Psychopharmacology decision-making among pregnant and postpartum women and health providers: informing compassionate and collaborative care women's health.

PubMed

Price, Sarah Kye; Bentley, Kia J

2013-01-01

Psychopharmaceutical use by pregnant and postpartum women is complicated by the complexity of prescribing as well as the sociocultural context in which medication-related decisions are made. This study sought to advance understanding of decision-making processes and communication experiences regarding use of psychopharmaceuticals during pregnancy by considering both provider and consumer perspectives. An electronic survey was conducted with health care providers (N = 88) and women consumers (N = 83) from July 2010 through October 2011 regarding the perceived costs and benefits of taking mental health medication during and around the time of pregnancy. Descriptive analysis compared and contrasted experiences between the two groups regarding consumer-provider communication, critical incidents and triggers in decision-making, and response to case scenarios crafted around hypothetical client experiences. Both similarities and differences were evident among health care provider and women consumer responses regarding costs, benefits, communication experiences, and case scenario responses. Both quantitative and qualitative survey results indicated the need for more accurate, unbiased, and complete information exchange around mental health and medication. Study results suggested the centrality of the client-provider milieu to guide decision-making and emphasized the expressed need within both groups to create a shared decision-making practice environment characterized by authenticity, non-judgmental decision-making, compassion, humaneness, and reciprocity.

Final Report: Towards an Emergent Model of Technology Adoption for Accelerating the Diffusion of Residential Solar PV

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

Rai, Varun

This project sought to enable electric utilities in Texas to accelerate diffusion of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) by systematically identifying and targeting existing barriers to PV adoption. A core goal of the project was to develop an integrated research framework that combines survey research, econometric modeling, financial modeling, and implementation and evaluation of pilot projects to study the PV diffusion system. This project considered PV diffusion as an emergent system, with attention to the interactions between the constituent parts of the PV socio-technical system including: economics of individual decision-making; peer and social influences; behavioral responses; and information and transaction costs.more » We also conducted two pilot projects, which have yielded new insights into behavioral and informational aspects of PV adoption. Finally, this project has produced robust and generalizable results that will provide deeper insights into the technology-diffusion process that will be applicable for the design of utility programs for other technologies such as home-energy management systems and plug-in electric vehicles. When we started this project in 2013 there was little systematic research on characterizing the decision-making process of households interested in adopting PV. This project was designed to fill that research gap by analyzing the PV adoption process from the consumers' decision-making perspective and with the objective to systematically identifying and addressing the barriers that consumers face in the adoption of PV. The two key components of that decision-making process are consumers' evaluation of: (i) uncertainties and non-monetary costs associated with the technology and (ii) the direct monetary cost-benefit. This project used an integrated approach to study both the non-monetary and the monetary components of the consumer decision-making process.« less

Persuasion stage in adoption theory: a cognitive response-cognitive structure assessment of source credibility and tax-incentive effects on consumer decision making for residential solar systems. [Suburbs of Baltimore

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

Batory, S.S.

1981-01-01

The research objective was to learn more about the consumer's acceptance or rejection process toward a major residential energy innovation, a solar-generated water heating system. An experiment was conducted that evaluated one aspect of solar's commercialization, the persuasion stage in new-product-adoption decision making. A test of source credibility and monetary incentive effects on the consumer's decision-making processes was carried out. The experiment contained two message sources: the Department of Energy (a high credibility source) and a homebuilder (a moderate credibility source), and three levels of incentives, a tax credit equal to 40% of the solar unit purchase price, a 20%more » tax credit, and no tax credit. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group or one of six experimental treatments in a 2 x 3 fixed-effects factorial design. Subjects were 226 adult homeowners drawn from the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. The research postulated and tested a process of acceptance or rejection of innovations which was based on a cognitive-response/cognitive-structure paradigm of decision making. This process is called the persuasion stage by adoption theorists. Cognitive responses, beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral measures were the dependent variables. Consumers were shown to confront or debate incoming information by comparing it to their existing cognitive structure. This comparison process generated cognitive responses which led to changes in beliefs, attitudes, and behavior toward the innovation. The findings confirm that the federal government's intervention in the marketplace is having a favorable effect on the adoption decision process toward solar-generated water heating.« less

Psychopharmacology Decision-Making Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Health Providers: Informing Compassionate and Collaborative Care Women's Health

PubMed Central

Price, Sarah Kye; Bentley, Kia J.

2013-01-01

Psychopharmaceutical use by pregnant and postpartum women is complicated by the complexity of prescribing as well as the sociocultural context in which medication-related decisions are made. This study sought to advance understanding of decision–making processes and communication experiences regarding use of psychopharmaceuticals during pregnancy by considering both provider and consumer perspectives. An electronic survey was conducted with health care providers (N = 88) and women consumers (N = 3) from July 2010 through October 2011 regarding the perceived costs and benefits of taking mental health medication during and around the time of pregnancy. Descriptive analysis compared and contrasted experiences between the two groups regarding consumer-provider communication, critical incidents and triggers in decision-making, and response to case scenarios crafted around hypothetical client experiences. Both similarities and differences were evident among health care provider and women consumer responses regarding costs, benefits, communication experiences, and case scenario responses. Both quantitative and qualitative survey results indicated the need for more accurate, unbiased, and complete information exchange around mental health and medication. Study results suggested the centrality of the client-provider milieu to guide decision-making and emphasized the expressed need within both groups to create a shared decision-making practice environment characterized by authenticity, non-judgmental decision-making, compassion, humaneness, and reciprocity. PMID:23517513

The impact of consumer involvement on satisfaction with and use of assistive technology.

PubMed

Martin, Jay K; Martin, Liam G; Stumbo, Norma J; Morrill, Joshua H

2011-01-01

This exploratory study examined the relationships between consumers' involvement in the pre-purchase decision-making process, their perceptions of feeling informed, and their degree of being satisfied with and use of assistive technology (AT). Does consumer information and participation in decision-making process lead to improved satisfaction and use of AT? A link to an project-specific web-based survey, sent to several online disability forums and independent living centres, resulted in a sample of 145 individuals with a range of disabilities, who used a range of AT and were geographically dispersed. There is a significant relationship between being feeling informed and being satisfied with an AT device (F(13,278) = 27.79, p = 0.000). Feeling that personal needs were not assessed led to lower satisfaction (β = -0.15, p < 0.07), while feeling informed resulted from a number of different factors. Lack of consumer involvement in the pre-purchase decision-making process led to somewhat greater rates of abandonment in some categories of AT (some with small n's). Talking with other users, auditioning the device and searching the Internet are important ways for consumers to gather information. When consumers feel informed, they are more likely to be satisfied with the AT and retain it.

An Examination of Factors Influencing Students Selection of Business Majors Using TRA Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumar, Anil; Kumar, Poonam

2013-01-01

Making decisions regarding the selection of a business major is both very important and challenging for students. An understanding of this decision-making process can be valuable for students, parents, and university programs. The current study applies the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) consumer decision-making model to examine factors that…

Influence of branding on preference-based decision making.

PubMed

Philiastides, Marios G; Ratcliff, Roger

2013-07-01

Branding has become one of the most important determinants of consumer choices. Intriguingly, the psychological mechanisms of how branding influences decision making remain elusive. In the research reported here, we used a preference-based decision-making task and computational modeling to identify which internal components of processing are affected by branding. We found that a process of noisy temporal integration of subjective value information can model preference-based choices reliably and that branding biases are explained by changes in the rate of the integration process itself. This result suggests that branding information and subjective preference are integrated into a single source of evidence in the decision-making process, thereby altering choice behavior.

Consumer Decision-Making of Older People: A 45-Year Review.

PubMed

Hettich, Dominik; Hattula, Stefan; Bornemann, Torsten

2017-03-15

Aging is one of the key future challenges for global life. Of particular interest is the consumption-related decision-making of older people, as its better understanding would enable the effective influence of behavior, which would help to secure the economic well-being and ensure a better quality of life for this population. This article explores the respective literature and identifies gaps for future research. We conducted a holistic review of peer-reviewed literature that examined the decision-making of older consumers. Using a structured approach based on the consumer decision process model, we present the findings of 45 years of research (a total of 42 articles) and identify further research areas. The review reveals that the literature on older consumers' decision-making is fragmented, and that the findings are mixed. In particular, results on the role of emotions are controversial. While emotions have been shown to be better controlled by older individuals, emotions are also found to be highly influential in commercial advertisements. Similarly, the literature contains a lively debate on the relevance of price, service and store quality, and provider choice. These results call for a more holistic view of the decision-making of older consumers, and the review highlights numerous opportunities for future research. For instance, little is known about how older consumers deal with need recognition and the reasons they search for particular information. Moreover, understanding is lacking with respect to online purchase and feedback behavior. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Realia: Tools for Consumer Education Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, D. Hayden

1974-01-01

These suggestions on using realia in the classroom should augment carefully conceived strategies for teaching concepts concerning the consumer in the economy, the consumer in the marketplace, and the consumer's decision-making processes. Realia can bridge the gap between abstract subject matter and functional applications. (BP)

Neurofunctional correlates of ethical, food-related decision-making.

PubMed

Cherry, J Bradley C; Bruce, Jared M; Lusk, Jayson L; Crespi, John M; Lim, Seung-Lark; Bruce, Amanda S

2015-01-01

For consumers today, the perceived ethicality of a food's production method can be as important a purchasing consideration as its price. Still, few studies have examined how, neurofunctionally, consumers are making ethical, food-related decisions. We examined how consumers' ethical concern about a food's production method may relate to how, neurofunctionally, they make decisions whether to purchase that food. Forty-six participants completed a measure of the extent to which they took ethical concern into consideration when making food-related decisions. They then underwent a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans while performing a food-related decision-making (FRDM) task. During this task, they made 56 decisions whether to purchase a food based on either its price (i.e., high or low, the "price condition") or production method (i.e., with or without the use of cages, the "production method condition"), but not both. For 23 randomly selected participants, we performed an exploratory, whole-brain correlation between ethical concern and differential neurofunctional activity in the price and production method conditions. Ethical concern correlated negatively and significantly with differential neurofunctional activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). For the remaining 23 participants, we performed a confirmatory, region-of-interest (ROI) correlation between the same variables, using an 8-mm3 volume situated in the left dlPFC. Again, the variables correlated negatively and significantly. This suggests, when making ethical, food-related decisions, the more consumers take ethical concern into consideration, the less they may rely on neurofunctional activity in the left dlPFC, possibly because making these decisions is more routine for them, and therefore a more perfunctory process requiring fewer cognitive resources.

77 FR 10744 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-23

... establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions, and... establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions and... disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping...

76 FR 77230 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-12

... consumers in making informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission... Rules establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions... consumers in making informed purchasing decisions, and recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission...

Decision Theory and the Governance of Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodhouse, Edward J.

1987-01-01

Provides an overview of the decision making process for science and technology. Finds that government agencies and officials are not the major decision makers. Examines obstacles to achieving intelligent decisions when policy makers are scientists, business executives, and consumers. Concludes with five strategies for improving technological…

A new web-based framework development for fuzzy multi-criteria group decision-making.

PubMed

Hanine, Mohamed; Boutkhoum, Omar; Tikniouine, Abdessadek; Agouti, Tarik

2016-01-01

Fuzzy multi-criteria group decision making (FMCGDM) process is usually used when a group of decision-makers faces imprecise data or linguistic variables to solve the problems. However, this process contains many methods that require many time-consuming calculations depending on the number of criteria, alternatives and decision-makers in order to reach the optimal solution. In this study, a web-based FMCGDM framework that offers decision-makers a fast and reliable response service is proposed. The proposed framework includes commonly used tools for multi-criteria decision-making problems such as fuzzy Delphi, fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methods. The integration of these methods enables taking advantages of the strengths and complements each method's weakness. Finally, a case study of location selection for landfill waste in Morocco is performed to demonstrate how this framework can facilitate decision-making process. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework can successfully accomplish the goal of this study.

Critical product features' identification using an opinion analyzer.

PubMed

Shamim, Azra; Balakrishnan, Vimala; Tahir, Muhammad; Shiraz, Muhammad

2014-01-01

The increasing use and ubiquity of the Internet facilitate dissemination of word-of-mouth through blogs, online forums, newsgroups, and consumer's reviews. Online consumer's reviews present tremendous opportunities and challenges for consumers and marketers. One of the challenges is to develop interactive marketing practices for making connections with target consumers that capitalize consumer-to-consumer communications for generating product adoption. Opinion mining is employed in marketing to help consumers and enterprises in the analysis of online consumers' reviews by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the products. This paper describes an opinion mining system based on novel review and feature ranking methods to empower consumers and enterprises for identifying critical product features from enormous consumers' reviews. Consumers and business analysts are the main target group for the proposed system who want to explore consumers' feedback for determining purchase decisions and enterprise strategies. We evaluate the proposed system on real dataset. Results show that integration of review and feature-ranking methods improves the decision making processes significantly.

Critical Product Features' Identification Using an Opinion Analyzer

PubMed Central

Shamim, Azra; Balakrishnan, Vimala

2014-01-01

The increasing use and ubiquity of the Internet facilitate dissemination of word-of-mouth through blogs, online forums, newsgroups, and consumer's reviews. Online consumer's reviews present tremendous opportunities and challenges for consumers and marketers. One of the challenges is to develop interactive marketing practices for making connections with target consumers that capitalize consumer-to-consumer communications for generating product adoption. Opinion mining is employed in marketing to help consumers and enterprises in the analysis of online consumers' reviews by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the products. This paper describes an opinion mining system based on novel review and feature ranking methods to empower consumers and enterprises for identifying critical product features from enormous consumers' reviews. Consumers and business analysts are the main target group for the proposed system who want to explore consumers' feedback for determining purchase decisions and enterprise strategies. We evaluate the proposed system on real dataset. Results show that integration of review and feature-ranking methods improves the decision making processes significantly. PMID:25506612

Consumer health plan choice: current knowledge and future directions.

PubMed

Scanlon, D P; Chernew, M; Lave, J R

1997-01-01

A keystone of the competitive strategy in health insurance markets is the assumption that "consumers" can make informed choices based on the costs and quality of competing health plans, and that selection effects are not large. However, little is known about how individuals use information other than price in the decision making process. This review summarizes the state of knowledge about how individuals make choices among health plans and outlines an agenda for future research. We find that the existing literature on health plan choice is no longer sufficient given the widespread growth and acceptance of managed care, and the increased proportion of consumers' income now going toward the purchase of health plans. Instead, today's environment of health plan choice requires better understanding of how plan attributes other than price influence plan choice, how other variables such as health status interact with plan attributes in the decision making process, and how specific populations differ from one another in terms of the sensitivity of their health plan choices to these different types of variables.

Influence of cognitive style on information processing and selection of yogurt labels: Insights from an eye-tracking study.

PubMed

Mawad, Franco; Trías, Marcela; Giménez, Ana; Maiche, Alejandro; Ares, Gastón

2015-08-01

Cognitive styles are characteristic and stable ways in which people acquire, organize and use information for solving problems and making decisions. Field dependence/independence is one of the most studied cognitive styles. Field independent subjects are characterized by having less difficulty in separating information from its contextual surroundings and being less likely to be influenced by external cues than field dependent individuals. The present work aimed at studying the influence of field dependence/independence cognitive style on consumers' visual processing and choice of yogurt labels. One hundred and thirty three consumers completed a choice conjoint task. They were asked to select their preferred yogurt label from each of 16 pairs of labels. While they completed the task their eye movements were recorded using an eye-tracker. Then, consumers were asked to complete the Group Embedded Figure Test to determine their cognitive style. Consumers were divided into two groups with different cognitive styles: 58% of the sample was characterized as field dependent and 42% as field independent. When making their choices, field dependent consumers tended to engage in less thoughtful information processing than field independent consumers and they made fewer fixations on traditional nutritional information. Besides, cognitive style significantly affected the relative importance of fat and sugar content on consumer choices and modulated the influence of the traffic light system. Field dependent consumers gave less importance to the nutritional composition of the yogurts than field independent consumers for selecting their preferred label. Results from this work suggest that studying the psychological underpinnings of consumers' decision making process when selecting food products has a great potential to contribute to a better understanding of how eating patterns and consumer preferences are shaped. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community representation in hospital decision making: a literature review.

PubMed

Murray, Zoë

2015-06-01

Advancing quality in health services requires structures and processes that are informed by consumer input. Although this agenda is well recognised, few researchers have focussed on the establishment and maintenance of customer input throughout the structures and processes used to produce high-quality, safe care. We present an analysis of literature outlining the barriers and enablers involved in community representation in hospital governance. The review aimed to explore how community representation in hospital governance is achieved. Studies spanning 1997-2012 were analysed using Donabedian' s model of quality systems as a guide for categories of interest: structure, in relation to administration of quality; process, which is particularly concerned with cooperation and culture; and outcome, considered, in this case, to be the achievement of effective community representation on quality of care. There are limited published studies on community representation in hospital governance in Australia. What can be gleaned from the literature is: 1) quality subcommittees set up to assist Hospital Boards are a key structure for involving community representation in decision making around quality of care, and 2) there are a number of challenges to effectively developing the process of community representation in hospital governance: ambiguity and the potential for escalated indecision; inadequate value and consideration given to it by decision makers resulting in a lack of time and resources needed to support the community engagement strategy (time, facilitation, budgets); poor support and attitude amongst staff; and consumer issues, such as feeling isolated and intimidated by expert opinion. The analysis indicates that: quality subcommittees set up to assist boards are a key structure for involving community representation in decision making around quality of care. There are clearly a number of challenges to effectively developing the process of community representation in hospital governance, associated with ambiguity, organisational and consumer issues. For an inclusive agenda to real life, work must be done on understanding the representatives' role and the decision making process, adequately supporting the representational process, and developing organisational cooperation and culture regarding community representation.

Multiple perspectives on shared decision-making and interprofessional collaboration in mental healthcare.

PubMed

Chong, Wei Wen; Aslani, Parisa; Chen, Timothy F

2013-05-01

Shared decision-making is an essential element of patient-centered care in mental health. Since mental health services involve healthcare providers from different professions, a multiple perspective to shared decision-making may be valuable. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of different healthcare professionals on shared decision-making and current interprofessional collaboration in mental healthcare. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 healthcare providers from a range of professions, which included medical practitioners (psychiatrists, general practitioners), pharmacists, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers. Findings indicated that healthcare providers supported the notion of shared decision-making in mental health, but felt that it should be condition dependent. Medical practitioners advocated a more active participation from consumers in treatment decision-making; whereas other providers (e.g. pharmacists, occupational therapists) focused more toward acknowledging consumers' needs in decisions, perceiving themselves to be in an advisory role in supporting consumers' decision-making. Although healthcare providers acknowledged the importance of interprofessional collaboration, only a minority discussed it within the context of shared decision-making. In conclusion, healthcare providers appeared to have differing perceptions on the level of consumer involvement in shared decision-making. Interprofessional roles to facilitate shared decision-making in mental health need to be acknowledged, understood and strengthened, before an interprofessional approach to shared decision-making in mental health can be effectively implemented.

Developing a Benchmark Tool for Sustainable Consumption: An Iterative Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heiskanen, E.; Timonen, P.; Nissinen, A.; Gronroos, J.; Honkanen, A.; Katajajuuri, J. -M.; Kettunen, J.; Kurppa, S.; Makinen, T.; Seppala, J.; Silvenius, F.; Virtanen, Y.; Voutilainen, P.

2007-01-01

This article presents the development process of a consumer-oriented, illustrative benchmarking tool enabling consumers to use the results of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to make informed decisions. LCA provides a wealth of information on the environmental impacts of products, but its results are very difficult to present concisely…

Consumer perceptions of beef healthiness: results from a qualitative study in four European countries.

PubMed

Van Wezemael, Lynn; Verbeke, Wim; de Barcellos, Marcia D; Scholderer, Joachim; Perez-Cueto, Federico

2010-06-15

Consumer perception of the healthiness of beef is an important determinant of beef consumption. However, little is known about how consumers perceive the healthiness of beef. The aim of this study is to shed light on the associations between beef and health. Eight focus group discussions were conducted in four European countries (France, UK, Germany, Spain), each consisting of seven to nine participants. A content analysis was performed on the transcripts of these discussions. Although beef was generally perceived as healthful, focus group participants expected positive as well as negative effects of beef consumption on their health. Labelled, branded, fresh and lean beef were perceived as signalling healthful beef, in contrast with further processed and packaged beef. Consumers felt that their individual choices could make a difference with respect to the healthiness of beef consumed. Focus group participants were not in favour of improving beef healthiness during processing, but rather focussed on appropriate consumption behaviour and preparation methods. The individual responsibility for health implies that consumers should be able to make correct judgements about how healthful their food is. However, the results of this study indicate that an accurate assessment of beef healthiness is not always straightforward. The presented results on consumer perceptions of beef healthiness provide insights into consumer decision making processes, which are important for the innovation and product differentiation in the European beef sector, as well as for public health policy decisions related to meat consumption in general and beef consumption in particular.

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.

Sustainability in health care by allocating resources effectively (SHARE) 4: exploring opportunities and methods for consumer engagement in resource allocation in a local healthcare setting.

PubMed

Harris, Claire; Ko, Henry; Waller, Cara; Sloss, Pamela; Williams, Pamela

2017-05-05

This is the fourth in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Healthcare decision-makers have sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services through removal or restriction of practices that are unsafe or of little benefit, often referred to as 'disinvestment'. A systematic, integrated, evidence-based program for disinvestment was being established within a large Australian health service network. Consumer engagement was acknowledged as integral to this process. This paper reports the process of developing a model to integrate consumer views and preferences into an organisation-wide approach to resource allocation. A literature search was conducted and interviews and workshops were undertaken with health service consumers and staff. Findings were drafted into a model for consumer engagement in resource allocation which was workshopped and refined. Although consumer engagement is increasingly becoming a requirement of publicly-funded health services and documented in standards and policies, participation in organisational decision-making is not widespread. Several consistent messages for consumer engagement in this context emerged from the literature and consumer responses. Opportunities, settings and activities for consumer engagement through communication, consultation and participation were identified within the resource allocation process. Sources of information regarding consumer values and perspectives in publications and locally-collected data, and methods to use them in health service decision-making, were identified. A model bringing these elements together was developed. The proposed model presents potential opportunities and activities for consumer engagement in the context of resource allocation.

Making Decisions for Your Health: Getting the Info You Need

MedlinePlus

... Products For Consumers Home For Consumers Consumer Updates Making Decisions for Your Health: Getting the Info You ... is identified as unsafe, FDA informs consumers about market recalls and withdrawals . Create special initiatives. Many FDA ...

Cue-based decision making. A new framework for understanding the uninvolved food consumer.

PubMed

Hamlin, Robert P

2010-08-01

This article examines the processes that occur within the consumer's head as they make a choice between alternative market offers at a low level of involvement. It discusses recent research that indicates that the Theory of Planned Behaviour and its derivatives have restricted validity as a predictor of food consumers' evaluations and purchase patterns. This has significant implications as Planned Behaviour is the dominant paradigm within food industry research. The article demonstrates that Planned Behaviour has acquired this status more by default than by proven merit. The specific reasons for the failure of Planned Behaviour are discussed. An alternative paradigm, Cue-Based Decision Making is developed from an existing literature, and is proposed as a basis for increasing our understanding of the uninvolved food consumer in order to predict and influence their behaviour. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neurofunctional Correlates of Ethical, Food-Related Decision-Making

PubMed Central

Cherry, J. Bradley C.; Bruce, Jared M.; Lusk, Jayson L.; Crespi, John M.; Lim, Seung-Lark; Bruce, Amanda S.

2015-01-01

For consumers today, the perceived ethicality of a food’s production method can be as important a purchasing consideration as its price. Still, few studies have examined how, neurofunctionally, consumers are making ethical, food-related decisions. We examined how consumers’ ethical concern about a food’s production method may relate to how, neurofunctionally, they make decisions whether to purchase that food. Forty-six participants completed a measure of the extent to which they took ethical concern into consideration when making food-related decisions. They then underwent a series of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans while performing a food-related decision-making (FRDM) task. During this task, they made 56 decisions whether to purchase a food based on either its price (i.e., high or low, the “price condition”) or production method (i.e., with or without the use of cages, the “production method condition”), but not both. For 23 randomly selected participants, we performed an exploratory, whole-brain correlation between ethical concern and differential neurofunctional activity in the price and production method conditions. Ethical concern correlated negatively and significantly with differential neurofunctional activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). For the remaining 23 participants, we performed a confirmatory, region-of-interest (ROI) correlation between the same variables, using an 8-mm3 volume situated in the left dlPFC. Again, the variables correlated negatively and significantly. This suggests, when making ethical, food-related decisions, the more consumers take ethical concern into consideration, the less they may rely on neurofunctional activity in the left dlPFC, possibly because making these decisions is more routine for them, and therefore a more perfunctory process requiring fewer cognitive resources. PMID:25830288

Rational decision-making about treatment and care in dementia: a contradiction in terms?

PubMed

Wolfs, Claire A G; de Vugt, Marjolein E; Verkaaik, Mike; Haufe, Marc; Verkade, Paul-Jeroen; Verhey, Frans R J; Stevens, Fred

2012-04-01

To gain caregivers' insights into the decision-making process in dementia patients with regard to treatment and care. Four focus group interviews (n=29). The decision-making process consists of three elementary components: (1) identifying an individual's needs; (2) exploring options; and (3) making a choice. The most important phase is the exploration phase as it is crucial for the acceptance of the disease. Furthermore, the decision is experienced more as an emotional choice than a rational one. It is influenced by personal preferences whereas practical aspects do not seem to play a substantial role. Several aspects make decision-making in dementia different from decision-making in the context of other chronic diseases: (1) the difficulty accepting dementia; (2) the progressive nature of dementia; (3) patient's reliance on surrogate decision-making; and (4) strong emotions. Due to these aspects, the decision-making process is very time-consuming, especially the crucial exploration phase. A more active role is required of both the caregiver and the health care professional especially in the exploration phase, enabling easier acceptance and adjustment to the disease. Acceptance is an important condition for reducing anxiety and resistance to care that may offer significant benefits in the future. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Factors are Associated with Consumer Initiation of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Visits?

PubMed

Matthias, Marianne S; Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P

2017-01-01

Understanding consumer initiation of shared decision making (SDM) is critical to improving SDM in mental health consultations, particularly because providers do not always invite consumer participation in treatment decisions. This study examined the association between consumer initiation of nine elements of SDM as measured by the SDM scale, and measures of consumer illness self-management and the consumer-provider relationship. In 63 mental health visits, three SDM elements were associated with self-management or relationship factors: discussion of consumer goals, treatment alternatives, and pros and cons of a decision. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.

Relevance of behavioral and social models to the study of consumer energy decision making and behavior

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

Burns, B.A.

This report reviews social and behavioral science models and techniques for their possible use in understanding and predicting consumer energy decision making and behaviors. A number of models and techniques have been developed that address different aspects of the decision process, use different theoretical bases and approaches, and have been aimed at different audiences. Three major areas of discussion were selected: (1) models of adaptation to social change, (2) decision making and choice, and (3) diffusion of innovation. Within these three areas, the contributions of psychologists, sociologists, economists, marketing researchers, and others were reviewed. Five primary components of the modelsmore » were identified and compared. The components are: (1) situational characteristics, (2) product characteristics, (3) individual characteristics, (4) social influences, and (5) the interaction or decision rules. The explicit use of behavioral and social science models in energy decision-making and behavior studies has been limited. Examples are given of a small number of energy studies which applied and tested existing models in studying the adoption of energy conservation behaviors and technologies, and solar technology.« less

Direct-to-consumer advertising and its utility in health care decision making: a consumer perspective.

PubMed

Deshpande, Aparna; Menon, Ajit; Perri, Matthew; Zinkhan, George

2004-01-01

The growth in direct-to-consumer advertising(DTCA)over the past two decades has facilitated the communication of prescription drug information directly to consumers. Data from a 1999 national survey are employed to determine the factors influencing consumers' opinions of the utility of DTC ads for health care decision making. We also analyze whether consumers use DTC ad information in health care decision making and who are the key drivers of such information utilization. The study results suggest that consumers have positive opinions of DTCA utility, varying across demographics and perceptions of certain advertisement features. Specifically, consumers value information about both risks and benefits, but the perception of risk information is more important in shaping opinions of ad utility than the perception of benefit information. Consumers still perceive, however that the quality of benefit information in DTC ads is better than that of risk information. Opinions about ad utility significantly influence whether information from DTC ads is used in health care decision making.

Consumer satisfaction with psychiatric services: The role of shared decision making and the therapeutic relationship.

PubMed

Klingaman, Elizabeth A; Medoff, Deborah R; Park, Stephanie G; Brown, Clayton H; Fang, Lijuan; Dixon, Lisa B; Hack, Samantha M; Tapscott, Stephanie L; Walsh, Mary Brighid; Kreyenbuhl, Julie A

2015-09-01

Although dissatisfaction is a primary reason for disengagement from outpatient psychiatric care among consumers with serious mental illnesses, little is known about predictors of their satisfaction with medication management visits. The primary purpose of this study was to explore how dimensions of consumer preferences for shared decision making (i.e., preferences for obtaining knowledge about one's mental illness, being offered and asked one's opinion about treatment options, and involvement in treatment decisions) and the therapeutic relationship (i.e., positive collaboration and type of clinician input) were related to visit satisfaction. Participants were 228 Veterans with serious mental illnesses who completed a 19-item self-report questionnaire assessing satisfaction with visits to prescribers (524 assessments) immediately after visits. In this correlational design, a 3-level mixed model with the restricted maximum likelihood estimation procedure was used to examine shared decision-making preferences and therapeutic alliance as predictors of visit satisfaction. Preferences for involvement in treatment decisions was the unique component of shared decision making associated with satisfaction, such that the more consumers desired involvement, the less satisfied they were. Positive collaboration and prescriber input were associated with greater visit satisfaction. When consumers with serious mental illnesses express preferences to be involved in shared decision making, it may not be sufficient to only provide information and treatment options; prescribers should attend to consumers' interest in involvement in actual treatment decisions. Assessment and tailoring of treatment approaches to consumer preferences for shared decision making should occur within the context of a strong therapeutic relationship. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of shopping addiction on consumer decision-making: Web-based studies in real time.

PubMed

Lo, Hui-Yi; Harvey, Nigel

2012-12-01

Background and aims Most research into compulsive buying has focused on its causes: questionnaires have been used to study its association with various factors assumed to be important in its etiology. Few studies have dealt with the effects of being a compulsive buyer on shopping decisions. Also, processes underlying compulsive buying are dynamic but questionnaires give access only to a retrospective view of them from the standpoint of the participant. The aim of the current study was to investigate the decision processes underlying compulsive buying. Methods Two simulated shopping experiments, each with over 100 participants, were used to compare the decision processes of compulsive shoppers with those of non-compulsive shoppers. This approach allowed us to measure many features of consumer decision-making that are relevant to compulsive shopping. Results Compulsive shoppers differed from general shoppers in six ways: choice characteristics, searching behavior, overspending, budget-consciousness, effects of credit card availability, and emotional responses to overspending. Conclusions Results are consistent with the view that compulsive buying, like other behavioral addictions, develops because the cognitive system under-predicts the extent of post-addiction craving produced by emotional and visceral processes.

Configural displays can improve nutrition-related. decisions: an application of the proximity compatibility principle.

PubMed

Marino, Christopher J; Mahan, Robert R

2005-01-01

The nutrition label format currently used by consumers to make dietary-related decisions presents significant information-processing demands for integration-based decisions; however, those demands were not considered as primary factors when the format was adopted. Labels designed in accordance with known principles of cognitive psychology might enhance the kind of decision making that food labeling was intended to facilitate. Three experiments were designed on the basis of the proximity compatibility principle (PCP) to investigate the relationship between nutrition label format and decision making; the experiments involved two types of integration decisions and one type of filtering decision. Based on the PCP, decision performance was measured to test the overall hypothesis that matched task-display tandems would result in better decision performance than would mismatched tandems. In each experiment, a statistically significant increase in mean decision performance was found when the display design was cognitively matched to the demands of the task. Combined, the results from all three experiments support the general hypothesis that task-display matching is a design principle that may enhance the utility of nutrition labeling in nutrition-related decision making. Actual or potential applications of this research include developing robust display solutions that aid in less effortful assimilation of nutrition-related information for consumers.

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.

Trial of an electronic decision support system to facilitate shared decision making in community mental health.

PubMed

Woltmann, Emily M; Wilkniss, Sandra M; Teachout, Alexandra; McHugo, Gregory J; Drake, Robert E

2011-01-01

Involvement of community mental health consumers in mental health decision making has been consistently associated with improvements in health outcomes. Electronic decision support systems (EDSSs) that support both consumer and provider decision making may be a sustainable way to improve dyadic communication in a field with approximately 50% workforce turnover per year. This study examined the feasibility of such a system and investigated proximal outcomes of the system's performance. A cluster randomized design was used to evaluate an EDSS at three urban community mental health sites. Case managers (N=20) were randomly assigned to the EDSS-supported planning group or to the usual care planning group. Consumers (N=80) were assigned to the same group as their case managers. User satisfaction with the care planning process was assessed for consumers and case managers (possible scores range from 1 to 5, with higher summary scores indicating more satisfaction). Recall of the care plan was assessed for consumers. Linear regression with adjustment for grouping by worker was used to assess satisfaction scores. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to examine knowledge of the care plan. Compared with case managers in the control group, those in the intervention group were significantly more satisfied with the care planning process (mean ± SD score=4.0 ± .5 versus 3.3 ± .5; adjusted p=.01). Compared with consumers in the control group, those in the intervention group had significantly greater recall of their care plans three days after the planning session (mean proportion of plan goals recalled=75% ± 28% versus 57% ± 32%; p=.02). There were no differences between the clients in the intervention and control groups regarding satisfaction. This study demonstrated that clients can build their own care plans and negotiate and revise them with their case managers using an EDSS.

Georgia 4-H Consumer Judging.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackburn, Mary Ellen; Hall, Doris N.

Materials are provided for a consumer education activity designed to help teenagers make knowledgeable, rational decisions when purchasing goods and services. A student manual describes how the activity--a consumer judging contest--works. Information is provided on how consumers make decisions. Topics include: needs versus wants; sources of…

Information search in health care decision-making: a study of word-of-mouth and internet information users.

PubMed

Snipes, Robin L; Ingram, Rhea; Jiang, Pingjun

2005-01-01

This paper investigates how individual consumers may differ in their information search behavior in health care decision-making. Results indicate that most consumers still use word-of-mouth as a primary information source for health care decisions. However, usage of the Internet is increasing. The results of this study indicate that consumers who are most likely to use the Internet for health care information are single, younger, and less educated, whereas consumers who are most likely to use word-of-mouth are middle-aged, married, with higher income and higher education. Surprisingly, no significant gender difference was found in information search behavior for health care decision-making. The results also suggest that consumers with the highest tendency to use word-of-mouth are also the lowest users of the Internet in health care decision-making. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Recycling Pricing and Coordination of WEEE Dual-Channel Closed-Loop Supply Chain Considering Consumers' Bargaining.

PubMed

Zhu, Xiaodong; Wang, Jing; Tang, Juan

2017-12-15

Environmentally friendly handling and efficient recycling of waste electrical on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) have grown to be a global social problem. As holders of WEEE, consumers have a significant effect on the recycling process. A consideration of and attention to the influence of consumer behavior in the recycling process can help achieve more effective recycling of WEEE. In this paper, we built a dual-channel closed-loop supply chain model composed of manufacturers, retailers, and network recycling platforms. Based on the influence of customer bargaining behavior, we studied several different scenarios of centralized decision-making, decentralized decision-making, and contract coordination, using the Stackelberg game theory. The results show that retailers and network recycling platforms will reduce the direct recovery prices to maintain their own profit when considering the impact of consumer bargaining behavior, while remanufacturers will improve the transfer payment price for surrendering part of the profit under revenue and the expense sharing contract. Using this contract, we can achieve supply chain coordination and eliminate the effect of consumer bargaining behavior on supply chain performance. It can be viewed from the parameter sensitivity analysis that when we select the appropriate sharing coefficient, the closed-loop supply chain can achieve the same system performance under a centralized decision.

Consumer perceptions of beef healthiness: results from a qualitative study in four European countries

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Consumer perception of the healthiness of beef is an important determinant of beef consumption. However, little is known about how consumers perceive the healthiness of beef. The aim of this study is to shed light on the associations between beef and health. Methods Eight focus group discussions were conducted in four European countries (France, UK, Germany, Spain), each consisting of seven to nine participants. A content analysis was performed on the transcripts of these discussions. Results Although beef was generally perceived as healthful, focus group participants expected positive as well as negative effects of beef consumption on their health. Labelled, branded, fresh and lean beef were perceived as signalling healthful beef, in contrast with further processed and packaged beef. Consumers felt that their individual choices could make a difference with respect to the healthiness of beef consumed. Focus group participants were not in favour of improving beef healthiness during processing, but rather focussed on appropriate consumption behaviour and preparation methods. Conclusions The individual responsibility for health implies that consumers should be able to make correct judgements about how healthful their food is. However, the results of this study indicate that an accurate assessment of beef healthiness is not always straightforward. The presented results on consumer perceptions of beef healthiness provide insights into consumer decision making processes, which are important for the innovation and product differentiation in the European beef sector, as well as for public health policy decisions related to meat consumption in general and beef consumption in particular. PMID:20550647

What Factors are Associated with Consumer Initiation of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Visits?

PubMed Central

Matthias, Marianne S.; Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P.

2016-01-01

Understanding consumer initiation of shared decision making (SDM) is critical to improving SDM in mental health consultations, particularly because providers do not always invite consumer participation in treatment decisions. This study examined the association between consumer initiation of nine elements of SDM as measured by the SDM scale, and measures of consumer illness self-management and the consumer-provider relationship. In 63 mental health visits, three SDM elements were associated with self-management or relationship factors: discussion of consumer goals, treatment alternatives, and pros and cons of a decision. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed. PMID:26427999

Study protocol: developing a decision system for inclusive housing: applying a systematic, mixed-method quasi-experimental design.

PubMed

Zeeman, Heidi; Kendall, Elizabeth; Whitty, Jennifer A; Wright, Courtney J; Townsend, Clare; Smith, Dianne; Lakhani, Ali; Kennerley, Samantha

2016-03-15

Identifying the housing preferences of people with complex disabilities is a much needed, but under-developed area of practice and scholarship. Despite the recognition that housing is a social determinant of health and quality of life, there is an absence of empirical methodologies that can practically and systematically involve consumers in this complex service delivery and housing design market. A rigorous process for making effective and consistent development decisions is needed to ensure resources are used effectively and the needs of consumers with complex disability are properly met. This 3-year project aims to identify how the public and private housing market in Australia can better respond to the needs of people with complex disabilities whilst simultaneously achieving key corporate objectives. First, using the Customer Relationship Management framework, qualitative (Nominal Group Technique) and quantitative (Discrete Choice Experiment) methods will be used to quantify the housing preferences of consumers and their carers. A systematic mixed-method, quasi-experimental design will then be used to quantify the development priorities of other key stakeholders (e.g., architects, developers, Government housing services etc.) in relation to inclusive housing for people with complex disabilities. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 1 (experimental group) will participate in a series of focus groups employing Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) methodology. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 2 (control group) will participate in focus groups employing existing decision making processes to inclusive housing development (e.g., Risk, Opportunity, Cost, Benefit considerations). Using comparative stakeholder analysis, this research design will enable the AHP methodology (a proposed tool to guide inclusive housing development decisions) to be tested. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will enable stakeholders to incorporate consumer housing preferences into commercial decisions. Housing designers and developers will benefit from the creation of a parsimonious set of consumer-led housing preferences by which to make informed investments in future housing and contribute to future housing policy. The research design has not been applied in the Australian research context or elsewhere, and will provide a much needed blueprint for market investment to develop viable, consumer directed inclusive housing options for people with complex disability.

[The role of information in public health decision-making].

PubMed

Cecchi, Catherine

2008-01-01

Public health, prevention, health education and health promotion are inseparable from the concepts of information and communication. Information should respond as much as possible to the needs of professionals, decision-makers, and consumers who are more and more concerned and conscious of its importance in light of "information overload", various dissemination channels and the multiplicity of its sources. There are numerous issues at stake ranging from comprehension, to the validation of health information, health education, health promotion, prevention, decision-making, as well as issues related to knowledge and power. Irrespective of the type of choice to be made, the need for information, knowledge, and know-how is inseparable from that of other tools or regulatory measures required for decision-making. Information is the same as competence, epidemiological and population data, health data, scientific opinion, and expert conferences--all are needed to assist in decision-making. Based on the principle of precaution, information must increasingly take into account the rejection of a society which often reasons on the basis of a presumption of zero-risk, in an idealistic manner, and which also excludes the possibility of new risks. The consumer positions himself as the regulator of decisions, specifically those with regard to the notion of acceptable level of risk. All of the actors involved in the health system are or become at one moment or another public health decision-makers. Their decision might be based either on an analytical approach, or on an intuitive approach. Although the act of decision-making is the least visible part of public health policy, it is certainly the driving force. This process should integrate the perspective of all of the relevant players, including consumers, who are currently situated more and more frequently at the heart of the health system. Public health decision-making is conducted as a function of political, strategic and environmental issues; of lobbies and their power; and of social maturation. Decision-making is a necessity. Making the right choice at the right time requires high quality information, and it is often necessary to respect a certain amount of time for reflection and ripening of an issue in order to make the best possible decision. The media and consumers play an increasingly significant role in public health decision-making and in the ensuing legislative consequences and debates which come as a result. Access to information is changing, especially thanks to the Internet which is completely modifying the global scenery of knowledge and know-how. Information supports decision-making with calculated risk, and it offers the opportunity to make choices and decisions, recognising that "to choose, is sometimes to relinquish".

The CHOICE pilot project: Challenges of implementing a combined peer work and shared decision-making programme in an early intervention service.

PubMed

Simmons, Magenta B; Coates, Dominiek; Batchelor, Samantha; Dimopoulos-Bick, Tara; Howe, Deborah

2017-12-12

Youth participation is central to early intervention policy and quality frameworks. There is good evidence for peer support (individuals with lived experience helping other consumers) and shared decision making (involving consumers in making decisions about their own care) in adult settings. However, youth programs are rarely tested or described in detail. This report aims to fill this gap by describing a consumer focused intervention in an early intervention service. This paper describes the development process, intervention content and implementation challenges of the Choices about Healthcare Options Informed by Client Experiences and Expectations (CHOICE) Pilot Project. This highly novel and innovative project combined both youth peer work and youth shared decision making. Eight peer workers were employed to deliver an online shared decision-making tool at a youth mental health service in New South Wales, Australia. The intervention development involved best practice principles, including international standards and elements of co-design. The implementation of the peer workforce in the service involved a number of targeted strategies designed to support this new service model. However, several implementation challenges were experienced which resulted in critical learning about how best to deliver these types of interventions. Delivering peer work and shared decision making within an early intervention service is feasible, but not without challenges. Providing adequate detail about interventions and implementation strategies fills a critical gap in the literature. Understanding optimal youth involvement strategies assists others to deliver acceptable and effective services to young people who experience mental ill health. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Consumer Decision-Making Abilities and Long-Term Care Insurance Purchase.

PubMed

McGarry, Brian E; Tempkin-Greener, Helena; Grabowski, David C; Chapman, Benjamin P; Li, Yue

2018-04-16

To determine the impact of consumer decision-making abilities on making a long-term care insurance (LTCi) purchasing decision that is consistent with normative economic predictions regarding policy ownership. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, multivariate analyses are implemented to estimate the effect of decision-making ability factors on owning LTCi. Stratified multivariate analyses are used to examine the effect of decision-making abilities on the likelihood of adhering to economic predictions of LTCi ownership. In the full sample, better cognitive capacity was found to significantly increase the odds of ownership. When the sample was stratified based on expected LTCi ownership status, cognitive capacity was positively associated with ownership among those predicted to own and negatively associated with ownership among those predicted not to own who could likely afford a policy. Consumer decision-making abilities, specifically cognitive capacity, are an important determinant of LTCi decision outcomes. Deficits in this ability may prevent individuals from successfully preparing for future long-term care expenses. Policy makers should consider changes that reduce the cognitive burden of this choice, including the standardization of the LTCi market, the provision of consumer decision aids, and alternatives to voluntary and private insuring mechanisms.

The Influence of the Social Network: A Phenomenological Study of Early Adopter Consumers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeFrange Coston, Rita Louise

2009-01-01

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 20 early adopter consumers, who used social networks in their decision-making process to purchase a component or complete high-technology home entertainment system. Four core themes of communication, convenience, cost, and technology emerged. Subthemes encompassed…

Probability or Reasoning: Current Thinking and Realistic Strategies for Improved Medical Decisions

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

A prescriptive model approach in decision making could help achieve better diagnostic accuracy in clinical practice through methods that are less reliant on probabilistic assessments. Various prescriptive measures aimed at regulating factors that influence heuristics and clinical reasoning could support clinical decision-making process. Clinicians could avoid time-consuming decision-making methods that require probabilistic calculations. Intuitively, they could rely on heuristics to obtain an accurate diagnosis in a given clinical setting. An extensive literature review of cognitive psychology and medical decision-making theory was performed to illustrate how heuristics could be effectively utilized in daily practice. Since physicians often rely on heuristics in realistic situations, probabilistic estimation might not be a useful tool in everyday clinical practice. Improvements in the descriptive model of decision making (heuristics) may allow for greater diagnostic accuracy. PMID:29209469

Probability or Reasoning: Current Thinking and Realistic Strategies for Improved Medical Decisions.

PubMed

Nantha, Yogarabindranath Swarna

2017-11-01

A prescriptive model approach in decision making could help achieve better diagnostic accuracy in clinical practice through methods that are less reliant on probabilistic assessments. Various prescriptive measures aimed at regulating factors that influence heuristics and clinical reasoning could support clinical decision-making process. Clinicians could avoid time-consuming decision-making methods that require probabilistic calculations. Intuitively, they could rely on heuristics to obtain an accurate diagnosis in a given clinical setting. An extensive literature review of cognitive psychology and medical decision-making theory was performed to illustrate how heuristics could be effectively utilized in daily practice. Since physicians often rely on heuristics in realistic situations, probabilistic estimation might not be a useful tool in everyday clinical practice. Improvements in the descriptive model of decision making (heuristics) may allow for greater diagnostic accuracy.

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.

Shared decision-making and interprofessional collaboration in mental healthcare: a qualitative study exploring perceptions of barriers and facilitators.

PubMed

Chong, Wei Wen; Aslani, Parisa; Chen, Timothy F

2013-09-01

Shared decision-making and interprofessional collaboration are important approaches to achieving consumer-centered care. The concept of shared decision-making has been expanded recently to include the interprofessional healthcare team. This study explored healthcare providers' perceptions of barriers and facilitators to both shared decision-making and interprofessional collaboration in mental healthcare. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 healthcare providers, including medical practitioners (psychiatrists, general practitioners), pharmacists, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers. Healthcare providers identified several factors as barriers to, and facilitators of shared decision-making that could be categorized into three major themes: factors associated with mental health consumers, factors associated with healthcare providers and factors associated with healthcare service delivery. Consumers' lack of competence to participate was frequently perceived by mental health specialty providers to be a primary barrier to shared decision-making, while information provision on illness and treatment to consumers was cited by healthcare providers from all professions to be an important facilitator of shared decision-making. Whilst healthcare providers perceived interprofessional collaboration to be influenced by healthcare provider, environmental and systemic factors, emphasis of the factors differed among healthcare providers. To facilitate interprofessional collaboration, mental health specialty providers emphasized the importance of improving mental health expertise among general practitioners and community pharmacists, whereas general health providers were of the opinion that information sharing between providers and healthcare settings was the key. The findings of this study suggest that changes may be necessary at several levels (i.e. consumer, provider and environment) to implement effective shared decision-making and interprofessional collaboration in mental healthcare.

Self-Stigma and Consumer Participation in Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Services.

PubMed

Hamann, Johannes; Bühner, Markus; Rüsch, Nicolas

2017-08-01

People with mental illness struggle with symptoms and with public stigma. Some accept common prejudices and lose self-esteem, resulting in shame and self-stigma, which may affect their interactions with mental health professionals. This study explored whether self-stigma and shame are associated with consumers' preferences for participation in medical decision making and their behavior in psychiatric consultations. In a cross-sectional study conducted in Germany, 329 individuals with a diagnosis of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder or an affective disorder and their psychiatrists provided sociodemographic and illness-related information. Self-stigma, shame, locus of control, and views about clinical decision making were assessed by self-report. Psychiatrists rated their impression of the decision-making behavior of consumers. Regression analyses and structural equation modeling were used to determine the association of self-stigma and shame with clinical decision making. Self-stigma was not related to consumers' participation preferences, but it was associated with some aspects of communicative behavior. Active and critical behavior (for example, expressing views, daring to challenge the doctor's opinion, and openly speaking out about disagreements with the doctor) was associated with less shame, less self-stigma, more self-responsibility, less attribution of external control to powerful others, and more years of education. Self-stigma and shame were associated with less participative and critical behavior, which probably leads to clinical encounters that involve less shared decision making and more paternalistic decision making. Paternalistic decision making may reinforce self-stigma and lead to poorer health outcomes. Therefore, interventions that reduce self-stigma and increase consumers' critical and participative communication may improve health outcomes.

Consumer Satisfaction with Psychiatric Services: The Role of Shared Decision-Making and the Therapeutic Relationship

PubMed Central

Klingaman, Elizabeth A.; Medoff, Deborah R.; Park, Stephanie G.; Brown, Clayton H.; Fang, Lijuan; Dixon, Lisa B.; Hack, Samantha M.; Tapscott, Stephanie L.; Walsh, Mary Brighid; Kreyenbuhl, Julie A.

2017-01-01

Objective Although dissatisfaction is a primary reason for disengagement from outpatient psychiatric care among consumers with serious mental illnesses, little is known about predictors of their satisfaction with medication management visits. The primary purpose of the present study was to explore how dimensions of consumer preferences for shared decision-making (i.e., preferences for obtaining knowledge about one’s mental illness, being offered and asked one’s opinion about treatment options, and involvement in treatment decisions) and the therapeutic relationship (i.e., positive collaboration and type of clinician input) were related to visit satisfaction. Methods Participants were 228 Veterans with serious mental illnesses who completed a 19-item self-report questionnaire assessing satisfaction with visits to prescribers (n=524 assessments) immediately after visits. In this correlational design, a 3-level mixed model with the restricted maximum likelihood estimation procedure was used to examine shared decision-making preferences and therapeutic alliance as predictors of visit satisfaction. Results Preferences for involvement in treatment decisions was the unique component of shared decision-making associated with satisfaction, such that the more consumers desired involvement, the less satisfied they were. Positive collaboration and prescriber input were associated with greater visit satisfaction. Conclusions and Implications for Practice When consumers with serious mental illnesses express preferences to be involved in shared decision-making, it may not be sufficient to only provide information and treatment options; prescribers should attend to consumers’ interest in involvement in actual treatment decisions. Assessment and tailoring of treatment approaches to consumer preferences for shared decision-making should occur within the context of a strong therapeutic relationship. PMID:25664755

The productive techniques and constitutive effects of 'evidence-based policy' and 'consumer participation' discourses in health policy processes.

PubMed

Lancaster, K; Seear, K; Treloar, C; Ritter, A

2017-03-01

For over twenty years there have been calls for greater 'consumer' participation in health decision-making. While it is recognised by governments and other stakeholders that 'consumer' participation is desirable, barriers to meaningful involvement nonetheless remain. It has been suggested that the reifying of 'evidence-based policy' may be limiting opportunities for participation, through the way this discourse legitimates particular voices to the exclusion of others. Others have suggested that assumptions underpinning the very notion of the 'affected community' or 'consumers' as fixed and bounded 'policy publics' need to be problematised. In this paper, drawing on interviews (n = 41) with individuals closely involved in Australian drug policy discussions, we critically interrogate the productive techniques and constitutive effects of 'evidence-based policy' and 'consumer participation' discourses in the context of drug policy processes. To inform our analysis, we draw on and combine a number of critical perspectives including Foucault's concept of subjugated knowledges, the work of feminist theorists, as well as recent work regarding conceptualisations of emergent policy publics. First, we explore how the subject position of 'consumer' might be seen as enacted in the material-discursive practices of 'evidence-based policy' and 'consumer participation' in drug policy processes. Secondly, we consider the centralising power-effects of the dominant 'evidence-based policy' paradigm, and how resistance may be thought about in this context. We suggest that such interrogation has potential to recast the call for 'consumer' participation in health policy decision-making and drug policy processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recycling Pricing and Coordination of WEEE Dual-Channel Closed-Loop Supply Chain Considering Consumers’ Bargaining

PubMed Central

Zhu, Xiaodong; Wang, Jing; Tang, Juan

2017-01-01

Environmentally friendly handling and efficient recycling of waste electrical on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) have grown to be a global social problem. As holders of WEEE, consumers have a significant effect on the recycling process. A consideration of and attention to the influence of consumer behavior in the recycling process can help achieve more effective recycling of WEEE. In this paper, we built a dual-channel closed-loop supply chain model composed of manufacturers, retailers, and network recycling platforms. Based on the influence of customer bargaining behavior, we studied several different scenarios of centralized decision-making, decentralized decision-making, and contract coordination, using the Stackelberg game theory. The results show that retailers and network recycling platforms will reduce the direct recovery prices to maintain their own profit when considering the impact of consumer bargaining behavior, while remanufacturers will improve the transfer payment price for surrendering part of the profit under revenue and the expense sharing contract. Using this contract, we can achieve supply chain coordination and eliminate the effect of consumer bargaining behavior on supply chain performance. It can be viewed from the parameter sensitivity analysis that when we select the appropriate sharing coefficient, the closed-loop supply chain can achieve the same system performance under a centralized decision. PMID:29244778

78 FR 2961 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-15

... inform or improve consumer financial decision-making. The Bureau expects to collect qualitative data on... education and empowerment programs, leading to better financial decision-making outcomes for adult consumers... financial decisions. DATES: Written comments are encouraged and must be received on or before March 18, 2013...

Hemorrhage Detection and Segmentation in Traumatic Pelvic Injuries

PubMed Central

Davuluri, Pavani; Wu, Jie; Tang, Yang; Cockrell, Charles H.; Ward, Kevin R.; Najarian, Kayvan; Hargraves, Rosalyn H.

2012-01-01

Automated hemorrhage detection and segmentation in traumatic pelvic injuries is vital for fast and accurate treatment decision making. Hemorrhage is the main cause of deaths in patients within first 24 hours after the injury. It is very time consuming for physicians to analyze all Computed Tomography (CT) images manually. As time is crucial in emergence medicine, analyzing medical images manually delays the decision-making process. Automated hemorrhage detection and segmentation can significantly help physicians to analyze these images and make fast and accurate decisions. Hemorrhage segmentation is a crucial step in the accurate diagnosis and treatment decision-making process. This paper presents a novel rule-based hemorrhage segmentation technique that utilizes pelvic anatomical information to segment hemorrhage accurately. An evaluation measure is used to quantify the accuracy of hemorrhage segmentation. The results show that the proposed method is able to segment hemorrhage very well, and the results are promising. PMID:22919433

Family Decision Making and Self-Determination Among Consumers With Schizophrenia in China: Cross-Cultural Implications.

