Decision-making In Everyday Life Research Articles

The Beauty Industry in Kazakhstan and the Attitude of Kazakh Citizens Toward Plastic Surgery.

Every consultation with a patient at an aesthetic surgery clinic begins with the practitioner's need to understand the patient's reasons for wanting a change in their appearance. In our current society, physical attractiveness is viewed as a sign of having a fulfilled personality, successful career, happy marriage, and a comfortable life. Because of this, the option to undergo cosmetic surgery is becoming an increasingly important element of modern everyday life. We conducted a study to examine the beauty industry in modern Kazakh society. The article reviews and presents the results of an online survey of 515 Almaty people regarding their attitudes about cosmetic surgery. Our survey was formatted as a semiformalized questionnaire that included open and closed questions. Because the survey used a snowball approach (i.e., a sampling technique where existing study participants recruit additional participants from among their acquaintances), the sociodemographic portrait of the target audience was formed randomly. We also conducted interviews with four experts in cosmetic surgery in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The results obtained from this research make it possible to broaden the scientific understanding of specific features of the beauty industry and the interaction of potential consumers with experts in this sphere. Our study further illustrates human behavior in a sociocultural environment that allows researchers to analyze the various facets that influence an individual's self-perception, behavior, and decision-making in everyday life.

Modelling decision-making biases.

Biases are a fundamental aspect of everyday life decision-making. A variety of modelling approaches have been suggested to capture decision-making biases. Statistical models are a means to describe the data, but the results are usually interpreted according to a verbal theory. This can lead to an ambiguous interpretation of the data. Mathematical cognitive models of decision-making outline the structure of the decision process with formal assumptions, providing advantages in terms of prediction, simulation, and interpretability compared to statistical models. We compare studies that used both signal detection theory and evidence accumulation models as models of decision-making biases, concluding that the latter provides a more comprehensive account of the decision-making phenomena by including response time behavior. We conclude by reviewing recent studies investigating attention and expectation biases with evidence accumulation models. Previous findings, reporting an exclusive influence of attention on the speed of evidence accumulation and prior probability on starting point, are challenged by novel results suggesting an additional effect of attention on non-decision time and prior probability on drift rate.

A constraint programming model for making recommendations in personal process management: A design science research approach

Decision-making in everyday life has an essential role in effectively completing personal tasks and processes. The complexity of these processes and the resulting cognitive load of managing them may vary significantly. To decrease the cognitive load created by such decision-making efforts and to obtain better outcomes, recommendation systems carry significant potential. In order to investigate the benefits provided by decision support systems (DSS) in personal process management (PPM), we first build a constraint programming (CP) model and a prototype context-aware-mobile application employing this CP model. Then, we evaluate the application and the model via two exemplary real-world scenarios. The scenarios form the core of the experiments conducted with 50 participants. We compare the participants’ planning performances with and without the PPM system with quantitative metrics such as planning times and scenario objective values. In addition, System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaires and open-ended questions provide qualitative evaluation results. Throughout the study, we apply the Design Science Research methodology to rigorously conduct research activities by proof of concept, proof of use, and proof of value. The empirical results clearly show that our proposed model for PPM is effective, and the developed prototype solution generates positive participant comments as well as a high SUS score. Overall, the prototype PPM system with CP implementation leads to better planning in less time in the planning phase, and it lets the user do fast replanning in the execution phase, which is invaluable in dynamically changing situations such as daily activities.

Borges on Bifurcation: Remix at the Interstices of Art and Life

This paper utilizes “The Garden of Forking Paths” as a starting point to explore Borges’s concept of bifurcation and how the act of decision-making in everyday life is closely associated with similar theoretical themes in the Deleuzean notion of multiplicities. These topics then scaffold a self-reflective review of major events from D’Alessandro’s life that have shaped her past, present, and likely future. The personal and transformational experiences featured in this case study demonstrate how remix can be embraced as a broad definition and philosophy for life.

