Intention Action Research Articles

Why option generation matters for the design of autonomous e-coaching systems

Autonomous e-coaching systems offer their users suggestions for action, thereby affecting the user's decision-making process. More specifically, the suggestions that these systems make influence the options for action that people actually consider. Surprisingly though, options and the corresponding process of option generation--a decision-making stage preceding intention formation and action selection--have received very little attention in the various disciplines studying decision making. We argue that this neglect is unjustified and that it is important, particularly for designers of autonomous e-coaching systems, to understand how human option generation works. The aims of this paper are threefold. The first aim is to generate awareness with designers of autonomous e-coaching systems that these systems do in fact influence their users' options. The second is to show that understanding the interplay between a person's options and the e-coaching system's suggestions is important for improving the effectiveness of the system. The third is that the very same interplay is also crucial for designing e-coaching systems that respect people's autonomy.

The Intellectual Crisis in Philanthropy

Defenders of modern philanthropic freedom often defend donor intent and celebrate voluntary action. Nevertheless, donor intent and voluntarism have often undermined the conditions of constitutional freedom. This paper proposes that philanthropy currently suffers an intellectual crisis very much like the intellectual crisis in public administration diagnosed by Vincent Ostrom. The Common Core State Standards initiative is a case study of the problems of epistemic drift in philanthropy and raises questions about whether merely defending donor intent and voluntary action for their own sake is sufficient. To escape philanthropy’s current intellectual crisis requires a clearer consideration of the epistemic choices that shape donor intent and voluntary action.

What do infants understand of others’ action? A theoretical account of early social cognition

Intention reading and action understanding have been reported in ever-younger infants. However, the notions of intention attribution and action understanding, as well as their relation to each other, are surrounded by much confusion, making it difficult to assess the meaning and value of such findings. In this paper we set out to clarify the notions of 'action understanding' and 'intention attribution'. We will show that what is commonly referred to as 'action understanding' in fact encompasses various heterogeneous association and prediction mechanisms. In general, these forms of action understanding will not result in the attribution of an intention to an observed actor. By detaching intention attribution from action understanding, and by exposing the latter as an umbrella notion, we provide a theoretical framework on early social cognition that allows for better comparison of findings from different experimental paradigms, and better assessment of infant action understanding abilities. Taking into account the plurality of forms that action understanding can adopt will help cognitive neuroscience to gain a full understanding of the early roots of social cognition.

Bullying - transformative potentiality?

In this article, I argue that a person’s experience of having been bullied as a child can holdtransformative potentiality. This means that childhood exposure to bullying can both producenegative effects and provide fuel for transformative intention and actions. By exploring twoseparate narratives, I demonstrate how these individuals’ different ways of handling past incidentsare entangled with both present and future, as well as how they are closely connected to both thespecific situations and contexts in which the person lives and his/her movements across suchsituations and contexts. The concept of dynamic effectuality is introduced to describe thisphenomenon. Furthermore, I claim that, by analysing the dynamic effectuality of individuals’ pastexperiences with bullying and their present adult lives, certain processes can be found – includingrevenge, transformative intention and collective transformative actions.

Time-scheduled delivery of computer health animations: “Installing” healthy habits of computer use

The development of modern technology brings convenience to our lives but removes physical activity from our daily routines, thereby putting our lives at risk. Extended computer use may contribute to symptoms such as visual impairment and musculoskeletal disorders. To help reduce the risk of physical inactivity and promote healthier computer use, this study developed a time-scheduled delivery of health-related animations for users sitting in front of computers for prolonged periods. In addition, we examined the effects that the program had on the computer-related health behavior intentions and actions of participants. Two waves of questionnaires were implemented for data collection before and after intervention. The results showed that the animation program indeed had a positive effect on participants' healthy computer use actions in terms of breathtaking, body massages, and body stretches. It also helped to bridge the intention-action gap of the health behaviors. The development and evaluation were documented, and users' experiences/suggestions were discussed at the end.

