Behavioral Assumptions Research Articles

Effects of knowledge and implicit biases on pharmacy students' decision-making regarding pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention: A vignette-based experimental study

IntroductionMen who have sex with men (MSM), especially Black MSM, are disproportionately affected by HIV and experience disparate prescription of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention compared to White MSM. While pharmacists are essential in efforts to scale-up PrEP, little is known about the role of knowledge and implicit biases in pharmacy students' decision-making regarding PrEP, which may elucidate mechanisms for improving PrEP access and addressing disparities. MethodsA nationwide, cross-sectional study of pharmacy students in the United States was conducted. A fictional White or Black MSM seeking PrEP was presented. Participants completed measures of PrEP/HIV knowledge, implicit racism and heterosexism, assumptions about the patient's behavior (condomless sex, extra-relational sex, adherence to PrEP), and confidence providing PrEP-related care. ResultsA total of 194 pharmacy students completed the study. Compared to the White patient, the Black patient was assumed to be less adherent to PrEP if prescribed. In contrast, assumptions of sexual risk behaviors if prescribed PrEP and confidence providing PrEP-related care did not differ. Additionally, implicit racism was associated with lower confidence providing PrEP-related care, whereas PrEP/HIV knowledge, implicit sexual orientation bias, and assumed sexual risk behaviors if prescribed PrEP were not associated with confidence. ConclusionsPharmacists are essential in efforts to scale-up PrEP prescription, making pharmacy education about PrEP for HIV prevention critical. These findings suggest that implicit bias awareness training is needed. This training may reduce the influence of implicit racial bias on confidence providing PrEP-related care and improve knowledge of HIV and PrEP.

A Behavioral Foundation of Satiation and Habituation

Tastes change over time. People’s tastes are distorted through two channels: satiation formation and habit formation. In this paper, we develop a theoretical foundation of satiation and habituation by an axiomatic approach. Our theory is based on a hierarchy of preference conditions called compensation independence. The behavioral assumption underlying the preference conditions are the psychological compensation of human beings. I flesh out an axiomatic system for general models of satiation and habit formation, which contains many functional forms in the literature as special cases. Moreover, I advance the axiomatization to accommodate the linear representations of satiation and habit formation that are prevailing in the literature. This paper contributes to the birth of a new generation of the behavioral foundation for modeling satiation and habit formation, which might improve on the current state of the art in understanding people’s tastes over time and preferences. Theoretically, this study contributes to the vein of time-nonseparable preferences.

Addressing human behavior in conservation design: Learning from program applications

Human behavior plays a key role in determining conservation outcomes. The actions of multi-national environmental non-government organizations (NGOs) offer a way to critically assess behavior change approaches across geographies and conservation targets. In this paper, we seek to understand the range of ways in which practitioners in one such organization conceptualize and integrate human behavior into their conservation programs. This paper uses a survey of the NGO's interventions (n = 161) to identify several case studies, three of which we present here to illustrate how human behavior considerations were addressed in different contexts across the globe. The first case focuses on political support for water quality legislation in Long Island, USA, the second on women's engagement in eco-entrepreneurship in Oceania, and the third on fishing and agricultural practice in communities near Mahale Mountain National Park, Tanzania. Using the lens of applied work across varied contexts offers high-level insights on (1) the array of behavioral goals and strategies currently used in conservation interventions; (2) challenges facing project managers in using behavioral insights; and (3) areas of opportunity for improving and scaling up the use of behavioral insights in conservation. Our results indicate that many conservation interventions would benefit from reconceptualizing traditional environmental goals into social-environmental goals, framing work in the context of both environmental and behavioral outcomes, questioning and verifying behavioral assumptions, and tracking behavioral outcomes in project monitoring, reporting, and evaluation.

