Guidelines For Decisions Research Articles

Evaluating innovative collective heating and cooling concepts by incorporating occupants' preferences for conflicting performance indicators

Various Collective Heating and Cooling Systems (CHCS) have emerged as promising low-carbon energy solutions for buildings. However, the absence of tailored decision guidelines often hinders decision-makers from identifying the optimal system for any given case. This research introduces a novel methodology for comprehensive evaluation of different CHCS under diverse case-specific boundary conditions, leading to informed recommendations. The proposed methodology integrates occupants' preferences for thermal comfort and costs into a holistic Key Performance Indicator (KPI) score, i.e. a weighted sum of normalised indicators including indoor thermal comfort, domestic hot water comfort, and levelised cost of energy. By applying this methodology to evaluate three advanced central change-over temperature CHCS across various building sizes and family types, our study demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach. The results suggest that 4-pipe systems are preferable when prioritising thermal comfort, whereas decentralised booster heat pumps are recommended for cost reduction. Notably, for small apartment buildings inhabited by working families, a 2-pipe system with decentralised storage might be preferred. These insights underscore the importance of incorporating occupants' preferences into multi-objective decision-making. Furthermore, the holistic KPI score methodology can assess different control strategies and provide valuable insights for policymakers when extended with additional indicators.

ORGANIZACIONES SOSTENIBLES? LA PERCEPCIÓN DE LOS ESTUDIANTES DE UNA INSTITUCIÓN DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR

The role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as opinion and behavior makers has long been recognized and this affects relevant issues between society and organizations such as sustainability. Studying how university students perceive sustainability in organizations can reveal guidelines for decision-making and actions in HEIs. There fore, the objective of this study is to verify which factors and variables impact the perception of students about the sustainability of organizations. A Survey was conducted with students of an HEI in south of Brazil. Data collection was performed through a questionnaire and a valid sample of 895 respondents was obtained. The results show the positive impact of the factors Environmental and Sustainable Aspects, Social, Ethical and Corporate Governance. It is concluded that the elements that form these factors generate guidelines for theim provement of sustainability practices.

Applying Generative Artificial Intelligence to cognitive models of decision making.

Generative Artificial Intelligence has made significant impacts in many fields, including computational cognitive modeling of decision making, although these applications have not yet been theoretically related to each other. This work introduces a categorization of applications of Generative Artificial Intelligence to cognitive models of decision making. This categorization is used to compare the existing literature and to provide insight into the design of an ablation study to evaluate our proposed model in three experimental paradigms. These experiments used for model comparison involve modeling human learning and decision making based on both visual information and natural language, in tasks that vary in realism and complexity. This comparison of applications takes as its basis Instance-Based Learning Theory, a theory of experiential decision making from which many models have emerged and been applied to a variety of domains and applications. The best performing model from the ablation we performed used a generative model to both create memory representations as well as predict participant actions. The results of this comparison demonstrates the importance of generative models in both forming memories and predicting actions in decision-modeling research. In this work, we present a model that integrates generative and cognitive models, using a variety of stimuli, applications, and training methods. These results can provide guidelines for cognitive modelers and decision making researchers interested in integrating Generative AI into their methods.

Expert Elicitation for the Resilient Design and Optimisation of Ultra-long Ore Passes for Deep Mass Mining

