Decision-making Process Research Articles

Consistent Individual Differences Drive Collective Movements in a Tibetan Macaque Group

Collective movement has emerged as a key area of interest in animal behavior. While individual differences are often viewed as a potential threat to group cohesion, growing evidence suggests that these differences can actually influence an animal’s behavior as an initiator or follower during collective movements, thereby driving the group‘s movement and decision-making processes. To resolve the divergence, we asked how personality can affect the dynamics of collective movements in one group of free-ranging Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) in Huangshan, China. We assessed individual personality using principal component analysis and applied the generalized linear mixed model and linear mixed model to examine the influence of personality on decision making during collective movements. Our findings reveled three distinct personality types among Tibetan macaques: sociability, boldness, and anxiousness. Individuals with higher sociability scores and rank, or those with lower anxiousness scores, were more likely to initiate successful collective movements. Older individuals were less successful in initiating movements compared to young adults. Leaders with lower anxiousness scores or higher rank attracted more followers, with females attracting larger groups than males. As for followers, individuals with higher rank tended to join the collective movement earlier. Additionally, individuals with higher sociability or boldness scores had shorter joining latency in collective movement. Finally, there was a longer joining latency for middle-aged adults compared to young adults. These results suggest that individual differences are a potential driver of collective movements. We provide some insights into the relationships between personality and decision making in Tibetan macaques.

SEOM-GEM clinical guidelines for cutaneous melanoma (2023).

Cutaneous melanoma incidence is rising. Early diagnosis and treatment administration are key for increasing the chances of survival. For patients with locoregional advanced melanoma that can be treated with complete resection, adjuvant-and more recently neoadjuvant-with targeted therapy-BRAF and MEK inhibitors-and immunotherapy-anti-PD-1-based therapies-offer opportunities to reduce the risk of relapse and distant metastases. For patients with advanced disease not amenable to radical treatment, these treatments offer an unprecedented increase in overall survival. A group of medical oncologists from the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) and Spanish Multidisciplinary Melanoma Group (GEM) has designed these guidelines, based on a thorough review of the best evidence available. The following guidelines try to cover all the aspects from the diagnosis-clinical, pathological, and molecular-staging, risk stratification, adjuvant therapy, advanced disease therapy, and survivor follow-up, including special situations, such as brain metastases, refractory disease, and treatment sequencing. We aim help clinicians in the decision-making process.

Lived experiences of caregivers with infants treated at home with continuous invasive or noninvasive ventilation.

Caring for children dependent upon continuous invasive ventilation in the home setting requires extensive expertise, coordination, and can result in impaired caregiver quality of life. Less is known regarding the experiences of caregivers with children requiring continuous noninvasive ventilation. To evaluate caregiver experiences with invasive and noninvasive home mechanical ventilation, and to compare parental quality of life based on the child's mode of ventilation. Caregivers of infants who were discharged home with continuous ventilatory support were recruited to complete semi-structured qualitative interviews. Interviews explored their decision-making process, the transition to home, and health related quality of life. Caregivers of 16 children were interviewed, of whom eight were treated with continuous invasive ventilation, and eight with continuous noninvasive ventilation. The decision to pursue home ventilation in both groups was greatly influenced by the desire to be discharged and reunite the family at home. Following the transition to home, caregivers from both groups described high rates of insomnia, emotional distress, work disruption and familial hardship. Despite this, parents were overwhelmingly pleased with the decision to proceed with home ventilation and perceived their children to be living enriched lives outside of the hospital. Factors associated with easing the transition to home were in-hospital training and the presence of a robust support system. Lives of families with children dependent on continuous mechanical ventilation are characterized by isolation, lifestyle disruption, adverse mental and physical health consequences, and impaired interpersonal relationships, irrespective of the mode of ventilation.

Examining Adolescent Language Performance in Discourse Production Across Four Elicitation Tasks.