Getting Dynamic Implementation to Work

We develop a new class of two-stage mechanisms, which fully implement any social choice function under initial rationalizability in complete information environments. We show theoretically that our simultaneous report (SR) mechanisms are robust to small amounts of incomplete information about the state of nature. We also highlight the robustness of the mechanisms to a wide variety of reasoning processes and behavioral assumptions. We show experimentally that an SR mechanism performs well in inducing truth telling in both complete and incomplete information environments and that it can induce efficient investment in a two-sided holdup problem with ex ante investment.

Staff perspectives on smoking cessation treatment in German psychiatric hospitals

AimAlthough people with mental illness show a greater severity of nicotine dependence and have a significantly reduced life expectancy because of it, psychiatric staff rarely offer their patients smoking cessation support and are reluctant to encourage patients to quit. In order to improve smoking cessation treatment for psychiatric patients, such staff resistance must be better understood.Subjects and methodsA total of 448 members of staff in eight psychiatric units in Berlin were surveyed in relation to their attitudes towards smoking cessation.ResultsAlthough most participants recognize the importance of smoking cessation in psychiatric patients, they state that they do not adhere to international guidelines which recommend regularly asking patients about their smoking habits and offering cessation support. Staff have little knowledge about how to facilitate smoking cessation treatment and about the influences of smoking on the metabolism of drugs. They also harbor misconceptions about how smoking affects their patients’ mental well-being. Many express concern that a quit attempt might thwart psychiatric treatment and lead to aggressive behavior—assumptions unsupported by scientific evidence. The overwhelming majority does not believe it to be realistic that patients can manage to give up smoking during treatment.ConclusionsStaff training should be directed to heighten awareness of the international guidelines and treatment options for smoking cessation and impart knowledge on how smoking impacts both the physical and mental health of psychiatric patients.

Physical education in primary school and impact on educational leadership

Purpose: In Italy, the 2022 Budget Law, established the compulsory curricular teaching of physical education (PE) by the specialist teacher, with a master’s degree in exercise and sport sciences, in classes IV and V of primary school to achieve the objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, inherent in the assumption of behaviors and lifestyles appropriate to the harmonious development of the children. Since the impact studies of many internal stakeholders in primary schools have already been done, it remained to extend the impact study among school headmasters. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the perceptions of school headmasters on PE teaching and to verify the variables that could influence their opinions, to complete the study on the impact the reform has produced. Methods: The sample consisted of 32 primary school headmasters from Naples and province, who filled out a questionnaire to investigate their perceptions on PE teaching. Chi Square (X2) was performed to test the associations between variables. Results: 96.9% of headmasters favoured the introduction of the specialist teacher in PE and the compulsory teaching of PE, as it was considered essential. The perceptions of the need of a specific education to teach PE influenced both the importance of PE and the way it should be included in the school curriculum. Conclusions: Most of headmasters were aware that teaching PE required a specific education, possessed by the specialist teacher, wishing for its introduction in all primary school classes. Knowing the perceptions of school headmasters is crucial because, they can influence how PE is taught in the school, essential to ensure proper mental and physical development of the children and to counteract problems related to the need for movement. Keywords: perceptions; specialist teacher; generalist teacher; children wellbeing; headmasters.

Bihevioralne finansije - testiranje hipoteze efikasnog tržišta na Beogradskoj berzi

The goal of this paper is to highlight the limitations and reasons for the failure in modeling and materialization of scientific findings due to the assumption of rational behavior by investors. The confirmed inefficiency in the capital market affects investors in such a way that their decisions are not based on a proper evaluation of financial instruments. The results of the conducted empirical research disprove the hypothesis of traditional finance, which assumes rational decision-making. Therefore, to comprehend the process of investment decision-making, it is necessary to adopt the approach offered by behavioral finance, which incorporates a component of irrationality. The purpose is to analyze Belex15 yields and volatility with the aim of making effective investment decisions by applying and comparing the results of ARCH and GARCH models. These models are designed for time-series analysis, considering the observed instability of conditional variance. Using 2,517 daily logarithmic returns of Belex15, the E-GARCH model was selected, and the results suggest that investors must be cautious in their decision-making as the impact of negative shocks on yield volatility has a strong long-memory effect, making these investments highly risky, especially during unfavorable economic conditions.