Extension of ore pass length has become increasingly critical for optimising energy-efficient underground mining operations. Long and ultra-long ore passes, spanning from 300 to 700 m, can significantly improve the functionality and viability of underground mass mining operations though suboptimal performance has an extremely adverse impact on production. The public domain lacks substantial information regarding the primary engineering, geological, and geotechnical risks and challenges associated with the design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of such long ore passes. Therefore, the aggregation of past experiences and the insights of experts assume paramount significance. An innovative methodology is introduced to address this evident data deficiency and to establish comprehensive guidelines for the resilient design of such lengthy ore passes — combining gap analysis with expert elicitation techniques. This equips design engineers with the necessary tools to formulate and adapt strategies for assessing the numerous challenges and uncertainties that invariably accompany their projects. Expert elicitation techniques are summarised, and a gap analysis is conducted with subject matter experts, from various countries, collating their extensive ore pass design experience, to create a comprehensive list of effective parameters and key risks that must be considered. Quantitative analysis of the survey results enabled the identification and ranking of the numerous factors affecting the design, operation, and maintenance of long and ultra-long ore passes and highlights the complex technical challenges (substantial damage from rock particle impact, increased dynamic mining stresses leading to failure, air-blasts and back blasts, dust, preferential flow, turbulent and dynamic material flow) that are uncommon in shorter ore passes. Additionally, increasing length heightens the probability of intersecting weak rock or discontinuities, leading to a higher risk of structural failure and instabilities. Faulting, folding, and large-scale structures are also critical geological factors to be considered in the design of such structures. The key geotechnical factor is also the rock type surrounding the pass. Experts highlighted the lack of clear guidelines for decision-making, resilient design, and construction so this work suggests future investigations to determine the complex interaction between the effective parameters, using approaches like the rock engineering system, discovery of cascading hazards, and optimal controls.

'You just eyeball it': Parent and nursery staff perceptions and influences on child portion size: A reflexive thematic analysis.

Background: Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health epidemics of the 21st century. Observational studies report that increases in portion size (PS) have occurred in parallel with levels of obesity. Increased PSs of high-energy-dense foods can promote overeating, and without compensatory behaviours, can contribute to childhood obesity. Caregivers make decisions about PSs for children in the home and nursery environment, thus are gatekeepers to child food intake. Understanding caregiver PS decisions can aid in the best practice of PS provision to young children. The aim of this study was to explore parent and nursery staff influences on child PS selection and their suggestions for useful tools/strategies in PS decisions. Methods: A qualitative design was employed using focus group discussions (FGDs) with parents and nursery staff of children aged 3-5 years. FGDs were employed given their ability to generate rich data, as well as permit the exploration of collective perceptions, attitudes, behaviours and experiences. Data were analysed using an inductive, semantic approach to reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Four FGDs were conducted: two with parents (n = 13), two with nursery staff (n = 17). Four overarching themes were derived: (i) awareness of PS guidelines; (ii) control over PS; (iii) social influences on children's eating behaviours; (iv) child-specific, social and external factors influencing parent and nursery staff PS decisions. Additionally, participants discussed tools/strategies they believe would be useful in PS decisions. Conclusion: Data from the themes suggest that caregiver control, social, child-specific and external factors are more influential than PS guidelines in both parent and nursery staff PS decisions for young children aged 3-5 years. These findings can inform future childhood obesity prevention initiatives focussed on improving parent and nursery staff provision/use of age-appropriate PSs.

Constructing an evaluation model for the comprehensive level of sustainable development of provincial competitive sports in China based on DPSIR and MCDM.

This study focuses on the objective assessment of sport development in socio-economic environments, considering the challenges faced by the industry. These challenges include disparities in regional investments, limited market participation, slow progress towards sports professionalization, and insufficient technological innovations. To tackle these challenges, we suggest implementing an integrated evaluation model that follows the DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses) framework and incorporates comprehensive socioeconomic indicators. Subsequently, we utilized the Entropy power method and TOPSIS (Order Preference Technique for Similarity to an Ideal Solution, TOPSIS) analysis to comprehensively assess the progress of competitive sports development in 31 provinces and cities in China. Additionally, we recommended further developments in competitive sports and proposed precise strategies for promoting its growth. The framework and methodology developed in this paper provide an objective and scientifically based set of decision-making guidelines that can be adopted by government agencies and related industries in order to create successful plans that promote the sustainable growth of competitive sport. This is expected to bolster the nation's global influence, enhance social unity, and fuel economic expansion. The findings of this study offer policymakers valuable insights regarding competitive sports and can advance the development of the sports sector in China, thus making it a crucial driver of regional socio-economic progress.

