Decision Speed Research Articles

Psychological value theory: predicting health-seeking behavior from symptom perception.

We recruit Psychological Value Theory (PVT) to understand how symptom value influences health-seeking decisions. Estimates of the Psychological Value of relief from a particular symptom were previously collected and used to predict the speed of participants' decision and the choice they make in three discrete choice experiments. Experiment 1 presented participants with a scenario and asked them to identify which of two symptoms they would seek healthcare services to treat. For each participant on every trial, two randomly chosen symptoms were inserted into the scenario. Experiment 2 addressed how the Psychological Value of a group of symptoms is predicted from the individual symptoms. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using groups of two symptoms, and predicted choice based on three grouping functions. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 using a yes/no task, whereby participants were asked if they would pursue a health care visit for a single set of symptoms. The results showed that PVT accurately predicted speed and choice in all three experiments. The Psychological Value of relief from a symptom was the primary driver of choice along with a response bias in favor of avoiding symptoms labeled "severe."Health-seeking decisions are well modeled by a general-purpose, value-based computational model (PVT), with the Psychological Value of relief from health symptoms as a primary driver of health-seeking behavior.

Quantum-Inspired AI for Optimized High-Frequency Trading

This article explores the transformative role of quantum-inspired AI in optimizing financial practices, particularly within high-frequency trading (HFT) in the financial sector. As HFT operates in an environment of rapid transactions and significant market volatility, the need for advanced optimization techniques becomes paramount. Quantum-inspired algorithms leverage principles from quantum mechanics, such as superposition and tunneling, to enhance various aspects of trading strategies. These algorithms enable rapid optimization of asset allocation, real-time trade execution, and proactive fraud detection, effectively addressing the challenges posed by traditional financial models. By facilitating simultaneous evaluation of multiple strategies and enabling real-time analysis of complex trading patterns, quantum-inspired AI significantly improves decision-making speed and accuracy. The financial implications of this advancement are profound, leading to higher profitability, improved market integrity, and enhanced trust among market participants. Ultimately, integrating quantum-inspired AI in finance represents a crucial step towards harnessing cutting-edge technology to reshape trading dynamics, paving the way for innovative strategies that can adapt to the evolving landscape of financial markets. This study underscores the potential of quantum-inspired AI to redefine operational efficiency in finance, ensuring competitiveness in an increasingly complex trading environment.

GRRIS: A Real-time Intrasite Observation Scheduling Scheme for Distributed Survey Telescope Arrays

The distributed telescope array offers promise for conducting large-sky-area, high-frequency time-domain surveys. Multiple telescopes can be deployed at each observation site, so intrasite observation task scheduling is crucial for enhancing observation efficiency and quality. Efficient use of observable time and rapid response to special situations are critical to maximize scientific discovery in time-domain surveys. Besides, the competing scientific priorities, time-varying observation conditions, and capabilities of observation equipment, lead to a vast search space of the scheduling. So with the increasing number of telescopes and observation fields, balancing computational time with solution quality in observation scheduling poses a significant challenge. Informed by the seminal contributions of earlier studies on a multilevel scheduling model and global scheduler for a time-domain telescope array, this study is devoted to further exploring the site scheduler. Formulating the observation scheduling of multiple telescopes at the site as a cooperative decision-making problem, this paper proposes GRRIS, a real-time intrasite observation scheduling scheme for the telescope array using graph and reinforcement learning (RL). It employs a graph neural network to learn node features that can embed the spatial structure of the observation scheduling. An algorithm based on multi-agent RL is designed to efficiently learn the optimum allocation policy of telescope agents to field nodes. Through numerical simulations with real-world scenarios, GRRIS can achieve up to a 22% solution improvement over the most competitive scheme. It offers better scalability and subsecond decision speed, meeting the needs of observation scheduling control for future distributed telescope arrays.