Long-term economic impacts of coastal floods in Europe: a probabilistic analysis

<abstract> <p>In this article we quantify the long-term economic impacts of coastal flooding in Europe. In particular, how the direct coastal damages generate long-term economic losses that propagate and compound throughout the century. A set of probabilistic projections of inundation-related direct damages (to residential buildings, firms' physical assets and agriculture production) is used as an exogenous shock to a dynamic stochastic economic model. The article considers explicitly the uncertainty related to the economic agents' behaviour and other relevant macroeconomic assumptions, i.e., how would consumers finance the repairing of their homes, how long does it take for a firm to reconstruct, whether firms decide to build-back-better after the inundation and possibly compensate the losses with a productivity gain. Our findings indicate that the long-term impacts of coastal floods could be larger than the direct damages. Under a high emission scenario (RCP8.5) the EU27 plus UK could lose every year between 0.25% and 0.91% of output by 2100, twice as much as the direct damages. The welfare losses present a strong regional variation, with the South (Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain), and United Kingdom (UK) plus Ireland regions showing the highest damages and a significant part of the population that could suffer significant welfare losses by the end of the century.</p> </abstract>

Investigating day-to-day route choices based on multi-scenario laboratory experiments, Part I: Route-dependent attraction and its modeling

In the area of urban transportation networks, a growing number of day-to-day (DTD) traffic dynamic theories have been proposed to describe the network flow evolution, and an increasing amount of laboratory experiments have been conducted to observe travelers' behavior regularities. However, the "communication" between theorists and experimentalists has not been made well. This paper devotes to 1) detecting unanticipated behavior regularities by conducting a series of laboratory experiments, and 2) improving existing DTD dynamics theories by embedding the observed behavior regularities into a route choice model. First, 312 subjects participated in one of the eight decision-making scenarios and make route choices repeatedly in congestible parallel-route networks. Second, three route-switching behavior patterns that cannot be fully explained by the classic route-choice models are observed. Third, to enrich the explanation power of a discrete route-choice model, behavioral assumptions of route-dependent attractions, i.e., route-dependent inertia and preference, are introduced. An analytical DTD dynamic model is accordingly proposed and proven to steadily converge to a unique equilibrium state. Finally, the proposed DTD model could satisfactorily reproduce the observations in various datasets. The research results can help transportation science theorists to make the best use of laboratory experimentation and to build network equilibrium or DTD dynamic models with both real behavioral basis and neat mathematical properties.

Insights from in-situ pore pressure monitoring around a wind turbine monopile

Offshore wind turbine monopiles transfer large bending moments into the soil. Due to the large diameter of the foundation, a significant volume of soil is mobilised to absorb the incoming forces from wind, waves and current. If excess pore pressures are generated during load cycles, the long drainage path length could lead to accumulation of pore pressures and loss of strength and stiffness in the soil. During monopile design, undrained behaviour of the soil during cyclic loading is often assumed to conservatively assess the lateral pile resistance during storms. In-situ monitoring of pore pressures in the soil surrounding a monopile foundation allows the assumption of undrained behaviour to be checked for several episodes during the operational life of the foundation. A 3-year period of monitoring data was analysed for a North Sea monopile which included normal operation, storm episodes and rotor stops. Pore pressure and earth pressure sensors were positioned on the pile at two different depths in the most intensely loaded layer of surface sand. The data provides insight into the amount of excess pore pressure accumulation with storm loading not leading to significant accumulation of excess pore pressure. The only episodes showing a significant development of excess pore pressures were rotor stops with suction pressures being developed on the unloaded side of the monopile. The observed response suggests that significant pile-soil stiffness reductions in the top layer due to cyclic loading are not expected for the monitored location. The study shows the value of monitoring pore pressures in the soil mass surrounding offshore foundations for checking design assumptions.