A Qualitative and Comparative Performance Assessment of Logically Centralized SDN Controllers via Mininet Emulator

An alternative networking approach called Software Defined Networking (SDN) enables dynamic, programmatically efficient network construction, hence enhancing network performance. It splits a traditional network into a centralized control plane and a configurable data plane. Because the core component overseeing every data plane action is the controller in the control plane, which may contain one or more controllers and is thought of as the brains of the SDN network, controller functionality and performance are crucial to achieve optimal performances. There is much controller research available in the existing literature. Nevertheless, no qualitative comparison study of OpenFlow-enabled distributed but logically centralized controllers exists. This paper includes a quantitative investigation of the performance of several distributed but logically centralized SDN controllers in custom network scenarios using Mininet, as well as a thorough qualitative comparison of them. More precisely, we give a qualitative evaluation of their attributes and classify and categorize 13 distributed but logically centralized SDN controllers according to their capabilities. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive SDN emulation tool, called Mininet-based SDN controller performance assessment, in this study. Using six performance metrics—bandwidth, round-trip time, delay, jitter, packet loss, and throughput—this work also assesses five distributed but logically centralized controllers within two custom network scenarios (uniform and non-uniform host distribution). Our analysis reveals that the Ryu controller outperforms the OpenDayLight controller in terms of latency, packet loss, and round-trip time, while the OpenDayLight controller performs well in terms of throughput, bandwidth, and jitter. Throughout the entire experiment, the HyperFlow and ONOS controllers performed worst in all performance metrics. Finally, we discuss detailed research findings on performance. These experimental results provide decision-making guidelines when selecting a controller.

Who really decides? Feeding decisions 'made' by caregivers of children with cerebral palsy.

There are no definitive guidelines for clinical decisions for children with cerebral palsy (CP) requiring enteral feeds. Traditionally, medical doctors made enteral feeding decisions, while patients were essentially treated passively within a paternalistic 'doctor knows best' approach. Although a more collaborative approach to decision-making has been promoted globally as the favoured model among healthcare professionals, little is known about how these decisions are currently made practically. This study aimed to identify the significant individuals, factors and views involved in the enteral feeding decision-making process for caregivers of children with CP within the South African public healthcare sector. A single-case research design was used in this qualitative explorative study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four primary individuals were identified by the caregivers in the decision-making process: doctors, speech therapists, caregivers' families and God. Four factors were identified as extrinsically motivating: (1) physiological factors, (2) nutritional factors, (3) financial factors and (4) environmental factors. Two views were identified as intrinsically motivating: personal beliefs regarding enteral feeding tubes, and feelings of fear and isolation. Enteral feeding decision-making within the South African public healthcare sector is currently still dominated by a paternalistic approach, endorsed by a lack of caregiver knowledge, distinct patient-healthcare provider power imbalances and prescriptive multidisciplinary healthcare dialogues.Contribution:This study has implications for clinical practice, curriculum development at higher education training facilities, and institutional policy changes and development, thereby contributing to the current knowledge and clinical gap(s) in the area.

Pluvial Flood Susceptibility in the Local Community of the City of Gospić (Croatia)

Pluvial flooding (PF), resulting from intense short-duration rainfall events, is challenging in urban areas amidst climate change and rapid urbanization. Identifying flood-prone zones and implementing collaborative mitigation strategies with the local population are crucial aspects of PF management. This study aims to enhance the understanding of urban PF in Croatia by collecting historical PF data, creating the GIS-MCDA susceptibility model, and conducting a risk perception survey for the study area of Gospić. Susceptibility zones were generated utilizing topographical, environmental, and hydrological criteria using the AHP method. To examine the risk perception, a face-to-face survey was conducted among 5% of the city’s population (N = 64). Five factors were defined: (F1) risk awareness, (F2) anthropogenic and (F3) natural causes of PF, (F4) potential consequences, and (F5) preparedness. The reliability of the questionnaire was very high (>0.71). Most respondents believe they are ill-equipped to defend against flooding independently and express a lack of confidence in the measures taken by local authorities. The highly susceptible zones encompass not only agricultural areas but also residential zones of city. Among all respondents, 36% live in a flood-prone area and half of them have no flood insurance or other mitigation measures. Incorporating locals’ suggestions and problems, mitigation measures were proposed. Results from this research can be a starting point for further research in Croatia and can provide guidelines for decision-makers in implementing a risk mitigation strategy.