Comprehensive spoken language assessment should include the evaluation of language use in naturalistic contexts. Discourse elicitation and analysis provides the opportunity for such an evaluation to occur. In this article, our overall aim was to describe adolescents' language performance on four elicitation tasks and determine if there are task-related differences across the elicitation tasks. Forty-four typically developing adolescents with ages ranging from 12;2 to 17;11 (years;months; M = 15;2; 21 boys and 23 girls) participated in the study. They completed four spoken discourse tasks: (a) story generation using a wordless picture book, (b) fable retell, (c) six personal narratives in response to emotion-based prompts, and (d) monologic response to two stories that contained a moral dilemma. Responses were transcribed and analyzed for four language performance measures tapping into language productivity, syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, and verbal facility. Despite individual variability in performance, mean scores were close to median scores for most measures, suggesting a symmetrical distribution. As expected, all four language performance measures were significantly different across the four elicitation tasks. The personal narrative task elicited the longest samples, with the highest verbal fluency. In contrast, both lexical diversity and syntactic complexity were the strongest in response to the fable retell and the moral dilemma tasks. This investigation provides speech-language pathologists with an overview of how task-related factors may impact adolescent language performance. These findings may be used to support their clinical decision-making processes in choosing a suitable discourse task when conducting a comprehensive spoken language assessment. Three hypothetical case examples are used to illustrate the decision-making process. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25761768.

The benefits of ‘slow’ development: towards a best practice for sustainable technical infrastructure through the Davy Notebooks Project

In this article we consider technical development and its role in digital humanities research efforts. We critique the concept that ‘novel’ development is crucial for innovation and tie this thinking to the corporatization of higher education. We suggest instead that sustainable technical development practices require a combination of need, creativity and reuse of existing technical infrastructure. First, we present our theory of ‘slow’ development based on this need-driven approach, then demonstrate how this theory can be applied to digital humanities research efforts using the Davy Notebooks Project as a case study. By tracing the history of this multi-phase, public crowdsourcing project and exposing the decision-making process behind its technical development, we demonstrate the promise and possibility of the ‘slow’ method proposed. When read in conjunction with the other essays in this special issue, we hope that this article will demonstrate how digital humanities methods and technical infrastructure can support and sustain traditional modes of scholarship, and the importance of applying the same careful approach to technical development that is applied to research methods more broadly.

Profiles of Career Indecision: A Person-Centered Approach with Italian Late Adolescents

Choosing career paths in today’s contemporary labor market complexity is becoming more and more challenging for adolescents and young people. Career indecision could take over, and assessing its facets could guide career interventions to support the career decision-making process. To create increasingly tailored career guidance interventions, using a person-centered approach, this study aimed to understand whether profiles of late adolescents based on their career decision-making difficulties might be circumscribed. A total of 776 Italian late adolescents took part in this study. The assessment of career decision-making difficulties was conducted through the Career Decision-Making Questionnaire (CDDQ). To determine the optimal number of profiles, a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) using the stepwise approach was used. Moreover, a multinomial logistic regression was conducted to study whether school grade and sex predicted profile membership. LPA revealed a four-profile model: “Lower Indecision” (Profile 1, 39%), “High Indecision” (Profile 2, 23%), “Very High Indecision” (Profile 3, 7%) and “Moderate Indecision” (Profile 4, 31%). Being enrolled in the last year of high school significantly predicted belonging to Profile 2 and Profile 3. Practical implications were discussed in light of these findings.

Establishing Healthcare Discrimination: An Analysis of Scandinavian Equality Boards

Discrimination in healthcare is a pervasive issue faced by patients, affecting their access to treatment and overall well-being. This article examines the forms of healthcare discrimination recognised by Scandinavian equality boards through a comparative analysis of their decisions. While social science studies have established the existence of discrimination based on ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, and age, proving such discrimination in legal terms poses significant challenges. An analysis of board decisions reveals that patients face barriers in establishing legally actionable discrimination, as perceived discriminatory conduct may not meet the criteria for legal claims. Additionally, equality boards are often hesitant to intervene in medical decision-making processes, further complicating the path to legal recourse. Lack of evidentiary support, especially in cases of unconscious bias, makes it difficult for some patients to substantiate claims of discrimination. The findings underscore the complexities of addressing healthcare discrimination through legal means. To effectively combat discrimination, there is a need to clarify the goals of discrimination law in the healthcare context and consider its future application within the broader context of human rights and equality.

