International Decisions Research Articles

Challenging the fixed-criterion model of perceptual decision-making.

Perceptual decision-making is often conceptualized as the process of comparing an internal decision variable to a categorical boundary or criterion. How the mind sets such a criterion has been studied from at least two perspectives. One idea is that the criterion is a fixed quantity. In work on subjective phenomenology, the notion of a fixed criterion has been proposed to explain a phenomenon called "subjective inflation"-a form of metacognitive mismatch in which observers overestimate the quality of their sensory representation in the periphery or at unattended locations. A contrasting view emerging from studies of perceptual decision-making is that the criterion adjusts to the level sensory uncertainty and is thus sensitive to variations in attention. Here, we mathematically demonstrate that previous empirical findings supporting subjective inflation are consistent with either a fixed or a flexible decision criterion. We further lay out specific task properties that are necessary to make inferences about the flexibility of the criterion: (i) a clear mapping from decision variable space to stimulus feature space and (ii) an incentive for observers to adjust their decision criterion as uncertainty changes. Recent work satisfying these requirements has demonstrated that decision criteria flexibly adjust according to uncertainty. We conclude that the fixed-criterion model of subjective inflation is poorly tenable.

Dynamic distributed decision-making for resilient resource reallocation in disrupted manufacturing systems

The COVID-19 pandemic brings many unexpected disruptions, such as frequently shifting markets and limited human workforce, to manufacturers. To stay competitive, flexible and real-time manufacturing decision-making strategies are needed to deal with such highly dynamic manufacturing environments. One essential problem is dynamic resource allocation to complete production tasks, especially when a resource disruption (e.g. machine breakdown) occurs. Though multi-agent methods have been proposed to solve the problem in a flexible and agile manner, the agent internal decision-making process and resource uncertainties have rarely been studied. This work introduces a model-based resource agent (RA) architecture that enables effective agent coordination and dynamic agent decision-making. Based on the RA architecture, a rescheduling strategy that incorporates risk assessment via a clustering agent coordination strategy is also proposed. A simulation-based case study is implemented to demonstrate dynamic rescheduling using the proposed multi-agent framework. The results show that the proposed method reduces the computational efforts while losing some throughput optimality compared to the centralised method. Furthermore, the case study illustrates that incorporating risk assessment into rescheduling decision-making improves the throughput.

International alliance networks, expansion modes and coopetition

PurposeMultinational enterprises (MNEs) strive to expand into new markets either by exploiting their resource base or by gaining access to partner companies that own the required resources. Thus, companies face the compete–cooperate–coopete decision. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of MNEs’ networks of interorganisational alliances, and their interaction with resource ownership, and market attractiveness, on the choice of international expansion modes, whether they are sole venture (competitive) or collaboration agreements (cooperative) or both (coopetitive).Design/methodology/approachA biprobit model is used to analyse more than 50,000 new international operations by 164 MNEs in a five-year window. A moderation analysis is carried out to reveal the interaction between network centrality, resource ownership and market size.FindingsThe results show the extent to which the competitive–collaborative contradictory forces attenuate each other in different market scenarios. This study’s contribution advances the resolution of the resource allocation dilemma by recognising the conditions for the selection of each expansion mode: sole venture, cooperation and coopetition.Originality/valueMainstream international business theory claims that firm’s own resources and transaction outcomes are generally sufficient to explain their international expansion decisions, whereas network and social capital theories focus on the role of relationships and network embeddedness. Both perspectives seem to neglect the fact that firms frequently develop both factors simultaneously. This study bridges these perspectives and reveals the interplay between resource ownership, alliance network centrality and market size for MNEs’ expansion mode choice.