Tube feeding in advanced dementia: Insights from South African speech-language therapists.

Speech-language therapists (SLTs) may recommend tube feeding even with minimal research evidence of its effectiveness, and an understanding of SLTs' perceived practices is warranted. To qualitatively describe a sample of South African SLTs' perceived practices regarding feeding tube placement in people with advanced dementia. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams. Eight South African SLTs with a particular interest in advanced dementia, in public and private settings, were recruited. Data were analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified: (1) factors influencing SLTs' decisions for feeding tube placement in people with advanced dementia; (2) nature of clinical setting and SLTs' decision-making and (3) SLTs' considerations to improve management of people with advanced dementia. Existing local palliative care guidelines were not employed in decisions about tube feeding. Most participants did not recommend tube feeding during end-of-life care. Perceived burden of care influenced participants' decisions about tube feeding. Speech-language therapists in South Africa likely have an increased reliance on clinical experience rather than recent research and guidelines for decisions about feeding tube placement. Findings accentuate the importance of clinical supervision, mentoring and continuous professional development in the workplace. The findings are an urgent call to action to improve SLTs' overall practices and ethical service delivery for people with advanced dementia and their families.Contribution:Factors and needs regarding SLTs' decision-making about feeding tubes in people with advanced dementia are highlighted.

Pharmaceutical retail supply chain responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

AbstractIn the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of resilient supply chain and operations management in the pharmaceutical industry has intensified. A particular challenge has been the timely adaptation to rapid fluctuations in the business environment to cope with disruptions and ensure the adequate supply of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. In this study, we perform a simulation-based analysis of pandemic-triggered impacts on pharmaceutical supply chains in Germany with the aim of examining supply chain response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To accomplish this, we build a digital supply chain model using a hybrid approach that combines case study analysis and discrete-event simulation implemented in anyLogistix. Based on the results, we propose a specific response action plan for the pharmaceutical industry that can be deployed in response to severe disruptions and pandemic-like crises. We also offer a resilience framework for the post-pandemic environment as a guideline for strategic decision-making.

Practical management of hypertrophic scarring: the mayo clinic experience.

Hypertrophic scarring is a potential consequence of wound healing that causes functional and aesthetic disability. Common treatments include intralesional pharmacotherapy (e.g., triamcinolone), surgical excision, and energy-based laser devices. While numerous treatment methods have been described for hypertrophic scarring, an optimal treatment strategy has yet to be established given variability in clinical presentation. This study aims to identify patient- and provider-preferred treatment patterns. This is a single-center, retrospective study of adult patients that developed post-surgical hypertrophic scarring between 2007 and 2017. Specifically, trends in procedural management for hypertrophic scarring among this cohort were examined. A total of 442 procedures (intralesional steroid injection, surgical excision, laser-based treatment) were identified in 218 patients with a clinical diagnosis of hypertrophic scarring. Approximately 73% were female; 87% were Caucasian. The median age at first procedure was 45.6years (SD = 17.4). The most frequent anatomical locations for procedures were the trunk (n = 242; 54.8%), followed by head/neck (n = 86; 19.5%), upper extremities (n = 67; 15.2%), and lower extremities (n = 45; 10.2%). Procedural therapies included intralesional steroid injection (n = 221; 50%), surgical excision (n = 112; 25.3%) and laser (fractional non-ablative laser vs. pulsed dye laser; n = 109; 24.5%). Treatment modality varied by stage of treatment, scar anatomical location, and scar size. This single-center series of patients with hypertrophic scarring highlights a patient-centered management approach and offers clinical guidelines for provider-patient shared decision making.

Limits on Parental Discretion in Medical Decision-Making: pediatric intervention principles converge.