Would you date a liar? The impact of greenwashing on B2B relationships under the managerial trust view

Greenwashing can be perceived as dishonest behavior that can threaten trust in business deals due to the current trend of an intensive scrutiny of sustainability-related messages from organizations. Drawing on the literature concerning managerial trust, our study analyzes how perceived greenwashing negatively affects business-to-business relationships, focusing on two aspects: (1) whether managers’ perception of greenwashing is influenced by uncertainty in the business decision-making process and (2) whether individual manager characteristics play a significant role in modulating this influence. We used an experimental design involving 125 Spanish managers to confirm the importance of uncertain scenarios under the negative influence of greenwashing on business decision-making process. The findings also confirm that this negative influence is intensified by managers’ characteristics in terms of risk aversion and the importance they place on corporate reputation. The study makes several contributions to academia and practitioners by advancing the understanding of greenwashing in the context of business-to-business relationships. JEL CLASSIFICATION: M100; M140; M210

Conceptualising and enacting pathways to transformative climate justice: examples from the Philippines

Conceptualising and enacting pathways to transformative climate justice: examples from the Philippines

Self-reported dyspnoea and shortness of breathing deterioration in long-term survivors after segmentectomy or lobectomy for early-stage lung cancer.

To assess the self-reported current dyspnoea and perioperative changes of dyspnoea in long term survivors after minimally invasive segmentectomy or lobectomy for early-stage lung cancer. Cross-sectional telephonic survey of patients alive and disease-free as of March 2023, with pathologic stage IA1-2, non-small cell lung cancer, assessed 1 to 5 years after minimally invasive segmentectomy or lobectomy (performed from January 2018 to January 2022). Current dyspnoea level: Baseline Dyspnoea Index score < 10. Perioperative changes of dyspnoea were assessed using the Transition Dyspnoea Index. A negative Transition Dyspnoea Index focal score indicates perioperative deterioration in dyspnoea.Mixed effect models were used to examine demographic, medical, and health-related correlates of current dyspnoea and changes of dyspnoea level. 152 of 236 eligible patients consented or were available to respond to the telephonic interview(67% response rate):90 lobectomies and 62 segmentectomies.The Baseline Dyspnoea Index score was lower (greater dyspnoea) in lobectomy patients (median 7, IQR 6-10) compared to segmentectomy (median 9, IQR 6-11), p = 0.034. 70% of lobectomy patients declared to have a current dyspnoea vs 53% after segmentectomy, p = 0.035.82% of patients after lobectomy reported a perioperative deterioration in their dyspnoea compared to 57% after segmentectomy, p = 0.002.Mixed effect logistic regression analysis adjusting for patient related factors and time elapsed from operation showed that segmentectomy was associated with a reduced risk of perioperative dyspnoea deterioration (as opposed to lobectomy) (OR 0.31, p = 0.004). Our findings may be valuable to inform the shared decision-making process by complementing objective data on perioperative changes of pulmonary function.

Exploring the dual routes in influencing sales and adoption in augmented reality retailing: a mixed approach of SEM and FsQCA

Exploring the dual routes in influencing sales and adoption in augmented reality retailing: a mixed approach of SEM and FsQCA

From crisis to opportunity through innovation

Purpose This study aims to explore the strategic decisions at innovation level implemented by firms to thrive and transform themselves during crises. This study also aims to provide insights to answer the question: Why do some firms decide to implement certain types of innovation during a crisis? Design/methodology/approach This research was carried out through a multiple case study involving 22 firms. The methods were implemented in three steps to increase rigor and the replication of the study: identification and selection of cases, data collection through interviews triangulated with online information and analysis based on aggregating themes and finding patterns. Findings In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the companies analyzed focused their activities mainly on developing new features or functionalities for their products or services. Most of the firms implemented innovations across nearly all ten categories outlined by Keeley et al. (2013). Many of the implemented innovations involved personalized and superior service enhancements, process efficiency optimizations, channel diversification initiatives and new ways to collaborate to generate value. In general, the main drivers that led firms to decide to implement these innovations include reducing costs, enhancing operational efficiency, generating new revenue streams, augmenting sales and enhancing client relationships. Practical implications This research significantly advances the convergence of innovation, strategy and crisis in three impactful ways. First, it constructs a pragmatic and evidence-based framework, consolidating the primary catalysts, innovation categories and strategies adopted by firms in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. Second, it offers insights for guiding decision-making processes related to innovation, presenting actionable recommendations derived from the study’s findings. Thirdly, this study highlights critical perspectives that can guide governmental intervention, facilitating the formulation of more tailored and effective policies to assist companies during crisis periods. Originality/value This study centers on developing countries, specifically examining Colombian firms, considering their unique characteristics and priorities. Surprisingly, there is a scarcity of studies delving into the innovation and transformation of firms during the COVID-19 crisis in nations sharing cultural, economic and political similarities with Colombia.

