectiveness of your process while you're still in the middle of it. Decision making is a job that lies at the very heart of leadership and one that requires a genius for balance: the ability to embrace the divergence that may characterize early discussions and to forge the unity needed for effective implementation.

  8. Moral Judgments of Chief Academic Officers at Institutions of Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weaver, Megan D.

    2012-01-01

    Chief Academic Officers (CAO) are leaders in institutions of higher education and have wide decision-making scope. Previous research has clearly demonstrated the need for leaders to engage in ethical decision-making. Moral judgments are an aspect of ethical decision-making, so it is important for CAOs to make moral judgments. This study examined…

  9. Impaired Decision-Making in Adolescent Suicide Attempters

    PubMed Central

    Bridge, Jeffrey A.; McBee-Strayer, Sandra M.; Cannon, Elizabeth A.; Sheftall, Arielle H.; Reynolds, Brady; Campo, John V.; Pajer, Kathleen A.; Barbe, Rémy P.; Brent, David A.

    2012-01-01

    Objective Decision-making deficits have been linked to suicidal behavior in adults. However, it remains unclear whether impaired decision-making plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of youth suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine decision-making processes in adolescent suicide attempters and never-suicidal comparison subjects. Method Using the Iowa Gambling Task, the authors examined decision-making in 40 adolescent suicide attempters, ages 13–18, and 40 never-suicidal, demographically-matched psychiatric comparison subjects. Results Overall, suicide attempters performed significantly worse on the Iowa Gambling Task than comparison subjects. This difference in overall task performance between the groups persisted in an exact conditional logistic regression analysis that controlled for affective disorder, current psychotropic medication use, impulsivity, and hostility (adjusted odds ratio=0.96, 95% confidence interval=0.90–0.99, p<.05). A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant group-by-block interaction, demonstrating that attempters failed to learn during the task, picking approximately the same proportion of disadvantageous cards in the first and final blocks of the task. In contrast, comparison subjects picked proportionately fewer cards from the disadvantageous decks as the task progressed. Within the attempter group, overall task performance did not correlate with any characteristic of the index attempt or with the personality dimensions of impulsivity, hostility, and emotional lability. Conclusions Similar to findings in adults, impaired decision-making is associated with suicidal behavior in adolescents. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the temporal relationship between decision-making processes and suicidal behavior and help frame potential targets for early identification and preventive interventions to reduce youth suicide and suicidal behavior. PMID:22449645

  10. 36 CFR § 907.14 - Corporation decision making procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2013-07-01 2012-07-01 true Corporation decision making... CORPORATION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY § 907.14 Corporation decision making procedures. To ensure that at major... Corporation's decision making process to ensure adequate consideration of environmental factors. (b) The...

  11. A review of the literature: midwifery decision-making and birth.

    PubMed

    Jefford, Elaine; Fahy, Kathleen; Sundin, Deborah

    2010-12-01

    Clinical decision-making was initially studied in medicine where hypothetico-deductive reasoning is the model for decision-making. The nursing perspective on clinical decision-making has largely been shaped by Patricia Benner's ground breaking work. Benner claimed expert nurses use humanistic-intuitive ways of making clinical decisions rather than the 'rational reasoning' as claimed by medicine. Clinical decision-making in midwifery is not the same as either nursing or medical decision-making because of the woman-midwife partnership where the woman is the ultimate decision-maker. CINHAL, Medline and Cochrane databases were systematically searched using key words derived from the guiding question. A review of the decision-making research literature in midwifery was undertaken where studies were published in English. The selection criteria for papers were: only research papers of direct relevance to the guiding research question were included in the review. Decision-making is under-researched in midwifery and more specifically birth, as only 4 research articles met the inclusion criteria in this review. Three of the studies involved qualified midwives, and one involved student midwives. Two studies were undertaken in England, one in Scotland and one in Sweden. The major findings synthesised from this review, are that; (1) midwifery decision-making during birth is socially negotiated involving hierarchies of surveillance and control; (2) the role of the woman in shared decision-making during birth has not been explored by midwifery research; (3) clinical decision-making encompasses clinical reasoning as essential but not sufficient for midwives to actually implement their preferred decision. We argue that existing research does not inform the discipline of the complexity of midwifery clinical decision-making during birth. A well-designed study would involve investigating the clinical reasoning skills of the midwife, her relationship with the woman, the context of the

  12. Nurse manager cognitive decision-making amidst stress and work complexity.

    PubMed

    Shirey, Maria R; Ebright, Patricia R; McDaniel, Anna M

    2013-01-01

      The present study provides insight into nurse manager cognitive decision-making amidst stress and work complexity.   Little is known about nurse manager decision-making amidst stress and work complexity. Because nurse manager decisions have the potential to impact patient care quality and safety, understanding their decision-making processes is useful for designing supportive interventions.   This qualitative descriptive study interviewed 21 nurse managers from three hospitals to answer the research question: What decision-making processes do nurse managers utilize to address stressful situations in their nurse manager role? Face-to-face interviews incorporating components of the Critical Decision Method illuminated expert-novice practice differences. Content analysis identified one major theme and three sub-themes.   The present study produced a cognitive model that guides nurse manager decision-making related to stressful situations. Experience in the role, organizational context and situation factors influenced nurse manager cognitive decision-making processes.   Study findings suggest that chronic exposure to stress and work complexity negatively affects nurse manager health and their decision-making processes potentially threatening individual, patient and organizational outcomes.   Cognitive decision-making varies based on nurse manager experience and these differences have coaching and mentoring implications. This present study contributes a current understanding of nurse manager decision-making amidst stress and work complexity. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  13. Complexity science and participation in decision making among Taiwanese nurses.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yi

