Dimensions Of Choice Research Articles

Explanations for language choice in the social context of the L2 classroom

AbstractThe use of students’ first language (L1) in additional language (L2) instruction has been a recurring theme in language education research. While research has documented the amount of L1 use and its purposes in L2 instruction, little research has investigated the multifaceted motives that influence language choices at the micro level of social activity where language learning takes place. This study contributes new perspectives by exploring the beliefs of teachers and students from two cases of Norwegian use during English lessons, applying video‐stimulated recall in semistructured interviews to elicit reflections about observed language choices in concrete classroom interactions. The findings revealed the complexity of factors influencing language choice in the L2 classroom. First, although teachers agreed on a mainly English ideal, competing beliefs led to varying instructional practices. Second, monolingual ideals were stronger among the students in comparison with their teachers, but these ideals operated alongside an affective dimension of language choice in interactions with the teacher and group work with peers. The study demonstrates how teacher and student beliefs are influenced by macro‐level sociopolitical discourses about multilingualism and indicates that language choice is influenced by such beliefs in combination with more temporary stances and roles.

Development and validation of a survey instrument for reusable sanitary products toward sustainable menstrual hygiene.

The predominant use of disposable, non-organic menstrual products has significant environmental impacts due to waste and resource depletion. Concerns over the environmental, economic, and health implications of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) have highlighted the need to explore sustainable options like reusable sanitary pads (RSPs). Despite their benefits, the adoption of RSPs is limited by a lack of awareness, availability, cost, and research. This study emphasizes the need for the development of an instrument that can capture the effectiveness, safety, and user satisfaction of RSPs, addressing a significant gap in the literature. Using a convenient sampling method, data were collected through a structured offline survey and the sample comprised 446 South Asian women of reproductive age. The instrument included 15 items designed to measure factors such as comfort, hygiene, convenience, and environmental consciousness. The instrument's reliability and validity are thoroughly assessed using reliability and factor analysis to ensure its effectiveness in capturing the multifaceted dimensions of MHM product choices. The study revealed that the overwhelming majority of women would prefer the option of RSPs that are comfortable, accessible, and easy to use and dispose of. The findings aim to provide a validated tool for manufacturers, policymakers, and researchers to evaluate reusable pads, promoting their broader acceptance and adoption of a sustainable and equitable approach to menstrual hygiene.

Moral Engagement in Design: Five Considerations for Unpacking the Ethical Dimensions of Design Methods

Abstract What society experiences today as morally questionable design—from gendered toys for children to public benches that prevent sleeping—can be considered the aftermath of an underdeveloped foundation for systematic ethical reflection in design methodologies. Although designing is an inherently moral activity, research on how to recognize and handle ethical questions and moral dilemmas in early (conceptual) design activities is scarce. In this article, we use an interdisciplinary lens to analyze and respond to the challenges of bridging moral psychology, ethics of technology, and design methodologies. For this, we introduce the concept of moral engagement in design, which is inspired by Moral Disengagement Theory. Finally, we propose five preliminary considerations for enacting moral engagement in design practices. These considerations form an interdisciplinary bridge to help us reflect on the moral dimensions of methodological choices in conceptual design practices.

Jointly modelling activity start time, travel mode, companionship, and destination location choices

Activity-travel decisions, including time use (i.e. activity start time), travel choices (i.e. mode and companionship), and destination location choices are interdependent and complex in nature. They are often controlled by observed factors such as sociodemographic, vehicle ownership, built environment, land use, and unobserved factors like attitude, preference, or habits which typically are not captured in the survey data. To accommodate these complex interactions and capture trade-offs among the time use-travel-land use choices, this study proposes a joint discrete choice model by introducing unobserved factors that are common to them. The model results confirm the presence of complex interdependencies among these choice dimensions. In addition, this study highlights the contribution of observed and unobserved factors introduced in the model by calculating the total variance of utility differences. Lastly, this study provides behavioural insights on the activity-travel patterns, which can be further used to develop robust travel demand management policies.

