Collaborative Decision-making Approach Research Articles

Unveiling Water Allocation Dynamics: A Text Analysis of 25 Years of Stakeholder Meetings

Abstract Managing water resources in regions with high climate variability and frequent extreme weather events poses challenges for policymakers. To facilitate water allocation in these cases, participatory and collaborative decision-making approaches have become common. However, the evaluation of these approaches is hindered by the lack of structured methods and data to understand them. To address this knowledge gap, we propose a novel methodology that leverages text data to identify key topics, conflicts, and influential actors that shape water allocation dynamics. Our methodology is tested using records of 1020 water basin committee meetings held between 1997 and 2021 across twelve basin committees in Ceará, Brazil – a region known for its extensive history of droughts that have impacted water governance. To uncover key water management issues discussed during these meetings, we employed a three-step topic modeling framework: (1) sentence embedding, (2) dimensionality reduction, and (3) sentence clustering. Furthermore, we used entity recognition, dependency parsing, and network graphs to identify powerful actors influencing these meetings and, ultimately, the decisions taken. Our findings revealed stakeholders’ heightened concern for urban water supply over agricultural demand during droughts. We found that “reservoir operation” was the most recurring topic, especially in basins where the strategic reservoirs are located. Discussions related to “climate information” became significantly more important over time, which indicates that water allocation decisions are increasingly based on the seasonal forecast and data on oceanic indices provided by the meteorology agency. Despite the presence of local users in the committees, governmental representatives dominated the discussions and were central in all river basins. In conclusion, our proposed approach harnesses existing text data to uncover spatiotemporal patterns related to participatory water allocation. This study opens new avenues for investigating water governance using text-based analysis.

Return to training in soccer players after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: reflections and considerations.

This clinical and rehabilitative overview focuses on the return to unrestricted sporting activity, aiming to consolidate the scientific evidence surrounding the structural progression of athletes, particularly footballers, undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). A multidisciplinary approach necessitates a shared language and standardized methodologies. Unfortunately, significant disparities persist in the structural strategies guiding the decision-making process for returning to on-field activities, the latter stages of rehabilitation, and subsequent restoration of technical and tactical football abilities. Divergences in definitions, terminologies, and rehabilitation protocols can substantially influence final outcomes. Presently, scientific consensus studies regarding the decision-making process during the final stages of on-field rehabilitation are lacking. Nevertheless, this overview outlines and defines pivotal language parameters crucial for effective communication and the seamless integration of clinical and rehabilitative data among the diverse professionals involved in facilitating the athlete's return to peak performance. In conclusion, the successful resumption of competitive sporting activities for footballer's post ACLR demands a collaborative decision-making approach encompassing various professionals. Additionally, it necessitates a cohesive transition from rehabilitation to on-field work, aiming at reinstating athleticism, technical prowess, and tactical acumen.

Optimizing caesarean section use and feasibility of implementing the Robson classification system: Perspectives of healthcare providers and policymakers.

In recent decades, caesarean section rates have increased dramatically worldwide and the reasons for this trend are not fully understood. This continuing trend has raised public health concerns regarding higher maternal and perinatal risks, high costs, healthcare efficiency, and inequality of services. The current study aimed to explore the perspectives and insights of healthcare providers and policymakers in the Israeli health system regarding the factors that drive caesarean section rates and the readiness and feasibility of implementing the Robson Ten Group Classification System for the first time. Semi-structured interviews were conducted (n = 12) with purposefully selected healthcare providers and policymakers in Israel. Data was analysed inductively using a thematic analysis approach. The findings reflected the "changing landscape" in childbirth practices and attitudes that contributes to the rising caesarean section rate, including childbirth at older ages, birth planning, and a transition toward a more collaborative decision-making approach to childbirth. The participants emphasized the lack of a standardized classification or consistent data monitoring of caesarean section in the Israeli health system. Additionally, enablers to implement the Robson Ten Group Classification System in Israel (ease of use, data collection and recording, and the allocation of resources and personnel), as well as barriers (concerns over workload, limited resources, budget implications, and technological complexity), were found. This study revealed the multifaceted factors shaping caesarean section rates within Israel and underscored the perceived need for evidence-based monitoring and informed decision-making in healthcare practices. Our findings support the conclusion that empirical evidence and clear data are crucial for effective caesarean section use and are currently lacking in Israeli hospitals. Thus, it is recommended to adopt a globally standardized, accepted, and effective tool-the Robson Ten Group Classification System-to accommodate the "changing landscape" in alignment with evolving medical and societal dynamics, which consequently will assist in optimizing caesarean section use.