Internationalization under attack: the external threat of short sellers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of short sellers in foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. Drawing on threat rigidity theory, the authors argue that short sellers pose a threat to chief executive officers (CEOs) by exerting downward pressure to target firms’ stock prices. That threat will evoke rigid managerial responses that hinder new FDI activities. The authors also posit that CEOs will be less reactive to short sellers’ threats when they are generalist CEOs who have extensive general work experience or when they serve as the board chair.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collect data from S&P 1,500 firms, and the final sample consists of 717 firms and 6,930 firm-year observations from 1998 to 2016. The authors use an Arellano and Bond generalized method of moments static linear probability panel data model and an instrumental panel count data model to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings support the hypotheses and suggest that CEOs who are under more pressure from short sellers engage in fewer new FDI activities. The negative impact of short sellers on FDI decisions is less salient when CEOs have general work experience or are the chairperson of the board.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the international business research by stressing the need to consider the role of short sellers in firm internationalization decisions.

Two Oscillatory Correlates of Attention Control in the Alpha-Band with Distinct Consequences on Perceptual Gain and Metacognition.

Behavioral consequences and neural underpinnings of visuospatial attention have long been investigated. Classical studies using the Posner paradigm have found that visual perception systematically benefits from the use of a spatially informative cue pointing to the to-be-attended spatial location, compared with a noninformative cue. Lateralized α amplitude modulation during visuospatial attention shifts has been suggested to account for such perceptual gain. However, recent studies on spontaneous fluctuations of prestimulus α amplitude have challenged this notion. These studies showed that spontaneous fluctuations of prestimulus α amplitude were associated with the subjective appreciation of stimulus occurrence, while objective accuracy was instead best predicted by the frequency of α oscillations, with faster prestimulus α frequency accounting for better perceptual performance. Here, in male and female humans, by using an informative cue in anticipation of lateralized stimulus presentation, we found that the predictive cue not only modulates preparatory α amplitude but also α frequency in a retinotopic manner. Behaviorally, the cue significantly impacted subjective performance measures (metacognitive abilities [meta-d']) and objective performance gain (d'). Importantly, α amplitude directly accounted for confidence levels, with ipsilateral synchronization and contralateral desynchronization coding for high-confidence responses. Crucially, the contralateral α amplitude selectively predicted interindividual differences in metacognitive abilities (meta-d'), thus anticipating decision strategy and not perceptual sensitivity, probably via excitability modulations. Instead, higher perceptual accuracy both within and across participants (d') was associated with faster contralateral α frequency, likely by implementing higher sampling at the attended location. These findings provide critical new insights into the neural mechanisms of attention control and its perceptual consequences.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Prior knowledge serves the anticipation of sensory input to reduce sensory ambiguity. The growing interest in the neural mechanisms governing the integration of sensory input into our internal representations has highlighted a pivotal role of brain oscillations. Here we show that distinct but interacting oscillatory mechanisms are engaged during attentional deployment: one relying on α amplitude modulations and reflecting internal decision processes, associated with subjective perceptual experience and metacognitive abilities; the other relying on α frequency modulations and enabling mechanistic sampling of the sensory input at the attended location to influence objective performance. These insights are crucial for understanding how we reduce sensory ambiguity to maximize the efficiency of our conscious experience, but also in interpreting the mechanisms of atypical perceptual experiences.

The Global/Local Product Attribute: Decomposition, Trivialization, and Price Trade-Offs in Emerging and Developed Markets

Accelerating antiglobalization challenges previously undisputed assumptions about the importance of a product's globalness/localness in purchase decisions. Putting these assumptions to test, this article conceptualizes globalness/localness as a distinct product attribute and decomposes its utility into weight and preference components. Subsequently, it offers an equity-theory-based prediction of the attribute's declining relevance/trivialization and quantifies its trade-offs with other attributes by calculating global/local price premiums. Conjoint experiments in two countries (Austria and India) reveal that (1) emerging- (developed-) market consumers exhibit relative preference for global (local) products, (2) emerging-market consumers perceive higher preference inequity between global and local products than developed-market consumers, and (3) the corresponding inequity triggers consumers’ cognitive inequity regulation (manifested through attribute trivialization in developed markets) and behavioral inequity regulation (manifested through asymmetrical willingness to pay for global/local products across developed/emerging markets). In addition, attribute trivialization and price premium tolerance are moderated by consumers’ spatial identities and price segment. The findings contribute to the theoretical debate on the relevance of product globalness/localness in deglobalizing times and inform competitive strategies; segmentation, targeting, and positioning; and international pricing decisions.