Unconditional cash transfer programs and women’s empowerment: evidence from Pakistan

AbstractThis study explores the impact of unconditional cash transfers on the multiple dimensions of women’s empowerment in Pakistan. Emphasizing the importance of cultural and religious norms, empowerment is considered as a latent construct manifested through three distinct choice dimensions, viz., “self,” “familial,” and “economic.” For the empirical estimation, a structural equation model is used on the country-representative Impact Evaluation Survey data of 2015–16 for the Benazir Income Support Program. The measurement model identifies various indicators for the dimensions considered. The results confirm the importance of providing cash transfers to the country's poorest women in all three dimensions, while the impact on self-choices is almost 40% that of the impact on the other two aspects of empowerment. Our findings provide recommendations for the successful implementation of social assistance programs.

Digital Promotion of Geoheritage along a Tourist Route in M’Goun UNESCO Geopark (Central High Atlas, Morocco) and Visitor Typology Analysis

In the digital era, highlighting the heritage resources of a mountainous region involves describing and advertising them to promote their visibility and attractiveness. Previous studies mainly assess the natural resources of such regions through a multi-indicator descriptive evaluation. This study aims to develop an effective evaluation of such indicators along the main tourist route of the M’Goun UNESCO Global Geopark, located in the central High Atlas of Morocco. The implementation of an experiential method to assess the tourism characteristics of this region is a notable aspect of our study. It includes analyzing the criteria for choosing this destination by segmenting tourists’ consumption experiences. Statistical data analysis has identified five dimensions of destination choice and four visitor groups. Additionally, we created an interactive map and made it accessible online to promote the natural geoheritage of this region. This article proposes to discuss the findings of this research and their applicability in terms of tourism destination management and decision-making, which can assist local governments in allocating tourism resources and land use rationally.

Choice Repetition Bias in Intertemporal Choice: An Eye‐Tracking Study

ABSTRACTIntertemporal choices (i.e., the choice between a sooner available but smaller reward and a later available but larger reward) were initially thought to reflect stable preferences for immediate or delayed rewards. However, recently, it has been shown that intertemporal choices are influenced by factors such as context variables and attentional processes. Here, we investigate if another factor, the choice repetition bias, affects decision making and attentional processes in intertemporal choice. The choice repetition bias is characterized by the tendency to repeat previous choices and to be slower when switching to an alternative choice. In a series of two experiments (including a preregistered, eye‐tracking study), we find that the choice repetition bias exists in intertemporal choice. We also find tentative support for an early attentional bias towards the favored attribute dimension of the previous choice; however, this effect disappears when taking the whole decision process into account. This finding raises interesting questions about the cognitive processes underlying the choice repetition bias. In addition, we successfully replicate other attentional effects from the intertemporal choice literature (e.g., more fixations on monetary dimension, gaze cascade effect).

The cultural politics of emotion and mothers’ responsibility for school choice

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on school choice within the public school system in Queensland, Australia. While school choice has typically been framed as a logic of economic rationalism (for middle-class families), in this paper we use Ahmed’s concept of the cultural politics of emotion to describe a more complex dimension of choice through gendered community. We argue that mothers become responsibilized for school choice, and in the process become emotionally invested in school choosing. In managing their soft bodily desires and hard cognitive rationalities, they are responding to the emotional histories that stick to schools. The problem we frame through our empirical case is that there is a clash of cultures between the type of school mothers desire, and the reality of what schools are, and could ever be. This is the double-bind or ‘cruel optimism’ of mothering school-aged children.

A modelling framework to support the development of last-mile urban freight distribution systems based on the use of cargo bikes

Nowadays there is a growing interest in cargo bikes to mitigate the detrimental effects of urban freight transport, since the last-mile segment of freight delivery process is being challenged to reduce the number of vehicles, the distance travelled and the environmental impacts. This paper presents a modelling framework that, starting from the key reference units (freight demand, deliveries, and vehicles) and defining the relationship among stakeholders and choice dimensions, can support the implementation of freight distribution systems based on cargo bikes. In detail, the work follows a general approach and is focused on the estimation of the share of demand that can be satisfied by cargo bikes, freight flows in terms of number of deliveries and trips, obtained by assigning freight demand to the transport network. The model has been applied to the test case of the city of Ravenna by implementing several scenarios.