PubMed

Chen, Ying; Lam, Chow S; Deng, Hong; Corrigan, Patrick W; Yau, Eva

2018-04-01

Self-determination is viewed as an important ingredient of successful recovery in psychiatric rehabilitation. The concept of autonomy, a key component of self-determination, may be of less importance in Chinese cultures, whereby an individual's choices may be in conflict with the family's expectations. This study aimed to develop an instrument to measure opinions about self-determination among Chinese consumers and their family members. A 27-item questionnaire, the Consumer and Family Decision Making Scale (CFDMS), was constructed to measure consumers' and family members' views of self-determination in various aspects of daily life. A total of 364 (182 consumers of psychiatric services with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and 182 of their family members) participated in the study. The CFDMS was found to possess good psychometric properties and appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessment of consumers' decision making. (The Cronbach's alphas of psychiatric care and treatment factor, personal and social function factor, community and daily living factor, and money management factor were as follows: .86, .89, .87 and .76. The respective test-retest reliabilities were as follows: .81, .89, .80, and .88). Chinese consumers preferred autonomous decision making in regard to personal and social functioning and community and daily living but preferred to defer decisions regarding psychiatric care and treatment and money management to others. Family members and consumers had similar views. Deferring decisions to family members is common in Chinese families. The emphasis on autonomy in Western health care may need to be reconsidered in the treatment of Chinese consumers. Chinese families have a strong influence on treatment decisions, and providers must respect this style and remain nonjudgmental when dealing with situations or decisions that may be contradictory to their own culture and values.

Improving Consumer Information for Higher Education Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herndon, M. Craig

2012-01-01

It is a historically held principle of microeconomics that in the presence of better information, consumers make better decisions. This chapter focuses on information to guide consumers in making decisions about higher education. It examines the development and implementation of a one-stop career and college planning tool that leverages existing…

Automotive Marketing Methods and Practice

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-09-01

The report is a comprehensive examination of the current marketing practices, marketing methodologies, and decision-making processes utilized by the domestic automotive industry. The various marketing elements, such as products, consumer behavior, sa...

A small frog that makes a big difference: brain wave testing of TV advertisements.

PubMed

Ohme, Rafal; Matukin, Michal

2012-01-01

It is important for the marketing industry to better understand the role of the unconscious and emotions in advertising communication and shopping behavior. Yet, traditional consumer research is not enough for such a purpose. Conventional paper-and-pencil or verbal declarations favor conscious pragmatism and functionality as the principles underlying consumer decisions and motives. These approaches should be combined with an emerging discipline (consumer neuroscience or neuromarketing) to examine the brain and its functioning in the context of consumer choices. It has been widely acknowledged that patterns of brain activity are closely related to consumers cognition and behavior. Thus, the analysis of consumers neurophysiology may increase the understanding of how consumers process incoming information and how they use their memory and react emotionally (See "Three Types of Brain Wave Research on TV Advertisements"): Moreover, as the majority of consumer mental processes occur below the level of conscious awareness, observations of the brain reactions enable researchers to reach the very core (which is consciously inaccessible) foundations of consumer decisions, emotions, motivations, and preferences.

Recruiting patients to clinical trials: lessons from studies of growth hormone treatment in renal failure.

PubMed

Postlethwaite, R J; Reynolds, J M; Wood, A J; Evans, J H; Lewis, M A; Eminson, D M

1995-07-01

Issues raised by the recruitment of children to trials of growth hormone treatment for short stature in chronic renal failure are reported. Information needs of parents and children are discussed, the latter should take account of the children's developmental level and anticipated involvement in decision making. When the incidence of certain side effects is low and probably unquantifiable there are particular problems; failure to include these in information sheets may compromise informed consent but inclusion will, at least for some families, make an already difficult decision even more complicated. A process of recruitment is described which attempts to protect against bias and which balances the requirement to impart neutral information with appropriate clinical involvement in the decision to enter the study. Other functions of the recruitment process are identified. Analysis of understanding and decision making demonstrates that good understanding is neither necessary nor sufficient for ease of decision making. The recruitment process was time consuming and needs planning and funding in future studies. Many of these issues are of general importance for trials of treatment in children.

Consumer Decisions. Student Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florida State Dept. of Education, Tallahassee. Div. of Vocational Education.

This student manual covers five areas relating to consumer decisions. Titles of the five sections are Consumer Law, Consumer Decision Making, Buying a Car, Convenience Foods, and Books for Preschool Children. Each section may contain some or all of these materials: list of objectives, informative sections, questions on the information and answers,…

Culture and medical decision making: Healthcare consumer perspectives in Japan and the United States.

PubMed

Alden, Dana L; Friend, John M; Lee, Angela Y; de Vries, Marieke; Osawa, Ryosuke; Chen, Qimei

2015-12-01

Two studies identified core value influences on medical decision-making processes across and within cultures. In Study 1, Japanese and American adults reported desired levels of medical decision-making influence across conditions that varied in seriousness. Cultural antecedents (interdependence, independence, and power distance) were also measured. In Study 2, American adults reviewed a colorectal cancer screening decision aid. Decision preparedness was measured along with interdependence, independence, and desire for medical information. In Study 1, higher interdependence predicted stronger desire for decision-making information in both countries, but was significantly stronger in Japan. The path from information desire to decision-making influence desire was significant only in Japan. The independence path to desire for decision-making influence was significant only in the United States. Power distance effects negatively predicted desire for decision-making influence only in the United States. For Study 2, high (low) interdependents and women (men) in the United States felt that a colorectal cancer screening decision aid helped prepare them more (less) for a medical consultation. Low interdependent men were at significantly higher risk for low decision preparedness. Study 1 suggests that Japanese participants may tend to view medical decision-making influence as an interdependent, information sharing exchange, whereas American respondents may be more interested in power sharing that emphasizes greater independence. Study 2 demonstrates the need to assess value influences on medical decision-making processes within and across cultures and suggests that individually tailored versions of decision aids may optimize decision preparedness. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Traditional and online consumers in China: a preliminary study of their personality traits and decision-making styles.

PubMed

Zhu, Junpeng; Xu, You; Huang, Jingyi; Yeow, Changdar; Wang, Wei

2012-12-01

Population of online consumers increases rapidly, but the decision-making styles of online consumers and psychiatric denominators such as the personality correlates remain unclear. In 196 traditional, and 196 age-, education- and gender-matched online consumers, we have tested the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) and the Consumer Style Inventory (CSI). After exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we have defined a five-factor model CSI with 24 items. Online consumers scored lower on ZKPQ Neuroticism-Anxiety and higher on Aggression-Hostility than traditional ones did, and scored higher on CSI Novelty-fashion consciousness and Brand consciousness, and lower on Time consciousness than the traditional consumers did. ZKPQ Neuroticism-Anxiety was positively correlated with CSI Confused by overchoice in both groups, Sociability was positively correlated with Novelty-fashion consciousness and negatively with Time consciousness in traditional group, and Impulsive Sensation Seeking was positively correlated with Novelty-fashion consciousness and Time consciousness in online group. Our study suggests that, regarding the decision-making styles, online consumers display curiosity that lacks security and need other ways to improve their social lives. It also calls further designs to address the contributions of other psychiatric features to the particular decision-making styles in online consumers.

Agency Decision-Making Control and Employment Outcomes by Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinman, Bernard A.; Kwan, Ngai; Boeltzig-Brown, Heike; Haines, Kelly; Halliday, John; Foley, Susan M.

2013-01-01

Introduction: We hypothesized that consumers who are blind or visually impaired (that is, those who have low vision) who were served by state vocational rehabilitation agencies with decision-making control over administrative functions would experience better vocational rehabilitation outcomes than consumers served by vocational rehabilitation…

Ten Principles to Guide Health Reform.

PubMed

Gerald, Joe K

2017-03-01

Americans face inevitable trade-offs between health care affordability, accessibility, and innovation. Although numerous reforms have been proposed, universal principles to guide decision-making are lacking. Solving the challenges that confront us will be difficult, owing to intense partisan divisions and a dysfunctional political process. Nevertheless, we must engage in reasoned debate that respects deeply held differences of opinion regarding our individual and collective obligations to promote healthy living and ensure affordable access to health care. Otherwise, our decisions will be expressed through political processes that reflect the preferences of narrow interests rather than the general public. Our health care system can be made more efficient and equitable by incentivizing consumers and providers to utilize high-value care and avoid low-value care. To accomplish this, we must understand the determinants of consumer and provider behavior and implement policies that encourage, but do not force, optimal decision-making. Although distinguishing between low- and high-value treatments will invariably threaten established interests, we must expand our capacity to make such judgements. Throughout this process, consumers, taxpayers, and policy makers must maintain realistic expectations. Although realigning incentives to promote high-value care will improve efficiency, it is unlikely to control increasing medical expenditures because they are not primarily caused by inefficiency. Rather, rising medical expenditures are driven by medical innovation made possible by increasing incomes and expanding health insurance coverage. Failure to recognize these linkages risks adopting indiscriminate policies that will reduce spending but slow innovation and impair access to needed care.

Inflation: Consumers Counter the Cost of Living. A Consumer Education Curriculum Module for Grades 10-14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bannister, Rosella

This publication suggests classroom activities and resources on inflation for use in secondary and adult/community education. Objectives are to enable students to: identify and analyze varying points of view and policy proposals on inflation; apply the decision-making process to various alternatives regarding inflation; and achieve a broader…

Public perceptions of comparative effectiveness research and use of evidence in healthcare decision-making.

PubMed

Cornwell, Derekh; Hu, Mindy; Esposito, Dominick

2014-11-01

This study elaborates on the public's understanding of comparative effectiveness research (CER) or patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), attitudes toward CER/PCOR and use of evidence in healthcare decision-making. We conducted six focus groups with the general public - three with individuals actively engaged in healthcare decision-making and three with individuals more passive in their approach. The general public has little knowledge of CER/PCOR, and its perceptions of certain CER/PCOR concepts are inconsistent with those of researchers and policy-makers. Active healthcare consumers value information more than passive consumers and are likely to use evidence in decision-making. Providers are an important source for disseminating and communicating CER/PCOR evidence to active and passive consumers.

The shopping brain: math anxiety modulates brain responses to buying decisions.

PubMed

Jones, William J; Childers, Terry L; Jiang, Yang

2012-01-01

Metacognitive theories propose that consumers track fluency feelings when buying, which may have biological underpinnings. We explored this using event-related potential (ERP) measures as twenty high-math anxiety (High MA) and nineteen low-math anxiety (Low MA) consumers made buying decisions for promoted (e.g., 15% discount) and non-promoted products. When evaluating prices, ERP correlates of higher perceptual and conceptual fluency were associated with buys, however only for High MA females under no promotions. In contrast, High MA females and Low MA males demonstrated greater FN400 amplitude, associated with enhanced conceptual processing, to prices of buys relative to non-buys under promotions. Concurrent late positive component (LPC) differences under no promotions suggest discrepant retrieval processes during price evaluations between consumer groups. When making decisions to buy or not, larger (smaller) P3, sensitive to outcome responses in the brain, was associated with buying for High MA females (Low MA females) under promotions, an effect also present for males under no promotions. Thus, P3 indexed decisions to buy differently between anxiety groups, but only for promoted items among females and for no promotions among males. Our findings indicate that perceptual and conceptual processes interact with anxiety and gender to modulate brain responses during consumer choices. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variations in lay health theories: implications for consumer health care decision making.

PubMed

Shaw Hughner, Renée; Schultz Kleine, Susan

2008-12-01

Wide variations in how contemporary consumers think about health and make health care decisions often go unrecognized by health care marketers and public policy decision makers. In the current global environment, prevailing Western viewpoints on health and conventional biomedicine are being challenged by a countervailing belief system forming the basis for alternative health care practices. The ways American consumers once thought about health have changed and multiplied in this new era of competing health paradigms. Our study provides empirical evidence for this assertion in two ways. First, it demonstrates that in the current environment consumers think about health and health care in a multiplicity of very different ways, leading to the conclusion that we should not classify health care consumers as either conventional or alternative. Second, the results provide clues as to how individuals holding diverse health theories make health care decisions that impact health behaviors, treatment efficacy, and satisfaction judgments.

The neural bases underlying social risk perception in purchase decisions.

PubMed

Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Nozawa, Takayuki; Sugiura, Motoaki; Yomogida, Yukihito; Takeuchi, Hikaru; Akimoto, Yoritaka; Shibuya, Satoru; Kawashima, Ryuta

2014-05-01

Social considerations significantly influence daily purchase decisions, and the perception of social risk (i.e., the anticipated disapproval of others) is crucial in dissuading consumers from making purchases. However, the neural basis for consumers' perception of social risk remains undiscovered, and this novel study clarifies the relevant neural processes. A total of 26 volunteers were scanned while they evaluated purchase intention of products (purchase intention task) and their anticipation of others' disapproval for possessing a product (social risk task), using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fMRI data from the purchase intention task was used to identify the brain region associated with perception of social risk during purchase decision making by using subjective social risk ratings for a parametric modulation analysis. Furthermore, we aimed to explore if there was a difference between participants' purchase decisions and their explicit evaluations of social risk, with reference to the neural activity associated with social risk perception. For this, subjective social risk ratings were used for a parametric modulation analysis on fMRI data from the social risk task. Analysis of the purchase intention task revealed a significant positive correlation between ratings of social risk and activity in the anterior insula, an area of the brain that is known as part of the emotion-related network. Analysis of the social risk task revealed a significant positive correlation between ratings of social risk and activity in the temporal parietal junction and the medial prefrontal cortex, which are known as theory-of-mind regions. Our results suggest that the anterior insula processes consumers' social risk implicitly to prompt consumers not to buy socially unacceptable products, whereas ToM-related regions process such risk explicitly in considering the anticipated disapproval of others. These findings may prove helpful in understanding the mental processes involved in purchase decisions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Deciding on PSA-screening - Quality of current consumer information on the Internet.

PubMed

Korfage, Ida J; van den Bergh, Roderick C N; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise

2010-11-01

Given that screening for prostate cancer has the potential to reduce prostate cancer mortality at the expense of considerable overdiagnosis and overtreatment, the availability of core consumer information - correct, balanced and supportive of autonomous decision-making - is a must. We assessed the quality of consumer information available through the Internet per November 2009 and its possible contribution to informed decision-making by potential screenees. Consumer information on PSA-screening was sought through the Internet in November 2009. Materials had to be targeted at potential consumers, offered by not-for-profit organisations, released in 2005 or after, in English or Dutch. Per material 2 of the authors assessed independently from each other whether standardised pre-defined topics were addressed, whether the content was correct and which approach was taken towards the decision-making process about uptake. Twenty-three materials were included, of which 11 were released (shortly) after the results of 2 large randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effectiveness of screening for prostate cancer had been published in March 2009. That a PSA-test result can be abnormal because of non-cancerous conditions (false positive) and that it may miss prostate cancer (false negative) was not addressed in 2/23 and 8/23 materials, respectively. The risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment was not mentioned in 6 out of 23. PSA-screening was presented as a usual thing to do in some materials, whereas other materials emphasised the voluntary nature of PSA-screening ('it is your decision'). The content of 19/23 materials was considered sufficiently informative according to the pre-defined criteria, 12/23 materials were considered supportive of informed decision-making by men. Most materials of not-for-profit organizations supplied adequate information about PSA-screening, whilst the degree of persuasion towards uptake reflected variations in opinions on men's autonomy regarding their own health. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding older adults' medication decision making and behavior: A study on over-the-counter (OTC) anticholinergic medications.

PubMed

Holden, Richard J; Srinivas, Preethi; Campbell, Noll L; Clark, Daniel O; Bodke, Kunal S; Hong, Youngbok; Boustani, Malaz A; Ferguson, Denisha; Callahan, Christopher M

2018-03-06

Older adults purchase and use over-the-counter (OTC) medications with potentially significant adverse effects. Some OTC medications, such as those with anticholinergic effects, are relatively contraindicated for use by older adults due to evidence of impaired cognition and other adverse effects. To inform the design of future OTC medication safety interventions for older adults, this study investigated consumers' decision making and behavior related to OTC medication purchasing and use, with a focus on OTC anticholinergic medications. The study had a cross-sectional design with multiple methods. A total of 84 adults participated in qualitative research interviews (n = 24), in-store shopper observations (n = 39), and laboratory-based simulated OTC shopping tasks (n = 21). Simulated shopping participants also rank-ordered eight factors on their importance for OTC decision making. Findings revealed that many participants had concerns about medication adverse effects, generally, but were not aware of age-related risk associated with the use of anticholinergic medications. Analyses produced a map of the workflow of OTC-related behavior and decision making as well as related barriers such as difficulty locating medications or comparing them to an alternative. Participants reported effectiveness, adverse effects or health risks, and price as most important to their OTC medication purchase and use decisions. A persona analysis identified two types of consumers: the habit follower, who frequently purchased OTC medications and considered them safe; and the deliberator, who was more likely to weigh their options and consider alternatives to OTC medications. A conceptual model of OTC medication purchase and use is presented. Drawing on study findings and behavioral theories, the model depicts dual processes for OTC medication decision making - habit-based and deliberation-based - as well as the antecedents and consequences of decision making. This model suggests several design directions for consumer-oriented interventions to promote OTC medication safety. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consumer Decision-Making Styles for Singaporean College Consumers: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bae, Sungwon; Pyun, Do Young; Lee, Soonhwan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate Singaporean consumers' decision-making styles (shopping styles) for sports products. This study used a scale of the Purchaser Style Inventory for Sport Products (PSISP) to identify if the scale was reliable. An instrument, consisting of 42 items under 9 dimensions, was administrated to 234 college…

15 CFR 16.4 - Finding of need to establish a specification for labeling a consumer product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... difficulty experienced by consumers in making informed purchase decisions because of a lack of knowledge... to consumers as a result of an incorrect decision based on an inadequate understanding of the... responding to paragraph (b)(6) of this section, that such test methods are suitable for making objective...

Individual differences in competent consumer choice: the role of cognitive reflection and numeracy skills.

PubMed

Graffeo, Michele; Polonio, Luca; Bonini, Nicolao

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate whether cognitive reflection and numeracy skills affect the quality of the consumers' decision-making process in a purchase decision context. In a first (field) experiment, an identical product was on sale in two shops with different initial prices and discounts. One of the two deals was better than the other and the consumers were asked to choose the best one and to describe which arithmetic operations they used to solve the problem; then they were asked to complete the numeracy scale (Lipkus et al., 2001). The choice procedures used by the consumers were classified as "complete decision approach" when all the arithmetic operations needed to solve the problem were computed, and as "partial decision approach" when only some operations were computed. A mediation model shows that higher numeracy is associated with use of the complete decision approach. In turn, this approach is positively associated with the quality of the purchase decision. Given that these findings highlight the importance of the decision processes, in a second (laboratory) experiment we used a supplementary method to study the type of information search used by the participants: eye-tracking. In this experiment the participants were presented with decision problems similar to those used in Experiment 1 and they completed the Lipkus numeracy scale and the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT; Frederick, 2005). Participants with a high CRT score chose the best deal more frequently, and showed a more profound and detailed information search pattern compared to participants with a low CRT score. Overall, results indicate that higher levels of cognitive reflection and numeracy skills predict the use of a more thorough decision process (measured with two different techniques: retrospective verbal reports and eye movements). In both experiments the decision process is a crucial factor which greatly affects the quality of the purchase decision.

Supporting shared decision making beyond consumer-prescriber interactions: Initial development of the CommonGround fidelity scale

PubMed Central

Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P.; Rapp, Charlie; Goscha, Rick; Young, Leslie; Mabry, Ally

2015-01-01

Shared decision-making has become a central tenet of recovery-oriented, person-centered mental health care, yet the practice is not always transferred to the routine psychiatric visit. Supporting the practice at the system level, beyond the interactions of consumers and medication prescribers, is needed for successful adoption of shared decision-making. CommonGround is a systemic approach, intended to be part of a larger integration of shared decision-making tools and practices at the system level. We discuss the organizational components that CommonGround uses to facilitate shared decision-making, and we present a fidelity scale to assess how well the system is being implemented. PMID:28090194

Consumerism and the Decision Making Process. Project Quest [Quality Urban Environmental Study Training].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardone, Kenneth; Paine, Mary

Activities for grades 4, 5, 6, and junior high acquaint students with consumer and economic problems, particularly how people spend money and methods used in advertising. The guide opens with a vocabulary list. Then, five objectives, using hypothetical situations, introduce the student to the decisions involved in spending money wisely. For…

Consumer Outcomes After Implementing CommonGround as an Approach to Shared Decision Making.

PubMed

Salyers, Michelle P; Fukui, Sadaaki; Bonfils, Kelsey A; Firmin, Ruth L; Luther, Lauren; Goscha, Rick; Rapp, Charles A; Holter, Mark C

2017-03-01

The authors examined consumer outcomes before and after implementing CommonGround, a computer-based shared decision-making program. Consumers with severe mental illness (N=167) were interviewed prior to implementation and 12 and 18 months later to assess changes in active treatment involvement, symptoms, and recovery-related attitudes. Providers also rated consumers on level of treatment involvement. Most consumers used CommonGround at least once (67%), but few used the program regularly. Mixed-effects regression analyses showed improvement in self-reported symptoms and recovery attitudes. Self-reported treatment involvement did not change; however, for a subset of consumers with the same providers over time (N=83), the providers rated consumers as more active in treatment. This study adds to the growing literature on tools to support shared decision making, showing the potential benefits of CommonGround for improving recovery outcomes. More work is needed to better engage consumers in CommonGround and to test the approach with more rigorous methods.

Leveraging consumer's behaviour to promote generic drugs in Italy.

PubMed

Zerbini, Cristina; Luceri, Beatrice; Vergura, Donata Tania

2017-04-01

The aim of this study was to fill the lack of knowledge regarding a more grounded exploration of the consumer's decision-making process in the context of generic drugs. In this perspective, a model, within the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), for studying the consumers' purchase intention of generic drugs was developed. An online survey on 2,222 Italian people who bought drugs in the past was conducted. The proposed model was tested through structural equation modelling (SEM). Almost all the constructs considered in the model, except the perceived behavioural control, contribute to explain the consumer's purchase intention of generic drugs, after controlling for demographic variables (age, income, education). Specifically, attitude, subjective norm, past behaviour, self-identity and trust in the pharmacist have a positive influence on the intention to buy generic drugs. On the contrary, perceived risk towards products and brand sensitivity act negatively. The results of the present study could be useful to public policy makers in developing effective policies and educational campaigns aimed at promoting generic drugs. Specifically, marketing efforts should be directed to inform consumers about the generic drugs' characteristics to mitigate the perceived risk towards these products and to raise awareness during their decision-making process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Making Nutrition Education Count: A Guide for Nutrition Education K-6. Grade 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratky, Patricia; Haigh, Lois

This curriculum guide for nutrition education grade 3, was designed to incorporate knowledge of thirteen concepts into the child's decision-making processes as a food consumer. These concepts, as covered by the guide, are: affecting bodily well-being through nutrition; affecting dental health through nutrition; models for diet selection;…

Making Nutrition Education Count: A Guide for Nutrition Education K-6. Grade 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratky, Patricia; Haigh, Lois

This curriculum guide for nutrition education grade 1, was designed to incorporate knowledge of thirteen concepts into the child's decision-making processes as a food consumer. These concepts, as covered by the guide, are: affecting bodily well-being through nutrition; affecting dental health through nutrition; models for diet selection;…

Making Nutrition Education Count: A Guide for Nutrition Education K-6. Grade 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratky, Patricia; Haigh, Lois

This curriculum guide for nutrition education grade 2, was designed to incorporate knowledge of thirteen concepts into the child's decision-making processes as a food consumer. These concepts, as covered by the guide, are: affecting bodily well-being through nutrition; affecting dental health through nutrition; models for diet selection;…

Making Nutrition Education Count: A Guide for Nutrition Education K-6. Grade 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratky, Patricia; Haigh, Lois

This curriculum guide for nutrition education grade 4, was designed to incorporate knowledge of thirteen concepts into the child's decision-making processes as a food consumer. These concepts, as covered by the guide, are: affecting bodily well-being through nutrition; affecting dental health through nutrition; models for diet selection;…

Making Nutrition Education Count: A Guide for Nutrition Education K-6. Grade 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratky, Patricia; Haigh, Lois

This curriculum guide for nutrition education grade 6, was designed to incorporate knowledge of thirteen concepts into the child's decision-making processes as a food consumer. These concepts, as covered by the guide, are: affecting bodily well-being through nutrition; affecting dental health through nutrition; models for diet selection;…

Making Nutrition Education Count: A Guide for Nutrition Education K-6. Grade 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratky, Patricia; Haigh, Lois

This curriculum guide for nutrition education grade 5, was designed to incorporate knowledge of thirteen concepts into the child's decision-making processes as a food consumer. These concepts, as covered by the guide, are: affecting bodily well-being through nutrition; affecting dental health through nutrition; models for diet selection;…

Consumer Decision-Making Styles for Sport Apparel: Gender Comparisons between College Consumers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bae, Sungwon; Miller, John

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the decision-making styles of college students for sports apparel. Modifying the Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) developed by Sproles and Kendall (1986), a quantitative research design was developed to analyze the effect of seven factors. Eight-hundred and twenty-two subjects composed of 376 male and 446…

The Effect of Knowledge of Online Security Risks on Consumer Decision Making in B2C e-Commerce

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Ping An

2010-01-01

This dissertation research studied how different degrees of knowledge of online security risks affect B2C (business-to-consumer) e-commerce consumer decision making. Online information security risks, such as identity theft, have increasingly become a major factor inhibiting the potential growth of e-commerce. On the other hand, e-commerce…

Informing clinical policy decision-making practices in ambulance services.

PubMed

Muecke, Sandy; Curac, Nada; Binks, Darryn

2013-12-01

This study aims to identify the processes and frameworks that support an evidence-based approach to clinical policy decision-making practices in ambulance services. This literature review focused on: (i) the setting (pre-hospital); and (ii) the process of evidence translation, for studies published after the year 2000. Searches of Medline, CINAHL and Google were undertaken. Reference lists of eligible publications were searched for relevant articles. A total of 954 articles were identified. Of these, 20 full text articles were assessed for eligibility and seven full text articles met the inclusion criteria. Three provided detailed descriptions of the evidence-based practice processes used to inform ambulance service protocol or guideline development or review. There is little published literature that describes the processes involved, and frameworks required, to inform clinical policy decision making within ambulance services. This review found that processes were iterative and involved collaborations across many internal and external stakeholders. In several jurisdictions, these were coordinated by a dedicated team. Success appears dependent on committed leadership and purposive human and structural resources. Although time consuming, structured processes have been developed in some jurisdictions to assist decision-making processes. Further insight is likely to be obtained from literature published by those from other disciplines. © 2013 The Authors. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare © 2013 The Joanna Briggs Institute.

The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schot, Johan; Kanger, Laur; Verbong, Geert

2016-05-01

Current government information policies and market-based instruments aimed at influencing the energy choices of consumers often ignore the fact that consumer behaviour is not fully reducible to individuals making rational conscious decisions all the time. The decisions of consumers are largely configured by shared routines embedded in socio-technical systems. To achieve a transition towards a decarbonized and energy-efficient system, an approach that goes beyond individual consumer choice and puts shared routines and system change at its centre is needed. Here, adopting a transitions perspective, we argue that consumers should be reconceptualized as users who are important stakeholders in the innovation process shaping new routines and enacting system change. We review the role of users in shifts to new decarbonized and energy-efficient systems and provide a typology of user roles.

Knowledge producers or knowledge consumers? Argumentation and decision making about environmental management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

JiméNez-Aleixandre, Maria-Pilar

2002-11-01

This paper describes a case study involving decision making and argumentation, in the context of wetland environmental management, by 11th-grade students (16-17 years old). The purpose was to study the components of knowledge and skills needed to reach a decision in socio-scientific contexts and to identify them in classroom discourse. The following dimensions of decision making were explored: the use of relevant knowledge to understand and make decisions about the problem; and the critical processing of sources of information and authority and the development of criteria for evaluating possible solutions to the problem. Students' conversations were recorded and analysed using Toulmin's (1958) and Walton's (1996) argument schemes. The students' arguments and warrants were compared with the argument of an external 'official' expert. Issues such as expert status, that is, who can be considered as a source of knowledge and authority and the participation of citizens in scientific practice are also discussed.

Complexity, public reporting, and choice of doctors: a look inside the blackest box of consumer behavior.

PubMed

Schlesinger, Mark; Kanouse, David E; Martino, Steven C; Shaller, Dale; Rybowski, Lise

2014-10-01

Health care consumers often make choices that are imperfectly informed and inconsistent with their expressed preferences. Past research suggests that these shortcomings become more pronounced as choices become more complex, through either additional options or more performance metrics. But it is unclear why this is true: Consumer choice remains a "black box" that research has scarcely illuminated. In this article, we identify four pathways through which complexity may impair consumer choice. We examine these pathways using data from an experiment in which consumers (hypothetically) selected a primary care physician. Some of the loss of decision quality accompanying more complex choice sets can be explained by consumers' skills and decision-making style, but even after accounting for these factors, complexity undermines the quality of decision making in ways that cannot be fully explained. We conclude by discussing implications for report designers, sponsors, and policy makers aspiring to promote consumer empowerment and health care quality. © The Author(s) 2013.

Including values in evidence-based policy making for breast screening: An empirically grounded tool to assist expert decision makers.

PubMed

Parker, Lisa

2017-07-01

Values are an important part of evidence-based decision making for health policy: they guide the type of evidence that is collected, how it is interpreted, and how important the conclusions are considered to be. Experts in breast screening (including clinicians, researchers, consumer advocates and senior administrators) hold differing values in relation to what is important in breast screening policy and practice, and committees may find it difficult to incorporate the complexity and variety of values into policy decisions. The decision making tool provided here is intended to assist with this process. The tool is modified from more general frameworks that are intended to assist with ethical decision making in public health, and informed by data drawn from previous empirical studies on values amongst Australian breast screening experts. It provides a structured format for breast screening committees to consider and discuss the values of themselves and others, suggests relevant topics for further inquiry and highlights areas of need for future research into the values of the public. It enables committees to publicly explain and justify their decisions with reference to values, improving transparency and accountability. It is intended to act alongside practices that seek to accommodate the values of individual women in the informed decision making process for personal decision making about participation in breast screening. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Making health care quality reports easier to use.

PubMed

Hibbard, J H; Peters, E; Slovic, P; Finucane, M L; Tusler, M

2001-11-01

Although there is evidence that consumers want comparative quality information, most studies indicate that consumers make limited use of the data in decision making. The reasons for the limited use appear to be the complexity of the information and the difficulty of processing and using the amount of information in reports. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether there are approaches to reporting comparative information that make it easier for consumers to comprehend the information. Further, the degree to which consumers who have a low level of skill can accurately use that information when it is presented in a format that is easier to use was examined. The study used an experimental design to examine how different presentation approaches affect the use of information. Participants were randomly assigned to different conditions and were asked to review information and complete a decision task related to using comparative information and making health plan selections. Two separate convenience samples were used in the study: an elderly Medicare sample (N = 253), and a nonelderly sample (N = 239). The findings indicate that there are data presentation approaches that help consumers who have lower skills use information more accurately. Some of these presentation strategies (for example, relative stars) improve comprehension among the lower skilled, and other strategies (for example, evaluative labels) appear to aid those in the midrange of comprehension skill. Using these approaches in reporting would likely increase the use of the comparative information and increase the efficacy of reporting efforts.

Essential Medicines in a High Income Country: Essential to Whom?

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Objective To explore the perspectives of a diverse group of stakeholders engaged in medicines decision making around what constitutes an “essential” medicine, and how the Essential Medicines List (EML) concept functions in a high income country context. Methods In-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 Australian stakeholders, recognised as decision makers, leaders or advisors in the area of medicines reimbursement or supply chain management. Participants were recruited from government, pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical wholesale/distribution companies, medicines non-profit organisations, academic health disciplines, hospitals, and consumer groups. Perspectives on the definition and application of the EML concept in a high income country context were thematically analysed using grounded theory approach. Findings Stakeholders found it challenging to describe the EML concept in the Australian context because many perceived it was generally used in resource scarce settings. Stakeholders were unable to distinguish whether nationally reimbursed medicines were essential medicines in Australia. Despite frequent generic drug shortages and high prices paid by consumers, many struggled to describe how the EML concept applied to Australia. Instead, broad inclusion of consumer needs, such as rare and high cost medicines, and consumer involvement in the decision making process, has led to expansive lists of nationally subsidised medicines. Therefore, improved communication and coordination is needed around shared interests between stakeholders regarding how medicines are prioritised and guaranteed in the supply chain. Conclusions This study showed that decision-making in Australia around reimbursement of medicines has strayed from the fundamental utilitarian concept of essential medicines. Many stakeholders involved in medicine reimbursement decisions and management of the supply chain did not consider the EML concept in their approach. The wide range of views of what stakeholders considered were essential medicines, challenges whether the EML concept is out-dated or underutilised in high income countries. PMID:26650544

Essential Medicines in a High Income Country: Essential to Whom?

PubMed

Duong, Mai; Moles, Rebekah J; Chaar, Betty; Chen, Timothy F

2015-01-01

To explore the perspectives of a diverse group of stakeholders engaged in medicines decision making around what constitutes an "essential" medicine, and how the Essential Medicines List (EML) concept functions in a high income country context. In-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 Australian stakeholders, recognised as decision makers, leaders or advisors in the area of medicines reimbursement or supply chain management. Participants were recruited from government, pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical wholesale/distribution companies, medicines non-profit organisations, academic health disciplines, hospitals, and consumer groups. Perspectives on the definition and application of the EML concept in a high income country context were thematically analysed using grounded theory approach. Stakeholders found it challenging to describe the EML concept in the Australian context because many perceived it was generally used in resource scarce settings. Stakeholders were unable to distinguish whether nationally reimbursed medicines were essential medicines in Australia. Despite frequent generic drug shortages and high prices paid by consumers, many struggled to describe how the EML concept applied to Australia. Instead, broad inclusion of consumer needs, such as rare and high cost medicines, and consumer involvement in the decision making process, has led to expansive lists of nationally subsidised medicines. Therefore, improved communication and coordination is needed around shared interests between stakeholders regarding how medicines are prioritised and guaranteed in the supply chain. This study showed that decision-making in Australia around reimbursement of medicines has strayed from the fundamental utilitarian concept of essential medicines. Many stakeholders involved in medicine reimbursement decisions and management of the supply chain did not consider the EML concept in their approach. The wide range of views of what stakeholders considered were essential medicines, challenges whether the EML concept is out-dated or underutilised in high income countries.

Combining food type(s) and food quantity choice in a new food choice paradigm based on vice-virtue bundles.

PubMed

Haws, Kelly L; Liu, Peggy J

2016-08-01

Given the prevalence and rising rates of obesity in many countries, including the United States, much food decision-making research ultimately aims at understanding how consumers can make healthier choices. The two predominant choice paradigms used in food decision-making research ask consumers to choose (a) between a "vice" (or unhealthy food) and a "virtue" (or healthy food) or (b) among varying portion sizes of "vice." We propose a new food choice paradigm that encourages consumers to jointly consider both food type(s) choice and food portion size at each decision point. The purpose of this paradigm is two-fold. First, it aims to allow examination of more comprehensive eating behavior (e.g., to examine the overall composition of a plate of food rather than choice of a single food). Second, it aims to shift consumers towards including large proportions of virtues and smaller proportions of vice in their overall consumption portfolios. For this paradigm, we draw upon a recently introduced food product innovation called "vice-virtue bundles" (Liu et al., 2015) that illustrates the basis of this new food choice paradigm, in which food type(s) and portion decisions are made simultaneously. Accordingly, we first discuss relevant findings on vice-virtue bundles as well as the differences between simultaneous and sequential choice of multiple products. Second, we examine the benefits for managing and controlling one's consumption that are provided by vice-virtue bundles and this joint food choice paradigm more generally. Third and finally, we point out opportunities for future research by discussing (a) multiple factors that influence food choices, (b) decision processes affected by food choice paradigms, and (c) issues of generalizability related to the presence of vice-virtue bundles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Making Nutrition Education Count: A Guide for Nutrition Education K-6. Kindergarten.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kratky, Patricia; Haigh, Lois

This guide is first of a series of curriculum guides dealing with nutrition education in grades K-6. The curriculum guide was designed to incorporate knowledge of thirteen concepts into the child's decision-making processes as a food consumer. These concepts, as covered by the guide, are: affecting bodily well-being through nutrition; affecting…

From Assessment to Annual Goal: Engaging a Decision-Making Process in Writing Measurable IEPs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capizzi, Andrea M.

2008-01-01

Despite federal regulations requiring measurable individualized education programs (IEPs), IEPs are often vague and unfocused, making them difficult to use in guiding instructional planning. Although a well-written IEP can be time consuming and labor intensive, a clearly written IEP, based on documented student needs, can and should be a guidepost…

A Model of Consumer Decision Making in the Selection of a Long-Term Care Facility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neugroschel, William J.; Notzon, Linda R.

Since nursing home placement is frequently the last choice for families of elderly people who need long-term care, little literature exists which delineates a model for consumer decision making in the selection of a specific long-term care facility. Critical issues include the following: (1) who actually makes the selection; (2) what other…

Consumer Decision-Making Styles as a Function of Individual Learning Styles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sproles, Elizabeth Kendall; Sproles, George B.

1990-01-01

The Secondary Learning Styles Inventory and the Consumer Styles Inventory were administered to 501 secondary home economics students. Factor analysis of the learning style characteristics from the sample of 482 found significant correlations between 21 of the 48 pairs of learning and decision-making characteristics. (SK)

Identifying Non-Sustainable Courses of Action: A Prerequisite for Decision-Making in Education for Sustainable Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gresch, Helge; Bögeholz, Susanne

2013-04-01

Students are faced with a multitude of decisions as consumers and in societal debates. Because of the scarcity of resources, the destruction of ecosystems and social injustice in a globalized world, it is vital that students are able to identify non-sustainable courses of action when involved in decision-making. The application of decision-making strategies is one approach to enhancing the quality of decisions. Options that do not meet ecological, social or economic standards should be excluded using non-compensatory strategies whereas other tasks may require a complete trade-off of all the evidence, following a compensatory approach. To enhance decision-making competence, a computer-based intervention study was conducted that focused on the use of decision-making strategies. While the results of the summative evaluation are reported by Gresch et al. (International Journal of Science Education, 2011), in-depth analyses of process-related data collected during the information processing are presented in this paper to reveal insights into the mechanisms of the intervention. The quality of high school students' ( n = 120) metadecision skills when selecting a decision-making strategy was investigated using qualitative content analyses combined with inferential statistics. The results reveal that the students offered elaborate reflections on the sustainability of options. However, the characteristics that were declared non-sustainable differed among the students because societal norms and personal values were intertwined. One implication for education for sustainable development is that students are capable of reflecting on decision-making tasks and on corresponding favorable decision-making strategies at a metadecision level. From these results, we offer suggestions for improving learning environments and constructing test instruments for decision-making competence.

Plant phenolics – from field to fork

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plant secondary metabolites, such as phenolics, are important to human health and for the organoleptic properties they impart to fresh and processed foods. Consumers judge appearance, taste, and texture when making purchasing decisions. Thorough identification of phenolic compounds is key to discern...

'Walking the tightrope': The role of peer support workers in facilitating consumers' participation in decision-making.

PubMed

Cleary, Michelle; Raeburn, Toby; Escott, Phil; West, Sancia; Lopez, Violeta

2018-05-09

In adult mental health services, the participation of consumers is essential. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges faced by peer support workers when involving mental health consumers in decision-making about their care and the strategies they employed to overcome these challenges so as to improve mental health consumers' participation in decision-making and recovery. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with six peer support workers currently employed in psychiatric hospitals and/or community mental health systems. Thematic analysis identified challenges related to role definition, power imbalance, doctor-centric medical approaches to care, and lack of resources. Strategies to overcome these challenges that were reported, included the following: facilitating meaningful involvement for service users, appropriate use of the lived experience, building relationships and communication, promoting rights and advocacy, and promoting professionalism of peer support workers (PSWs). Nursing staff need ongoing support and education to understand and value the varied roles of PSWs and thereby empower PSWs to engage in enhancing consumer decision-making. The roles of the PSWs should be viewed as complementary, and greater appreciation and understanding of roles would better support recovery-oriented care. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Corporate dashboard for payphone service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siraj, Fadzilah; Shadan, Hezlin

2015-12-01

Making assured that managements are kept abreast of what is happening in the company is not an easy task. The quantity of data generated by the business process is astonishing large and non-centralized. The challenge facing business organizations is how to extract, load, transform data, and then deliver useful information to key decision makers. The major challenge for the payphone industries is in making a good decision, particularly to increase quality of service, customer satisfaction while achieving high revenue. With current practice, the process is very time consuming and therefore, a systematic and informative corporate dashboard needs to be provided especially for managerial level in supporting their decision making process. This paper proposed a dashboard application design that provides a single-screen display of relevant information such as the phone performance and coin collection reports, as well as generated revenue to enable faster and more effective decision making. The development of the dashboard is divided into requirement, design and implementation phases. The implementation using real data has demonstrated the potential use of the dashboard. The evaluation results indicate that the dashboard can be used as a tool that can support payphone operation works and decision process by providing the analytical analysis of the KPI report and the performance status. In addition, the results can be used as a guideline for the dashboard developer to understand the process and focuses on the key elements and the principle in designing the effective dashboard.

Complexity, Public Reporting, and Choice of Doctors: A Look Inside the Blackest Box of Consumer Behavior

PubMed Central

Schlesinger, Mark; Kanouse, David E.; Martino, Steven C.; Shaller, Dale; Rybowski, Lise

2017-01-01

Health care consumers often make choices that are imperfectly informed and inconsistent with their expressed preferences. Past research suggests that these shortcomings become more pronounced as choices become more complex, through either additional options or more performance metrics. But it is unclear why this is true: Consumer choice remains a “black box” that research has scarcely illuminated. In this article, we identify four pathways through which complexity may impair consumer choice. We examine these pathways using data from an experiment in which consumers (hypothetically) selected a primary care physician. Some of the loss of decision quality accompanying more complex choice sets can be explained by consumers’ skills and decision-making style, but even after accounting for these factors, complexity undermines the quality of decision making in ways that cannot be fully explained. We conclude by discussing implications for report designers, sponsors, and policy makers aspiring to promote consumer empowerment and health care quality. PMID:23999489

Healthy eating decisions require efficient dietary self-control in children: A mouse-tracking food decision study.

PubMed

Ha, Oh-Ryeong; Bruce, Amanda S; Pruitt, Stephen W; Cherry, J Bradley C; Smith, T Ryan; Burkart, Dominic; Bruce, Jared M; Lim, Seung-Lark

2016-10-01

Learning how to make healthy eating decisions, (i.e., resisting unhealthy foods and consuming healthy foods), enhances physical development and reduces health risks in children. Although healthy eating decisions are known to be challenging for children, the mechanisms of children's food choice processes are not fully understood. The present study recorded mouse movement trajectories while eighteen children aged 8-13 years were choosing between eating and rejecting foods. Children were inclined to choose to eat rather than to reject foods, and preferred unhealthy foods over healthy foods, implying that rejecting unhealthy foods could be a demanding choice. When children rejected unhealthy foods, mouse trajectories were characterized by large curvature toward an eating choice in the beginning, late decision shifting time toward a rejecting choice, and slowed response times. These results suggested that children exercised greater cognitive efforts with longer decision times to resist unhealthy foods, providing evidence that children require dietary self-control to make healthy eating-decisions by resisting the temptation of unhealthy foods. Developmentally, older children attempted to exercise greater cognitive efforts for consuming healthy foods than younger children, suggesting that development of dietary self-control contributes to healthy eating-decisions. The study also documents that healthy weight children with higher BMIs were more likely to choose to reject healthy foods. Overall, findings have important implications for how children make healthy eating choices and the role of dietary self-control in eating decisions. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

76 FR 20233 - Appliance Labeling Rule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-12

... possible to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.\\5\\ Also, Earthjustice noted that NEMA's... help consumers understand the new label and use it in purchasing decisions. In addition, extending the... the effective date was originally established. In reaching this decision, the Commission considered...

Two-Sided Matching in Hierarchical Organizations-An Application for the Assignment of Military Personnel

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

information overload has been examined in fields such as consumer behavior , it has not previously been examined in relation to assignment decision making...such as accounting, organization science and consumer behavior , and show that there is considerable evidence that humans make poor quality decisions...accuracy in the consumer behavior domain, however his approach was different for two primary reasons. Firstly, he examined the effect of an individual’s

Risk of predation makes foragers less choosy about their food.

PubMed

Charalabidis, Alice; Dechaume-Moncharmont, François-Xavier; Petit, Sandrine; Bohan, David A

2017-01-01

Animals foraging in the wild have to balance speed of decision making and accuracy of assessment of a food item's quality. If resource quality is important for maximizing fitness, then the duration of decision making may be in conflict with other crucial and time consuming tasks, such as anti-predator behaviours or competition monitoring. Individuals facing the risk of predation and/or competition should adjust the duration of decision making and, as a consequence, their level of choosiness for resources. When exposed to predation, the forager could either maintain its level of choosiness for food items but accept a reduction in the amount of food items consumed or it could reduce its level of choosiness and accept all prey items encountered. Under competition risk, individuals are expected to reduce their level of choosiness as slow decision making exposes individuals to a higher risk of opportunity costs. To test these predictions, the level of choosiness of a seed-eating carabid beetle, Harpalus affinis, was examined under 4 different experimental conditions of risk: i) predation risk; ii) intraspecific competition; iii) interspecific competition; and, iv) control. All the risks were simulated using chemical cues from individual conspecifics or beetles of different species that are predatory or granivorous. Our results show that when foraging under the risk of predation, H. affinis individuals significantly reduce their level of choosiness for seeds. Reductions in level of choosiness for food items might serve as a sensible strategy to reduce both the total duration of a foraging task and the cognitive load of the food quality assessment. No significant differences were observed when individuals were exposed to competition cues. Competition, (i.e opportunity cost) may not be perceived as risk high enough to induce changes in the level of choosiness. Our results suggest that considering the amount of items consumed, alone, would be a misleading metric when assessing individual response to a risk of predation. Foraging studies should therefore also take in account the decision making process.

Neural antecedents of social decision-making in a partner choice task.

PubMed

Cartmell, Samuel C D; Chun, Marvin M; Vickery, Timothy J

2014-11-01

Experiments in financial decision-making point to two complementary processes that encode prospective gain and loss preceding the choice to purchase consumer goods. These processes involve the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the right anterior insula, respectively. The current experiment used functional MRI to investigate whether these regions served a similar function during an analogous social decision-making task without the influence of monetary outcomes. In this task, subjects chose partners based on face stimuli of varying attractiveness (operationalizing value) and ratings of compatibility with the participant (operationalizing likelihood of rejection). The NAcc responded to anticipated gain; the right anterior insula responded to compatibility, but not in a manner that suggests an analogy to anticipated cost. Logistic regression modeling demonstrated that both regions predicted subsequent choice above and beyond the influence of group attractiveness ratings or compatibility alone. Although the function of the insula may differ between tasks, these results suggest that financial and social decision-making recruit a similar network of brain regions. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A conversation-based process tracing method for use with naturalistic decisions: an evaluation study.

PubMed

Williamson, J; Ranyard, R; Cuthbert, L

2000-05-01

This study is an evaluation of a process tracing method developed for naturalistic decisions, in this case a consumer choice task. The method is based on Huber et al.'s (1997) Active Information Search (AIS) technique, but develops it by providing spoken rather than written answers to respondents' questions, and by including think aloud instructions. The technique is used within a conversation-based situation, rather than the respondent thinking aloud 'into an empty space', as is conventionally the case in think aloud techniques. The method results in a concurrent verbal protocol as respondents make their decisions, and a retrospective report in the form of a post-decision summary. The method was found to be virtually non-reactive in relation to think aloud, although the variable of Preliminary Attribute Elicitation showed some evidence of reactivity. This was a methodological evaluation, and as such the data reported are essentially descriptive. Nevertheless, the data obtained indicate that the method is capable of producing information about decision processes which could have theoretical importance in terms of evaluating models of decision-making.

Enhancing Consumer Choice: Are We Making Appropriate Recommendations?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jinkook; Geistfeld, Loren V.

1998-01-01

This study used conjoint analysis to identify consumer choice models. Results suggest a need to base choice-making aids on ideal choice models if the aid is to lead consumers to decisions consistent with true preferences. (Author/JOW)

76 FR 11440 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and Order Granting a Waiver to...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-02

... Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and Order Granting a Waiver to Electrolux From the... described in this notice. Today's decision prohibits Electrolux from making representations concerning the... Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. ACTION: Decision and Order. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy...

The psychology of nutrition messages.

PubMed

Schofield, Heather; Mullainathan, Sendhil

2008-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer thinking about nutrition decisions and how firms can use consumers' awareness of the links between nutrients and health generated by public health messages to market products, including ones, which have little nutritional value. We approach this issue by tracking the development of public health messages based on scientific research, dissemination of those messages in the popular press, and use of nutrition claims in food advertisements to assess whether firms are timing the use of nutrition claims to take advantage of heuristic-based decision-making. Our findings suggest that the timing of the development of nutrition information, its dissemination in the press, and use in advertising accords well with a heuristic processing model in which firms take advantage of associations between nutrient information and health in their advertisements. However, the demonstrated relationships may not be causal. Further research will be needed to provide stronger and more comprehensive evidence regarding the proposed message hijacking process. If the message hijacking framework is borne out: (1) simple overall health rating scales could significantly improve consumer decision-making, (2) the impact of misleading advertisements could be mitigated by encouraging a multidimensional view of nutrition, and (3) more intensive regulation of product labeling could limit the impact of hijacked messages. Overall, this paper considers a novel hypothesis about the impact of public health messages on nutrition and health.

Consumer Health Informatics: Past, Present, and Future of a Rapidly Evolving Domain.

PubMed

Demiris, G

2016-05-20

Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) is a rapidly growing domain within the field of biomedical and health informatics. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the past twenty five years and showcase informatics concepts and applications that led to new models of care and patient empowerment, and to predict future trends and challenges for the next 25 years. We discuss concepts and systems based on a review and analysis of published literature in the consumer health informatics domain in the last 25 years. The field was introduced with the vision that one day patients will be in charge of their own health care using informatics tools and systems. Scientific literature in the field originally focused on ways to assess the quality and validity of available printed health information, only to grow significantly to cover diverse areas such as online communities, social media, and shared decision-making. Concepts such as home telehealth, mHealth, and the quantified-self movement, tools to address transparency of health care organizations, and personal health records and portals provided significant milestones in the field. Consumers are able to actively participate in the decision-making process and to engage in health care processes and decisions. However, challenges such as health literacy and the digital divide have hindered us from maximizing the potential of CHI tools with a significant portion of underserved populations unable to access and utilize them. At the same time, at a global scale consumer tools can increase access to care for underserved populations in developing countries. The field continues to grow and emerging movements such as precision medicine and the sharing economy will introduce new opportunities and challenges.

Consumer Health Informatics: Past, Present, and Future of a Rapidly Evolving Domain

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Summary Objectives Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) is a rapidly growing domain within the field of biomedical and health informatics. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the past twenty five years and showcase informatics concepts and applications that led to new models of care and patient empowerment, and to predict future trends and challenges for the next 25 years. Methods We discuss concepts and systems based on a review and analysis of published literature in the consumer health informatics domain in the last 25 years. Results The field was introduced with the vision that one day patients will be in charge of their own health care using informatics tools and systems. Scientific literature in the field originally focused on ways to assess the quality and validity of available printed health information, only to grow significantly to cover diverse areas such as online communities, social media, and shared decision-making. Concepts such as home telehealth, mHealth, and the quantified-self movement, tools to address transparency of health care organizations, and personal health records and portals provided significant milestones in the field. Conclusion Consumers are able to actively participate in the decision-making process and to engage in health care processes and decisions. However, challenges such as health literacy and the digital divide have hindered us from maximizing the potential of CHI tools with a significant portion of underserved populations unable to access and utilize them. At the same time, at a global scale consumer tools can increase access to care for underserved populations in developing countries. The field continues to grow and emerging movements such as precision medicine and the sharing economy will introduce new opportunities and challenges. PMID:27199196

Kids Are Consumers, Too! Real-World Reading and Language Arts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fair, Jan; Melvin, Mary; Bantz, Carol; Vause, Kate

Designed to help youngsters with real-world learning, and with being a smart consumer, this book focuses on having students participate in decisions facing consumers every day. The book contends that this is the best way to help students think critically and solve problems. Activities in the book require students to make consumer decisions related…

7 CFR 1209.3 - Consumer information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Definitions § 1209.3 Consumer information. Consumer information means information and programs that will assist consumers and other persons in making evaluations and decisions regarding the purchase...

Consumer preferences and values as an integral key to evidence-based practice.

PubMed

Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Fineout-Overholt, Ellen

2006-01-01

Although evidence-based practice (EBP) integrates the best evidence from well-designed studies with a clinician's expertise and patient preferences and values, most of what is emphasized in books and reports on EBP is the 5-step EBP process. However, the consideration of patient values and preferences in making clinical decisions is essential to deliver the highest quality of care. This article briefly reviews the status of EBP in the United States, described the ARCC mentorship model, and highlights how to engage consumers in the EBP process.

Unravelling the concept of consumer preference: implications for health policy and optimal planning in primary care.

PubMed

Foster, Michele M; Earl, Peter E; Haines, Terry P; Mitchell, Geoffrey K

2010-10-01

Accounting for consumer preference in health policy and delivery system design makes good economic sense since this is linked to outcomes, quality of care and cost control. Probability trade-off methods are commonly used in policy evaluation, marketing and economics. Increasingly applied to health matters, the trade-off preference model has indicated that consumers of health care discriminate between different attributes of care. However, the complexities of the health decision-making environment raise questions about the inherent assumptions concerning choice and decision-making behavior which frame this view of consumer preference. In this article, we use the example of primary care in Australia as a vehicle to examine the concept of 'consumer preference' from different perspectives within economics and discuss the significance of how we model preferences for health policy makers. In doing so, we question whether mainstream thinking, namely that consumers are capable of deliberating between rival strategies and are willing to make trade-offs, is a reliable way of thinking about preferences given the complexities of the health decision-making environment. Alternative perspectives on preference can assist health policy makers and health providers by generating more precise information about the important attributes of care that are likely to enhance consumer engagement and optimise acceptability of health care. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Individual differences in competent consumer choice: the role of cognitive reflection and numeracy skills

PubMed Central

Graffeo, Michele; Polonio, Luca; Bonini, Nicolao

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate whether cognitive reflection and numeracy skills affect the quality of the consumers’ decision-making process in a purchase decision context. In a first (field) experiment, an identical product was on sale in two shops with different initial prices and discounts. One of the two deals was better than the other and the consumers were asked to choose the best one and to describe which arithmetic operations they used to solve the problem; then they were asked to complete the numeracy scale (Lipkus et al., 2001). The choice procedures used by the consumers were classified as “complete decision approach” when all the arithmetic operations needed to solve the problem were computed, and as “partial decision approach” when only some operations were computed. A mediation model shows that higher numeracy is associated with use of the complete decision approach. In turn, this approach is positively associated with the quality of the purchase decision. Given that these findings highlight the importance of the decision processes, in a second (laboratory) experiment we used a supplementary method to study the type of information search used by the participants: eye-tracking. In this experiment the participants were presented with decision problems similar to those used in Experiment 1 and they completed the Lipkus numeracy scale and the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT; Frederick, 2005). Participants with a high CRT score chose the best deal more frequently, and showed a more profound and detailed information search pattern compared to participants with a low CRT score. Overall, results indicate that higher levels of cognitive reflection and numeracy skills predict the use of a more thorough decision process (measured with two different techniques: retrospective verbal reports and eye movements). In both experiments the decision process is a crucial factor which greatly affects the quality of the purchase decision. PMID:26136721

Consumer-driven health plans: latest challenge to practices' cash flow.