A hierarchical automatic phoneme recognition model forHindi‐Devanagariconsonants using machine learning technique

AbstractA phoneme is perceptually the smallest distinct sound unit distinguished among words in a particular language. Every language has its own set of phonemes, and all the words are ordered sequences of phonemes. Therefore, phoneme recognition is essential to automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. Phonemes of a language can be classified together using a single machine learning (ML) model through the direct classification (also known as thebaselineorflatclassification) approach. However, it is observed that the performance of such phoneme recognition degrades with the increase in the number of phoneme classes. The challenge is pronounced in languages with a larger number of phoneme classes, like Hindi, which has 48 phonemes. In this paper, we propose a speaker‐independent hierarchical classification approach for 33 Hindi‐Devanagari consonants/phonemes using cepstral features with ML techniques like support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) and fully connected deep neural network (DNN). In this hierarchical approach, a given phoneme is classified into successive subgroups until the particular phoneme class is identified. To perform the classification task, a binary or multi‐class classifier is invoked for each internal (non‐leaf) node in the hierarchy tree. Our model identified pairs ofOptimal Feature Sets(based onmutual information) and thebest suitable ML classifierfor each internal decision node in the hierarchy using 10‐fold cross‐validation to help in efficient classification. Our proposed hierarchical model leads to better accuracy and 57% improved performance for phoneme recognition compared with the non‐hierarchical, that is, thedirect classificationapproach.

Current and Potential Future Global Distribution of the Raisin Moth Cadra figulilella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) under Two Different Climate Change Scenarios.

Global trade facilitates the introduction of invasive species that can cause irreversible damage to agriculture and the environment, as well as stored food products. The raisin moth (Cadra figulilella) is an invasive pest that poses a significant threat to fruits and dried foods. Climate change may exacerbate this threat by expanding moth's distribution to new areas. In this study, we used CLIMEX and MaxEnt niche modeling tools to assess the potential global distribution of the raisin moth under current and future climate change scenarios. Our models projected that the area of suitable distribution for the raisin moth could increase by up to 36.37% by the end of this century under high emission scenario. We also found that excessive precipitation decreased the probability of raisin moth establishment and that the optimum temperature range for the species during the wettest quarter of the year was 0-18 °C. These findings highlight the need for future research to utilize a combined modeling approach to predict the distribution of the raisin moth under current and future climate conditions more accurately. Our results could be used for environmental risk assessments, as well as to inform international trade decisions and negotiations on phytosanitary measures with regards to this invasive species.

Influence in investor-state dispute settlement: a dynamic concept

Abstract Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) plays an increasingly important role in international trade resolution. The decisions have significant financial and in many cases policy implications, yet little is known about the formation of the ad-hoc panels and the decision-making process. Drawing on empirical evidence from interviews with key actors in the ISDS system, this article argues that influence plays a central role in both processes. The analysis further develops the framework for understanding influence in international decision-making to accommodate external factors (those visible to those appointing the decision-makers) and internal factors (those factors that become visible in the decision-making room). It draws our attention to the nuanced relationship and distinction between the characterization of influence in both contexts and poses a challenge to the traditional focus of appointments based on power and prestige which neglects the group decision-making context and the multifaceted construction of influence in this increasingly important method of adjudication.

Love is Elsewhere: Internal Migration and Marriage Prospects in China

Migration and marriage are major life events that might interact and be jointly decided. Places with good labor market opportunities may or may not provide good marriage options. In this paper, I quantify gains and losses in marriage prospects for unmarried migrants and natives during the population redistribution driven by internal migration. I also examine how the experiences differ by individual characteristics and regional factors. The analysis measures marriage prospects using the availability ratio (AR) with adaptive assortative matching norms for every unmarried individual from sample data of the 2010 China population census. The AR quantifies the intensity of competition for suitable partners in the local marriage market. I compare (1) migrants’ current AR with an alternative AR if the migrant returned to the hometown and (2) natives’ AR with a hypothetical AR if all migrants returned to their hometown. The first comparison shows that among migrants moving for labor market opportunities, most women have higher ARs (better marriage prospects) in the place of residence than in their hometown, especially those of rural origin. In contrast, migrant men’s ARs mostly decrease after migration except for the best educated. The second comparison reveals small negative externalities of internal migration on ARs for native women but positive impacts for some native men. The results suggest a conflict between labor market opportunities that dominate internal migration decisions and marriage market opportunities in China. This study demonstrates a method to quantify and compare marriage prospects and extends the literature on how migration and marriage interact.