A modelling framework to support the development of last-mile urban freight distribution systems based on the use of cargo bikes

Nowadays there is a growing interest in cargo bikes to mitigate the detrimental effects of urban freight transport, since the last-mile segment of freight delivery process is being challenged to reduce the number of vehicles, the distance travelled and the environmental impacts. This paper presents a modelling framework that, starting from the key reference units (freight demand, deliveries, and vehicles) and defining the relationship among stakeholders and choice dimensions, can support the implementation of freight distribution systems based on cargo bikes. In detail, the work follows a general approach and is focused on the estimation of the share of demand that can be satisfied by cargo bikes, freight flows in terms of number of deliveries and trips, obtained by assigning freight demand to the transport network. The model has been applied to the test case of the city of Ravenna by implementing several scenarios.

Creating Lasting Love: An Ethnographic Study of Sexual Pleasure, Intimacy and Contraception

Sexual pleasure and intimacy are key reasons why people have sex, yet it remains underexamined in our understanding of how people make decisions about contraception. This paper draws on ethnographic research of the intersections between sexual pleasure, intimacy and contraception among women using specialist contraceptive services in central London. I describe how contraceptive use and choices are intertwined with how women assess intimacy in their sexual relationship, and not solely a desire to avoid pregnancy. How and when women use contraceptives relays their concerns about creating and maintaining pleasure and intimacy in their sexual relationships. Moreover, this ethnographic account illustrates how women draw on various contraceptive methods in their decision making and use them to increase communication and trust, distinguish relationships and potentially enhance sexual pleasure, which is indexical and necessary for enduring intimate connections. Considering intimacy alongside sexual pleasure also allows us to consider the relational dimensions of contraceptive choice and how these are far from static, one-off decisions. These empirical insights into intimacy illustrate that contraceptive choice is both a reflection of the perceived intimacy in a relationship and is also a “practice of intimacy”, particularly when people are navigating the various forms of intimacies available.

Handle with care! teachers in Egyptian cringe comedies: a multimodal analysis

Abstract For almost a century, several Egyptian comedies have set up cringe-worthy power-sensitive encounters between struggling low-paid teachers and spoiled rich and powerful students, often leading to negative portrayals of teachers and student-teacher relationship. One play, Madraset el-Moshaghbeen ‘School of the Rowdies’ (1971), has long been held accountable for student misconduct across the country. A 2008 film with a loosely similar theme, RamaDan Mabrouk Abul-Alamein Hamouda, has received a much warmer welcome as a harmless light comedy. This paper brings these two comedies into focus and probes into the management of cringe in filmic text based on the Benign-Violation Theory of humor as well as Baldry and Thibault’s (2006. Multimodal transcription and text analysis: A multimedia toolkit and coursebook with associated on-line course. Equinox) Multimodal Transcription Model. Optimizing for the four dimensions of psychological distance (temporal, social, spatial, and hypothetical) would help control the benignity of embarrassing violations and free the audience to enjoy the humor. Alternatively, minimizing psychological distance would evoke audience empathy with the violated teacher character and may block audience amusement. Audience reactions through the comment field on strategic clips from the film and play on YouTube would reveal whether a cringe-inducing scene has evoked amusement, vicarious embarrassment, or both. The paper proposes an inventory of the features that would contribute to adjusting psychological distance to achieve the desired effect. These features intersect with the four dimensions of psychological distance, narrative and stylistic choices, as well as the multimodal affordances of filmic and embodied expressions.