PubMed

Hajny, Tom

2007-01-01

CDHPs are here to stay. Employers welcome CDHPs because they drive costs away from themselves and into the hands of both consumers and provides. The consumer will make medical purchase decisions tempered by personal economic considerations. The providers are left to figure it all out with the hope their cash flow, cost budgets, and customer service will not be negatively impacted. It will not be easy. Practices must become educated on how CDHPs work, become knowledgeable about specific HSA scenarios in their market, develop optimum processes and procedures, and train staff.

A subjective framework for seat comfort based on a heuristic multi criteria decision making technique and anthropometry.

PubMed

Fazlollahtabar, Hamed

2010-12-01

Consumer expectations for automobile seat comfort continue to rise. With this said, it is evident that the current automobile seat comfort development process, which is only sporadically successful, needs to change. In this context, there has been growing recognition of the need for establishing theoretical and methodological automobile seat comfort. On the other hand, seat producer need to know the costumer's required comfort to produce based on their interests. The current research methodologies apply qualitative approaches due to anthropometric specifications. The most significant weakness of these approaches is the inexact extracted inferences. Despite the qualitative nature of the consumer's preferences there are some methods to transform the qualitative parameters into numerical value which could help seat producer to improve or enhance their products. Nonetheless this approach would help the automobile manufacturer to provide their seats from the best producer regarding to the consumers idea. In this paper, a heuristic multi criteria decision making technique is applied to make consumers preferences in the numeric value. This Technique is combination of Analytical Hierarchy Procedure (AHP), Entropy method, and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). A case study is conducted to illustrate the applicability and the effectiveness of the proposed heuristic approach. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mere exposure and the endowment effect on consumer decision making.

PubMed

Tom, Gail; Nelson, Carolyn; Srzentic, Tamara; King, Ryan

2007-03-01

Previous researchers (e.g., J. A. Bargh, 1992, 2002) demonstrated the importance of nonconscious processes on consumer choice behavior. Using an advertisement, the authors determined the effect of two nonconscious processes--the mere exposure effect, which increases object preference by increasing consumer exposure to an object, and the endowment effect, which increases object valuation by providing consumer possession of an object--on consumer behavior. Although the mere exposure effect and endowment effect did not produce an interaction, they produced independent effects. The endowment effect increased object valuation but not object preference. The mere exposure effect increased object preference but not object valuation. Thus, at the unconscious level, an increase in object preference does not lead to an increase in object valuation, nor does an increase in object valuation lead to an increase in object preference. The authors discuss the importance of developing measures of unconscious process in advertising effectiveness.

Consumer Decision-Making Based on Review Websites: Are There Differences Between Choosing a Hotel and Choosing a Physician?

PubMed

Rothenfluh, Fabia; Germeni, Evi; Schulz, Peter J

2016-06-16

Web users are increasingly encouraged to rate and review consumer services (eg, hotels, restaurants) and, more recently, this is also the case for physicians and medical services. The resemblance in the setup and design of commercial rating websites (CRWs) and Web-based physician rating websites (PRWs) raises the question of whether choice-making processes based on the two types of websites could also be similar. This qualitative study sought to explore the extent to which consumer decision making based on Web-based reviews is the same for consumer services (ie, choice of a hotel) and health services (ie, choice of a pediatrician), while providing an in-depth understanding of potential differences or similarities. Between June and August 2015, we carried out a total of 22 qualitative interviews with young parents residing in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Participants were invited to complete 2 choice tasks, which involved (1) choosing a hotel based on the commercial Web-based rating website TripAdvisor and (2) selecting a pediatrician based on the PRW Jameda. To better understand consumers' thought processes, we instructed participants to "think aloud", namely to verbalize their thinking while sorting through information and reaching decisions. Using a semistructured interview guide, we subsequently posed open-ended questions to allow them to elaborate more on factors influencing their decision making, level of confidence in their final choice, and perceived differences and similarities in their search for a hotel and a physician. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. Participants spent on average 9:57 minutes (standard deviation=9:22, minimum=3:46, maximum=22:25) searching for a hotel and 6:17 minutes (standard deviation=4:47, minimum=00:38, maximum=19:25) searching for a pediatrician. Although the choice of a pediatrician was perceived as more important than the choice of a hotel, participants found choosing a physician much easier than selecting an appropriate accommodation. Four main themes emerged from the analysis of our interview data that can explain the differences in search time and choice confidence: (1) trial and error, (2) trust, (3) competence assessment, and (4) affect and likeability. Our results suggest that, despite congruent website designs, individuals only trust review information to choose a hotel, but refuse to fully rely on it for selecting a physician. The design and content of Web-based PRWs need to be adjusted to better address the differing information needs of health consumers.

Consumer attitudes and the governance of food safety.

PubMed

Todt, Oliver; Muñoz, Emilio; González, Marta; Ponce, Gloria; Estévez, Betty

2009-01-01

This paper reports the analysis of a recent study of public perception of food safety governance in Spain, using genetically modified (GM) foods as an indicator. The data make clear that Spanish food consumers are aware of their rights and role in the marketplace. They are critical of current regulatory decision making, which they perceive to be unduly influenced by certain social actors, such as industry. In contrast, consumers demand decisions to be based primarily on scientific opinion, as well as consumer preferences. They want authorities to facilitate informed purchasing decisions, and favor labeling of GM foods mostly on the grounds of their right to know. However, consumers' actual level of knowledge with respect to food technology and food safety remains low. There are several ambivalences as to the real impact of these attitudes on actual consumer behavior (specifically when it comes to organizing themselves or searching out background information).

Direct-to-consumer genetic testing: where and how does genetic counseling fit?

PubMed

Middleton, Anna; Mendes, Álvaro; Benjamin, Caroline M; Howard, Heidi Carmen

2017-05-01

Direct-to-consumer genetic testing for disease ranges from well-validated diagnostic and predictive tests to 'research' results conferring increased risks. While being targeted at public curious about their health, they are also marketed for use in reproductive decision-making or management of disease. By virtue of being 'direct-to-consumer' much of this testing bypasses traditional healthcare systems. We argue that direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies should make genetic counseling available, pre- as well as post-test. While we do not advocate that mandatory genetic counseling should gate-keep access to direct-to-consumer genetic testing, if the testing process has the potential to cause psychological distress, then companies have a responsibility to provide support and should not rely on traditional healthcare systems to pick up the pieces. A video abstract is available for this article via this link .

76 FR 21879 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and Order Granting a Waiver to LG...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-19

... Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Decision and Order Granting a Waiver to LG From the Department of...: This Decision and Order is effective April 19, 2011. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Michael G... described in this notice. Today's decision prohibits LG from making representations concerning the energy...

Competing priorities in treatment decision-making: a US national survey of individuals with depression and clinicians who treat depression.

PubMed

Barr, Paul J; Forcino, Rachel C; Mishra, Manish; Blitzer, Rachel; Elwyn, Glyn

2016-01-08

To identify information priorities for consumers and clinicians making depression treatment decisions and assess shared decision-making (SDM) in routine depression care. 20 questions related to common features of depression treatments were provided. Participants were initially asked to select which features were important, and in a second stage they were asked to rank their top 5 'important features' in order of importance. Clinicians were asked to provide rankings according to both consumer and clinician perspectives. Consumers completed CollaboRATE, a measure of SDM. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified consumer characteristics associated with CollaboRATE scores. Online cross-sectional surveys fielded in September to December 2014. We administered surveys to convenience samples of US adults with depression and clinicians who treat depression. Consumer sampling was targeted to reflect age, gender and educational attainment of adults with depression in the USA. Information priority rankings; CollaboRATE, a 3-item consumer-reported measure of SDM. 972 consumers and 244 clinicians completed the surveys. The highest ranked question for both consumers and clinicians was 'Will the treatment work?' Clinicians were aware of consumers' priorities, yet did not always prioritise that information themselves, particularly insurance coverage and cost of treatment. Only 18% of consumers reported high levels of SDM. Working with a psychiatrist (OR 1.87; 95% CI 1.07 to 3.26) and female gender (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.25 to 3.34) were associated with top CollaboRATE scores. While clinicians know what information is important to consumers making depression treatment decisions, they do not always address these concerns. This mismatch, coupled with low SDM, adversely affects the quality of depression care. Development of a decision support intervention based on our findings can improve levels of SDM and provide clinicians and consumers with a tool to address the existing misalignment in information priorities. 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/

Health care consumer reports: an evaluation of employer perspectives.

PubMed

Longo, Daniel R

2004-01-01

The proliferation of health care consumer reports (also known as "consumer guides," "report cards," and "performance reports") designed to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions makes it vital to understand the perspective of employers who provide the vast majority of health insurance to the working population regarding the use of these reports. There is little empirical evidence on how consumer reports are used by employers to make health care purchasing decisions. This study fills that gap by surveying 154 businesses in Boone County, Missouri, regarding their evaluation of a consumer guide. The majority of employers surveyed indicate that the report will not have a direct effect on their health care purchasing decisions. However, they indicate that the reports are "positive and worthwhile" and their responses reflect a favorable view of the health care organization that developed and disseminated the report. Additionally, findings indicate that employers generally prefer consumer reports as a means to compare local health care institutions, rather than reviewing national averages to locate the same information. Report developers should take precautions to determine the intent of such reports, as they may not achieve the objective of changing employers' health care purchasing behavior.

Making Consumer Choices. Secondary Learning Guide 6. Project Connect. Linking Self-Family-Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Inc., Hartford, CT.

This competency-based secondary learning guide on making consumer choices is part of a series that are adaptations of guides developed for adult consumer and homemaking education programs. The guides provide students with experiences that help them learn to do the following: make decisions; use creative approaches to solve problems; establish…

Effect of herd cues and product involvement on bidder online choices.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Fen; Wang, Ya-Ju

2010-08-01

Previous works have shown that consumers are influenced by others in decision making. Herd behavior is common in situations in which consumers infer product quality from other consumer choices and incorporate that information into their own decision making. This research presents two studies examining herd effect and the moderating role of product involvement on bidder choices in online auctions. The two studies addressed the influence on bidder online choices of herd cues frequently found in online auctions, including feedback ratings and number of questions and answers. The experimental results demonstrated that bidders use online herd cues when making decisions in online auctions. Additionally, the effects of herd cues on bidder online choices were stronger in high-involvement than low-involvement participants. Results and implications are discussed.

Sea Stories: A Collaborative Tool for Articulating Tactical Knowledge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radtke, Paul H.; Frey, Paul R.

Having subject matter experts (SMEs) identify the skills and knowledge to be taught is among the more difficult and time-consuming steps in the training development process. A procedure has been developed for identifying specific tactical decision-making knowledge requirements and translating SME knowledge into appropriate multimedia…

The decisions regarding ADHD management (DRAMa) study: uncertainties and complexities in assessment, diagnosis and treatment, from the clinician's point of view.

PubMed

Kovshoff, Hanna; Williams, Sarah; Vrijens, May; Danckaerts, Marina; Thompson, Margaret; Yardley, Lucy; Hodgkins, Paul; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J S

2012-02-01

Clinical decision making is influenced by a range of factors and constitutes an inherently complex task. Here we present results from the decisions regarding ADHD management (DRAMa) study in which we undertook a thematic analysis of clinicians' experiences and attitudes to assessment, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. Fifty prescribing child psychiatrists and paediatricians from Belgium and the UK took part in semi-structured interviews about their decisions regarding the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. Interviews were transcribed and processed using thematic analysis and the principles of grounded theory. Clinicians described the assessment and diagnostic process as inherently complicated and requiring time and experience to piece together the accounts of children made by multiple sources and through the use of varying information gathering techniques. Treatment decisions were viewed as a shared process between families, children, and the clinician. Published guidelines were viewed as vague, and few clinicians spoke about the use of symptom thresholds or specific impairment criteria. Furthermore, systematic or operationalised criteria to assess treatment outcomes were rarely used. Decision making in ADHD is regarded as a complicated, time consuming process which requires extensive use of clinical impression, and involves a partnership with parents. Clinicians want to separate biological from environmental causal factors to understand the level of impairment and the subsequent need for a diagnosis of ADHD. Clinical guidelines would benefit from revisions to take into account the real-world complexities of clinical decision making for ADHD.

The need for consumer behavior analysis in health care coverage decisions.

PubMed

Thompson, A M; Rao, C P

1990-01-01

Demographic analysis has been the primary form of analysis connected with health care coverage decisions. This paper reviews past demographic research and shows the need to use behavioral analyses for health care coverage policy decisions. A behavioral model based research study is presented and a case is made for integrated study into why consumers make health care coverage decisions.

Think twice before you book? Modelling the choice of public vs private dentist in a choice experiment.

PubMed

Kiiskinen, Urpo; Suominen-Taipale, Anna Liisa; Cairns, John

2010-06-01

This study concerns the choice of primary dental service provider by consumers. If the health service delivery system allows individuals to choose between public-care providers or if complementary private services are available, it is typically assumed that utilisation is a three-stage decision process. The patient first makes a decision to seek care, and then chooses the service provider. The final stage, involving decisions over the amount and form of treatment, is not considered here. The paper reports a discrete choice experiment (DCE) designed to evaluate attributes affecting individuals' choice of dental-care provider. The feasibility of the DCE approach in modelling consumers' choice in the context of non-acute need for dental care is assessed. The aim is to test whether a separate two-stage logit, a multinomial logit, or a nested logit best fits the choice process of consumers. A nested logit model of indirect utility functions is estimated and inclusive value (IV) constraints are tested for modelling implications. The results show that non-trading behaviour has an impact on the choice of appropriate modelling technique, but is to some extent dependent on the choice of scenarios offered. It is concluded that for traders multinomial logit is appropriate, whereas for non-traders and on average the nested logit is the method supported by the analyses. The consistent finding in all subgroup analyses is that the traditional two-stage decision process is found to be implausible in the context of consumer's choice of dental-care provider.

Simple heuristics in over-the-counter drug choices: a new hint for medical education and practice.

PubMed

Riva, Silvia; Monti, Marco; Antonietti, Alessandro

2011-01-01

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are widely available and often purchased by consumers without advice from a health care provider. Many people rely on self-management of medications to treat common medical conditions. Although OTC medications are regulated by the National and the International Health and Drug Administration, many people are unaware of proper dosing, side effects, adverse drug reactions, and possible medication interactions. This study examined how subjects make their decisions to select an OTC drug, evaluating the role of cognitive heuristics which are simple and adaptive rules that help the decision-making process of people in everyday contexts. By analyzing 70 subjects' information-search and decision-making behavior when selecting OTC drugs, we examined the heuristics they applied in order to assess whether simple decision-making processes were also accurate and relevant. Subjects were tested with a sequence of two experimental tests based on a computerized Java system devised to analyze participants' choices in a virtual environment. We found that subjects' information-search behavior reflected the use of fast and frugal heuristics. In addition, although the heuristics which correctly predicted subjects' decisions implied significantly fewer cues on average than the subjects did in the information-search task, they were accurate in describing order of information search. A simple combination of a fast and frugal tree and a tallying rule predicted more than 78% of subjects' decisions. The current emphasis in health care is to shift some responsibility onto the consumer through expansion of self medication. To know which cognitive mechanisms are behind the choice of OTC drugs is becoming a relevant purpose of current medical education. These findings have implications both for the validity of simple heuristics describing information searches in the field of OTC drug choices and for current medical education, which has to prepare competent health specialists to orientate and support the choices of their patients.

Simple heuristics in over-the-counter drug choices: a new hint for medical education and practice

PubMed Central

Riva, Silvia; Monti, Marco; Antonietti, Alessandro

2011-01-01

Introduction Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are widely available and often purchased by consumers without advice from a health care provider. Many people rely on self-management of medications to treat common medical conditions. Although OTC medications are regulated by the National and the International Health and Drug Administration, many people are unaware of proper dosing, side effects, adverse drug reactions, and possible medication interactions. Purpose This study examined how subjects make their decisions to select an OTC drug, evaluating the role of cognitive heuristics which are simple and adaptive rules that help the decision-making process of people in everyday contexts. Subjects and methods By analyzing 70 subjects’ information-search and decision-making behavior when selecting OTC drugs, we examined the heuristics they applied in order to assess whether simple decision-making processes were also accurate and relevant. Subjects were tested with a sequence of two experimental tests based on a computerized Java system devised to analyze participants’ choices in a virtual environment. Results We found that subjects’ information-search behavior reflected the use of fast and frugal heuristics. In addition, although the heuristics which correctly predicted subjects’ decisions implied significantly fewer cues on average than the subjects did in the information-search task, they were accurate in describing order of information search. A simple combination of a fast and frugal tree and a tallying rule predicted more than 78% of subjects’ decisions. Conclusion The current emphasis in health care is to shift some responsibility onto the consumer through expansion of self medication. To know which cognitive mechanisms are behind the choice of OTC drugs is becoming a relevant purpose of current medical education. These findings have implications both for the validity of simple heuristics describing information searches in the field of OTC drug choices and for current medical education, which has to prepare competent health specialists to orientate and support the choices of their patients. PMID:23745077

Weighting Statistical Inputs for Data Used to Support Effective Decision Making During Severe Emergency Weather and Environmental Events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Adrian

2010-01-01

National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) weather and atmospheric environmental organizations are insatiable consumers of geophysical, hydrometeorological and solar weather statistics. The expanding array of internet-worked sensors producing targeted physical measurements has generated an almost factorial explosion of near real-time inputs to topical statistical datasets. Normalizing and value-based parsing of such statistical datasets in support of time-constrained weather and environmental alerts and warnings is essential, even with dedicated high-performance computational capabilities. What are the optimal indicators for advanced decision making? How do we recognize the line between sufficient statistical sampling and excessive, mission destructive sampling ? How do we assure that the normalization and parsing process, when interpolated through numerical models, yields accurate and actionable alerts and warnings? This presentation will address the integrated means and methods to achieve desired outputs for NASA and consumers of its data.

Does a time constraint modify results from rating-based conjoint analysis? Case study with orange/pomegranate juice bottles.

PubMed

Reis, Felipe; Machín, Leandro; Rosenthal, Amauri; Deliza, Rosires; Ares, Gastón

2016-12-01

People do not usually process all the available information on packages for making their food choices and rely on heuristics for making their decisions, particularly when having limited time. However, in most consumer studies encourage participants to invest a lot of time for making their choices. Therefore, imposing a time-constraint in consumer studies may increase their ecological validity. In this context, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of a time-constraint on consumer evaluation of pomegranate/orange juice bottles using rating-based conjoint task. A consumer study with 100 participants was carried out, in which they had to evaluate 16 pomegranate/orange fruit juice bottles, differing in bottle design, front-of-pack nutritional information, nutrition claim and processing claim, and to rate their intention to purchase. Half of the participants evaluated the bottle images without time constraint and the other half had a time-constraint of 3s for evaluating each image. Eye-movements were recorded during the evaluation. Results showed that time-constraint when evaluating intention to purchase did not largely modify the way in which consumers visually processed bottle images. Regardless of the experimental condition (with or without time constraint), they tended to evaluate the same product characteristics and to give them the same relative importance. However, a trend towards a more superficial evaluation of the bottles that skipped complex information was observed. Regarding the influence of product characteristics on consumer intention to purchase, bottle design was the variable with the largest relative importance in both conditions, overriding the influence of nutritional or processing characteristics, which stresses the importance of graphic design in shaping consumer perception. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 1220.105 - Consumer information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... term consumer information means information that will assist consumers and other persons in making evaluations and decisions regarding the purchase, preparation, and use of soybeans or soybean products. ...

Role of Information in Consumer Selection of Health Plans

PubMed Central

Sainfort, François; Booske, Bridget C.

1996-01-01

Considerable efforts are underway in the public and private sectors to increase the amount of information available to consumers when making health plan choices. The objective of this study was to examine the role of information in consumer health plan decisionmaking. A computer system was developed which provides different plan descriptions with the option of accessing varying types and levels of information. The system tracked the information search processes and recorded the hypothetical plan choices of 202 subjects. Results are reported showing the relationship between information and problem perception, preference structure, choice of plan, and attitude towards the decision. PMID:10165036

Consumer Health Informatics--integrating patients, providers, and professionals online.

PubMed

Klein-Fedyshin, Michele S

2002-01-01

Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) means different things to patients, health professionals, and health care systems. A broader perspective on this new and rapidly developing field will enable us to understand and better apply its advances. This article provides an overview of CHI discussing its evolution and driving forces, along with advanced applications such as Personal Health Records, Internet transmission of personal health data, clinical e-mail, online pharmacies, and shared decision-making tools. Consumer Health Informatics will become integrated with medical care, electronic medical records, and patient education to impact the whole process and business of health care.

Personal and Ecological Factors in the Seeking of Assistance When Making Consumer Decisions: A Social Comparison Interpretation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Duane I.

Failure to establish a strong relationship between attitudes and buying behavior may indicate that the personality-consumer behavior link is mediated by some social mechanism, such as differential propensities toward advice-seeking. Undergraduates (N=75) completed two measures of attitudes, a questionnaire consisting of 10 consumer decisions and…

7 CFR 1219.4 - Consumer information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... will assist consumers and other persons in the United States in making evaluations and decisions..., AND INFORMATION Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1219.4 Consumer...

[The price-based certainty of purchase influences consumer behavior for discount].

PubMed

Arihara, Katsuhiko; Ariga, Atsunori; Furuya, Takeshi

2016-04-01

Tversky & Kahneman (1981) reported that most participants decided to drive when they could save money on a low-price good as compared to when they could save on a high-price good, even though the discount prices were same. Although this irrational decision making has been interpreted as a rate-dependent estimation of value (prospect theory), this study newly proposes that it can be explained by the certainty of purchase based on the price of goods. Experiment 1 replicated the previously reported difference in decision making, and additionally demonstrated that participants' certainty of purchase was lower for a high- than a low-price good. When it was emphasized that participants' intention to purchase high- and low-price goods were equally sure, decision making did not significantly differ (Experiment 2). Furthermore, decision making differed based only on the certainty of purchase even,when prices of goods were-same (Experiment 3). Consumers' decision making may be rather rational, depending straightforwardly on the certainty of purchase that is susceptible to price.

The Elderly Perceived Meanings and Values of Virtual Reality Leisure Activities: A Means-End Chain Approach.

PubMed

Lin, Cheng-Shih; Jeng, Mei-Yuan; Yeh, Tsu-Ming

2018-04-03

This study uses means-end chain (MEC) techniques to examine the awareness, decision-making procedure, and personal values of the elderly with regard to virtual reality leisure activities. The results of the study show that elderly respondents value virtual reality leisure activities that are fun, safe, and easy. In terms of outcome benefits, elderly respondents value feeling physically and mentally healthy, firsthand experience, and satisfied curiosity. In value terms, elderly respondents hope that their chosen virtual reality leisure activities improve not only their relationships with others, but also their enjoyment, quality of life, and sense of belonging. The results show that, while consumers with different awarenesses of virtual reality leisure activities have different decision-making processes, they share creating "good memories" as the terminal value with the most significant effect. This presents a potential opportunity to promote virtual reality leisure activities. Relevant bodies or enterprises can seek to create good memories in consumers by developing activities that are safe and fun, promote good health, and provide good service, thereby attracting the interest of elderly consumers.

The Elderly Perceived Meanings and Values of Virtual Reality Leisure Activities: A Means-End Chain Approach

PubMed Central

Lin, Cheng-Shih; Jeng, Mei-Yuan

2018-01-01

This study uses means-end chain (MEC) techniques to examine the awareness, decision-making procedure, and personal values of the elderly with regard to virtual reality leisure activities. The results of the study show that elderly respondents value virtual reality leisure activities that are fun, safe, and easy. In terms of outcome benefits, elderly respondents value feeling physically and mentally healthy, firsthand experience, and satisfied curiosity. In value terms, elderly respondents hope that their chosen virtual reality leisure activities improve not only their relationships with others, but also their enjoyment, quality of life, and sense of belonging. The results show that, while consumers with different awarenesses of virtual reality leisure activities have different decision-making processes, they share creating “good memories” as the terminal value with the most significant effect. This presents a potential opportunity to promote virtual reality leisure activities. Relevant bodies or enterprises can seek to create good memories in consumers by developing activities that are safe and fun, promote good health, and provide good service, thereby attracting the interest of elderly consumers. PMID:29614012

Oversight mechanisms in public managed care programs: from little oversight to negotiations to shared decision-making.

PubMed

Beinecke, R H

1999-01-01

An expanded range of oversight mechanisms is being adopted to hold public human service programs more accountable to funding sources as well as consumers, family members, and providers. Most of these approaches are hierarchical in nature. Some involve negotiated agreements and each is designed to meet certain goals and functions. Each utilizes different forms of decision-making. Stakeholders prefer to be part of a shared decision-making process. Understanding these underlying premises can help to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each method and can suggest how to most effectively utilize combinations of approaches to improve program performance. Whether we will move toward a new paradigm emphasizing participation and collaboration rather than more formal structural approaches is yet undetermined but will greatly affect how programs are monitored and evaluated in the future.

Profile and effects of consumer involvement in fresh meat.

PubMed

Verbeke, Wim; Vackier, Isabelle

2004-05-01

This study investigates the profile and effects of consumer involvement in fresh meat as a product category based on cross-sectional data collected in Belgium. Analyses confirm that involvement in meat is a multidimensional construct including four facets: pleasure value, symbolic value, risk importance and risk probability. Four involvement-based meat consumer segments are identified: straightforward, cautious, indifferent, and concerned. Socio-demographic differences between the segments relate to gender, age and presence of children. The segments differ in terms of extensiveness of the decision-making process, impact and trust in information sources, levels of concern, price consciousness, claimed meat consumption, consumption intention, and preferred place of purchase. The two segments with a strong perception of meat risks constitute two-thirds of the market. They can be typified as cautious meat lovers versus concerned meat consumers. Efforts aiming at consumer reassurance through quality improvement, traceability, labelling or communication may gain effectiveness when targeted specifically to these two segments. Whereas straightforward meat lovers focus mainly on taste as the decisive criterion, indifferent consumers are strongly price oriented.

Pharmaceutical advertising as a consumer empowerment device.

PubMed

Rubin, P H

2001-01-01

Pharmaceutical companies have greatly increased their level of "direct-to-consumer" (DTC) advertising in recent years. For 1998, estimates are that over $1.1 billion was spent on this form of advertising, increased from $850 million in 1997 and $600 million in 1996. In 1998, 84 separate drugs were advertised to consumers. The impetus was a decision in August of 1997 by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the restrictions on DTC advertising on television. As a result, such ads have become very common on TV, and 32 products were advertised on TV in 1998. Pharmaceutical companies advertise because they think that advertising will make money for them. But how will this make money? It will make money by providing consumers with the information they need to make proper decisions about medication. That is, DTC advertising is profitable exactly because it empowers consumers and enables them to purchase useful drugs. The goals of advertising companies and consumers are both for consumers to have information about the most beneficial drug for particular conditions, and so advertising is beneficial both to manufacturers and to consumers. This article describes emerging trends in DTC within the context of the life sciences sector.

Decision-making processes shaping the home food environments of young adult women with and without children.

PubMed

Raskind, Ilana G; Woodruff, Rebecca C; Ballard, Denise; Cherry, Sabrina T; Daniel, Sandra; Haardörfer, Regine; Kegler, Michelle C

2017-06-01

Although young adult women consume the majority of their total daily energy intake from home food sources, the decision-making processes that shape their home food environments have received limited attention. Further, how decision-making may be affected by the transformative experience of motherhood is unknown. In this study, we explore the factors that influence two key decision-making processes-food choices while grocery shopping and the use of non-home food sources-and whether there are differences by motherhood status. In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 women, aged 20-29, living in southwest Georgia. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data stratified by whether or not children were present in the home. Decision-making was affected by numerous factors, which differed across groups. In regard to grocery shopping, women with children more frequently discussed the influence of nutrition and the preferences of children, while women without children more frequently discussed the influence of taste and the preferences of other household members. Cost, convenience, weight control, and pre-planning meals emerged as salient in both groups. In regard to the use of non-home food sources, convenience and taste were discussed by both groups, while social factors were only discussed by women without children. The cost of eating out was the only reason cited for eating inside the home, and this factor only emerged among women with children. Motherhood may be an important contributor to the decision-making processes that shape young adult women's home food environments. Interventions may find success in framing messaging to emphasize factors identified as motivating healthy decisions, such as protecting the health of children, and practical strategies may be adapted from those already in use, such as pre-planning and budgeting for healthy meals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fuzzy, crisp, and human logic in e-commerce marketing data mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hearn, Kelda L.; Zhang, Yanqing

2001-03-01

In today's business world there is an abundance of available data and a great need to make good use of it. Many businesses would benefit from examining customer habits and trends and making marketing and product decisions based on that analysis. However, the process of manually examining data and making sound decisions based on that data is time consuming and often impractical. Intelligent systems that can make judgments similar to human judgments are sorely needed. Thus, systems based on fuzzy logic present themselves as an option to be seriously considered. The work described in this paper attempts to make an initial comparison between fuzzy logic and more traditional hard or crisp logic to see which would make a better substitute for human intervention. In this particular case study, customers are classified into categories that indicate how desirable the customer would be as a prospect for marketing. This classification is based on a small set of customer data. The results from these investigations make it clear that fuzzy logic is more able to think for itself and make decisions that more closely match human decision and is therefore significantly closer to human logic than crisp logic.

Health Insurance Literacy: How People Understand and Make Health Insurance Purchase Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vardell, Emily Johanna

2017-01-01

The concept of health insurance literacy, which can be defined as "the extent to which consumers can make informed purchase and use decisions" (Kim, Braun, & Williams, 2013, p. 3), has only recently become a focus of health literacy research. Though employees have been making health insurance decisions for many years, the Affordable…

Consumer Decision-Making Based on Review Websites: Are There Differences Between Choosing a Hotel and Choosing a Physician?

PubMed Central

Germeni, Evi; Schulz, Peter J

2016-01-01

Background Web users are increasingly encouraged to rate and review consumer services (eg, hotels, restaurants) and, more recently, this is also the case for physicians and medical services. The resemblance in the setup and design of commercial rating websites (CRWs) and Web-based physician rating websites (PRWs) raises the question of whether choice-making processes based on the two types of websites could also be similar. Objective This qualitative study sought to explore the extent to which consumer decision making based on Web-based reviews is the same for consumer services (ie, choice of a hotel) and health services (ie, choice of a pediatrician), while providing an in-depth understanding of potential differences or similarities. Methods Between June and August 2015, we carried out a total of 22 qualitative interviews with young parents residing in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Participants were invited to complete 2 choice tasks, which involved (1) choosing a hotel based on the commercial Web-based rating website TripAdvisor and (2) selecting a pediatrician based on the PRW Jameda. To better understand consumers’ thought processes, we instructed participants to “think aloud”, namely to verbalize their thinking while sorting through information and reaching decisions. Using a semistructured interview guide, we subsequently posed open-ended questions to allow them to elaborate more on factors influencing their decision making, level of confidence in their final choice, and perceived differences and similarities in their search for a hotel and a physician. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. Results Participants spent on average 9:57 minutes (standard deviation=9:22, minimum=3:46, maximum=22:25) searching for a hotel and 6:17 minutes (standard deviation=4:47, minimum=00:38, maximum=19:25) searching for a pediatrician. Although the choice of a pediatrician was perceived as more important than the choice of a hotel, participants found choosing a physician much easier than selecting an appropriate accommodation. Four main themes emerged from the analysis of our interview data that can explain the differences in search time and choice confidence: (1) trial and error, (2) trust, (3) competence assessment, and (4) affect and likeability. Conclusions Our results suggest that, despite congruent website designs, individuals only trust review information to choose a hotel, but refuse to fully rely on it for selecting a physician. The design and content of Web-based PRWs need to be adjusted to better address the differing information needs of health consumers. PMID:27311623

Technology to control variation in meat quality

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Consumers have certain expectations regarding the quality of the meat they purchase. Lean color is the primary quality attribute used by consumers to make purchase decisions. Similarly, repeat purchase decisions are generally a result of eating satisfaction, which is determined by the perceived va...

Course Recommendation Based on Query Classification Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulzar, Zameer; Leema, A. Anny

2018-01-01

This article describes how with a non-formal education, a scholar has to choose courses among various domains to meet the research aims. In spite of this, the availability of large number of courses, makes the process of selecting the appropriate course a tedious, time-consuming, and risky decision, and the course selection will directly affect…

The Composition of Consideration and Choice Sets in Undergraduate University Choice: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawes, Philip L.; Brown, Jennifer

2004-01-01

We examine university choice as a case of consumer decision making and adopt a brand elimination framework. This approach is predicated on the grounds that a large amount of research in consumer behavior has shown that in markets where there are many alternative brands, consumers use phased-decision strategies. In these research studies, the…

Neural reactivation links unconscious thought to decision-making performance.

PubMed

Creswell, John David; Bursley, James K; Satpute, Ajay B

2013-12-01

Brief periods of unconscious thought (UT) have been shown to improve decision making compared with making an immediate decision (ID). We reveal a neural mechanism for UT in decision making using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants (N = 33) encoded information on a set of consumer products (e.g. 48 attributes describing four different cars), and we manipulated whether participants (i) consciously thought about this information (conscious thought), (ii) completed a difficult 2-back working memory task (UT) or (iii) made an immediate decision about the consumer products (ID) in a within-subjects blocked design. To differentiate UT neural activity from 2-back working memory neural activity, participants completed an independent 2-back task and this neural activity was subtracted from neural activity occurring during the UT 2-back task. Consistent with a neural reactivation account, we found that the same regions activated during the encoding of complex decision information (right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left intermediate visual cortex) continued to be activated during a subsequent 2-min UT period. Moreover, neural reactivation in these regions was predictive of subsequent behavioral decision-making performance after the UT period. These results provide initial evidence for post-encoding unconscious neural reactivation in facilitating decision making.

Neural reactivation links unconscious thought to decision-making performance

PubMed Central

Bursley, James K.; Satpute, Ajay B.

2013-01-01

Brief periods of unconscious thought (UT) have been shown to improve decision making compared with making an immediate decision (ID). We reveal a neural mechanism for UT in decision making using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants (N = 33) encoded information on a set of consumer products (e.g. 48 attributes describing four different cars), and we manipulated whether participants (i) consciously thought about this information (conscious thought), (ii) completed a difficult 2-back working memory task (UT) or (iii) made an immediate decision about the consumer products (ID) in a within-subjects blocked design. To differentiate UT neural activity from 2-back working memory neural activity, participants completed an independent 2-back task and this neural activity was subtracted from neural activity occurring during the UT 2-back task. Consistent with a neural reactivation account, we found that the same regions activated during the encoding of complex decision information (right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left intermediate visual cortex) continued to be activated during a subsequent 2-min UT period. Moreover, neural reactivation in these regions was predictive of subsequent behavioral decision-making performance after the UT period. These results provide initial evidence for post-encoding unconscious neural reactivation in facilitating decision making. PMID:23314012

Selecting automation for the clinical chemistry laboratory.

PubMed

Melanson, Stacy E F; Lindeman, Neal I; Jarolim, Petr

2007-07-01

Laboratory automation proposes to improve the quality and efficiency of laboratory operations, and may provide a solution to the quality demands and staff shortages faced by today's clinical laboratories. Several vendors offer automation systems in the United States, with both subtle and obvious differences. Arriving at a decision to automate, and the ensuing evaluation of available products, can be time-consuming and challenging. Although considerable discussion concerning the decision to automate has been published, relatively little attention has been paid to the process of evaluating and selecting automation systems. To outline a process for evaluating and selecting automation systems as a reference for laboratories contemplating laboratory automation. Our Clinical Chemistry Laboratory staff recently evaluated all major laboratory automation systems in the United States, with their respective chemistry and immunochemistry analyzers. Our experience is described and organized according to the selection process, the important considerations in clinical chemistry automation, decisions and implementation, and we give conclusions pertaining to this experience. Including the formation of a committee, workflow analysis, submitting a request for proposal, site visits, and making a final decision, the process of selecting chemistry automation took approximately 14 months. We outline important considerations in automation design, preanalytical processing, analyzer selection, postanalytical storage, and data management. Selecting clinical chemistry laboratory automation is a complex, time-consuming process. Laboratories considering laboratory automation may benefit from the concise overview and narrative and tabular suggestions provided.

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

Effective presentation of health care performance information for consumer decision making: A systematic review.

PubMed

Kurtzman, Ellen T; Greene, Jessica

2016-01-01

This systematic review synthesizes what is known about the effective presentation of health care performance information for consumer decision making. Six databases were searched for articles published in English between September 2003 and April 2014. Experimental studies comparing consumers' responses to performance information when one or more presentation feature was altered were included. A thematic analysis was performed and practical guidelines derived. All 31 articles retained, the majority which tested responses to various presentations of health care cost and/or quality information, found that consumers better understand and make more informed choices when the information display is less complex. Simplification can be achieved by reducing the quantity of choices, displaying results in a positive direction, using non-technical language and evaluative elements, and situating results in common contexts. While findings do not offer a prescriptive design, this synthesis informs approaches to enhancing the presentation of health care performance information and areas that merit additional research. Guidelines derived from these results can be used to enhance health care performance reports for consumer decision making including using recognizable, evaluative graphics and customizable formats, limiting the amount of information presented, and testing presentation formats prior to use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Choice Set Size and Decision-Making: The Case of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans

PubMed Central

Bundorf, M. Kate; Szrek, Helena

2013-01-01

Background The impact of choice on consumer decision-making is controversial in U.S. health policy. Objective Our objective was to determine how choice set size influences decision-making among Medicare beneficiaries choosing prescription drug plans. Methods We randomly assigned members of an internet-enabled panel age 65 and over to sets of prescription drug plans of varying sizes (2, 5, 10, and 16) and asked them to choose a plan. Respondents answered questions about the plan they chose, the choice set, and the decision process. We used ordered probit models to estimate the effect of choice set size on the study outcomes. Results Both the benefits of choice, measured by whether the chosen plan is close to the ideal plan, and the costs, measured by whether the respondent found decision-making difficult, increased with choice set size. Choice set size was not associated with the probability of enrolling in any plan. Conclusions Medicare beneficiaries face a tension between not wanting to choose from too many options and feeling happier with an outcome when they have more alternatives. Interventions that reduce cognitive costs when choice sets are large may make this program more attractive to beneficiaries. PMID:20228281

Community views and perspectives on public engagement in health technology assessment decision making.

PubMed

Wortley, Sally; Tong, Allison; Howard, Kirsten

2017-03-01

Objectives The aim of the present study was to describe community views and perspectives on public engagement processes in Australian health technology assessment (HTA) decision making. Methods Six focus groups were held in Sydney (NSW, Australia) as part of a broad program of work on public engagement and HTA. Eligible participants were aged ≥18 years and spoke English. Participants were asked about their views and perspectives of public engagement in the HTA decision-making process, with responses analysed using a public participation framework. Results Fifty-eight participants aged 19-71 years attended the focus groups. Responses from the public indicated that they wanted public engagement in HTA to include a diversity of individuals, be independent and transparent, involve individuals early in the process and ensure that public input is meaningful and useful to the process. This was consistent with the public participation framework. Perceived shortcomings of the current public engagement process were also identified, namely the lack of awareness of the HTA system in the general population and the need to acknowledge the role different groups of stakeholders or 'publics' can have in the process. Conclusions The public do see a role for themselves in the HTA decision-making process. This is distinct to the involvement of patients and carers. It is important that any future public engagement strategy in this field distinguishes between stakeholder groups and outline approaches that will involve members of the public in the decision-making process, especially if public expectations of involvement in healthcare decision-making continue to increase. What is known about this topic? The views and perspectives of patients and consumers are important in the HTA decision-making process. There is a move to involve the broader community, particularly as decisions become increasingly complex and resources more scarce. What does this paper add? It not been known to what extent, or at what points, the community would like to be engaged with the HTA decision-making process. The present study adds to the evidence base on this topic by identifying features of engagement that may be important in determining the extent of wider public involvement. It is clear that the community expects the system to be transparent, for patients to be involved early in specific processes and the wider community to be able to contribute to the broader vision of the healthcare system. What are the implications for practitioners? A formalised strategy is needed to include the public voice into health technology decisions. With the current level of reform in the healthcare sector and the focus on creating a sustainable healthcare system, there is a real opportunity to implement an approach that not only informs patients and the community of the challenges, but includes and incorporates their views into these decisions. This will assist in developing and adapting policy that is relevant and meets the needs of the population.

Mexican consumers at the point of meat purchase. Pork choice.

PubMed

Ngapo, T M; Rubio Lozano, M S; Braña Varela, D

2018-01-01

Use of within-consumer preference replication and systematic image manipulation in surveying showed that consumers in four cities across Mexico had similar strategies for pork choice. New surveying tools also determined preferred levels of the characteristics used in the decision-making process. The most important choice criteria were colour (31% chose dark and 21% light red), and fat cover (42% chose lean and 8% fatty). Marbling and drip were less used, but are nevertheless important given that 21% of consumers used three or four characteristics to make their choice. Split colour and marbling preferences and a range of acceptable limits for both, and a preference for the leanest fat cover available were observed. Preferences within the normal range of pork colour, fat cover achieved through trimming and drip countered by an absorbent pad all favour industry practice. Unfortunately, preferences for minimal or no marbling and fat cover likely result in a compromised gustative experience for many Mexican consumers. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 1260.124 - Consumer information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Promotion and Research Order Definitions § 1260.124 Consumer information. Consumer information means nutritional data and other information that will assist consumers and other persons in making evaluations and decisions regarding the purchasing, preparing, and use of beef and beef products. ...

Consumer choice of pork chops in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chen, M T; Guo, H L; Tseng, T F; Roan, S W; Ngapo, T M

2010-07-01

Digital photographs of pork chops varying systematically in appearance were presented to 716 Taiwanese consumers in a study that aimed to identify the most important characteristics of fresh pork which determine consumer choice in Taiwan. Relationships between consumer segmentation in choice and socio-demographic and cultural differences were also investigated. Colour and fat cover were the most frequently chosen of the four characteristics studied. Dark red colour was preferred by 64% of consumers and lean fat cover by 44%. Marbling and drip were less important in the decision making process being used by less than a half of consumers. The four preference-based clusters of consumers showed no correlation with socio-demographic-based consumer clusters, but did show significant links with possession of a refrigerator, age at which schooling was completed, liking pork for its price and gender of consumer. Crown Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How consumers are affected by product descriptions in online shopping: Event-related potentials evidence of the attribute framing effect.

PubMed

Jin, Jia; Zhang, Wuke; Chen, Mingliang

2017-12-01

Due to the limitations of the human ability to process information, e-consumers' decisions are likely to be influenced by various cognitive biases, such as the attribute framing effect. This effect has been well studied by numerous scholars; however, the associated underlying neural mechanisms with a critical temporal resolution have not been revealed. Thus, this study applies the measurement of event-related potentials (ERPs) to directly examine the role of attribute framing in information processing and decision-making in online shopping. The behavioral results showed that participants demonstrated a higher purchase intention with a shorter reaction time under a positive framing condition compared to participants under a negative framing condition. Compared with positive framing messages, the results of ERPs indicated that negative framing messages attracted more attention resources at the early stage of rapid automatic processing (larger P2 amplitude) and resulted in greater cognitive conflict and decision difficulty (larger P2-N2 complex). Moreover, compared with negative messages, positive framing messages allowed consumers to perceive a better future performance of products and classify these products as a categorization of higher evaluation (larger LPP amplitude) at the late cognitive processing stage of evaluation. Based on these results, we provide evidence for a better understanding of how different attribute framing messages are processed and ultimately lead to the framing effect. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Selecting a provider: what factors influence patients' decision making?

PubMed

Abraham, Jean; Sick, Brian; Anderson, Joseph; Berg, Andrea; Dehmer, Chad; Tufano, Amanda

2011-01-01

Each year consumers make a variety of decisions relating to their healthcare. Some experts argue that stronger consumer engagement in decisions about where to obtain medical care is an important mechanism for improving efficiency in healthcare delivery and financing. Consumers' ability and motivation to become more active decision makers are affected by several factors, including financial incentives and access to information. This study investigates the set of factors that consumers consider when selecting a provider, including attributes of the provider and the care experience and the reputation of the provider. Additionally, the study evaluates consumers awareness and use of formal sources of provider selection information. Our results from analyzing data from a survey of 467 patients at four clinics in Minnesota suggest that the factors considered of greatest importance include reputation of the physician and reputation of the healthcare organization. Contractual and logistical factors also play a role, with respondents highlighting the importance of seeing a provider affiliated with their health plan and appointment availability. Few respondents indicated that advertisements or formal sources of quality information affected their decision making. The key implication for provider organizations is to carefully manage referral sources to ensure that they consistently meet the needs of referrers. Excellent service to existing patients and to the network of referring physicians yields patient and referrer satisfaction that is critical to attracting new patients. Finally, organizations more generally may want to explore the capabilities of new media and social networking sites for building reputation.

Information Search and Decision Making: The Effects of Age and Complexity on Strategy Use

PubMed Central

Queen, Tara L.; Hess, Thomas M.; Ennis, Gilda E.; Dowd, Keith; Grühn, Daniel

2012-01-01

The impact of task complexity on information search strategy and decision quality was examined in a sample of 135 young, middle-aged, and older adults. We were particularly interested in the competing roles of fluid cognitive ability and domain knowledge and experience, with the former being a negative influence and the latter being a positive influence on older adults’ performance. Participants utilized two decision matrices, which varied in complexity, regarding a consumer purchase. Using process tracing software and an algorithm developed to assess decision strategy, we recorded search behavior, strategy selection, and final decision. Contrary to expectations, older adults were not more likely than the younger age groups to engage in information-minimizing search behaviors in response to increases in task complexity. Similarly, adults of all ages used comparable decision strategies and adapted their strategies to the demands of the task. We also examined decision outcomes in relation to participants’ preferences. Overall, it seems that older adults utilize simpler sets of information primarily reflecting the most valued attributes in making their choice. The results of this study suggest that older adults are adaptive in their approach to decision making and this ability may benefit from accrued knowledge and experience. PMID:22663157

Rapid Decision-Making with Side-Specific Perceptual Discrimination in Ants

PubMed Central

Stroeymeyt, Nathalie; Guerrieri, Fernando J.; van Zweden, Jelle S.; d'Ettorre, Patrizia

2010-01-01

Background Timely decision making is crucial for survival and reproduction. Organisms often face a speed-accuracy trade-off, as fully informed, accurate decisions require time-consuming gathering and treatment of information. Optimal strategies for decision-making should therefore vary depending on the context. In mammals, there is mounting evidence that multiple systems of perceptual discrimination based on different neural circuits emphasize either fast responses or accurate treatment of stimuli depending on the context. Methodology/Principal Findings We used the ant Camponotus aethiops to test the prediction that fast information processing achieved through direct neural pathways should be favored in situations where quick reactions are adaptive. Social insects discriminate readily between harmless group-members and dangerous strangers using easily accessible cuticular hydrocarbons as nestmate recognition cues. We show that i) tethered ants display rapid aggressive reactions upon presentation of non-nestmate odor (120 to 160 ms); ii) ants' aggressiveness towards non-nestmates can be specifically reduced by exposure to non-nestmate odor only, showing that social interactions are not required to alter responses towards non-nestmates; iii) decision-making by ants does not require information transfer between brain hemispheres, but relies on side-specific decision rules. Conclusions/Significance Our results strongly suggest that first-order olfactory processing centers (up to the antennal lobes) are likely to play a key role in ant nestmate recognition. We hypothesize that the coarse level of discrimination achieved in the antennal lobes early in odor processing provides enough information to determine appropriate behavioral responses towards non-nestmates. This asks for a reappraisal of the mechanisms underlying social recognition in insects. PMID:20808782

Uncertainty quantification in downscaling procedures for effective decisions in energy systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Constantinescu, E. M.

2010-12-01

Weather is a major driver both of energy supply and demand, and with the massive adoption of renewable energy sources and changing economic and producer-consumer paradigms, the management of the next-generation energy systems is becoming ever more challenging. The operational and planning decisions in energy systems are guided by efficiency and reliability, and therefore a central role in these decisions will be played by the ability to obtain weather condition forecasts with accurate uncertainty estimates. The appropriate temporal and spatial resolutions needed for effective decision-making, be it operational or planning, is not clear. It is arguably certain however, that such temporal scales as hourly variations of temperature or wind conditions and ramp events are essential in this process. Planning activities involve decade or decades-long projections of weather. One sensible way to achieve this is to embed regional weather models in a global climate system. This strategy acts as a downscaling procedure. Uncertainty modeling techniques must be developed in order to quantify and minimize forecast errors as well as target variables that impact the decision-making process the most. We discuss the challenges of obtaining a realistic uncertainty quantification estimate using mathematical algorithms based on scalable matrix-free computations and physics-based statistical models. The process of making decisions for energy management systems based on future weather scenarios is a very complex problem. We shall focus on the challenges in generating wind power predictions based on regional weather predictions, and discuss the implications of making the common assumptions about the uncertainty models.

Presenting evidence to patients online: what do web users think of consumer summaries of cochrane musculoskeletal reviews?

PubMed

Brehaut, Jamie C; Santesso, Nancy; O'Connor, Annette M; Lott, Alison; Lindgaard, Gitte; Syrowatka, Ania; Graham, Ian D; Tugwell, Peter S

2011-01-18

The Internet has the potential to be an effective medium for delivering health care knowledge to consumers. While computer usability research makes recommendations about how to present Web-based information generally, there remains no clear guidance on how to present specific forms of health care research evidence online in a way that facilitates understanding and good health care decision making. The two goals of this study were to describe the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group's (CMSG's) process for developing online patient-focused summaries of systematic reviews and to evaluate the impressions of these summaries formed by users. A process for summarizing the results of systematic reviews via consumer summaries has evolved over 15 years. An evaluation of this approach took the form of Internet surveys on the Arthritis Society of Canada website and surveys of members of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA). Respondents provided information on background, relationship to the decision, their satisfaction with and preparation for decision making, and suggestions for improvements to the summaries. Survey data were collected between August 1, 2005, and February 28, 2006. A total of 261 respondents completed the survey. The majority (226/261 or 87%) of respondents reported having an arthritis-related condition. The consumer summary approach was generally reviewed favorably by respondents, with most agreeing that the summary provided appropriate information (177/261 or 68%), would be useful to others (160/261 or 61%), was well laid out (159/261 or 61%), was easy to learn from (157/261 or 60%), and was useful to the reader (153/261 or 59%). Areas of potential improvement were indicated by relatively fewer respondents agreeing that they could easily find all the information they wanted (118/261 or 45%), by a substantial proportion being unable to judge whether the providers of the information are reliable (80/261 or 31%), and by a similar proportion being unable to determine whether the information presented was the best available (68/261 or 26%). The CMSG has developed an approach to summarizing the results of often-technical systematic reviews into public-friendly consumer summaries. Our online survey showed that this approach was generally well liked but identified specific areas for improvement. Feedback from this survey will help to reshape and improve the current template for consumer summaries used by the CMSG.

Identifying Non-Sustainable Courses of Action: A Prerequisite for Decision-Making in Education for Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gresch, Helge; Bogeholz, Susanne

2013-01-01

Students are faced with a multitude of decisions as consumers and in societal debates. Because of the scarcity of resources, the destruction of ecosystems and social injustice in a globalized world, it is vital that students are able to identify non-sustainable courses of action when involved in decision-making. The application of decision-making…

Intelligent support of e-management for consumer-focused virtual enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, Charu; Smirnov, Alexander V.

2000-10-01

The interest in consumer-focused virtual enterprises (VE) decision-making problem is growing fast. The purpose of this type of enterprise is to transform incomplete information about customer orders and available resources into-co-ordinated plans for production and replenishment of goods and services in the temporal network formed by collaborating units. This implies that information in the consumer-focused VE can be shared via Internet, Intranet, and Extranet for business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business service (B2B-S), and business-to-business goods (B2B-G) transactions. One of the goals of Internet-Based Management (e-management) is to facilitate transfer and sharing of data and knowledge in the context of enterprise collaboration. This paper discusses a generic framework of e-management that integrates intelligent information support group-decision making, and agreement modeling for a VE network. It offers the platform for design and modeling of diverse implementation strategies related to the type of agreement, optimization policies, decision-making strategies, organization structures, and information sharing strategies and mechanisms, and business policies for the VE.

Decision insight into stakeholder conflict for ERN.

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

Siirola, John; Tidwell, Vincent Carroll; Benz, Zachary O.

Participatory modeling has become an important tool in facilitating resource decision making and dispute resolution. Approaches to modeling that are commonly used in this context often do not adequately account for important human factors. Current techniques provide insights into how certain human activities and variables affect resource outcomes; however, they do not directly simulate the complex variables that shape how, why, and under what conditions different human agents behave in ways that affect resources and human interactions related to them. Current approaches also do not adequately reveal how the effects of individual decisions scale up to have systemic level effectsmore » in complex resource systems. This lack of integration prevents the development of more robust models to support decision making and dispute resolution processes. Development of integrated tools is further hampered by the fact that collection of primary data for decision-making modeling is costly and time consuming. This project seeks to develop a new approach to resource modeling that incorporates both technical and behavioral modeling techniques into a single decision-making architecture. The modeling platform is enhanced by use of traditional and advanced processes and tools for expedited data capture. Specific objectives of the project are: (1) Develop a proof of concept for a new technical approach to resource modeling that combines the computational techniques of system dynamics and agent based modeling, (2) Develop an iterative, participatory modeling process supported with traditional and advance data capture techniques that may be utilized to facilitate decision making, dispute resolution, and collaborative learning processes, and (3) Examine potential applications of this technology and process. The development of this decision support architecture included both the engineering of the technology and the development of a participatory method to build and apply the technology. Stakeholder interaction with the model and associated data capture was facilitated through two very different modes of engagement, one a standard interface involving radio buttons, slider bars, graphs and plots, while the other utilized an immersive serious gaming interface. The decision support architecture developed through this project was piloted in the Middle Rio Grande Basin to examine how these tools might be utilized to promote enhanced understanding and decision-making in the context of complex water resource management issues. Potential applications of this architecture and its capacity to lead to enhanced understanding and decision-making was assessed through qualitative interviews with study participants who represented key stakeholders in the basin.« less

An Evaluation of Wellness Assessment Visualizations for Older Adults

PubMed Central

Reeder, Blaine; Yoo, Daisy; Aziz, Rafae; Thompson, Hilaire J.; Demiris, George

2015-01-01

Abstract Background Smart home technologies provide a valuable resource to unobtrusively monitor health and wellness within an older adult population. However, the breadth and density of data available along with aging associated decreases in working memory, prospective memory, spatial cognition, and processing speed can make it challenging to comprehend for older adults. We developed visualizations of smart home health data integrated into a framework of wellness. We evaluated the visualizations through focus groups with older adults and identified recommendations to guide the future development of visualizations. Materials and Methods We conducted four focus groups with older adult participants (n=31) at an independent retirement community. Participants were presented with three different visualizations from a wellness pilot study. A qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted to identify thematic content. Results We identified three themes related to processing and application of visualizations: (1) values of visualizations for wellness assessment, (2) cognitive processing approaches to visualizations, and (3) integration of health data for visualization. In addition, the focus groups highlighted key design considerations of visualizations important towards supporting decision-making and evaluation assessments within integrated health displays. Conclusions Participants found inherent value in having visualizations available to proactively engage with their healthcare provider. Integrating the visualizations into a wellness framework helped reduce the complexity of raw smart home data. There has been limited work on health visualizations from a consumer perspective, in particular for an older adult population. Creating appropriately designed visualizations is valuable towards promoting consumer involvement within the shared decision-making process of care. PMID:25401414

Lost in the crowd? Using eye-tracking to investigate the effect of complexity on attribute non-attendance in discrete choice experiments.

