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Following the conjecture made by (Bliznashki and Hristova in Appetite 167:105645, 2021), we test the hypothesis that liberal subjective decision criteria exhibited during a task involving discrimination between random and systematically correlated patterns should be associated with elevated levels of paranoid ideations. Study 1 establishes the proposed association in the presence of several control measures while also demonstrating that the relationship in question is significantly moderated by subjects' working memory spans and tendencies to be overconfident in their judgments. Study 2 provides further evidence that these effects are indeed specific to tasks involving discrimination between random and systematic patterns and that the observed results are not due to some form of (anti) acquiescence bias or other general trends. Certain specifics of the correlation matrices involving cognitive measures significantly related to the paranoia continuum suggest that our results are consistent with the Entropic Brain Hypothesis. Finally, a simulation study employing a Neural Network demonstrates that increased entropy and liberal decision criteria might be connected to each other with said connection being amenable to an interpretation within the Bayesian paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Clinical decision‐making in oncology is a complex process, with the primary goal of identifying the most effective treatment tailored to individual cancer patients. Many factors influence the treatment decision: disease‐ and patient‐specific criteria, the increasingly complex treatment landscape, market authorization and drug availability, financial aspects, and personal treatment expertise. In the domain of genitourinary cancers, particularly prostate cancer, decision‐making is challenging. Despite the prevalence of this malignancy, there are few in‐depth explorations of these factors within real‐world scenarios. Understanding and refining this intricate decision‐making process is essential for future successful clinical decisions and the integration of computerized decision support into clinicians' workflows. Aim: The objective of this study is to improve the current knowledge base and evidence of the factors that influence treatment decision‐making for patients with genitourinary cancers. Methods: Assessment of how routine treatment decisions are made for genitourinary cancers was performed by a mixed‐methods study, encompassing field observations and focus group discussions. Results: In total, we identified 59 factors that influence clinical decision‐making in oncology, specifically for genitourinary and prostate cancer. Of these, 23 criteria can be classified as decision‐maker‐related criteria encompassing personal, cognitive, and emotional attributes and factors of both, healthcare professionals and patients. Moreover, 20 decision‐specific criteria have been identified that refer to clinical and disease‐related factors, followed by 16 contextual decision factors that describe the relevant criteria introduced by the specific circumstances and environment in which the treatment decision is made. Conclusion: By presenting an exhaustive set of decision factors and providing specific examples for genitourinary cancers, this observational study establishes a possible framework for a better understanding of decision‐making. Moreover, we specify and expand the set of decision factors, while emphasizing the importance of cognitive, emotional, and human factors, as well as the quality and accessibility of decision‐relevant information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to judge the temporal alignment of visual and auditory information is a prerequisite for multisensory integration and segregation. However, each temporal measurement is subject to error. Thus, when judging whether a visual and auditory stimulus were presented simultaneously, observers must rely on a subjective decision boundary to distinguish between measurement error and truly misaligned audiovisual signals. Here, we tested whether these decision boundaries are relaxed with increasing temporal sensory uncertainty, i.e., whether participants make the same type of adjustment an ideal observer would make. Participants judged the simultaneity of audiovisual stimulus pairs with varying temporal offset, while being immersed in different virtual environments. To obtain estimates of participants' temporal sensory uncertainty and simultaneity criteria in each environment, an independent-channels model was fitted to their simultaneity judgments. In two experiments, participants' simultaneity decision boundaries were predicted by their temporal uncertainty, which varied unsystematically with the environment. Hence, observers used a flexibly updated estimate of their own audiovisual temporal uncertainty to establish subjective criteria of simultaneity. This finding implies that, under typical circumstances, audiovisual simultaneity windows reflect an observer's cross-modal temporal uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis work, the first part (Part A) of a comprehensive study, presents a survey on Robust Optimization (RO) in inventory management, highlighting its role in addressing uncertainties. This survey reviews various modeling frameworks, types of uncertainties, decision-making criteria, and decision rules essential to RO. The subsequent part (Part B) offers a comparative study, analyzing robust inventory models and highlighting key analytical and numerical contributions. This survey critically evaluates the effectiveness of RO in managing model uncertainty, enhancing decision-making processes, deriving structural insights, and boosting computational efficiency. Additionally, it discusses the limitations and challenges of applying RO to inventory management. While acknowledging the foundational role of traditional inventory literature in establishing essential theories, optimal policies, and efficient algorithms, this paper addresses a significant gap by focusing on inventory management through the lens of RO methodology. Together with the comparative study, these works encapsulate the current state of robust inventory management, shedding light on future research directions and ongoing challenges in this evolving field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Iskolakultúra is the property of University of Szeged, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences 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.)

