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Background: Ensuring equal access to primary care services is crucial, as the gateway to a higher level of care. Indonesia has been trying to increase financial access to medical care by administering national health insurance known as BPJS-Health (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial Kesehatan) since 2014. However, BPJS-Health beneficiaries can only use their benefits at a limited number of registered primary care providers (BPJS-Health partners). This study investigated the geographical coverage of BPJS-Health and BPJS-Health beneficiaries' primary care choices, based on their characteristics and healthcare preferences in the target areas of Bandung, Indonesia. Methods: The setting of this cross-sectional study was the areas with low physical access to BPJS-Health partners but high physical access to non-BPJS-Health partners. Physical access was determined by spatial network analysis, resulting in a geographical coverage map. A total of 216 adults were recruited and they completed the questionnaire about their primary care choice. All participants had been registered with the BPJS-Health system and living in the study areas. Their participation in non-BPJS-Health was also evaluated. Participants' choice of care was assessed in three different scenarios, when the individual was experiencing mild, chronic, and serious illnesses. Results: BPJS-Health partners' geographical coverage was unequally distributed in Bandung. Being registered with non-BPJS-Health company was negatively associated with the more frequent choice of using BPJS-Health partners' services (AOR = 0.18; 95% CI, 0.06-0.58, P = 0.004) among BPJS-Health beneficiaries. For serious illnesses, having a high income was associated with choosing non-BPJS-Health partners and hospitals (AOR = 4.90; 95% CI, 1.16-20.77, P = 0.031). When dealing with mild and chronic illnesses, participants were concerned about the quality of treatment they would receive as a major factor in choosing a primary care provider. However, receiving better treatment quality was negatively associated with choosing BPJS-Health partners in all cases of illness severities. Conclusions: Sociodemographic characteristics, healthcare preference factors, and health insurance status were associated with participants' primary care choices in the target areas of Bandung, Indonesia. BPJS-Health partners' coverage map and the preference factors are potentially important for policymakers, especially for the development of future BPJS-Health partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hidden hunger, a condition that arises from eating a low legume-cereal mix, hinders the attainment of food security. It affects 25% of the world's population and 20% of the African population. To address this problem, various crop improvement programs aimed at increasing the introduction of biofortified beans in households' diets have been initiated. However, Kenya still has a deficit in protein intake despite the availability of biofortified beans. In western Kenya, specifically Busia and Migori counties, where there is high consumption of staple cereals, rice beans (Vigna umbellata) have been piloted on farmers' fields, but the extent of uptake at the consumption level remains undocumented. Therefore, this study analyzed consumer preferences for improved rice beans through a discrete choice experiment (DCE) approach. The results showed that consumers were willing to pay 166.59 Kenya Shillings (Ksh) for high protein content, Ksh 225.69 for red color, Ksh 113.46 for short cooking time, Ksh 202.30 for good legume-cereal mix and Ksh 139.29 for sweet taste. These findings have important implications for policy interventions on crop breeding, food processing, healthy food and nutrition guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the conceptual grounds on which subjective rectification and the interweaving of the therapeutic and epistemic demand rely, specifically the assumption that the subject is involved in their own suffering. This perspective presupposes a subject with a certain degree of freedom and choice. Drawing on Freud's choice of neurosis, Lacan's unsoundable decision of being and forced choice and Zupančič's ideas on psychological freedom, we explore the kind of choice involved in psychoanalytic theory and how it can be understood in light of the psychic determination that is central to both Freud's and Lacan's work. We argue that the subject's determination is self-chosen, albeit a forced choice. This allows the subject to take responsibility for what is experienced as a causal necessity. To illustrate this, we provide examples of childhood trauma and discuss how these children have taken responsibility for their position in what happened to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life satisfaction, through the cultivation of happiness and the avoidance of misery, is one of the ultimate outcomes of interest for the public generally. This study uses Social Production Function (SPF) theory to investigate the factors (e.g. endowments, conditions, experiences, and characteristics) impacting life satisfaction. A key contribution of this study is that a comprehensive model is developed, with a focus on the contribution of universal goals of physical well-being and maintenance (i.e. (1) stimulation, (2) comfort) and social approval (i.e. (3) status, (4) behaviour confirmation, and (5) affection) to life satisfaction; further, the factors include family, work, or social domains, with a focus on both working and non-working populations (working age (25 to 64), n = 12,022). Within a multivariate framework, using cross-sectional survey data, the key findings reveal the substantive roles of social class, having work, being married, being satisfied with personal appearance, being part of community, having good health, and available leisure time in contributing to life satisfaction. Emerging implications suggest that personal decisions over behaviours and actions that optimize resources can be associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, and there are possible roles for employers and governments in enabling individual behaviour and action, while minimizing constraints and maximizing choice options, which could all work toward empowering individuals to pursue their happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One established way to motivate students is through choice. Despite the theoretical and research evidence of the importance of choice, little is known about how many choices college students have in terms of assignments. This descriptive study was conducted to determine the frequency and nature of choice related to assignments and if the frequency of choice has changed over time. I reviewed 129 exemplary syllabi from undergraduate and graduate psychology courses that were posted on the Society for the