Relation between Adaptive Eating and Energy Intake Coping Strategies in a Refeed Model for Bodybuilders

Lean bodybuilder athletes may encounter challenges in adapting their eating habits during ad libitum refeed, either intuitively or consciously. Aims: This paper investigates whether there is a relationship between adaptive eating and energy intake coping strategies in a refeed model for bodybuilders. Methods: Fourteen male bodybuilders (29.6 ± 3.1 years; 85.6 ± 6.8 kg, ≥6 competitions) completed a 4-week regimen consisting of 5 days of energy restriction followed by 2 days of refeed. Dietary assessment, body composition (ultrasound), recovery stress questionnaire (REST-Q) and Brunel mood scale (BRUMS) were utilized pre- and post-regimen. Coping function questionnaire (CFQ), mindful eating scale version 2 (MES 2) and the intuitive eating scale-2 (IES-2) were evaluated at the 4th week. Results: Compared to the initial values, the refeed day resulted in a daily caloric increase of 44% compared to the average energy intake on the energy restriction days, culminating in a weekly calorie deficit of 27% and a drop in body mass of 3.1 ± 1.4%. Most participants showed reduced body fat and preserved or gained lean mass. The energy consumption during the refeed maintained an inverse relationship with the perception of satiety (r = −0.9; p < 0.01), the IES 2 total scores (r = −0.82; p < 0.01), as well as the confidence in hunger and satiety cues (r = −0.62; p = 0.02) and congruence in food–body choice dimensions (r = −0.56; p = 0.04). Emotional coping maintained an inverse relationship with the IES 2 total scores (r = 0.54; p < 0.05) and an inverse relationship with energy intake during refeed (r = −0.42; p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results suggest that a heightened perception of internal hunger and satiety signals and higher scores in intuitive eating may contribute to adequate energy intake, even when high scores of emotional coping are present.

The effect of psychological distance on intertemporal choice of the reward processing: an eye-tracking investigation.

This study employed eye-tracking technology to investigate how varying dimensions of psychological distance-temporal, probability, and social-affect intertemporal choice. Across three experiments, participants were asked to select between two intertemporal options while their eye movements were monitored. Findings revealed inconsistent impacts of different psychological distances on intertemporal decision-making. Increased temporal and social distances led to a preference for larger delayed rewards (Studies 1 and 3), whereas an increase in probability distance did not significantly alter choice preferences (Study 2). The research also highlighted a general pattern in information processing; as psychological distance widened, participants showed a tendency toward dimension-specific processing in making intertemporal decisions.

Public Provision in Democratic Societies

If we hope to see values of equality and democracy embodied in our societies’ institutions, then we have a range of good reasons to favor expansive public provision of goods and services, and to oppose many forms of privatization. While Joseph Heath is right to argue that there are at least some forms of ‘anodyne privatization’, and while he is also right to argue for a more nuanced philosophical debate about the different dimensions of choice between forms of public and private provision, Heath fails to register various regards in which private provision can undermine these central public values. We often have strong egalitarian and democratic reasons to protect zones of decommodification; to resist the imposition of user-charges; and to favor insourcing and direct public procurement over various forms of outsourcing of public services. Public libraries provide a totemic illustration of some of the deep virtues of collective public provision in democratic societies. Overall, our reasons to reject privatization are stronger and more diverse than theorists such as Heath might have supposed.

Risk-sharing and entrepreneurship

This study examines the impact of risk-sharing on entrepreneurship-driven innovation in an occupational choice model, where entrepreneurs exert effort to innovate. Risk-sharing may increase the number of individuals who become entrepreneurs by limiting the downside risk. The effort of entrepreneurs may, however, be hampered by high risk-sharing if this limits the returns faced by successful entrepreneurs relative to unsuccessful entrepreneurs. We construct a simple theoretical model where risk-sharing may be either private or provided through the welfare state by means of taxation. We show that, in addition to the occupational and effort choice dimensions, the level of public risk-sharing also matters for the characteristics of entrepreneurs.

A simultaneous model of residential location, mobility tool ownership and mode choice using latent variables

This paper investigates the interplay between three key choice dimensions in transport modeling: (i) Residential location, (ii) mobility tool (e.g., car and/or public transport season ticket) ownership and (iii) mode choice. We use a unique panel dataset of recently moved Swiss respondents to better assess the impact of changes in the respective dimensions. An expected trend is that the more accessible the residential location, the more likely the respondent owns a public transport season ticket, and the more likely public transport rather than a car is chosen. However, our model allows to disentangle the decision process and provides a more comprehensive picture of respondents’ behavior. For example, our simple mode choice model shows a strong and positive effect of income on the choice of car. In the simultaneous approach, given respondents’ increase in car ownership for increasing income, this effect becomes even more substantial if the residential location is assumed to be constant. With the latter assumption lifted, however, the effect decreases again, since respondents with higher income tend to live in areas with higher accessibility, lowering their car usage. An important general finding is that if the longer-term decisions (i.e., the choice of residential location and mobility tools) are considered, the short-term effects of level-of-service attributes (such as travel time) on mode choice is substantially weakened by more than 20%.