The always changing data problem of using AI in manufacturing : Using synthetic data from the digital twin to feed AI models

Production is becoming increasingly flexible, which also requires the flexibility of the support system for the production. And the key here is the speed of decisions, in which the support of modern artificial intelligence systems can be crucial. Flexible production is based on a well-planned control of production, which increasingly uses some artificial intelligence component. Artificial intelligence can already be useful in the early stages of planning the production line, and of course it can also control the daily operation of the production line after the installation of the production place or line. The biggest problem is supplying the neural network that controls the artificial intelligence with training data. The production lines typically change every 2-4 months, new products appear, the layout changes, and the main process data also changes due to the development of the processes. This results in the training data becoming outdated or obsolete very quickly and thus cannot be used to train models anymore. High-quality learning data can be produced by digital twin models of production lines. Such synthetic data has several advantages over data collected from production. In this article, we investigate how useful this synthetic data is during the life cycle of the production line.

SOME ASPECTS OF ACTIONS TO RESPONSE TO EXTERNAL SECURITY THREATS AND CRISES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union is taking action in various areas of security to improve its ability to respond to crises and increase its resilience to future challenges, so this article examines the evolution of crisis response actions of the European Union countries in the face of challenges and threats in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment in relation to European security. This, in turn, is reflected in the speed of decision-making by the competent associations of the European Union regarding legal regulation that corresponds to the current situation. The authors identify and analyze the main directions of action and response measures of member countries in the legal field. In this context, the authors pay special attention to the consideration of the European Union's security policy in relation to hybrid threats from neighboring states, ensuring cyber security, the use of modern information communication technologies, as well as mediation tools in the prevention of these threats. The authors analyze issues of cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations in the field of peacekeeping and military missions. The authors also touched on the specifics of lessons learned from addressing the consequences of crisis situations and the impact of the EU countries’ integrated approach to responding to crisis situations in the context of the past pandemic, as well as the impact of hybrid threats. The results of this study show that the relevant institutions of the European Union skillfully, promptly and effectively coordinate decision-making on response and management in crisis situations, and as part of improving the anti-crisis management strategy, taking measures to prevent the consequences of crisis situations in the EU area (hybrid threats, illegal migration, terrorism, organized crime, etc.)

Advanced Cooperative Formation Control in Variable-Sweep Wing UAVs via the MADDPG–VSC Algorithm

UAV technology is advancing rapidly, and variable-sweep wing UAVs are increasingly valuable because they can adapt to different flight conditions. However, conventional control methods often struggle with managing continuous action spaces and responding to dynamic environments, making them inadequate for complex multi-UAV cooperative formation control tasks. To address these challenges, this study presents an innovative framework that integrates dynamic modeling with morphing control, optimized by the multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient for two-sweep control (MADDPG–VSC) algorithm. This approach enables real-time sweep angle adjustments based on current flight states, significantly enhancing aerodynamic efficiency and overall UAV performance. The precise motion state model for wing morphing developed in this study underpins the MADDPG–VSC algorithm’s implementation. The algorithm not only optimizes multi-UAV formation control efficiency but also improves obstacle avoidance, attitude stability, and decision-making speed. Extensive simulations and real-world experiments consistently demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms contemporary methods in multiple aspects, underscoring its practical applicability in complex aerial systems. This study advances control technologies for morphing-wing UAV formation and offers new insights into multi-agent cooperative control, with substantial potential for real-world applications.

Information accumulation on the item versus source test of source monitoring: Insights from diffusion modeling.

Source monitoring involves attributing previous experiences (e.g., studied words as items) to their origins (e.g., screen positions as sources). The present study aimed toward a better understanding of temporal aspects of item and source processing. Participants made source decisions for recognized items either in succession (i.e., the standard format) or in separate test blocks providing independent measures of item and source decision speed. Comparable speeds of item and source decision across the test formats would suggest a full separation between item and source processing, whereas different speeds would imply their (partial) temporal overlap. To test these alternatives, we used the drift rate parameter of the diffusion model (Ratcliff, Psychological Review, 85, 59-108, 1978). We examined whether the drift rates, together with the other parameters, assessed separately for the item and source decision varied as a function of the test format. Threshold separation and nondecision time differed between the test formats, but item and source decision speeds represented by drift rates did not change significantly. Thus, despite facilitation on the source decision when the item decision was immediately followed by a test for source memory than when item and source were tested in separate blocks, findings did not suggest that source information already begins accumulating in the item test in the standard format. We discuss the temporal sequence of item and source processing in light of different assumptions about the contribution of familiarity and recollection.