    2008-04-01

    The perspective of interconnection in complexity science is used to examine the concept of participation in decision making among Taiwanese nurses in the context of Chinese communication culture. Participation in decision making among nurses has been widely discussed and tested in the Western healthcare systems. Many studies have shown that participation in decision making relates to nurses' autonomy, job satisfaction and quality of care. However, participation in decision making has not been fully discussed in Taiwan's nursing community. In a different cultural environment, participation in decision making may have different effects. The concept of participation in decision making is analysed in three facets of Chinese communication culture: (1) hierarchical social relationship; (2) harmony maintenance; and (3) insider effects. Key issues Taiwanese nurses might establish different levels of participation and need to use different strategies to enhance participation in decision making for desired outcomes. While applying participation in decision making in a different context, it is very important to consider the social and cultural differences. Two implications are made. First, nursing leaders/managers who are working with a multicultural team should be aware of the cultural difference in the pattern of interaction in the process of participation in decision making. Second, leaders/managers should be creative and try to apply different strategies to encourage staff's participation in decision making.

  14. Deep Rationality: The Evolutionary Economics of Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Kenrick, Douglas T; Griskevicius, Vladas; Sundie, Jill M; Li, Norman P; Li, Yexin Jessica; Neuberg, Steven L

    2009-10-01

    What is a "rational" decision? Economists traditionally viewed rationality as maximizing expected satisfaction. This view has been useful in modeling basic microeconomic concepts, but falls short in accounting for many everyday human decisions. It leaves unanswered why some things reliably make people more satisfied than others, and why people frequently act to make others happy at a cost to themselves. Drawing on an evolutionary perspective, we propose that people make decisions according to a set of principles that may not appear to make sense at the superficial level, but that demonstrate rationality at a deeper evolutionary level. By this, we mean that people use adaptive domain-specific decision-rules that, on average, would have resulted in fitness benefits. Using this framework, we re-examine several economic principles. We suggest that traditional psychological functions governing risk aversion, discounting of future benefits, and budget allocations to multiple goods, for example, vary in predictable ways as a function of the underlying motive of the decision-maker and individual differences linked to evolved life-history strategies. A deep rationality framework not only helps explain why people make the decisions they do, but also inspires multiple directions for future research.

  15. Deep Rationality: The Evolutionary Economics of Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Kenrick, Douglas T.; Griskevicius, Vladas; Sundie, Jill M.; Li, Norman P.; Li, Yexin Jessica; Neuberg, Steven L.

    2009-01-01

    What is a “rational” decision? Economists traditionally viewed rationality as maximizing expected satisfaction. This view has been useful in modeling basic microeconomic concepts, but falls short in accounting for many everyday human decisions. It leaves unanswered why some things reliably make people more satisfied than others, and why people frequently act to make others happy at a cost to themselves. Drawing on an evolutionary perspective, we propose that people make decisions according to a set of principles that may not appear to make sense at the superficial level, but that demonstrate rationality at a deeper evolutionary level. By this, we mean that people use adaptive domain-specific decision-rules that, on average, would have resulted in fitness benefits. Using this framework, we re-examine several economic principles. We suggest that traditional psychological functions governing risk aversion, discounting of future benefits, and budget allocations to multiple goods, for example, vary in predictable ways as a function of the underlying motive of the decision-maker and individual differences linked to evolved life-history strategies. A deep rationality framework not only helps explain why people make the decisions they do, but also inspires multiple directions for future research. PMID:20686634

  16. Human Judgment and Decision Making: Models and Applications.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loke, Wing Hong

    This document notes that researchers study the processes involved in judgment and decision making and prescribe theories and models that reflect the behavior of the decision makers. It addresses the various models that are used to represent judgment and decision making, with particular interest in models that more accurately represent human…

  17. Emotion-affected decision making in human simulation.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Y; Kang, J; Wright, D K

    2006-01-01

    Human modelling is an interdisciplinary research field. The topic, emotion-affected decision making, was originally a cognitive psychology issue, but is now recognized as an important research direction for both computer science and biomedical modelling. The main aim of this paper is to attempt to bridge the gap between psychology and bioengineering in emotion-affected decision making. The work is based on Ortony's theory of emotions and bounded rationality theory, and attempts to connect the emotion process with decision making. A computational emotion model is proposed, and the initial framework of this model in virtual human simulation within the platform of Virtools is presented.

  18. Moral decision making in neonatal intensive care.

    PubMed

    Chally, P S

    1992-01-01

    To gain information about the perspective that neonatal intensive-care unit nurses use to make moral decisions. Descriptive. Neonatal intensive-care unit of a large teaching hospital in the midwestern United States. Convenience sample of 26 female nurses working in a neonatal intensive-care unit. Audiotaped, semistructured interviews and demographic questionnaires. The results indicated that most (65%) of the nurses used the care perspective to make moral decisions. A small number (12%) used the justice perspective, and the remaining nurses (23%) used a combined care and justice perspective. Both the care and justice perspectives were found to be important for understanding how nurses make moral decisions.

  19. Collaborative Strategic Decision Making in School Districts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brazer, S. David; Rich, William; Ross, Susan A.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The dual purpose of this paper is to determine how superintendents in US school districts work with stakeholders in the decision-making process and to learn how different choices superintendents make affect decision outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This multiple case study of three school districts employs qualitative methodology to…

  20. The Adaptability of Career Decision-Making Profiles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gadassi, Reuma; Gati, Itamar; Dayan, Amira

    2012-01-01

    The Career Decision-Making Profiles questionnaire (CDMP; Gati, Landman, Davidovitch, Asulin-Peretz, & Gadassi, 2010) uses a new model for characterizing the way individuals make decisions based on the simultaneous use of 11 dimensions. The present study investigated which pole of each dimension is more adaptive. Using the data of 383 young…