Carrots or sticks? Inferring motives of corporate CSR Engagement from empirical data

What drives Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) engagement of firms? Most empirical literature on firms’ CSR engagement focuses on benefits resulting from CSR engagement which are granted by the public. Other studies argue that firms are driven by fear of negative public reactions. This raises, firstly, the question, whether rewards or punishments drive CSR engagement of firms. Secondly, how can we find out, whether benefits or punishments are more relevant? This study starts out from the observation that CSR is defined by going beyond statutory prescriptions monitored and enforced by legal institutions. Existing literature argues that firms orient themselves at public expectations regarding CSR, which are presumed to increase over time. But the specific drivers and mechanisms of this increase are yet unclear. Based on simple behavioral assumptions, we derive developments of CSR engagement for the overall population of firms and sub-populations. These developments differ in crucial aspects, depending on whether firms engage in CSR because they expect benefits or punishments. Comparing empirical data on CSR engagement at the population and sub-group level from different economic regions with implications derived from the behavioral assumptions indicates that in the US, the public exercises pressure by imposing punishments rather than by offering rewards, while this is not the case in other economic regions.

Increasing the dosing accuracy of a screw dosing device by inline measurement of the product density

Fine‐powdered bulk materials exhibit high compressibility even under low pressure. The dosing error in volumetric dosing devices increases fundamentally with increasing product compressibility. In order to increase the dosing accuracy of a volumetric dosing of powdered bulk solids, the dosing process must be adapted to the product parameters. The most important parameter is the time‐variable product density. With a pure volumetric dosage, it has a direct influence on the actually filled product quantity. Attempts are often made to obtain feedback by means of a scale in order to continuously adjust the volume. However, this is often associated with a delay. In this article, the approach is to measure the product mass flow directly by means of a microwave sensor and to regulate it to a predetermined mass flow. The experimental investigations were carried out with a screw dosing device FVS 3111. Two scenarios were tested: on the one hand, the integration of the sensor directly at the product delivery point, whereby the difference of the average value of the dosed quantity to the target weight could be improved with the sample product coffee; on the other, the sensor was integrated directly at the beginning of the screw and the remaining product flow was simulated. A reduction of the standard deviation compared with the conventional control could also be achieved, but here, the difference between the average of the dosed quantity and the nominal quantity is greater. The cause is presumed to be the too generalized assumption of product behaviour in the case of vertical conveying by means of a screw. In summary, the dosing accuracy of a screw dosing device could be increased by measuring and regulating the mass flow and thus the costs of a manufactured packaging could be reduced.

Investigation on the Effects of Magnetic Saturation in Six-Phase Induction Machines with and without Cross Saturation of the Main Flux Path

The operational characteristics during transients are significantly influenced by magnetic saturation in electrical equipment. For the computation of steady-state rated operation in multiphase induction machines, the assumption of linear magnetic behavior of the iron core in classical machine models may be sufficient. The mathematical models of the considered models differ in terms of the existence or absence of dynamic cross-saturation effects. The approach that is most frequently used to examine the impact of magnetic saturation is based on the state-space variable representation of the mathematical model in dynamic axes (d–q). The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of magnetic saturation on six-phase induction machines. In this study, a d–q transformation-based model of a six-phase induction machine (SPIM), including the magnetic saturation effect, is developed. The cross-saturation and the common mutual leakage inductance between the two sets of stators’ windings are then developed and analyzed, and the developed models were simulated and results are compared with and without cross-saturation. The main and leakage flux saturation, as well as the mutual coupling between the two windings, are all accounted for in the model, which is based on the vector space decomposition method. A significant increase in currents and voltage results from the highly saturated magnetic paths of the leakage fluxes in six-phase induction machines. In order to investigate the impact of cross-saturation, inductances computed using analytical methods and those without taking cross-saturation into consideration were compared. These outcomes are then transformed into a condensed current depending on parameter functions for transient machine models.