Behavioral Decision-Making Approach for Vehicle Platoon Control: Two Noncooperative Game Models

Game theory has been extensively studied in recent years for its potential benefits on solving interactions between autonomous vehicles in platoon control. In this paper, we propose two behavioral decision-making approach based on non-cooperative game theory with both the complete information and incomplete information for cooperative vehicle platoon systems. The non-cooperative game payoff function takes the platooning performances of economy, comfort, safety, and further achieving self-driving functions into consideration. For the driving situations with incomplete information, a belief pool is constructed to represent the action probability for different behavioral types of vehicles, which will be updated by combining the driving intention identification with a Bayesian probability formula. With this, the stable strategies can be obtained for the two potentially conflicting parties, ensuring that neither of them has a motivation to change their driving behavior. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate that with the proposed behavioral decision-making approaches with complete information, the cooperative platoon performance can be markedly improved; with incomplete information, the platoon can determine the behavioral types of conflicting vehicles and complete collaborative decision-making approaches for solving not only the simple road-rights conflicting problems, but also for the extended vehicle platoon driving scenarios in a more complex transportation system.

Examining how study teams manage different viewpoints and priorities in patient-centered outcomes research: Results of an embedded multiple case study.

Limited evidence exists about which patient and stakeholder engagement practices support or hinder study teams as they negotiate different viewpoints in decisions about the design and conduct of patient-centered outcomes research. We applied a multiple-embedded descriptive case study design for six studies funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). We interviewed 32 researchers and stakeholder partners, including patients, caregiversand clinicians, and reviewed documents related to each study (e.g., publications, and progress reports submitted to PCORI). Overall, researchers reported that incorporating different viewpoints was a strength or opportunity to learn rather than something to be avoided or dreaded. Across cases, different viewpoints and priorities, often related to ethical or pragmatic considerations, emerged between researchers and stakeholders, between stakeholder groups (e.g., patients and clinicians)or within groups (e.g., amongst researchers). Examples of navigating different viewpoints arose across study phases. The length of time to resolve issues depended on how strongly people disagreed and the perceived importance or impact of decisions on the study. All cases used collaborative decision-making approaches, often described as consensus, throughout the study. Interviewees described consensus as using negotiation, compromiseor working towards an agreeable decision. To encourage consensus, cases actively facilitated group discussions with an openness to diverse opinions, remained flexible and open to trying new things, referenced a ground rule or common goaland delegated decisions to partners or smaller workgroups. When viewpoints were not easily resolved, cases used different approaches to reach final decisions while maintaining relationships with partners, such as elevating decisions to leadership or agreeing to test out an approach. No one engagement structure (e.g., advisory group, coinvestigator) stood out as better able to manage different viewpoints. Teams adjusted engagement structures and behaviours to facilitate an overall culture of inclusion and respect. Partners acknowledged the intentional efforts of researchers to incorporate their perspectives, navigate challengesand communicate the value of partner input. By using collaborative decision-making in the early stages and throughout the study, researchers built trust with partners so that when decisions were difficult to resolve, partners still felt listened to and that their input mattered. Members of the PCORI Patient Engagement Advisory Panel in 2019-2020 provided input into the design of the study, including the research questions and approaches to data collection and analysis.

Building a Community-Academic Partnership to Expand Workforce Development in Underserved, High-Need/High-Demand Areas.