The effect of juggling on the proprioceptive and attentional abilities among older women.

Age-related changes in attentional abilities can lead to a decline in body segment awareness in space. However, studies have reported that physical activity can improve proprioception among older adults, although proven activities with this potential are limited. Juggling is a promising activity for enhancing proprioception, as it requires high levels of attention and sensory precision. The first hypothesis posited that a juggling intervention would positively impact ipsilateral and contralateral elbow joint position matching without visual input. The second hypothesis suggested a correlation between cognitive abilities and joint position sense efficiency. A total of 20 older women (mean age: 69.95 ± 4.58) participated in a repeated-measures study using a Latin square design. Measurements were taken at three time points (baseline, post-juggling, and control). Ipsilateral and contralateral elbow joint position matchings without visual or verbal feedback of accuracy were used to assess proprioception. Attention and reaction time variables were measured using the Vienna Test System protocols. Although significant changes were observed between baseline and subsequent time points in joint position sense accuracy, no specific effect of juggling was detected. Low and medium correlations were found between decision time and the variability of choice reaction time with contralateral accuracy. For ipsilateral accuracy, a relationship was observed only with handedness. No correlations were found between attention test scores and joint position sense accuracy. The study did not demonstrate a significant effect of juggling on position-matching ability. However, cognitive abilities such as decision speed and the stability of choice reaction time may play a role in enhancing position-matching in older women. ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT06108713.

Word Type and Frequency Effects on Lexical Decisions Are Process-dependent and Start Early.

When encountering letter strings, we rapidly determine whether they are words. The speed of such lexical decisions (LDs) is affected by word frequency. Apart from influencing late, decision-related, processing stages, frequency has also been shown to affect very early stages, and even the processing of nonwords. We developed a detailed account of the different frequency effects involved in LDs by (1) dividing LDs into processing stages using a combination of hidden semi-Markov models and multivariate pattern analysis applied to EEG data and (2) using generalized additive mixed models to investigate how the effect of continuous word and nonword frequency differs between these stages. We discovered six stages shared between word types, with the fifth stage consisting of two substages for pseudowords only. In the earliest stages, visual processing was completed faster for frequent words, but took longer for word-like nonwords. Later stages involved an orthographic familiarity assessment followed by an elaborate decision process, both affected differently by frequency. We therefore conclude that frequency indeed affects all processes involved in LDs and that the magnitude and direction of these effects differ both by process and word type.

Decoding decision delegation to artificial intelligence: A mixed-methods study on the preferences of decision-makers and decision-affected in surrogate decision contexts

Organizations are increasingly opting to use decision-making systems based on artificial intelligence (AI) to increase decision quality and speed and free up resources. However, delegating decisions to AI is challenging, especially in contexts that go beyond classical optimization problems. Current research has so far largely neglected to include the viewpoints of the decision-affected and of surrogate decision-makers in the discussion. To address these gaps, in this study we rely on two experimental designs and complement our findings with qualitative interview data to shed light on both sides: the perspective of those affected by the decision and that of the decision maker in surrogate and ethically complex decision contexts. Findings reveal that the individual decision-making perspective may lead to opposing perceptions. Whereas the willingness to delegate an ethically challenging decision to AI in a surrogate decision context is lower than that in a non-surrogate context (decision-maker perspective), people affected by the decision do not generally prefer humans to AI (decision-affected perspective). By these findings, we contribute to the literature on AI-enabled decision-making and decision delegation to non-human entities.