Task-Dependent Adaptations in Closed-Loop Motor Control Based on Electrotactile Feedback

Humans systematically adapt their strategies for closed-loop control based on visual feedback according to the dynamics of the system. Tactile feedback is a key element in many human–machine interfaces, but it is not known if and how well human control adapts to changes in system dynamics when information about the system state is provided using this type of feedback. In this study, 11 participants tracked a pseudorandom trajectory with a virtual, position- or velocity-controlled plant using a joystick. Visual or electrotactile feedback provided the instantaneous error between the target and generated trajectory. Frequency-domain system identification indicated that human control adapted in similar ways to the different control modes (i.e., position/velocity control) for both feedback modalities. For the plant dynamics modeled as gain and integrator, the human controller behaved as a low-pass filter and gain, respectively (under the assumption of quasi-linear behavior). However, while tracking quality was largely similar for both control modes with visual feedback, velocity control enabled substantially worse control with electrotactile feedback compared to position control. Furthermore, for both control modes, the crossover frequency of open-loop transfer functions was lower for electrotactile feedback (0.9 and 1.1 rad/s) than for visual feedback (1.5 and 1.7 rad/s) indicating limited control bandwidth. To summarize, closed-loop control based on electrotactile feedback enables natural adaptations in human control strategy, which is encouraging for tactile feedback-controlled human–machine interfaces, but the lower control bandwidth and lower tracking quality with velocity control may impose functional limitations.

A Blueprint for Genetic Determinism

A Blueprint for Genetic Determinism

+Dynamic identification and risk analysis of compound dry-hot events considering nonstationarity

Duo to the influence of anthropogenic and climate change, the traditional drought or hot event identification indices under the stationary assumption of the probabilistic behavior of a hydrometeorological variable could be no longer valid. This study proposed a nonstationary framework for the identification of compound dry-hot extremes and risk assessment considering climate change for the warm season during the period 1901–2017 in Weihe River Basin (WRB) and Fenhe River Basin (FRB), China. The proposed framework is composed of three phases: (1) calculating nonstationary precipitation index (NSPI) and standardized temperature index (NSTI) by incorporating large-scale climate indices as covariates of fitted distribution parameters; (2) calculating nonstationary compound dry-hot index (NCDH) based on nonstationary copula models; and (3) bivariate nonstationary risk analysis of compound dry-hot events through two regional characteristics called relative affected area (RA) and mean severity of area (MSA). The proposed NCDH using climate indices as covariates was found to be superior in capturing compound dry-hot characteristics and revealing the trend of temporal and spatial changes of WRB over the period of 1901–2017. Based on the nonstationary risk assessment of regional characteristics, the occurrence risk of compound extremes in Sub-Basin 1 of WRB was less than that in the other two Sub-Basins. Considering the importance of nonstationarity during the above three modelling phases, the nonstationarity in the 1st phase modelling of average precipitation (AP) and average temperature (AT) to derive NSPI and NSTI could have a greater impact on the final results of nonstationary risk assessment of compound dry-hot events than nonstationarity in the other two phases. This nonstationary compound dry-hot index provides a new insight into compound extreme identification and risk assessment that can adapt to a changing environment.

Enhancing motivation and psychological wellbeing in the workplace through conscious physical activity: Suggestions from a qualitative study examining workers' experience.