Teaching of Psychology's (n.d.) Project Syllabus website, 63 from 1999-2005 and 66 from 2016-2022. Although most syllabi reviewed (70%) gave students some type of choice with assignments, the type of choice was mostly related to choosing a topic (56%). Choice related to assignment product (e.g., paper, presentation, multimedia project) was only evident in 25% of the reviewed syllabi. There was no relationship between choice and year. Faculty are encouraged to incorporate more assignment choices into their courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perina nuda (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) is a serious pest of banyan trees (Ficus spp.), which is distributed in South China, but little is known about the host preference on the different banyan tree species. To address this gap, we conducted experiments to investigate larval feeding preferences, assessing the impact of feeding experience in both choice and no-choice conditions. Fifth and sixth instars were exposed to 4 banyan species, and food intake, feeding area, and relative ingestion index were measured. Our findings reveal that Ficus concinna was the preferred host of fifth instars in choice tests, while sixth instars exhibited a preference for this host in no-choice tests. In contrast, fifth instars did not display a significant preference for any of the 4 species in no-choice tests. However, sixth instars fed on F. microcarpa, F. altissima, and F. concinna continued to exhibit a preference for the original host. These observations indicate that larval feeding preference changes with instar, and feeding experience contributes to a preference for the original host. Consequently, the feeding preference of P. nuda larvae is influenced by multiple factors, including instar and previous feeding experience. These findings enhance our understanding of P. nuda's ecological interactions and its potential impact on various banyan tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sender wants to persuade multiple homogeneous receivers to vote in favor of a proposal. Before the vote sender commits to a signal which sends private, potentially correlated, messages to receivers that are contingent on the true state of the world. The best equilibrium for sender in the resulting incomplete information game is unappealing: all receivers vote in favor of sender's preferred outcome, irrespective of their message. We therefore focus on the equilibrium where receivers vote sincerely, that is they vote in favor of the outcome that is optimal given their posterior. We characterize the optimal public and the optimal private signal, both for the case where receivers are behavioral and vote sincerely as well as the case where such behavior is a Bayes–Nash equilibrium (BNE). For the optimal public signal, sincere voting is a BNE, but the optimal private signal is subject to the swing voter's curse. Imposing the constraint that sincere voting be a BNE leads to an optimal signal where receivers are never pivotal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The choice of old-age care methods or places plays an important role in improving the quality of life and well-being of older adults. This study aimed to analyze the choices of various old-age care modes (OCMs) among middle-aged and older adults (MOA) aged 40 years and older in Henan Province, China, and to explore the influence of personal health status, perspectives on old-age (POA) and external support received on their choices. Methods: This study analyzed the data from the previous survey which included 911 MOA. The mean comparison method was used to analyze the evaluation of MOA prior to selecting OCMs, and the effect of individual characteristics, external support received, and personal health status on the choice of OCM for MOA was assessed by Logistic regression (LR) and Concentration Index. The Mediation Effect Model was used to explore effect manner and scope of MOA' POA in their choice of OCM. Results: The overall scores for MOA on the choice of the home-based, community-family, retirement village, nursing homes OCM were 4.06 ± 0.81, 3.70 ± 0.88, 3.72 ± 0.90, 3.49 ± 0.97, respectively. The LR model indicated that education level, number of children, relationship between family members and the relationship with neighbors affected the choice of OCM for MOA (P < 0.05). Difference in OCM selection was relatively the largest based on the individual's POA (Concentration index = -0.0895 ~ -0.0606), and it was shown to play a mediating role in other factors influencing the choice of OCM for MOA (Mediation effect = -0.002 ~ 0.013). Conclusions: The evaluation of MOA on choosing a non-home OCM was generally, and the number of children and external support received were shown to have a relatively substantial impact on the choice of OCM among MOA, however, their power was affected by MOA' POA. Policy makers could encourage the MOA' selection of non-home OCM by improving the relationship among MOA persons while positively transforming their POA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choices made in everyday life are highly variable. Sometimes, you may find yourself choosing between two similar options (e.g., breakfast foods to eat) and other times between two dissimilar options (e.g., what to buy with a gift certificate). The goal of the present study was to understand how the similarity of choice options affects our ability to remember what we choose and what we did not choose. We hypothesized that choosing between similar as compared to dissimilar options would evoke a comparison-based strategy (evaluating options with respect to one another), fostering a relational form of encoding and leading to better memory for both the chosen and unchosen options. In Experiment 1, participants reported their strategy when choosing between pairs of similar or dissimilar options, revealing that participants were more likely to use a comparison-based strategy when faced with similar options. In Experiment 2, we tested memory after participants made choices between similar or dissimilar options, finding improved memory for both chosen and unchosen options from the similar compared to dissimilar choice trials. In Experiment 3, we examined strategy use when choosing between pairs of similar or dissimilar options and memory for these options. Replicating and extending the results of the first two experiments, we found that participants were more likely to use a comparison-based strategy when choosing between similar than dissimilar options, and that the positive effect of similarity on memory was stronger for unchosen than chosen options when controlling for strategy use. We interpret our results as evidence that option similarity impacts the mnemonic processes used during choice, altering what we encode and ultimately remember about our choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study of