PubMed

Spinks, Jean; Mortimer, Duncan

2016-02-03

The provision of additional information is often assumed to improve consumption decisions, allowing consumers to more accurately weigh the costs and benefits of alternatives. However, increasing the complexity of decision problems may prompt changes in information processing. This is particularly relevant for experimental methods such as discrete choice experiments (DCEs) where the researcher can manipulate the complexity of the decision problem. The primary aims of this study are (i) to test whether consumers actually process additional information in an already complex decision problem, and (ii) consider the implications of any such 'complexity-driven' changes in information processing for design and analysis of DCEs. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) is used to simulate a complex decision problem; here, the choice between complementary and conventional medicine for different health conditions. Eye-tracking technology is used to capture the number of times and the duration that a participant looks at any part of a computer screen during completion of DCE choice sets. From this we can analyse what has become known in the DCE literature as 'attribute non-attendance' (ANA). Using data from 32 participants, we model the likelihood of ANA as a function of choice set complexity and respondent characteristics using fixed and random effects models to account for repeated choice set completion. We also model whether participants are consistent with regard to which characteristics (attributes) they consider across choice sets. We find that complexity is the strongest predictor of ANA when other possible influences, such as time pressure, ordering effects, survey specific effects and socio-demographic variables (including proxies for prior experience with the decision problem) are considered. We also find that most participants do not apply a consistent information processing strategy across choice sets. Eye-tracking technology shows promise as a way of obtaining additional information from consumer research, improving DCE design, and informing the design of policy measures. With regards to DCE design, results from the present study suggest that eye-tracking data can identify the point at which adding complexity (and realism) to DCE choice scenarios becomes self-defeating due to unacceptable increases in ANA. Eye-tracking data therefore has clear application in the construction of guidelines for DCE design and during piloting of DCE choice scenarios. With regards to design of policy measures such as labelling requirements for CAM and conventional medicines, the provision of additional information has the potential to make difficult decisions even harder and may not have the desired effect on decision-making.

Minnesota Consumer Education Program. "Consumers of the 90s."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota Council on Economic Education, Minneapolis.

This teacher's guide on consumer literacy for grades 9-12 is designed for use in the following subject areas: business education, consumer law, economics, home economics, and social studies. Four units are included: (1) consumer decision making--consumer law and protection; (2) major shopping areas--transportation dilemma; (3) housing; and (4)…

Considering Spine Surgery: A Web-Based Calculator for Communicating Estimates of Personalized Treatment Outcomes.

PubMed

Moulton, Haley; Tosteson, Tor D; Zhao, Wenyan; Pearson, Loretta; Mycek, Kristina; Scherer, Emily; Weinstein, James N; Pearson, Adam; Abdu, William; Schwarz, Susan; Kelly, Michael; McGuire, Kevin; Milam, Alden; Lurie, Jon D

2018-06-05

Prospective evaluation of an informational web-based calculator for communicating estimates of personalized treatment outcomes. To evaluate the usability, effectiveness in communicating benefits and risks, and impact on decision quality of a calculator tool for patients with intervertebral disc herniations, spinal stenosis, and degenerative spondylolisthesis who are deciding between surgical and non-surgical treatments. The decision to have back surgery is preference-sensitive and warrants shared decision-making. However, more patient-specific, individualized tools for presenting clinical evidence on treatment outcomes are needed. Using Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) data, prediction models were designed and integrated into a web-based calculator tool: http://spinesurgerycalc.dartmouth.edu/calc/. Consumer Reports subscribers with back-related pain were invited to use the calculator via email, and patient participants were recruited to use the calculator in a prospective manner following an initial appointment at participating spine centers. Participants completed questionnaires before and after using the calculator. We randomly assigned previously validated questions that tested knowledge about the treatment options to be asked either before or after viewing the calculator. 1,256 Consumer Reports subscribers and 68 patient participants completed the calculator and questionnaires. Knowledge scores were higher in the post-calculator group compared to the pre-calculator group, indicating that calculator usage successfully informed users. Decisional conflict was lower when measured following calculator use, suggesting the calculator was beneficial in the decision-making process. Participants generally found the tool helpful and easy to use. While the calculator is not a comprehensive decision aid, it does focus on communicating individualized risks and benefits for treatment options. Moreover, it appears to be helpful in achieving the goals of more traditional shared decision-making tools. It not only improved knowledge scores but also improved other aspects of decision quality.

Consumer responses to advertising on the Internet: the effect of individual difference on ambivalence and avoidance.

PubMed

Jin, Chang Hyun; Villegas, Jorge

2007-04-01

The purpose of this study was to understand the effect that individual characteristics have on consumer advertising processing under high- and low-interactivity circumstances on the Web. Tests on the relationship between individual differences and advertising responses form the basis of this empirical study on the Web. The results indicated that consumers have a higher tendency to avoid or experience ambivalence about Internet advertisements under low-interactivity circumstances, and attitudinal ambivalence lead to avoidance when responding to advertisements on the Internet. Personality variables are the main factors in consumer decision-making behaviors and Internet characteristics, such as levels of interactivity, can greatly influence the effectiveness of advertising in online environments. Advertising credibility could influence people's consumer attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors over time on the Web.

Obesity: can behavioral economics help?

PubMed

Just, David R; Payne, Collin R

2009-12-01

Consumers regularly and predictably behave in ways that contradict standard assumptions of economic analysis such that they make decisions that prevent them from reaching rationally intended goals. These contradictions play a significant role with respect to consumers' food decisions and the effect these decisions have on their health. Food decisions that are rationally derived include those that trade short-term gains of sensory pleasure (hedonic) for longer term gains of health and wellness (utilitarian). However, extra-rational food decisions are much more common. They can occur because of the contexts in which they are made--such as being distracted or pressed for time. In these contexts, heuristics (or rules of thumb) are used. Because food decisions are made with little cognitive involvement, food policies designed to appeal to highly cognitive thought (e.g., fat taxes, detailed information labels) are likely to have little impact. Furthermore, food marketing environments influence not only what foods consumers buy but also how much. As a general principle, when individuals do not behave in their own interest, markets will feed perverse and sub-optimal behaviors. Given the limited ability of individuals to retain and use accurate health information coupled with varying levels of self control, profit motivations of marketers can become predatory--though not necessarily malicious. Alternative policy options that do not restrict choice are outlined, which enable consumers to make better decisions. These options allow for profit motivations of marketers to align with the long-term well being of the consumer.

The impact of emotional involvement on online service buying decisions: an event-related potentials perspective.

PubMed

Zhao, Meina; Wang, Jing; Han, Weiwei

2015-12-02

When examining a buying process, changes in human brain signals and their event-related potential (ERP) components can be considered a reflection of the consumers' emotions. In this experiment, participants were shown 12 products and related services that were available for purchase. After recording ERP components, we used a questionnaire to measure the individuals' emotional involvement toward the services (i.e. the same services shown in the stimuli) of the 12 products to measure the emotional valence of the services. The emotional ERP components and the late positive potential (LPP) were elicited under the service conditions and distributed over the left frontal regions. We determined that the services may evoke an LPP and that services with a high emotional value may evoke a larger LPP, which suggests that positive emotion may be measured using the LPP amplitude in the left frontal regions. This result helps elucidate whether positive emotions are stimulated during the product-service system decision-making process and helps understand the emotional valences of different services. Our analysis of the emotional motivation of the consumer suggests that the LPP may be useful as an emotional indicator for measuring consumers' evaluation of services that provides a neural view of product-service system buying decisions.

Integrating Economic Concepts into Consumer Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDowell, Michael A.; Clow, John

1983-01-01

Integrating economic concepts into consumer education provides students a better understanding of their economic environment and can lead to more rational, informed decision making. Outlined are ways in which economic concepts can be integrated into consumer education courses. (MD)

77 FR 39222 - Consumer Use of Reverse Mortgages

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-02

... influence reverse mortgage consumers' decision-making, consumers' use of reverse mortgage loan proceeds.... Sensitive personal information such as account numbers or Social Security numbers should not be included... personal information that could be used to identify an individual consumer or account, nor should they...

Improving the decision-making process for nonprescription drugs: a framework for benefit-risk assessment.

PubMed

Brass, E P; Lofstedt, R; Renn, O

2011-12-01

Nonprescription drugs pose unique challenges to regulators. The fact that the barriers to access are lower for nonprescription drugs as compared with prescription drugs may permit additional consumers to obtain effective drugs. However, the use of these drugs by consumers in the absence of supervision by a health-care professional may result in unacceptable rates of misuse and suboptimal clinical outcomes. A value-tree method is proposed that defines important benefit and risk domains relevant to nonprescription drugs. This value tree can be used to comprehensively identify product-specific attributes in each domain and can also support formal benefit-risk assessment using a variety of tools. This is illustrated here, using a modification of the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) framework, a flexible tool previously applied in a number of fields, which systematizes an approach to issue review, early alignment of stakeholders, evaluation, and risk mitigation/management. The proposed approach has the potential to provide structured, transparent tools for regulatory decision making for nonprescription drugs.

Knowledge and understanding of health insurance: challenges and remedies.

PubMed

Barnes, Andrew J; Hanoch, Yaniv

2017-07-13

As coverage is expanded in health systems that rely on consumers to choose health insurance plans that best meet their needs, interest in whether consumers possess sufficient understanding of health insurance to make good coverage decisions is growing. The recent IJHPR article by Green and colleagues-examining understanding of supplementary health insurance (SHI) among Israeli consumers-provides an important and timely answer to the above question. Indeed, their study addresses similar problems to the ones identified in the US health care market, with two notable findings. First, they show that overall-regardless of demographic variables-there are low levels of knowledge about SHI, which the literature has come to refer to more broadly as "health insurance literacy." Second, they find a significant disparity in health insurance literacy between different SES groups, where Jews were significantly more knowledgeable about SHI compared to their Arab counterparts.The authors' findings are consistent with a growing body of literature from the U.S. and elsewhere, including our own, presenting evidence that consumers struggle with understanding and using health insurance. Studies in the U.S. have also found that difficulties are generally more acute for populations considered the most vulnerable and consequently most in need of adequate and affordable health insurance coverage.The authors' findings call attention to the need to tailor communication strategies aimed at mitigating health insurance literacy and, ultimately, access and outcomes disparities among vulnerable populations in Israel and elsewhere. It also raises the importance of creating insurance choice environments in health systems relying on consumers to make coverage decisions that facilitate the decision process by using "choice architecture" to, among other things, simplify plan information and highlight meaningful differences between coverage options.

75 FR 5253 - Request for Information Regarding Lifetime Income Options for Participants and Beneficiaries in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-02

... financial decision- making skills of plan participants. The Working Group issued a report containing, among...., cost, complexity of products, adverse selection, poor decision-making by consumers, desire for... #0;notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in #0;the rule making prior to...

15 CFR 16.4 - Finding of need to establish a specification for labeling a consumer product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... writing and will, to the extent practicable, include the following information: (1) Identification of the... difficulty experienced by consumers in making informed purchase decisions because of a lack of knowledge... requests and shall notify the requester of her decision in writing. If the Secretary determines that there...

15 CFR 16.4 - Finding of need to establish a specification for labeling a consumer product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... writing and will, to the extent practicable, include the following information: (1) Identification of the... difficulty experienced by consumers in making informed purchase decisions because of a lack of knowledge... requests and shall notify the requester of her decision in writing. If the Secretary determines that there...

15 CFR 16.4 - Finding of need to establish a specification for labeling a consumer product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... writing and will, to the extent practicable, include the following information: (1) Identification of the... difficulty experienced by consumers in making informed purchase decisions because of a lack of knowledge... requests and shall notify the requester of her decision in writing. If the Secretary determines that there...

15 CFR 16.4 - Finding of need to establish a specification for labeling a consumer product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... writing and will, to the extent practicable, include the following information: (1) Identification of the... difficulty experienced by consumers in making informed purchase decisions because of a lack of knowledge... requests and shall notify the requester of her decision in writing. If the Secretary determines that there...

Consumer participation in the planning and delivery of drug treatment services: the current arrangements.

PubMed

Bryant, Joanne; Saxton, Melissa; Madden, Annie; Bath, Nicky; Robinson, Suzanne

2008-03-01

Consumer participation in decision-making about service planning is common in certain health services in Australia but is thought to be largely underdeveloped in drug treatment services. This paper (1) describes the current practices within Australian drug treatment services that aim to include consumers in service planning and provision; and (2) determines how much consumers know about the existing opportunities for involvement. Sixty-four randomly selected service providers (representing 64 separate services) completed interviews about the current arrangements for consumer participation within their services (response rate = 82%). A total of 179 consumers completed interviews assessing their knowledge of the consumer participation activities available at the service they attended. Consumer participation activities were not uncommon in drug treatment services, although the existing activities were concerned largely with providing information to or receiving information from consumers. Activities that included consumers in higher forms of involvement, such as those in which consumers took part in decision-making, were largely uncommon. Consumers had a considerable lack of knowledge about the participation activities available to them, revealing a lack of communication between providers and consumers. While service providers were making efforts to engage consumers in service planning and provision (despite the general lack of State or Commonwealth policy directives and extra funding to do so), these appear ineffectual because of poor communication between providers and consumers. As a starting point, a critical part of any meaningful consumer participation initiative must include systems to ensure that consumers know about available opportunities.

Consumer involvement in dietary guideline development: opinions from European stakeholders.

PubMed

Brown, Kerry A; Hermoso, Maria; Timotijevic, Lada; Barnett, Julie; Lillegaard, Inger Therese L; Řehůřková, Irena; Larrañaga, Ainhoa; Lončarević-Srmić, Azra; Andersen, Lene Frost; Ruprich, Jiří; Fernández-Celemín, Laura; Raats, Monique M

2013-05-01

The involvement of consumers in the development of dietary guidelines has been promoted by national and international bodies. Yet, few best practice guidelines have been established to assist with such involvement. Qualitative semi-structured interviews explored stakeholders' beliefs about consumer involvement in dietary guideline development. Interviews were conducted in six European countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Serbia, Spain and the UK. Seventy-seven stakeholders were interviewed. Stakeholders were grouped as government, scientific advisory body, professional and academic, industry or non-government organisations. Response rate ranged from 45 % to 95 %. Thematic analysis was conducted with the assistance of NVivo qualitative software. Analysis identified two main themes: (i) type of consumer involvement and (ii) pros and cons of consumer involvement. Direct consumer involvement (e.g. consumer organisations) in the decision-making process was discussed as a facilitator to guideline communication towards the end of the process. Indirect consumer involvement (e.g. consumer research data) was considered at both the beginning and the end of the process. Cons to consumer involvement included the effect of vested interests on objectivity; consumer disinterest; and complications in terms of time, finance and technical understanding. Pros related to increased credibility and trust in the process. Stakeholders acknowledged benefits to consumer involvement during the development of dietary guidelines, but remained unclear on the advantage of direct contributions to the scientific content of guidelines. In the absence of established best practice, clarity on the type and reasons for consumer involvement would benefit all actors.

Simulations in the Consumer Economics Classroom. Consumer Education Training Module.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kachaturoff, Grace

This inservice manual provides guidelines to help elementary, secondary, and adult education teachers select, use, and design simulation experiences for consumer education. Four example simulations provide students with opportunities to develop decision-making skills as consumers. Simulations may be used as an introductory, developmental, or…

Rigorously testing multialternative decision field theory against random utility models.

PubMed

Berkowitsch, Nicolas A J; Scheibehenne, Benjamin; Rieskamp, Jörg

2014-06-01

Cognitive models of decision making aim to explain the process underlying observed choices. Here, we test a sequential sampling model of decision making, multialternative decision field theory (MDFT; Roe, Busemeyer, & Townsend, 2001), on empirical grounds and compare it against 2 established random utility models of choice: the probit and the logit model. Using a within-subject experimental design, participants in 2 studies repeatedly choose among sets of options (consumer products) described on several attributes. The results of Study 1 showed that all models predicted participants' choices equally well. In Study 2, in which the choice sets were explicitly designed to distinguish the models, MDFT had an advantage in predicting the observed choices. Study 2 further revealed the occurrence of multiple context effects within single participants, indicating an interdependent evaluation of choice options and correlations between different context effects. In sum, the results indicate that sequential sampling models can provide relevant insights into the cognitive process underlying preferential choices and thus can lead to better choice predictions. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Online Consumer Reviews on Using E-Shopping Service of E-Commerce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurriyati, R.; Lisnawati; Rhamdani, F.

2017-03-01

The Internet has become the primary source of information for a large number of consumers and it enables consumers to share their opinions and experiences about goods and services. Online consumer reviews provide information and recommendations for prospective buyers and are helpful for decision-making on purchases. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of online consumer reviews on a decision of using e-commerce services. Sample size has been conducted among 435 respondents of e-commerce customers who use google play. to test the research hypothesis path analysis. The result indicates that Positive and negative statements in reviews are strong influence consumers whether to use the services that offered by e-commerce, online consumer reviews have an impact on the consumer decision of using e-commerce services. Finally, some practical valuable feedback for future research and practical contribution has been made.

Core domains of shared decision-making during psychiatric visits: scientific and preference-based discussions.

PubMed

Fukui, Sadaaki; Matthias, Marianne S; Salyers, Michelle P

2015-01-01

Shared decision-making (SDM) is imperative to person-centered care, yet little is known about what aspects of SDM are targeted during psychiatric visits. This secondary data analysis (191 psychiatric visits with 11 providers, coded with a validated SDM coding system) revealed two factors (scientific and preference-based discussions) underlying SDM communication. Preference-based discussion occurred less. Both provider and consumer initiation of SDM elements and decision complexity were associated with greater discussions in both factors, but were more strongly associated with scientific discussion. Longer visit length correlated with only scientific discussion. Providers' understanding of core domains could facilitate engaging consumers in SDM.

Evolution of Patient Decision-Making Regarding Medical Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

PubMed

Mathews, Alexandra L; Coleska, Adriana; Burns, Patricia B; Chung, Kevin C

2016-03-01

The migration of health care toward a consumer-driven system favors increased patient participation during the treatment decision-making process. Patient involvement in treatment decision discussions has been linked to increased treatment adherence and patient satisfaction. Previous studies have quantified decision-making styles of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, none of them have considered the evolution of patient involvement after living with RA for many years. We conducted a qualitative study to determine the decision-making model used by long-term RA patients, and to describe the changes in their involvement over time. Twenty participants were recruited from the ongoing Silicone Arthroplasty in Rheumatoid Arthritis study. Semistructured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Nineteen out of 20 participants recalled using the paternalistic decision-making (PDM) model immediately following their diagnosis. Fourteen of the 19 participants who initially used PDM evolved to shared decision-making (SDM). Participants attributed the change in involvement to the development of a trusting relationship with their physician, as well as to becoming educated about the disease. When initially diagnosed with RA, patients may let their physician decide on the best treatment course. However, over time patients may evolve to exercise a more collaborative role. Physicians should understand that even within SDM, each patient can demonstrate a varied amount of autonomy. It is up to the physician to have a discussion with each patient to determine his or her desired level of involvement. © 2016, American College of Rheumatology.

The value of foresight: how prospection affects decision-making.

PubMed

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Rigoli, Francesco

2011-01-01

Traditional theories of decision-making assume that utilities are based on the intrinsic value of outcomes; in turn, these values depend on associations between expected outcomes and the current motivational state of the decision-maker. This view disregards the fact that humans (and possibly other animals) have prospection abilities, which permit anticipating future mental processes and motivational and emotional states. For instance, we can evaluate future outcomes in light of the motivational state we expect to have when the outcome is collected, not (only) when we make a decision. Consequently, we can plan for the future and choose to store food to be consumed when we expect to be hungry, not immediately. Furthermore, similarly to any expected outcome, we can assign a value to our anticipated mental processes and emotions. It has been reported that (in some circumstances) human subjects prefer to receive an unavoidable punishment immediately, probably because they are anticipating the dread associated with the time spent waiting for the punishment. This article offers a formal framework to guide neuroeconomic research on how prospection affects decision-making. The model has two characteristics. First, it uses model-based Bayesian inference to describe anticipation of cognitive and motivational processes. Second, the utility-maximization process considers these anticipations in two ways: to evaluate outcomes (e.g., the pleasure of eating a pie is evaluated differently at the beginning of a dinner, when one is hungry, and at the end of the dinner, when one is satiated), and as outcomes having a value themselves (e.g., the case of dread as a cost of waiting for punishment). By explicitly accounting for the relationship between prospection and value, our model provides a framework to reconcile the utility-maximization approach with psychological phenomena such as planning for the future and dread.

The Value of Foresight: How Prospection Affects Decision-Making

PubMed Central

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Rigoli, Francesco

2011-01-01

Traditional theories of decision-making assume that utilities are based on the intrinsic value of outcomes; in turn, these values depend on associations between expected outcomes and the current motivational state of the decision-maker. This view disregards the fact that humans (and possibly other animals) have prospection abilities, which permit anticipating future mental processes and motivational and emotional states. For instance, we can evaluate future outcomes in light of the motivational state we expect to have when the outcome is collected, not (only) when we make a decision. Consequently, we can plan for the future and choose to store food to be consumed when we expect to be hungry, not immediately. Furthermore, similarly to any expected outcome, we can assign a value to our anticipated mental processes and emotions. It has been reported that (in some circumstances) human subjects prefer to receive an unavoidable punishment immediately, probably because they are anticipating the dread associated with the time spent waiting for the punishment. This article offers a formal framework to guide neuroeconomic research on how prospection affects decision-making. The model has two characteristics. First, it uses model-based Bayesian inference to describe anticipation of cognitive and motivational processes. Second, the utility-maximization process considers these anticipations in two ways: to evaluate outcomes (e.g., the pleasure of eating a pie is evaluated differently at the beginning of a dinner, when one is hungry, and at the end of the dinner, when one is satiated), and as outcomes having a value themselves (e.g., the case of dread as a cost of waiting for punishment). By explicitly accounting for the relationship between prospection and value, our model provides a framework to reconcile the utility-maximization approach with psychological phenomena such as planning for the future and dread. PMID:21747755

Ethical and epistemic issues in direct-to-consumer drug advertising: where is patient agency?

PubMed

Womack, Catherine A

2013-05-01

Arguments for and against direct-to-consumer drug advertising (DTCA) center on two issues: (1) the epistemic effects on patients through access to information provided by the ads; and (2) the effects of such information on patients' abilities to make good choices in the healthcare marketplace. Advocates argue that DTCA provides useful information for patients as consumers, including information connecting symptoms to particular medical conditions, information about new drug therapies for those conditions. Opponents of DTCA point out substantial omissions in information provided by the ads and argue that the framing of the ads may mislead patients about the indications, uses, and effectiveness of the drugs advertised. They also suggest that DTCA has a number of potentially negative effects on the doctor-patient relationship. The standard arguments appear to assume a simplistic correlation-more information means more agency for patients. However, empirical studies on medical decision making suggest that this relationship is much more complex and nuanced. I examine recent research on ways in which patients are vulnerable with respect to DTCA. In order to address the complex issues of information acquisition and consumer decision-making in the health care marketplace, the focus should not be simply on what information patients need in order to make medical decisions, but also on the conditions under which patients actually are able to make medical decisions requiring complex medication information. This requires examining both the cognitive limitations of patients with respect to drug information and investigating patients' preferences and needs in a variety of medical contexts.

I want products my own way, but which way? The effects of different product categories and cues on customer responses to Web-based customizations.

PubMed

Chang, Chia-Chi; Chen, Hui-Yun

2009-02-01

Mass customization is a strategy that has been adopted by companies to tailor their products in order to match customer needs more precisely. Therefore, to fully capture the value of mass customization, it is crucial to explore how customers react to mass customization. In previous studies, an implied premise has been that consumers are keen to embrace customized products, and this assumption has also been treated by firms as a prerequisite for successful mass customization strategies. However, an undesirable complexity may result from difficult configuration processes that may intimidate and confuse some customers. Hence, this study explores strategies that marketers can employ to facilitate the customization process. Specifically, this study investigates how to enhance customer satisfaction and purchase decision toward customized products by providing cues compatible with the product category. It is hypothesized that for search products, customers rely more on intrinsic cues when making configuration decisions. On the other hand, for experience products, customers perceive extrinsic cues to be more valuable in assisting them to make configuration decisions. The results suggest that consumers tend to respond more favorably toward customized search products when intrinsic cues are provided than when extrinsic or irrelevant ones are provided. In contrast, when customizing experience products, customers tend to depend more on extrinsic cues than on intrinsic or irrelevant ones.

Translating Evidence to Facilitate Shared Decision Making: Development and Usability of a Consult Decision Aid Prototype.

PubMed

Stacey, Dawn; Légaré, France; Lyddiatt, Anne; Giguere, Anik M C; Yoganathan, Manosila; Saarimaki, Anton; Pardo, Jordi Pardo; Rader, Tamara; Tugwell, Peter

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to translate evidence from Cochrane Reviews into a format that can be used to facilitate shared decision making during the consultation, namely patient decision aids. A systematic development process (a) established a stakeholder committee; (b) developed a prototype according to the International Patient Decision Aid Standards; (c) applied the prototype to a Cochrane Review and used an interview-guided survey to evaluate acceptability/usability; (d) created 12 consult decision aids; and (e) used a Delphi process to reach consensus on considerations for creating a consult decision aid. The 1-page prototype includes (a) a title specifying the decision; (b) information on the health condition, options, benefits/harms with probabilities; (c) an explicit values clarification exercise; and (d) questions to screen for decisional conflict. Hyperlinks provide additional information on definitions, probabilities presented graphically, and references. Fourteen Cochrane Consumer Network members and Cochrane Editorial Unit staff participated. Thirteen reported that it would help patient/clinician discussions and were willing to use and/or recommend it. Seven indicated the right amount of information, six not enough, and one too much. Changes to the prototype were more links to definitions, more white space, and details on GRADE evidence ratings. Creating 12 consult decision aids took about 4 h each. We identified ten considerations when selecting Cochrane Reviews for creating consult decision aids. Using a systematic process, we developed a consult decision aid prototype to be populated with evidence from Cochrane Reviews. It was acceptable and easy to apply. Future studies will evaluate implementation of consult decision aids.

Consumer's Buying Decision-Making Process in E-Commerce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puspitasari, Nia Budi; Susatyo, Nugroho W. P.; Amyhorsea, Deya Nilan; Susanty, Aries

2018-02-01

The e-commerce growth and development in Indonesia is very rapid as well as the internet grows, but it is not well-balanced with the number of online buying transaction which is still relatively low. Even the today's biggest B2C e-commerce people in Indonesia, Lazada, has continually decreased online purchasing. This research is aimed to describe factors affecting online buying decision- making in the e-commerce Lazada. The type of this research is confirmatory research. The variable used is following conceptual model i.e. Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM), social identity, risk perception, trust, and purchase intention. The data were obtained through the questionnaire with Likert scale 1-5. There are 104 people researching sample who meets the criteria as Lazada consumer that, at least do a transaction in recent six months. Data analyzing were done using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method by Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software. The results showed that the purchase intention has positively related to the purchase decision. Variable EWOM toward trust has positive relation, variable social identity and risk perception have no any significant relation to trust. Variable risk perception toward purchase intention has no significant relation, while the variable trust has significant positive relation to purchase intention.

Verification of consumers' experiences and perceptions of genetic discrimination and its impact on utilization of genetic testing.

PubMed

Barlow-Stewart, Kristine; Taylor, Sandra D; Treloar, Susan A; Stranger, Mark; Otlowski, Margaret

2009-03-01

To undertake a systematic process of verification of consumer accounts of alleged genetic discrimination. Verification of incidents reported in life insurance and other contexts that met the criteria of genetic discrimination, and the impact of fear of such treatment, was determined, with consent, through interview, document analysis and where appropriate, direct contact with the third party involved. The process comprised obtaining evidence that the alleged incident was accurately reported and determining whether the decision or action seemed to be justifiable and/or ethical. Reported incidents of genetic discrimination were verified in life insurance access, underwriting and coercion (9), applications for worker's compensation (1) and early release from prison (1) and in two cases of fear of discrimination impacting on access to genetic testing. Relevant conditions were inherited cancer susceptibility (8), Huntington disease (3), hereditary hemochromatosis (1), and polycystic kidney disease (1). In two cases, the reversal of an adverse underwriting decision to standard rate after intervention with insurers by genetics health professionals was verified. The mismatch between consumer and third party accounts in three life insurance incidents involved miscommunication or lack of information provision by financial advisers. These first cases of verified genetic discrimination make it essential for policies and guidelines to be developed and implemented to ensure appropriate use of genetic test results in insurance underwriting, to promote education and training in the financial industry, and to provide support for consumers and health professionals undertaking challenges of adverse decisions.

Decision-making patterns for dietary supplement purchases among women aged 25 to 45 years.

PubMed

Miller, Carla K; Russell, Teri; Kissling, Grace

2003-11-01

Women frequently consume dietary supplements but the criteria used to select supplements have received little investigation. This research identified the decision-making criteria used for dietary supplements among women aged 25 to 45 years who consumed a supplement at least four times per week. Participants (N=51) completed an in-store shopping interview that was audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively for the criteria used to make supplement selections. Qualitative analysis revealed 10 key criteria and the number of times each person used each criterion was quantified. Cluster analysis identified five homogeneous subgroups of participants based on the criteria used. These included brand shopper, bargain shopper, quality shopper, convenience shopper, and information gatherer. Supplement users vary in the criteria used to make point-of-purchase supplement selections. Dietetics professionals can classify supplement users according to the criteria used to tailor their nutrition counseling and better meet the educational needs of consumers.

Consumer Product Data for Exposure Screening, Modeling and Prioritization, and Risk-based Decision Making

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation will provide an overview of the research efforts underway in EPA ORD's Chemicals for Safety and Sustainability research program which relate to providing information to prioritize chemicals in consumer products based on risk. It also describes effort to make dat...

Consumer Education Resource Guide, K-12. A Multi-Disciplinary Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calhoun, Calfrey C.; And Others

The guide suggests methods and resources for planning learning experiences in teaching consumer education to students at the K-12 levels. The major topics and related areas are: (1) financial planning (estimating income, estimating expenses, establishing goals, making decisions, and making the financial plan); (2) buying (importance of planned…

Clinical care with a retail flavor: Twin Cities employer group tries a bold new experiment.

PubMed

Carlson, B

1997-01-01

In this revolutionary new healthcare purchasing model, individual consumers--employees, not employers--make healthcare buying decisions. Providers, in turn, are directly accountable to consumers and design their networks to compete for consumer market share.

Managed care for Medicare: some considerations in designing effective information provision programs.

PubMed

Jayanti, R K

2001-01-01

Consumer information-processing theory provides a useful framework for policy makers concerned with regulating information provided by managed care organizations. The assumption that consumers are rational information processors and providing more information is better is questioned in this paper. Consumer research demonstrates that when faced with an uncertain decision, consumers adopt simplifying strategies leading to sub-optimal choices. A discussion on how consumers process risk information and the effects of various informational formats on decision outcomes is provided. Categorization theory is used to propose guidelines with regard to providing effective information to consumers choosing among competing managed care plans. Public policy implications borne out of consumer information-processing theory conclude the article.

Consumer Education for the Mentally Handicapped

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alperstein, Neil M.

1977-01-01

Discusses community placement of mentally handicapped people and remedial procedures for encouraging independent decision making and behavior. Intertwines this behavior change with an alternative method of consumer education. (Author/RK)

Information search and decision making: effects of age and complexity on strategy use.

PubMed

Queen, Tara L; Hess, Thomas M; Ennis, Gilda E; Dowd, Keith; Grühn, Daniel

2012-12-01

The impact of task complexity on information search strategy and decision quality was examined in a sample of 135 young, middle-aged, and older adults. We were particularly interested in the competing roles of fluid cognitive ability and domain knowledge and experience, with the former being a negative influence and the latter being a positive influence on older adults' performance. Participants utilized 2 decision matrices, which varied in complexity, regarding a consumer purchase. Using process tracing software and an algorithm developed to assess decision strategy, we recorded search behavior, strategy selection, and final decision. Contrary to expectations, older adults were not more likely than the younger age groups to engage in information-minimizing search behaviors in response to increases in task complexity. Similarly, adults of all ages used comparable decision strategies and adapted their strategies to the demands of the task. We also examined decision outcomes in relation to participants' preferences. Overall, it seems that older adults utilize simpler sets of information primarily reflecting the most valued attributes in making their choice. The results of this study suggest that older adults are adaptive in their approach to decision making and that this ability may benefit from accrued knowledge and experience. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Why consumers behave as they do with respect to food safety and risk information.

PubMed

Verbeke, Wim; Frewer, Lynn J; Scholderer, Joachim; De Brabander, Hubert F

2007-03-14

In recent years, it seems that consumers are generally uncertain about the safety and quality of their food and their risk perception differs substantially from that of experts. Hormone and veterinary drug residues in meat persist to occupy a high position in European consumers' food concern rankings. The aim of this contribution is to provide a better understanding to food risk analysts of why consumers behave as they do with respect to food safety and risk information. This paper presents some cases of seemingly irrational and inconsistent consumer behaviour with respect to food safety and risk information and provides explanations for these behaviours based on the nature of the risk and individual psychological processes. Potential solutions for rebuilding consumer confidence in food safety and bridging between lay and expert opinions towards food risks are reviewed. These include traceability and labelling, segmented communication approaches and public involvement in risk management decision-making.

78 FR 46325 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-31

... to facilitate informed decision making regarding deposit accounts offered at depository institutions... information, such as account numbers or social security numbers, should not be included. FOR FURTHER... consumer ability to make informed decisions regarding deposit accounts by requiring uniformity in the...

Health care report cards: what about consumers' perspectives?

PubMed

McGee, J; Knutson, D

1994-10-01

Though the report card style is seen by many as a way to create better-informed consumers, very little is actually known about how consumers will respond to health care report cards. Report cards are only one of many factors that influence health care decision making. Much consumer-oriented effort and fine-tuning will be required to make report cards effective. Using the approach called "social marketing" as a framework, specific examples are used to outline some ideas for more intensive pursuit of consumers' perspectives in the design and distribution of report cards.

Informed choice in direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) websites: a content analysis of benefits, risks, and limitations.

PubMed

Singleton, Amanda; Erby, Lori Hamby; Foisie, Kathryn V; Kaphingst, Kimberly A

2012-06-01

An informed choice about health-related direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) requires knowledge of potential benefits, risks, and limitations. To understand the information that potential consumers of DTCGT services are exposed to on company websites, we conducted a content analysis of 23 health-related DTCGT websites. Results revealed that benefit statements outweighed risk and limitation statements 6 to 1. The most frequently described benefits were: 1) disease prevention, 2) consumer education, 3) personalized medical recommendations, and 4) the ability to make health decisions. Thirty-five percent of websites also presented at least one risk of testing. Seventy-eight percent of websites mentioned at least one limitation of testing. Based on this information, potential consumers might get an inaccurate picture of genetic testing which could impact their ability to make an informed decision. Practices that enhance the presentation of balanced information on DTCGT company websites should be encouraged.

Research on the Influence of Perceived Risk in Consumer On-line Purchasing Decision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Zhao; Yi, Li

Perceived risk is an important factor that affects consumer's on-line shopping purchasing decision, through the perceived theories the consumer can know clearly which step owns higher risk in the whole shopping process, then learn how to prevent it, this process also strengthen the consumer confidence, thus lowering to know that the risk adjudicate to the feeling, so the essay has important and realistic meaning for further expand the electronic commerce. At first, investigate, collect, tidy up, analyze the questionnaire information, and thus get the primary data. Finally try to find out the influence of perceived risk to each stage of purchasing decision during consumer on-line shopping process with data and personal analytical. The paper is a complement to the local and existing perceived theories. The result of the study manifests that, the order of main perceived risks which felt by consumer during on-line shopping process are as follow: financial risk, the performance risk and service risk.

Observing Reasonable Consumers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silber, Norman I.

1991-01-01

Although courts and legislators usually set legal standards that correspond to empirical knowledge of human behavior, recent developments in behavioral psychology have led courts to appreciate the limits and errors in consumer decision making. "Reasonable consumer" standards that are congruent with cognitive reality should be developed.…

Swedish Consumers' Perception of Food Quality and Sustainability in Relation to Organic Food Production.

PubMed

Bosona, Techane; Gebresenbet, Girma

2018-04-01

Consumers' demand for locally produced and organic foods has increased in Sweden. This paper presents the results obtained from the analysis of data acquired from 100 consumers in Sweden who participated in an online survey during March to June 2016. The objective was to identify consumers' demand in relation to organic food and sustainable food production, and to understand how the consumers evaluate food quality and make buying decisions. Qualitative descriptions, descriptive statistics and Pearson's Chi-square test (with alpha value of p < 0.05 as level of significance), and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for analysis. About 72% of participants have the perception that organic food production method is more sustainable than conventional methods. Female consumers have more positive attitudes than men towards organic food. However, age difference, household size and income level do not significantly influence the consumers' perception of sustainable food production concepts. Regionality, sustainable methods of production and organic production are the most important parameters to characterize the food as high quality and make buying decisions. On the other hand, product uniformity, appearance, and price were found to be relatively less important parameters. Food buying decisions and food quality were found to be highly related with Pearson's correlation coefficient of r = 0.99.

Decision making and sequential sampling from memory

PubMed Central

Shadlen, Michael N.; Shohamy, Daphna

2016-01-01

Decisions take time, and as a rule more difficult decisions take more time. But this only raises the question of what consumes the time. For decisions informed by a sequence of samples of evidence, the answer is straightforward: more samples are available with more time. Indeed the speed and accuracy of such decisions are explained by the accumulation of evidence to a threshold or bound. However, the same framework seems to apply to decisions that are not obviously informed by sequences of evidence samples. Here we proffer the hypothesis that the sequential character of such tasks involves retrieval of evidence from memory. We explore this hypothesis by focusing on value-based decisions and argue that mnemonic processes can account for regularities in choice and decision time. We speculate on the neural mechanisms that link sampling of evidence from memory to circuits that represent the accumulated evidence bearing on a choice. We propose that memory processes may contribute to a wider class of decisions that conform to the regularities of choice-reaction time predicted by the sequential sampling framework. PMID:27253447

Personal Decision Making. Focus on Economics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leet, Don R.; Charkins, R. J.; Lang, Nancy A.; Lopus, Jane S.; Tamaribuchi, Gail

This book highlights and examines basic economic concepts as they relate to consumer, business, social, and personal choices. Students are shown connections between their classroom learning and their real-world experiences in budgeting, career planning, credit management, and housing. The set of 15 lessons include: (1) "Decision Making: Scarcity,…

76 FR 41602 - Fair Credit Reporting Risk-Based Pricing Regulations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-15

... on and disclose the key factors provided with the scores purchased from consumer reporting agencies... making the credit decision, the creditor must disclose that score and certain information relating to the... following disclosures: (1) the credit score \\4\\ used by the person in making the credit decision; (2) the...

Reason and Reaction: The Dual Route of Decision Making Process on Social Media Usage: The Case of Hospitality Brand Fan Pages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manthiou, Aikaterini

2012-01-01

A new phenomenon on Facebook, resulting from social media revolution, is the emergence of numerous Facebook fan pages. This form of online brand community is an effective tool for building relationships with consumers. Many hospitality firms (i.e. restaurants) have captured the strength of a fan page because it can enhance brand attractiveness and…

Art at the Mall: A Look at the Aesthetics of Popular Mall Art Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szekely, Ilona

2008-01-01

Currently there is a scarcity of information in the art education literature about purchasing art. This article examines how art acquires economic and social value, as well as how consumers make decisions when purchasing a piece of art. Where does an art student, or the general public learn about buying art? How much, if any, of this process is…

3 CFR 8482 - Proclamation 8482 of March 5, 2010. National Consumer Protection Week, 2010

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... responsible consumers with unreasonable costs. However, consumers must also learn to avoid predatory practices... Americans of all ages the resources they need to make wise buying decisions is the responsibility of Federal... to share information about consumer protection; and I encourage all Americans to learn more about...

Be a Smart Consumer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiPaola, Elizabeth Ann

This book was prepared especially for the students of the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf as a one-year course in consumer education. The purpose of the book is to provide students with necessary information and skills to make wise decisions as consumers in the areas of realizing consumer values and goals; evaluating advertising; managing…

The High School Student as Worker/Consumer: A Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Div. of Curriculum and Instruction.

This workbook provides information and exercises to help high school students become educated consumers and prepare them for consumer responsibilities in the world of work. It is intended to help them develop an alert consumer outlook by sharpening mathematics and communication skills and helping them make decisions based on a sense of the value…

Quick Fix for Managing Risks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Under a Phase II SBIR contract, Kennedy and Lumina Decision Systems, Inc., jointly developed the Schedule and Cost Risk Analysis Modeling (SCRAM) system, based on a version of Lumina's flagship software product, Analytica(R). Acclaimed as "the best single decision-analysis program yet produced" by MacWorld magazine, Analytica is a "visual" tool used in decision-making environments worldwide to build, revise, and present business models, minus the time-consuming difficulty commonly associated with spreadsheets. With Analytica as their platform, Kennedy and Lumina created the SCRAM system in response to NASA's need to identify the importance of major delays in Shuttle ground processing, a critical function in project management and process improvement. As part of the SCRAM development project, Lumina designed a version of Analytica called the Analytica Design Engine (ADE) that can be easily incorporated into larger software systems. ADE was commercialized and utilized in many other developments, including web-based decision support.

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: User Motivations, Decision Making, and Perceived Utility of Results.

PubMed

Roberts, J Scott; Gornick, Michele C; Carere, Deanna Alexis; Uhlmann, Wendy R; Ruffin, Mack T; Green, Robert C

2017-01-01

To describe the interests, decision making, and responses of consumers of direct-to-consumer personal genomic testing (DTC-PGT) services. Prior to 2013 regulatory restrictions on DTC-PGT services, 1,648 consumers from 2 leading companies completed Web surveys before and after receiving test results. Prior to testing, DTC-PGT consumers were as interested in ancestry (74% very interested) and trait information (72%) as they were in disease risks (72%). Among disease risks, heart disease (68% very interested), breast cancer (67%), and Alzheimer disease (66%) were of greatest interest prior to testing. Interest in disease risks was associated with female gender and poorer self-reported health (p < 0.01). Many consumers (38%) did not consider the possibility of unwanted information before purchasing services; this group was more likely to be older, male, and less educated (p < 0.05). After receiving results, 59% of respondents said test information would influence management of their health; 2% reported regret about seeking testing and 1% reported harm from results. DTC-PGT has attracted controversy because of the health-related information it provides, but nonmedical information is of equal or greater interest to consumers. Although many consumers did not fully consider potential risks prior to testing, DTC-PGT was generally perceived as useful in informing future health decisions. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Three S's for Teaching Consumer Economics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karjala, Jeanette A.

1989-01-01

Business educators have an opportunity to help students develop skills and acquire knowledge necessary to become rational consumers. Involving students is more effective than using lectures--it encourages the practice of rational decision making. (JOW)

Nonlinear responses within the medial prefrontal cortex reveal when specific implicit information influences economic decision making.

PubMed

Deppe, Michael; Schwindt, Wolfram; Kugel, Harald; Plassmann, Hilke; Kenning, Peter

2005-04-01

The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how individual economic decisions are influenced by implicit memory contributions. Twenty-two participants were asked to make binary decisions between different brands of sensorily nearly undistinguishable consumer goods. Changes of brain activity comparing decisions in the presence or absence of a specific target brand were detected by fMRI. Only when the tar get brand was the participant's favorite one did the authors find reduced activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal, posterior parietal, and occipital cortices and the left premotor area (Brodmann areas [BA] 9, 46, 7/19, and 6). Simultaneously, activity was increased in the inferior precuneus and posterior cingulate (BA 7), right superior frontal gyrus (BA 10), right supramarginal gyrus (BA 40), and, most pronounced, in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (BA 10). For products mainly distinguishable by brand information, the authors revealed a nonlinear winner-take-all effect for a participant's favorite brand characterized, on one hand, by reduced activation in brain areas associated with working memory and reasoning and, on the other hand, increased activation in areas involved in processing of emotions and self-reflections during decision making.

Improving Decision Making about Genetic Testing in the Clinic: An Overview of Effective Knowledge Translation Interventions.

PubMed

Légaré, France; Robitaille, Hubert; Gane, Claire; Hébert, Jessica; Labrecque, Michel; Rousseau, François

2016-01-01

Knowledge translation (KT) interventions are attempts to change behavior in keeping with scientific evidence. While genetic tests are increasingly available to healthcare consumers in the clinic, evidence about their benefits is unclear and decisions about genetic testing are thus difficult for all parties. We sought to identify KT interventions that involved decisions about genetic testing in the clinical context and to assess their effectiveness for improving decision making in terms of behavior change, increased knowledge and wellbeing. We searched for trials assessing KT interventions in the context of genetic testing up to March 2014 in all systematic reviews (n = 153) published by two Cochrane review groups: Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) and Consumers and Communication. We retrieved 2473 unique trials of which we retained only 28 (1%). Two EPOC reviews yielded two trials of KT interventions: audit and feedback (n = 1) and educational outreach (n = 1). Both targeted health professionals and the KT intervention they assessed was found to be effective. Four Consumers and Communication reviews yielded 26 trials: decision aids (n = 15), communication of DNA-based disease risk estimates (n = 7), personalized risk communication (n = 3) and mobile phone messaging (n = 1). Among these, 25 trials targeted only health consumers or patients and the KT interventions were found to be effective in four trials, partly effective in seven, and ineffective in four. Lastly, only one trial targeted both physicians and patients and was found to be effective. More research on the effectiveness of KT interventions regarding genetic testing in the clinical context may contribute to patients making informed value-based decisions and drawing the maximum benefit from clinical applications of genetic and genomic innovations.

The Choice Project: Peer Workers Promoting Shared Decision Making at a Youth Mental Health Service.

PubMed

Simmons, Magenta Bender; Batchelor, Samantha; Dimopoulos-Bick, Tara; Howe, Deb

2017-08-01

In youth mental health services, consumer participation is essential, but few implementation strategies exist to engage young consumers. This project evaluated an intervention implemented in an Australian youth mental health service that utilized peer workers to promote shared decision making via an online tool. All new clients ages 16-25 were invited to participate in this nonrandomized comparative study, which used a historical comparison group (N=80). Intervention participants (N=149) engaged with a peer worker and used the online tool before and during their intake assessment. Pre- and postintake data were collected for both groups; measures included decisional conflict, perceived shared decision making, and satisfaction. A series of paired t tests, analyses of variance, and multiple regressions were conducted to assess differences in scores across intervention and comparison groups and pre- and postintake assessments. Ratings of perceived shared decision making with intake workers were higher in the intervention group than in the comparison group (p=.015). In both groups, decisional conflict scores were significantly lower after the intake assessment (p<.001 for both groups). Both perceived shared decision making and lower decisional conflict were associated with satisfaction (p<.015). Young people who participated in an intervention that combined peer work and shared decision making reported feeling more involved in their assessment. Feeling involved and having lower decisional conflict after seeing an intake worker were important for client satisfaction. These findings demonstrate the importance of both peer work and shared decision making for promoting optimal outcomes in youth mental health services.

The precautionary principle.

PubMed

Hayes, A Wallace

2005-06-01

The Precautionary Principle in its simplest form states: "When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically". This Principle is the basis for European environmental law, and plays an increasing role in developing environmental health policies as well. It also is used in environmental decision-making in Canada and in several European countries, especially in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. The Precautionary Principle has been used in the environmental decision-making process and in regulating drugs and other consumer products in the United States. The Precautionary Principle enhances the collection of risk information for, among other items, high production volume chemicals and risk-based analyses in general. It does not eliminate the need for good science or for science-based risk assessments. Public participation is encouraged in both the review process and the decision-making process. The Precautionary Principle encourages, and in some cases may require, transparency of the risk assessment process on health risk of chemicals both for public health and the environment. A debate continues on whether the Principle should embrace the "polluter pays" directive and place the responsibility for providing risk assessment on industry. The best elements of a precautionary approach demand good science and challenge the scientific community to improve methods used for risk assessment.

Does Consumer Confidence Forecast Household Saving and Borrowing Behavior? Evidence for Poland.

PubMed

Kłopocka, Aneta Maria

2017-01-01

Consumer confidence plays an important role in households' decision-making processes. This study investigates the effects of consumer confidence on household saving and borrowing behavior that are unsatisfactorily considered in previous discussions. The questions of interest are first, whether indexes of consumer confidence have any predictive power on their own for future household saving and borrowing rates, and second, whether they contain information about future household saving and borrowing rates aside from the information contained in other available indicators. In addition to aggregate confidence indicators, their components are used to provide more precise information. Overall, the multiple linear regression analysis (OLS technique) of Polish time-series data gives positive answers to both questions. This finding supports the recommendation of combining the strengths of objective indicators (such as economic fundamentals) and subjective indicators (such as consumer confidence) to improve household financial behavior forecasts.

Autonomy and Privacy in Clinical Laboratory Science Policy and Practice.

PubMed

Leibach, Elizabeth Kenimer

2014-01-01

Rapid advancements in diagnostic technologies coupled with growth in testing options and choices mandate the development of evidence-based testing algorithms linked to the care paths of the major chronic diseases and health challenges encountered most frequently. As care paths are evaluated, patient/consumers become partners in healthcare delivery. Clinical laboratory scientists find themselves firmly embedded in both quality improvement and clinical research with an urgent need to translate clinical laboratory information into knowledge required by practitioners and patient/consumers alike. To implement this patient-centered care approach in clinical laboratory science, practitioners must understand their roles in (1) protecting patient/consumer autonomy in the healthcare informed consent process and (2) assuring patient/consumer privacy and confidentiality while blending quality improvement study findings with protected health information. A literature review, describing the current ethical environment, supports a consultative role for clinical laboratory scientists in the clinical decision-making process and suggests guidance for policy and practice regarding the principle of autonomy and its associated operational characteristics: informed consent and privacy.

Consumer in the Marketplace. An Interdisciplinary Approach to Consumer Education. Developed for Grades 5-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Pittsburgh, PA.

This manual identifies activities and resources for infusing consumer education into English, social studies, science, mathematics, and home economics courses in grades five through eight. The activities are intended to help students recognize their rights and responsibilities as consumers in our society and make intelligent decisions in light of…

Citizen Participation: Increasing the Bargaining Power of Consumers. Consumer Education Development Program: A National Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monsma, Charles

This publication contains materials and activities for a one day consumer education workshop for leaders of community organizations. It is the contention of the developers that consumers should influence the environments in which they make their decisions rather than merely accept the marketplace conditions which confront them. The publication…

Kentucky Consumer & Homemaking Education. Management-Consumer Education. Curriculum Guide, Comprehensive Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldrop, Suzanne H.

Intended for use by teachers on the junior high and high school levels, this curriculum guide, which is one in a series of guides for consumer and homemaking education in Kentucky, outlines three courses in the area of management-consumer education. The junior high unit acquaints the student with the concepts of decision making and assessing…

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...

Covert brand recognition engages emotion-specific brain networks.

PubMed

Casarotto, Silvia; Ricciardi, Emiliano; Romani, Simona; Dalli, Daniele; Pietrini, Pietro

2012-12-01

Consumer goods' brands have become a major driver of consumers' choice: they have got symbolic, relational and even social properties that add substantial cultural and affective value to goods and services. Therefore, measuring the role of brands in consumers' cognitive and affective processes would be very helpful to better understand economic decision making. This work aimed at finding the neural correlates of automatic, spontaneous emotional response to brands, showing how deeply integrated are consumption symbols within the cognitive and affective processes of individuals. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was measured during a visual oddball paradigm consisting in the presentation of scrambled pictures as frequent stimuli, colored squares as targets, and brands and emotional pictures (selected from the International Affective Picture System [IAPS]) as emotionally-salient distractors. Affective rating of brands was assessed individually after scanning by a validated questionnaire. Results showed that, similarly to IAPS pictures, brands activated a well-defined emotional network, including amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, highly specific of affective valence. In conclusion, this work identified the neural correlates of brands within cognitive and affective processes of consumers.

Compelling Evidence: An Influence on Middle School Students' Accounts That May Impact Decision-Making about Socioscientific Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emery, Katherine; Harlow, Danielle; Whitmer, Ali; Gaines, Steven

2017-01-01

This study investigates how middle school students make hypothetical purchasing, consuming, and voting decisions about environmental and science-related issues--a key component of environmental literacy. Fifty-three female students were given a packet containing multiple excerpts of information from conflicting positions from stakeholders and…

78 FR 8114 - Request for Information Regarding Financial Products Marketed to Students Enrolled in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-05

... positive financial decision-making among young consumers. We also seek information to develop a clearer... the most important factors? (c) What type of information is helpful in making that decision? (d) How... record and subject to public disclosure. Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or...

Obesity Prevention at the Point of Purchase

PubMed Central

Cohen, Deborah A.; Lesser, Lenard I.

2017-01-01

The point of purchase is when people may make poor and impulsive decisions about what and how much to buy and consume. Since point of purchase strategies frequently work through non-cognitive processes, people are often unable to recognize and resist them. Because people lack insight into how marketing practices interfere with their ability to routinely eat healthy, balanced diets, public health entities should protect consumers from point of purchase strategies. We describe four point of purchase policy options including standardized portion sizes; standards for meals that are sold as a bundle, e.g. “combo meals”; placement and marketing restrictions on highly processed low-nutrient foods; and explicit warning labels. Adoption of such policies could contribute significantly to the prevention of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. We also discuss how the policies could be implemented, along with who might favor or oppose them. Many of the policies can be implemented locally, while preserving consumer choice. PMID:26910361

Development of a taxonomy of interventions to organise the evidence on consumers' medicines use.

PubMed

Lowe, Dianne; Ryan, Rebecca; Santesso, Nancy; Hill, Sophie

2011-11-01

Safe, effective (quality) medicines use remains problematic worldwide, yet consumers' medicines use research is not well organised. This creates difficulties for decision makers in identifying evidence or research gaps and in understanding how or why interventions work. Developing a conceptual framework for this evidence helps to organise the evidence for application and raise awareness of the range of possible interventions. To scope the aims of interventions to improve consumers' medicines use we searched for and iteratively analysed policy documents, systematic reviews, and an existing consumer-oriented communication intervention taxonomy. We identified eight recurrent themes associated with the purpose of the interventions: to inform and educate; to support behaviour change; to teach skills; to facilitate communication and/or decision making; to support; to minimise risk and harms; to involve consumers at the system level; and to improve health care quality. The taxonomy accommodates the complexity and diversity of interventions in this field, by focussing on the purposes of interventions, rather than the intervention type. Currently used to organise the evidence on consumers' medicines use, the taxonomy provides a conceptual and practical map of the evidence which will aid decision making and future research investment in the area. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selected Audio-Visual Materials for Consumer Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oppenheim, Irene

This monograph provides an annotated listing of suggested audiovisual materials which teachers should consider as they plan consumer education programs. The materials are divided into a general section on consumer education and a section on specific topics, such as credit, decision making, health, insurance, money management, and others. The…

Consumer Education (A High School One Semester Course).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawaii State Dept. of Education, Honolulu. Office of Instructional Services.