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being deployed globally to protect the Earth's biodiversity in rapidly changing oceans. Nesting climate change considerations within adaptive MPA management and monitoring is becoming a more common approach, and while climate change is increasingly addressed in MPA planning, implementation gaps remain. This study applied the climate robustness index (CRI) to MPA monitoring plans to assess how climate change is outlined within site- and regional-level plans. Previously developed to assess MPA management plans, the CRI scores plans based on their degree of incorporation of climate change adaptation principles, including core elements of adaptive management. We supplemented our CRI findings for monitoring plans by associating index scores of MPAs in the United States with selected MPA traits, as well as by examining specific physical, ecological, and sociological climate change impacts that were being considered within the monitoring scope of a subset of monitoring plans. We found considerable gaps in actionable targets and thresholds in MPA monitoring plans, consistent with a previous study evaluating MPA management plans, demonstrating that the adaptive management cycle is incomplete in many cases. We consider the importance of completing the adaptive management cycle as a core climate adaptation strategy, and explore the roles of social-ecological objectives and local partnerships as avenues to continue to improve MPA outcomes in a changing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the significant growth of the literature on adaptive reuse, little is known about the specific criteria unfolding throughout the different phases of the adaptive reuse decision-making process. To address this gap this paper aims to provide a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of the decision criteria for adaptive reuse throughout the adaptive reuse process. Through an integrative literature review with a systematic search strategy, three phases are substantiated: pre-project phase, preparation phase, and post-completion phase. This paper finds that despite the similarities between the different phases, with a predominant repetition of economic and architectural categories, more specific environmental decision criteria are still overlooked. The findings underscore the necessity for additional research on circularity within the adaptive reuse process, emphasizing the significance of the often overlooked implementation phase, crucial for practices like disassembly. By offering a novel process perspective on AR decision-making, this study contributes to the growing discourse on adaptive reuse and provides a basis for further enhancement of AR decision-making frameworks.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being deployed globally to protect the Earth’s biodiversity in rapidly changing oceans. Nesting climate change considerations within adaptive MPA management and monitoring is becoming a more common approach, and while climate change is increasingly addressed in MPA planning, implementation gaps remain. This study applied the climate robustness index (CRI) to MPA monitoring plans to assess how climate change is outlined within site- and regional-level plans. Previously developed to assess MPA management plans, the CRI scores plans based on their degree of incorporation of climate change adaptation principles, including core elements of adaptive management. We supplemented our CRI findings for monitoring plans by associating index scores of MPAs in the United States with selected MPA traits, as well as by examining specific physical, ecological, and sociological climate change impacts that were being considered within the monitoring scope of a subset of monitoring plans. We found considerable gaps in actionable targets and thresholds in MPA monitoring plans, consistent with a previous study evaluating MPA management plans, demonstrating that the adaptive management cycle is incomplete in many cases. We consider the importance of completing the adaptive management cycle as a core climate adaptation strategy, and explore the roles of social-ecological objectives and local partnerships as avenues to continue to improve MPA outcomes in a changing world.