Development of a software service for stock price forecasting based on sentiment analysis and autoregressive models

This paper addresses the critical need for efficient market analysis tools in the era of big data and artificial intelligence. We present a novel software service that integrates real-time news sentiment analysis with stock market prediction, enhancing the accuracy and speed of trading decisions. The system employs APIs for data collection, FinBERT for sentiment analysis, and MongoDB for data storage, overcoming limitations of existing platforms like Investing.com and MarketWatch. Our methodology combines sentiment analysis with autoregressive models to forecast stock prices for 11 major companies. The experiment utilized 141 observations, applying multiple regression and binary outcome models. Results demonstrate that investor sentiment significantly affects stock prices for 2 out of 11 companies, with Meta showing a 70 % determination coefficient in price direction changes based on sentiment. The study reveals that incorporating both quantitative (previous stock prices) and qualitative (sentiment) data improves forecast accuracy for certain stocks. This research contributes to the field of financial analytics by providing a more comprehensive approach to stock price prediction, integrating ML models and data analytics to support informed decision-making in dynamic financial markets.

Cyber-Physical Scheduling System for Multiobjective Scheduling Optimization of a Suspension Chain Workshop Using the Improved Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) offer significant potential to address the evolving demands of industrial development. In the Industry 4.0 era, a framework integrating sensing, data exchange, numerical analysis, and real-time feedback is essential for meeting modern industrial needs. However, implementing this integration presents challenges across multiple domains, particularly in digital analysis, information sensing, and data exchange during corporate transformation. Companies yet to undergo transformation face distinct challenges, including the risks and trial-and-error costs of adopting new technologies. This study focuses on a heavy-duty workpiece processing factory, with a specific emphasis on the painting process. The complexity of this process frequently results in congestion, which is approached as a multi-objective, multi-constraint optimization problem. This paper proposes the Improved Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (INSGA-II) to address the requirements of multi-objective optimization. The proposed approach uses multi-chromosome structures, listeners, and recursive backtracking initialization to optimize the search for solutions under constraints. This enables the factory to automatically streamline production lines based on workpiece processing sequences, leading to increased efficiency. Additionally, a CPS framework focused on simulation modeling has been designed. First, the INSGA-II algorithm processes order data to generate production schedules. Next, the data transmission formats and input-output interfaces are designed. Then, a simulation model is built using the algorithm’s results. These components collectively form the CPS framework for this study. The proposed method offers an automated digital solution through the algorithm, enabling verification of its feasibility via the simulation model. As a result, it significantly enhances decision-making speed, reliability, and equipment utilization.

FINANCIAL MARKET’S ROLE IN DETERMINING THE VALUE OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS INTANGIBLE ASSETS

As humanity moves into the era of digital technologies and the knowledge economy, the importance of intangible assets in the global economy and international business has been increasingly recognised. Amid the forced virtual communication resulting from the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the social conflicts and cyber-attacks associated with Russia's hybrid war in Ukraine, the value of intangible assets such as reputation, investor and customer loyalty, consumer data, branding, intellectual expertise and copyrights has taken on new importance and relevance. The purpose of the research is to improve the conceptual and methodological foundations for determining the nature and value of intangible assets of leading international companies, in particular, their undisclosed components, based on the use of financial market data. Research methodology. The study is based on systems analysis, analysis and synthesis, statistical and graphical methods. These methods were used primarily to identify the structure of the intangible assets of leading international companies, highlighting the interrelationships between the formation of the gap between the external (financial market) and internal (balance sheet) value of companies' shares and the value of their intangible assets. The publication supports the assumption that the identified gap between the market capitalisation and shareholder's equity of an individual company represents the undisclosed part of intangible assets that is not available in the company's official statements. This gap includes such components as reputation, trust and loyalty of customers and investors, brand strength, etc. Given the dynamic development of the international business sphere, the critical importance of flexibility, speed of decision-making, and the need for investors to obtain the most up-to-date information about the company's potential, including the value of its intangible assets, the proposed approach can serve as an effective decision-making tool and an alternative means of determining the real value of a company's intangible assets.