Designed for a one-semester high school social studies elective course, this curriculum guide uses a multidisciplinary approach to teach consumer education. Eight units of study cover the marketplace, consumer protection, decision making, money management, credit and taxes, basic necessities, housing, and future security. Within each unit, an…

Training the Trainer: Leadership Reinforcement for Consumers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Noreen M.; And Others

The program of consumer education for Comprehensive Health Planning was developed to assist consumers to assume leadership roles in community decision-making with regard to health services. This paper presents a description of a project that was developed to train leaders for the program. The project consisted of special, advanced training…

The Perception and Use of Consumer Information Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giese, Thomas D.; Weisenberger, T. M.

1985-01-01

Reports on consumers' use and perception of information sources. The focus is on the use of information when making a purchase decision; what sources consumers have used for a variety of products, what sources they might use, and how helpful they feel nonbiased sources in particular would be. (CT)

Functional compensation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex improves memory-dependent decisions in older adults.

PubMed

Lighthall, Nichole R; Huettel, Scott A; Cabeza, Roberto

2014-11-19

Everyday consumer choices frequently involve memory, as when we retrieve information about consumer products when making purchasing decisions. In this context, poor memory may affect decision quality, particularly in individuals with memory decline, such as older adults. However, age differences in choice behavior may be reduced if older adults can recruit additional neural resources that support task performance. Although such functional compensation is well documented in other cognitive domains, it is presently unclear whether it can support memory-guided decision making and, if so, which brain regions play a role in compensation. The current study engaged younger and older humans in a memory-dependent choice task in which pairs of consumer products from a popular online-shopping site were evaluated with different delays between the first and second product. Using functional imaging (fMRI), we found that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) supports compensation as defined by three a priori criteria: (1) increased vmPFC activation was observed in older versus younger adults; (2) age-related increases in vmPFC activity were associated with increased retrieval demands; and (3) increased vmPFC activity was positively associated with performance in older adults-evidence of successful compensation. Extending these results, we observed evidence for compensation in connectivity between vmPFC and the dorsolateral PFC during memory-dependent choice. In contrast, we found no evidence for age differences in value-related processing or age-related compensation for choices without delayed retrieval. Together, these results converge on the conclusion that age-related decline in memory-dependent choice performance can be minimized via functional compensation in vmPFC. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3415648-10$15.00/0.

Functional Compensation in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Improves Memory-Dependent Decisions in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Huettel, Scott A.; Cabeza, Roberto

2014-01-01

Everyday consumer choices frequently involve memory, as when we retrieve information about consumer products when making purchasing decisions. In this context, poor memory may affect decision quality, particularly in individuals with memory decline, such as older adults. However, age differences in choice behavior may be reduced if older adults can recruit additional neural resources that support task performance. Although such functional compensation is well documented in other cognitive domains, it is presently unclear whether it can support memory-guided decision making and, if so, which brain regions play a role in compensation. The current study engaged younger and older humans in a memory-dependent choice task in which pairs of consumer products from a popular online-shopping site were evaluated with different delays between the first and second product. Using functional imaging (fMRI), we found that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) supports compensation as defined by three a priori criteria: (1) increased vmPFC activation was observed in older versus younger adults; (2) age-related increases in vmPFC activity were associated with increased retrieval demands; and (3) increased vmPFC activity was positively associated with performance in older adults—evidence of successful compensation. Extending these results, we observed evidence for compensation in connectivity between vmPFC and the dorsolateral PFC during memory-dependent choice. In contrast, we found no evidence for age differences in value-related processing or age-related compensation for choices without delayed retrieval. Together, these results converge on the conclusion that age-related decline in memory-dependent choice performance can be minimized via functional compensation in vmPFC. PMID:25411493

Consumer decision making in the individual health insurance market.

PubMed

Marquis, M Susan; Buntin, Melinda Beeuwkes; Escarce, José J; Kapur, Kanika; Louis, Thomas A; Yegian, Jill M

2006-01-01

This paper summarizes the results from a study of consumer decision making in California's individual health insurance market. We conclude that price subsidies will have only modest effects on participation and that efforts to reduce nonprice barriers might be just as effective. We also find that there is substantial pooling in the individual market and that it increases over time because people who become sick can continue coverage without new underwriting. Finally, we show that people prefer more-generous benefits and that it is difficult to induce people in poor health to enroll in high-deductible health plans.

Irrational decision-making in an amoeboid organism: transitivity and context-dependent preferences.

PubMed

Latty, Tanya; Beekman, Madeleine

2011-01-22

Most models of animal foraging and consumer choice assume that individuals make choices based on the absolute value of items and are therefore 'economically rational'. However, frequent violations of rationality by animals, including humans, suggest that animals use comparative valuation rules. Are comparative valuation strategies a consequence of the way brains process information, or are they an intrinsic feature of biological decision-making? Here, we examine the principles of rationality in an organism with radically different information-processing mechanisms: the brainless, unicellular, slime mould Physarum polycephalum. We offered P. polycephalum amoebas a choice between food options that varied in food quality and light exposure (P. polycephalum is photophobic). The use of an absolute valuation rule will lead to two properties: transitivity and independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA). Transitivity is satisfied if preferences have a consistent, linear ordering, while IIA states that a decision maker's preference for an item should not change if the choice set is expanded. A violation of either of these principles suggests the use of comparative rather than absolute valuation rules. Physarum polycephalum satisfied transitivity by having linear preference rankings. However, P. polycephalum's preference for a focal alternative increased when a third, inferior quality option was added to the choice set, thus violating IIA and suggesting the use of a comparative valuation process. The discovery of comparative valuation rules in a unicellular organism suggests that comparative valuation rules are ubiquitous, if not universal, among biological decision makers.

Language of Uncertainty: the Expression of Decisional Conflict Related to Skin Cancer Prevention Recommendations.

PubMed

Strekalova, Yulia A; James, Vaughan S

2017-09-01

User-generated information on the Internet provides opportunities for the monitoring of health information consumer attitudes. For example, information about cancer prevention may cause decisional conflict. Yet posts and conversations shared by health information consumers online are often not readily actionable for interpretation and decision-making due to their unstandardized format. This study extends prior research on the use of natural language as a predictor of consumer attitudes and provides a link to decision-making by evaluating the predictive role of uncertainty indicators expressed in natural language. Analyzed data included free-text comments and structured scale responses related to information about skin cancer prevention options. The study identified natural language indicators of uncertainty and showed that it can serve as a predictor of decisional conflict. The natural indicators of uncertainty reported here can facilitate the monitoring of health consumer perceptions about cancer prevention recommendations and inform education and communication campaign planning and evaluation.

Informed choice in direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) websites: a content analysis of benefits, risks, and limitations

PubMed Central

Singleton, Amanda; Erby, Lori Hamby; Foisie, Kathryn V.; Kaphingst, Kimberly

2012-01-01

An informed choice about health-related direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) requires knowledge of potential benefits, risks, and limitations. To understand the information that potential consumers of DTCGT services are exposed to on company websites, we conducted a content analysis of 23 health-related DTCGT websites. Results revealed that benefit statements outweighed risk and limitation statements 6 to 1. The most frequently described benefits were 1) disease prevention, 2) consumer education, 3) personalized medical recommendations, and 4) the ability to make health decisions. Thirty-five percent of websites also presented at least one risk of testing. Seventy-eight percent of websites mentioned at least one limitation of testing. Based on this information, potential consumers might get an inaccurate picture of genetic testing which could impact their ability to make an informed decision. Practices that enhance the presentation of balanced information on DTCGT company websites should be encouraged. PMID:22194036

How Social Ties Influence Consumer: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials.

PubMed

Luan, Jing; Yao, Zhong; Bai, Yan

2017-01-01

A considerable amount of marketing research has reported that consumers are more saliently influenced by friends (strong social ties) than by acquaintances and strangers (weak social ties). To shed light on the neural and psychological processes underlying such phenomenon, in this study we designed an amended S1-S2 paradigm (product-[reviewer-review]) that is based on realistic consumer purchase experiences. After incoming all given information (product, reviewer, review), participants were required to state their purchase intentions. The neurocognitive and emotional processes related to friend and stranger stimuli were delineated to suggest how social ties influence consumers during their shopping processes. Larger P2 (fronto-central scalp areas) and P3 (central and posterior-parietal scalp areas) components under stranger condition were elicited successfully. These findings demonstrate that the cognitive and emotional processing of friend and stranger stimuli occurs at stages of neural activity, and can be indicated by the P2 and P3 components. Electrophysiological data also support the hypothesis that different neural and emotional processing magnitude and strength underlie friend and stranger effect in the context of consumer purchase. During this process, the perception of stimuli evoked P2, subsequently emotional processing and attention modulation were activated and indicated by P2 and P3. The friend dominated phenomenon can be interpreted as the result of distinctive neurocognitive and emotional processing magnitude, which suggests that psychological and emotional factors can guide consumer decision making. This study consolidates that event related potential (ERP) methodology is likely to be a more sensitive method for investigating consumer behaviors. From the perspectives of management and marketing, our findings show that the P2 and P3 components can be employed as an indicator to probe the influential factors of consumer purchase intentions.

How Social Ties Influence Consumer: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials

PubMed Central

Yao, Zhong

2017-01-01

A considerable amount of marketing research has reported that consumers are more saliently influenced by friends (strong social ties) than by acquaintances and strangers (weak social ties). To shed light on the neural and psychological processes underlying such phenomenon, in this study we designed an amended S1-S2 paradigm (product-[reviewer-review]) that is based on realistic consumer purchase experiences. After incoming all given information (product, reviewer, review), participants were required to state their purchase intentions. The neurocognitive and emotional processes related to friend and stranger stimuli were delineated to suggest how social ties influence consumers during their shopping processes. Larger P2 (fronto-central scalp areas) and P3 (central and posterior-parietal scalp areas) components under stranger condition were elicited successfully. These findings demonstrate that the cognitive and emotional processing of friend and stranger stimuli occurs at stages of neural activity, and can be indicated by the P2 and P3 components. Electrophysiological data also support the hypothesis that different neural and emotional processing magnitude and strength underlie friend and stranger effect in the context of consumer purchase. During this process, the perception of stimuli evoked P2, subsequently emotional processing and attention modulation were activated and indicated by P2 and P3. The friend dominated phenomenon can be interpreted as the result of distinctive neurocognitive and emotional processing magnitude, which suggests that psychological and emotional factors can guide consumer decision making. This study consolidates that event related potential (ERP) methodology is likely to be a more sensitive method for investigating consumer behaviors. From the perspectives of management and marketing, our findings show that the P2 and P3 components can be employed as an indicator to probe the influential factors of consumer purchase intentions. PMID:28081196

Empowering rural women's groups for strengthening economic linkages: some Indian experiments.

PubMed

Rajagopal

1999-05-01

Through organizing informal self-help groups (SHGs), rural women in India are provided credit and extension support for various production-oriented income-generating activities. These activities usually include garment-making, embroidery, food processing, bee-keeping, basketry, gem cutting, weaving, and knitting. SHGs are self-governed, with decisions about production and marketing taken collectively, although the group leader is responsible for identifying potential marketing centers and consumers. These groups represent a new culture in rural development, breaking with traditional bureaucracy and top-down management. Informal groups empower rural women to manage rural industries and make decisions collectively for their common economic interests. Experience with SHGs in Orissa, lessons from nongovernmental organization intervention, and a model for empowering poor people in a small town in Kerala are discussed.

Planning Guide for Consumer Education...Grades K-12: A Pilot Program Developed in the Westborough Public Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Framingham State Coll., MA.

Suggested learning activities for teaching consumer education to K-12 students which can be integrated into the regular curriculum are provided in the guide. The guide is divided into four areas which focus on the different roles of the consumer: (1) the consumer's values and goals--self-development, health and safety, decision making, and…

Improving healthcare consumer effectiveness: an Animated, Self-serve, Web-based Research Tool (ANSWER) for people with early rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed

Li, Linda C; Adam, Paul; Townsend, Anne F; Stacey, Dawn; Lacaille, Diane; Cox, Susan; McGowan, Jessie; Tugwell, Peter; Sinclair, Gerri; Ho, Kendall; Backman, Catherine L

2009-08-20

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) should use DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) within the first three months of symptoms in order to prevent irreversible joint damage. However, recent studies report the delay in DMARD use ranges from 6.5 months to 11.5 months in Canada. While most health service delivery interventions are designed to improve the family physician's ability to refer to a rheumatologist and prescribe treatments, relatively little has been done to improve the delivery of credible, relevant, and user-friendly information for individuals to make treatment decisions. To address this care gap, the Animated, Self-serve, Web-based Research Tool (ANSWER) will be developed and evaluated to assist people in making decisions about the use of methotrexate, a type of DMARD. The objectives of this project are: 1) to develop ANSWER for people with early RA; and 2) to assess the extent to which ANSWER reduces people's decisional conflict about the use of methotrexate, improves their knowledge about RA, and improves their skills of being 'effective healthcare consumers'. Consistent with the International Patient Decision Aid Standards, the development process of ANSWER will involve: 1.) creating a storyline and scripts based on the best evidence on the use of methotrexate and other management options in RA, and the contextual factors that affect a patient's decision to use a treatment as found in ERAHSE; 2.) using an interactive design methodology to create, test, analyze and refine the ANSWER prototype; 3.) testing the content and user interface with health professionals and patients; and 4.) conducting a pilot study with 51 patients, who are diagnosed with RA in the past 12 months, to assess the extent to which ANSWER improves the quality of their decisions, knowledge and skills in being effective consumers. We envision that the ANSWER will help accelerate the dissemination of knowledge and skills necessary for people with early RA to make informed choices about treatment and to manage their health. The latest in animation and online technology will ensure ANSWER fills a knowledge translation gap, focusing on the next generation of people living with RA.

The power of putting a label on it: green labels weigh heavier than contradicting product information for consumers' purchase decisions and post-purchase behavior.

PubMed

Hahnel, Ulf J J; Arnold, Oliver; Waschto, Michael; Korcaj, Liridon; Hillmann, Karen; Roser, Damaris; Spada, Hans

2015-01-01

Green products are appealing. Thus, labeling products as environmentally friendly is an effective strategy to increase sales. However, the labels often promise more than the products can actually deliver. In the present research, we examined the expectation that consumers with high ecological motivation have strong preferences for green-labeled products - even when presented product information contradicts the label's image. This unsettling hypothesis is grounded in the labels' potential to create a cognitive match between the labeled product and consumers' motives. For labels indicating environmental friendliness (green product labels), this link should be strongest when consumers' ecological motivation is high. Findings in a series of three experiments support our assumption, showing that consumers with high ecological motivation had strong preferences (i.e., product evaluations, purchase intentions, and simulated purchase decisions) for green-labeled products as compared to consumers with low ecological motivation (Studies 1-3). Crucially, these preferences were robust, despite contradicting environmental product information (Studies 1 and 2). We extended our findings by additionally examining the impact of product labels and motivation on moral self-regulation processes. This was established by assessing participants' pro-social behavior after the purchase task: participants with high ecological motivation acted, consistent with their motives, more pro-socially in post-decision occasions. In accordance with moral cleansing effects, pro-social behavior was intensified after purchasing conventional products (Studies 2 and 3). Green labels protected participants with high ecological motivation from moral threats due to the purchase, thus making pro-social behavior less likely. Findings suggest that highly ecologically motivated consumers are most susceptible to green labels, which may override detailed product information.

Toward a patient-centric medical information model: issues and challenges for US adoption.

PubMed

Lorence, Daniel; Monatesti, Sabatini; Margenthaler, Robert; Hoadley, Ellen

2005-01-01

As the USA moves, incrementally, toward evidence-based medicine, there is growing awareness of the importance of innovation in information management. Mandates for change include improved use of resources, accelerated diffusion of knowledge and an advanced consumer role. Key among these requirements is the need for a fundamentally different patient information recording system. Within the challenges identified in the most recent national health information technology initiative, we propose a model for an electronic, patient-centric medical information infrastructure, highlighting a transportable, scalable and integrated resource. We identify resources available for technology transfer, promoting consumers as integral parts of the collaborative medical decision-making process.

Effects of Alcohol on Women's Risky Sexual Decision Making during Social Interactions in the Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zawacki, Tina

2011-01-01

This experiment examined the effects of alcohol on women's sexual decision making during a laboratory social interaction with a potential dating partner. Participants completed an assessment of sex-related alcohol expectancies, were randomly assigned to consume alcohol, no alcohol, or a placebo, and then interacted with a male confederate.…

"The Dose Makes the Poison": Informing Consumers About the Scientific Risk Assessment of Food Additives.

PubMed

Bearth, Angela; Cousin, Marie-Eve; Siegrist, Michael

2016-01-01

Intensive risk assessment is required before the approval of food additives. During this process, based on the toxicological principle of "the dose makes the poison,ˮ maximum usage doses are assessed. However, most consumers are not aware of these efforts to ensure the safety of food additives and are therefore sceptical, even though food additives bring certain benefits to consumers. This study investigated the effect of a short video, which explains the scientific risk assessment and regulation of food additives, on consumers' perceptions and acceptance of food additives. The primary goal of this study was to inform consumers and enable them to construct their own risk-benefit assessment and make informed decisions about food additives. The secondary goal was to investigate whether people have different perceptions of food additives of artificial (i.e., aspartame) or natural origin (i.e., steviolglycoside). To attain these research goals, an online experiment was conducted on 185 Swiss consumers. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, which was shown a video about the scientific risk assessment of food additives, or the control group, which was shown a video about a topic irrelevant to the study. After watching the video, the respondents knew significantly more, expressed more positive thoughts and feelings, had less risk perception, and more acceptance than prior to watching the video. Thus, it appears that informing consumers about complex food safety topics, such as the scientific risk assessment of food additives, is possible, and using a carefully developed information video is a successful strategy for informing consumers. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

The social control of energy: A case for the promise of decentralized solar technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilmer, R. W.

1980-05-01

Decentralized solar technology and centralized electric utilities were contrasted in the ways they assign property rights in capital and energy output; in the assignment of operational control; and in the means of monitoring, policing, and enforcing property rights. An analogy was drawn between the decision of an energy consumer to use decentralized solar and the decision of a firm to vertically integrate, that is, to extend the boundary of a the firm to vertically integrate, that is, to extend the boundary of the firm by making inputs or further processing output. Decentralized solar energy production offers the small energy consumer the chance to cut ties to outside suppliers--to vertically integrate energy production into the home or business. The development of this analogy provides insight into important noneconomic aspects of solar energy, and it points clearly to the lighter burdens of social management offered by decentralized solar technology.

Determining the market value of high-rise residential buildings based on evaluation of consumer properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolobova, Svetlana

2018-03-01

As you know, high-rise construction is an indicator of the practical implementation of advanced innovative technologies in the construction industry of the country. High-rise building inevitably comes to the big cities, in connection with the shortage and value of land. The life cycle of any construction project, including high-rise buildings consists of chains: of engineering survey - design-construction-operation. In the process of operation of a tall building, decisions about major repairs or reconstruction of a building are made for decision-making on further use. This article describes methods of assessing the consumer quality of high-rise residential buildings and the establishment of prices based on consumer characteristics of a tall residential building. It is proposed to assess the premises under their quality characteristics. The study was conducted to establish the influence of individual, comprehensive and integral indicators of comparable quality for effective quality living spaces. Simultaneously, there was established a relationship of quality with the consumer cost of housing, ultimately with the potential needs of owners, tenants of the home, lessor dwelling, or buyers of residential properties and other participants in the residential real estate market. This relationship further creates consumer requirements to quality standard of premises at a certain stage of socio-economic development.

The attitudes of consumers toward direct advertising of prescription drugs.

PubMed Central

Morris, L A; Brinberg, D; Klimberg, R; Rivera, C; Millstein, L G

1986-01-01

Attitudes about prescription drug advertising directed to consumers were assessed in 1,509 persons who had viewed prototypical advertisements for fictitious prescription drug products. Although many subjects were generally favorable toward the concept of drug advertising directed to consumers, strong reservations were also expressed, especially about television advertising. Prescription drug advertising did not appear to undermine the physician's authority, since respondents viewed the physician as the primary drug decision-maker. However, the physician was not perceived as the sole source of prescription drug information. Television advertising appeared to promote greater information-seeking about particular drugs; however, magazine ads were more fully accepted by subjects. Furthermore, magazine ads led to enhanced views of the patient's authority in drug decision-making. The greater information conveyed in magazine ads may have given subjects more confidence in their own ability to evaluate the drug and the ad. Ads that integrated risk information into the body of the advertisement were more positively viewed than ads that gave special emphasis to the risk information. The results suggest that consumer attitudes about prescription drug advertising are not firmly held and are capable of being influenced by the types of ads people view. Regulation of such ads may need to be flexed to adapt to the way different media are used and processed by consumers. PMID:3080797

Choices in the Marketplace: A Basic Unit on Consumer Economics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heyne, Paul; Stevahn, Laurie

Consumer decision-making and its consequences for individual consumers and societal groups are examined in this economic unit for secondary school students. Seven lessons focus on developing an understanding of the concepts of scarcity, supply and demand, resources, choice, price, and interdependence and on fostering an economic way of thinking.…

Consumer Education: Ecological Resource Management. Home & Family Life Curriculum Guide: H.E. Bulletin No. 43.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Olympia.

The future ability of secondary students to interact in a progressively technologically-oriented society is the purpose of this curriculum guide on consumer education. The guide teaches consumer decision-making, resource management, and advocacy/action. The introduction discusses the future of society and technology. Each of three sections…

High deductible health plans: does cost sharing stimulate increased consumer sophistication?

PubMed

Gupta, Neal; Polsky, Daniel

2015-06-01

To determine whether increased cost sharing in health insurance plans induces higher levels of consumer sophistication in a non-elderly population. This analysis is based on the collection of survey and demographic data collected from enrollees in the RAND health insurance experiment (HIE). During the RAND HIE, enrollees were randomly assigned to different levels of cost sharing (0, 25, 50 and 95%). The study population compromises about 2000 people enrolled in the RAND HIE, between the years 1974 and 1982. Effects on health-care decision making were measured using the results of a standardized questionnaire, administered at the beginning and end of the experiment. Points of enquiry included whether or not enrollees' (i) recognized the need for second opinions (ii) questioned the effectiveness of certain therapies and (iii) researched the background/skill of their medical providers. Consumer sophistication was also measured for regular health-care consumers, as indicated by the presence of a chronic disease. We found no statically significant changes (P < 0.05) in the health-care decision-making strategies between individuals randomized to high cost sharing plans and low cost sharing plans. Furthermore, we did not find a stronger effect for patients with a chronic disease. The evidence from the RAND HIE does not support the hypothesis that a higher level of cost sharing incentivizes the development of consumer sophistication. As a result, cost sharing alone will not promote individuals to become more selective in their health-care decision-making. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Increasing the Response Rate of the Patient Satisfaction Survey of Inpatients at National Naval Medical Center

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-08-01

identify a method to improve the effectiveness of the current survey process to increase the response rate of the patients being sampled. As health care... consumer must have adequate representation to provide meaningful information for decision making by the health care organization. Background of the...the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy into the health care industry has increased the importance of listening to the customer (Matthews, 1992

Stakeholders' perceptions of ways to support decisions about health insurance marketplace enrollment: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Housten, A J; Furtado, K; Kaphingst, K A; Kebodeaux, C; McBride, T; Cusanno, B; Politi, M C

2016-11-08

Approximately 29 million individuals are expected to enroll in health insurance using the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace by 2022. Those seeking health insurance struggle to understand insurance options and choose a plan that best suits their needs. We interviewed stakeholders to identify the challenges associated with the ACA Marketplace health insurance enrollment and elicited feedback about what to include in health insurance decision support tools. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified using inductive thematic analysis. Stakeholders stated that consumers felt frustrated by unclear terminology, high plan costs, and complex calculations required to assess costs. Consumers felt anxious about making the wrong choice and being unable to change plans within a calendar year. Stakeholders recommended using plain language tables defining complex terms, grouping information, and using engaging graphics to communicate information about health insurance. Stakeholders thought that narratives of how others made decisions about insurance might be helpful to consumers, but recommended that they be tailored to the needs of specific consumers. Strategies that clarify health insurance terms using plain language and graphics, acknowledge concern associated with making the wrong choice, calculate and enable cost comparison, and tailor information to consumers' unique needs could benefit those enrolling in ACA Marketplace plans, Narratives developed should be simple and inclusive enough for diverse populations.

Helping E-Commerce Consumers Make Good Purchase Decisions: A User Reviews-Based Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Richong; Tran, Thomas T.

Online product reviews provided by the consumers, who have previously purchased and used some particular products, form a rich source of information for other consumers who would like to study about these products in order to make their purchase decisions. Realizing this great need of consumers, several e-commerce web sites such as Amazon.com offer facilities for consumers to review products and exchange their purchase opinions. Unfortunately, reading through the massive amounts of product reviews available online from many e-communities, forums and newsgroups is not only a tedious task but also an impossible one. Indeed, nowadays consumers need an effective and reliable method to search through those huge sources of information and sort out the most appropriate and helpful product reviews. This paper proposes a model to discover the helpfulness of online product reviews. Product reviews can be analyzed and ranked by our scoring system and those reviews that may help consumers better than others will be found. In addition, we compare our model with a number of machine learning techniques. Our experimental results confirm that our approach is effective in ranking and classifying online product reviews.

A Diagnostics Tool to detect ensemble forecast system anomaly and guide operational decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, G. H.; Srivastava, A.; Shrestha, E.; Thiemann, M.; Day, G. N.; Draijer, S.

2017-12-01

The hydrologic community is moving toward using ensemble forecasts to take uncertainty into account during the decision-making process. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) implements several types of ensemble forecasts in their decision-making process: ensemble products for a statistical model (Hirsch and enhanced Hirsch); the National Weather Service (NWS) Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) forecasts based on the classical Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) technique; and the new NWS Hydrologic Ensemble Forecasting Service (HEFS) forecasts. To remove structural error and apply the forecasts to additional forecast points, the DEP post processes both the AHPS and the HEFS forecasts. These ensemble forecasts provide mass quantities of complex data, and drawing conclusions from these forecasts is time-consuming and difficult. The complexity of these forecasts also makes it difficult to identify system failures resulting from poor data, missing forecasts, and server breakdowns. To address these issues, we developed a diagnostic tool that summarizes ensemble forecasts and provides additional information such as historical forecast statistics, forecast skill, and model forcing statistics. This additional information highlights the key information that enables operators to evaluate the forecast in real-time, dynamically interact with the data, and review additional statistics, if needed, to make better decisions. We used Bokeh, a Python interactive visualization library, and a multi-database management system to create this interactive tool. This tool compiles and stores data into HTML pages that allows operators to readily analyze the data with built-in user interaction features. This paper will present a brief description of the ensemble forecasts, forecast verification results, and the intended applications for the diagnostic tool.

Use of GIS-Based Sampling to Inform Food Security Assessments and Decision Making in Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahome, A.; Ndubi, A. O.; Ndungu, L. W.; Mugo, R. M.; Flores Cordova, A. I.

2017-12-01

Kenya relies on agricultural production for supporting local consumption and other processing value chains. With changing climate in a rain-fed dependent agricultural production system, cropping zones are shifting and proper decision making will require updated data. Where up-to-date data is not available it is important that it is generated and passed over to relevant stakeholders to inform their decision making. The process of generating this data should be cost effective and less time consuming. The Kenyan State Department of Agriculture (SDA) runs an insurance programme for maize farmers in a number of counties in Kenya. Previously, SDA was using a list of farmers to identify the crop fields for this insurance programme. However, the process of listing of all farmers in each Unit Area of Insurance (UAI) proved to be tedious and very costly, hence need for an alternative approach, but acceptable sampling methodology. Building on the existing cropland maps, SERVIR, a joint NASA-USAID initiative that brings Earth observations (EO) for improved environmental decision making in developing countries, specifically its hub in Eastern and Soutehrn Africa developed a High Resolution Map based on 10m Sentinel satellite images from which a GIS based sampling frame for identifying maize fields was developed. Sampling points were randomly generated in each UAI and navigated to using hand-held GPS units for identification of maize farmers. In the GIS-based identification of farmers SDA uses 1 day to cover an area covered in 1 week by list identification of farmers. Similarly, SDA spends approximately 3,000 USD per sub-county to locate maize fields using GIS-based sampling as compared 10,000 USD they used to spend before. This has resulted in 70% cost reduction.

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.

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.

A decision support system for delivering optimal quality peach and tomato

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thai, C. N.; Pease, J. N.; Shewfelt, R. L.

1990-01-01

Several studies have indicated that color and firmness are the two quality attributes most important to consumers in making purchasing decisions of fresh peaches and tomatoes. However, at present, retail produce managers do not have the proper information for handling fresh produce so it has the most appealing color and firmness when it reaches the consumer. This information should help them predict the consumer color and firmness perception and preference for produce from various storage conditions. Since 1987, for 'Redglobe' peach and 'Sunny' tomato, we have been generating information about their physical quality attributes (firmness and color) and their corresponding consumer sensory scores. This article reports on our current progress toward the goal of integrating such information into a model-based decision support system for retail level managers in handling fresh peaches and tomatoes.

Young adults' decision making surrounding heavy drinking: a multi-staged model of planned behaviour.

PubMed

Northcote, Jeremy

2011-06-01

This paper examines the real life contexts in which decisions surrounding heavy drinking are made by young adults (that is, on occasions when five or more alcoholic drinks are consumed within a few hours). It presents a conceptual model that views such decision making as a multi-faceted and multi-staged process. The mixed method study draws on purposive data gathered through direct observation of eight social networks consisting of 81 young adults aged between 18 and 25 years in Perth, Western Australia, including in-depth interviews with 31 participants. Qualitative and some basic quantitative data were gathered using participant observation and in-depth interviews undertaken over an eighteen month period. Participants explained their decision to engage in heavy drinking as based on a variety of factors. These elements relate to socio-cultural norms and expectancies that are best explained by the theory of planned behaviour. A framework is proposed that characterises heavy drinking as taking place in a multi-staged manner, with young adults having: 1. A generalised orientation to the value of heavy drinking shaped by wider influences and norms; 2. A short-term orientation shaped by situational factors that determines drinking intentions for specific events; and 3. An evaluative orientation shaped by moderating factors. The value of qualitative studies of decision making in real life contexts is advanced to complement the mostly quantitative research that dominates research on alcohol decision making. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Collaborating with consumer and community representatives in health and medical research in Australia: results from an evaluation.

PubMed

Payne, Janet M; D'Antoine, Heather A; France, Kathryn E; McKenzie, Anne E; Henley, Nadine; Bartu, Anne E; Elliott, Elizabeth J; Bower, Carol

2011-05-14

To collaborate with consumer and community representatives in the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project from 2006-2008 http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/alcoholandpregnancy and evaluate researchers' and consumer and community representatives' perceptions of the process, context and impact of consumer and community participation in the project. We formed two reference groups and sought consumer and community representatives' perspectives on all aspects of the project over a three year period. We developed an evaluation framework and asked consumer and community representatives and researchers to complete a self-administered questionnaire at the end of the project. Fifteen researchers (93.8%) and seven (53.8%) consumer and community representatives completed a questionnaire. Most consumer and community representatives agreed that the process and context measures of their participation had been achieved. Both researchers and consumer and community representatives identified areas for improvement and offered suggestions how these could be improved for future research. Researchers thought consumer and community participation contributed to project outputs and outcomes by enhancing scientific and ethical standards, providing legitimacy and authority, and increasing the project's credibility and participation. They saw it was fundamental to the research process and acknowledged consumer and community representatives for their excellent contribution. Consumer and community representatives were able to directly influence decisions about the research. They thought that consumer and community participation had significant influence on the success of project outputs and outcomes. Consumer and community participation is an essential component of good research practice and contributed to the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project by enhancing research processes, outputs and outcomes, and this participation was valued by community and consumer representatives and researchers. The National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia expects researchers to work in partnership and involve consumer and community representatives in health and medical research, and to evaluate community and consumer participation. It is important to demonstrate whether consumer and community participation makes a difference to health and medical research.

Collaborating with consumer and community representatives in health and medical research in Australia: results from an evaluation

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objective To collaborate with consumer and community representatives in the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project from 2006-2008 http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/alcoholandpregnancy and evaluate researchers' and consumer and community representatives' perceptions of the process, context and impact of consumer and community participation in the project. Methods We formed two reference groups and sought consumer and community representatives' perspectives on all aspects of the project over a three year period. We developed an evaluation framework and asked consumer and community representatives and researchers to complete a self-administered questionnaire at the end of the project. Results Fifteen researchers (93.8%) and seven (53.8%) consumer and community representatives completed a questionnaire. Most consumer and community representatives agreed that the process and context measures of their participation had been achieved. Both researchers and consumer and community representatives identified areas for improvement and offered suggestions how these could be improved for future research. Researchers thought consumer and community participation contributed to project outputs and outcomes by enhancing scientific and ethical standards, providing legitimacy and authority, and increasing the project's credibility and participation. They saw it was fundamental to the research process and acknowledged consumer and community representatives for their excellent contribution. Consumer and community representatives were able to directly influence decisions about the research. They thought that consumer and community participation had significant influence on the success of project outputs and outcomes. Conclusions Consumer and community participation is an essential component of good research practice and contributed to the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project by enhancing research processes, outputs and outcomes, and this participation was valued by community and consumer representatives and researchers. The National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia expects researchers to work in partnership and involve consumer and community representatives in health and medical research, and to evaluate community and consumer participation. It is important to demonstrate whether consumer and community participation makes a difference to health and medical research. PMID:21569591

A Qualitative Study Examining Experiences and Dilemmas in Concealment and Disclosure of People Living With Serious Mental Illness.

PubMed

Bril-Barniv, Shani; Moran, Galia S; Naaman, Adi; Roe, David; Karnieli-Miller, Orit

2017-03-01

People with mental illnesses face the dilemma of whether to disclose or conceal their diagnosis, but this dilemma was scarcely researched. To gain in-depth understanding of this dilemma, we interviewed 29 individuals with mental illnesses: 16 with major depression/bipolar disorders and 13 with schizophrenia. Using a phenomenological design, we analyzed individuals' experiences, decision-making processes, and views of gains and costs regarding concealment and disclosure of mental illness. We found that participants employed both positive and negative disclosure/concealment practices. Positive practices included enhancing personal recovery, community integration, and/or supporting others. Negative practices occurred in forced, uncontrolled situations. We also identified various influencing factors, including familial norms of sharing, accumulated experiences with disclosure, and ascribed meaning to diagnosis. Based on these findings, we deepen the understanding about decision-making processes and the consequences of disclosing or concealing mental illness. We discuss how these finding can help consumers explore potential benefits and disadvantages of mental illness disclosure/concealment occurrences.

Related Services Research for Students With Low-Incidence Disabilities: Implications for Speech-Language Pathologists in Inclusive Classrooms.

PubMed

Giangreco, Michael F

2000-07-01

When speech-language pathologists provide educationally related services for students with lowincidence disabilities who are placed in inclusive classrooms, they are asked to work with a variety of other adults. The ways in which these adults make decisions about individualizing a student's educational program, determine related services, and coordinate their activities have an impact on educational outcomes for students as well as on interprofessional interactions. This article summarizes a team process for making related services decisions called VISTA (Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach) and a series of nine research studies pertaining to the use and impact of VISTA. It also addresses related topics, such as team size, consumer perspectives, and paraprofessional supports. Five major implications from these studies are offered concerning (a) developing a disposition of being an ongoing learner, (b) developing a shared framework among team members, (c) having a research-based process to build consensus, (d) clarifying roles, and (e) increasing involvement of families and general education teachers.

Methods for Evaluating Emotions Evoked by Food Experiences: A Literature Review

PubMed Central

Kaneko, Daisuke; Toet, Alexander; Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Kallen, Victor; van Erp, Jan B. F.

2018-01-01

Besides sensory characteristics of food, food-evoked emotion is a crucial factor in predicting consumer's food preference and therefore in developing new products. Many measures have been developed to assess food-evoked emotions. The aim of this literature review is (i) to give an exhaustive overview of measures used in current research and (ii) to categorize these methods along measurement level (physiological, behavioral, and cognitive) and emotional processing level (unconscious sensory, perceptual/early cognitive, and conscious/decision making) level. This 3 × 3 categorization may help researchers to compile a set of complementary measures (“toolbox”) for their studies. We included 101 peer-reviewed articles that evaluate consumer's emotions and were published between 1997 and 2016, providing us with 59 different measures. More than 60% of these measures are based on self-reported, subjective ratings and questionnaires (cognitive measurement level) and assess the conscious/decision-making level of emotional processing. This multitude of measures and their overrepresentation in a single category hinders the comparison of results across studies and building a complete multi-faceted picture of food-evoked emotions. We recommend (1) to use widely applied, validated measures only, (2) to refrain from using (highly correlated) measures from the same category but use measures from different categories instead, preferably covering all three emotional processing levels, and (3) to acquire and share simultaneously collected physiological, behavioral, and cognitive datasets to improve the predictive power of food choice and other models. PMID:29937744

Intentions to consume omega-3 fatty acids: a comparison of protection motivation theory and ordered protection motivation theory.

PubMed

Calder, Samuel Christian; Davidson, Graham R; Ho, Robert

2011-06-01

There has been limited research to date into methods for increasing people's intentions to use omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), which have been linked with decreased risk of suffering from numerous major diseases. The present study employed a cross-sectional design with 380 university students, employees, and visitors to investigate the efficacy of the protection motivation (PM) theory and the ordered protection motivation (OPM) theory, to predict behavioral intention to consume omega-3 rich foods and dietary supplements. Analysis of model fit indicated that both the PM model and the OPM model adequately represented the structural relationships between the cognitive variables and intention to consume n-3 PUFA. Further evaluation of relative fit of the two competing models suggested that the PM model might provide a better representation of decision-making following evaluation of the health threat of n-3 PUFA deficiency. Path analysis indicated that the component of coping appraisal was significantly associated with the behavioral intention to consume n-3 PUFA. Threat appraisal was found to be significantly associated with behavioral intention to consume n-3 PUFA only for the OPM model. Overall, the findings contribute to a better understanding of the roles that cognitive appraisal processes play in young and healthy individuals' protective health decision-making regarding consumption of n-3 PUFA. Implications of the findings and recommendations, which include (a) encouraging the consumption of n-3 PUFA as an effective barrier against the incidence of disease, and (b) effective health messaging that focuses on beliefs about the effectiveness of n-3 PUFA in reducing health risks, are discussed.

The role of public relations activities in hospital choice.

PubMed

Tengilimoglu, Dilaver; Yesiltas, Mehmet; Kisa, Adnan; Dziegielewski, Sophia F

2007-01-01

Public relations activities for all organizations can have an important effect on consumer decision-making when buying goods or services. This study examines the effect that public relations activities can have regarding consumer decisions and choice. To explore exemplify this relationship a questionnaire was given to 971 patients within public, university and private hospitals in Ankara, Turkey. Study results show that public relations activities were a crucial factor in determining consumer hospital choice. The majority of respondents reported that the behaviors and attitude of personnel as public relations activities that support the hospital's reputation within the public were the primary variables in hospital choice. Health care managers can use these findings to further understand how patients make informed choices related to usage of a health care facility and to develop and/or improve public relations activities.

Consumer preference models: fuzzy theory approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turksen, I. B.; Wilson, I. A.

1993-12-01

Consumer preference models are widely used in new product design, marketing management, pricing and market segmentation. The purpose of this article is to develop and test a fuzzy set preference model which can represent linguistic variables in individual-level models implemented in parallel with existing conjoint models. The potential improvements in market share prediction and predictive validity can substantially improve management decisions about what to make (product design), for whom to make it (market segmentation) and how much to make (market share prediction).

Incidental rewarding cues influence economic decisions in people with obesity.

PubMed

Simmank, Jakob; Murawski, Carsten; Bode, Stefan; Horstmann, Annette

2015-01-01

Recent research suggests that obesity is linked to prominent alterations in learning and decision-making. This general difference may also underlie the preference for immediately consumable, highly palatable but unhealthy and high-calorie foods. Such poor food-related inter-temporal decision-making can explain weight gain; however, it is not yet clear whether this deficit can be generalized to other domains of inter-temporal decision-making, for example financial decisions. Further, little is known about the stability of decision-making behavior in obesity, especially in the presence of rewarding cues. To answer these questions, obese and lean participants (n = 52) completed two sessions of a novel priming paradigm including a computerized monetary delay discounting task. In the first session, general differences between groups in financial delay discounting were measured. In the second session, we tested the general stability of discount rates. Additionally, participants were primed by affective visual cues of different contextual categories before making financial decisions. We found that the obese group showed stronger discounting of future monetary rewards than the lean group, but groups did not differ in their general stability between sessions nor in their sensitivity toward changes in reward magnitude. In the obese group, a fast decrease of subjective value over time was directly related to a higher tendency for opportunistic eating. Obese in contrast to lean people were primed by the affective cues, showing a sex-specific pattern of priming direction. Our findings demonstrate that environments rich of cues, aiming at inducing unhealthy consumer decisions, can be highly detrimental for obese people. It also underscores that obesity is not merely a medical condition but has a strong cognitive component, meaning that current dietary and medical treatment strategies may fall too short.

Incidental rewarding cues influence economic decisions in people with obesity

PubMed Central

Simmank, Jakob; Murawski, Carsten; Bode, Stefan; Horstmann, Annette

2015-01-01

Recent research suggests that obesity is linked to prominent alterations in learning and decision-making. This general difference may also underlie the preference for immediately consumable, highly palatable but unhealthy and high-calorie foods. Such poor food-related inter-temporal decision-making can explain weight gain; however, it is not yet clear whether this deficit can be generalized to other domains of inter-temporal decision-making, for example financial decisions. Further, little is known about the stability of decision-making behavior in obesity, especially in the presence of rewarding cues. To answer these questions, obese and lean participants (n = 52) completed two sessions of a novel priming paradigm including a computerized monetary delay discounting task. In the first session, general differences between groups in financial delay discounting were measured. In the second session, we tested the general stability of discount rates. Additionally, participants were primed by affective visual cues of different contextual categories before making financial decisions. We found that the obese group showed stronger discounting of future monetary rewards than the lean group, but groups did not differ in their general stability between sessions nor in their sensitivity toward changes in reward magnitude. In the obese group, a fast decrease of subjective value over time was directly related to a higher tendency for opportunistic eating. Obese in contrast to lean people were primed by the affective cues, showing a sex-specific pattern of priming direction. Our findings demonstrate that environments rich of cues, aiming at inducing unhealthy consumer decisions, can be highly detrimental for obese people. It also underscores that obesity is not merely a medical condition but has a strong cognitive component, meaning that current dietary and medical treatment strategies may fall too short. PMID:26528158

Doing what's right: A grounded theory of ethical decision-making in occupational therapy.

PubMed

VanderKaay, Sandra; Letts, Lori; Jung, Bonny; Moll, Sandra E

2018-04-20

Ethical decision-making is an important aspect of reasoning in occupational therapy practice. However, the process of ethical decision-making within the broader context of reasoning is yet to be clearly explicated. The purpose of this study was to advance a theoretical understanding of the process by which occupational therapists make ethical decisions in day-to-day practice. A constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted, incorporating in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 occupational therapists from a range of practice settings and years of experience. Initially, participants nominated as key informants who were able to reflect on their decision-making processes were recruited. Theoretical sampling informed subsequent stages of data collection. Participants were asked to describe their process of ethical decision-making using scenarios from clinical practice. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a systematic process of initial then focused coding, and theoretical categorization to construct a theory regarding the process of ethical decision-making. An ethical decision-making prism was developed to capture three main processes: Considering the Fundamental Checklist, Consulting Others, and Doing What's Right. Ethical decision-making appeared to be an inductive and dialectical process with the occupational therapist at its core. Study findings advance our understanding of ethical decision-making in day-to-day clinical practice.

Transforming health care delivery through consumer engagement, health data transparency, and patient-generated health information.

PubMed

Sands, D Z; Wald, J S

2014-08-15

Address current topics in consumer health informatics. Literature review. Current health care delivery systems need to be more effective in the management of chronic conditions as the population turns older and experiences escalating chronic illness that threatens to consume more health care resources than countries can afford. Most health care systems are positioned poorly to accommodate this. Meanwhile, the availability of ever more powerful and cheaper information and communication technology, both for professionals and consumers, has raised the capacity to gather and process information, communicate more effectively, and monitor the quality of care processes. Adapting health care systems to serve current and future needs requires new streams of data to enable better self-management, improve shared decision making, and provide more virtual care. Changes in reimbursement for health care services, increased adoption of relevant technologies, patient engagement, and calls for data transparency raise the importance of patient-generated health information, remote monitoring, non-visit based care, and other innovative care approaches that foster more frequent contact with patients and better management of chronic conditions.

16 CFR Appendix to Part 1213 - Findings Under the Consumer Product Safety Act

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... at the point of purchase and make their purchase decisions with this safety information in mind. This... the Commission's decision focus on the specific facts of this rulemaking and are stated below. iii... inform the Commission's decision regarding whether a certain level of conformance with a voluntary...

Patients' rights in decision making: the case for personalism versus paternalism in health care.

PubMed

Schain, W S

1980-08-15

The purpose of this presentation is to shine a psychological spotlight on the role of the breast cancer patient in the process of her decision making about her medical care and the specific influence that the nature of the physician-patient interaction has on that behavior. The vision of the parental physician as unilateral authority in decisions about health care is dimming. The picture is being supplanted by a new image that promotes a view of personalism and a concept of "shared responsibility." The wave of consumerism is washing the shores of medical practice, and women are establishing their beachhead. Women are demonstrating their knowledge, their competence, and their responsibility in exercising decisions about their medical treatments and the quality of their survival. Therefore, it is essential to educate patients to exhibit informed consumer behavior and encourage physicians to recognize the value of a patient's participation. Such collaborative endeavors could result in increased patient satisfaction, reduced burdens for the physician, and preserved patients' feelings of individuality, autonomy, and sense of personal dignity.

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...

Cost-benefit analysis of space technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hein, G. F.; Stevenson, S. M.; Sivo, J. N.

1976-01-01

A discussion of the implications and problems associated with the use of cost-benefit techniques is presented. Knowledge of these problems is useful in the structure of a decision making process. A methodology of cost-benefit analysis is presented for the evaluation of space technology. The use of the methodology is demonstrated with an evaluation of ion thrusters for north-south stationkeeping aboard geosynchronous communication satellites. A critique of the concept of consumers surplus for measuring benefits is also presented.

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…

Identification of key factors in consumers' adoption behavior of intelligent medical terminals based on a hybrid modified MADM model for product improvement.

PubMed

Liu, Yupeng; Chen, Yifei; Tzeng, Gwo-Hshiung

2017-09-01

As a new application technology of the Internet of Things (IoT), intelligent medical treatment has attracted the attention of both nations and industries through its promotion of medical informatisation, modernisation, and intelligentisation. Faced with a wide variety of intelligent medical terminals, consumers may be affected by various factors when making purchase decisions. To examine and evaluate the key influential factors (and their interrelationships) of consumer adoption behavior for improving and promoting intelligent medical terminals toward achieving set aspiration level in each dimension and criterion. A hybrid modified Multiple Attribute Decision-Making (MADM) model was used for this study, based on three components: (1) the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique, to build an influential network relationship map (INRM) at both 'dimensions' and 'criteria' levels; (2) the DEMATEL-based analytic network process (DANP) method, to determine the interrelationships and influential weights among the criteria and identify the source-influential factors; and (3) the modified Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method, to evaluate and improve for reducing the performance gaps to meet the consumers' needs for continuous improvement and sustainable products-development. First, a consensus on the influential factors affecting consumers' adoption of intelligent medical terminals was collected from experts' opinion in practical experience. Next, the interrelationships and influential weights of DANP among dimensions/criteria based on the DEMATEL technique were determined. Finally, two intelligent medicine bottles (AdhereTech, A 1 alternative; and Audio/Visual Alerting Pillbox, A 2 alternative) were reviewed as the terminal devices to verify the accuracy of the MADM model and evaluate its performance on each criterion for improving the total certification gaps by systematics according to the modified VIKOR method based on an INRM. In this paper, the criteria and dimensions used to improve the evaluation framework are validated. The systematic evaluation in index system is constructed on the basis of five dimensions and corresponding ten criteria. Influential weights of all criteria ranges from 0.037 to 0.152, which shows the rank of criteria importance. The evaluative framework were validated synthetically and scientifically. INRM (influential network relation map) was obtained from experts' opinion through DEMATEL technique shows complex interrelationship among factors. At the dimension level, the environmental dimension influences other dimensions the most, whereas the security dimension is most influenced by others. So the improvement order of environmental dimension is prior to security dimension. The newly constructed approach was still further validated by the results of the empirical case, where performance gap improvement strategies were analyzed for decision-makers. The modified VIKOR method was especially validated for solving real-world problems in intelligent medical terminal improvement processes. For this paper, A 1 performs better than A 2 , however, promotion mix, brand factor, and market environment are shortcomings faced by both A 1 and A 2 . In addition, A 2 should be improved in the wireless network technology, and the objective contact with a high degree of gaps. Based on the evaluation index system and the integrated model proposed here, decision-makers in enterprises can identify gaps when promoting intelligent medical terminals, from which they can get valuable advice to improve consumer adoption. Additionally, an INRM and the influential weights of DANP can be combined using the modified VIKOR method as integrated weightings to determine how to reduce gaps and provide the best improvement strategies for reaching set aspiration levels. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Hexa-sabbath. Foreign matter and vital substances, experts and the critical consumer in the FRG during the 1950s and 1960s].

PubMed

Stoff, Heiko

2009-01-01

In the late Fifties and early Sixties the regulation of food additives represented a remarkable turning point in German consumer politics, establishing a debate about decision making and policy advice, altering the discourse of purity and contamination, and inaugurating a new political actor, the organized critical consumer. The amendment of the Food Law in December 1958 functioned as a negotiation process between representatives of science, industry and the state, which was institutionalized in the Senate Commissions of the German Research Foundation. While these Commissions for preservatives, foreign matter and colorants worked behind closed doors, a public discourse about the "toxic condition" of modern life and the negative role of the pharmaceutical and chemical industry gained strength. The debate about the admission of hexamethylenetetramine (hexa) took part at a crucial moment. Hexa was used as a preservative in the fish industry. But its anti microbial effectiveness was caused by the decomposition of hexa to formaldehyde. Despite the commission's verdict against hexa, the lobbying activities of the industry granted it a reprieve. In the media, the case of hexa was seen as a touchstone for the capacity of negotiated decision making and the ability of rational scientists to resist the demands of industry. Finally, in 1963 it was the new political actor of the organized critical consumer, heir and successor to the housewife federations as well as to "purists" advocating life reform, who, supported by the media, enforced the prohibition of hexa as a preservative.

Health care consumer reports: an evaluation of consumer perspectives.

PubMed

Longo, Daniel R; Everet, Kevin D

2003-01-01

There has been a proliferation of health care consumer reports, also known as "consumer guides," "report cards," and "performance reports," which are designed to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions. While there is evidence that providers use such reports to identify and make changes in practice, thus improving the quality of care, there is little empirical evidence on how consumer guides/report cards are used by consumers. This study fills that gap by surveying 925 patients as they wait for ambulatory care in several clinics in a midwestern city. Findings indicate that consumers are selective in their use of these reports and quickly identify those sections of the report of most interest to them. Report developers should take precautions to ensure such reports are viewed as credible sources of health care information.

Development of shared decision-making resources to help inform difficult healthcare decisions: An example focused on dysvascular partial foot and transtibial amputations.

PubMed

Quigley, Matthew; Dillon, Michael P; Fatone, Stefania

2018-02-01

Shared decision making is a consultative process designed to encourage patient participation in decision making by providing accurate information about the treatment options and supporting deliberation with the clinicians about treatment options. The process can be supported by resources such as decision aids and discussion guides designed to inform and facilitate often difficult conversations. As this process increases in use, there is opportunity to raise awareness of shared decision making and the international standards used to guide the development of quality resources for use in areas of prosthetic/orthotic care. To describe the process used to develop shared decision-making resources, using an illustrative example focused on decisions about the level of dysvascular partial foot amputation or transtibial amputation. Development process: The International Patient Decision Aid Standards were used to guide the development of the decision aid and discussion guide focused on decisions about the level of dysvascular partial foot amputation or transtibial amputation. Examples from these shared decision-making resources help illuminate the stages of development including scoping and design, research synthesis, iterative development of a prototype, and preliminary testing with patients and clinicians not involved in the development process. Lessons learnt through the process, such as using the International Patient Decision Aid Standards checklist and development guidelines, may help inform others wanting to develop similar shared decision-making resources given the applicability of shared decision making to many areas of prosthetic-/orthotic-related practice. Clinical relevance Shared decision making is a process designed to guide conversations that help patients make an informed decision about their healthcare. Raising awareness of shared decision making and the international standards for development of high-quality decision aids and discussion guides is important as the approach is introduced in prosthetic-/orthotic-related practice.

Whose fault is it? Fraud scandal in the milk industry and its impact on product image and consumption - The case of Brazil.

PubMed

Breitenbach, Raquel; Rodrigues, Heber; Brandão, Janaína Balk

2018-06-01

Food safety is a crucial thematic to any nation and the frauds in the food chain are an increasingly phenomena nowadays. The general goal of the present work was to identify the perception and behavior of Brazilian fresh milk consumers' in relation to the fraud in the milk production and sell chain. A total of 1015 consumers answered an online questionnaire on the variables that shape decision-making (individual differences, environmental influences and psychological stimuli or processes) and the behavior related to this decision process. The results were discussed based on the theoretical model proposed by Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel (2005) and their 7 stages. The results of this qualitative study showed that the impacts were declared, specially, in the reduction of milk consumption; losses to the image of the sector and the warming of the informal milk market, due to the increase in demand in this trade. The reduction of demand and the depreciation of the agents' image, have a negative impact on the entire chain, since it reduces revenues for all agents and, to a greater degree, for processors and related suppliers/farmers directly with the brands identified in the investigation actions and disclosed in the media. The female consumers were more affected, impacting on a greater reduction of the consumption. Unlike young consumers, they have not changed their behavior in relation to the chain. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cal MediConnect Enrollment: Why Are Dual-Eligible Consumers in Los Angeles County Opting Out?