Drone Safety and Security Surveillance System (D4S)

Drones offer significant safety and security advantages by enhancing situational awareness across various fields. However, realizing these benefits hinges on well-designed drone systems. This study builds upon previous research on drone deployment challenges and proposes the Drone Safety and Security Surveillance System (D4S). D4S aims to standardize similar drone-based systems, enhancing situational awareness and supporting decision-making processes. While initially tailored for safety and security, D4S holds potential for broader applications. Two system architectures have been proposed and evaluated with positive feedback from safety and security professionals. D4S has the potential to revolutionize safety practices, improve situational awareness, and facilitate timely decision making in critical scenarios.

The interaction between the anchor and customers in live-streaming E-commerce

PurposeLive-streaming e-commerce is becoming a new way for many consumers to shop. During the live broadcast process, the interaction between anchors and customers plays a decisive role on consumers' purchasing decisions. This study aims to explore how two types of interaction between the anchor and the customers (i.e. task-oriented interaction and relationship-oriented interaction) affect customers' purchase decisions.Design/methodology/approachThe study establishes a model based on online trust theory and multi-sensor interaction theory. To validate the model, we carried out five simulated live-streaming events and collected data through a scenario-based survey of the viewers participating in the live-streaming (N = 244). Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypotheses.FindingsBoth task-oriented interaction and relationship-oriented interaction have a positive impact on users' purchase decisions through the mediation of virtual touch, emotional trust and cognitive trust. Sense of power has opposite moderating effects on the impacts of relationship-oriented interaction on emotional trust and cognitive trust.Originality/valueThis study enriches the theory of live-streaming e-commerce by demonstrating the decisive roles of two types of anchor–customer interaction, the mediation roles of virtual touch, cognitive trust, and emotional trust in customer purchase decisions, as well as the moderating effect of sense of power on customer decision-making processes. The findings provide practical insights for anchors and live-streaming platforms about how they should arrange live-streaming content to enhance consumer purchasing decisions.

Integrating generative AI into financial market prediction for improved decision making

This study provides an in-depth analysis of the model architecture and key technologies of generative artificial intelligence, combined with specific application cases, and uses conditional generative adversarial networks ( cGAN ) and time series analysis methods to simulate and predict dynamic changes in financial markets. The research results show that the cGAN model can effectively capture the complexity of financial market data, and the deviation between the prediction results and the actual market performance is minimal, showing a high degree of accuracy. Through investment return analysis, the application value of model predictions in actual investment strategies is confirmed, providing investors with new ways to improve the decision-making process. In addition, the evaluation of model stability and reliability also shows that although there are still challenges in responding to market emergencies, overall, GAI technology has shown great potential and application value in the field of financial market prediction. The conclusion points out that integrating generative artificial intelligence into financial market forecasts can not only improve the accuracy of forecasts, but also provide powerful data support for financial decisions, helping investors make more informed decisions in a complex and ever-changing market environment. choose.

Under one roof: The social relations and relational work of energy retrofit for the occupants of multi-owned properties

In the UK a significant proportion of Multi-Owned Properties (MoPs) – characterised by buildings segmented into individually owned flats – must undergo retrofitting to achieve net zero emissions. Despite this requirement, advancement has been minimal, with existing government policy failing to consider a pivotal role of social dynamics among residents in the retrofit decision-making process. This research adopts an innovative perspective grounded in relational sociology, leveraging Viviana A. Zelizer's concept of ‘relational work’ and integrating two of the three types of social relations identified by Hargreaves and Middlemiss' (intimacy and institutions) to dissect the retrofit challenges faced by owners of historic MoPs in South Glasgow, UK. The study reveals that the necessity for heightened relational work among property owners acts as a barrier to retrofit initiative. Nevertheless, it identifies potential pathway to invigorate the retrofit sector by enhancing neighbourly connections and recognising the influential, yet underexplored, role of property managers in facilitating retrofit activities within MoPs. This inquiry not only underscores the significance of social relations in environmental retrofit projects but also suggests a re-evaluation of policy frameworks to accommodate the social intricacies inherent in MoPs, thereby fostering a more conducive environment for achieving net-zero targets.