In the global business environment, a good management of supplier selection is required with the purpose of reducing logistics costs present in the selection activity under quality criteria, acquisition costs, payment terms, lead time, among others, for this activity. and processes who has the assignment is the purchasing area of a business organization, this is in charge of obtaining all the raw material so that the company continues with its operation and can achieve the goals set in budgetary terms, supply and production, in order to of cost reduction where it is the direct responsibility of this area, to carry out a correct management of suppliers to obtain a maximization of profits. The present investigation is part of the objective of delivering a proposal for the selection of a raw material supplier to the selection company, with which he developed a proposal for the AHP multi-criteria selection of suppliers in combination with the Topsis methodology applied to the company in the food area in Colombia, once the hierarchy of the selection criteria has been carried out, it is possible to define the supplier selection criteria with their respective weightings adjusted to the specific needs of the company, resulting in the choice of the supplier of raw material to the main company where I throw as a result of the RCi of 0.62 being the first in the ranking given by the tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pakistan embarked on a process of designing an essential package of health services (EPHS) as a pathway towards universal health coverage (UHC). The EPHS design followed an evidence-informed deliberative process; evidence on 170 interventions was introduced along multiple stages of appraisal engaging different stakeholders tasked with prioritising interventions for inclusion. We report on the composition of the package at different stages, analyse trends of prioritised and deprioritised interventions and reflect on the trade-offs made. Methods: Quantitative evidence on cost-effectiveness, budget impact, and avoidable burden of disease was presented to stakeholders in stages. We recorded which interventions were prioritised and deprioritised at each stage and carried out three analyses: (1) a review of total number of interventions prioritised at each stage, along with associated costs per capita and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted, to understand changes in affordability and efficiency in the package, (2) an analysis of interventions broken down by decision criteria and intervention characteristics to analyse prioritisation trends across different stages, and (3) a description of the trajectory of interventions broken down by current coverage and cost-effectiveness. Results: Value for money generally increased throughout the process, although not uniformly. Stakeholders largely prioritised interventions with low budget impact and those preventing a high burden of disease. Highly cost-effective interventions were also prioritised, but less consistently throughout the stages of the process. Interventions with high current coverage were overwhelmingly prioritised for inclusion. Conclusion: Evidence-informed deliberative processes can produce actionable and affordable health benefit packages. While cost-effective interventions are generally preferred, other factors play a role and limit efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Formación Universitaria is the property of Centro de Informacion Tecnologica (CIT) 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 Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco 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.)

How people set decision criteria in signal detection model is an important research question. The likelihood ratio (LR) theory, which is one of the most influential theories about criteria setting, typically assumes that (a) decisions are based on the objective LR of the signal and noise distributions, and (b) LR criteria do not change across tasks with various difficulty levels. However, it is often questioned whether people are really able to know the exact shape of signal and noise distributions, and compute the objective LR accordingly. Herewe suggest whether decision criteria are set based on objective LRcan be tested in two-condition experiments with different difficulty levels across conditions. We then asked participants in three empirical experiments to perform two-condition perceptual or memory tasks, and give their answer using confidence rating scale. Results revealed that the two assumptions of LR theory contradicted with each other: if we assumed decision criteria were based on objective LR, then the estimated LR criteria differed across difficulty levels, and fanned out as task difficulty decreased. We suggest people might inaccurately estimate the LR in signal detection tasks, and several possible explanations for the distortion of LR are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the decision-theoretic approach to game theory, we extend the analysis of Epstein and Wang (1996) and Di Tillio (2008) from hierarchies of preference relations to hierarchies of choice functions. We then construct the universal choice structure containing all these choice hierarchies, and show how the universal preference structure from Di Tillio (2008) is embedded in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the study is to assess the decision criteria and the determining factors for the sustainability of entrepreneurial startups in order to contribute towards social inclusion and capacity building. Both concepts are in the development phase and are the outcome of entrepreneurial ecosystem and individual behavior and traits. The current study observed the research problem as entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial startups are the continuous phenomena required for every economy. The lack of an efficient ecosystem and incompetent trait of an entrepreneur brings the entrepreneurial startup to