Expert systems: an effective tool for risk management – the case of Naftal Skikda

This study aims to investigate the impact of expert systems on improving risk management at Naftal Skikda, a key player in the oil and gas sector in Algeria. It seeks to determine the effectiveness of these advanced technologies in risk detection, real-time decision-making, and overall risk management efficiency. The hypotheses tested aim to assess whether the integration of expert systems can accelerate risk detection and contribute to risk reduction, while enhancing the speed and accuracy of decision-making. This research aims to provide strategic recommendations to strengthen practices for managing risks within the petroleum and natural gas sectors, highlighting the potential of expert systems as a transformative tool.

Balancing speed and coordination: Senior leaders’ perspectives on civil service transformation during and after the pandemic

How do governments’ responses to crises change their civil services and shape their future reform agendas? We address this question by conducting interviews with sources that are hard to access but uniquely placed to answer these questions: heads of civil service and similarly senior officials from 14 countries across six continents, speaking during the waning phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Senior leaders perceived the central challenge of managing the crisis phase of the pandemic as balancing two competing imperatives: greater speed, flexibility, and decentralization of decision making, but also greater coordination and collaboration across teams and sectors. This required bureaucracies to question their largely hierarchical coordination methods and to transition toward network-based coordination mechanisms, agile methods, and new leadership styles. Senior leaders perceived these changes largely as accelerations of existing reform directions rather than ruptures, and were trying a range of methods to sustain and institutionalize these crisis-induced changes.

The effect of congruent vs. incongruent distractor positioning on electrophysiological signals during perceptual decision-making

Key event-related potentials (ERPs) of perceptual decision-making such as the centroparietal positivity (CPP) elucidate how evidence is accumulated towards a given choice. Furthermore, this accumulation can be impacted by visual target selection signals such as the N2 contralateral (N2c). How these underlying neural mechanisms of perceptual decision-making are influenced by the spatial congruence of distractors relative to target stimuli remains unclear. Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) in humans of both sexes to investigate the effect of distractor spatial congruency (same vs. different hemifield relative to targets) on perceptual decision-making. We confirmed that responses for perceptual decisions were slower for spatially incongruent vs. congruent distractors of high salience. Similarly, markers of target selection (N2c peak amplitude) and evidence accumulation (CPP slope) were found to be lower when distractors were spatially incongruent vs. congruent. To evaluate the effects of congruency further, we applied drift diffusion modelling to participant responses, which showed that larger amplitudes of both ERPs were correlated with shorter non-decision times when considering the effect of congruency. The modelling also suggested that congruency’s effect on behaviour occurred prior to and during evidence accumulation when considering the effects of the N2c peak and CPP slope. These findings point to spatially incongruent distractors, relative to congruent distractors, influencing decisions as early as the initial sensory processing phase, then continuing to exert an effect as evidence is accumulated throughout the decision-making process. Overall, our findings highlight how key electrophysiological signals of perceptual decision-making are influenced by the spatial congruence of target and distractor.Significance StatementWhen making perceptual decisions, we often need to focus on task-relevant targets while ignoring irrelevant distractors. In this study, we show that salient distractors in the opposite visual hemifield capture attention with consequences for the speed and accuracy of decisions. Electrophysiological signals of perceptual decision-making were attenuated by spatially incongruent distractors relative to congruent distractors. Computational modelling suggested that the influence of spatial congruency of target and distractor on the electrophysiological markers of target selection and evidence accumulation occurred during the initial sensory processing phase preceding evidence accumulation, which continued as evidence was accumulated throughout the decision process. Our findings, therefore, suggest that the spatial congruence of target and distractor impacts the dynamics of electrophysiological signals of perceptual decision-making.