PubMed

McBride, Kate; Reynoso, Ana; Alunan, Tiffany; Gutierrez, Brenda; Bacong, Adrien; Moon, Marge; Bacigalupo, Anastasia; Benjamin, A E; Wallace, Steven P.; Kietzman, Kathryn G

2017-09-01

Los Angeles County has the state’s lowest rate of consumer enrollment in Cal MediConnect, a program that is responsible for the delivery and coordination of medical, behavioral health, and long-term services and support benefits for individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal. This policy brief examines the factors that influence consumer decisions and may contribute to low enrollment rates. Influential factors include consumer knowledge of health care options, perception of choice, and disruption of existing care. Differences in decision making by age, complexity of health care needs, race/ethnicity, immigration status, and primary language are also noted. Policy recommendations include engaging consumers in the planning and dissemination of information about their health care options, optimizing consumer choice and implementing the least disruptive pathway to enrollment, and recognizing and responding to the great diversity of dual-eligible consumers in Los Angeles County.

Obesity prevention at the point of purchase.

PubMed

Cohen, D A; Lesser, L I

2016-05-01

The point of purchase is when people may make poor and impulsive decisions about what and how much to buy and consume. Because point of purchase strategies frequently work through non-cognitive processes, people are often unable to recognize and resist them. Because people lack insight into how marketing practices interfere with their ability to routinely eat healthy, balanced diets, public health entities should protect consumers from potentially harmful point of purchase strategies. We describe four point of purchase policy options including standardized portion sizes; standards for meals that are sold as a bundle, e.g. 'combo meals'; placement and marketing restrictions on highly processed low-nutrient foods; and explicit warning labels. Adoption of such policies could contribute significantly to the prevention of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. We also discuss how the policies could be implemented, along with who might favour or oppose them. Many of the policies can be implemented locally, while preserving consumer choice. © 2016 World Obesity.

Applying Consumer and Homemaking Skills to Jobs and Careers. Secondary Learning Guide 13. Project Connect. Linking Self-Family-Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Inc., Hartford, CT.

This competency-based secondary learning guide on applying consumer and homemaking skills to jobs and careers is part of a series that are adaptations of guides developed for adult consumer and homemaking education programs. The guides provide students with experiences that help them learn to do the following: make decisions; use creative…

The role of emotion in decision-making: a cognitive neuroeconomic approach towards understanding sexual risk behavior.

PubMed

Gutnik, Lily A; Hakimzada, A Forogh; Yoskowitz, Nicole A; Patel, Vimla L

2006-12-01

Models of decision-making usually focus on cognitive, situational, and socio-cultural variables in accounting for human performance. However, the emotional component is rarely addressed within these models. This paper reviews evidence for the emotional aspect of decision-making and its role within a new framework of investigation, called neuroeconomics. The new approach aims to build a comprehensive theory of decision-making, through the unification of theories and methods from economics, psychology, and neuroscience. In this paper, we review these integrative research methods and their applications to issues of public health, with illustrative examples from our research on young adults' safe sex practices. This approach promises to be valuable as a comprehensively descriptive and possibly, better predictive model for construction and customization of decision support tools for health professionals and consumers.

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.

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

Roles, processes, and outcomes of interprofessional shared decision-making in a neonatal intensive care unit: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Dunn, Sandra I; Cragg, Betty; Graham, Ian D; Medves, Jennifer; Gaboury, Isabelle

2018-05-01

Shared decision-making provides an opportunity for the knowledge and skills of care providers to synergistically influence patient care. Little is known about interprofessional shared decision-making processes in critical care settings. The aim of this study was to explore interprofessional team members' perspectives about the nature of interprofessional shared decision-making in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to determine if there are any differences in perspectives across professional groups. An exploratory qualitative approach was used consisting of semi-structured interviews with 22 members of an interprofessional team working in a tertiary care NICU in Canada. Participants identified four key roles involved in interprofessional shared decision-making: leader, clinical experts, parents, and synthesizer. Participants perceived that interprofessional shared decision-making happens through collaboration, sharing, and weighing the options, the evidence and the credibility of opinions put forward. The process of interprofessional shared decision-making leads to a well-informed decision and participants feeling valued. Findings from this study identified key concepts of interprofessional shared decision-making, increased awareness of differing professional perspectives about this process of shared decision-making, and clarified understanding of the different roles involved in the decision-making process in an NICU.

Exploring key factors in online shopping with a hybrid model.

PubMed

Chen, Hsiao-Ming; Wu, Chia-Huei; Tsai, Sang-Bing; Yu, Jian; Wang, Jiangtao; Zheng, Yuxiang

2016-01-01

Nowadays, the web increasingly influences retail sales. An in-depth analysis of consumer decision-making in the context of e-business has become an important issue for internet vendors. However, factors affecting e-business are complicated and intertwined. To stimulate online sales, understanding key influential factors and causal relationships among the factors is important. To gain more insights into this issue, this paper introduces a hybrid method, which combines the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) with the analytic network process, called DANP method, to find out the driving factors that influence the online business mostly. By DEMATEL approach the causal graph showed that "online service" dimension has the highest degree of direct impact on other dimensions; thus, the internet vendor is suggested to made strong efforts on service quality throughout the online shopping process. In addition, the study adopted DANP to measure the importance of key factors, among which "transaction security" proves to be the most important criterion. Hence, transaction security should be treated with top priority to boost the online businesses. From our study with DANP approach, the comprehensive information can be visually detected so that the decision makers can spotlight on the root causes to develop effectual actions.

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.

Decision: Earth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Procter and Gamble Educational Services, Cincinnati, OH.

This Proctor and Gamble produced and teacher developed environmental education unit is designed to teach seventh through ninth grade students about making informed consumer product choices. The unit focuses on the concept of consumer product life cycle analysis, an approach to assessing the environmental impacts of a product at each stage in its…

Advancing Consumer Product Composition and Chemical Use Information to Facilitate Risk-Based Decision Making

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation describes EPA efforts to collect, model, and measure publically available consumer product data for use in exposure assessment. The development of the ORD Chemicals and Products database will be described, as will machine-learning based models for predicting ch...

Plug-In Electric Vehicle Handbook for Consumers (Spanish Version); Clean Cities, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

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

None

This is a Spanish-language handbook designed to answer a consumer's basic questions, as well as point them to additional information they need, to make the best decision about whether an electric-drive vehicle is right for them.

77 FR 72831 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-06

... consumers to make better informed financial decisions. Together with the CFPB's Office of Research, OFE is also responsible for conducting ``research related to consumer financial education and counseling... quantitative data through in-person and telephone surveys. The information collected through quantitative...

Optimized model tuning in medical systems.

PubMed

Kléma, Jirí; Kubalík, Jirí; Lhotská, Lenka

2005-12-01

In medical systems it is often advantageous to utilize specific problem situations (cases) in addition to or instead of a general model. Decisions are then based on relevant past cases retrieved from a case memory. The reliability of such decisions depends directly on the ability to identify cases of practical relevance to the current situation. This paper discusses issues of automated tuning in order to obtain a proper definition of mutual case similarity in a specific medical domain. The main focus is on a reasonably time-consuming optimization of the parameters that determine case retrieval and further utilization in decision making/ prediction. The two case studies - mortality prediction after cardiological intervention, and resource allocation at a spa - document that the optimization process is influenced by various characteristics of the problem domain.

Decision-making process of prenatal screening described by pregnant women and their partners.

PubMed

Wätterbjörk, Inger; Blomberg, Karin; Nilsson, Kerstin; Sahlberg-Blom, Eva

2015-10-01

Pregnant women are often faced with having to decide about prenatal screening for Down's syndrome. However, the decision to participate in or refrain from prenatal screening can be seen as an important decision not only for the pregnant woman but also for both the partners. The aim of this study was to explore the couples' processes of decision making about prenatal screening. A total of 37 semi-structured interviews conducted at two time points were analysed using the interpretive description. The study was carried out in Maternal health-care centres, Örebro County Council, Sweden. Fifteen couples of different ages and with different experiences of pregnancy and childbirth were interviewed. Three different patterns of decision making were identified. For the couples in 'The open and communicative decision-making process', the process was straightforward and rational, and the couples discussed the decision with each other. 'The closed and personal decision-making process' showed an immediate and non-communicative decision making where the couples decided each for themselves. The couples showing 'The searching and communicative decision-making process' followed an arduous road in deciding whether to participate or not in prenatal screening and how to cope with the result. The decision-making process was for some couples a fairly straightforward decision, while for others it was a more complex process that required a great deal of consideration. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Law Enforcement of Consumer Protection for Safe Food Packaging in The Decisions of Criminal Justice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiryani, F.; Herwastoeti; Najih, M.; Haris, A.

2017-04-01

The right to a safe food is a human rights protected by the 1945 Constitution and legislation, including the Health Act, the Consumer Protection Act and Food Act. The law governing the rights and obligations of consumers; rights, obligations and responsibilities of businesses, as well as prohibitions and sanctions for businesses that violate. Food consumers aggrieved can file a non-litigation legal action and / or litigation. Non-litigation legal efforts made through negotiation or mediation or through Consumer Dispute Resolution Body (BPSK). The litigation efforts made by filing a lawsuit for damages to the court and / or reporting the case to the criminal law enforcement. This study specifically examines the enforcement of criminal law in the judgment as a safeguard against food consumers. Sanctions provisions setting a strategic role in an effort to make the protection of consumers of food. Patterns general formulation of the maximum penalty in the third Act is not appropriate because it too gives flexibility for the judge to make a decision as low to the Defendant. Facts on society, business agent has a dominant and strong position compared with consumers of food. These favorable conditions business agent position and vice versa less give legal protection to the Consumer Food. Preferably the pattern formulation penalty of criminal acts in the field of food using a specific minimum and maximum public.

[Cancer screening in clinical practice: the value of shared decision-making].

PubMed

Cornuz, Jacques; Junod, Noëlle; Pasche, Olivier; Guessous, Idris

2010-07-14

Shared decision-making approach to uncertain clinical situations such as cancer screening seems more appropriate than ever. Shared decision making can be defined as an interactive process where physician and patient share all the stages of the decision making process. For patients who wish to be implicated in the management of their health conditions, physicians might express difficulty to do so. Use of patient decision aids appears to improve such process of shared decision making.

Japanese cancer patient participation in and satisfaction with treatment-related decision-making: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Watanabe, Yoshiko; Takahashi, Miyako; Kai, Ichiro

2008-02-27

Over the last decade, patient involvement in treatment-related decision-making has been widely advocated in Japan, where patient-physician encounters are still under the influence of the long-standing tradition of paternalism. Despite this profound change in clinical practice, studies investigating the actual preferences of Japanese people regarding involvement in treatment-related decision-making are limited. The main objectives of this study were to (1) reveal the actual level of involvement of Japanese cancer patients in the treatment-related decision-making and their overall satisfaction with the decision-making process, and (2) consider the practical implications of increased satisfaction in cancer patients with regard to the decision-making process. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 Japanese cancer patients who were recruited from a cancer self-help group in Tokyo. The interviews were qualitatively analysed using the approach described by Lofland and Lofland. The analyses of the patients' interviews focused on 2 aspects: (1) who made treatment-related decisions (the physician or the patient), and (2) the informants' overall satisfaction with the decision-making process. The analyses revealed the following 5 categories of decision-making: 'patient as the active decision maker', 'doctor selection', 'wilfully entrusting the physician', 'compelled decision-making', and 'surrendering decision-making'. While the informants under the first 3 categories were fairly satisfied with the decision-making process, those under the latter 2 were extremely dissatisfied. Informants' views regarding their preferred role in the decision-making process varied substantially from complete physician control to complete patient control; the key factor for their satisfaction was the relation between their preferred involvement in decision-making and their actual level of involvement, irrespective of who the decision maker was. In order to increase patient satisfaction with regard to the treatment-related decision-making process, healthcare professionals in Japan must assess individual patient preferences and provide healthcare accordingly. Moreover, a better environment should be created in hospitals and in society to facilitate patients in expressing their preferences and appropriate resources need to be made available to facilitate their decision-making process.

The effect of public reporting presentation on patients' decision making: An experimental survey in Yunan Province, China.

PubMed

Liu, Chenxi; Tang, Yuqing; Wang, Dan; Zhang, Xinping

2017-06-01

Public reporting of comparative performance information (PRCPI) influence patients' decision making and optimal presentation of PRCPI is urgently required for successful patients' engagement and quality improvement. This study was to explore the presentation of PRCPI impacting on consumers' decision making.This research applied a controlled design, with participants allocated randomly to 6 groups, and a total of 515 participants were recruited in Yunnan province. Five aspects of PRCPI presentations were evaluated, including display (star rating vs numeric information), and whether information was simplified, interpreted, overload, or ranked. Participants were stimulated to identify the best or worst physicians with a hypothetical scenario. Main outcome measures were correct choices rate of best/worst physicians, indicating participants fully understood and correctly used PRCPI. χ test and logistic regression were applied to assess the effect between different presentations on consumers' decision making.The correct choices rate is only 48.93%. Compared with star rating, numerical information helped participants differentiate low-performance physicians (OR = 2.573, P = .029), including low-performance physicians in antibiotics (OR = 2.974, P = .031) and low-performance physicians in injections (OR = 2.369, P = .035). Disordered information impeded participants to fully understand and correctly use PRCPI (OR = 0.519, P = .041). The effect was mainly reflected on participants differentiating low-performance physicians (OR = 0.491, P = .039) and low-performance physicians in injections (OR = 0.440, P = .016). Other aspects of PRCPI showed nonsignificant impacts on consumers' decision making.Presentation, including information display and ranking, can influence patients' correct usage of PRCPI and the effect was mainly observed when the patients were identifying poorly performing physicians. The present study demonstrated that numerical and ranked PRCPI, combined with sufficient patient education, could be most effective to facilitate patient use.

[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.

Cause and effect: the linkage between the health information seeking behavior and the online environment--a review.

PubMed

Bratucu, R; Gheorghe, I R; Purcarea, R M; Gheorghe, C M; Popa Velea, O; Purcarea, V L

2014-09-15

Today, health care consumers are taking more control over their health care problems, investing more time in finding and getting information as well as looking for proper methods in order to investigate more closely the health care information received from their physicians. Unfortunately, in health care consumers' views, the trustworthiness of health authorities and institutions has declined in the last years. So, consumers have found a new solution to their health problems, that is, the Internet. Recently, studies revealed that consumers seeking for health information have more options to look for data in comparison to the methods used a few years ago. Therefore, due to the available technology, consumers have more outlets to search for information. For instance, the Internet is a source that has revolutionized the way consumers seek data due its customized methods of assessing both quantitative and qualitative information which may be achieved with minimal effort and low costs, offering at the same time, several advantages such as making the decision process more efficient.

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

Examination of the consumer decision process for residential energy use

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

Dinan, T.M.

1987-01-01

Numerous studies have examined the factors that influence consumers' energy-using behavior. A comprehensive review of these studies was conducted in which articles from different research disciplines (economics, sociology, psychology, and marketing) were examined. This paper provides a discussion of a subset of these studies, and based on findings of the review, offers recommendations for future research. The literature review revealed a need to develop an integrated framework for examining consumers' energy-using behavior. This integrated framework should simultaneously consider both price and nonprice related factors which underlie energy use decisions. It should also examined the process by which decisions are made,more » as well as the factors that affect the decision outcome. This paper provides a suggested integrated framework for future research and discusses the data required to support this framework. 23 references, 3 figures.« less

Analysis of the decision-making process of nurse managers: a collective reflection.

PubMed

Eduardo, Elizabete Araujo; Peres, Aida Maris; de Almeida, Maria de Lourdes; Roglio, Karina de Dea; Bernardino, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

to analyze the decision-making model adopted by nurses from the perspective of some decision-making process theories. qualitative approach, based on action research. Semi-structured questionnaires and seminars were conducted from April to June 2012 in order to understand the nature of decisions and the decision-making process of nine nurses in position of managers at a public hospital in Southern Brazil. Data were subjected to content analysis. data were classified in two categories: the current situation of decision-making, which showed a lack of systematization; the construction and collective decision-making, which emphasizes the need to develop a decision-making model. the decision-making model used by nurses is limited because it does not consider two important factors: the limits of human rationality, and the external and internal organizational environments that influence and determine right decisions.

Course Notes and Suggestions for Consumer Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sweetwater Union High School District, Chula Vista, CA.

The document is a guide to a consumer education course; the course format is a series of several activity-based miniunits for each of 15 instructional areas: components of life styles, decision making, settling conflicts, budgeting, handling and controlling family income, credit, interest rates, savings institutions, family financial security,…

Distance Education: A Consumer's Guide. What Distance Learners Need To Know.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO. Western Cooperative for Educational Communications.

This pamphlet is intended to assist the consumer in making informed decisions when choosing between distance learning programs. Distance education and distance learners are defined. Included is advice on beginning a program search; choosing a school; accreditation; evaluating quality of electronically offered programs; evaluate non-accredited…

The Economics of Pricing and Customer Decision-Making. Research Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Debra J.

1996-01-01

Reviews two research articles. Gratton and Taylor, using economic analysis and market research, found that consumers of leisure experiences complained about price increases, but continued consuming. They recommend discounts for those in need and price increases focusing on service quality. Greenleaf and Lehmann identified 11 reasons why people…

Consumer Rights in Counseling: Duty to Disclose.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paradise, Louis V.

1990-01-01

Contends counselors should give potential clients enough information in the initial session to make a decision about whether they are right for their counselor and whether their counselor is right for them. Claims using a brochure detailing consumer rights and responsibilities, qualifications of the counselor, and general grievance procedures is…

Know the risk, take the win: how executive functions and probability processing influence advantageous decision making under risk conditions.

PubMed

Brand, Matthias; Schiebener, Johannes; Pertl, Marie-Theres; Delazer, Margarete

2014-01-01

Recent models on decision making under risk conditions have suggested that numerical abilities are important ingredients of advantageous decision-making performance, but empirical evidence is still limited. The results of our first study show that logical reasoning and basic mental calculation capacities predict ratio processing and that ratio processing predicts decision making under risk. In the second study, logical reasoning together with executive functions predicted probability processing (numeracy and probability knowledge), and probability processing predicted decision making under risk. These findings suggest that increasing an individual's understanding of ratios and probabilities should lead to more advantageous decisions under risk conditions.

Achieving a Risk-Informed Decision-Making Environment at NASA: The Emphasis of NASA's Risk Management Policy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dezfuli, Homayoon

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the evolution of risk management (RM) at NASA. The aim of the RM approach at NASA is to promote an approach that is heuristic, proactive, and coherent across all of NASA. Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) is a decision making process that uses a diverse set of performance measures along with other considerations within a deliberative process to inform decision making. RIDM is invoked for key decisions such as architecture and design decisions, make-buy decisions, and budget reallocation. The RIDM process and how it relates to the continuous Risk Management (CRM) process is reviewed.

Rationality versus reality: the challenges of evidence-based decision making for health policy makers

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Current healthcare systems have extended the evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach to health policy and delivery decisions, such as access-to-care, healthcare funding and health program continuance, through attempts to integrate valid and reliable evidence into the decision making process. These policy decisions have major impacts on society and have high personal and financial costs associated with those decisions. Decision models such as these function under a shared assumption of rational choice and utility maximization in the decision-making process. Discussion We contend that health policy decision makers are generally unable to attain the basic goals of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) and evidence-based policy making (EBPM) because humans make decisions with their naturally limited, faulty, and biased decision-making processes. A cognitive information processing framework is presented to support this argument, and subtle cognitive processing mechanisms are introduced to support the focal thesis: health policy makers' decisions are influenced by the subjective manner in which they individually process decision-relevant information rather than on the objective merits of the evidence alone. As such, subsequent health policy decisions do not necessarily achieve the goals of evidence-based policy making, such as maximizing health outcomes for society based on valid and reliable research evidence. Summary In this era of increasing adoption of evidence-based healthcare models, the rational choice, utility maximizing assumptions in EBDM and EBPM, must be critically evaluated to ensure effective and high-quality health policy decisions. The cognitive information processing framework presented here will aid health policy decision makers by identifying how their decisions might be subtly influenced by non-rational factors. In this paper, we identify some of the biases and potential intervention points and provide some initial suggestions about how the EBDM/EBPM process can be improved. PMID:20504357

Rationality versus reality: the challenges of evidence-based decision making for health policy makers.

PubMed

McCaughey, Deirdre; Bruning, Nealia S

2010-05-26

Current healthcare systems have extended the evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach to health policy and delivery decisions, such as access-to-care, healthcare funding and health program continuance, through attempts to integrate valid and reliable evidence into the decision making process. These policy decisions have major impacts on society and have high personal and financial costs associated with those decisions. Decision models such as these function under a shared assumption of rational choice and utility maximization in the decision-making process. We contend that health policy decision makers are generally unable to attain the basic goals of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) and evidence-based policy making (EBPM) because humans make decisions with their naturally limited, faulty, and biased decision-making processes. A cognitive information processing framework is presented to support this argument, and subtle cognitive processing mechanisms are introduced to support the focal thesis: health policy makers' decisions are influenced by the subjective manner in which they individually process decision-relevant information rather than on the objective merits of the evidence alone. As such, subsequent health policy decisions do not necessarily achieve the goals of evidence-based policy making, such as maximizing health outcomes for society based on valid and reliable research evidence. In this era of increasing adoption of evidence-based healthcare models, the rational choice, utility maximizing assumptions in EBDM and EBPM, must be critically evaluated to ensure effective and high-quality health policy decisions. The cognitive information processing framework presented here will aid health policy decision makers by identifying how their decisions might be subtly influenced by non-rational factors. In this paper, we identify some of the biases and potential intervention points and provide some initial suggestions about how the EBDM/EBPM process can be improved.

Finance issue brief: HMO medical directors: year end report-2002.

PubMed

Morgan, Rachel; MacEachern, Lillian

2002-12-31

Medical directors of managed care organizations have the ultimate responsibility of deciding the treatments for which a health plan will pay. Cognizant of consumer concerns over the power inherent in the position, states are seeking to inject more accountability into the decision-making process. Lawmakers have begun to grapple with whether medical directors should be required to hold a medical license from the state in which they work and, by extension, whether they should be under the jurisdiction of the state medical board.

Finance issue brief: HMO medical directors: year end report-2003.

PubMed

MacEachern, Lillian

2003-12-31

Medical directors of managed care organizations have the ultimate responsibility of deciding the treatments for which a health plan will pay. Cognizant of consumer concerns over the power inherent in the position, states are seeking to inject more accountability into the decision-making process. Lawmakers have begun to grapple with whether medical directors should be required to hold a medical license from the state in which they work and, by extension, whether they should be under the jurisdiction of the state medical board.

Adaptive Decision Making and Coordination in Variable Structure Organizations

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-09-01

behavior of the net. The design problem is addressed by (a) focusing on algorithms that relate structural properties of’ the Petri Net model to... behavioral characteristics; and (b) by incorporating design requirements in the Lattice algorithm. ’K94-30756 9 4 9 2 P 0 8 II083II Bl l~ll i1111 I! 14...the more resource- consuming the process is. The architecture designer has to deal with these two parameters and perform some tradeoffs. The more

Decision Making Under Objective Risk Conditions-a Review of Cognitive and Emotional Correlates, Strategies, Feedback Processing, and External Influences.

PubMed

Schiebener, Johannes; Brand, Matthias

2015-06-01

While making decisions under objective risk conditions, the probabilities of the consequences of the available options are either provided or calculable. Brand et al. (Neural Networks 19:1266-1276, 2006) introduced a model describing the neuro-cognitive processes involved in such decisions. In this model, executive functions associated with activity in the fronto-striatal loop are important for developing and applying decision-making strategies, and for verifying, adapting, or revising strategies according to feedback. Emotional rewards and punishments learned from such feedback accompany these processes. In this literature review, we found support for the role of executive functions, but also found evidence for the importance of further cognitive abilities in decision making. Moreover, in addition to reflective processing (driven by cognition), decisions can be guided by impulsive processing (driven by anticipation of emotional reward and punishment). Reflective and impulsive processing may interact during decision making, affecting the evaluation of available options, as both processes are affected by feedback. Decision-making processes are furthermore modulated by individual attributes (e.g., age), and external influences (e.g., stressors). Accordingly, we suggest a revised model of decision making under objective risk conditions.

Energy decisions reframed as justice and ethical concerns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Heffron, Raphael J.; McCauley, Darren; Goldthau, Andreas

2016-05-01

All too often, energy policy and technology discussions are limited to the domains of engineering and economics. Many energy consumers, and even analysts and policymakers, confront and frame energy and climate risks in a moral vacuum, rarely incorporating broader social justice concerns. Here, to remedy this gap, we investigate how concepts from justice and ethics can inform energy decision-making by reframing five energy problems — nuclear waste, involuntary resettlement, energy pollution, energy poverty and climate change — as pressing justice concerns. We conclude by proposing an energy justice framework centred on availability, affordability, due process, transparency and accountability, sustainability, equity and responsibility, which highlights the futurity, fairness and equity dimensions of energy production and use.

Value judgements in the decision-making process for the elderly patient.

PubMed

Ubachs-Moust, J; Houtepen, R; Vos, R; ter Meulen, R

2008-12-01

The question of whether old age should or should not play a role in medical decision-making for the elderly patient is regularly debated in ethics and medicine. In this paper we investigate exactly how age influences the decision-making process. To explore the normative argumentation in the decisions regarding an elderly patient we make use of the argumentation model advanced by Toulmin. By expanding the model in order to identify normative components in the argumentation process it is possible to analyse the way that age-related value judgements influence the medical decision-making process. We apply the model to practice descriptions made by medical students after they had attended consultations and meetings in medical practice during their clinical training. Our results show the pervasive character of age-related value judgements. They influence the physician's decision in several ways and at several points in the decision-making process. Such explicit value judgements were not exclusively used for arguments against further diagnosis or treatment of older patients. We found no systematic "ageist" pattern in the clinical decisions by physicians. Since age plays such an important, yet hidden role in the medical decision-making process, we make a plea for revealing such normative argumentation in order to gain transparency and accountability in this process. An explicit deliberative approach will make the medical decision-making process more transparent and improve the physician-patient relationship, creating confidence and trust, which are at the heart of medical practice.

To Prescribe or Not to Prescribe? Consumer Access to Life-Enhancing Products

PubMed Central

Marinova, Detelina; Kozlenkova, Irina V; Cuttler, Leona; Silvers, J B

2017-01-01

Abstract With rapid biotechnological advances in specialty drugs and direct-to-consumer advertising, consumers are under tremendous pressure to look, perform, feel, and live better. This is often accomplished through the use of life-enhancing products, sometimes referred to as performance-enhancing products, which can be accessed only through a gatekeeper, such as a physician. Integrating consumer and medical research, this article investigates how physicians make trade-offs between objective medical and nonmedical factors to determine consumers’ access to life-enhancing products by examining US pediatric endocrinologists’ prescription decisions for growth hormone (GH) for healthy but short children. The results of a conjoint study indicate that consumer medical criteria have less impact on a physician’s decision to prescribe GH if the consumer requests a prescription or the physician believes in the intangible product benefits, and more impact when the product is more expensive. A physician’s length of experience increases the impact of consumer medical criteria and decreases the influence of a consumer’s preference for a prescription on the decision to prescribe. Overall, this research shows that not all consumers have equal access to life-enhancing products; their access depends on a complex combination of medical and nonmedical factors related to the consumer, product, and the physician. PMID:29928069

Age differences in dual information-processing modes: implications for cancer decision making.

PubMed

Peters, Ellen; Diefenbach, Michael A; Hess, Thomas M; Västfjäll, Daniel

2008-12-15

Age differences in affective/experiential and deliberative processes have important theoretical implications for cancer decision making, as cancer is often a disease of older adulthood. The authors examined evidence for adult age differences in affective and deliberative information processes, reviewed the sparse evidence about age differences in decision making, and introduced how dual process theories and their findings might be applied to cancer decision making. Age-related declines in the efficiency of deliberative processes predict poorer-quality decisions as we age, particularly when decisions are unfamiliar and the information is numeric. However, age-related adaptive processes, including an increased focus on emotional goals and greater experience, can influence decision making and potentially offset age-related declines. A better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie cancer decision processes in our aging population should ultimately allow us to help older adults to better help themselves.

Age Differences in Dual Information-Processing Modes: Implications for Cancer Decision Making

PubMed Central

Peters, Ellen; Diefenbach, Michael A.; Hess, Thomas M.; Västfjäll, Daniel

2008-01-01

Age differences in affective/experiential and deliberative processes have important theoretical implications for cancer decision making as cancer is often a disease of older adulthood. We examine evidence for adult age differences in affective and deliberative information processes, review the sparse evidence about age differences in decision making and introduce how dual process theories and their findings might be applied to cancer decision making. Age-related declines in the efficiency of deliberative processes predict poorer-quality decisions as we age, particularly when decisions are unfamiliar and the information is numeric. However, age-related adaptive processes, including an increased focus on emotional goals and greater experience, can influence decision making and potentially offset age-related declines. A better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie cancer decision processes in our aging population should ultimately allow us to help older adults to better help themselves. PMID:19058148

A novel clinical decision support algorithm for constructing complete medication histories.

PubMed

Long, Ju; Yuan, Michael Juntao

2017-07-01

A patient's complete medication history is a crucial element for physicians to develop a full understanding of the patient's medical conditions and treatment options. However, due to the fragmented nature of medical data, this process can be very time-consuming and often impossible for physicians to construct a complete medication history for complex patients. In this paper, we describe an accurate, computationally efficient and scalable algorithm to construct a medication history timeline. The algorithm is developed and validated based on 1 million random prescription records from a large national prescription data aggregator. Our evaluation shows that the algorithm can be scaled horizontally on-demand, making it suitable for future delivery in a cloud-computing environment. We also propose that this cloud-based medication history computation algorithm could be integrated into Electronic Medical Records, enabling informed clinical decision-making at the point of care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The future of intelligent assistive technologies for cognition: devices under development to support independent living and aging-with-choice.

PubMed

Boger, Jennifer; Mihailidis, Alex

2011-01-01

A person's ability to be independent is dependent on his or her overall health, mobility, and ability to complete activities of daily living. Intelligent assistive technologies (IATs) are devices that incorporate context into their decision-making process, which enables them to provide customised and dynamic assistance in an appropriate manner. IATs have tremendous potential to support people with cognitive impairments as they can be used to support many facets of well-being; from augmenting memory and decision making tasks to providing autonomous and early detection of possible changes in health. This paper presents IATs that are currently in development in the research community to support tasks that can be impacted by compromised cognition. While they are not yet ready for the general public, these devices showcase the capabilities of technologies one can expect to see in the consumer marketplace in the near future.

Who decides? The decision-making process of juvenile judges concerning minors with mental disorders.

PubMed

Cappon, Leen

2016-01-01

Previous research on juvenile judges' decision-making process has neglected the role of the different actors involved in judicial procedures. The decision can be considered as a result of information exchange between the different actors involved. The process of making a decision is equally important as the decision itself, especially when the decision considers minors with mental disorders. The presence and the type of interaction determine the information available to the juvenile judges to make their final decision. The overall aim of this study is to gain insight into the role of all actors, including the juvenile judge, in the juvenile judge's decision-making process in cases relating to minors with mental disorders. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with professional actors (n=32), minors (n=31) and parents (n=17). The findings indicated that the judge's decision is overall the result of an interaction between the juvenile judge, the social services investigator and the youth psychiatrist. The other professional actors, the minors and the parents had only a limited role in the decision-making process. The research concludes that the judge's decision-making process should be based on dialogue, and requires enhanced collaboration between the juvenile court and youth psychiatrists from mental health services. Future decision-making research should pay more attention to the interactions of the actors that guide a juvenile judge's decision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Speed versus accuracy in decision-making ants: expediting politics and policy implementation.

PubMed

Franks, Nigel R; Dechaume-Moncharmont, François-Xavier; Hanmore, Emma; Reynolds, Jocelyn K

2009-03-27

Compromises between speed and accuracy are seemingly inevitable in decision-making when accuracy depends on time-consuming information gathering. In collective decision-making, such compromises are especially likely because information is shared to determine corporate policy. This political process will also take time. Speed-accuracy trade-offs occur among house-hunting rock ants, Temnothorax albipennis. A key aspect of their decision-making is quorum sensing in a potential new nest. Finding a sufficient number of nest-mates, i.e. a quorum threshold (QT), in a potential nest site indicates that many ants find it suitable. Quorum sensing collates information. However, the QT is also used as a switch, from recruitment of nest-mates to their new home by slow tandem running, to recruitment by carrying, which is three times faster. Although tandem running is slow, it effectively enables one successful ant to lead and teach another the route between the nests. Tandem running creates positive feedback; more and more ants are shown the way, as tandem followers become, in turn, tandem leaders. The resulting corps of trained ants can then quickly carry their nest-mates; but carried ants do not learn the route. Therefore, the QT seems to set both the amount of information gathered and the speed of the emigration. Low QTs might cause more errors and a slower emigration--the worst possible outcome. This possible paradox of quick decisions leading to slow implementation might be resolved if the ants could deploy another positive-feedback recruitment process when they have used a low QT. Reverse tandem runs occur after carrying has begun and lead ants back from the new nest to the old one. Here we show experimentally that reverse tandem runs can bring lost scouts into an active role in emigrations and can help to maintain high-speed emigrations. Thus, in rock ants, although quick decision-making and rapid implementation of choices are initially in opposition, a third recruitment method can restore rapid implementation after a snap decision. This work reveals a principle of widespread importance: the dynamics of collective decision-making (i.e. the politics) and the dynamics of policy implementation are sometimes intertwined, and only by analysing the mechanisms of both can we understand certain forms of adaptive organization.

The role of personal values in Chinese consumers' food consumption decisions. A case study of healthy drinks.

PubMed

Lee, Pui Yee; Lusk, Karen; Mirosa, Miranda; Oey, Indrawati

2014-02-01

Differences in culture, language, and behavior between Chinese and Western consumers make entering the Chinese market a challenge. Chinese consumers may desire similar product features (e.g. brand name, quality, and flavor) to Western consumers but the value that consumers attach to the same product may differ cross-nationally. Besides values, an understanding of desired product attributes and the consequences linking to these values is also important. To the authors' knowledge, there is no published scientific research that investigates how personal values influence Chinese consumers' food consumption decisions. The aim of this research was to identify the links among product attributes, consequences of these attributes, and personal values associated with healthy drink consumption decisions within the Chinese market. Specifically, this research employed means-end chain theory and used association pattern technique (APT) as the main data collection technique to identify these links. Focus groups (n=6) were held in Hangzhou, China to identify the important attributes and consequences involved in the consumption decisions of healthy drinks. These attributes and consequences along with Schwartz's 10 basic values were used to construct the matrices included in the APT survey. A total of 600 APT surveys were administered in six different companies in Hangzhou, with 570 returned. Construction of the hierarchical value map (HVM) identified four of Schwartz's personal values influencing Chinese consumers' healthy drink consumption decisions: security, hedonism, benevolence, and self-direction. Food safety was the foremost concern for Chinese consumers when choosing healthy drinks. Chinese consumers also sought a good tasting and nutritious drink that was good value for money. Results from this study provide food marketers with an in-depth understanding of Chinese consumers' healthy drink consumption decisions. Implications and recommendations are provided that will assist food marketers to effectively enact marketing strategies in China. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A timely account of the role of duration in decision making.

PubMed

Ariely, D; Zakay, D

2001-09-01

The current work takes a general perspective on the role of time in decision making. There are many different relationships and interactions between time and decision making, and no single summary can do justice to this topic. In this paper we will describe a few of the aspects in which time and decision making are interleaved: (a) temporal perspectives of decisions--the various temporal orientations that decision-makers may adopt while making decisions, and the impact of such temporal orientations on the decision process and its outcomes; (b) time as a medium within which decisions take place--the nature of decision processes that occur along time; (c) time as a resource and as a contextual factor--the implications of shortage in time resources and the impact of time limits on decision making processes and performance; (d) time as a commodity--time as the subject matter of decision making. The paper ends with a few general questions on the role of duration in decision making.

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.

Multi-criteria decision making in flood risk management: research progress and the challenge of handling uncertainty and stakeholder participation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madruga de Brito, Mariana; Evers, Mariele

2016-04-01

Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods have received much attention from researchers and practitioners for solving flood risk management problems in the last decades due to its capacity to deal with multiple criteria, conflicting objectives as well as the knowledge arising from the participation of several actors. In order to consolidate recent research conducted in this area, this study presents a state-of-the-art literature review of MCDM applications to flood risk management, seeking to provide a better understanding of the current status of how participatory MCDM is being conducted and the way uncertainties are included in the decision-making process. Totally, 128 peer-reviewed papers published from 1995 to June 2015 in 72 different journals were systematically analyzed. Results indicated that the number of flood MCDM publications has exponentially grown during this period, with over 82% of all papers published since 2009. A wide range of application areas was identified, with most papers focusing on ranking alternatives for flood mitigation (22.78% of the total) followed by risk (21.11%) and vulnerability assessment (15%). The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was the most popular MCDM method (42.72%) followed by Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) (13.33%) and Weighted Sum Method (WSM) (12.73%). Although significant improvements have been made over the last decades, shortcomings remain in handling the uncertainty. Only eight papers (6.25%) have conducted uncertainty analysis, suggesting that a general procedure for performing it in MCDM does not yet exist. Researchers have applied the Monte Carlo simulation, Taylor's series error propagation method or assessed the uncertainty in qualitative ways, by describing its main sources or analyzing the stakeholders' degree of confidence. In addition, 35 articles (27.34%) have performed a sensitivity analysis of the criteria weights. Three distinct approaches were identified: one-way, global, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. About half of the studies have acknowledged the involvement of multiple stakeholders. However, participation was fragmented and focused on particular stages of the decision-making process such as the elicitation of criteria weights. This segmentation may be related to methodological and time constraints since participatory decision making is time-consuming and costly. Policy makers and experts were the most participated stakeholders, with few papers considering the involvement of local community members. Another issue is that only four studies seek to obtain consensus and that decisions were often made by majority vote or averaging approaches. Therefore, greater rigor in addressing the uncertainties around stakeholders' judgments as well as in endorsing an active participation in all stages of the decision-making process should be undertaken in future applications. This could help to increase the quality of decisions and subsequent implementation of chosen measures.

Simulating market dynamics: interactions between consumer psychology and social networks.

PubMed

Janssen, Marco A; Jager, Wander

2003-01-01

Markets can show different types of dynamics, from quiet markets dominated by one or a few products, to markets with continual penetration of new and reintroduced products. In a previous article we explored the dynamics of markets from a psychological perspective using a multi-agent simulation model. The main results indicated that the behavioral rules dominating the artificial consumer's decision making determine the resulting market dynamics, such as fashions, lock-in, and unstable renewal. Results also show the importance of psychological variables like social networks, preferences, and the need for identity to explain the dynamics of markets. In this article we extend this work in two directions. First, we will focus on a more systematic investigation of the effects of different network structures. The previous article was based on Watts and Strogatz's approach, which describes the small-world and clustering characteristics in networks. More recent research demonstrated that many large networks display a scale-free power-law distribution for node connectivity. In terms of market dynamics this may imply that a small proportion of consumers may have an exceptional influence on the consumptive behavior of others (hubs, or early adapters). We show that market dynamics is a self-organized property depending on the interaction between the agents' decision-making process (heuristics), the product characteristics (degree of satisfaction of unit of consumption, visibility), and the structure of interactions between agents (size of network and hubs in a social network).

24 CFR 55.11 - Applicability of subpart C decision making process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Management § 55.11 Applicability of subpart C decision making process. (a) Before reaching the decision... table indicates the applicability, by location and type of action, of the decision making process for... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Applicability of subpart C decision...

Consumer Behavior and the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Purchase Decision Process: A Research Synthesis

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

Taylor, Margaret; Fujita, K. Sydney

This report synthesizes consumer behavior research as it pertains to the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) purchase decision process. The purpose is to clarify what is known about the vital role consumers play in the U.S. PEV market as it matures to become less policy-reliant and more representative of the U.S., both spatially and demographically. A more representative PEV market will: help OEMs recoup more of their R&D investments in PEVs; help American consumers access the economic and performance benefits of PEVs; and help the U.S. become more energy independent while improving air quality-related public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Managing coastal area resources by stated choice experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xin; Wirtz, Kai W.

2010-02-01

In many coastal regions, oil spills can be considered as one of the most important and certainly the most noticeable forms of marine pollution. Efficient contingency management responding to oil spills on waters, which aims at minimizing pollution effects on coastal resources, turns out to be critically important. Such a decision making highly depends on the importance attributed to different coastal economic and ecological resources. Economic uses can, in principal, be addressed by standard measures such as value added. However, there is a missing of market in the real world for natural goods. Coastal resources such as waters and beach cannot be directly measured in money terms, which increases the risk of being neglected in a decision making process. This paper evaluates these natural goods of coastal environment in a hypothetical market by employing stated choice experiments. Oil spill management practice in German North Sea is used as an example. Results from a pilot survey show that during a combat process, beach and eider ducks are of key concerns for households. An environmental friendly combat option has to be a minor cost for households. Moreover, households with less children, higher monthly income and a membership of environmental organization are more likely to state that they are willing to pay for combat option to prevent coastal resources from an oil pollution. Despite that choice experiments require knowledge of designing questionnaire and statistical skills to deal with discrete choices and conducting a survey is time consumed, the results have important implications for oil spill contingency management. Overall, such a stated preference method can offer useful information for decision makers to consider coastal resources into a decision making process and can further contribute to finding a cost-effective oil preventive measure, also has a wide application potential in the field of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).

A role for two-stage pharmacoeconomic appraisal? Is there a role for interim approval of a drug for reimbursement based on modelling studies with subsequent full approval using phase III data?

PubMed

Hill, Suzanne; Freemantle, Nick

2003-01-01

Healthcare decision makers and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly using techniques of economic evaluation, particularly modelling, to assist them in their decisions about drug purchasing and drug development. The use of models in other types of policy decisions is also well established. One option, to shorten the time to a purchasing decision, would be for an interim decision for approval for reimbursement to be based on an economic model. Such a system would mainly benefit the drug development process and thus the pharmaceutical industry; however the approach could also lead to poor decision making, unethical marketing and withdrawal of drugs from the consumer. In this article, we consider the option of a two-stage economic appraisal process from the point of view of the seller, the purchaser and the patient and public. Although a two-stage process may offer some advantages in terms of early return on investment and access, there are significant disadvantages in terms of certainty about effects and public policy and expenditure. Until there are better methods of predicting the effectiveness of a new product, it is unlikely that interim decisions can be seen as a reasonable health policy alternative, although it seems likely that industry may continue to lobby for such an approach.

Classification of Concepts in Consumer Education. Consumer Education Development Program: A National Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bannister, Rosella; Monsma, Charles

This guide for program planners and curriculum developers identifies and describes the basic concepts in consumer education. Consumer education is defined as the process of gaining the knowledge and skills needed in managing consumer resources and taking actions to influence the factors which affect consumer decisions. The primary focus of…

The role of testosterone and estrogen in consumer behavior and social & economic decision making: A review.

PubMed

Stanton, Steven J

2017-06-01

A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition.This manuscript reviews the current literature on the actions of the steroid hormones testosterone and estradiol in shaping humans' behavior within two applied contexts, specifically consumer behavior and decision making (both social and economic). The theoretical argument put forth is that steroids shape these everyday behaviors and choices in service to being more competitive in achieving long-term goals related to resource acquisition, mating success, and social dominance. In addition, a discussion of the increased research focus on the role of steroids in other applied business domains will highlight the relevant applications of basic science discoveries in behavioral endocrinology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decision Making and Ratio Processing in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

PubMed

Pertl, Marie-Theres; Benke, Thomas; Zamarian, Laura; Delazer, Margarete

2015-01-01

Making advantageous decisions is important in everyday life. This study aimed at assessing how patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) make decisions under risk. Additionally, it investigated the relationship between decision making, ratio processing, basic numerical abilities, and executive functions. Patients with MCI (n = 22) were compared with healthy controls (n = 29) on a complex task of decision making under risk (Game of Dice Task-Double, GDT-D), on two tasks evaluating basic decision making under risk, on a task of ratio processing, and on several neuropsychological background tests. Patients performed significantly lower than controls on the GDT-D and on ratio processing, whereas groups performed comparably on basic decision tasks. Specifically, in the GDT-D, patients obtained lower net scores and lower mean expected values, which indicate a less advantageous performance relative to that of controls. Performance on the GDT-D correlated significantly with performance in basic decision tasks, ratio processing, and executive-function measures when the analysis was performed on the whole sample. Patients with MCI make sub-optimal decisions in complex risk situations, whereas they perform at the same level as healthy adults in simple decision situations. Ratio processing and executive functions have an impact on the decision-making performance of both patients and healthy older adults. In order to facilitate advantageous decisions in complex everyday situations, information should be presented in an easily comprehensible form and cognitive training programs for patients with MCI should focus--among other abilities--on executive functions and ratio processing.

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.

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 with the actual model of decision making if this occurs. PMID:17083558

Time versus money.

PubMed

Monga, Ashwani; Zor, Ozum

2018-04-21

Consumers are known to spend both time and money. These two resources are often seen as economically comparable because the value of one's time can be equated to a monetary amount, such as one's wage rate. Recent research suggests that even when time and money are economically equivalent, they are psychologically different. We discuss how time (versus money) leads to decision making that is more heuristic rather than systematic, to an orientation that is more emotional rather than value-maximizing, to a thinking process that is more holistic rather than analytic, and to a mindset that is more abstract rather than concrete. Implications arise for a variety of domains such as consumer search, happiness, product evaluation, and charitable giving. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 79275 - Truth in Savings (Regulation DD)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-21

... disclosure. Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or social security numbers, should not be... improved, and consumers' ability to make informed decisions regarding deposit accounts would be... regulations, while making information on the other regulations available. The Bureau expects to conduct...

Shared Decision Making in ICUs: An American College of Critical Care Medicine and American Thoracic Society Policy Statement.

PubMed

Kon, Alexander A; Davidson, Judy E; Morrison, Wynne; Danis, Marion; White, Douglas B

2016-01-01

Shared decision making is endorsed by critical care organizations; however, there remains confusion about what shared decision making is, when it should be used, and approaches to promote partnerships in treatment decisions. The purpose of this statement is to define shared decision making, recommend when shared decision making should be used, identify the range of ethically acceptable decision-making models, and present important communication skills. The American College of Critical Care Medicine and American Thoracic Society Ethics Committees reviewed empirical research and normative analyses published in peer-reviewed journals to generate recommendations. Recommendations approved by consensus of the full Ethics Committees of American College of Critical Care Medicine and American Thoracic Society were included in the statement. Six recommendations were endorsed: 1) DEFINITION: Shared decision making is a collaborative process that allows patients, or their surrogates, and clinicians to make healthcare decisions together, taking into account the best scientific evidence available, as well as the patient's values, goals, and preferences. 2) Clinicians should engage in a shared decision making process to define overall goals of care (including decisions regarding limiting or withdrawing life-prolonging interventions) and when making major treatment decisions that may be affected by personal values, goals, and preferences. 3) Clinicians should use as their "default" approach a shared decision making process that includes three main elements: information exchange, deliberation, and making a treatment decision. 4) A wide range of decision-making approaches are ethically supportable, including patient- or surrogate-directed and clinician-directed models. Clinicians should tailor the decision-making process based on the preferences of the patient or surrogate. 5) Clinicians should be trained in communication skills. 6) Research is needed to evaluate decision-making strategies. Patient and surrogate preferences for decision-making roles regarding value-laden choices range from preferring to exercise significant authority to ceding such authority to providers. Clinicians should adapt the decision-making model to the needs and preferences of the patient or surrogate.

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…

The Importance Of Integrating Narrative Into Health Care Decision Making.

PubMed

Dohan, Daniel; Garrett, Sarah B; Rendle, Katharine A; Halley, Meghan; Abramson, Corey

2016-04-01

When making health care decisions, patients and consumers use data but also gather stories from family and friends. When advising patients, clinicians consult the medical evidence but also use professional judgment. These stories and judgments, as well as other forms of narrative, shape decision making but remain poorly understood. Furthermore, qualitative research methods to examine narrative are rarely included in health science research. We illustrate how narratives shape decision making and explain why it is difficult but necessary to integrate qualitative research on narrative into the health sciences. We draw on social-scientific insights on rigorous qualitative research and our ongoing studies of decision making by patients with cancer, and we describe new tools and approaches that link qualitative research findings with the predominantly quantitative health science scholarship. Finally, we highlight the benefits of more fully integrating qualitative research and narrative analysis into the medical evidence base and into evidence-based medical practice. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Enhancing Decision-Making in STSE Education by Inducing Reflection and Self-Regulated Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gresch, Helge; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Bögeholz, Susanne

2017-02-01

Thoughtful decision-making to resolve socioscientific issues is central to science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) education. One approach for attaining this goal involves fostering students' decision-making processes. Thus, the present study explores whether the application of decision-making strategies, combined with reflections on the decision-making processes of others, enhances decision-making competence. In addition, this study examines whether this process is supported by elements of self-regulated learning, i.e., self-reflection regarding one's own performance and the setting of goals for subsequent tasks. A computer-based training program which involves the resolution of socioscientific issues related to sustainable development was developed in two versions: with and without elements of self-regulated learning. Its effects on decision-making competence were analyzed using a pre test-post test follow-up control-group design ( N = 242 high school students). Decision-making competence was assessed using an open-ended questionnaire that focused on three facets: consideration of advantages and disadvantages, metadecision aspects, and reflection on the decision-making processes of others. The findings suggest that students in both training groups incorporated aspects of metadecision into their statements more often than students in the control group. Furthermore, both training groups were more successful in reflecting on the decision-making processes of others. The students who received additional training in self-regulated learning showed greater benefits in terms of metadecision aspects and reflection, and these effects remained significant two months later. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the application of decision-making strategies, combined with reflections on the decision-making process and elements of self-regulated learning, is a fruitful approach in STSE education.

Ask Good Questions by Starting with Key Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keyek-Franssen, Deborah; Briggs, Charlotte

2008-01-01

Assessing campus needs for educational technologies and support is no small undertaking, so ensuring that one collects information that truly will help decision making requires careful planning. Data collection can be time-consuming and expensive. A well-organized educational technology needs assessment should add value to campus IT resources, not…

Essays on Online Reviews: Reviewers' Strategic Behaviors and Contributions over Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shen, Wenqi

2010-01-01

Online reviews play an important role in consumers' purchasing decisions. Researchers are increasingly interested in studying the dynamic impact of online reviews on product sales. However, the antecedent of online reviews, online reviewers' behaviors, has not been fully explored. Understanding how online reviewers make review decisions can assist…

Factors affecting physician loyalty and exit: a longitudinal analysis of physician-hospital relationships.

PubMed Central

Burns, L R; Wholey, D R

1992-01-01

This article examines forces that influence physicians to change the percentage of their admissions to a hospital (loyalty) and to cease admitting patients to a hospital altogether (exit). Because physicians are both members of a hospital and consumers of its services, their admitting patterns can be described using models of employee commitment and consumer buying behavior. We test several hypotheses drawn from these literatures using data on physician admissions at hospitals over a two-year period. Results indicate that admitting patterns are explained primarily by convenience and inertia processes characteristic of consumer behavior. On the other hand, factors believed to influence organizational commitment (e.g., decision-making involvement, conflict, economic investments) have little effect on loyalty and exit. The findings question the utility of hospital strategies to improve the climate of physician-hospital relations, and suggest several qualifications for research on the commitment of professionals. PMID:1563950

Rehabilitation consumers' use and understanding of quality information: a health literacy perspective.

PubMed

Magasi, Susan; Durkin, Elizabeth; Wolf, Michael S; Deutsch, Anne

2009-02-01

To explore consumers' use and understanding of quality information about postacute rehabilitation facilities. Thematic, semistructured interviews. Two skilled nursing facilities and 2 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in a large Midwestern city. Rehabilitation inpatients (n=17) with stroke, hip fractures, and joint replacements and care partners (n=12) of rehabilitation inpatients. None. None. Health literacy imposed barriers to participants' understanding of quality information. Using the Institute of Medicine's Health Literacy Framework, we identified specific barriers that limited participants' abilities to (1) obtain quality information, (2) process and understand quality information, and (3) make appropriate decisions about the quality of a rehabilitation facility. Participants tended to rely on informal and nonquality information when choosing a rehabilitation facility. Given the barriers imposed by low health literacy, rehabilitation providers have a responsibility to present quality information in a way that consumers, especially those with low health literacy, can use and understand.

Theoretical aspects of cellular decision-making and information-processing.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Tetsuya J; Kamimura, Atsushi

2012-01-01

Microscopic biological processes have extraordinary complexity and variety at the sub-cellular, intra-cellular, and multi-cellular levels. In dealing with such complex phenomena, conceptual and theoretical frameworks are crucial, which enable us to understand seemingly different intra- and inter-cellular phenomena from unified viewpoints. Decision-making is one such concept that has attracted much attention recently. Since a number of cellular behavior can be regarded as processes to make specific actions in response to external stimuli, decision-making can cover and has been used to explain a broad range of different cellular phenomena [Balázsi et al. (Cell 144(6):910, 2011), Zeng et al. (Cell 141(4):682, 2010)]. Decision-making is also closely related to cellular information-processing because appropriate decisions cannot be made without exploiting the information that the external stimuli contain. Efficiency of information transduction and processing by intra-cellular networks determines the amount of information obtained, which in turn limits the efficiency of subsequent decision-making. Furthermore, information-processing itself can serve as another concept that is crucial for understanding of other biological processes than decision-making. In this work, we review recent theoretical developments on cellular decision-making and information-processing by focusing on the relation between these two concepts.

Parent Evaluations of Traditional and Consumer-Focused School Psychoeducational Reports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hite, John F.

2017-01-01

Completion of pyschoeducational reports account for a significant amount of school psychologists' time. The report findings are often used to make high stakes educational decisions about the child. Parents are one of the main consumers of psychoeducational reports and expected to use the information contained in them to participate in making…

'Silk Road', the virtual drug marketplace: a single case study of user experiences.

PubMed

Van Hout, Marie Claire; Bingham, Tim

2013-09-01

The online promotion of 'drug shopping' and user information networks is of increasing public health and law enforcement concern. An online drug marketplace called 'Silk Road' has been operating on the 'Deep Web' since February 2011 and was designed to revolutionise contemporary drug consumerism. A single case study approach explored a 'Silk Road' user's motives for online drug purchasing, experiences of accessing and using the website, drug information sourcing, decision making and purchasing, outcomes and settings for use, and perspectives around security. The participant was recruited following a lengthy relationship building phase on the 'Silk Road' chat forum. The male participant described his motives, experiences of purchasing processes and drugs used from 'Silk Road'. Consumer experiences on 'Silk Road' were described as 'euphoric' due to the wide choice of drugs available, relatively easy once navigating the Tor Browser (encryption software) and using 'Bitcoins' for transactions, and perceived as safer than negotiating illicit drug markets. Online researching of drug outcomes, particularly for new psychoactive substances was reported. Relationships between vendors and consumers were described as based on cyber levels of trust and professionalism, and supported by 'stealth modes', user feedback and resolution modes. The reality of his drug use was described as covert and solitary with psychonautic characteristics, which contrasted with his membership, participation and feelings of safety within the 'Silk Road' community. 'Silk Road' as online drug marketplace presents an interesting displacement away from 'traditional' online and street sources of drug supply. Member support and harm reduction ethos within this virtual community maximises consumer decision-making and positive drug experiences, and minimises potential harms and consumer perceived risks. Future research is necessary to explore experiences and backgrounds of other users. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Decision making and coping in healthcare: the Coping in Deliberation (CODE) framework.