Neuronal correlates of decisions to speak and act: Spontaneous emergence and dynamic topographies in a computational model of frontal and temporal areas

The neural mechanisms underlying the spontaneous, stimulus-independent emergence of intentions and decisions to act are poorly understood. Using a neurobiologically realistic model of frontal and temporal areas of the brain, we simulated the learning of perception–action circuits for speech and hand-related actions and subsequently observed their spontaneous behaviour. Noise-driven accumulation of reverberant activity in these circuits leads to their spontaneous ignition and partial-to-full activation, which we interpret, respectively, as model correlates of action intention emergence and action decision-and-execution. Importantly, activity emerged first in higher-association prefrontal and temporal cortices, subsequently spreading to secondary and finally primary sensorimotor model-areas, hence reproducing the dynamics of cortical correlates of voluntary action revealed by readiness-potential and verb-generation experiments. This model for the first time explains the cortical origins and topography of endogenous action decisions, and the natural emergence of functional specialisation in the cortex, as mechanistic consequences of neurobiological principles, anatomical structure and sensorimotor experience.

An Empirical Analysis of the Contractual and Information Structures of Business Process Outsourcing Relationships

The emergence of information-intensive business process outsourcing (BPO) relationships calls for the study of exchange performance beyond traditional considerations of the contractual structure that facilitates cooperative intent to include the information structure that facilitates the mutual exchange of information to enact cooperative intent and coordinate actions between the user firm and the service provider. Yet, there has been little analysis of the drivers and performance effects of the information structure of BPO relationships, including its linkages to the underlying contractual structure. This study integrates perspectives in neo-institutional economics and information processing to develop and test the theoretical argument that the extent of use and performance effects of the information structure of the BPO relationship are greater in time and materials BPO contracts than in fixed-price BPO contracts. Survey data on 134 BPO relationships provide empirical support for our hypotheses. The synergistic impact of incentives and information on BPO performance emphasizes that their joint assessment is necessary to enhance the explanatory power of extant theories of organization. This result also has implications for achieving maximum benefits from complex BPO arrangements that are more likely to be characterized by time and material contracts.

Stakeholder Duties: On the Moral Responsibility of Corporate Investors

Stakeholder theory usually focuses on the moral responsibility of corporations towards their stakeholders. This article takes the reverse perspective to shed light on the moral responsibility of stakeholders—specifically, investors or ‘financiers’. It explicates a distinction between two types of financiers, creditors and shareholders. Many intuitively judge that shareholders have greater or more extensive moral responsibility for the actions of the corporations they invest in than do bondholders and other creditors. Examining the merits of possible arguments for or against treating owners and creditors differently elucidates which arguments can support the moral duties of investors generally, and different duties for different groups of investors specifically. The paper considers three possible lines of arguments, rooting investors’ responsibility, respectively, in how they enable corporate conduct, how they benefit from it, and to what extent they are complicit in it. The paper argues that a notion of complicity is the only tenable ground for holding investors liable; sketches an account of complicity based on the recent philosophical literature on collective intention and collective action; and concludes that shareholders but not creditors can generally be seen as complicit on this account.

The bodily experience of apraxia in everyday activities: a phenomenological study

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore apraxia as a phenomenon in everyday activities, as experienced by a group of stroke patients. Some consequences for clinical practice are suggested. Method: In this phenomenological hermeneutical study, six persons with apraxia were followed from 2 to 6 months, from the early phase of stroke rehabilitation. ADL-situations and interactions with therapists were observed and videotaped repeatedly during the rehabilitation trajectory, to provide access to and familiarity with the participant’s apractic difficulties over time. Two in-depth interviews were conducted with each participant. Interviews and video observations were analyzed together, taking Merleau-Ponty’s concept of bodily intentionality as basis for analysis and his phenomenology as the main theoretical perspective of the study. Results: Five types of altered bodily intentionality were described by the participants []: Gap between intention and bodily action [], Fragmented awareness in action [], Peculiar actions and odd bodies [], Intentionality on the loose, and [] Fighting against tools. These were recognized as characteristics typical of the apraxia experience. Conclusion: The phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty, and his concept of bodily intentionality in particular, elucidate the way specific apractic difficulties come into being and may thus render apraxia less incomprehensible. The apraxia phenomenon appears as characteristic fragmentations of anticipation inherent in action performance, thereby “slackening” the bodily intentionality. Identifying apractic changes of intentionality may help health professionals to adjust and individualize therapy, and facilitate patients’ acting competence in everyday life.Implications for RehabilitationFew studies have explored how apraxia appears in everyday life activities, e.g. during rehabilitation practice.The study explores apraxia as a phenomenon in everyday activities, as experienced by a group of stroke patients. Merleau-Ponty’s concept of bodily intentionality constitutes the analytic focus.Reflection upon changes of intentionality in illness may help professionals focus on patients’ experiences and their struggles.Findings support the necessity of the user perspective, with a more adapted, individualized and contextualized occupational therapy.