Regulation of the Concept of "Electric Energy Power" in Acts of International Law and Decisions of International Judicial Instances

The subject of the study is the peculiarities of the regulation of the legal category "electric energy (power)" in international acts (regulatory and judicial). The object of the study is recognized as the international foundations of the legal regulation of the concept of "electric energy (power)", reflected in the sources of international law and in the decisions of international judicial bodies. The purpose of the scientific article is to substantiate the need to unify the norms of international law with a reflection of the generally recognized position regarding the concept of "electric energy (power)" and the formation of the author's vision of the definition of this term.The author examines in detail the positions regarding the understanding of this term in international acts of various international organizations and judicial instances, emphasizes the importance of international unification in this direction, expresses the author's position on the meaning of the dynamically developing spheres of activity and economy of each modern state. Each State is called upon not only to provide its citizens and their collective entities with electric power resources on a safe and uninterrupted basis, but also to implement these functions in international relations regulated by acts of international law. The importance of the unification of the concept of "electric energy (power)" as a tool for the approximation of the legislation of individual countries aimed at fst)" in the acts of international law is designed to ensure both energy security and the identity of national legal regulation by including in the sources of law to the maximum extent textually and essentially similar from a legal point of view categories and their definitions. A special contribution of the author is to conduct a detailed analysis of numerous acts of international law (normative, judicial), which include in their content the concept of "electric energy (power)", the characteristics of various positions, carrying out their comparative characteristics. The novelty of the research is reflected in the formation of an opinion regarding the understanding of the legal category "electric energy (power)", its reflection in the author's definition.

Refusal to Recognize and Enforce Decisions of international Commercial Arbitrations on the Basis of Contradiction to Public Policy

The relevance of this study is that due to the conditions of the globalization of the world economy and the development of international commercial turnover, the importance of international commercial arbitration is rapidly increasing. There is also complexity and ambiguity in understanding the legal category of "public order" because this institution is not a definitively regulated area of law enforcement in the modern legal order. This article’s research object is the social relations arising through the activities of arbitration courts in international commercial turnover. This work aims to identify the procedures, mechanisms, and features of applying the public policy clause in recognizing and enforcing international commercial arbitration decisions. When writing this article, both general scientific research methods, including analysis, synthesis, deduction, and induction, and special methods of cognition, such as comparative legal and descriptive methods, were used. One of the main methods in this work is comparative law, as it helps identify the similarities and differences of the legal systems under consideration, which are the subject of the study. The novelty lies in consideration of the correlation of issues concerning the legal nature of "public order," as well as the analysis of cases related to the procedure of refusal to recognize and enforce decisions of international commercial arbitration in the territory of a foreign state based on contradiction to public order. In the course of the study, the following conclusions were made. The complex problems that have formed in this area are almost impossible to solve by signing and putting into effect a single normative legal act at an international level. The list of cases applying this legal category in arbitration activities is non-exhaustive. The public policy clause is one of the most important components of the institutions of private international law. The institution of public order has an extraordinary character in the decisions of international commercial arbitration.