failure. Therefore, an assessment of decision criteria and determining factors categorizing them by their importance may provide the requirements to lead to a successful entrepreneurial startup, contributing to social inclusion and capacity building. The study solved the research problem by statistical assessment of decision criteria and determining factors and categorizing them by their importance may provide the requirements to lead to a successful entrepreneurial startup. The research is built on research questions, objectives, a conceptual model, and a hypothesis, which are tested based on the data collected. The collection of data was done through a survey questionnaire on a sample of established entrepreneurs. The study concludes that the five components of decision criteria are region, competition, funding opportunities, tax system, and country economic situation, whereas eight determining factors, consciousness and reliability, pursuit of results, flexibility, stress resistance, skills of identification and exploitation of potential market opportunities, leadership, creativity and innovation, and delegation of decision-making, are required for a successful entrepreneurial startup to be able to work towards social inclusion and capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-harvest handling of coffee is one of the main factors in producing a high-quality coffee, including its processing techniques. This study aimed to conduct a sensory evaluation of arabica Gayo coffee flavour in various varieties and processing techniques. There were four selected coffee varieties in this study, namely Bor-bor, Tim Tim Aceh, Bergendal and Ateng Super, which were obtained from the garden of farmers in Gayo Highlands, Province of Aceh, Indonesia. The coffee processing methods used in this study were both dry and wet processing techniques. The sensory assessment of arabica Gayo coffee flavour was carried out by ten panelists by evaluating the acceptance of the product based on the level of preference. The sensory assessment of flavour included fragrance, flavour, after-taste, acidity, balance, body, and overall based on the panelist decision values using the exponential comparison method (ECM/MPE). Results showed that the wet processing technique was the most suitable technique for arabica Gayo coffee based on the preference of panelists compared to the dry processing technique. Arabica Gayo coffee varieties that have the highest acceptance value by panelists in sequence were Bor-bor varieties (1st choice), Tim Tim Aceh (2nd choice), Ateng Super (3rd choice), and Bergendal (4th choice). Therefore, the Bor-bor variety was the most important coffee variety recommended to be developed by the farmers compared to other coffee varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decision making under uncertainty, min–max regret has been established as a popular methodology to find robust solutions. In this approach, we compare the performance of our solution against the best possible performance had we known the true scenario in advance. We introduce a generalization of this setting which allows us to compare against solutions that are also affected by uncertainty, which we call balanced regret. Using budgeted uncertainty sets, this allows for a wider range of possible alternatives the decision maker may choose from. We analyze this approach for general combinatorial problems, providing an iterative solution method and insights into solution properties. We then consider a type of selection problem in more detail and show that, while the classic regret setting with budgeted uncertainty sets can be solved in polynomial time, the balanced regret problem becomes NP-hard. In computational experiments using random and real-world data, we show that balanced regret solutions provide a useful trade-off for the performance in classic performance measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the end slope deformation and instability caused by end slope coal mining, this paper is based on the mining engineering practice of end slope coal mining of open-pit mine in Ordos area of China, a three-dimensional numerical analysis model for rock mass movement failure of the end-slope mining field which is under near-horizontal condition is established, the whole process of “coal seam mining-formation of mining cave group-failure of support coal pillars-instability of slope rock mass”, the characteristics of movement and failure of coal pillar and rock mass of slope are revealed, the key positions and trigger conditions of slope deformation and instability are proved. Based on the study of characteristic law, the bearing model of supporting coal pillars in end-slope mining field is constructed, based on the theory of sharp point mutation and safety factor evaluation method, a method to judge the stability of supporting coal pillars is proposed. The engineering application results show that this method can further improve the recovery rate of end slope pressed coal to more than 60% on the premise of ensuring slope stability.

The article by Waitzberg et al on dual agency in hospitals reports on three strategies to mitigate dilemmas arising from conflicting clinical and economic considerations. This could be further explored by using systems science methods that allow in-depth analyses of (health) system dynamics, networks, and agent-based modelling, and that take into account local context, incentives and how institutions work. Future studies may also draw on the literature of multi-criteria decision-making and evidence-informed deliberative processes (EDPs) that are increasingly being used to optimise legitimate health benefit package design. Toolkits to assist hospital professionals in improving their decision-making need to be practical, with ample attention for the process of decision-making, including transparency, use of evidence, and opportunities for health professionals (and possibly others stakeholders) to contest or formally appeal against certain decisions.