Reducing organizational inequalities associated with algorithmic controls

Algorithmic technologies are widely applied in organizational decision-making today, which can improve resource allocation and decision-making coordination to facilitate the accuracy and efficiency of the decision-making process within and across organizations. However, algorithmic controls also introduce and amplify organizational inequalities—workers who are female, people of color and the marginalized population, and workers with low skills, a low level of education, or who have low technology literacy can be disadvantaged and discriminated against due to the lack of transparency, explainability, objectivity, and accountability in these algorithms. Through a systematic literature review, this study comprehensively compares three different types of controls in organizations: technical controls, bureaucratic controls, and algorithmic controls, which led to our understanding of the advantages and disadvantages associated with algorithmic controls. The literature on the organizational inequality related to the employment of algorithmic controls is then discussed and summarized. Finally, we explore the potential of trustworthy algorithmic controls and participatory development of algorithms to mitigate organizational inequalities associated with algorithmic controls. Our findings raise the awareness related to the potential corporate inequalities associated with algorithmic controls in organizations and endorse the development of future generations of hiring and employment algorithms through trustworthy and participatory approaches.

A Dynamic Programming Approach to the Collision Avoidance of Autonomous Ships

The advancement of autonomous capabilities in maritime navigation has gained significant attention, with a trajectory moving from decision support systems to full autonomy. This push towards autonomy has led to extensive research focusing on collision avoidance, a critical aspect of safe navigation. Among the various possible approaches, dynamic programming is a promising tool for optimizing collision avoidance maneuvers. This paper presents a DP formulation for the collision avoidance of autonomous vessels. We set up the problem framework, formulate it as a multi-stage decision process, define cost functions and constraints focusing on the actual requirements a marine maneuver must comply with, and propose a solution algorithm leveraging parallel computing. Additionally, we present a greedy approximation to reduce algorithm complexity. We put the proposed algorithms to the test in realistic navigation scenarios and also develop an extensive test on a large set of randomly generated scenarios, comparing them with the RRT* algorithm using performance metrics proposed in the literature. The results show the potential benefits of an autonomous navigation or decision support framework.

Assessing the Impact of M&amp;As’ Motives Influencing the M&amp;A Decision Making Process in the UAE Banking Sector

A number of review studies have been conducted to provide valuable insights into the M&amp;A decision-making process in the banking sector and factors that could have a positive and effective impact on it. This study systematically reviews and analyses the decision-making process for M&amp;A and its related factors in 15 interviews with experts related to 10 M&amp;A transaction in UAE banking sector from 2005 to 2021. The main findings contain that the most frequent factors affecting M&amp;A decision-making are Regulation, Globalization, Technology and Economics. In addition, most of the M&amp;A decision-making relevance is also affected by the internal factors of Synergy, Agency &amp; Management Motives, Hubris Motives. The findings of this review study provide an overview of current studies and analyses of the M&amp;A decision-making process in the banking sector and the factors that affect it.

Examining the Percent Canopy Cover and Health of Winter Wheat in No-Till and Conventional Tillage Plots Using a Drone

The percent canopy cover and health of winter wheat are important crop performance indicators. Thus, understanding how tillage management practices affect these indicators is beneficial for improving crop performance and consequently yield. The availability of high-resolution drone data with spectral characteristics provides an opportunity to examine the percent canopy cover and health of winter wheat in different tillage systems. This is because the use of drones provides real-time high spatial resolution and temporal images to effectively monitor winter wheat conditions throughout the growing season. Nonetheless, very limited studies have utilized drone data for assessing the percent canopy cover and health conditions of winter wheat for different tillage practices. This study aimed to examine the percent canopy cover and health of winter wheat in no-till and conventional tillage plots using a drone. We used the mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) ± Standard Deviation (SD) (0.89 ± 0.04) of winter wheat for the growth stages of tillering, jointing, and boot/heading to generate the percent wheat canopy cover. The Normalized Difference Red-Edge (NDRE) produced for winter wheat at the middle and late growth stages was used as a proxy for wheat health condition. We found that the mean percentage canopy cover of winter wheat was about 4% higher in no-till compared to conventional tillage plots in most of the growing season. The mean NDRE ± standard error (SE) of winter wheat was about 0.44 ± 0.01 and 0.43 ± 0.01 for no-till and conventional tillage plots, respectively, during the mid- and late growth stages. There was no significant difference in either the percent canopy cover or health of winter wheat between no-till and conventional tillage plots. The results generated in this study could be used to support farmers’ decision-making process regarding tillage practices and wheat crop performance.