student-consumers in higher education is to investigate the direct influence of student choice factors on student expectations. The mediating role of perceptions of employability in the relationship between costs of study (fees) and student satisfaction, and the outcome variable of students' recommendations, is examined in the study based on respondents' chosen U.K. higher education institution (HEI). The theoretical framework draws on cost-expectation-satisfaction assessment and expectation of employability after graduation. A survey sample of 11,822 respondents and 140 higher education institutions suggests university reputation, course design, service quality, and campus social life directly influence student expectations. Student expectations of choice factors mediate the relationship between the cost of study and satisfaction, and students' perceptions of employability after graduation mediate the relationship between the cost of study and the likelihood of making a recommendation to peers. The course design was the most influential factor impacting student expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal foraging theory suggests that animals make decisions which maximize their food intake per unit time when foraging, but the mechanisms animals use to track the value of behavioral alternatives and choose between them remain unclear. Several models for how animals integrate past experience have been suggested. However, these models make differential predictions for the occurrence of spontaneous recovery of choice: a behavioral phenomenon in which a hiatus from the experimental environment results in animals reverting to a behavioral allocation consistent with a reward distribution from the more distant past, rather than one consistent with their most recently experienced distribution. To explore this phenomenon and compare these models, three free-operant experiments with rats were conducted using a serial reversal design. In Phase 1, two responses (A and B) were baited with pellets on concurrent variable interval schedules, favoring option A. In Phase 2, lever baiting was reversed to favor option B. Rats then entered a delay period, where they were maintained at weight in their home cages and no experimental sessions took place. Following this delay, preference was assessed using initial responding in test sessions where levers were presented, but not baited. Models were compared in performance, including an exponentially weighted moving average, the Temporal Weighting Rule, and variants of these models. While the data provided strong evidence of spontaneous recovery of choice, the form and extent of recovery was inconsistent with the models under investigation. Potential interpretations are discussed in relation to both the decision rule and valuation functions employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates the use of two web‐based programs, one to identify video preferences and the other to assess their reinforcing effects. We used the Multiple‐Stimulus‐Without‐Replacement Preference Assessment Tool (MSWO PAT) to identify the video preference hierarchies of seven participants, ages 4–11 years old. We then used a customized reinforcer assessment program that arranged a concurrent‐chains preparation with programmed conjugate schedules of reinforcement. Button presses emitted by participants modulated the quality (volume and opacity) of selected videos on a moment‐to‐moment basis, allowing us to identify the reinforcing effects of the videos in little time. The results showed that the preference assessment had predictive value for five of seven participants. We discuss the MSWO PAT, parameters that may affect the identification of preferences and the use of conjugate schedules to identify reinforcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this editorial, we delve into the repercussions of social media and Web 2.0 algorithms on cultural homogenization and acculturation. Drawing on Glasser's choice theory, we contend that humans possess a genetic inclination toward seeking fun and freedom – qualities seamlessly delivered by addictive social media algorithms, offering limitless choices from across borders at our fingertips. These choices personalize our immediate world, fostering social media addiction, simultaneously reprogramming the "software of the mind" and altering the cultural landscape. Coined as CHAW, the Cultural Homogenization Theory of Acculturation through Social Media and Web 2.0 Algorithms facilitates an understanding of how the pull effect of human desires for freedom and fun, along with the push effect of personalized choices and a choice-centric culture amplified by social media and Web 2.0 algorithms contributes to the acculturation of societies. This phenomenon is characterized by a focus on short-term orientation and indulgence. Cultural acculturation is notably pertinent for societies historically inclined toward interdependence, particularly those marked by high power distance and collectivism, but it is also observable in other cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval is the property of Sociedad Espanola de Filosofia Medieval and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The relevance of the proposed research is determined by the reviving the interest of modern literary studies of the figure of Volodymyr Vynnychenko, determining the place of his creativity in the context of European modernism, the ambiguity of assessments of this phenomenon in the context of Ukrainian fine literature. The article examines Volodymyr Vynnychenko’s novels in the discourse of French Existentialism. Attention is focused on outlining the similarities and differences between J.-P. Sartre, A. Camus and V. Vynnychenko’s worldviews and aesthetic views. The origins of the existentialist method in the work of the Ukrainian émigré writer and its inclusion in the discourse of French atheistic of Existentialism are also analysed, and some conclusions of the “Mougins” cycle of Vynnychenko’s works are investigated using summarized prospects for its study in a broad and its European context is also outlined. The authors examine the forms and methods of aesthetic refraction of the basic concepts of existentialism (absurdity, rebellion, freedom, choice, and relationships at the level “I – the Other”). The purpose of the work and the tasks involve analyzing the philosophical and artistic texts of Vynychenko in the discourse of French existentialism, as well as revealing the main philosophical ideas and functions of the novels of the Ukrainian writer, consistent with the creative guidelines of J.