IT infrastructures are indispensable parts of today's organizations, and keeping them secure is very important for successfully running the business. Due to the complexity of information infrastructure and network topology, traditional security measures no longer meet the security needs of current enterprises. Therefore, the holistic information security management analysis method has received extensive attention. An important task of these holistic security analysis methods is to analyze the value of assets so that IT managers can effectively allocate resources to protect the information infrastructure. Most of the current asset valuation methods are based on analyzing the dependencies between assets. In some cases, the dependencies are not easy to find, which makes the evaluation results inaccurate. Therefore, we propose model with analytic network process network (ANP) to evaluate the value of assets. This method not only considers the security factors and considers the importance of the assets to the business as well. It can evaluate the value of the assets and prioritize them, which can help the system administrator in making the decision for security enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road users experience mobility impacts when a train occupies a highway-rail grade (level) crossing. Research has shown that the cost of reduced mobility exceeds safety costs, yet there is little consistency in the integration of mobility-related criteria into approaches for prioritising crossings for grade separation. A synthesis of findings from a review of literature and practice demonstrated the importance of mobility impacts at blocked crossings, identified and compared mobility-related decision criteria and actionable thresholds used within prioritisation approaches to rank crossings for grade separation, and revealed methods to quantify and monetise delay at blocked crossings. The review identified the need for the joint application of traffic microsimulation and intelligent transportation systems to quantify road user delay at blocked crossings. Such work should consider network-level effects, account for the severe consequences of delay for certain road users (e.g. emergency responders), and develop methods for monetising delay impacts associated with different road users. Moreover, a knowledge gap persists in establishing the interrelationship between road user delay at blocked crossings, risky behaviour, and safety impacts. Finally, further work is required to establish and calibrate thresholds for mobility-related criteria within prioritisation approaches used to rank crossings for all types of improvements, including grade separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The so-called agile approach is increasingly popular in the world of project management as a response to more dynamic and competitive environments. This study follows the question: What are the decisive criteria that result in the use of agile process models in practice? Therefore, a broad range of decision criteria is investigated, representing different reasons for firms to decide in favour or against the usage of agile process models, namely: Timesaving, increased efficiency, availability of qualified personnel, uniform terminology, project comparability and functions as a knowledge base. Most existing research on agile project management is of qualitative nature; this study uses a quantitative approach to assessing 51 firms and nine different industries within the DACH region. The collected data was analysed in a binary logistic regression model. Results reveal that time-saving positively predicts the use of agile process models, while high ratings in function as a knowledge base and project comparability predict the absence of agile process models. Therefore, practitioners are suggested to educate project and portfolio managers in the creation of hybrid environments and integration of agile process models in traditional project portfolios. Implications for Central European audience: The results of this study provide valuable insights into the selection of project management approaches across different industries in the DACH region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has become a relevant and meaningful issue in recent years. The present study focuses on one segment of sustainability: sustainable fashion, which is a major issue affecting the everyday lives of secondary school students. Fashion industry is defined by criteria such as: short product life cycle, high market volatility and high impulse buying (Myint and Lee, 2017; Radtke et al., 2022; Strähle, 2017). The aim of my research is o investigate the fashion habits, consumer behaviour and decision-making mechanisms related to sustainable fashion of the Z generation, including Hungarian secondary school students in Szeklerland. During my research I am seeking answers to questions regarding the criteria students apply when making their decisions, as well as to discovering which purchasing cluster groups can be identifed. The target group of my quantitative research are secondary school students in Szeklerland. I used probability sampling, and within that systematic sampling. The research tool was a self-designed questionnaire. Its questions are divided into three main categories: socio-demographic data of students; the concept of sustainability and sustainable fashion, willingness to buy; and students' purchasing criteria, frequency, amount, location, etc. Price, quality and design of the product are the main criteria for the purchasing decision. The main shopping venues are online, multi-brand websites. As a result of the cluster analysis, we were able to isolate four distinct groups of students, who were labelled as practical shoppers, discount hunters, brand-loyal individuals and sustainability-oriented shoppers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique mostly begins with normalizing the incommensurable data values in the decision matrix. Numerous normalization methods are available in the literature and applying different normalization methods to an MCDM technique is proven to deliver varying results. As