Disabling God in an able world? Analysis of a South African sermon

In this article the Heidelberg Method of sermon analysis is used to analyse a sermon preached in South Africa one month after the first general democratic elections, held in April 1994. The fundamental hermeneutic structure of the sermon is revealed to consist of three parts: a historical view of God’s acts in the past; a particular understanding of God’s intent and possible actions in the future; and an activist imperative that seeks to collapse and condense past and future in the present. The basic question that is posed concerns the God-image in the sermon: how is God pictured, if at all? And: how is this related to experiences of fragmentation in (post-apartheid) South Africa?

Motor Consciousness during Intention-Based and Stimulus-Based Actions: Modulating Attention Resources through Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction meditation (MBSR) may offer optimal performance through heightened attention for increased body consciousness. To test this hypothesis, MBSR effects were assessed on the simple task of lifting an object. A dual task paradigm was included to assess the opposite effect of a limited amount of attention on motor consciousness. In a stimulus-based condition, the subjects’ task was to lift an object that was hefted with weights. In an intentional-based condition, subjects were required to lift a light object while imagining that the object was virtually heavier and thus, adjust their grip voluntarily. The degree of motor consciousness was evaluated by calculating correlation factors for each participant between the grip force level used during the lift trial (“lift the object”) and that used during its associated reproduce trial (“without lifting, indicate the force you think you used in the previous trial”). Under dual task condition, motor consciousness decreased for intention- and stimulus-based actions, revealing the importance of top-down attention for building the motor representation that guides action planning. For MBSR-experts, heightened attention provided stronger levels of motor consciousness; this was true for both intention and stimulus-based actions. For controls, heightened attention decreased the capacity to reproduce force levels, suggesting that voluntary top-down attention interfered with the automatic bottom-up emergence of body sensations. Our results provide strong arguments for involvement of two types of attention for the emergence of motor consciousness. Bottom-up attention would serve as an amplifier of motor-sensory afferences; top-down attention would help transfer the motor-sensory content from a preconscious to a conscious state of processing. MBSR would be a specific state for which both types of attention are optimally combined to provide experts with total experiences of their body in movement.

The impact of self-efficacy and implementation intentions-based interventions on fruit and vegetable intake among adults

This study tested the effect of interventions designed for people who do not eat yet the recommended daily fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) but have a positive intention to do so. Adults (N = 163) aged 20–65 were randomised into four groups: implementation intentions (II group), self-efficacy (SE group), combination of II + SE group) and a control group receiving written information on nutrition. Study variables were measured at baseline, post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. At follow-up, compared to the control group, FVI increased significantly in the II and II + SE groups (1.5 and 1.9 servings per day, respectively). Most psychosocial variables significantly increased compared to the control group, with the exception of SE for vegetable intake (VI). Moreover, at 3-month follow-up, change in FVI was mediated by changes in fruit intake (FI) intention and VI action planning. In conclusion, II interventions were efficient to increase FVI, with or without consideration for the development of SE. Thus, future studies should favour the adoption of this approach to bridge the intention–behaviour gap for FVI.

Sensemaking and Organizing: A Phenomenological View

The literature on sensemaking in organizations is characterized by a one-sided emphasis on mental or textual explanations regarding (1) how actors make sense of events, (2) how intelligent behaviour is conceptualized and (3) how agents understand each others intention and coordinate action. Recent developments within the cognitive and social sciences have shown that embodiment is crucial for understanding how people make sense, behave knowledgeable, and understand each other. If human bodies are neglected, the theoretical conceptualization of these issues and their practical implications are misconceived. A phenomenological perspective is able to integrate insights from recent approaches to embodiment by introducing the concept of the ‘lived body’s conduct responding to affordances. The implications of this concept for theorizing sensemaking and organizing are outlined. These insights are illustrated with a vignette drawn from field research.