Pediatric intervention principles help clinicians and health-care institutions determine appropriate responses when parents' medical decisions place children at risk. Several intervention principles have been proposed and defended in the pediatric ethics literature. These principles may appear to provide conflicting guidance, but much of that conflict is superficial. First, seemingly different pediatric intervention principles sometimes converge on the same guidance. Second, these principles often aim to solve different problems in pediatrics or to operate in different background conditions. The potential for convergence between intervention principles-or at least an absence of conflict between them-matters for both the theory and practice of pediatric ethics. This article builds on the recent work of a diverse group of pediatric ethicists tasked with identifying consensus guidelines for pediatric decision-making.

2024 Korean Society of Myocardial Infarction/National Evidence-Based Healthcare Collaborating Agency Guideline for the Pharmacotherapy of Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Many countries have published clinical practice guidelines for appropriate clinical decisions, optimal treatment, and improved clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Developing guidelines that are specifically tailored to the Korean environment is crucial, considering the treatment system, available medications and medical devices, racial differences, and level of language communication. In 2017, the Korean Society of Myocardial Infarction established a guideline development committee. However, at that time, it was not feasible to develop guidelines, owing to the lack of knowledge and experience in guideline development and the absence of methodology experts. In 2022, the National Evidence-Based Healthcare Collaborating Agency collaborated with a relevant academic association to develop internationally reliable guidelines, with strict adherence to the methodology for evidence-based guideline development. The first Korean acute coronary syndrome guideline starts from the 9 key questions for pharmacotherapy.

Platform’s Recommendation Strategy Considering Limited Consumer Awareness and Market Encroachment

In today’s increasingly interconnected world, the platform owning the private label product (PL product) has formed a cocompetition relationship with the manufacturer, which may affect its recommendation strategy. Considering consumers’ limited awareness and relative preference, a game model is established to study the impacts of the platform’s recommendation strategy on pricing, consumer surplus, and social welfare. We demonstrate that consumer preference does not absolutely determine the platform’s recommendation strategy. When consumers prefer the manufacturer’s product (MB product), the platform recommends the PL product if the commission rate is low; otherwise, it recommends the MB product. When consumers prefer the PL product, the platform is willing to recommend the MB product only if the PL product’s valuation is not too large and the commission rate is high. By contrast, the manufacturer always prefers the MB product to be recommended. Furthermore, the recommendation strategy selection has different effects on different types of consumers. Although uninformed consumers always prefer the high-value product to be recommended, informed consumers may prefer the platform to recommend the low-value product. More importantly, the platform can achieve Pareto improvement by providing paid recommendation service, benefiting itself and the manufacturer. We also extend our model to conduct further analyses (e.g., differentiated consumer awareness levels, positive production cost, and corporate social responsibility), which examines the robustness of our results. Our study helps to explain the market practices and provides valuable guidelines for platform encroachment and recommendation decisions.

Evaluation of Propulsion Technologies for Sustainable Road Freight Distribution Using a Dual Probabilistic Linguistic Group Decision-Making Approach

For the first time, this study addresses the problem of evaluating propulsion technologies for sustainable road freight distribution from the multicriteria group decision-making perspective. It aims to help logistics companies involved in global supply chains significantly reduce GHG emissions from freight distribution activities. To evaluate sustainable propulsion technologies, this article introduces a novel group decision-making approach with DPL term sets, which takes into account the simultaneous occurrence of stochastic and nonstochastic uncertainty. Since the existing methods do not consider the dependency among multiple numbers of criteria, the evaluation results become insignificant. To overcome this, we employ the Archimedean operations on DPL elements to develop DPL weighted Archimedean Maclaurin symmetric mean operator. For measuring the weights of criteria, an optimization model using a cross-entropy measure of DPL elements is developed. A case study for one of the major logistics companies in Serbia is presented to exhibit the relevance of the suggested approach, as well as offer decision-making guidelines in real-world settings. The research findings show that hybrid electric trucks are the most advantageous propulsion technology solution to reduce GHG emissions from distribution activities. The superiority of the proposed approach is demonstrated through the comparative investigation.