‘I do not know if I will have the energy to come to placement tomorrow’: Fast-Tracking Racially Minoritised Students to Failure in Social Work Education

Abstract We build upon previous work that explored the evidence base of ‘failure to fail’ on practice placements across professions. We found a lack of convincing evidence of ‘fail to fail’ within assessed practice learning placements and could not ascertain the extent of this issue. The literature was stronger about why it ‘might’ or ‘could’ be difficult to fail students on placement. We concluded that if there was a reluctance to fail students, that hesitancy was not shown when failing racially minoritised students. Using critical race theory, we noted instead, fast tacking to failure. Data were re-examined from two previous studies that focused on the experiences of Black African social work students in England. We identified two ways in which practice educators operationalised fast tracking to failure. Firstly, the speed at which negative judgments were made about students’ abilities, and related to this, asking personal and insensitive questions, and secondly, the speed of decision about placement failure. We argue that the debate needs to move away from fail to fail and instead, focus on who is being fast tracked to failure, and how racism and other discrimination is addressed forcefully in social work policy, practice and education.

MODERN PRINCIPLES AND MEANS OF AUTOMATION IN ACCOUNTING, MANAGEMENT, AND MARKETING

Automation of auxiliary business processes (specifically accounting, management, and marketing) has long ceased to be an experiment and has become necessary. This necessity is a direct result of the impact of using automated devices and technical means, as well as computing technology based on mathematical methods, on the speed of decision-making and task execution, labor cost levels, resource utilization efficiency, the number of errors, and the quality of products or services. The article outlines the modern principles and tools of automation in accounting, management, and marketing. The research highlights important aspects of business process automation and identifies some key points. Based on the results obtained, a deep analysis of the interaction between humans and machines in automated accounting, management, and marketing systems can be conducted.

Automatic versus manual investing: Role of past performance

Using unique data from a leading peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, we investigate the link between past investment performance and choice of auto-investing tool. Our results suggest that investors who experience fewer defaults in the manual mode are more inclined to switch to automatic investment. Several factors account for this relationship, including investor inattention, decision speed, investment delegation, and experience. Regarding the latter, our results suggest that experienced investors are more likely to continue self-directed bidding, even if they have faced defaults in manual investments in the past. These investors may attribute their previous mistakes to their own actions rather than the limitations of the self-directed bids. Our results are robust to alternative specifications.

Best-Practice Biomarker Testing of Oesophago-Gastric Cancer in the UK: Expert Consensus Recommendations Developed Using a Modified Delphi

AimsOesophago-gastric cancers (OGCs) are amongst the most commonly diagnosed malignancies worldwide and are associated with high disease-related mortality. Predictive biomarkers are molecules that can be objectively measured and used to indicate a likely response to therapeutic intervention, thus facilitating individualised cancer therapy. However, there remains variation in uptake and implementation of biomarker testing across the UK. Materials and methodsWe conducted a modified Delphi study to formulate consensus recommendations for best-practice biomarker testing of OGC in the UK. We employed two rounds of online questionnaires followed by a virtual consensus meeting. Biomarkers for discussion included HER2, MSI/MMR, and PD-L1. Topics comprised the overall biomarker pathway, pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical considerations, including challenges in current practice. ResultsTwenty-six and eighteen participants completed the first and second round Delphi questionnaire, respectively, with an even split of pathologists and oncologists from across the UK. There was consensus (>80% agreement) across several topics, including the requirements for standardisation of the pathway, which must include coordination throughout the tissue journey, requirements for a quality-assured process to ensure accuracy and validity of testing, plus the need for clear, detailed information on the pathology report to support treatment decisions. There was consensus amongst oncologists regarding reflex testing of all biomarkers depending on histology; however, concerns over capacity in relation to workload and availability of pathologists were evident among the pathologists. Overall, participants were in the opinion that reflex testing improves the speed of treatment decisions and improves patient care. ConclusionThe recommendations reflect best-practices and should be implemented to support rapid multidisciplinary team decision-making within oesophago-gastric cancer. Results reflect the need for standardisation and demonstrate the challenges faced in clinical practice by those requesting and testing biomarkers for oesophago-gastric cancer, suggesting significant concerns relating to pathologist capacity.