A Useful Toolbox for Genocide Research

Genocide: A Normative Account by Larry May focuses on several normative and conceptual issues associated with the crime of genocide, including the meaning of “destruction,” the relationship between individual intent and collective action, and the role of motive in the assessment of guilt. May's ultimate and somewhat controversial goal is to create “a deflated idea of genocide” (p. 19) to enable the successful prosecution or defense of the crime. Certain flaws in his argument aside, May's study contributes constructively to the ongoing discussion in the genocide literature about the inherent difficulties associated with the international genocide statute (Drumbl 2007; Goldhagen 2009:233–261). Genocide is divided into five sections. Part A focuses on the group as the object of destruction. May relies on a nominalist conception of groups to argue that groups targeted for destruction are those which are recognizable as coherent and stable by their members and the larger society. Group cohesiveness does not rely on immutable characteristics alone, but also on the perceptions of individuals. This line of reasoning is particularly useful because it permits the inclusion of cultural and political groups long-excluded by the United Nations Genocide Convention.

Identifying and Structuring the Objectives of Terrorists

The risk of terrorism is of great concern to many countries and significant resources are spent to counter this threat. A better understanding of the motivation of terrorists and their reasons for selecting certain modes and targets of attack can help improve the decisions to allocate resources in the fight against terrorism. The fundamental question addressed in this article is: "What do terrorists want?" We take the view that terrorists' preferences for actions are based on their values and beliefs. An important missing piece in our knowledge of terrorists' preferences is an understanding of their values. This article uses a novel approach to determine these values and state them as objectives, using principles from decision analysis and value-focused thinking. Instead of interviewing decisionmakers and stakeholders, as would be normal in decision analysis, we extract the values of terrorists by examining their own writings and verbal statements. To illustrate the approach, we extract the values of Al-Qaeda and structure them in terms of strategic, fundamental, and means objectives. These objectives are interrelated through a means-ends network. This information is useful for understanding terrorists' motivations, intent, and likely actions, as well as for developing policies to counter terrorism at its root causes.

Habit in the Physical Activity Domain: Integration With Intention Temporal Stability and Action Control

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of habit in predicting physical activity with the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The study extended previous research by (a) including a measure of temporal intention stability in the regression equation, and (b) unpacking the intention x behavior x habit relationship. Participants were 153 undergraduate students who completed a habit measure and measures of the TPB at Time 1 followed by measures of intention and behavior 2 weeks later. Results using regression analysis demonstrated that habit explained 7% additional variance after accounting for the TPB and temporal stability of intention and its interaction with intention. Follow-up analyses showed considerable asymmetry in the three-way relationship between intention, behavior, and habit, where high habit participants were composed primarily of intenders (i.e., intended to be active >3 times/week at 30 min) who engaged in regular physical activity (70%, n = 28) and low habit participants were inactive nonintenders (i.e., did not intend to be active >3 times/week at 30 min and were subsequently not active; 69%, n = 25). The results support the notion that some properties of physical activity may have an automatic component and that habits may be important to physical activity action control.

Who accesses the sex offender registries? A look at legislative intent and citizen action in Nebraska

States are required to maintain an Internet‐based sex offender registry in order to comply with community notification laws. Such legislation, however, relies on citizens to proactively access information regarding sex offenders’ whereabouts in order to take precautions to protect themselves and their families. This study examines the legislative intent, in terms of the target audience for sex offender community notification laws, and whether this audience is in fact using the online community notification tools available to the public. Survey responses from a representative sample of Nebraska residents and logistic regression are used to examine who is likely to access the registry information and also who is likely to take preventative action in response. Our findings and the implications of the results on notification laws are discussed.