The effects of option generation on post-decisional regret in everyday life decision-making: A field experiment

• We examined post-decisional regret in decisions with self-generated options. • We applied a metacognitive perspective on post-decisional regret. • We conducted a field experiment using a real-life decision. • Opposed to the choice overload effect, generating more options led to less regret. • Explicitly generating options resulted in less regret than not doing so. While previous studies on post-decisional regret have exclusively focused on externally provided options, the present study is the first to examine post-decisional regret in situations with self-generated options. Applying a metacognitive perspective, we predicted that a large option set-size leads to less post-decisional regret than a small option set-size. This hypothesis is in contrast to the classic choice overload effect which has been reported for externally provided options. Furthermore, we hypothesized that explicitly generating options results in less post-decisional regret than not doing so. We used a field experimental design to test our two hypotheses. On a Sunday morning, participants were asked to generate either three or six options for what they could do during the afternoon and to select one of these options. In a control condition, participants were not instructed to generate options. On Sunday evening, participants indicated how much they regretted not having done something else. Our results provide support for both hypotheses.

Family planning science and practice lessons from the 2018 International Conference on Family Planning.

Since 2009, the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) has served as an opportunity for the global reproductive health community to share FP advances and practice lessons in the areas of research, programming, and advocacy. The key takeaways from all 15 tracks were grouped into six thematic areas: 1) Investing in family planning for a lifetime of returns. FP may yield different health and monetary benefits but continues to face a shortage of funding, although locally owned models provide alternative financing solutions. 2) Addressing inequities in family planning for adolescents, youth, and key populations. Marginalized populations and youth still face challenges in accessing FP. Youth-inclusive and user-centered programming show promise in addressing such challenges. 3) Reproductive justice: Abortion care, family planning, and women's wellbeing. Unsafe abortions tend to be more common among younger, poor, uneducated and rural women. Promising evidence show that providers may effectively shift from unsafe practices of dilation and curettage to safer manual vacuum aspiration or misoprostol. 4) Couple dynamics and family planning decision-making. Couples who share everyday life decision-making are more likely to use contraceptives; couple discordance on childbearing and fertility decisions directly influence women's decisions to covertly use FP. 5) Male involvement in FP programming. Male champions and advocates can successfully promote couple uptake of FP. Gender-transformative programming promotes gender equity and can directly impact behavior change. 6) Breakthroughs in novel contraceptives and systems improvement in family planning. User-centered contraceptive technologies and information systems present an opportunity to facilitate self-care and optimal supply chain management. ICFP 2018 highlighted research advances, implementation science wins, and critical knowledge gaps in global FP access and use. More research is needed to determine the scalability of novel technologies, more effective programming and service delivery models to ensure multisectoral knowledge translation and utilization by policymakers.

Autonomous Information Behaviour: Towards a Conceptual Model

Autonomous information behaviour (AIB) proposes that autonomous intelligent agents exhibit information behaviour characteristics (i.e. “need, seek, manage, give, and use information in different contexts” Fisher, Erdelez, & McKechnie, 2005, p. xix) similar to that in humans. A preliminary conceptual model of AIB, derived from Wilson (2016) and Domingos (2015), is presented. Understanding autonomous information behaviour is important given the increasing prevalence of algorithmic decision-making in everyday life.

Residents' and family members' perceptions of care quality and self-determination in palliative phase in residential care.