-P. Sartre and A. Camus. The set of goals determines the need for the use of hermeneutic (analysis of artistic texts), historical-literary, comparative-typological (posing and solving a number of literary problems in the context of equal national literature, and biographical (using diary entries) research methods. The problem is determining the place of ideology in the context of French existentialism and the “Mougins’” cycle of Vynnychenko’s works, was raised in literary studies as early as the 70s of the last century, in particular by diaspora researchers S. Naumovych and L. Zaleska-Onyshkevych, who tried to show the priority of Vynnychenko’s writing compared to Sartre and Camus. The problem of existentialism as a philosophical direction was considered in the late 1940s among the members of the Artistic Ukrainian Movement, attempting to formulate the concept of “Ukrainian existentialism”. The Ukrainian researcher Ya. Kotets includes diaspora representatives 70 years later in the article “The Formula of Ukrainian Existentialism” (2021). There are several Ukrainian and Soviet writers who produce some existential ideas and elements of existential interpretation of human life, but they should not be called conscious writers-existentialists. Among modern Ukrainian works need to name “Existentialist philosophy. Traditions and perspectives” by S. Raida (2009), as well as the comparative study “Ukrainian version of artistic existentialism: B.I. Antonych, V. Svidzinsky, T. Osmachka in the European context” (2020) by H. Tokman, where is introduced the concept of “artistic existentialism”. The critical optics of the research make it possible to combine the historical and philosophical specificity of the interwar twenty years and the post-war period, on which are built the works of Vynnychenko, Sartre and Camus. It is an attempt to show the originality of the philosophical and aesthetic views of the emigrant Vynnychenko in the paradigm of French existentialism, to demonstrate the similarity of the Ukrainian type of philosophizing (from Skovoroda, Franko, Lesya Ukrainka to Vynnychenko), to analyze his characteristic orientation towards a person who faces the eternal problems of life, death, and evil. Such non-scientific philosophizing gave birth to special genre forms: essay, aphorism, portrait, dialogue, drama, and novel, which can be found in V.Vynnychenko’s literary work. Vynnychenko belongs to those thinkers who went beyond the boundaries of traditional philosophy in order to comprehend the broader meaning of the entire spiritual culture, developing the ideas of A. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche, A. Bergson, the theosophical theory of R. Steiner, in their writings. Vynnychenko set himself the goal of revealing prospects for further development to man, to give meaning to its existence, to point it to certain positive values, that is, to overcome the extremes of German and French existentialism and develop a positive philosophical platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1‐in‐X numerical format (e.g., 1 in 200) has been found to increase subjective probability evaluations and behavioral intentions in hypothetical scenarios compared with the N‐in‐NX format (e.g., 5 in 1000). However, it remains unclear whether this format can also bias choices between truly incentivized options. In four online studies (N = 1039), participants were presented with a small endowment (i.e., 1£) and an actual choice between two options: a sure loss of a part of such endowment and a lottery with the chance to lose the entire endowment, presented using either the 1‐in‐X or the N‐in‐NX format. In Studies 1–3, where the two options were equivalent in expected monetary value (EV) and the lottery was described with varying degrees of concreteness, participants preferred the lottery option to a lesser extent when the chance of losing the endowment was presented using the 1‐in‐X format compared with the N‐in‐NX format. The same effect was replicated in Study 4a when the lottery option had a higher EV than the sure loss, showing that the 1‐in‐X effect can also lead individuals to deviate from maximizing EV. However, the effect vanished in Study 4b when the difference in EV between the two options increased. Implications for risk communication and a possible interpretation of the results are discussed accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Peter Ellis discusses the topic of mental capacity. What is mental capacity, and why is it so important? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the potential teacher's opinion towards becoming a teacher. It also checked if there exists a statistically significant relationship between choice to become a teacher and gender, or performance, or family profession. It was mixed quantitative-qualitative in its approach. Grade 12 students in Addis Ababa were the data sources and 394 students participated in the study. Data were collected using feedback surveys and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, and a two-way chi-square test for independence. The findings revealed that a significant majority of students (92.6%) would choose not to become teachers. However, 42.4% of them would join the field if they were assigned. Among those who would choose the field, any association between choice and gender, or performance (except choice and performance with no other option), or family profession failed to reach statistical significance. The majority's reason to join the field is extrinsic and not to do so is intrinsic. 'Assigning students' to study teaching rather than through 'having the interest' or 'having no other option' routes is a preferred way to attract a better pool of candidates to the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic reforms such as the liberalization of export and processing-linked marketing channels have encouraged farmers to produce more. Unfortunately, cotton production in Zimbabwe has been declining regardless of such interventions. Why is the production declining despite these interventions including the government-free inputs and supported extension services? Cotton marketing is one of the main factors that influence overall quantities of a commodity to be produced but the practices and behavior of farmers are relatively unknown and unpredictable in the cotton markets. Therefore, this study was to explore factors influencing smallholder farmers' cotton marketing decisions in three cotton-producing provinces of Zimbabwe. A representative sample of 1080 cotton farmers were randomly selected from these provinces and a double hurdle model was used to evaluate market participation and intensity guided by probit model and censored tobit model respectively. Results showed that the decision to participate in cotton marketing was exclusively influenced by experience in cotton production while the intensity of cotton marketing was exclusively influenced by household labour and access to information. Market prices did not significantly (P<0.05) influence both the participation and intensity of cotton markets. The source of inputs and affiliation to marketing associations influence both marketing decisions. It is recommended that