Travesty: The Trial of Slobodan Milošević and the Corruption of International Justice by John Laughland , Ramsey Clark (review)

reviews 577 domestic stability. The chapter dedicated tofarmers finds similar tensions, and as Portargues,itwas theendemicscarcity ofsupplies whichwas a keyfactor in undermining socialsolidarity, forthegrasswas alwaysseento be greener elsewhere.As the authorities were forcedto juggle theirpriorities, some individuals or groupswereinevitably favoured overothers, and perceptions of materialdisparity were only heightened. It should be noted that the willingness of local officials to accommodatethe demandsof workers and farmers was also key in sustaining the stability of the so-called'grumble Gesellschaft ,as manyofficials wenttogreatlengths toavoidopenconfrontation withtheir charges. The questionas towhytheGDR existed forso longisonewhichhasbeen posedrepeatedly in recentyears.Portprovidesa compelling and eloquently written argument whichbringsus closerto understanding the precarious stability oftheGDR and thehighly nuancedinternal workings oftheregime. Despite the lack of bibliography, the detailednotesprovidean exhaustive selection ofsecondary reading, and thebroadercontext is clearly outlined for readerswitha less detailedknowledge ofthe GDR. Whilstthisstudyends in 1 971 - and focuses largely on theearlieryearsoftheUlbricht era - it provides valuableinsight intothecomplexities oflifeintheGDR, andsuggests important linesofenquiry foritslateryears. Bangor University Anna Saunders Laughland,John. Travesty: The TrialofSlobodan Milosevic and theCorruption ofInternational Justice. Witha foreword by RamseyClark. Pluto Press, Londonand AnnArbor,MI, 2007.xiii+ 240pp. Notes.Index.£14.99: $24.95:€22.00(paperback). RamseyClark, former United StatesAttorney-General, encapsulatesthe importance ofthisbook,and thejudicialprocessitanalyses, in hisforeword. He arguesthatthe establishment of the International CriminalTribunal fortheformer Yugoslavia(ICTY) bytheUN Security Councilwas a fundamentalcorruption of international law, an ad hoc executiveorderwhich undermined the primary purposeof the UN preventing war. Instead, thelanguageofinternational law became a toolto legitimize theaggressive interventionist policyof the US and its allies in the Balkans in the late 1990s. This was nowheremore starkly highlighted than in the indictment of Slobodan Milosevicon 27 May 1999,two monthsintoNATO's bombing campaign againstYugoslavia,undertakenwithoutUN SecurityCouncil authorization. International lawwas notjustcorrupted butusedtolegitimize and justify an illegalwar ofaggression. Fromthestart, theICTY and the indictment ofMilosevic weredriven bypartial political concerns. The interestdriven ,instrumental use and abuse of international law, was given full autonomy in thepowersgivento thejudgesto ruleon their ownpowersand procedures. 578 seer, 87, 3, July 2009 Thelackofoversight ofthecourt, a reflection ofitsad hocestablishment byexecutive decision, rather than multi-national treaty, ledtoitsassertion of directly political powers. Thispoliticized andarbitrary useofjudicial power wasmost clearly apparent inthetravesty oflawthat wasthetrial ofMilosevic. The first criminal trial against a headofstate ina UN sanctioned international court, andthelongest criminal trial everrecorded, lasting four years from February 2002toMilosevic's untimely deathincustody on 11March 2006. Travesty istheessential bookofthis trial for those concerned with boththe theory andpractice ofinternational lawandinternational relations, andthe inter-relationship between thetwo.JohnLaughland, whocommented on thetribunal for theGuardian andtheSpectator andwasoneofthelastWestern journalists to interview Milosevic in hisHaguecell,provides an excellent, in-depth andhighly readable account ofthebackground oftheestablishment oftheICTY andtheMilosevic indictment within thecontext ofthechanging nature ofinternational lawinthe'NewWorld Order5 ofthe1990s. Laughland challenges theidea thattheICTY can claimthelegacy of Nuremberg andclearly reveals thead hocandarbitrary nature ofthecourt's powers. Thiswashighlighted inthepost-hoc amendments oftheindictments against Milosevic as newlegalprecedents wereestablished bythecourt. The final charge against Milosevic wasthatofparticipation ina Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE), thebroadest interpretation ofcommand responsibility ever madebyanycourt andonewhich would find BushandBlair responsible not justfor theactsofBritish andUS soldiers inIraq,butfor theactions ofthe IraqipoliceandIraqigovernment agents andsupporters, ifitwasevertobe applied ina similar judicial setting. TheJCEcharge against Milosevic didnotappear intheICTY statute, nor is itaccepted anywhere elseas international criminal law;hisguilt forthe crime ofgenocide couldhavebeenestablished without anyevidence ofeither control overtheperpetrators, or anyshared intent or knowledge oftheir actions. Laughland details theprosecution case,anditsdesire totietheindictments for Kosovowith thelater post-hoc indictments for Croatia andBosnia, under thepolitical charge that Milosevic wasresponsible for warcrimes committed inthewars ofYugoslavia's disintegration onthebasisofhisleadership rolein the'jointcriminal enterprise' ofattempting to establish a Greater Serbia basedontheethnic cleansing ofnon-Serbs. With nomore evidence ofsuchanenterprise than there wasofthe'smokinggun 'ofcommand orders or instructions which breached international legalprinciples, theprosecution tried toestablish a planworking backwards from theconsequences ofwar,pushing three trials intoone and amassing more evidence than anyone couldreadina lifetime. While thehorrors ofwar were documented, thetribunal's attempt torewrite thehistory ofYugoslavia's fragmentation as theresult oftheactions ofMilosevic failed injudicial terms with hisdeath. However, thepolitical battle towhitewash theroleofinternational meddling andlegitimize thewarofaggression against Yugoslavia hasbeenwonbythose whointervened andthose whosympathized with the reviews 579 'warforvalues'overKosovo. Ifyouwishto read thelegalreflection ofthat political victory inthearbitrary procedures ofthead hoctribunal oftheICTY and the corruption of international law, Laughland'sbook is a shocking, depressing, yetwonderfully enlightening place to start. Centre forthe Study ofDemocracy D. Chandler University ofWestminster Boeckh, Katrin and Völkl, Ekkehard. Ukraine.Von derRotenzur Orangerien Revolution. Ost- und...