Dependency on others can compromise self-determination for older persons in the palliative phase in residential care. Family members can support the residents' self-determination but may also jeopardize it. Quality of care (QoC) is linked to respecting the autonomy of the residents and providing opportunities to participate in decision-making. The aim of the study was to provide knowledge about residents' and family members' perceptions of QoC and self-determination and to detect possible differences between their experiences. This cross-sectional study used an abbreviated version of the questionnaire, Quality from the Patients' Perspective, with additional items about decision-making. Wilcoxon's signed rank test was used to analyze the perception of QoC and to detect differences between residents' and family members' perceptions. QoC was perceived as lower than preferred in the majority of items and there was a high level of agreement between residents and family members. Lowest mean values in QoC were found in: support when feeling lonely; support when feeling worry, anxiety or fear; and staff's time to talk to the residents. Decision-making in everyday life and in life-changing situations showed that neither residents nor family members trusted staff to know about the residents' preferences. Broad improvements are needed, especially in psychosocial care. Several of the negative outcomes on QoC and self-determination seem to derive from a focus on practical tasks and the lack of trustful relationships between residents and staff. An early implementation of palliative care, with a focus on what brings quality to each resident's life, could facilitate QoC and self-determination, in both everyday life and at the end of life.

Teaching Ethical Reasoning

This article presents evidence supporting the claim that ethical reasoning is a skill that can be taught and assessed. We propose a working definition of ethical reasoning as 1) the ability to identify, analyze, and weigh moral aspects of a particular situation, and 2) to make decisions that are informed and warranted by the moral investigation. The evidence consists of a description of an ethical reasoning education program—Ethical Reasoning in Action (ERiA)—designed to increase ethical reasoning skills in a variety of situations and areas of life. ERiA is housed at a public, major comprehensive U.S. university—James Madison University—and assessment of the program focuses on interventions delivered prior to and during orientation for incoming first-year students. Findings indicate that the interventions measurably enhance the ability of undergraduate students to reason ethically. ERiA’s competency-targeted program and positive student learning outcomes offers a promising model for higher education ethics programs seeking to connect classroom learning in ethics to decision-making in everyday life.

The Cognitive Underpinnings of Option Generation in Everyday Life Decision-Making: A Latent Variable Analysis.

The ability to generate options for action is crucial for everyday life decision-making. In this article, we propose and test a model of the cognitive underpinnings of option generation in everyday life situations. We carried out a laboratory study using measures of a wide range of cognitive functions and asked participants (N=157) to generate options for actions for different everyday life decision-making scenarios. The results of a latent variable analysis show that the cognitive underpinnings of option generation are consistent across different everyday life situations and, hence, option generation can be conceptualized as a general construct. Moreover, the results of a confirmatory factor analysis reveal that, when controlling for the shared variance among the cognitive processes assessed, verbal fluency, working memory capacity, ideation fluency, and processing speed predicted option generation. These findings suggest that option generation in everyday life situations can be distinguished from other cognitive constructs, such as divergent thinking (in terms of ideas' originality) and long-term memory.

Promoting Ethical and Professional Responsibility in Biomedical Informatics Education

Increasing use of information technologies in clinical care; concerns over the role of algorithmic decision-making in everyday life; collection of vast amounts of physical, social, and personal heath data through devices, social media, and the Internet of Things; and highly-visible, informatics-driven efforts such as the Precision Medicine Initiative, make calls for responsible technology use more important than ever. This rapidly-changing landscape challenges informaticians to understand the ethical, legal, and social (ELSI) implications of these developments and informatics educators to develop approaches for incorporating them into already-crowded curricula. This workshop will promote discussion of approaches to incorporating ELSI competencies in biomedical informatics education, research, and practice, including: (1) a survey of foundations and competencies, (2) current approaches for teaching ELSI concepts, and (3) experiences, lessons learned, and novel proposals for ELSI instruction in biomedical informatics curricula. AMIA’s core competencies include fundamental knowledge in “ethical, legal, social issues: for example, human subjects, HIPAA, informed consent, secondary use of data, confidentiality, privacy.” How should these competencies be included and evaluated in a course of study? Are they sufficient for socially responsible and ethical use of technology in biomedicine and health care? The paucity of such topics in biomedical informatics courses and curricula provides an opportunity to elicit diverse opinions and approaches about these questions. Presenters and audience will address them from varying perspectives and educational experiences. In addition to their expertise in biomedical informatics research and teaching, presenters will draw on their different disciplinary backgrounds (engineering, history, information systems, bioethics, law, social studies of science, computer science, philosophy, human factors, nursing, anthropology, medicine, public health) and country perspectives (US, Canada, Australia) to explore ways to promote ethical and professional responsibility in biomedical informatics.