After COVID-19 restrictions, hybrid solutions were established that combined smart working and work in presence. Workplace conditions significantly impact employees' lives, particularly in terms of meeting their needs and promoting their wellbeing. Based on a socio-ecological and multilevel methodology, the UP150 concept (Proactive Office 150) represents a possible innovative solution to meet employees' needs and valorize flexible work. It encourages physical exercise and active breaks during the typical workday by using particular architectural modifications, a dedicated App, and physical activity professionals as wellness coaches. The present study is the last step of the preliminary actions planned to check the benefits of the UP150 concept and aims to explore the workers' perceptions after experiencing this project. The qualitative analysis of a preliminary survey (concerning information about the company structure and workers' habits) performed before conducting a randomized controlled trial intervention study and the analysis of the semi-structured interviews after 8 weeks of a UP150 experience served as datasets for this study and have been examined and discussed. In the preliminary survey, the young (under 40) and generally active (57% of the workers) reported being motivated to exercise but inhibited by a lack of time and a heavy workload. After 8 weeks at a modified workplace designed in accordance with the motive behind the UP150, the workers displayed noticeable positive perceptions and appreciation. The qualitative analysis confirmed and supported the effectiveness of the UP150 concept that previous research had already found in quantitative parameters related to employees' motor efficiency, psychophysical status, and amount of physical activity. Participants reported beneficial perceived effects on their wellness and psychophysical status following a UP150 experience. Moreover, the concept improved social relationships and increased motivation. In conclusion, the UP150 concept efficiently fostered a positive perception of physical exercise and directed the employees toward the assumption of healthy behaviors fitting the physical literacy paradigm.

Learning from Neighbours about a Changing State

Abstract Agents learn about a changing state using private signals and their neighbours’ past estimates of the state. We present a model in which Bayesian agents in equilibrium use neighbours’ estimates simply by taking weighted sums with time-invariant weights. The dynamics thus parallel those of the tractable DeGroot model of learning in networks, but arise as an equilibrium outcome rather than a behavioural assumption. We examine whether information aggregation is nearly optimal as neighbourhoods grow large. A key condition for this is signal diversity: each individual’s neighbours have private signals that not only contain independent information, but also have sufficiently different distributions. Without signal diversity—e.g. if private signals are i.i.d.—learning is suboptimal in all networks and highly inefficient in some. Turning to social influence, we find it is much more sensitive to one’s signal quality than to one’s number of neighbours, in contrast to standard models with exogenous updating rules.

Data-driven assisted model specification for complex choice experiments data: Association rules learning and random forests for Participatory Value Evaluation experiments

We propose three procedures based on association rules (AR) learning and random forests (RF) to support the specification of a portfolio choice model applied in data from complex choice experiment data, specifically a Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) choice experiment. In a PVE choice experiment, respondents choose a combination of alternatives, subject to a resource constraint. We combine a methodological-iterative (MI) procedure with AR learning and RF models to support the specification of parameters of a portfolio choice model. Additionally, we use RF model predictions to contrast the validity of the behavioural assumptions of different specifications of the portfolio choice model. We use data of a PVE choice experiment conducted to elicit the preferences of Dutch citizens for lifting COVID-19 measures. Our results show model fit and interpretation improvements in the portfolio choice model, compared with conventional model specifications. Additionally, we provide guidelines on the use of outcomes from AR learning and RF models from a choice modelling perspective.

Better than a bet: good reasons for behavioral and rational choice assumptions in IR theory

Behavioral IR is enjoying newfound popularity. Nonetheless, attempts to integrate behavioral research into the larger project of IR theory have proven controversial. Many scholars treat behavioral findings as a trove of plausible ad hoc modifications to rational choice models, thereby lending credence to arguments that behavioral IR is merely residual, empirical, and hence not theoretical. Others limit their research to cataloging outcomes consistent with the basic tenets of behavioral models. Although this expands the empirical base, it is insufficient for theoretical progress. In this article, I explore various answers to the question of when rational choice or behavioral assumptions should guide efforts to build IR theory. I argue that no single answer trumps all others. Examining the various conditions under which actors reason highlights the importance of macrofoundations. Macrofoundations condition the effects of microprocesses and help identify relevant scope conditions for both rational choice and behavioral models of decision-making. Examining the various purposes of IR theory also provides answers to the question of when rational or behavioral assumptions are likely to be most useful. Although many behavioral scholars premise the relevance of their findings on claims of empirical realism, I argue that under certain conditions, deductive theorizing on the basis of as-if behavioral assumptions can lead to powerful theories that improve our understanding of IR and may help decision-makers promote desired ends.