This case study highlights the partnership development between a large, urban, public, community-based behavioral health system and an academic program. Using principles of partnership building and facilitators that enhance partnership building, we describe the process of initiating, building, and sustaining the partnership. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) workforce development initiative was the primary catalyst for the partnership development. The public, community-based behavioral health system is located in an urban, medically underserved area and health care professional shortage area. The academic partner is a master in social work (MSW) program in Michigan. We assessed partnership development by using process and outcome measures that captured changes in the partnerships and in implementation of the HRSA workforce development grant. The goals of this partnership were to develop the infrastructure to support the training of MSW students, expand workforce skills in integrated behavioral health, and increase the number of MSW graduates who work with medically underserved populations. During 2018-2020, the partnership trained 70 field instructors, engaged 114 MSW students in HRSA field placements, and developed 35 community-based field sites (including 4 federally qualified health centers). The partnership provided training for field supervisors and for HRSA MSW students and developed new courses/trainings focusing on integrated behavioral health assessment/intervention practices, trauma-informed care, cultural awareness, and telebehavioral health practices. Of 57 HRSA MSW graduates who responded to a postgraduation survey, 38 (66.7%) were employed in medically underserved, high-need/high-demand urban areas. Partnership sustainability was helped by formal agreements, regular communication, and a collaborative decision-making approach.

A collaborative humanitarian relief chain design for disaster response

Pre- and post-disaster relief operations often involve several humanitarian organizations (HOs) working simultaneously. Balanced and systemic resource-sharing schemes may enable HOs to collaborate effectively and conduct efficient relief operations. In this study, a novel two-stage stochastic model is developed which depends on information- and resource-sharing as coordination mechanisms to ensure proper relief operations while multiple HOs exist in the relief chain. A collaborative humanitarian relief chain (CHRC) consisting of several HOs is designed to make the required decisions on the ways in which relief items are procured, pre-positioned, and distributed pre- and post-disaster. The model is also tweaked to handle potential risks of disruption by an efficient approach. Furthermore, a Lagrangian relaxation algorithm is developed to solve large-scale problems. The performance of the proposed model is tested by being applied to a real-world disaster, namely the 2017 Kermanshah earthquake, in Iran. Several sensitivity analyses are performed to evaluate the applicability of the model and compare the performance of the collaborative decision-making approach proposed in this study to decentralized approaches. Lastly, a number of managerial insights are drawn from the findings.

Insomnia Treatment Preferences Among Primary Care Patients

PurposeSleep disturbance is common in primary care. The main treatment options include medication and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Best practice guidelines recommend a collaborative decision-making approach to treatment. This study examined differences in insomnia treatment preferences based on demographic and clinical characteristics among primary care patients. MethodsA total of 200 patients (mean [SD] age, 54.92 [12.48] years) at a university medical center and community health clinic participated in brief screenings for insomnia, depression, anxiety, and insomnia treatment preference. Insomnia symptoms were measured with the Insomnia Severity Index, whereas depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire 2 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2. χ2 analyses were performed to detect significant differences in preference between groups. FindingsA total of 46.5% of participants preferred medication and 56.0% preferred behavioral treatment (ratings not exclusionary). Preference for behavioral treatment was highest among severe insomnia presentations (15.2% preferred to 4.5% disliked; P = 0.002). Medication preference was higher among patients with elevated anxiety (57.3% preferred to 42.7% disliked; P = 0.017). Preference for behavioral treatment (66.7% preferred to 33.3% disliked; P = 0.012) and medication (56.8% preferred to 43.2% disliked; P = 0.016) was highest among those with elevated depression. Treatment preference only differed by age for behavioral treatment (P = 0.008). Preference was highest among patients ≤51 years of age (67.2% preferred to 32.8% disliked). ImplicationsPrimary care patients preferred behavioral and medication strategies for insomnia treatment. In addition, as mental health and sleep worsen, patients were more likely to prefer behavioral treatment. Knowledge of patient treatment preference may facilitate shared decision making, which increases patient satisfaction with care and engagement with treatment.