the government of Zimbabwe should revise the existing cotton marketing policies to encourage many buyers into cotton markets. The establishment of cotton marketing hubs can increase cotton marketing participation and intensity through increased access to decentralised marketing options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a substantial policy reform aiming to radically transform the design and delivery of disability services. Choice and control are key tenets of the scheme, however challenges and limitations exist with respect to inequities and difficulties posed by boundaries between the NDIS and mainstream services. People with disability who have been incarcerated are particularly at risk of experiencing these limitations. However there has been little academic exploration of these issues for this group. This paper explores whether NDIS services are readily accessible for people with disability who were formerly incarcerated, outlining some of the challenges this group encounters. The research is based on interviews with 28 stakeholders from government and non-government organisations that interact with and provide support or services to people with disability within the criminal justice system. Our findings confirm the importance of a functioning NDIS plan to help prevent some individuals encountering the criminal justice system, outlining several challenges that formerly incarcerated people with disability experience with the scheme. We conclude that ideas of choice and control are inhibited for some formerly incarcerated people with disability and highlight actions that can be taken regarding specialist support coordination, advocacy services and market stewardship to address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Theology & Morality / Teologia I Moralmosc is the property of Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza (IH UAM) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and farmers play significant role in sustaining the sector. However, farmers face several challenges such as poor market access and limited access to market information which adversely affect their marketing performance. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the marketing performance and factors influencing farmers choice for agricultural output marketing channels in garden pea in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The study utilized primary data collected through structured questionnaires administered via the interview method to a sample size of 400 farmers selected through a multistage stratified random sampling technique. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and acharya approach to study the marketing performance. Further, a multinomial logistic regression model was used to determine the factors that influence farmers marketing choice of marketing channels. Additionally, the constraints experienced by farmers during marketing were investigated using garret ranking. The study revealed that farmers who sold their pea directly to consumer had higher marketing performance than those who sold through market intermediaries such as local traders, commission agents and wholesalers. Further, the results indicated that farm income, farm experience, distance to the market and market information were significant determinants of farmers choice for marketing channels.Whereas, lack of market consultancy, high commission chargers and poor transportation were the major constraints faced by farmers during marketing of pea. The findings of this study highlight the need for policymakers to develop and implement interventions that enhance farmers marketing skill, facilitate access to markets, improve negotiation power which can lead to higher incomes for farmers, improve their livelihoods, better quality produce for consumers and a more effcient and sustainable food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Socially observing a negative treatment-related experience has been shown to modulate our own experience with the same intervention, leading to worsened health outcomes. However, whether this social learning generalizes to similar but distinct interventions has not been explored nor what manipulations can reduce these effects. Purpose To determine whether socially acquired nocebo effects can be generated by observing a negative experience with a similar, but distinct intervention, and whether choice can reduce these effects. Methods Across three experiments, a community sample of healthy adults (N = 336) either watched a confederate report cybersickness to the same Virtual Reality (VR) activity they were assigned to (Social Modeling: Consistent); a similar, but different VR activity (Social Modeling: Inconsistent); or did not view the confederate (No Social Modeling). Participants were either given choice over the VR (Choice) or assigned by the experimenter (No Choice). Results Across the experiments, there was significantly greater cybersickness in both Social Modeling groups relative to No Social Modeling, while the two Social Modeling groups did not differ. There was no significant effect of Choice or a Choice by Social Modeling interaction. Social Modeling elicited greater anxiety and expectancies for cybersickness. Furthermore, these mechanisms mediated the association between social modeling and cybersickness. Conclusions Socially acquired side-effects were demonstrated to generalize to similar, but distinct interventions, highlighting the diffuse and robust effect social modeling can have on our experiences. However, choice did not attenuate the experience of cybersickness, highlighting the need for alternative methods to counteract the effect of social modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maxwell's verbal statement of Coulomb's experimental verification of his hypothesis, concerning force between two electrified bodies, is suggestive of a modification of the respective computable expression on logical grounds. This modification is in tandem with the completeness condition for a physical theory, that was stated by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen in their seminal work. Working with such a modification, I show that the first Maxwell's equation, symbolically identifiable as ∇ · E = ρ / ϵ 0 from the standard literature, is unprovable. This renders Poynting's theorem to be unprovable as well. Therefore, the explanation of 'light' as 'propagation of electromagnetic energy' comes into question on theoretical grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While student voice pedagogies have been cited as a powerful educational tool in engaging children in the learning process, the perspectives of primary-aged children on using these pedagogies as part of everyday practice need to be considered. Within this research, student voice pedagogies were implemented as part of one teacher's regular primary physical education (PE) practice