Effect of professional expertise and exposure to everyday life decision-making on moral choices.

Moral sense is defined as a feeling of fairness or unfairness of an action that knowingly causes harm to people other than the subject. It is crucial in determining human behavior and becomes pivotal in operational environments. Here we assessed whether professional daily life experience in an operational environment affects moral judgment by asking 41 military pilots of the Italian Air Force (P) and 69 controls (C) to solve 40 moral dilemmas. We found that P gave more morally acceptable utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas. Interestingly, men and women in P equally accepted utilitarian resolutions of moral dilemmas, whereas in C women were less prone than men to accept utilitarian responses. We conclude that professional daily life experience of P, in an operational environment, affects moral judgment and mitigates gender predisposition towards moral dilemmas.

Open Data en aplicaciones móviles: nuevos modelos para la información de servicio

The combination of open data generated by government and the proliferation of mobile devices enables the creation of new information services and improved delivery of existing ones. Significantly, it allows citizens access to simple,quick and effective way to information. Free applications that use open data provide useful information in real time, tailored to the user experience and / or geographic location. This changes the concept of “service information”. Both the infomediary sector and citizens now have new models of production and dissemination of this type of information. From the theoretical contextualization of aspects such as processes datification of reality, mobile registration of everyday experience, or reinterpretation of the service information, we analyze the role of open data in the public sector in Spain and its application concrete in building apps based on this data sets. The findings indicate that this is a phenomenon that will continue to grow because these applications provide useful and efficient information to decision-making in everyday life.

‘Democracy always comes first’: adolescents’ views on decision-making in everyday life and political democracy

ABSTRACTResearch shows adolescents to be positively oriented towards democracy, but little is known about what it actually means to them and what their views are on decision-making in both everyday situations and political democracy. To gain insight into these aspects of adolescents’ democratic views, we have interviewed 40 Dutch adolescents from second grade of different types of high school. Potential conflict between various democratic principles prevalent in everyday life situations was discussed and compared to how they view decision-making in political democracy. The results of our qualitative study showed that adolescents’ views on issues concerning collective decision-making in everyday situations are quite rich and reflect different models of democracy (majoritarian, consensual, and deliberative). Moreover, how adolescents deal with tensions between democratic principles in everyday life situations varies. While some adolescents combine several principles (for instance, majority rule as a last resort after trying to find broader consensus), other adolescents tend to strictly focus on only one of these principles. Adolescents’ views on political democracy, however, are rather limited and one-dimensional. Those adolescents who seemed to have a more explicit picture of political democracy often preferred a strict focus on majority rule, neglecting minority interests.

Use of an Analytic Network Process and Monte Carlo Analysis in New Product Formula Selection Decisions

One crucial matter in routine life is decision-making. Although decision-making in everyday life appears to be easily dealt with by one-on-one comparisons, the same is not true with decision-making in business. In business management decisions, problems are more complicated than those in individual life because most business situations fall into the category of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems. Therefore, appropriate multi-criteria decision methods should be carefully selected to solve these problems. This study uses the analytic network process (ANP), one of the widely available multi-criteria decision methods. However, this popular method generally ignores the uncertainty inherent in the input data. Therefore, this paper proposes an improved process that considers uncertainty by using Monte Carlo analysis with input values then applied to the ANP procedures. This proposed method is implemented by a real business that produces roof tiles; the primary goal of the study is to select among newly developed roof formulas by considering the uncertainty and interrelation among decision criteria and elements as well as alternatives. The outcomes of study accurately rank the new product formulas. Furthermore, the results of improved method differ the rankings produced by the original ANP. The observed dissimilarities mainly result from uncertainty consideration discussed in this study.