Triggering Active Communities for Cultural Creative Cities: The “Hack the City” Play ReCH Mission in the Salerno Historic Centre (Italy)

According to the current European scenario, cultural, creative, and community-led policies play an increasingly important role in influencing local resources, systems, and infrastructures management and demand a novel approach in governing, financing, and monitoring urban regeneration processes. Therefore, cities become contexts where cultural and creative practices can be implemented, integrating social cohesion principles based on communities, shared values, and collaborative decision-making approaches, with particular attention to enhancing cultural heritage, mainly unused or underutilised. The purpose of this research is to explore how the Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (CCCM) methodological framework, developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, can be integrated at the local scale to assess the impacts of urban regeneration processes in an interactive and dynamic way, through the data emerging from the monitoring of urban regeneration experiences activated with the communities. The paper describes the “Play ReCH (Re-use Cultural Heritage)” approach, that promotes a process of collaboration, gamification, and innovation in cultural heritage reuse, as an opportunity to test how cultural, creative, and community-led urban strategies can support the enhancement of heritage generating enabling environments and culturally vibrant contexts. The Play ReCH approach and the “Hack the City Salerno” mission, activated in the Salerno historic centre (Italy), open the reflection on some relevant issues related to how citizens become makers of cultural and creative cities’ policies, and contribute to evaluating and monitoring their implementation at diverse urban scales. The Play ReCH mission underlines how new evidence suggests declining the CCCM conceptual framework and related urban policies assessment, co-defining suitable community-based indicators.

Experiencing Positive Health, as a Family, While Living With a Rare Complex Disease: Bringing Participatory Medicine Through Collaborative Decision Making Into the Real World.

Physician–patient collaboration was recognized as a critical core of participatory medicine more than a century ago. However, the subsequent focus on scientific research to enable cures and increased dominance of physicians in health care subordinated patients to a passive role. This paternalistic model weakened in the past 50 years—as women, minorities, and the disabled achieved greater rights, and as incurable chronic diseases and unrelieved pain disorders became more prevalent—promoting a more equitable role for physicians and patients. By 2000, a shared decision-making model became the pinnacle for clinical decisions, despite a dearth of data on health outcomes, or the model’s reliance on single patient or solo practitioner studies, or evidence that no single model could fit all clinical situations. We report about a young woman with intractable epilepsy due to a congenital brain malformation whose family and medical specialists used a collaborative decision-making approach. This model positioned the health professionals as supporters of the proactive family, and enabled them all to explore and co-create knowledge beyond the clinical realm. Together, they involved other members of the community in the decisions, while harnessing diverse relationships to allow all family members to achieve positive levels of health, despite the resistance of the seizures to medical treatment and the incurable nature of the underlying disease.

Individual and organizational characteristics predicting intervention use for children with autism in schools.

Several interventions or treatment programs have been shown through research to improve social outcomes for children with autism, but they often are not used in schools. This study examined individual (school personnel) and organizational (school level) factors associated with the use of a research-informed social engagement intervention, Remaking Recess, for children with autism in elementary schools. A total of 28 school personnel from 12 schools in 5 districts in the northeastern United States participated. Schools were randomly assigned to (1) training in Remaking Recess only or (2) training in Remaking Recess with implementation support (tailored strategies to remove barriers to increase use of Remaking Recess). School personnel rated their attitudes about research-informed interventions, organizational readiness (school's readiness to use a research-informed intervention), and fidelity or the degree to which an intervention is used as it was originally designed. Observers rated school personnel's fidelity at baseline (pre-intervention training) and exit (post-intervention training). The results suggest that self-rated fidelity was lower when staff perceived the use of Remaking Recess was required; however, observer-rated fidelity was lower when staff rated Remaking Recess as appealing. In addition, self-rated fidelity was higher when there was a sufficient number of staff, positive individual growth, and organizational adaptability. The results also indicated higher observer-rated fidelity when staff perceived positive influence over their coworkers. The results suggest that both individual (attitudes) and organizational (influence, staffing, growth, adaptability) characteristics may affect implementation success in schools. A collaborative decision-making approach for evidence-based practice use is recommended.

Using a collaborative decision-making approach to identify, prioritise and respond to issues influencing Good Pharmacy Practice across countries of the Western Pacific Region