such, selecting suitable normalization methods for an MCDM technique has emerged as an intriguing research topic, especially with the advent of big data. Several efforts have been made to compare the suitability of various normalization methods, but regrettably, no paper provides an updated review of these crucial efforts. This study, therefore, aimed to trace articles reporting such efforts and review them based on the following three perspectives: (1) the normalization methods considered, (2) the MCDM methods considered, and (3) the comparison metrics used to determine the suitable normalization methods. The relevant articles were extracted with the aid of Google Scholar using the keywords of “normalization” and “MCDM,” and Tableau software was used to analyze further the data gathered through the articles. A total of five limitations were uncovered based on the current state of literature, and potential future works to address those limitations were offered. This paper is the first to compile and review the previous investigations that compared and determined the ideal normalization methods for an MCDM technique.

In recent years, offshore wind energy has attracted considerable attention as a renewable resource due to its lower visual impact, fewer territorial constraints and higher wind availability compared to the onshore alternative. Moreover, in small isolated systems with many protected natural areas and significant competition for land uses, offshore wind energy can make a notable contribution to the energy transition while avoiding the need to exploit additional land. This is the case of the Canary Islands, where areas for onshore wind development are becoming scarce. For this reason, a novel methodology has been developed based on a multi-criteria decision technique, designed for isolated islands. The proposed methodology considers the levelized cost of energy (LCoE), visual impacts and proximity to tourist centers, among other factors, to select the most suitable areas for the installation of offshore wind farms, considering both bottom-fixed and floating technologies. Results show that, in isolated island systems, offshore wind energy is very competitive with conventional generation systems and is an optimal solution to the problems of land scarcity and the social impact of onshore renewables. The practical significance is that the most suitable areas for offshore wind energy with lowest generation costs are Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. • New methodology to determinate the most suitable location for offshore wind farm. • Decision criteria based on environmental, techno-economical and social factors. • Floating offshore wind farms are more suitable than bottom fixed in Canary Islands. • The LCoE for offshore wind farms is in the range 61.3–141.45 €/MWh. • Seabed stratification significantly affects anchoring costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy consumption is the call by United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, and sustainable consumption is the only solution for the future. This study found that the solution to the framed problem has a requirement to categorize the green consumer value parameters in hierarchy of importance for five specific RESs and their alignment with environment policy based on a comparison of Poland and India. The study revealed the importance of each criterion for renewable energy sources providing, a comparative table of Poland and India. The methodological approach used secondary data for selecting countries, and primary data are used for statistical analysis of Automatic Linear Modelling. The research concludes that the CRITERIA4 is one of the most important that emerged with all five RESs for Poland and three RESs for India. Both countries are aligned with the UN sustainable development goals and are switching over to all means of sustainability. Poland scores a higher value of importance compared to India, which justifies the awareness of consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive increases in cingulo-opercular frontal activity are typically observed during speech recognition in noise tasks. This elevated activity has been linked to a word recognition benefit on the next trial, termed “adaptive control,” but how this effect might be implemented has been unclear. The established link between perceptual decision making and cingulo-opercular function may provide an explanation for how those regions benefit subsequent word recognition. In this case, processes that support recognition such as raising or lowering the decision criteria for more accurate or faster recognition may be adjusted to optimize performance on the next trial. The current neuroimaging study tested the hypothesis that pre-stimulus cingulo-opercular activity reflects criterion adjustments that determine how much information to collect for word recognition on subsequent trials. Participants included middle-age and older adults (N = 30; age = 58.3 ± 8.8 years; m ± sd) with normal hearing or mild sensorineural hearing loss. During a sparse fMRI experiment, words were presented in multitalker babble at +3 dB or +10 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which participants were instructed to repeat aloud. Word recognition was significantly poorer with increasing participant age and lower SNR compared to higher SNR conditions. A perceptual decision-making model was used to characterize processing differences based on task response latency distributions. The model showed that significantly less sensory evidence was collected (i.e., lower criteria) for lower compared to higher SNR trials. Replicating earlier observations, pre-stimulus cingulo-opercular activity was significantly predictive of correct recognition on a subsequent trial. Individual differences showed that participants with higher criteria also benefitted the most from pre-stimulus activity. Moreover, trial-level criteria changes were significantly linked to higher versus lower pre-stimulus activity. These results suggest cingulo-opercular cortex contributes to criteria adjustments to optimize speech recognition task performance.