and children's perspectives of these pedagogies were explored. Qualitative data were collected from two consecutive cohorts of children (n = 39) over a 6-month and 9-month period respectively. Data sources included the children's written entries in their PE scrapbooks, along with transcripts from focus group interviews (n = 4, with 16 total participants) and a teacher-led classroom discussion (n = 1). Findings show that providing children with space to share their input, along with the appropriate information to inform their voices is important to the children. Offering choices and opportunities for the children to direct their learning experiences greatly mattered to how they experienced PE. These findings illustrate the value of student voice pedagogies as everyday practice to the quality of children's experiences in physical education. The merits of listening to student perspectives on student voice to ensure these pedagogies add value is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts to the contrary, the enrolment patterns of Australian students continue to demonstrate gender imbalances across different courses. Efforts to encourage more young women into non-traditional courses such as STEM do not seem to have any significant impact on these trends. In previous research, conformity to social gender norms and work-family gender ideologies have been identified as factors affecting achievement related decisions, such as postsecondary field of study. In the current cross-sectional study, we investigate the relationship between conformity to gender norms and work-family gender ideologies amongst a sample of Australian undergraduate university students (N = 1092). This study invited male and female students to complete both the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-46 and the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory-45, expanding on previous research that typically prescribed just one inventory for participants. We conclude that conformity to social gender norms influences decisions made about postsecondary field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the role of inhibition in paradoxical choice in pigeons. In a paradoxical choice procedure, pigeons receive a choice between two alternatives. Choosing the "suboptimal" alternative is followed 20% of the time by one cue (the S+) that is always reinforced, and 80% of the time by another cue (S-) that is never reinforced. Thus, this alternative leads to an overall reinforcement rate of 20%. Choosing the "optimal" alternative, however, is followed by one of two cues (S3 or S4), each reinforced 50% of the time. Thus, this alternative leads to an overall reinforcement rate of 50%. González and Blaisdell (2021) reported that development of paradoxical choice was positively correlated to the development of inhibition to the S- (signal that no food will be delivered on that trial) post-choice stimulus. The current experiment tested the hypothesis that inhibition to a post-choice stimulus is causally related to suboptimal preference. Following acquisition of suboptimal preference, pigeons received two manipulations: in one condition one of the cues in the optimal alternative (S4) was extinguished and, in another condition, the S- cue was partially reinforced. When tested on the choice task afterward, both manipulations resulted in a decrement in suboptimal preference. This result is paradoxical given that both manipulations made the suboptimal alternative the richer option. We discuss the implications of our results, arguing that inhibition of a post-choice cue increases attraction to or value of that choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through his most controversial yet prominent Epic titled "Paradise Lost" (1667), John Milton, the renowned English intellect and writer, addresses the ideology of free will and questions the existing hegemony of supreme power and dominance. It was written when people mindlessly followed the Church and the rules of the Monarch and, in utmost fear, paid heed to all the rules and norms that existed in society, ultimately leading to nothing more than a simple and unnoticed death. This research will also discuss the purpose of having a choice and how it all began initially. The character of the 'fallen angel' and how he is not seen as a pessimist but a transforming being moulded under the circumstances laid for him. This perspective will be analyzed thoroughly, and the way Milton takes a stand for Satan to give us readers a whole new angle of interpretation will also be dwelt upon and further examined in this paper. Moreover, his futuristic thinking and how his Epic still holds a firm ground in today's contemporary world will also be reviewed to highlight the necessity of such revolutionists in our history, which will be considered vital in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Understand factors that influence food choice and explore public perceptions of the need for government policies to improve diets in the UK, particularly food pricing interventions. Methods A qualitative study design was used with semi-structured interviews. The study was carried out in Greater Manchester, England. In all, 15 participants from a diverse range of backgrounds were recruited. Results Food price, lack of time, availability, and food knowledge and culture were key factors that led some study participants towards unhealthy food choices. The UK's individual, willpower-focused approach to tackling obesity was deemed ineffective and many participants supported further government intervention. Product reformulation was supported as a less intrusive and less regressive way of improving diets than taxation. There was also support for increasing cooking classes within schools. Conclusions Whilst the government ambition to half childhood obesity by 2030 is welcome, population level interventions that enable healthier food choices are needed to achieve this goal. Rising global food prices may make reformulation a more practical policy option than further pricing interventions. Mandatory reformulation of convenience meal and snack products and strengthening education in schools may represent a publicly acceptable and effective package of interventions within a comprehensive strategy to tackle obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces and argues for contrastivism about intentions. According to contrastivism, intention is not a binary relation between an agent and an action. Rather, it is a ternary relation between an agent, an action, and an alternative. Contrastivism is introduced via a discussion of cases of known but (apparently) unintended side effects. Such cases are puzzling. They put pressure on us to reject a number of highly compelling theses about intention, intentional action, and practical reason. And they give rise to a puzzle about rather-than constructions such as 'I intend