THE FUNCTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT IN DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST CRIMES

Humankind had to wait for the shock of the dramatic events and gross violations of human rights in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda for the international community to accept the idea of establishing a permanent international criminal court, which was established after the obstacles and criticisms leveled at the international military tribunals of Nuremberg 1945 AD and Tokyo 1946 AD, and the Special International Criminal Courts for the former Yugoslavia 1993 AD and Rwanda in 1994; Which centered its foundation around its submission to the logic of control, power and inequality. On this basis, the international community intensified efforts to reach the endorsement of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, In addition to punishing the perpetrators of human rights violations and preventing crimes in the future, the court sets principles with regard to reparation for the damages suffered by the victims or in relation to them, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation, by establishing a trust fund for the benefit of the victims in the crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the court and for the benefit of the families the victims. The study adopted the historical approach, the comparative analytical approach, and the descriptive approach in order to stand on the historical development of the efforts of the International Criminal Court in protecting and promoting human rights, as well as tracking the efforts and studies that accelerated the achievement of this goal, as well as analyzing and scrutinizing opinions and positions in the light of the rules of international law and decisions of international legitimacy

Utilization evolving prototype technologies in industrial design in the light of industry 4.0

Utilization evolving prototype technologies in industrial design in the light of industry 4.0

International production chains and the pollution offshoring hypothesis: An empirical investigation

Most analyses of the impact of heterogeneous environmental policy stringency on the location of industrial firms have considered the relocation of entire activities – the well-known pollution haven hypothesis. Yet international enterprises may decide to only offshore a subset of their production chain – the so-called pollution offshoring hypothesis (POH). We introduce a simple empirical approach to test the POH combining a comprehensive industrial mergers and acquisitions dataset, a measure of sectoral linkages based on input-output tables and an index score of environmental policy stringency. Our results confirm the impact of relative environmental policy stringency on firms’ decisions to engage in cross-country M&As. Our findings also indicate that environmental taxation have a stronger impact on international investment decisions than standards-based policies. Further, we find that transactions involving a target firm operating in a sector upstream of the acquirer are more sensitive to environmental policy stringency, especially when that sector is highly pollution-intensive. This empirical evidence is consistent with the pollution offshoring hypothesis.

Cervical lymph node metastasis prediction of postoperative papillary thyroid carcinoma before 131I therapy based on clinical and ultrasound characteristics.

The status of lymph nodes is crucial to determine the dose of radioiodine-131(131I) for postoperative papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). We aimed to develop a nomogram for predicting residual and recurrent cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in postoperative PTC before 131I therapy. Data from 612 postoperative PTC patients who underwent 131I therapy from May 2019 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical and ultrasound features were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factors of CLNM. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to weigh the discrimination of prediction models. To generate nomograms, models with high area under the curves (AUC) were selected. Bootstrap internal validation, calibration curves and decision curves were used to assess the prediction model's discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. A total of 18.79% (115/612) of postoperative PTC patients had CLNM. Univariate logistic regression analysis found serum thyroglobulin (Tg), serum thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), overall ultrasound diagnosis and seven ultrasound features (aspect transverse ratio, cystic change, microcalcification, mass hyperecho, echogenicity, lymphatic hilum structure and vascularity) were significantly associated with CLNM. Multivariate analysis revealed higher Tg, higher TgAb, positive overall ultrasound and ultrasound features such as aspect transverse ratio ≥ 2, microcalcification, heterogeneous echogenicity, absence of lymphatic hilum structure and abundant vascularity were independent risk factors for CLNM. ROC analysis showed the use of Tg and TgAb combined with ultrasound (AUC = 0.903 for "Tg+TgAb+Overall ultrasound" model, AUC = 0.921 for "Tg+TgAb+Seven ultrasound features" model) was superior to any single variant. Nomograms constructed for the above two models were validated internally and the C-index were 0.899 and 0.914, respectively. Calibration curves showed satisfied discrimination and calibration of the two nomograms. DCA also proved that the two nomograms were clinically useful. Through the two accurate and easy-to-use nomograms, the possibility of CLNM can be objectively quantified before 131I therapy. Clinicians can use the nomograms to evaluate the status of lymph nodes in postoperative PTC patients and consider a higher dose of 131I for those with high scores.