Simulating intra-household interactions for in- and out-of-home activity scheduling

Various interactions, time arrangements, and constraints exist for individuals scheduling their day as a member of a household, which affect their in-home as well as out-of-home activity schedule. However, the existing activity-based models are mostly based on the individual decision-making process, which are limited in their demonstration of behaviour. We simulate multiple intra-household interaction dimensions within the same framework and capture the coordination of the activity scheduling decisions among all household members. Our approach adopts the Optimisation-based Activity Scheduling Integrating Simultaneous choice dimensions (OASIS) framework, which is at the level of isolated individuals and focuses on out-of-home activity schedules. We jointly simulate in- and out-of-home activities and incorporate interactions into the framework. Our framework contributes to the state-of-the-art in activity-based modelling by explicitly capturing multiple interactions within the same model, such as the allocation of the private vehicle to household members, dividing household maintenance responsibilities, escorting, joint activity participation, and sharing rides. We operationalise the model using time-use-survey data from the United Kingdom. The simulation results demonstrate the ability of the framework to capture complex intra-household interactions. We then demonstrate how these interactions can cause individuals to deviate from their schedules planned in isolation. This is a general framework applicable to different household compositions and available resources.

OASIS: Optimisation-based Activity Scheduling with Integrated Simultaneous choice dimensions

Activity-based models offer the potential of a far deeper understanding of daily mobility behaviour than trip-based models. However, activity-based models used both in research and practice have often relied on applying sequential choice models between subsequent choices, oversimplifying the scheduling process. In this paper we introduce OASIS, an integrated framework to simulate activity schedules by considering all choice dimensions simultaneously. We present a methodology for the estimation of the parameters of an activity-based model from historic data, allowing for the generation of realistic and consistent daily mobility schedules. The estimation process has two main elements: (i) choice set generation, using the Metropolis-Hasting algorithm, and (ii) estimation of the maximum likelihood estimators of the parameters. We test our approach by estimating parameters of multiple utility specifications for a sample of individuals from a Swiss nationwide travel survey, and evaluating the output of the OASIS model against realised schedules from the data. The results demonstrate the ability of the new framework to simulate realistic distributions of activity schedules, and estimate stable and significant parameters from historic data that are consistent with behavioural theory. This work opens the way for future developments of activity-based models, where a great deal of constraints can be explicitly included in the modelling framework, and all choice dimensions are handled simultaneously.

Pemberdayaan Politik Perempuan Desa dan Peran Organisasi Masyarakat Sipil

This article reviews the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in collective empowerment, in order to encourage women to transform their gender roles, especially in the political field. Various studies on women’s political empowerment have been carried out, but most of them still focus on the issue of participation and not much has discussed women’s collective action. Therefore, political empowerment in this study is seen in a more comprehensive manner by referring to the conception of Sundström et al. (2017), namely from the dimensions of choice, agency, and participation. This article is more based on a literature review which is supported by the results of a case study at Yayasan PEKKA, known as a CSO which focuses its activism on women, especially in rural areas. The findings of the study show that the empowerment process in principle begins with strengthening individual capacity, but women’s critical power and ability to articulate the interests of women and other marginal groups is still questionable (choice dimension). This is a modality for strengthening group and institutional capacity (agency dimension), so as to be able to encourage the active role of women in various stakeholder forums both at the village and district levels (participation dimension). An integrative and sustainable model of empowerment is needed to strengthen women’s political position, including encouraging women’s power-within-based leadership, namely leadership that promotes collective action, or what is known as social power.