to ϕ rather than ψ ': In side effect cases it can seem wrong to claim that the subject intends to ϕ yet acceptable to claim that they intend to ϕ rather than ψ. This cries out for explanation. Contrastivism provides a unified response to all of these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restaurant clientele have a task of making critical decisions concerning their choices of food and drinks. The decision-making process involves, firstly, the selection of the restaurant in which to have a meal and, secondly, the selection of food items from the menu to constitute their meals. Thus, it requires cognitive and physical effort for restaurant clientele to make decisions concerning their restaurant choices and ultimately a final purchase decision. This study applied the Engel–Kollat–Blackwell-consumer purchase decision model to investigate restaurant clientele's purchase decision-making process among commercial eateries in Kakamega County in Kenya. For the purpose of this study, a five-stage customised EKB model was applied. The study employed a descriptive research survey design, while Fisher's formula was utilised, giving a sample size of 384 respondents. The study results show a high positive correlation (R = 0.892) between the study variables. The study results indicate that 79.6% of the total variation in consumer ratings was because of the restaurant customer purchase decision-making process, in addition to the overall regression model predicting the outcome variable (p < 0.05). In relation to the contribution of studied predictor variables, a manual search gave the greatest contribution (B = 0.545, p < 0.001, t = 9.105), while sense of belonging/ class of the eatery gave the least contribution (B = −0.584, p < 0.001, t = −12.505). To yield positive results, eatery managers will be required to adjust these predictor variables depending on the contribution of each on the outcome variables, given the predictor variables to be tested account for the most variance in the outcome variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The architecture of the decision-making process has been the distillation point of the human ego throughout time. The reality we live in has turned the decision into a point of attraction to move forward in the growth and development strategy. Indeed, the decision along with its rationality becomes the variable that tilts the balance of the power of persuasion and ensures the growth strategy in its effectiveness and efficiency. At the same time, the road to the decision defined as strategic can be built based on reasoning adapted to the environment in which we live, which means that decision theory calls for a deep knowledge of the process itself, in an interdisciplinary framework, as well as of the perspectives that open an understanding of its essence.

Abstract Background During the last decade, planning concentration policies have been applied in healthcare systems. Among them, attention has been given to guiding patients towards high-volume hospitals that perform better, acccording to the volume-outcome association. This paper analyses which factors drive patients to choose big or small hospitals (with respect to the international standards of volumes of activity). Methods We examined colon cancer surgeries performed in Piedmont (Italy) between 2004 and 2018. We categorised the patient choice of the hospital as big/small, and we used this outcome as main dependent variable of descriptive statistics, tests and logistic regression models. As independent variables, we included (i) patient characteristics, (ii) characteristics of the closest big hospital (which should be perceived as the most immediate to be chosen), and (iii) territorial characteristics (i.e., characteristics of the set of hospitals among which the patient can choose). We also considered interactions among variables to examine which factors influence all or a subset of patients. Results Our results confirm that patient personal characteristics (such as age) and hospital characteristics (such as distance) play a primary role in the patient decision process. The findings seem to support the importance of closing small hospitals when they are close to big hospitals, although differences emerge between rural and urban areas. Other interesting insights are provided by examining the interactions between factors, e.g., patients affected by comorbidities are more responsive to hospital quality even though they are distant. Conclusions Reorganising healthcare services to concentrate them in high-volume hospitals emerged as a crucial issue more than forty years ago. Evidence suggests that concentration strategies guarantee better clinical performance. However, in healthcare systems in which patients are free to choose where to be treated, understanding patients’ behaviour and what drives them towards the most effective choice is of paramount importance. Our study builds on previous research that has already analysed factors influencing patients’ choices, and takes a step further to enlighten which factors drive patients to choose between a small or a big hospital (in terms of volume). The results could be used by decision makers to design the best concentration strategy.

Abstract Patient‐centred care is commonly framed as a means to guard against the problem of medical paternalism, exemplified in historical attitudes of ‘doctor knows best’. In this sense, patient‐centred care (PCC) is often regarded as a moral imperative. Reviews of its adoption in healthcare settings do not find any consistent improvement in health outcomes; however, these results are generally interpreted as pointing to the need for more or ‘better’ training for staff, rather than raising more fundamental questions. Patient autonomy is generally foregrounded in conceptualizations of PCC, to be actualized through the exercising of choice and control. But examining healthcare interaction in practice shows that when professionals attempt to enact these underpinnings, it often results in the sidelining of medical expertise that patients want or need. The outcome is that patients can feel abandoned to make decisions they feel unqualified to make, or even that care standards may not be met. This helps to explain why PCC has not produced the hoped‐for improvement in health outcomes. It also suggests that, rather than focusing on scoring individual consultations, we need to consider how medical expertise can be rehabilitated for a 21st century public, and how patient expertise can be better incorporated into co‐design and co‐production of services and resources rather than being seen as something to be expressed through a binary notion of control. Patient and Public Contribution This viewpoint draws on research conducted by the author across a range of settings in health and social care, all of which incorporated patient and public involvement when it was conducted.