The Western Pacific Pharmaceutical Forum aims to foster Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) in the Western Pacific Region (WPR). Our objective in this work was to develop and implement a process that equitably and constructively engaged pharmacy associations from the diverse cultures, languages and models of pharmacy practice in the WPR to identify common issues influencing the implementation of GPP. The World Café concept was incorporated into a modified Tuckman's model for group development to conduct a workshop of leaders from the major pharmacy associations of the WPR. Facilitated discussion groups and collaborative decision-making were used to gather opinions and achieve agreement between the regional leaders. Participants reported the method to be open, systematic and enabled full contribution. Two major issues were identified in relation to each of the four key pharmacist roles associated with GPP. The regional pharmacy leaders agreed the common priority issue for implementing GPP as: 'National competency standards should be established to enable the formulation of professional development framework that lead to enhanced pharmacy practice and patient care' and developed a strategy and work plan to address this issue. Identification of GPP issues and the common major priority occurred with shared knowledge of the current state of practice across the WPR. The adopted methodology overcame cultural and practice differences to ensure full and equal participation of all delegates. The approach ensured ownership by all participants of the strategy and work plan developed to address competency and professional development in the WPR.

Think Tank Sessions: Using Structured Decision Making to Inform PETE Program Revisions

The purpose of this article is to provide physical education teacher education (PETE) faculty and program directors/administrators with an introduction to stakeholder think tanks as a structured collaborative decision-making approach for conceptualizing the integration of contemporary, practice-oriented issues into university-level teacher preparation programs. To do this, the authors outline and describe a five-step process used to facilitate a think tank session with K-12 practitioners to address the implementation of program and policy advocacy within a PETE program. The five steps are: (1) explore, (2) define, (3) brainstorm, (4) share and expand, and (5) vote. The authors propose that building and strengthening partnerships with K–12 practitioners that focus on building a shared vision, fostering open and ongoing communications, and collaboratively producing knowledge can enhance the quality of teacher education programs and program graduates.

Towards a Collaborative Approach to Decision Making Based on Ontology and Multi-Agent System Application to crisis management

The coordination and cooperation of all the stakeholders involved is a decisive point for the control and the resolution of problems. In the insecurity events, the resolution should refer to a plan that defines a general framework of the procedures to be undertaken and the instructions to be complied with; also, a more precise process must be defined by the actors to deal with the case represented by the particular problem of the current situation. Indeed, this process has to cope with a dynamic, unstable and unpredictable environment, due to the heterogeneity and multiplicity of stakeholders, and finally due to their possible geographical distribution. In this article, we will present the first steps of validation of a collaborative decision-making approach in the context of crisis situations such as road accidents. This approach is based on ontologies and multi-agent systems.

Adolescent and Parental Attitudes About Return of Genomic Research Results: Focus Group Findings Regarding Decisional Preferences.

Opportunities to participate in genomic sequencing studies, as well as recommendations to screen for variants in 59 medically actionable genes anytime clinical genomic sequencing is performed, indicate adolescents will increasingly be involved in decisions about learning secondary findings from genome sequencing. However, how adolescents want to be involved in such decisions is unknown. We conducted five focus groups with adolescents (2) and parents (3) to learn their decisional preferences about return of genomic research results to adolescents. Discussions about decisional preferences centered around three themes: feelings about receiving genomic risk information, adolescent involvement and capacity to participate in decision-making, and recommendations for parental versus collaborative decision-making. We address the contested space between parental duties to act in their children's best interests when choosing which results to return and adolescents' desires to make autonomous decisions. A collaborative decision-making approach is recommended for obtaining consent from adolescents and their parents for genome sequencing research.

Stable two-sided matching of slot allocation in airport collaborative decision making by top trading cycles mechanism

The problem of capacity shortage in some airports needs to be dealt with sustainable solutions including a more efficient use of the existing runway slots at the airports. The Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) is an important approach applied to Air Traffic Management (ATM) to achieve this efficient use of the slots allocation. Using the Matching approach for two-sided markets of Game theory, the Top Trading Cycle CDM (TTC-CDM) algorithm developed in this research is an extension of the CDM approach aggregating the Ground Delay Program (GDP) of the air sector. The paper compared the developed TTC-CDM model to the existing models such as the conventional Compression algorithm in CDM, the Trade Cycle algorithm and the Deferred Acceptance CDM (DA-CDM) model to evaluate the performance of the proposed model. Through a case study, the results show the effective application of TTC-CDM model to slot allocation in ATM and also presents the advantage of considering the preferences of airport managers beside ATC controllers and airlines in the decision processing.