Perception, Intention, and Action in Adolescent Obesity

Insight into adolescents' weight-loss behavior is needed. Survey data were obtained from overweight and obese adolescents in the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS) in Delaware. Cross tabulations were used to determine the frequency of accurate perception, recent action, and current intention regarding weight loss. Multivariable analysis identified factors associated with recent action to lose weight. From 2,728 records, 482 overweight adolescents and 398 obese adolescents were identified. Most obese (83%) and overweight (79%) adolescents reported recent action to lose weight. Most obese (75%) and overweight (65%) adolescents intended to lose weight. Obese and overweight adolescents who reported a current intention to lose weight were more likely to have taken recent action to lose weight (odds ratio [OR], 11.6 and 6.6, respectively). The percentage of obese and overweight adolescents who have an accurate perception of weight, intend to lose weight, and have taken recent action to lose weight suggests that this group is highly engaged in weight-related behavior change. Compared with their obese peers, overweight adolescents seem less engaged in weight change behavior. There is a strong association in both groups between intention and recent action, and this association indicates that obese and overweight adolescents are highly motivated to change their weight.

A study of the intention–action gap in knowledge sharing practices

AbstractRecently, several researchers have questioned the predicting power of intention to actual system usage (Burton‐Jones & Straub, 2006; Jasperson, Carter, & Zmud, 2005; Kim & Malhotra, 2005; Kim, Malhotra, & Narasimhan, 2005; Limayem & Hirt, 2003). In this article, we report a study that investigates the gap between intention and usage by observing an Internet‐based knowledge management system, SCTNet, from the perspective of volitional control. Relying on the theory of planned behavior and the theory of action control, we investigate four types of volitional control mechanisms that may impact people's knowledge‐sharing practices. Our results show that in knowledge‐management‐based knowledge sharing, people do not always perform in a manner consistent with their espoused beliefs. This intention–action inconsistency can be explained by perceived self‐efficacy, but not by intention and controllability. In addition, a person's action/state orientation moderates his or her enactment of intention toward knowledge sharing into behaviors. The main theoretical implication of this study is that the study of knowledge‐management‐based knowledge sharing has to go beyond intention to include the investigation of both the actual behaviors of knowledge sharing and the volitional control constructs that predict these behaviors. Furthermore, previous research has shown that the environment interacts reciprocally with individuals' psychological control mechanisms in regulating their behaviors. Thus, the management must focus on the social and cultural attributes of organizational settings that may strengthen people's volitional control in practicing knowledge sharing.