PubMed

Witt, Jana; Elwyn, Glyn; Wood, Fiona; Brain, Kate

2012-08-01

To develop a framework of decision making and coping in healthcare that describes the twin processes of appraisal and coping faced by patients making preference-sensitive healthcare decisions. We briefly review the literature for decision making theories and coping theories applicable to preference-sensitive decisions in healthcare settings. We describe first decision making, then coping and finally attempt to integrate these processes by building on current theory. Deliberation in healthcare may be described as a six step process, comprised of the presentation of a health threat, choice, options, preference construction, the decision itself and consolidation post-decision. Coping can be depicted in three stages, beginning with a threat, followed by primary and secondary appraisal and ultimately resulting in a coping effort. Drawing together concepts from prominent decision making theories and coping theories, we propose a multidimensional, interactive framework which integrates both processes and describes coping in deliberation. The proposed framework offers an insight into the complexity of decision making in preference-sensitive healthcare contexts from a patient perspective and may act as theoretical basis for decision support. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Designing an over-the-counter consumer decision-making tool for older adults.

PubMed

Martin-Hammond, Aqueasha M; Abegaz, Tamirat; Gilbert, Juan E

2015-10-01

Older adults are at increased risk of adverse drug events due to medication. Older adults tend to take more medication and are at higher risk of chronic illness. Over-the-counter (OTC) medication does not require healthcare provider oversight and understanding OTC information is heavily dependent on a consumer's ability to understand and use the medication appropriately. Coupling health technology with effective communication is one approach to address the challenge of communicating health and improving health related tasks. However, the success of many health technologies also depends on how well the technology is designed and how well it addresses users needs. This is especially true for the older adult population. This paper describes (1) a formative study performed to understand how to design novel health technology to assist older adults with OTC medication information, and (2) how a user-centered design process helped to refine the initial assumptions of user needs and help to conceptualize the technology. An iterative design process was used. The process included two brainstorming and review sessions with human-computer interaction researchers and design sessions with older adults in the form of semi-structured interviews. Methods and principles of user-centered research and design were used to inform the research design. Two researchers with expertise in human-computer interaction performed expert reviews of early system prototypes. After initial prototypes were developed, seven older adults were engaged in semi-structured interviews to understand usability concerns and features and functionality older adults may find useful for selecting appropriate OTC medication. Eight usability concerns were discovered and addressed in the two rounds of expert review, and nine additional usability concerns were discovered in design sessions with older adults. Five themes emerged from the interview transcripts as recommendations for design. These recommendations represent opportunities for technology such as the one described in this paper to support older adults in the OTC decision-making process. This paper illustrates the use of an iterative user-centered process in the formative stages of design and its usefulness for understanding aspects of the technology design that are useful to older adults when making decisions about OTC medication. The technology support mechanisms included in the initial model were revised based on the results from the iterative design sessions and helped to refine and conceptualize the system being designed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discourse and policy making on consumer protection in the areas of mobile telecommunication and tanning.

PubMed

Schweikardt, Christoph; Rosentreter, Michael; Gross, Dominik

2012-01-01

Perceived health risks from electromagnetic fields in mobile telecommunication and from UV radiation in tanning have become regulation issues in Germany during the last decade. Health risk messages from government expert bodies and the main stakeholders in these areas as well as subsequent consumer protection policy making are investigated. Publications and websites of government expert bodies and the main stakeholders as well as debates in Federal Parliament were analysed to compare argumentation patterns and parliamentary decision-making processes. In both areas, the public received competing health risk messages from the industries and their critics. As a government expert body, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) held the view that alleged health risks from electromagnetic telecommunication were not proven, and propagated the precautionary principle. This opinion did not endanger the agreement of 2001 between the government and mobile telecommunication operators. After the failure to obtain voluntary commitment from the tanning industry, by contrast, the BfS recommended stricter consumer protection legislation, which was subsequently implemented. The BfS was in a key position to demand the prerogative of interpretation concerning mutually excluding health risk messages and to provide the argumentation which led the way to non-ionic radiation health protection measures.

Total Diet Studies as a Tool for Ensuring Food Safety

PubMed Central

Lee, Joon-Goo; Kim, Sheen-Hee; Kim, Hae-Jung

2015-01-01

With the diversification and internationalization of the food industry and the increased focus on health from a majority of consumers, food safety policies are being implemented based on scientific evidence. Risk analysis represents the most useful scientific approach for making food safety decisions. Total diet study (TDS) is often used as a risk assessment tool to evaluate exposure to hazardous elements. Many countries perform TDSs to screen for chemicals in foods and analyze exposure trends to hazardous elements. TDSs differ from traditional food monitoring in two major aspects: chemicals are analyzed in food in the form in which it will be consumed and it is cost-effective in analyzing composite samples after processing multiple ingredients together. In Korea, TDSs have been conducted to estimate dietary intakes of heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, persistent organic pollutants, and processing contaminants. TDSs need to be carried out periodically to ensure food safety. PMID:26483881

From a Vital Sign to Vitality: Selling Exercise So Patients Want to Buy It.

PubMed

Segar, Michelle L; Guérin, Eva; Phillips, Edward; Fortier, Michelle

2016-01-01

Exercise is Medicine (EIM) and physical activity as a vital sign are based on health-focused research and reflect ideal frames and messages for clinicians. However, they are nonoptimal for patients because they do not address what drives patients' decision-making and motivation. With the growing national emphasis on patient-centered and value-based care, it is the perfect time for EIM to evolve and advance a second-level consumer-oriented exercise prescription and communication strategy. Through research on decision-making, motivation, consumer behavior, and meaningful goal pursuit, this article features six evidence-based issues to help clinicians make physical activity more relevant and compelling for patients to sustain in ways that concurrently support patient-centered care. Physical activity prescriptions and counseling can evolve to reflect affective and behavioral science and sell exercise so patients want to buy it.

Family involvement in cancer treatment decision-making: A qualitative study of patient, family, and clinician attitudes and experiences.

PubMed

Laidsaar-Powell, Rebekah; Butow, Phyllis; Bu, Stella; Charles, Cathy; Gafni, Amiram; Fisher, Alana; Juraskova, Ilona

2016-07-01

Little is known about how family are involved in cancer treatment decision-making. This study aimed to qualitatively explore Australian oncology clinicians', patients', and family members' attitudes towards, and experiences of, family involvement in decision-making. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 cancer patients, 33 family members, 10 oncology nurses and 11 oncologists. Framework analysis methods were used. Three main themes were uncovered: (i) how family are involved in the decision-making process: specific behaviours of family across 5 (extended) decision-making stages; (ii) attitudes towards family involvement in the decision-making process: balancing patient authority with the rights of the family; and (iii) factors influencing family involvement: patient, family, cultural, relationship, and decision. This study highlighted many specific behaviours of family throughout the decision-making process, the complex participant attitudes toward retaining patient authority whilst including the family, and insight into influencing factors. These findings will inform a conceptual framework describing family involvement in decision-making. Clinicians could ascertain participant preferences and remain open to the varying forms of family involvement in decision-making. Given the important role of family in the decision-making process, family inclusive consultation strategies are needed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Caregiving decision making by older mothers and adult children: process and expected outcome.

PubMed

Cicirelli, Victor G

2006-06-01

Dyadic caregiving decision making was studied in 30 mother-son and 29 mother-daughter pairs (mother's age=65-94 years) who responded to a vignette depicting a caregiving decision situation. The observed decision-making process of mother-child pairs was largely naturalistic, with few alternatives proposed and quick convergence to a decision followed by a postdecision justification; a degree of more rational decision making was seen in some pairs. Among significant findings, adult children, especially sons, dominated the decision process, doing more talking and introducing more alternatives than did their mothers, who played a more subordinate role. Mother-son pairs expected more negative outcomes and greater regrets regarding their decisions than mother-daughter pairs. Closeness of the parent-child relationship influenced the decision-making process, expected outcomes, and regrets. Copyright (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

36 CFR 1010.5 - Major decision points.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...-making process. Most Trust projects have three distinct stages in the decision-making process: (1... stage. (b) Environmental review will be integrated into the decision-making process of the Trust as... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Major decision points. 1010.5...

Information acquisition for women facing surgical treatment for breast cancer: influencing factors and selected outcomes.

PubMed

O'Leary, Katherine A; Estabrooks, Carole A; Olson, Kärin; Cumming, Ceinwen

2007-12-01

To examine, summarize, and critically assess the literature focusing on information use by early-stage breast cancer patients. Empirical articles reporting the information needs, sources used/preferred, and intervention-related outcomes experienced by patients in the context of making a treatment choice were chosen. Several healthcare databases were searched. Articles were limited to those published in English between January 1, 1986 and March 31, 2006. A total of 25 articles met the inclusion criteria. Information needs were consistent, and highest rankings were for (in order): information about chances for a cure, stage of disease, and treatment options. Results were equivocal regarding the factors found to influence information need: age, time since diagnosis, and preferred role in decision-making. The highest ranked information sources accessed and preferred were physicians. Age, education, and type of treatment chosen influenced source choice. Patients using consumer decision aids (CDAs) had less decisional conflict, higher satisfaction with the decision made and the decision process, and higher knowledge levels. Information needs and source use were influenced by several personal and contextual factors. A better understanding of source use could provide more effective ways of disseminating information to patients.

Understanding consumer decisions using behavioral economics.

PubMed

Zandstra, Elizabeth H; Miyapuram, Krishna P; Tobler, Philippe N

2013-01-01

Consumers make many decisions in everyday life involving finances, food, and health. It is known from behavioral economics research that people are often driven by short-term gratification, that is, people tend to choose the immediate, albeit smaller reward. But choosing the delayed reward, that is, delaying the gratification, can actually be beneficial. How can we motivate consumers to resist the "now" and invest in their future, leading to sustainable or healthy habits? We review recent developments from behavioral and neuroimaging studies that are relevant for understanding consumer decisions. Further, we present results from our field research that examined whether we can increase the perceived value of a (delayed) environmental benefit using tailored communication, that is, change the way it is framed. More specifically, we investigated whether we can boost the value of an abstract, long-term "green" claim of a product by expressing it as a concrete, short-term benefit. This is a new application area for behavioral economics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HIN7/440: Evidence-based Consumer Health Information - The need for unbiased risk communication

PubMed Central

Hoeldke, B; Muehlhauser, I

1999-01-01

Online consumer health information is rapidly growing. At the same time an active part of patients and consumers in decision making about preventive or therapeutic interventions is increasingly demanded. The basis for informed consumer choice is the communication of evidence-based scientific data in a format that is clearly understood by most lay persons. The way study results are presented influence decisions by health care providers and patients or consumers alike. The impact of framing of outcome data as either relative or absolute differences is well recognized. Outcome data should be reported as absolute numbers, absolute risk reductions or numbers needed to treat or to screen rather than as relative risk reductions. Beyond the question of whether relative or absolute differences are used, outcome data can be framed by either emphasising achievable benefits or the lack of such benefits. Presentation of data as the proportion of patients who remain free of a target outcome rather than the proportion of patients who benefit from a certain intervention could substantially influence decision making. So far, studies evaluating the communication of treatment results to patients were focussed on the benefits of the respective interventions. Such an approach is incompatible with unbiased informed decision making by the patient, client or consumer. In order to communicate outcome data in an objective manner the whole possible spectrum of data presentation should be considered. Both, the proportion of persons who are likely to benefit as well as the proportion of persons who are unlikely to benefit or likely to be harmed should be presented with equal emphasis. Instruments to judge the quality of printed or online consumer health information do not include rating the framing of outcome data (e.g. http:/www.discern.org.uk).In order to establish an online system of evidence-based consumer health information that provides unbiased evidence-based communication of outcome data mammography screening was used as a model. After screening the literature according to evidence-based medicine criteria the information on benefits and risks of mammography screening has been compiled. Results are communicated as simple self explaining illustrations as well as original numbers equally emphasising the various aspects of the outcome. In addition, unbiased information is provided on the test efficacy of mammography screening (false positive, false negative results), on other potential side effects or other beneficial effects of mammography screening such as the number of diagnostic surgical interventions following mammography or the psychological sequaele thereof, data on total mortality and precision or lack of precision of results. The described mammography screening consumer information system is being evaluated with experts and the target consumer population with the final goal of an online evidence-based consumer health information

A conceptual framework for automating the operational and strategic decision-making process in the health care delivery system.

PubMed

Ruohonen, Toni; Ennejmy, Mohammed

2013-01-01

Making reliable and justified operational and strategic decisions is a really challenging task in the health care domain. So far, the decisions have been made based on the experience of managers and staff, or they are evaluated with traditional methods, using inadequate data. As a result of this kind of decision-making process, attempts to improve operations usually have failed or led to only local improvements. Health care organizations have a lot of operational data, in addition to clinical data, which is the key element for making reliable and justified decisions. However, it is progressively problematic to access it and make usage of it. In this paper we discuss about the possibilities how to exploit operational data in the most efficient way in the decision-making process. We'll share our future visions and propose a conceptual framework for automating the decision-making process.

Cause and effect: the linkage between the health information seeking behavior and the online environment- a review

PubMed Central

Bratucu, R; Gheorghe, IR; Purcarea, RM; Gheorghe, CM; Popa Velea, O; Purcarea, VL

2014-01-01

Abstract Today, health care consumers are taking more control over their health care problems, investing more time in finding and getting information as well as looking for proper methods in order to investigate more closely the health care information received from their physicians. Unfortunately, in health care consumers’ views, the trustworthiness of health authorities and institutions has declined in the last years. So, consumers have found a new solution to their health problems, that is, the Internet. Recently, studies revealed that consumers seeking for health information have more options to look for data in comparison to the methods used a few years ago. Therefore, due to the available technology, consumers have more outlets to search for information. For instance, the Internet is a source that has revolutionized the way consumers seek data due its customized methods of assessing both quantitative and qualitative information which may be achieved with minimal effort and low costs, offering at the same time, several advantages such as making the decision process more efficient. PMID:25408746

The use of economic evaluation for guiding the pharmaceutical reimbursement list in Thailand.

PubMed

Teerawattananon, Yot; Tritasavit, Nattha; Suchonwanich, Netnapis; Kingkaew, Pritaporn

2014-01-01

Medicines expenditure consumes a significant proportion of public health expenditure in Thailand, where Universal Health Coverage has been in place since 2002. The National List of Essential Medicines has been successfully used as a pharmaceutical benefits package for all public health plans. All patients are eligible for all medicines included in the list free of charge by law. Health economic evaluation has been employed as a tool for the development of this list, including price negotiation of medicines before inclusion, especially of high-cost medicines or medicines with high budget implications. This paper illustrates the current process, mechanisms, and impact and informs of seven success factors that have contributed to the successful use of health economic evaluation in Thailand. These include strong political commitment, development of individual and institutional capacity, participation of all relevant stakeholders, establishment of standard methodological and process guidelines, consideration of several elements in the decision-making process, using evidence as a starting point rather than a deciding factor, and strong enforcement. The lessons learned from this study are likely to be applicable to other settings committed to evidence-based decision making. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Decision technology.

PubMed

Edwards, W; Fasolo, B

2001-01-01

This review is about decision technology-the rules and tools that help us make wiser decisions. First, we review the three rules that are at the heart of most traditional decision technology-multi-attribute utility, Bayes' theorem, and subjective expected utility maximization. Since the inception of decision research, these rules have prescribed how we should infer values and probabilities and how we should combine them to make better decisions. We suggest how to make best use of all three rules in a comprehensive 19-step model. The remainder of the review explores recently developed tools of decision technology. It examines the characteristics and problems of decision-facilitating sites on the World Wide Web. Such sites now provide anyone who can use a personal computer with access to very sophisticated decision-aiding tools structured mainly to facilitate consumer decision making. It seems likely that the Web will be the mode by means of which decision tools will be distributed to lay users. But methods for doing such apparently simple things as winnowing 3000 options down to a more reasonable number, like 10, contain traps for unwary decision technologists. The review briefly examines Bayes nets and influence diagrams-judgment and decision-making tools that are available as computer programs. It very briefly summarizes the state of the art of eliciting probabilities from experts. It concludes that decision tools will be as important in the 21st century as spreadsheets were in the 20th.

Using qualitative insights to change practice: exploring the culture of antibiotic prescribing and consumption for urinary tract infections

PubMed Central

Duane, Sinead; Domegan, Christine; Callan, Aoife; Galvin, Sandra; Cormican, Martin; Bennett, Kathleen; Murphy, Andrew W

2016-01-01

Objectives The aim of this paper is to explore the culture of antibiotic prescribing and consumption in the community for urinary tract infections (UTI) from the perspective of the general practitioners (GPs) and community member. Design Indepth interviews were conducted with GPs, and focus groups were held with community members. Setting General practice and community setting. Participants 15 GPs practising in rural and urban locations in Ireland participated in the indepth interviews. 6 focus groups (n=42) with participants who had direct or indirect experiences with UTI were also undertaken. Results The decision to prescribe or consume an antibiotic for a UTI is a set of complex processes including need recognition, information search and evaluation processes governed by the relationship and interactions between the GP and the patient. Different GP and patient decision-making profiles emerged emphasising the diversity and variety of general practice in real-life settings. The GP findings showed a requirement for more microbiological information on antibiotic resistance patterns to inform prescribing decisions. Focus group participants wanted a conversation with the GP about their illness and the treatment options available. Conclusions Collectively, this research identified the consultation as a priority intervention environment for stimulating change in relation to antibiotics. This paper demonstrates how qualitative research can identify the interacting processes which are instrumental to the decision to prescribe or consume an antibiotic for a suspected UTI. Qualitative research empowers researchers to investigate the what, how and why of interventions in real-life setting. Qualitative research can play a critical and instrumental role in designing behavioural change strategies with high impact on practice. The results of this research were used to design a complex intervention informed by social marketing. Trial registration number NCT01913860; Pre-results. PMID:26754175

The effect of information on household water and energy use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hans, Liesel

Water and Energy Utilities are faced with growing demand at a time when supply expansion is increasingly costly, inconsistent and taxing on the environment. Given that supply expansion is limited, to meet future needs utilities need demand-side management policies to result in more reliable and consistent consumer responsiveness. Currently, most households do not have access to the level or type of information needed to respond to price signals in a reliable and effective way. Advanced information technology solutions exist and are being increasingly adopted, but we need to know more about how the informational setting affects decision-making, consumption levels and price responsiveness. This research analyzes the effect of information on household water and energy consumption, which is a decision-making environment characterized by uncertainty and imperfect information. This study also analyzes additional complexities stemming from infrequent billing, non-linear pricing structures, and combined utility bills, each of which may dampen price signals. I first develop a theoretical model of decision-making under uncertainty. I use this model to illustrate the effect of more frequent information, which eliminates uncertainty about past decisions, on remaining decisions within the billing period. The model emphasizes the role of risk preferences and the realization of the uncertain quantity. On average, risk averse consumers will increase consumption when uncertainty is reduced; risk seeking consumers will do the opposite. Introduction of a non-linear rate structure induces behavior that makes individuals appear as if they are risk averse or risk seeking, despite their actual risk preferences. This model highlights the importance of modeling multiple decisions within a billing period and accounting for a spectrum of risk preferences. In Chapter 3, I create a computerized laboratory experiment designed to generate data used to test some of the hypotheses formulated in the theoretical model presented in Chapter 2. Results from the experiment show that, on average, individuals consume more when provided with more frequent information that resolves uncertainty about past decisions made within a single billing period. This result is driven by the fact that the majority of participants are risk averse or risk neutral. Risk seeking participants instead reduce use when facing less uncertainty. Also as predicted by the theoretical model in Chapter 2, combining behavior driven by risk preferences with the presence of an increasing block rate structure results in behavior that looks like consumers are targeting the block boundary. This experiment shows that providing more information may not lead to reduced use without other incentives, goal-setting, or mechanisms designed to help individuals process the information. In Chapter 4, I empirically analyze a ten-year household-level panel data set of monthly utility bills. A single utility provides electricity, natural gas and water services to its customers and therefore bills through a single utility bill. I first show that price responsiveness varies by the number and combination of services subscribed to by a given household. Second, through a price salience model I show that households are more responsive to the price of water when the water portion of the total bill is greater. When multiple services are contained on a single bill, the salience of any individual price signal is dampened. This study confirms that households are inelastic though not unresponsive to water prices. In order to make pricing policies more effective, utilities need to acknowledge that households may be responding to total utility costs (i.e., may respond to a high utility bill by reducing electricity use despite the true driver of the high bill) and will need to find ways to make quantity and price information more salient to their customers. Chapter 5 concludes this dissertation by summarizing the contributions of the research and possible extensions for future work. By improving the informational environment surrounding household water and energy use, there will be great capacity for households to use water and energy more efficiently and ultimately make choices that reduce residential water/energy consumption and yield benefits for customers, utilities, and the environment.

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 outcomes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The neural system of metacognition accompanying decision-making in the prefrontal cortex

PubMed Central

Qiu, Lirong; Su, Jie; Ni, Yinmei; Bai, Yang; Zhang, Xuesong; Li, Xiaoli

2018-01-01

Decision-making is usually accompanied by metacognition, through which a decision maker monitors uncertainty regarding a decision and may then consequently revise the decision. These metacognitive processes can occur prior to or in the absence of feedback. However, the neural mechanisms of metacognition remain controversial. One theory proposes an independent neural system for metacognition in the prefrontal cortex (PFC); the other, that metacognitive processes coincide and overlap with the systems used for the decision-making process per se. In this study, we devised a novel “decision–redecision” paradigm to investigate the neural metacognitive processes involved in redecision as compared to the initial decision-making process. The participants underwent a perceptual decision-making task and a rule-based decision-making task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that the anterior PFC, including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and lateral frontopolar cortex (lFPC), were more extensively activated after the initial decision. The dACC activity in redecision positively scaled with decision uncertainty and correlated with individual metacognitive uncertainty monitoring abilities—commonly occurring in both tasks—indicating that the dACC was specifically involved in decision uncertainty monitoring. In contrast, the lFPC activity seen in redecision processing was scaled with decision uncertainty reduction and correlated with individual accuracy changes—positively in the rule-based decision-making task and negatively in the perceptual decision-making task. Our results show that the lFPC was specifically involved in metacognitive control of decision adjustment and was subject to different control demands of the tasks. Therefore, our findings support that a separate neural system in the PFC is essentially involved in metacognition and further, that functions of the PFC in metacognition are dissociable. PMID:29684004

FOODIE: Farm-Oriented Open Data in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ángel Esbri Palomares, Miguel; Charvat, Karel; Campos, Antonio Manuel; Palma, Raúl

2014-05-01

The agriculture sector is a unique sector due to its strategic importance for both European citizens (consumers) and European economy (regional and global) which, ideally, should make the whole sector a network of interacting organizations. Rural areas are of particular importance with respect to the agro-food sector and should be specifically addressed within this scope. The different groups of stakeholders involved in the agricultural activities have to manage many different and heterogeneous sources of information that need to be combined in order to make economically and environmentally sound decisions, which include (among others) the definition of policies (subsidies, standardisation and regulation, national strategies for rural development, climate change), valuation of ecological performances, development of sustainable agriculture, crop recollection timing and pricing, plagues detection, etc. Such processes are very labour intensive because most parts have to be executed manually and the necessary information is not always available or easily accessible. In this context, future agriculture knowledge management systems have to support not only direct profitability of agriculture or environment protection, but also activities of individuals and groups allowing effective collaboration among groups in agri-food industry, consumers, public administrations and wider stakeholders communities, especially in rural domain. To that end FOODIE project aims at building an open and interoperable agricultural specialized platform hub on the cloud for the management of spatial and non-spatial data relevant for farming production; for discovery of spatial and non-spatial agriculture related data from heterogeneous sources; integration of existing and valuable European open datasets related to agriculture; data publication and data linking of external agriculture data sources contributed by different public and private stakeholders allowing to provide specific and high-value applications and services for the support in the planning and decision-making processes of different stakeholders groups related to the agricultural and environmental domains.

Outcomes of a brief program, REORDER, to promote consumer recovery and family involvement in care.

PubMed

Dixon, Lisa B; Glynn, Shirley M; Cohen, Amy N; Drapalski, Amy L; Medoff, Deborah; Fang, Li Juan; Potts, Wendy; Gioia, Deborah

2014-01-01

The Recovery-Oriented Decisions for Relatives' Support (REORDER) intervention is an innovative, manualized protocol utilizing shared decision-making principles with persons who have serious mental illnesses to promote recovery and encourage consideration of family involvement in care. This study compared REORDER to enhanced treatment as usual in a randomized design. Participants included 226 veterans with serious mental illness whose relatives had low rates of contact with treatment staff. REORDER involved up to three consumer sessions followed by up to three relative educational sessions if the consumer and relative consented. Individuals were assessed at baseline and six months later. Eighty-five percent of the 111 randomly assigned REORDER participants attended at least one REORDER consumer session; of those, 59% had at least one family session. REORDER participants had significantly reduced paranoid ideation and increased recovery at follow-up. Participation in REORDER led to marked increases in family participation and improved consumer outcomes.

Health technology funding decision-making processes around the world: the same, yet different.

PubMed

Stafinski, Tania; Menon, Devidas; Philippon, Donald J; McCabe, Christopher

2011-06-01

All healthcare systems routinely make resource allocation decisions that trade off potential health gains to different patient populations. However, when such trade-offs relate to the introduction of new, promising health technologies, perceived 'winners' and 'losers' are more apparent. In recent years, public scrutiny over such decisions has intensified, raising the need to better understand how they are currently made and how they might be improved. The objective of this paper is to critically review and compare current processes for making health technology funding decisions at the regional, state/provincial and national level in 20 countries. A comprehensive search for published, peer-reviewed and grey literature describing actual national, state/provincial and regional/institutional technology decision-making processes was conducted. Information was extracted by two independent reviewers and tabulated to facilitate qualitative comparative analyses. To identify strengths and weaknesses of processes identified, websites of corresponding organizations were searched for commissioned reviews/evaluations, which were subsequently analysed using standard qualitative methods. A total of 21 national, four provincial/state and six regional/institutional-level processes were found. Although information on each one varied, they could be grouped into four sequential categories: (i) identification of the decision problem; (ii) information inputs; (iii) elements of the decision-making process; and (iv) public accountability and decision implementation. While information requirements of all processes appeared substantial and decision-making factors comprehensive, the way in which they were utilized was often unclear, as were approaches used to incorporate social values or equity arguments into decisions. A comprehensive inventory of approaches to implementing the four main components of all technology funding decision-making processes was compiled, from which areas for future work or research aimed at improving the acceptability of decisions were identified. They include the explication of decision criteria and social values underpinning processes.

Let's talk about health: shoppers' discourse regarding health while food shopping.

PubMed

O'Brien, Michelle C; McConnon, Aine; Hollywood, Lynsey E; Cuskelly, Geraldine J; Barnett, Julie; Raats, Monique; Dean, Moira

2015-04-01

The present study aimed to examine the role of health in consumers' food purchasing decisions through investigating the nature of people's discourse regarding health while conducting their food shopping. The study employed the think-aloud technique as part of an accompanied shop. All mentions of health and terms relating to health were identified from the data set. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to examine how health was talked about in relation to people's food choice decisions. Supermarkets in Dublin, Republic of Ireland and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Participants (n 50) were aged over 18 years and represented the main household shopper. Responsibility for others and the perceived need to illicit strict control to avoid 'unhealthy' food selections played a dominant role in how health was talked about during the accompanied shop. Consequently healthy shopping was viewed as difficult and effort was required to make the healthy choice, with shoppers relating to product-based inferences to support their decisions. This qualitative exploration has provided evidence of a number of factors influencing the consideration of health during consumers' food shopping. These results highlight opportunities for stakeholders such as public health bodies and the food industry to explore further ways to help enable consumers make healthy food choices.

Consumers' beliefs and behavioural intentions towards organic food. Evidence from the Czech Republic.

PubMed

Zagata, Lukas

2012-08-01

Research has revealed that organic consumers share beliefs about positive health effects, environmentally friendly production and better taste of organic food. Yet, very little is known about the decisions of organic consumers in post-socialist countries with emerging organic food markets. In order to examine this area a representative data set (N=1054) from the Czech Republic was used. Target group of the study has become the Czech consumers that purchase organic food on regular basis. The consumers' behaviour was conceptualised with the use of the theory of planned behaviour (ToPB). Firstly, the ToPB model was tested, and secondly, belief-based factors that influence the decisions and behaviour of consumers were explored. The theory proved able to predict and explain the behaviour of Czech organic consumers. The best predictors of the intention to purchase organic food are attitudes towards the behaviour and subjective norms. Decisive positions in consumers' beliefs have product- and process-based qualities. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

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

Consumer behavior in the setting of over-the-counter statin availability: lessons from the consumer use study of OTC Mevacor.

PubMed

Brass, Eric P

2004-11-04

Despite the proven benefits of statins, large numbers of patients meeting guideline criteria for therapy are not receiving these drugs. It has been suggested that over-the-counter (OTC) availability of statins would allow more consumers to use statins and achieve cardiovascular risk reduction. However, concerns have been raised as to the consumers' ability to self-manage hyperlipidemia and use statins safely. The Consumer Use Study of OTC Mevacor (CUSTOM) was designed to define consumer behaviors in the setting of OTC statin availability. The study was conducted in a simulated OTC setting and allowed consumers to purchase once-daily lovastatin 20 mg. The CUSTOM dataset includes >3,300 consumers who evaluated OTC lovastatin for potential purchase at study sites and follow-up information on purchasers for up to 6 months of self-managed therapy. These data have been analyzed to address consumers' knowledge of their cholesterol concentrations as well as their ability to make OTC use decisions based on their cardiovascular risk, avoid drug-drug interactions, self-manage their cholesterol treatment after deciding to use the OTC product, and maintain interactions with physicians while using lovastatin OTC. The results showed that most study participants appropriately self-selected OTC statin therapy and managed their treatment. Use of OTC statins by consumers needing more intensive statin therapy or facing the risk of potential drug-drug interactions remains an area of concern but occurred infrequently in CUSTOM. These data are important for making an informed risk-benefit decision concerning OTC statin availability.

Parental decision-making after ultrasound diagnosis of a serious foetal abnormality.

PubMed

Bijma, Hilmar H; Wildschut, Hajo I J; van der Heide, Agnes; Passchier, Jan; Wladimiroff, Juriy W; van der Maas, Paul J

2005-01-01

The purpose of this article is to provide clinicians who are involved in the field of foetal medicine with a comprehensive overview of theories that are relevant for the parental decision-making process after ultrasound diagnosis of a serious foetal abnormality. Since little data are available of parental decision-making after ultrasound diagnosis of foetal abnormality, we reviewed the literature on parental decision-making in genetic counselling of couples at increased genetic risk together with the literature on general decision-making theories. The findings were linked to the specific situation of parental decision-making after an ultrasound diagnosis of foetal abnormality. Based on genetic counselling studies, several cognitive mechanisms play a role in parental decision-making regarding future pregnancies. Parents often have a binary perception of risk. Probabilistic information is translated into two options: the child will or will not be affected. The graduality of chance seems to be of little importance in this process. Instead, the focus shifts to the possible consequences for future family life. General decision-making theories often focus on rationality and coherence of the decision-making process. However, studies of both the influence of framing and the influence of stress indicate that emotional mechanisms can have an important and beneficial function in the decision-making process. Cognitive mechanisms that are elicited by emotions and that are not necessarily rational can have an important and beneficial function in parental decision-making after ultrasound diagnosis of a foetal abnormality. Consequently, the process of parental decision-making should not solely be assessed on the basis of its rationality, but also on the basis of the parental emotional outcome. Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Reason, emotion and decision-making: risk and reward computation with feeling.

PubMed

Quartz, Steven R

2009-05-01

Many models of judgment and decision-making posit distinct cognitive and emotional contributions to decision-making under uncertainty. Cognitive processes typically involve exact computations according to a cost-benefit calculus, whereas emotional processes typically involve approximate, heuristic processes that deliver rapid evaluations without mental effort. However, it remains largely unknown what specific parameters of uncertain decision the brain encodes, the extent to which these parameters correspond to various decision-making frameworks, and their correspondence to emotional and rational processes. Here, I review research suggesting that emotional processes encode in a precise quantitative manner the basic parameters of financial decision theory, indicating a reorientation of emotional and cognitive contributions to risky choice.

Eating and drinking interventions for people at risk of lacking decision-making capacity: who decides and how?

PubMed

Clarke, Gemma; Galbraith, Sarah; Woodward, Jeremy; Holland, Anthony; Barclay, Stephen

2015-06-11

Some people with progressive neurological diseases find they need additional support with eating and drinking at mealtimes, and may require artificial nutrition and hydration. Decisions concerning artificial nutrition and hydration at the end of life are ethically complex, particularly if the individual lacks decision-making capacity. Decisions may concern issues of life and death: weighing the potential for increasing morbidity and prolonging suffering, with potentially shortening life. When individuals lack decision-making capacity, the standard processes of obtaining informed consent for medical interventions are disrupted. Increasingly multi-professional groups are being utilised to make difficult ethical decisions within healthcare. This paper reports upon a service evaluation which examined decision-making within a UK hospital Feeding Issues Multi-Professional Team. A three month observation of a hospital-based multi-professional team concerning feeding issues, and a one year examination of their records. The key research questions are: a) How are decisions made concerning artificial nutrition for individuals at risk of lacking decision-making capacity? b) What are the key decision-making factors that are balanced? c) Who is involved in the decision-making process? Decision-making was not a singular decision, but rather involved many different steps. Discussions involving relatives and other clinicians, often took place outside of meetings. Topics of discussion varied but the outcome relied upon balancing the information along four interdependent axes: (1) Risks, burdens and benefits; (2) Treatment goals; (3) Normative ethical values; (4) Interested parties. Decision-making was a dynamic ongoing process with many people involved. The multiple points of decision-making, and the number of people involved with the decision-making process, mean the question of 'who decides' cannot be fully answered. There is a potential for anonymity of multiple decision-makers to arise. Decisions in real world clinical practice may not fit precisely into a model of decision-making. The findings from this service evaluation illustrate that within multi-professional team decision-making; decisions may contain elements of both substituted and supported decision-making, and may be better represented as existing upon a continuum.

Food store owners' and managers' perspectives on the food environment: an exploratory mixed-methods study.

PubMed

Gravlee, Clarence C; Boston, P Qasimah; Mitchell, M Miaisha; Schultz, Alan F; Betterley, Connie

2014-10-03

Neighborhood characteristics such as poverty and racial composition are associated with inequalities in access to food stores and in the risk of obesity, but the pathways between food environments and health are not well understood. This article extends research on consumer food environments by examining the perspectives of food-store owners and managers. We conducted semistructured, open-ended interviews with managers and owners of 20 food stores in low-income, predominantly African American neighborhoods in Tallahassee, Florida (USA). The interviews were designed to elicit store managers' and owners' views about healthy foods, the local food environment, and the challenges and opportunities they face in creating access to healthy foods. We elicited perceptions of what constitutes "healthy foods" using two free-list questions. The study was designed and implemented in accord with principles of community-based participatory research. Store owners' and managers' conceptions of "healthy foods" overlapped with public health messages, but (a) agreement about which foods are healthy was not widespread and (b) some retailers perceived processed foods such as snack bars and sugar-sweetened juice drinks as healthy. In semistructured interviews, store owners and managers linked the consumer food environment to factors across multiple levels of analysis, including: business practices such as the priority of making sales and the delocalization of decision-making, macroeconomic factors such as poverty and the cost of healthier foods, individual and family-level factors related to parenting and time constraints, and community-level factors such as crime and decline of social cohesion. Our results link food stores to multilevel, ecological models of the food environment. Efforts to reshape the consumer food environment require attention to factors across multiple levels of analysis, including local conceptions of "healthy foods", the business priority of making sales, and policies and practices that favor the delocalization of decision making and constrain access to healthful foods.

Lakeside: Merging Urban Design with Scientific Analysis

ScienceCinema

Guzowski, Leah; Catlett, Charlie; Woodbury, Ed

2018-01-16

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago are developing tools that merge urban design with scientific analysis to improve the decision-making process associated with large-scale urban developments. One such tool, called LakeSim, has been prototyped with an initial focus on consumer-driven energy and transportation demand, through a partnership with the Chicago-based architectural and engineering design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Clean Energy Trust and developer McCaffery Interests. LakeSim began with the need to answer practical questions about urban design and planning, requiring a better understanding about the long-term impact of design decisions on energy and transportation demand for a 600-acre development project on Chicago's South Side - the Chicago Lakeside Development project.

Family Health and Financial Literacy--Forging the Connection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braun, Bonnie; Kim, Jinhee; Anderson, Elaine A.

2009-01-01

Families are at-risk of or experiencing a diminished quality of living and life in current economic times and difficult decisions are required. Health and financial literacy are the basis for wise personal and public decision making. Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals can forge connections between health and financial literacy to…

Evaluation of Communication about Groups: The Hydra Phenomenon.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desmond, Roger Jon; Bezzini, John

A study investigated how the attribution of a problem solution to an individual or group affects the consumer's perception of the solution's quality. Based on the tendency to support group decision-making (Hydra phenomenon) it was predicted that decisions attributed to groups would be perceived as higher in quality than those made by individuals,…

Individual Decision Making in the Non-Purchase of Long-Term Care Insurance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curry, Leslie A.; Robison, Julie; Shugrue, Noreen; Keenan, Patricia; Kapp, Marshall B.

2009-01-01

Purpose: Although prior research suggests that economic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors influence decisions not to purchase long-term care insurance, few studies have examined the interplay among these factors in depth and from the consumer's point of view. This study was intended to further illuminate these considerations, generate…

75 FR 13217 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Classifying Products as Covered Products

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-19

... determines that labeling will assist purchasers in making purchasing decisions and is economically and... Sept. 7, 2005), DOE has re-assessed its rulemaking procedures and scheduling decisions. DOE held a... the focus of the RECS. This behavior is a primary driver behind purchases and consumption of energy in...

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.

An analytics of electricity consumption characteristics based on principal component analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Junshu

2018-02-01

Abstract . More detailed analysis of the electricity consumption characteristics can make demand side management (DSM) much more targeted. In this paper, an analytics of electricity consumption characteristics based on principal component analysis (PCA) is given, which the PCA method can be used in to extract the main typical characteristics of electricity consumers. Then, electricity consumption characteristics matrix is designed, which can make a comparison of different typical electricity consumption characteristics between different types of consumers, such as industrial consumers, commercial consumers and residents. In our case study, the electricity consumption has been mainly divided into four characteristics: extreme peak using, peak using, peak-shifting using and others. Moreover, it has been found that industrial consumers shift their peak load often, meanwhile commercial and residential consumers have more peak-time consumption. The conclusions can provide decision support of DSM for the government and power providers.

The Importance of Source: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Undergraduate Students' Attitudes toward Genetically Modified Food

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruth, Taylor K.; Rumble, Joy N.; Gay, Keegan D.; Rodriguez, Mary T.

2016-01-01

Even though science says genetically modified (GM) foods are safe, many consumers remain skeptical of the technology. Additionally, the scientific community has trouble communicating to the public, causing consumers to make uninformed decisions. The Millennial Generation will have more buying power than any other generation before them, and more…

Defined contribution: a part of our future.

PubMed Central

Baugh, Reginald F.

2003-01-01

Rising employer health care costs and consumer backlash against managed care are trends fostering the development of defined contribution plans. Defined contribution plans limit employer responsibility to a fixed financial contribution rather than a benefit program and dramatically increase consumer responsibility for health care decision making. Possible outcomes of widespread adoption of defined contribution plans are presented. PMID:12934869

School Choice and the Decision-Making of School Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalmar, William F., Jr.

2014-01-01

Almost since the time public schools first opened in the United States there have been those seeking to reform them. One of the most persistent cries for reform has been the call to apply the free market economic model of competition through consumer choice on the public school system. Schools, consumer choice supporters posit, when faced with the…

Consumer-Directed Community Care: Race/Ethnicity and Individual Differences in Preferences for Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sciegaj, Mark; Capitman, John A.; Kyriacou, Corrine Kay

2004-01-01

Purpose. Even though consumer-directed care models are being advocated for use among elder populations, there are few data on the extent of elder interest in participating in the management of community long-term-care services, who they want involved in making these decisions, or their perceptions regarding the relative importance of different…

Basic Economics for Consumers: Living Tomorrow Today. BANK-ED III: Personal Money Management Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Francine; And Others

This course in consumer economics for high school students is organized around a semester-long simulation in which students assume the responsibilities of young adults in making decisions related to the economics of work and domestic life. During the simulation, the students: (1) set individual goals; (2) choose occupations based on their goals…

How do consumer leaders co-create value in mental health organisations?

PubMed

Scholz, Brett; Bocking, Julia; Happell, Brenda

2017-10-01

Objectives Contemporary mental health policies call for consumers to be involved in decision-making processes within mental health organisations. Some organisations have embraced leadership roles for consumers, but research suggests consumers remain disempowered within mental health services. Drawing on a service-dominant logic, which emphasises the co-creation of value of services, the present study provides an overview of consumer leadership within mental health organisations in the Australian Capital Territory. Methods Mental health organisations subscribing to the local peak body mailing list were invited to complete a survey about consumer leadership. Survey data were summarised using descriptive statistics and interpreted through the lens of service-dominant logic. Results Ways in which organisations may create opportunities for consumers to co-create value within their mental health services included soliciting feedback, involving consumer leaders in service design, having consumer leaders involved in hiring decisions and employing consumer leaders as staff or on boards. Strategies that organisations used to develop consumer leaders included induction, workshops and training in a variety of organisational processes and skills. Conclusions The findings of the present study extend the application of a service-dominant logic framework to consumer leadership within mental health organisations through consideration of the diverse opportunities that organisations can provide for consumer co-creation of service offerings. What is known about the topic? Policy calls for consumer involvement in all levels of mental health service planning, implementation and delivery. The extent to which service organisations have included consumer leaders varies, but research suggests that this inclusion can be tokenistic or that organisations choose to work with consumers who are less likely to challenge the status quo. Service literature has explored the way consumers can co-create value of their own health care, but is yet to explore consumers' co-creation of value at a systemic level. What does the paper add? This paper outlines ways in which mental health organisations report involving consumers in leadership positions, including having consumers on boards, having consumers on recruitment panels and providing leadership training for consumers. These initiatives are considered in terms of the potential value co-created within mental health services by consumers in leadership, suggesting that consumer leaders are a resource to mental health organisations in terms of the value brought to service offerings. What are the implications for practitioners? Research suggests that medical professionals have been resistant to increased consumer leadership within mental health services. The findings of the present study emphasise the value that can be brought to service organisations by consumer leaders, suggesting that mental health practitioners may reconsider their approach and attitudes towards consumer leadership in the sector.

Training in Decision-making Strategies: An approach to enhance students' competence to deal with socio-scientific issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gresch, Helge; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Bögeholz, Susanne

2013-10-01

Dealing with socio-scientific issues in science classes enables students to participate productively in controversial discussions concerning ethical topics, such as sustainable development. In this respect, well-structured decision-making processes are essential for elaborate reasoning. To foster decision-making competence, a computer-based programme was developed that trains secondary school students (grades 11-13) in decision-making strategies. The main research question is: does training students to use these strategies foster decision-making competence? In addition, the influence of meta-decision aids was examined. Students conducted a task analysis to select an appropriate strategy prior to the decision-making process. Hence, the second research question is: does combining decision-making training with a task analysis enhance decision-making competence at a higher rate? To answer these questions, 386 students were tested in a pre-post-follow-up control-group design that included two training groups (decision-making strategies/decision-making strategies combined with a task analysis) and a control group (decision-making with additional ecological information instead of strategic training). An open-ended questionnaire was used to assess decision-making competence in situations related to sustainable development. The decision-making training led to a significant improvement in the post-test and the follow-up, which was administered three months after the training. Long-term effects on the quality of the students' decisions were evident for both training groups. Gains in competence when reflecting upon the decision-making processes of others were found, to a lesser extent, in the training group that received the additional meta-decision training. In conclusion, training in decision-making strategies is a promising approach to deal with socio-scientific issues related to sustainable development.

Decision making, procedural compliance, and outcomes definition in U.S. forest service planning processes

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

Stern, Marc J., E-mail: mjstern@vt.ed; Predmore, S. Andrew, E-mail: sapredmo@vt.ed

2011-04-15

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) dictates a process of analyzing and disclosing the likely impacts of proposed agency actions on the human environment. This study addresses two key questions related to NEPA implementation in the U.S. Forest Service: 1) how do Interdisciplinary (ID) team leaders and decision makers conceptualize the outcomes of NEPA processes? And 2), how does NEPA relate to agency decision making? We address these questions through two separate online surveys that posed questions about recently completed NEPA processes - the first with the ID team leaders tasked with carrying out the processes, and the second withmore » the line officers responsible for making the processes' final decisions. Outcomes of NEPA processes include impacts on public relations, on employee morale and team functioning, on the achievement of agency goals, and on the achievement of NEPA's procedural requirements (disclosure) and substantive intent (minimizing negative environmental impacts). Although both tended to view public relations outcomes as important, decision makers' perceptions of favorable outcomes were more closely linked to the achievement of agency goals and process efficiency than was the case for ID team leaders. While ID team leaders' responses suggest that they see decision making closely integrated with the NEPA process, decision makers more commonly decoupled decision making from the NEPA process. These findings suggest a philosophical difference between ID team leaders and decision makers that may pose challenges for both the implementation and the evaluation of agency NEPA. We discuss the pros and cons of integrating NEPA with decision making or separating the two. We conclude that detaching NEPA from decision making poses greater risks than integrating them.« less

Deliberation before determination: the definition and evaluation of good decision making.

PubMed

Elwyn, Glyn; Miron-Shatz, Talya

2010-06-01

In this article, we examine definitions of suggested approaches to measure the concept of good decisions, highlight the ways in which they converge, and explain why we have concerns about their emphasis on post-hoc estimations and post-decisional outcomes, their prescriptive concept of knowledge, and their lack of distinction between the process of deliberation, and the act of decision determination. There has been a steady trend to involve patients in decision making tasks in clinical practice, part of a shift away from paternalism towards the concept of informed choice. An increased understanding of the uncertainties that exist in medicine, arising from a weak evidence base and, in addition, the stochastic nature of outcomes at the individual level, have contributed to shifting the responsibility for decision making from physicians to patients. This led to increasing use of decision support and communication methods, with the ultimate aim of improving decision making by patients. Interest has therefore developed in attempting to define good decision making and in the development of measurement approaches. We pose and reflect whether decisions can be judged good or not, and, if so, how this goodness might be evaluated. We hypothesize that decisions cannot be measured by reference to their outcomes and offer an alternative means of assessment, which emphasizes the deliberation process rather than the decision's end results. We propose decision making comprises a pre-decisional process and an act of decision determination and consider how this model of decision making serves to develop a new approach to evaluating what constitutes a good decision making process. We proceed to offer an alternative, which parses decisions into the pre-decisional deliberation process, the act of determination and post-decisional outcomes. Evaluating the deliberation process, we propose, should comprise of a subjective sufficiency of knowledge, as well as emotional processing and affective forecasting of the alternatives. This should form the basis for a good act of determination.

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.

The analysis of consumption level and preferences of freshshallots consumers in Medan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yani, F.; Supriana, T.

2018-02-01

Comprehension about consumer preferences gives a very important contribution to the consumer’s decision making process, which eventually affects the level of consumer consumption. This study aims to analyze the level of consumer consumption, consumer preferences, as well as the combination of the most preferred attributes by the fresh shallots consumers in Medan. The number of respondents in this study is 100 households. Consumer preferences were identified using conjoint analysis. Attributes of the product that were observed are the size of the root, aroma, price, and dryness. The result of this study shows that the average level of fresh shallots consumption in Medan is 11.67 grams/capita/day, which is higher compared to the 7 grams/capita/day average of national consumption. Consumers assume that the dryness is a very high importance value in judging and deciding whether to buy the fresh shallots, followed by the attribute of aroma, price, and size of the root. Meanwhile, the combination of attributes that is most preferred are fresh shallots with bulb diameter of 2.5 cm, strong aroma, low price ranging below Rp 35000/kg and dryness level in medium category which means the products are in a rather moist/dry condition, and has a little skin waste.

Combining iGoogle and personal health records to create a prototype personal health application for diabetes self-management.

PubMed

Fonda, Stephanie J; Kedziora, Richard J; Vigersky, Robert A; Bursell, Sven-Erik

2010-05-01

The aim of this project is to create a prototype for a personal health application (PHA) for patients (i.e., consumers) with diabetes by employing a user-centered design process. This article describes the design process for and resulting architecture, workflow, and functionality of such a PHA. For the design process, we conducted focus groups with people who have diabetes (n = 21) to ascertain their needs for a PHA. We then developed a prototype in response to these needs, and through additional focus groups and step-by-step demonstrations for people with diabetes as well as healthcare providers, we obtained feedback about the prototype. The feedback led to changes in the PHA's presentation and function. Focus group participants said they wanted a tool that could give them timely, readily available information on how diabetes-related domains interact, how their behaviors affect them, and what to do next. Thus, the prototype PHA is Internet-based, retrieves data for diabetes self-management from a personal health record, displays those data using gadgets in the consumer's iGoogle page, and makes the data available to a decision-support component that provides lifestyle-oriented advice. Manipulation of the data enables consumers to anticipate the results of future actions and to see interrelationships. A user-centered design process resulted in a PHA that uses technology that is publicly available, employs a personal health record, and is Internet based. This PHA can provide the backbone for a decision support system that can bring together the cornerstones of diabetes self-management and integrate them into the life of the person with diabetes.

PRISM: Promoting Resilience, Independence and Self Management--a strategy to manage chronic mental illnesses.

PubMed

Arya, Dinesh K

2013-08-01

Many transformations in how mental health care is delivered have required the development of new ways of providing care, treatment and support to mental health consumers. In the recent past, to support consumers and their carers adequately and appropriately, there has been emphasis on case management and care coordination. There is a need to consider whether over-emphasis on case management should be limited to the minority of mental health consumers who are unable to make competent decisions, whereas majority of consumers should take complete charge of their own treatment. PRISM (Promoting Resilience, Independence and Self Management) is a conceptual framework that potentially offers an opportunity to empower consumers to take charge of their own treatment by using specific tools, including a PRISM Pack, Take Charge Sheet, Protocol for Appropriate Care and use of methods that ensure that the mental health consumer does become a key decision maker with regard to their own care and treatment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

An intelligent, knowledge-based multiple criteria decision making advisor for systems design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yongchang

In systems engineering, design and operation of systems are two main problems which always attract researcher's attentions. The accomplishment of activities in these problems often requires proper decisions to be made so that the desired goal can be achieved, thus, decision making needs to be carefully fulfilled in the design and operation of systems. Design is a decision making process which permeates through out the design process, and is at the core of all design activities. In modern aircraft design, more and more attention is paid to the conceptual and preliminary design phases so as to increase the odds of choosing a design that will ultimately be successful at the completion of the design process, therefore, decisions made during these early design stages play a critical role in determining the success of a design. Since aerospace systems are complex systems with interacting disciplines and technologies, the Decision Makers (DMs) dealing with such design problems are involved in balancing the multiple, potentially conflicting attributes/criteria, transforming a large amount of customer supplied guidelines into a solidly defined set of requirement definitions. Thus, one could state with confidence that modern aerospace system design is a Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) process. A variety of existing decision making methods are available to deal with this type of decision problems. The selection of the most appropriate decision making method is of particular importance since inappropriate decision methods are likely causes of misleading engineering design decisions. With no sufficient knowledge about each of the methods, it is usually difficult for the DMs to find an appropriate analytical model capable of solving their problems. In addition, with the complexity of the decision problem and the demand for more capable methods increasing, new decision making methods are emerging with time. These various methods exacerbate the difficulty of the selection of an appropriate decision making method. Furthermore, some DMs may be exclusively using one or two specific methods which they are familiar with or trust and not realizing that they may be inappropriate to handle certain classes of the problems, thus yielding erroneous results. These issues reveal that in order to ensure a good decision a suitable decision method should be chosen before the decision making process proceeds. The first part of this dissertation proposes an MCDM process supported by an intelligent, knowledge-based advisor system referred to as Multi-Criteria Interactive Decision-Making Advisor and Synthesis process (MIDAS), which is able to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate decision making method and which provides insight to the user for fulfilling different preferences. The second part of this dissertation presents an autonomous decision making advisor which is capable of dealing with ever-evolving real time information and making autonomous decisions under uncertain conditions. The advisor encompasses a Markov Decision Process (MDP) formulation which takes uncertainty into account when determines the best action for each system state. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Decision-Making Processes in the Workplace: How Exhaustion, Lack of Resources and Job Demands Impair Them and Affect Performance

PubMed Central

Ceschi, Andrea; Demerouti, Evangelia; Sartori, Riccardo; Weller, Joshua

2017-01-01

The present study aims to connect more the I/O and the decision-making psychological domains, by showing how some common components across jobs interfere with decision-making and affecting performance. Two distinct constructs that can contribute to positive workplace performance have been considered: decision-making competency (DMCy) and decision environment management (DEM). Both factors are presumed to involve self-regulatory mechanisms connected to decision processes by influencing performance in relation to work environment conditions. In the framework of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the present study tested how such components as job demands, job resources and exhaustion can moderate decision-making processes and performance, where high resources are advantageous for decision-making processes and performance at work, while the same effect happens with low job demands and/or low exhaustion. In line with the formulated hypotheses, results confirm the relations between both the decision-making competences, performance (i.e., in-role and extra-role) and moderators considered. In particular, employees with low levels of DMCy show to be more sensitive to job demands toward in-role performance, whereas high DEM levels increase the sensitivity of employees toward job resources and exhaustion in relation to extra-role performance. These findings indicate that decision-making processes, as well as work environment conditions, are jointly related to employee functioning. PMID:28529491

Decision-Making Processes in the Workplace: How Exhaustion, Lack of Resources and Job Demands Impair Them and Affect Performance.

PubMed

Ceschi, Andrea; Demerouti, Evangelia; Sartori, Riccardo; Weller, Joshua

2017-01-01

The present study aims to connect more the I/O and the decision-making psychological domains, by showing how some common components across jobs interfere with decision-making and affecting performance. Two distinct constructs that can contribute to positive workplace performance have been considered: decision-making competency (DMCy) and decision environment management (DEM). Both factors are presumed to involve self-regulatory mechanisms connected to decision processes by influencing performance in relation to work environment conditions. In the framework of the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the present study tested how such components as job demands, job resources and exhaustion can moderate decision-making processes and performance, where high resources are advantageous for decision-making processes and performance at work, while the same effect happens with low job demands and/or low exhaustion. In line with the formulated hypotheses, results confirm the relations between both the decision-making competences, performance (i.e., in-role and extra-role) and moderators considered. In particular, employees with low levels of DMCy show to be more sensitive to job demands toward in-role performance, whereas high DEM levels increase the sensitivity of employees toward job resources and exhaustion in relation to extra-role performance. These findings indicate that decision-making processes, as well as work environment conditions, are jointly related to employee functioning.

Prediction of alcohol and gambling problems in young adults by using a measure of decision making.