Green supply chain performance measurement using fuzzy ANP-based balanced scorecard: a collaborative decision-making approach

The purpose of this paper is to delineate a green supply chain (GSC) performance measurement framework using an intra-organisational collaborative decision-making (CDM) approach. A fuzzy analytic network process (ANP)-based green-balanced scorecard (GrBSc) has been used within the CDM approach to assist in arriving at a consistent, accurate and timely data flow across all cross-functional areas of a business. A green causal relationship is established and linked to the fuzzy ANP approach. The causal relationship involves organisational commitment, eco-design, GSC process, social performance and sustainable performance constructs. Sub-constructs and sub-sub-constructs are also identified and linked to the causal relationship to form a network. The fuzzy ANP approach suitably handles the vagueness of the linguistics information of the CDM approach. The CDM approach is implemented in a UK-based carpet-manufacturing firm. The performance measurement approach, in addition to the traditional financial performance and accounting measures, aids in firm’s decision-making with regard to the overall organisational goals. The implemented approach assists the firm in identifying further requirements of the collaborative data across the supply-cain and information about customers and markets. Overall, the CDM-based GrBSc approach assists managers in deciding if the suppliers’ performances meet the industry and environment standards with effective human resource.

A collaborative decision-making model for orientation detection

Orientation detection is a fundamental task for biological vision and machine vision. Hubel and Wiesel discovered the selectivity in a simple cell to stimulus of specific orientation, and proposed the famous feedforward model. The Hubel–Wiesel hypothesis attributes the orientation selectivity in a simple cell to the overlapping receptive field centers of its afferent LGN cells along a line, and therefore has several difficulties in the implementation. This paper proposes a collaborative decision-making approach of orientation detection using a double-layer neural network. The single estimation layer estimates the relative position of the contrast edge according to each bottom neuron's response to the contrast stimulus; and the collaborative-decision making layer determines the orientation by optimizing a least square with a unimodular constraint. This computational model cannot just account for orientation selectivity in a flexible way, but be applied to image processing. The statistical experiments found a satisfactory model configuration that balances the computational cost, effectiveness, and efficiency. The simulation experiments yield accurate results invariant to the contrast, and reasonably explain several visual illusions. Moreover, the proposed algorithm outperforms the related image processing algorithms on challenging natural images. The underlying neural mechanism of this model is compatible with the neurobiological findings, and is therefore appropriate for approaches of accomplishing higher level visual tasks.

Collaborative Decisionmaking for Sustainable Urban Renewal Projects: A Simulation – Gaming Approach

Differences in stakeholders' perceptions, lack of commitment, unused knowledge, and interfering, ineffective, measures are just some of the problems encountered in sustainable urban development projects. Collaborative decisionmaking approaches tackle these problems by creating a shared understanding of the problems faced and of ways to address them. The authors explore how the combined application of two techniques, a decision-support tool and a simulation game, can support decisionmaking for sustainable urban development. The techniques are applied in decision-making for real and in fictional sustainable urban renewal projects. Benefits and challenges of this combined approach are discussed based on experiences in seven applications. The main finding is that the use of the decision-support tool combined with the simulation–gaming procedure can support agenda setting and help create a shared understanding of problems and potential solutions in the field of sustainable urban renewal.

Shipwreck allocation and management in Michigan: A review of theory and practice

Shipwrecks within Michigan’s Great Lakes provide benefits to users who include historians, archaeologists, sport divers, anglers, salvors, and businesspeople. But as common property resources, shipwrecks are subject to overuse and misallocation that are characteristic of the “tragedy of the commons.” With the passage of state legislation in 1980, shipwrecks are now formally recognized as public trust resources to be managed wisely for the benefits of present and future Michigan citizens. The values of these benefits and the costs of impacts from use should be considered in making allocation and resource management decisions. In addition, the establishment of institutional management systems is needed to guide, monitor, and control the use of shipwrecks. Michigan has established nine underwater preserves and is investigating private-public partnerships in shipwreck management that include community support groups as decision-makers. Strategic planning processes and collaborative decision-making approaches offer some means for designing effective resource management tactics that are consistent with the missions of state agencies. Strategic planning processes relevant to shipwreck management include inventory and assessment of resources, citizen participation and community development approaches, and the marketing of parks, recreation, and tourism.