Classic decision theory requires that rational agents show description invariance: which description is chosen should not matter for judgments, preferences, or choices given the descriptions are co-extensive. Framing research has amply demonstrated a failure of description invariance by showing that the choice of the description has a systematic effect on judgments, preferences, and choices. Specifically, framing research has shown that linguistically different descriptions of seemingly equivalent options frequently lead to preference reversals. I summarize the research on framing in situations entailing risk. This includes the characterization of different research designs used, the size and robustness of the framing effects reported for those designs, and the theoretical accounts put forward to explain framing effects. The theoretical accounts are evaluated with respect to their merits, empirically and theoretically. I end by providing the implications of framing research. My central point is that the existence of framing effects points to the adaptiveness of the processes underlying human judgment and choice rather than simply showing human irrationality.

Background and aimsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing the risk of serious infections between patients treated with tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFa) antagonists vs. vedolizumab in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).MethodsUsing an administrative claims database, we identified patients with IBD who were new-users of either TNFa antagonists or vedolizumab between 2014-2018 and had insurance coverage for at least 1y before and after treatment initiation. We compared the risk of serious infections (infections requiring hospitalization) between patients treated with vedolizumab or TNFa antagonists using marginal structural Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for baseline disease characteristics, healthcare utilization, comorbidities, and time-varying use of corticosteroids, immunomodulators and opiates.ResultsWe included 4881 patients treated with TNFa antagonists (age, 41 ± 15y, 60% with Crohn's disease [CD]) of whom 434 developed serious infections over 5786 person-year [PY] follow-up, and 1106 patients treated with vedolizumab (age, 44 ± 16y, 39% with CD) of whom 86 developed serious infections over 1040-PY follow-up. Vedolizumab was associated with 46% lower risk of serious infections as compared with TNFa antagonists in patients with ulcerative colitis (HR,0.54 [95% CI,0.35-0.83), but no significant differences were observed in patients with CD (HR,1.30 [0.80-2.11]). Vedolizumab was associated with lower risk of extra-intestinal serious infections in patients with UC, but higher risk of gastrointestinal serious infections in patients with CD.ConclusionsIn an observational study of patients with IBD, vedolizumab was associated with lower risk of serious infections as compared with TNFa antagonists, in patients with UC, but not in patients with CD.

Emotional facial expressions are ubiquitous and potent social stimuli that can signal favorable and unfavorable conditions. Previous research demonstrates that emotional expressions influence preference judgments, basic approach-avoidance behaviors, and reward learning. We examined whether emotional expressions can influence decisions such as choices between gambles. Based on theories of affective cue processing, we predicted greater risk taking after positive than negative expressions. This hypothesis was tested in four experiments across tasks that varied in implementation of risks, payoffs, probabilities, and temporal decision requirements. Facial expressions were presented unobtrusively and were uninformative about the choice. In all experiments, the likelihood of a risky choice was greater after exposure to positive versus neutral or negative expressions. Similar effects on risky choice occurred after presentation of different negative expressions (e.g., anger, fear, sadness, and disgust), suggesting involvement of general positive and negative affect systems. These results suggest that incidental emotional cues exert a valence-specific influence of on decisions, which could shape risk-taking behavior in social situations.

Consumer feedback platforms offer consumers tools to provide feedback on their market and consumption experiences. Beyond broad prior characterizations, little is known about the specific means by which platforms affect empowerment. Elements of empowerment identified in extant studies include voice, choice, justice, inclusion, catalysis, and consciousness-raising. We research a popular Brazilian platform to learn how platforms facilitate and constrain consumer empowerment. Our approach is immersive, a more-than-human netnography of the platform involving depth interviews with twenty-one of its consumer and corporate users. Findings show same-side and cross-side network effects driving the ability of the platform to offer consumers empowerment. Furthermore, affordances are critically important. Affordances provide opportunities for consumer choice, voice, justice, and inclusion. However, platforms' cross-side network effects create economic considerations that limit those opportunities in theoretically and practically important ways. Although other feedback platforms might offer catalysis and consciousness-raising elements of empowerment, our focal platform does not. Earlier studies of consumer empowerment on the Internet may have been overly general and exuberant because they failed to recognize the constraining impacts of network effects, affordances, and algorithms. Consumer-citizenry, collective action, and consumer power are thoroughly transformed in the age of the platform, opening up new spaces for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this short commentary is twofold. First, it uncovers and outlines in broad strokes a historical, albeit oft-overlooked, trend toward a growing place for choice and agency in the design of animal models of addiction. Next, it tries to draw from this historical trend some perspectives and implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a video essay that explores the production process and creative choices behind the selection of licensed music in the film "The Cry of the Owl." The author conducted primary research, including interviews with the filmmakers and access to different versions of the script and rough cuts. The video essay aims to provide insight into the decision-making process and offer a dynamic and experiential understanding of the filmmakers' journey. The article also mentions the limited distribution and academic readership of the film, which the video essay hopes to address. [Extracted from the article]