PubMed

Harvanko, Arit M; Schreiber, Liana R N; Grant, Jon E

2013-01-01

Individuals who regularly gamble, regularly consume alcohol, or meet criteria for an alcohol-use disorder or pathological gambling may make riskier decisions on cognitive tasks. What remains unclear in the literature is whether these decision-making deficits precede or result from these addictive behaviors. This study aimed to determine whether risky decision making on a cognitive task is predictive of increasing gambling behaviors and alcohol use. Fifty-eight young adults (aged 18-29 years) free from Axis I disorders and reporting no symptoms of at-risk gambling behavior or alcohol consumption, who were participating in a longitudinal study of impulsivity, were grouped as either high-risk decision makers (n = 29) or low-risk decision makers (n = 29) by using the Cambridge Gamble Task. Subjects were assessed at 1-year follow-up to examine gambling frequency, alcohol consumption, at-risk alcohol-use criteria, alcohol-use disorder criteria, at-risk gambling criteria, and pathological gambling criteria. High-risk decision makers were found to be more likely to meet at-risk criteria for alcohol use after 1 year. Decision-making group membership was not significantly correlated with frequency of gambling or development of pathological gambling or alcohol-use disorder over 1 year. A variable measuring risky decision making on the Cambridge Gambling Task may be able to predict who is more likely to increase alcohol use per session later in life.

When Friends' and Society's Expectations Collide: A Longitudinal Study of Moral Decision-Making and Personality across College.

PubMed

Bollich, Kathryn L; Hill, Patrick L; Harms, Peter D; Jackson, Joshua J

2016-01-01

Early adulthood is a developmentally important time period, with many novel life events needing to be traversed for the first time. Despite this important transition period, few studies examine the development of moral decision-making processes during this critical life stage. In the present study, college students completed moral decision-making measures during their freshman and senior years of college. Results indicate that, across four years, moral decision-making demonstrates considerable rank-order stability as well as change, such that people become more likely to help a friend relative to following societal rules. To help understand the mechanisms driving changes in moral decision-making processes, we examined their joint development with personality traits, a known correlate that changes during early adulthood in the direction of greater maturity. We found little evidence that personality and moral decision-making developmental processes are related. In sum, findings indicate that while moral decision-making processes are relatively stable across a four-year period, changes do occur which are likely independent of developmental processes driving personality trait change.

When Friends’ and Society’s Expectations Collide: A Longitudinal Study of Moral Decision-Making and Personality across College

PubMed Central

Bollich, Kathryn L.; Hill, Patrick L.; Harms, Peter D.; Jackson, Joshua J.

2016-01-01

Early adulthood is a developmentally important time period, with many novel life events needing to be traversed for the first time. Despite this important transition period, few studies examine the development of moral decision-making processes during this critical life stage. In the present study, college students completed moral decision-making measures during their freshman and senior years of college. Results indicate that, across four years, moral decision-making demonstrates considerable rank-order stability as well as change, such that people become more likely to help a friend relative to following societal rules. To help understand the mechanisms driving changes in moral decision-making processes, we examined their joint development with personality traits, a known correlate that changes during early adulthood in the direction of greater maturity. We found little evidence that personality and moral decision-making developmental processes are related. In sum, findings indicate that while moral decision-making processes are relatively stable across a four-year period, changes do occur which are likely independent of developmental processes driving personality trait change. PMID:26751944

Separating Business Logic from Medical Knowledge in Digital Clinical Workflows Using Business Process Model and Notation and Arden Syntax.

PubMed

de Bruin, Jeroen S; Adlassnig, Klaus-Peter; Leitich, Harald; Rappelsberger, Andrea

2018-01-01

Evidence-based clinical guidelines have a major positive effect on the physician's decision-making process. Computer-executable clinical guidelines allow for automated guideline marshalling during a clinical diagnostic process, thus improving the decision-making process. Implementation of a digital clinical guideline for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B as a computerized workflow, thereby separating business logic from medical knowledge and decision-making. We used the Business Process Model and Notation language system Activiti for business logic and workflow modeling. Medical decision-making was performed by an Arden-Syntax-based medical rule engine, which is part of the ARDENSUITE software. We succeeded in creating an electronic clinical workflow for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, where institution-specific medical decision-making processes could be adapted without modifying the workflow business logic. Separation of business logic and medical decision-making results in more easily reusable electronic clinical workflows.

Breaking the sound barrier: exploring parents' decision-making process of cochlear implants for their children.

PubMed

Chang, Pamara F

2017-08-01

To understand the dynamic experiences of parents undergoing the decision-making process regarding cochlear implants for their child(ren). Thirty-three parents of d/Deaf children participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and coded using iterative and thematic coding. The results from this study reveal four salient topics related to parents' decision-making process regarding cochlear implantation: 1) factors parents considered when making the decision to get the cochlear implant for their child (e.g., desire to acculturate child into one community), 2) the extent to which parents' communities influence their decision-making (e.g., norms), 3) information sources parents seek and value when decision-making (e.g., parents value other parent's experiences the most compared to medical or online sources), and 4) personal experiences with stigma affecting their decision to not get the cochlear implant for their child. This study provides insights into values and perspectives that can be utilized to improve informed decision-making, when making risky medical decisions with long-term implications. With thorough information provisions, delineation of addressing parents' concerns and encompassing all aspects of the decision (i.e., medical, social and cultural), health professional teams could reduce the uncertainty and anxiety for parents in this decision-making process for cochlear implantation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ABC estimation of unit costs for emergency department services.

PubMed

Holmes, R L; Schroeder, R E

1996-04-01

Rapid evolution of the health care industry forces managers to make cost-effective decisions. Typical hospital cost accounting systems do not provide emergency department managers with the information needed, but emergency department settings are so complex and dynamic as to make the more accurate activity-based costing (ABC) system prohibitively expensive. Through judicious use of the available traditional cost accounting information and simple computer spreadsheets. managers may approximate the decision-guiding information that would result from the much more costly and time-consuming implementation of ABC.

An Assessment of Decision-Making Processes in Dual-Career Marriages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kingsbury, Nancy M.

As large numbers of women enter the labor force, decision making and power processes have assumed greater importance in marital relationships. A sample of 51 (N=101) dual-career couples were interviewed to assess independent variables predictive of process power, process outcome, and subjective outcomes of decision making in dual-career families.…

Selective exposure to information: how different modes of decision making affect subsequent confirmatory information processing.

PubMed

Fischer, Peter; Fischer, Julia; Weisweiler, Silke; Frey, Dieter

2010-12-01

We investigated whether different modes of decision making (deliberate, intuitive, distracted) affect subsequent confirmatory processing of decision-consistent and inconsistent information. Participants showed higher levels of confirmatory information processing when they made a deliberate or an intuitive decision versus a decision under distraction (Studies 1 and 2). As soon as participants have a cognitive (i.e., deliberate cognitive analysis) or affective (i.e., intuitive and gut feeling) reason for their decision, the subjective confidence in the validity of their decision increases, which results in increased levels of confirmatory information processing (Study 2). In contrast, when participants are distracted during decision making, they are less certain about the validity of their decision and thus are subsequently more balanced in the processing of decision-relevant information.

Adult Age Differences in Dual Information Processes: Implications for the Role of Affective and Deliberative Processes in Older Adults' Decision Making.

PubMed

Peters, Ellen; Hess, Thomas M; Västfjäll, Daniel; Auman, Corinne

2007-03-01

Age differences in affective/experiential and deliberative processes have important theoretical implications for judgment and decision theory and important pragmatic implications for older-adult decision making. Age-related declines in the efficiency of deliberative processes predict poorer-quality decisions as we age. However, age-related adaptive processes, including motivated selectivity in the use of deliberative capacity, an increased focus on emotional goals, and greater experience, predict better or worse decisions for older adults depending on the situation. The aim of the current review is to examine adult age differences in affective and deliberative information processes in order to understand their potential impact on judgments and decisions. We review evidence for the role of these dual processes in judgment and decision making and then review two representative life-span perspectives (based on aging-related changes to cognitive or motivational processes) on the interplay between these processes. We present relevant predictions for older-adult decisions and make note of contradictions and gaps that currently exist in the literature. Finally, we review the sparse evidence about age differences in decision making and how theories and findings regarding dual processes could be applied to decision theory and decision aiding. In particular, we focus on prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979) and how prospect theory and theories regarding age differences in information processing can inform one another. © 2007 Association for Psychological Science.

E-health: transforming the physician/patient relationship.

PubMed

Ball, M J; Lillis, J

2001-04-01

Healthcare delivery is being transformed by advances in e-health and by the empowered, computer-literate public. Ready to become partners in their own health and to take advantage of online processes, health portals, and physician web pages and e-mail, this new breed of consumer is slowly redefining the physician/patient relationship. Such changes can effect positive results like improved clinical decision-making, increased efficiency, and strengthened communication between physicians and patients. First, however, physicians and the organizations that support them must fully understand their role in the e-health revolution. Both must advance their awareness of the new consumers and their needs and define specific action items that will help them realize the benefits of e-health. Through a combination of timely research and advice, this article will aid them in fulfilling both tasks.

Implementing the Affordable Care Act: Promoting Competition in the Individual Marketplaces.

PubMed

Cusano, David; Lucia, Kevin

2016-02-01

A main goal of the Affordable Care Act is to provide Americans with access to affordable coverage in the individual market, achieved in part by pro­moting competition among insurers on premium price and value. One primary mechanism for meeting that goal is the establishment of new individual health insurance marketplaces where consumers can shop for, compare, and purchase plans, with subsidies if they are eligible. In this issue brief, we explore how the Affordable Care Act is influencing competition in the individual marketplaces in four states--Kansas, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Washington. Strategies include: educating consumers and providing coverage information in one place to ease decision-making; promoting competition among insurers; and ensuring a level playing field for premium rate development through the rate review process.

Linking Effective Project Management to Business Strategy in Oil and Gas Industry through Decision-making Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adeleke, Adeyinka

The construction project in the oil and gas industry covers the entire spectrum of hydrocarbon production from the wellhead (upstream) to downstream facilities. In each of these establishments, the activities in a construction project include: consulting, studies, front-end engineering, detail engineering, procurement, program management, construction, installation, commissioning and start-up. Efficient management of each of the activities involved in construction projects is one of the driving forces for the successful completion of the project. Optimizing the crucial factors in project management during each phase of a project in an oil and gas industry can assist managers to maximize the use of available resources and drive the project to successful conclusions. One of these factors is the decision-making process in the construction project. Current research effort investigated the relationship between decision-making processes and business strategy in oil and gas industry using employee surveys. I recruited employees of different races, age group, genders, and years of experience in order understand their influence on the implementation of the decision-making process in oil and gas industry through a quantitative survey. Decision-making was assessed using five decision measures: (a) rational, (b) intuitive, (c) dependent, (d) avoidant, and (e) spontaneous. The findings indicated gender, age, years of work experience and job titles as primary variables with a negative relationship with decision-making approach for employees working in a major oil and gas industry. The study results revealed that the two most likely decision-making methods in oil and gas industry include: making a decision in a logical and systematic way and seek assistance from others when making a decision. Additionally, the two leading management approaches to decision-making in the oil and gas industry include: decision analysis is part of organization culture and management is committed to the decision-making process. Some recommendations for future studies were presented based on the need to intensify the importance of the current study and enlarge the body of knowledge regarding decision-making process in oil and gas industry.

Shared decision making in chronic care in the context of evidence based practice in nursing.

PubMed

Friesen-Storms, Jolanda H H M; Bours, Gerrie J J W; van der Weijden, Trudy; Beurskens, Anna J H M

2015-01-01

In the decision-making environment of evidence-based practice, the following three sources of information must be integrated: research evidence of the intervention, clinical expertise, and the patient's values. In reality, evidence-based practice usually focuses on research evidence (which may be translated into clinical practice guidelines) and clinical expertise without considering the individual patient's values. The shared decision-making model seems to be helpful in the integration of the individual patient's values in evidence-based practice. We aim to discuss the relevance of shared decision making in chronic care and to suggest how it can be integrated with evidence-based practice in nursing. We start by describing the following three possible approaches to guide the decision-making process: the paternalistic approach, the informed approach, and the shared decision-making approach. Implementation of shared decision making has gained considerable interest in cases lacking a strong best-treatment recommendation, and when the available treatment options are equivalent to some extent. We discuss that in chronic care it is important to always invite the patient to participate in the decision-making process. We delineate the following six attributes of health care interventions in chronic care that influence the degree of shared decision making: the level of research evidence, the number of available intervention options, the burden of side effects, the impact on lifestyle, the patient group values, and the impact on resources. Furthermore, the patient's willingness to participate in shared decision making, the clinical expertise of the nurse, and the context in which the decision making takes place affect the shared decision-making process. A knowledgeable and skilled nurse with a positive attitude towards shared decision making—integrated with evidence-based practice—can facilitate the shared decision-making process. We conclude that nurses as well as other health care professionals in chronic care should integrate shared decision making with evidence-based practice to deliver patient-centred care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Delivering information: A descriptive study of Australian women’s information needs for decision-making about birth facility

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Little information is known about what information women want when choosing a birth facility. The objective of this study was to inform the development of a consumer decision support tool about birth facility by identifying the information needs of maternity care consumers in Queensland, Australia. Methods Participants were 146 women residing in both urban and rural areas of Queensland, Australia who were pregnant and/or had recently given birth. A cross-sectional survey was administered in which participants were asked to rate the importance of 42 information items to their decision-making about birth facility. Participants could also provide up to ten additional information items of interest in an open-ended question. Results On average, participants rated 30 of the 42 information items as important to decision-making about birth facility. While the majority of information items were valued by most participants, those related to policies about support people, other women’s recommendations about the facility, freedom to choose one’s preferred position during labour and birth, the aesthetic quality of the facility, and access to on-site neonatal intensive care were particularly widely valued. Additional items of interest frequently focused on postnatal care and support, policies related to medical intervention, and access to water immersion. Conclusions The women surveyed had significant and diverse information needs for decision-making about birth facility. These findings have immediate applications for the development of decision support tools about birth facility, and highlight the need for tools which provide a large volume of information in an accessible and user-friendly format. These findings may also be used to guide communication and information-sharing by care providers involved in counselling pregnant women and families about their options for birth facility or providing referrals to birth facilities. PMID:22708648

Delivering information: a descriptive study of Australian women's information needs for decision-making about birth facility.

PubMed

Thompson, Rachel; Wojcieszek, Aleena M

2012-06-18

Little information is known about what information women want when choosing a birth facility. The objective of this study was to inform the development of a consumer decision support tool about birth facility by identifying the information needs of maternity care consumers in Queensland, Australia. Participants were 146 women residing in both urban and rural areas of Queensland, Australia who were pregnant and/or had recently given birth. A cross-sectional survey was administered in which participants were asked to rate the importance of 42 information items to their decision-making about birth facility. Participants could also provide up to ten additional information items of interest in an open-ended question. On average, participants rated 30 of the 42 information items as important to decision-making about birth facility. While the majority of information items were valued by most participants, those related to policies about support people, other women's recommendations about the facility, freedom to choose one's preferred position during labour and birth, the aesthetic quality of the facility, and access to on-site neonatal intensive care were particularly widely valued. Additional items of interest frequently focused on postnatal care and support, policies related to medical intervention, and access to water immersion. The women surveyed had significant and diverse information needs for decision-making about birth facility. These findings have immediate applications for the development of decision support tools about birth facility, and highlight the need for tools which provide a large volume of information in an accessible and user-friendly format. These findings may also be used to guide communication and information-sharing by care providers involved in counselling pregnant women and families about their options for birth facility or providing referrals to birth facilities.

Patient's decision making in selecting a hospital for elective orthopaedic surgery.

PubMed

Moser, Albine; Korstjens, Irene; van der Weijden, Trudy; Tange, Huibert

2010-12-01

The admission to a hospital for elective surgery, like arthroplasty, can be planned ahead. The elective nature of arthroplasty and the increasing stimulus of the public to critically select a hospital raise the issue of how patients actually take such decisions. The aim of this paper is to describe the decision-making process of selecting a hospital as experienced by people who underwent elective joint arthroplasty and to understand what factors influenced the decision-making process. Qualitative descriptive study with 18 participants who had a hip or knee replacement within the last 5 years. Data were gathered from eight individual interviews and four focus group interviews and analysed by content analysis. Three categories that influenced the selection of a hospital were revealed: information sources, criteria in decision making and decision-making styles within the GP- patient relationship. Various contextual aspects influenced the decision-making process. Most participants gave higher priority to the selection of a medical specialist than to the selection of a hospital. Selecting a hospital for arthroplasty is extremely complex. The decision-making process is a highly individualized process because patients have to consider and assimilate a diversity of aspects, which are relevant to their specific situation. Our findings support the model of shared decision making, which indicates that general practitioners should be attuned to the distinct needs of each patient at various moments during the decision making, taking into account personal, medical and contextual factors. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Decision-making about prenatal genetic testing among pregnant Korean-American women.

PubMed

Jun, Myunghee; Thongpriwan, Vipavee; Choi, Jeeyae; Sook Choi, Kyung; Anderson, Gwen

2018-01-01

to understand the prenatal genetic testing decision-making processes among pregnant Korean-American women. a qualitative, descriptive research design. referrals and snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 10 Korean-American women who had been recommended for amniocentesis during pregnancy in the United States (U.S.). All participants were born in Korea and had immigrated to the U.S. The number of years living in the U.S. ranged from 4 to 11 (M=5.7). various regional areas of the U.S. the researchers conducted face-to-face or phone interviews using semi-structured interview guides. The interviews were conducted in the Korean language and lasted approximately 50-100minutes. The interview guides focused on the decision-making process and experiences with prenatal genetic testing, as well as reflections on the decisions. Four core themes emerged related to the participants' decision-making processes, according to their descriptions. These themes are (1) facing the challenges of decision-making, (2) seeking support, (3) determining one's preferred role in the decision-making process, and (4) feeling uncomfortable with the degree of patient autonomy in U.S. health care. researchers concluded that many distinctive factors influence the decision-making processes used by pregnant Korean-American women. The results have the potential to improve shared decision-making practices regarding prenatal genetic testing. clinicians need to understand the sociocultural underpinnings of pregnant Korean-American immigrants regarding prenatal genetic screening and testing as an initial step to engage these patients in shared decision-making. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Prepayment Dilemma: A Consumer's Guide from ALA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laughrey, Edna; And Others

1977-01-01

Because prepayment problems have led to complaints from librarians, the Bookdealer-Library Relations Committee of the American Library Association offers considerations to serve as guidelines in making prepayment decisions. (JPF)

Consumers' and workers' perspectives about consumer-directed services in the United States.

PubMed

Swaine, Jamie G; Parish, Susan L; Igdalsky, Leah; Powell, Robyn M

2016-07-01

Consumer direction is a service delivery model that shifts decision-making from agencies to the individuals they serve. Using government funding, consumers hire, supervise, and schedule their own staff and maintain control over the delivery of their services. This study sought to understand the process of consumer direction as well as the experiences and perspectives of both the consumers and employees. The study also sought to better understand if and how consumer direction allows the consumer to direct his or her life, the impact consumer direction may have on the individual's health and health care, and how employment in consumer directed programs impacts the workers providing direct care services. This qualitative study included interviews with consumers (N = 20) and workers (N = 15) in Virginia, a southern state in the US. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted by one member of the research team and transcribed and coded for themes by the research team using grounded theory methodology. Consumers reported greater control over their services and increased access to health care, compared to what they previously received with traditional services. Conversely, consumers reported challenges in managing their staff and fulfilling the role of an employer. Employees reported a lack of training prior to starting their jobs, as well as an inability to live off on low hourly wages. Still, the majority of employees reported job satisfaction and fulfillment. Policymakers should expand and strengthen the consumer directed program. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evidence use in decision-making on introducing innovations: a systematic scoping review with stakeholder feedback.

PubMed

Turner, Simon; D'Lima, Danielle; Hudson, Emma; Morris, Stephen; Sheringham, Jessica; Swart, Nick; Fulop, Naomi J

2017-12-04

A range of evidence informs decision-making on innovation in health care, including formal research findings, local data and professional opinion. However, cultural and organisational factors often prevent the translation of evidence for innovations into practice. In addition to the characteristics of evidence, it is known that processes at the individual level influence its impact on decision-making. Less is known about the ways in which processes at the professional, organisational and local system level shape evidence use and its role in decisions to adopt innovations. A systematic scoping review was used to review the health literature on innovations within acute and primary care and map processes at the professional, organisational and local system levels which influence how evidence informs decision-making on innovation. Stakeholder feedback on the themes identified was collected via focus groups to test and develop the findings. Following database and manual searches, 31 studies reporting primary qualitative data met the inclusion criteria: 24 were of sufficient methodological quality to be included in the thematic analysis. Evidence use in decision-making on innovation is influenced by multi-level processes (professional, organisational, local system) and interactions across these levels. Preferences for evidence vary by professional group and health service setting. Organisations can shape professional behaviour by requiring particular forms of evidence to inform decision-making. Pan-regional organisations shape innovation decision-making at lower levels. Political processes at all levels shape the selection and use of evidence in decision-making. The synthesis of results from primary qualitative studies found that evidence use in decision-making on innovation is influenced by processes at multiple levels. Interactions between different levels shape evidence use in decision-making (e.g. professional groups and organisations can use local systems to validate evidence and legitimise innovations, while local systems can tailor or frame evidence to influence activity at lower levels). Organisational leaders need to consider whether the environment in which decisions are made values diverse evidence and stakeholder perspectives. Further qualitative research on decision-making practices that highlights how and why different types of evidence come to count during decisions, and tracks the political aspects of decisions about innovation, is needed.

Diffusion of environmentally-friendly energy technologies: buy versus lease differences in residential PV markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Varun; Sigrin, Benjamin

2013-03-01

Diffusion of microgeneration technologies, particularly rooftop photovoltaic (PV), represents a key option in reducing emissions in the residential sector. We use a uniquely rich dataset from the burgeoning residential PV market in Texas to study the nature of the consumer’s decision-making process in the adoption of these technologies. In particular, focusing on the financial metrics and the information decision-makers use to base their decisions upon, we study how the leasing and buying models affect individual choices and, thereby, the adoption of capital-intensive energy technologies. Overall, our findings suggest that the leasing model more effectively addresses consumers’ informational requirements and that, contrary to some other studies, buyers and lessees of PV do not necessarily differ significantly along socio-demographic variables. Instead, we find that the leasing model has opened up the residential PV market to a new, and potentially very large, consumer segment—those with a tight cash-flow situation.

Congruence between Preferred and Actual Participation Roles Increases Satisfaction with Treatment Decision Making among Japanese Women with Breast Cancer

PubMed

Yamauchi, Keiko; Nakao, Motoyuki; Nakashima, Mitsuyo; Ishihara, Yoko

2017-04-01

Objective: This study investigated the correlation between participation in the treatment decision-making process and satisfaction with the process among Japanese women with breast cancer. The influence of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on satisfaction with the treatment decision-making process was also examined. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, self-administered internet survey of 650 Japanese women with breast cancer in March 2016. Decisional role (active, collaborative, passive) in the treatment decision-making was elicited using the Japanese version of the Control Preference Scale. Satisfaction with the decision-making process was assessed. Result: About half of the participants preferred to play a collaborative role, while half of the participants perceived that they played an active role. Satisfaction among the participants who made their treatment choice collaboratively with their physicians was significantly higher than that of participants who made the choice by themselves or entrusted their physicians to make the decision. However, two-way ANOVA demonstrated that satisfaction level was associated with the congruence between the participants’ preferred and actual decisional roles, but not with the actual decisional roles that they played. This association had no interaction with sociodemographic and clinical status, except for education level. A majority of the participants who participated in the roles they preferred in choosing their treatment option indicated that they would participate in the same role if they were to face a similar decision-making situation in the future. Conclusion: Regardless of their role played in the cancer treatment decision-making process, and irrespective of their sociodemographic and clinical status, Japanese women with breast cancer are more satisfied with the treatment decision-making process when their participation in the process matches their preferred role in the process. Creative Commons Attribution License

Congruence between Preferred and Actual Participation Roles Increases Satisfaction with Treatment Decision Making among Japanese Women with Breast Cancer

PubMed Central

Yamauchi, Keiko; Nakao, Motoyuki; Nakashima, Mitsuyo; Ishihara, Yoko

2017-01-01

Objective: This study investigated the correlation between participation in the treatment decision-making process and satisfaction with the process among Japanese women with breast cancer. The influence of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on satisfaction with the treatment decision-making process was also examined. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, self-administered internet survey of 650 Japanese women with breast cancer in March 2016. Decisional role (active, collaborative, passive) in the treatment decision-making was elicited using the Japanese version of the Control Preference Scale. Satisfaction with the decision-making process was assessed. Result: About half of the participants preferred to play a collaborative role, while half of the participants perceived that they played an active role. Satisfaction among the participants who made their treatment choice collaboratively with their physicians was significantly higher than that of participants who made the choice by themselves or entrusted their physicians to make the decision. However, two-way ANOVA demonstrated that satisfaction level was associated with the congruence between the participants’ preferred and actual decisional roles, but not with the actual decisional roles that they played. This association had no interaction with sociodemographic and clinical status, except for education level. A majority of the participants who participated in the roles they preferred in choosing their treatment option indicated that they would participate in the same role if they were to face a similar decision-making situation in the future. Conclusion: Regardless of their role played in the cancer treatment decision-making process, and irrespective of their sociodemographic and clinical status, Japanese women with breast cancer are more satisfied with the treatment decision-making process when their participation in the process matches their preferred role in the process. PMID:28545197

A qualitative systematic review of internal and external influences on shared decision-making in all health care settings.

PubMed

Truglio-Londrigan, Marie; Slyer, Jason T; Singleton, Joanne K; Worral, Priscilla

The objective of this review is to identify and synthesize the best available evidence related to the meaningfulness of internal and external influences on shared-decision making for adult patients and health care providers in all health care settings.The specific questions to be answered are: BACKGROUND: Patient-centered care is emphasized in today's healthcare arena. This emphasis is seen in the works of the International Alliance of Patients' Organizations (IAOP) who describe patient-centered healthcare as care that is aimed at addressing the needs and preferences of patients. The IAOP presents five principles which are foundational to the achievement of patient-centered healthcare: respect, choice, policy, access and support, as well as information. These five principles are further described as:Within the description of these five principles the idea of shared decision-making is clearly evident.The concept of shared decision-making began to appear in the literature in the 1990s. It is defined as a "process jointly shared by patients and their health care provider. It aims at helping patients play an active role in decisions concerning their health, which is the ultimate goal of patient-centered care." The details of the shared decision-making process are complex and consist of a series of steps including:Three overall representative decision-making models are noted in contemporary literature. These three models include: paternalistic, informed decision-making, and shared decision-making. The paternalistic model is an autocratic style of decision-making where the healthcare provider carries out the care from the perspective of knowing what is best for the patient and therefore makes all decisions. The informed decision-making model takes place as the information needed to make decisions is conveyed to the patient and the patient makes the decisions without the healthcare provider involvement. Finally, the shared decision-making model is representative of a sharing and a negotiation towards treatment decisions. Thus, these models represent a range with patient non-participation at one end of the continuum to informed decision making or a high level of patient power at the other end. Several shared decision-making models focus on the process of shared decision-making previously noted. A discussion of several process models follows below.Charles et al. depicts a process model of shared decision-making that identifies key characteristics that must be in evidence. The patient shares in the responsibility with the healthcare provider in this model. The key characteristics included:This model illustrates that there must be at least two individuals participating, however, family and friends may be involved in a variety of roles such as the collector of information, the interpreter of this information, coach, advisor, negotiator, and caretaker. This model also depicts the need to take steps to participate in the shared decision-making process. To take steps means that there is an agreement between and among all involved that shared decision-making is necessary and preferred. Research about patient preferences, however, offers divergent views. The link between patient preferences for shared decision-making and the actuality of shared decision-making in practice is not strong. Research concerning patients and patient preferences on shared decision-making points to variations depending on age, education, socio-economic status, culture, and diagnosis. Healthcare providers may also hold preferences for shared decision-making; however, research in this area is not as comprehensive as is patient focused research. Elwyn et al. explored the views of general practice providers on involving patients in decisions. Both positive and negative views were identified ranging from receptive, noting potential benefits, to concern for the unrealistic nature of participation and sharing in the decision-making process. An example of this potential difficulty, from a healthcare provider perspective, is identifying the potential conflict that may develop when a patient's preference is different from clinical practice guidelines. This is further exemplified in healthcare encounters when a situation may not yield itself to a clear answer but rather lies in a grey area. These situations are challenging for healthcare providers.The notion of information sharing as a prerequisite to shared decision-making offers insight into another process. The healthcare provider must provide the patient the information that they need to know and understand in order to even consider and participate in the shared decision-making process. This information may include the disease, potential treatments, consequences of those treatments, and any alternatives, which may include the decision to do nothing. Without knowing this information the patient will not be able to participate in the shared decision-making process. The complexity of this step is realized if one considers what the healthcare provider needs to know in order to first assess what the patient knows and does not know, the readiness of the patient to participate in this educational process and learn the information, as well as, the individual learning styles of the patient taking into consideration the patient's ideas, values, beliefs, education, culture, literacy, and age. Depending on the results of this assessment the health care provider then must communicate the information to the patient. This is also a complex process that must take into consideration the relationship, comfort level, and trust between the healthcare provider and the patient.Finally, the treatment decision is reached between both the healthcare provider and the patient. Charles et al. portrays shared decision-making as a process with the end product, the shared decision, as the outcome. This outcome may be a decision as to the agreement of a treatment decision, no agreement reached as to a treatment decision, and disagreement as to a treatment decision. Negotiation is a part of the process as the "test of a shared decision (as distinct from the decision-making process) is if both parties agree on the treatment option."Towle and Godolphin developed a process model that further exemplifies the role of the healthcare provider and the patient in the shared decision-making process as mutual partners with mutual responsibilities. The capacity to engage in this shared decision-making rests, therefore, on competencies including knowledge, skills, and abilities for both the healthcare provider and the patient. This mutual partnership and the corresponding competencies are presented for both the healthcare provider and the patient in this model. The competencies noted for the healthcare provider for shared decision making include:Patient competencies include:This model illustrates the shared decision-making process with emphasis on the role of the healthcare provider and the patient very similar to the prior model. This model, however, gives greater emphasis to the process of the co-participation of the healthcare provider and the patient. The co-participation depicts a mutual partnership with mutual responsibilities that can be seen as "reciprocal relationships of dialogue." For this to take place the relationship between and among the participants of the shared decision-making process is important along with other internal and external influences such as communication, trust, mutual respect, honesty, time, continuity, and commitment. Cultural, social, and age group differences; evidence; and team and family are considered within this model.Elwyn et al. presents yet another model that depicts the shared decision-making process; however, this model offers a view where the healthcare provider holds greater responsibility in this process. In this particular model the process focuses on the healthcare provider and the essential skills needed to engage the patient in shard decisions. The competencies outlined in this model include:The healthcare provider must demonstrate knowledge, competencies, and skills as a communicator. The skills for communication competency require the healthcare provider to be able to elicit the patient's thoughts and input regarding treatment management throughout the consultation. The healthcare provider must also demonstrate competencies in assessment skills beyond physical assessment that includes the ability to assess the patient's perceptions and readiness to participate. In addition, the healthcare provider must be able to assess the patient's readiness to learn the information that the patient needs to know in order to fully engage in the shared decision-making process, assess what the patient already knows, what the patient does not know, and whether or not the information that the patient knows is accurate. Once this assessment is completed the healthcare provider then must draw on his/her knowledge, competencies, and skills necessary to teach the patient what the patient needs to know to be informed. This facilitates the notion of the tailor-made information noted previously. The healthcare provider also requires competencies in how to check and evaluate the entire process to ensure that the patient does understand and accept with comfort not only the plan being negotiated but the entire process of sharing in decision-making. In addition to the above, there are further competencies such as competence in working with groups and teams, competencies in terms of cultural knowledge, competencies with regard to negotiation skills, as well as, competencies when faced with ethical challenges.Shared decision-making has been associated with autonomy, empowerment, and effectiveness and efficiency. Both patients and health care providers have noted improvement in relationships and improved interactions when shared decision-making is in evidence. Along with this improved relationship and interaction enhanced compliance is noted. Additional research points to patient satisfaction and enhanced quality of life. There is some evidence to suggest that shared decision-making does facilitate positive health outcomes.In today's healthcare environment there is greater emphasis on patient-centered care that exemplifies patient engagement, participation, partnership, and shared decision-making. Given the shift from the more autocratic delivery of care to the shared approach there is a need to more fully understand the what of shared decision-making as well as how shared decision-making takes place along with what internal and external influences may encourage, support, and facilitate the shared decision-making process. These influences are intervening variables that may be of significance for the successful development of practice-based strategies that may foster shared decision-making in practice. The purpose of this qualitative systematic review is to identify internal and external influences on shared decision-making in all health care settings.A preliminary search of the Joanna Briggs Library of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PROSPERO did not identify any previously conducted qualitative systematic reviews on the meaningfulness of internal and external influences on shared decision-making.

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

Enhancing The Army Operations Process Through The Incorportation of Holography

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-09

the process and gives the user the sense of a noninvasive enhancement to quickly make decisions . Processes and information no longer create...mentally overlaying it onto the process . Data now augments reality and is a noninvasive process to decision making . v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper...environment, augmented on top of reality decreases the amount of time needed to make decisions

Information Systems to Support a Decision Process at Stanford.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaffee, Ellen Earle

1982-01-01

When a rational decision process is desired, information specialists can contribute information and also contribute to the process in which that information is used, thereby promoting rational decision-making. The contribution of Stanford's information specialists to rational decision-making is described. (MLW)

Making the case for evidence-based design in healthcare: a descriptive case study of organizational decision making.

PubMed

Shoemaker, Lorie K; Kazley, Abby Swanson; White, Andrea

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to describe the organizational decision-making process used in the selection of evidence-based design (EBD) concepts, the criteria used to make these decisions, and the extent to which leadership style may have influenced the decision-making process. Five research questions were formulated to frame the direction of this study, including: (1) How did healthcare leaders learn of innovations in design? (2) How did healthcare leaders make decisions in the selection of healthcare design concepts? (3) What criteria did healthcare leaders use in the decision-making process? (4) How did healthcare leaders consider input from the staff in design decisions? and (5) To what extent did the leadership style of administrators affect the outcomes of the decision-making process? Current issues affecting healthcare in the community led the principal investigator's organization to undertake an ambitious facilities expansion project. As part of its planning process, the organization learned of EBD principles that seemingly had a positive impact on patient care and safety and staff working conditions. Although promising, a paucity of empirical research addressed the cost/benefit of incorporating many EBD concepts into one hospital setting, and there was no research that articulated the organizational decision-making process used by healthcare administrators when considering the use of EBD in expansion projects. A mixed-method, descriptive, qualitative, single-case study and quantitative design were used to address the five research questions. The Systems Research Organizing Model provided the theoretical framework. A variety of data collection methods was used, including interviews of key respondents, the review of documentary evidence, and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. A participatory process was used throughout the design decision phases, involving staff at all levels of the organization. The Internet and architects facilitated learning about EBD. Financial considerations were a factor in decision making. The prevalence of the transformational leadership style among the organization's administrators exceeded the U.S. mean.

Environmental impact assessment of transportation projects: An analysis using an integrated GIS, remote sensing, and spatial modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Gafy, Mohamed Anwar

Transportation projects will have impact on the environment. The general environmental pollution and damage caused by roads is closely associated with the level of economic activity. Although Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are dependent on geo-spatial information in order to make an assessment, there are no rules per se how to conduct an environmental assessment. Also, the particular objective of each assessment is dictated case-by-case, based on what information and analyses are required. The conventional way of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study is a time consuming process because it has large number of dependent and independent variables which have to be taken into account, which also have different consequences. With the emergence of satellite remote sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this research presents a new framework for the analysis phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for transportation projects based on the integration between remote sensing technology, geographic information systems, and spatial modeling. By integrating the merits of the map overlay method and the matrix method, the framework analyzes comprehensively the environmental vulnerability around the road and its impact on the environment. This framework is expected to: (1) improve the quality of the decision making process, (2) be applied both to urban and inter-urban projects, regardless of transport mode, and (3) present the data and make the appropriate analysis to support the decision of the decision-makers and allow them to present these data to the public hearings in a simple manner. Case studies, transportation projects in the State of Florida, were analyzed to illustrate the use of the decision support framework and demonstrate its capabilities. This cohesive and integrated system will facilitate rational decisions through cost effective coordination of environmental information and data management that can be tailored to specific projects. The framework would facilitate collecting, organizing, analyzing, archiving, and coordinating the information and data necessary to support technical and policy transportation decisions.

The enactment stage of end-of-life decision-making for children.

PubMed

Sullivan, Jane Elizabeth; Gillam, Lynn Heather; Monagle, Paul Terence

2018-01-11

Typically pediatric end-of-life decision-making studies have examined the decision-making process, factors, and doctors' and parents' roles. Less attention has focussed on what happens after an end-of-life decision is made; that is, decision enactment and its outcome. This study explored the views and experiences of bereaved parents in end-of-life decision-making for their child. Findings reported relate to parents' experiences of acting on their decision. It is argued that this is one significant stage of the decision-making process. A qualitative methodology was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with bereaved parents, who had discussed end-of-life decisions for their child who had a life-limiting condition and who had died. Data were thematically analysed. Twenty-five bereaved parents participated. Findings indicate that, despite differences in context, including the child's condition and age, end-of-life decision-making did not end when an end-of-life decision was made. Enacting the decision was the next stage in a process. Time intervals between stages and enactment pathways varied, but the enactment was always distinguishable as a separate stage. Decision enactment involved making further decisions - parents needed to discern the appropriate time to implement their decision to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining medical treatment. Unexpected events, including other people's actions, impacted on parents enacting their decision in the way they had planned. Several parents had to re-implement decisions when their child recovered from serious health issues without medical intervention. Significance of results A novel, critical finding was that parents experienced end-of-life decision-making as a sequence of interconnected stages, the final stage being enactment. The enactment stage involved further decision-making. End-of-life decision-making is better understood as a process rather than a discrete once-off event. The enactment stage has particular emotional and practical implications for parents. Greater understanding of this stage can improve clinician's support for parents as they care for their child.

Long-range airplane study: The consumer looks at SST travel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landes, K. H.; Matter, J. A.

1980-01-01

The attitudes of long-range air travelers toward several basic air travel decisions, were surveyed. Of interest were tradeoffs involving time versus comfort and time versus cost as they pertain to supersonic versus conventional wide-body aircraft on overseas routes. The market focused upon was the segment of air travelers most likely to make that type of tradeoff decision: those having flown overseas routes for business or personal reasons in the recent past. The information generated is intended to provide quantifiable insight into consumer demand for supersonic as compared to wide-body aircraft alternatives for long-range overseas air travel.

Decision-making about complementary and alternative medicine by cancer patients: integrative literature review.

PubMed

Weeks, Laura; Balneaves, Lynda G; Paterson, Charlotte; Verhoef, Marja

2014-01-01

Patients with cancer consistently report conflict and anxiety when making decisions about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment. To design evidence-informed decision-support strategies, a better understanding is needed of how the decision-making process unfolds for these patients during their experience with cancer. We undertook this study to review the research literature regarding CAM-related decision-making by patients with cancer within the context of treatment, survivorship, and palliation. We also aimed to summarize emergent concepts within a preliminary conceptual framework. We conducted an integrative literature review, searching 12 electronic databases for articles published in English that described studies of the process, context, or outcomes of CAM-related decision-making. We summarized descriptive data using frequencies and used a descriptive constant comparative method to analyze statements about original qualitative results, with the goal of identifying distinct concepts pertaining to CAM-related decision-making by patients with cancer and the relationships among these concepts. Of 425 articles initially identified, 35 met our inclusion criteria. Seven unique concepts related to CAM and cancer decision-making emerged: decision-making phases, information-seeking and evaluation, decision-making roles, beliefs, contextual factors, decision-making outcomes, and the relationship between CAM and conventional medical decision-making. CAM decision-making begins with the diagnosis of cancer and encompasses 3 distinct phases (early, mid, and late), each marked by unique aims for CAM treatment and distinct patterns of information-seeking and evaluation. Phase transitions correspond to changes in health status or other milestones within the cancer trajectory. An emergent conceptual framework illustrating relationships among the 7 central concepts is presented. CAM-related decision-making by patients with cancer occurs as a nonlinear, complex, dynamic process. The conceptual framework presented here identifies influential factors within that process, as well as patients' unique needs during different phases. The framework can guide the development and evaluation of theory-based decision-support programs that are responsive to patients' beliefs and preferences.

Establishing the effectiveness of patient decision aids: key constructs and measurement instruments

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Establishing the effectiveness of patient decision aids (PtDA) requires evidence that PtDAs improve the quality of the decision-making process and the quality of the choice made, or decision quality. The aim of this paper is to review the theoretical and empirical evidence for PtDA effectiveness and discuss emerging practical and research issues in the measurement of effectiveness. Methods This updated overview incorporates: a) an examination of the instruments used to measure five key decision-making process constructs (i.e., recognize decision, feel informed about options and outcomes, feel clear about goals and preferences, discuss goals and preferences with health care provider, and be involved in decisions) and decision quality constructs (i.e., knowledge, realistic expectations, values-choice agreement) within the 86 trials in the Cochrane review; and b) a summary of the 2011 Cochrane Collaboration’s review of PtDAs for these key constructs. Data on the constructs and instruments used were extracted independently by two authors from the 86 trials and any disagreements were resolved by discussion, with adjudication by a third party where required. Results The 86 studies provide considerable evidence that PtDAs improve the decision-making process and decision quality. A majority of the studies (76/86; 88%) measured at least one of the key decision-making process or decision quality constructs. Seventeen different measurement instruments were used to measure decision-making process constructs, but no single instrument covered all five constructs. The Decisional Conflict Scale was most commonly used (n = 47), followed by the Control Preference Scale (n = 9). Many studies reported one or more constructs of decision quality, including knowledge (n = 59), realistic expectation of risks and benefits (n = 21), and values-choice agreement (n = 13). There was considerable variability in how values-choice agreement was defined and determined. No study reported on all key decision-making process and decision quality constructs. Conclusions Evidence of PtDA effectiveness in improving the quality of the decision-making process and decision quality is strong and growing. There is not, however, consensus or standardization of measurement for either the decision-making process or decision quality. Additional work is needed to develop and evaluate measurement instruments and further explore theoretical issues to advance future research on PtDA effectiveness. PMID:24625035

Establishing the effectiveness of patient decision aids: key constructs and measurement instruments.

PubMed

Sepucha, Karen R; Borkhoff, Cornelia M; Lally, Joanne; Levin, Carrie A; Matlock, Daniel D; Ng, Chirk Jenn; Ropka, Mary E; Stacey, Dawn; Joseph-Williams, Natalie; Wills, Celia E; Thomson, Richard

2013-01-01

Establishing the effectiveness of patient decision aids (PtDA) requires evidence that PtDAs improve the quality of the decision-making process and the quality of the choice made, or decision quality. The aim of this paper is to review the theoretical and empirical evidence for PtDA effectiveness and discuss emerging practical and research issues in the measurement of effectiveness. This updated overview incorporates: a) an examination of the instruments used to measure five key decision-making process constructs (i.e., recognize decision, feel informed about options and outcomes, feel clear about goals and preferences, discuss goals and preferences with health care provider, and be involved in decisions) and decision quality constructs (i.e., knowledge, realistic expectations, values-choice agreement) within the 86 trials in the Cochrane review; and b) a summary of the 2011 Cochrane Collaboration's review of PtDAs for these key constructs. Data on the constructs and instruments used were extracted independently by two authors from the 86 trials and any disagreements were resolved by discussion, with adjudication by a third party where required. The 86 studies provide considerable evidence that PtDAs improve the decision-making process and decision quality. A majority of the studies (76/86; 88%) measured at least one of the key decision-making process or decision quality constructs. Seventeen different measurement instruments were used to measure decision-making process constructs, but no single instrument covered all five constructs. The Decisional Conflict Scale was most commonly used (n = 47), followed by the Control Preference Scale (n = 9). Many studies reported one or more constructs of decision quality, including knowledge (n = 59), realistic expectation of risks and benefits (n = 21), and values-choice agreement (n = 13). There was considerable variability in how values-choice agreement was defined and determined. No study reported on all key decision-making process and decision quality constructs. Evidence of PtDA effectiveness in improving the quality of the decision-making process and decision quality is strong and growing. There is not, however, consensus or standardization of measurement for either the decision-making process or decision quality. Additional work is needed to develop and evaluate measurement instruments and further explore theoretical issues to advance future research on PtDA effectiveness.

The power of putting a label on it: green labels weigh heavier than contradicting product information for consumers’ purchase decisions and post-purchase behavior

PubMed Central

Hahnel, Ulf J. J.; Arnold, Oliver; Waschto, Michael; Korcaj, Liridon; Hillmann, Karen; Roser, Damaris; Spada, Hans

2015-01-01

Green products are appealing. Thus, labeling products as environmentally friendly is an effective strategy to increase sales. However, the labels often promise more than the products can actually deliver. In the present research, we examined the expectation that consumers with high ecological motivation have strong preferences for green-labeled products – even when presented product information contradicts the label’s image. This unsettling hypothesis is grounded in the labels’ potential to create a cognitive match between the labeled product and consumers’ motives. For labels indicating environmental friendliness (green product labels), this link should be strongest when consumers’ ecological motivation is high. Findings in a series of three experiments support our assumption, showing that consumers with high ecological motivation had strong preferences (i.e., product evaluations, purchase intentions, and simulated purchase decisions) for green-labeled products as compared to consumers with low ecological motivation (Studies 1–3). Crucially, these preferences were robust, despite contradicting environmental product information (Studies 1 and 2). We extended our findings by additionally examining the impact of product labels and motivation on moral self-regulation processes. This was established by assessing participants’ pro-social behavior after the purchase task: participants with high ecological motivation acted, consistent with their motives, more pro-socially in post-decision occasions. In accordance with moral cleansing effects, pro-social behavior was intensified after purchasing conventional products (Studies 2 and 3). Green labels protected participants with high ecological motivation from moral threats due to the purchase, thus making pro-social behavior less likely. Findings suggest that highly ecologically motivated consumers are most susceptible to green labels, which may override detailed product information. PMID:26441767

Environmental Economics Research Strategy (2005)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This 2005 Environmental Economics Research Strategy outlines EPA’s research effort to provide the necessary behavioral science foundation for making decisions and designing environmental policies at the least cost to American businesses and consumers.

Evaluating Gender Equity and Fairness: A Consumer's Guidebook to Leading Companies. Research-in-Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrett, Shannon; Zuckerman, Diana

"The Feminist Dollar: The Wise Woman's Buying Guide", the book upon which this report is based, evaluates the gender fairness and equity policies of more than 400 companies, 50 states, and 35 countries to help consumers make informed decisions about which products to purchase and which states and countries to support with their travel…

Consumer Judging: Teaching Decision-Making Skills in the Marketplace. 4-H Manual for Grade Levels 4-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomason, Deborah J., Ed.

This 4-H manual provides instructions and materials for a consumer education activity. It contains a wide range of activities and learning opportunities for a hypothetical buying situation with several choices or alternatives provided. The manual is designed to teach the participant how to rank the choices and develop oral reasons for that…

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.

What is a good medical decision? A research agenda guided by perspectives from multiple stakeholders.

PubMed

Hamilton, Jada G; Lillie, Sarah E; Alden, Dana L; Scherer, Laura; Oser, Megan; Rini, Christine; Tanaka, Miho; Baleix, John; Brewster, Mikki; Craddock Lee, Simon; Goldstein, Mary K; Jacobson, Robert M; Myers, Ronald E; Zikmund-Fisher, Brian J; Waters, Erika A

2017-02-01

Informed and shared decision making are critical aspects of patient-centered care, which has contributed to an emphasis on decision support interventions to promote good medical decision making. However, researchers and healthcare providers have not reached a consensus on what defines a good decision, nor how to evaluate it. This position paper, informed by conference sessions featuring diverse stakeholders held at the 2015 Society of Behavioral Medicine and Society for Medical Decision Making annual meetings, describes key concepts that influence the decision making process itself and that may change what it means to make a good decision: interpersonal factors, structural constraints, affective influences, and values clarification methods. This paper also proposes specific research questions within each of these priority areas, with the goal of moving medical decision making research to a more comprehensive definition of a good medical decision, and enhancing the ability to measure and improve the decision making process.

16 CFR 1013.6 - Public availability of transcripts, recordings and minutes of Commission meetings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...) through (10) of § 1013.4 need not be made available to the public. (b) Procedures for making available... Commission for decision. In that event, the Commission decision shall be made within the time limits set... attention of the Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207. (ii) The Commission...

Classroom Software for the Information Age. Technical Report No. 23.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheingold, Karen; And Others

Consumers and producers of educational software must make decisions about what kind of software to buy and create. Both groups must base these decisions on criteria that consider what it is important to learn in our technological era, what is workable, and what is currently practical and cost-effective. Five criteria that are central to these…

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 nursing patients within a specific speciality and with experience, nurses gain a sense of saliency in relation to decision making. Experienced nurses may use all three forms of clinical decision making both independently and concurrently to solve nursing-related problems. It is suggested that O'Neill's clinical decision-making model could be tested by educators and experienced nurses to assess the efficacy of this hybrid approach to decision making.

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

Decision-making among patients and their family in ALS care: a review.

PubMed

Foley, Geraldine; Hynes, Geralyn

2018-05-01

Practice guidelines in ALS care emphasise the role of the patient and their family in the decision-making process. We aimed to examine the ALS patient/family relationship in the decision-making process and to ascertain how patients and their family can shape one another's decisions pertaining to care. We conducted a review of peer-reviewed empirical research, published in full and in English between January 2007 and January 2017, relating to care decision-making among ALS patients and their family. Database sources included: Medline; CINAHL; AMED; PsycINFO; PsycARTICLES; and Social Sciences Full Text. A narrative synthesis was undertaken. Forty-seven studies from the empirical literature were extracted. The family viewpoint was captured primarily from family members with direct care-giving duties. Patients' cognitive status was not routinely assessed. The findings revealed that the decision-making process in ALS care can be contoured by patients' and family caregivers' perceived responsibilities to one another and to the wider family. Greater attention to family member roles beyond the primary caregiver role is needed. Strategies that integrate cognitively-impaired patients into the family decision-making process require investigation. Identification of the domains in which ALS patients and their family members support one another in the decision-making process could facilitate the development of patient/family decision-making tools in ALS care.

Real-Time Decision Making and Aggressive Behavior in Youth: A Heuristic Model of Response Evaluation and Decision (RED)

PubMed Central

Fontaine, Reid Griffith; Dodge, Kenneth A.

2009-01-01

Considerable scientific and intervention attention has been paid to judgment and decision-making systems associated with aggressive behavior in youth. However, most empirical studies have investigated social-cognitive correlates of stable child and adolescent aggressiveness, and less is known about real-time decision making to engage in aggressive behavior. A model of real-time decision making must incorporate both impulsive actions and rational thought. The present paper advances a process model (response evaluation and decision; RED) of real-time behavioral judgments and decision making in aggressive youths with mathematic representations that may be used to quantify response strength. These components are a heuristic to describe decision making, though it is doubtful that individuals always mentally complete these steps. RED represents an organization of social–cognitive operations believed to be active during the response decision step of social information processing. The model posits that RED processes can be circumvented through impulsive responding. This article provides a description and integration of thoughtful, rational decision making and nonrational impulsivity in aggressive behavioral interactions. PMID:20802851

Real-Time Decision Making and Aggressive Behavior in Youth: A Heuristic Model of Response Evaluation and Decision (RED).

PubMed

Fontaine, Reid Griffith; Dodge, Kenneth A

2006-11-01

Considerable scientific and intervention attention has been paid to judgment and decision-making systems associated with aggressive behavior in youth. However, most empirical studies have investigated social-cognitive correlates of stable child and adolescent aggressiveness, and less is known about real-time decision making to engage in aggressive behavior. A model of real-time decision making must incorporate both impulsive actions and rational thought. The present paper advances a process model (response evaluation and decision; RED) of real-time behavioral judgments and decision making in aggressive youths with mathematic representations that may be used to quantify response strength. These components are a heuristic to describe decision making, though it is doubtful that individuals always mentally complete these steps. RED represents an organization of social-cognitive operations believed to be active during the response decision step of social information processing. The model posits that RED processes can be circumvented through impulsive responding. This article provides a description and integration of thoughtful, rational decision making and nonrational impulsivity in aggressive behavioral interactions.

State of the art in benefit-risk analysis: consumer perception.

PubMed

Ueland, Ø; Gunnlaugsdottir, H; Holm, F; Kalogeras, N; Leino, O; Luteijn, J M; Magnússon, S H; Odekerken, G; Pohjola, M V; Tijhuis, M J; Tuomisto, J T; White, B C; Verhagen, H

2012-01-01

Benefit and risk perception with respect to food consumption, have been a part of human daily life from beginning of time. In today's society the food chain is long with many different types of actors and low degree of transparency. Making informed food choices where knowledge of benefits and risks is part of the decision making process are therefore complicated for consumers. Thus, to understand how consumers perceive benefits and risks of foods, their importance in relation to quality evaluations are aspects that need to be addressed. The objective of this paper is to discuss state of the art in understanding consumer perceptions of benefits and risks of foods in order to improve understanding of consumer behaviour in the food domain. Risks may be associated with both acute and long term consequences, some of which may have serious effects. Perceived risks are connected to morbidity and mortality along two dimensions relating to unknown risk, and to which extent the risk is dreaded by the consumer. Unfamiliar, uncertain, unknown, uncontrollable, and severe consequences are some factors associated with risk perception. Novel food processing techniques, for instance, score high on several of these parameters and are consequently regarded with suspicion and perceived as risky by consumers. On a daily basis, benefits of foods and food consumption are more important in most consumers' minds than risks. Benefits are often associated with food's ability to assuage hunger, and to provide pleasure through eating and socialising. In addition, two main categories of benefits that are important for acceptance of product innovations are health and environmental benefits. Benefit and risk perception of foods seem to be inversely correlated, so when something is perceived as being highly beneficial, it is correspondingly perceived as having low risk. However, slightly different paths are used in the formation of these perceptions; benefit perception is based on heuristics and experience, while risk perception is to a larger extent the result of cognitive information processing. Consumers are particularly conservative when it comes to perception and acceptance of foods compared to other products. Benefit-risk evaluations tend to be skewed towards acceptance of all that is traditional and well-known (benefits), and rejection or suspicion towards anything that is novel or highly processed (risks) regardless of actual risk. Knowledge of how consumers perceive benefits and risks of foods, may contribute to understanding benefit-risk perception in other areas related to personal, societal or environmental perspectives. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Federal roles to realize national energy-efficiency opportunities in the 1990s

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirst, Eric

1989-10-01

Improving energy efficiency throughout the U.S. economy is a vital component of our nation's energy future, with many benefits. Improving efficiency can: save money consumers, increase economic productivity and international competitiveness, reduce oil and gas prices by reducing the demand for foreign oil, enhance national security by lowering oil imports, reduce the adverse environmental consequences of fuel cycles, especially acid rain and global warming, add diversity and flexibility to the nation's portfolio of energy resources, respond to public interest in, and support of, energy efficiency. The primary purpose of this report is to suggest expanded roles for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in improving energy efficiency during the 1990s. In an ideal world, the normal workings of the market place would yield optimal energy-efficiency purchase and operating decisions. Unfortunately, distortions in fuel prices, limited access to capital, misplaced incentives, lack of information, and difficulty in processing information complicate energy-related decision making. Thus, consumers in all sectors of the economy underinvest in energy-efficient systems. These market barriers, coupled with growing concern about environmental quality, justify a larger Federal role.