Self-determination and older people – A concept analysis

Background: Self-determination has emerged as an important concept within health care, used to emphasize clients' control and independence as they participate in rehabilitation. To strengthen clients' self-determination is a central aim in occupational therapy. However, there is a lack of a clear definition of self-determination concerning community-dwelling older people. The definition should be flexible in different contexts, such as cultural. Objective: To define and clarify the concept of self-determination in relation to community-dwelling frail older people. Method: Walker & Avant's analysis procedure was carried out to identify textual attributes to the concept of self-determination, supplemented by a content analysis of 21 articles that were used to define and further justify the textual attributes. Results: Self-determination was used in diverse contexts for community-dwelling older people, concerning: decision-making in everyday life, professionals' views, health, and legal/ethical rights. Different textual attributes were identified, to propose a conceptual definition of self-determination in relation to community-dwelling frail older people: A process in which a person has control and legal/ethical rights, and has the knowledge and ability to make a decision of his/her own free choice. Principal conclusion: This concept analysis has contributed to clarifying the concept for the convenience of research with community-dwelling frail older people.

Bushfire and everyday life: Examining the awareness-action ‘gap’ in changing rural landscapes

In this paper we use the notion of ‘everyday life’ to critically examine an apparent ‘gap’ between bushfire risk awareness and preparedness amongst diverse landholders in rural landscapes affected by amenity-led in-migration in southeast Australia. Landholders were found to bring their own agency to bushfire preparedness in the relationships between everyday procedures, dilemmas, and tradeoffs. Consequently, regardless of landholders’ awareness levels, attitudes towards bushfire and natural resource management influence if, how, and to what extent landowners prepare for bushfires. We argue that not only is the ‘gap’ complex but also paradoxical in that it is both evident in, and constituted by, landholder attitudes and action and simultaneously dissolved in their practices and decision-making in everyday life. Three dilemmas of everyday life in particular were found to underpin these attitudes: costs (in terms of monetary and time values), gender roles, and priorities. Using a mixed-methods research approach, this simultaneous cultural construction and material nature of bushfire in everyday life is mapped out through landholders’ narratives and actions that embody living with fire on the land. The place of bushfire in landholders’ everyday life has direct relevance to recent international discussions of the vulnerability of the growing number of people living in bushfire-prone rural–urban interface areas.

Organic and psychogenic factors leading to executive dysfunctions in a patient suffering from surgery of a colloid cyst of the Foramen of Monro

The authors report a 41-year-old female patient who had suffered from colloid cyst of the Foramen of Monro. After surgical intervention in which the cyst was completely removed, her hydrocephalus decreased to normal ventricle size measured by MRI. However, the patient became depressive and reported vast difficulties in everyday life decision-making. An examination twenty months after surgery indicated psychiatric symptoms and abnormalities in personality. Neuropsychological investigation revealed average to above average performance in anterograde memory, attention, information processing, and intelligence. In contrast, the patient was severely impaired in decision-making, complex executive functions, and social cognition. In 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG-PET) hypometabolism in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex and left fusiform gyrus was observed. The authors conclude that in this case decision-making deficits and executive dysfunctions are influenced by both organic and psychogenic factors.

Decision-Making of Mothers in Hong Kong Regarding the Occasional Use of Alternative Child-Care Arrangements

This study examines the use of alternative child-care arrangements as an everyday life decision in a family context. Interviews with twenty-four mothers from a working class neighborhood in a new town in Hong Kong were transcribed and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results of the analysis outlined: (a) the structural components of making a decision regarding alternative care, which consisted of demands, resource options, definitions of the situation, types of decision situations, and the respective decision-making strategies; and (b) the nature of decision-making processes, varying from ad hoc to standing. Together, these aspects illuminate how mothers make decisions regarding the use of alternative child-care arrangements and, in turn, the characteristics of family decision-making in everyday life.