Evaluation of the decision-making process within the table-top exercise of the Terror and Disaster Surgical Care (TDSC®) course

PurposeThe threat of terror is omnipresent in Europe and the number of attacks worldwide is increasing. The target of attacks in Europe is usually the civilian population. Incalculable dangerous situations at the scene of the event and severe injury patterns such as complex gunshot and explosion injuries with a high number of highly life-threatening people present rescue forces, emergency physicians and subsequently hospitals with medical, organizational as well as tactical and strategic challenges. The Terror and Disaster Surgical Care (TDSC®) course trains clinical decision-makers to meet these challenges of a TerrorMASCAL in the first 24–48 h.MethodsA table-top exercise was developed for the TDSC® course as a decision training tool, which was prospectively evaluated in six courses. The evaluation took place in 3 courses of the version 1.0, in 3 courses in the further developed version 2.0 to different target values like, e.g., the accuracy of the in-hospital triage. Furthermore, 16 TDSC® course instructors were evaluated.ResultsFor the evaluation, n = 360 patient charts for version 1.0 and n = 369 for version 2.0 could be evaluated. Overall, the table-top exercise was found to be suitable for training of internal clinical decision makers. Version 2.0 was also able to depict the action and decision-making paths in a stable and valid manner compared to the previous version 1.0. The evaluation of the instructors also confirmed the further value and improvement of version 2.0.ConclusionWith this prospective study, the table-top exercise of the TDSC® course was tested for decision stability and consistency of the participants’ decision paths. This could be proven for the selected target variables, it further showed an improvement of the training situation. A further development of the table-top exercise, in particular also using digital modules, will allow a further optimization.http://www.bundeswehrkrankenhaus-ulm.de

Jerusalem in the contents of the deal of the century “contents and analysis”

Jerusalem in the contents of the deal of the century “contents and analysis”

Nurses' Work Concerns and Disenchantment during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Machine Learning Analysis of Online Discussions.

Online forums provide a space for communities of interest to exchange ideas and experiences. Nurse professionals used these forums during the COVID-19 pandemic to share their experience and concerns. The objective of this study is to examine the nurse-generated content to capture the evolution of nurses' work concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed 14,060 posts related to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to April 2021. The data analysis stage included unsupervised machine learning and thematic qualitative analysis. We used an unsupervised machine learning approach, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to identify salient topics in the collected posts. A human-in-the-loop (HITL) analysis complemented the machine learning approach, categorizing topics into themes and sub-themes. We develop insights on nurses' evolving perspective based on temporal changes. We identified themes for bi-weekly periods and grouped them into 20 major themes based on the work concerns inventory framework. Dominant work concerns varied during the study period. A detailed analysis of patterns in how themes evolve over time enables us to create narratives of work concerns. The analysis demonstrates that professional online forums capture nuanced details about nurse work concerns and workplace stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Monitoring and assessment of online discussions could provide useful data for healthcare organizations to understand how their primary caregivers are affected by external pressures and internal managerial decisions, and to design more effective responses and planning during crises.

The Mediation Effect of Business Environment on How Firm Characteristics Relate to Environmental Disclosure in Tanzania's Extractive Industry

This study determines the function of the business environment as a mediating factor on how firm characteristics relate to the environmental disclosure in the Tanzanian extractive industry through legitimacy and stakeholder theories lens. The analysis makes use of panel data from the 2018 Tanzania Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (TEITI) report covering the years 2004 to 2018, following the adoption of an environmental management Act and its implementing laws in Tanzania. To extract data from yearly reports, the manifest content analysis was employed. The results show that the relationship between corporate profitability, size, and environmental disclosure is mediated by pressure of stakeholders. Furthermore, the findings imply that the relationship between size of firm and environmental disclosure is mediated by visibility by the media. However, the legal need does not operate as a buffer between any firm characteristic and environmental disclosure, indicating that laws, regulations, and rules are not the only drivers of environmental disclosure. For the first time, the study introduces, quantifies, and examines the business environment as the only justification for environmental disclosure. The study combines legitimacy and stakeholder theories, treating businesses as entities with internal decision-making processes that are also influenced by pressure from the outside world. The study also suggests that enhancing environmental disclosure and business participation may not be possible with just rules or legislation. The study demonstrates that stakeholder theory works more effectively in situations when powerful stakeholders put significant pressure on businesses to disclose environmental information. In terms of society, the study would promote social involvement in ensuring that businesses disclose and protect the environment so that people can live in safety.