Informant Screening Profiles of Social and Emotional Learning: Exploring Teacher and Student Agreement

When conducting universal social and emotional learning (SEL) screening, schools need clear decision-making guidelines for selecting informants. The current study examined informant profiles for screening SEL functioning using latent profile analysis with the student and teacher forms of the SSIS SEL Brief Scales for 536 students in grades 3–7. Teacher and student models each had three profiles emerge with roughly similar meanings of the profiles (Developing, Competent, and Advanced profiles), although a larger percentage of students were identified in the developing profile for the student rater. Profile categories aligned for 42% of students, with the most disagreement according between the Competent and Advanced SEL categories. For the teacher and student combined model, five profiles emerged (Competent-Developing, Developing-Competent, Competent-High Competent, Competent-Competent, and Advanced-Competent), with one profile indicating informant agreement. We explore gender and grade setting covariates and discuss implications for multi-informant research and practice.

Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Participation of University Students in Rural Education for Poverty Alleviation

The principle of “poverty alleviation first helps the poor” is fundamental to poverty alleviation through education in rural areas. It serves as an important foundation for improving the soft power of rural culture and promoting the development of rural cultural construction. However, college students, being one of the main participants in educational poverty alleviation, have not been equipped with a well-established institutionalized participation mechanism and a sufficient awareness of participation. To enhance college students’ awareness and participation in rural education and poverty alleviation and to improve the institutionalization, this research focuses on college students as a group, delves into the current situation and willingness of college students to participate in rural education and poverty alleviation, and analyzes the influencing factors affecting college students’ participation in rural education and poverty alleviation by means of a questionnaire and a computerized statistical algorithm. Lastly, based on mathematical and statistical analysis, the research puts forward corresponding optimization countermeasures and suggestions from the perspectives of the government, colleges and universities, and villages, so as to provide decision-making guidelines for solving the problems of rural education development and talent constraints.

DECISION MAKING ABOUT LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENT FOR UNREPRESENTED ADULTS IN KOREAN HOSPITALS

Abstract BACKGROUND In South Korea, unrepresented adults are individuals who lack decision-making capacity, written treatment preferences, and available immediate family. Since the enactment of the Life-Sustaining Treatment Decision Act in 2018, ethical and legal dilemmas surrounding decision-making about life-sustaining treatments for unrepresented patients have emerged among healthcare providers in hospitals. Thus, the objectives of this qualitative descriptive study were to explore decision-making practices about life-sustaining treatments for unrepresented patients. METHODS We interviewed 37 healthcare providers including physicians, nurses, and social workers from 22 hospitals in South Korea, and analyzed the interview data using a directed content analytic technique. RESULTS: Healthcare providers reported a lack of decision-making guidelines regarding life-sustaining treatments for unrepresented patients in their institutions or being uncertain about the presence of such guidelines. Physicians primarily make decisions about life-sustaining treatments for these patients. Ethics committees’ involvement in such decision-making is minimal in most hospitals. Basic life-sustaining treatments are usually initiated if necessary. However, life-sustaining treatments unrepresented patients are currently receiving cannot be discontinued even though those treatments seem pointless. Thus, additional life-sustaining treatments (e.g., extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) tend to be withheld. Important considerations in the decision-making process include the person’s reversibility, risk of adverse events, and medical costs. CONCLUSION: Decision-making about life-sustaining treatments for unrepresented patients is currently in legally blind spots in South Korea. Reforms in regulations and policies surrounding such decision-making practices for unrepresented patients and the development of institutional guidelines are urgently necessary to improve decision-making practices about life-sustaining treatments for these individuals.

Analyzing the Release of Juvenile Lifers: Is There a Miller Effect?

In the 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court directed states to provide a “meaningful opportunity to obtain release” to juvenile lifers—one that acknowledges their lesser culpability and rehabilitative potential. In the state examined, the parole board revised its decision-making guidelines in 2014 by incorporating the Miller ruling. Logistic regression and survival analyses were employed to examine parole outcomes. Hearings that took place in the post- Miller period and the candidate’s rehabilitative status were associated with a higher likelihood of release. A candidate’s rehabilitative efforts were also associated with the amount of time taken to decide grant or denial of release, as were factors related to the candidate’s sentencing offense such as time served and opposition at the parole hearing. Overall, the guidelines representing the Miller ruling seem to have influenced the outcome as well as the speed at which decisions are reached by the parole board.