The importance of increasing the share of nZEB on the building stock is becoming more and more urgent. Many studies with surveys can be found in literature focusing on the perspective of the occupants or the building owners about nZEBs. In this study, however, a survey has been conducted focusing on engineers to identify their needs from the scientific community toward the path of nZEB implementation in Greece. The results are split into four categories: building information and system technology, importance of nZEB to engineers and their customers, current decision criteria, and the use of scientific results. Among others, the results show that engineers believe that heat pumps would be the main technology in nZEBs, the customers are not so interested as the engineers about energy efficiency, the economic feasibility is the key decision criteria with an average payback period of seven years and 16.3% average acceptable investment increase due to nZEB, and the engineers have high interest for scientific results oriented in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: An innovative computational model was developed to address challenges regarding the evaluation of treatment sequences in patients with relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) through the concept of a 'virtual' physician who observes and assesses patients over time. We describe the implementation and validation of the model, then apply this framework as a case study to determine the impact of different decision-making approaches on the optimal sequence of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and associated outcomes. Methods: A patient-level discrete event simulation (DES) was used to model heterogeneity in disease trajectories and outcomes. The evaluation of DMT options was implemented through a Markov model representing the patient's disease; outcomes included lifetime costs and quality of life. The DES and Markov models underwent internal and external validation. Analyses of the optimal treatment sequence for each patient were based on several decision-making criteria. These treatment sequences were compared to current treatment guidelines. Results: Internal validation indicated that model outcomes for natural history were consistent with the input parameters used to inform the model. Costs and quality of life outcomes were successfully validated against published reference models. Whereas each decision-making criterion generated a different optimal treatment sequence, cladribine tablets were the only DMT common to all treatment sequences. By choosing treatments on the basis of minimising disease progression or number of relapses, it was possible to improve on current treatment guidelines; however, these treatment sequences were more costly. Maximising cost-effectiveness resulted in the lowest costs but was also associated with the worst outcomes. Conclusions: The model was robust in generating outcomes consistent with published models and studies. It was also able to identify optimal treatment sequences based on different decision criteria. This innovative modelling framework has the potential to simulate individual patient trajectories in the current treatment landscape and may be useful for treatment switching and treatment positioning decisions in RRMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper forwards a new criterion of evaluation through harmonization for the resolution by a manager of a real economic problem under uncertainty conditions. Everyday managers face situations that require a decision. The importance of the decision is given by the fact that the managerial performances depend on this decision – be it good or bad. One of the skills of a successful manager is his ability to make good quality decisions. Decisions can be made under certainty conditions, when one knows exactly what the effects of the chosen option will be. The decisions made under certainty conditions are those in which the effects are known only by estimation, with a certain probability. The decisions made under uncertainty conditions are decisions whose effects are not known at all and there is no idea of the results. The proposed PHI Smart criterion includes in a single criterion all 4 criteria from the Theory of Decision: the optimist’s criterion, the pessimist’s criterion, the prudent’s criterion and the rational’s criterion. It allows the simulation of at least 4 scenarios in the golden ratio 62/38.

Standard evolutionary game theory investigates the evolutionary fitness of alternative behaviors in a fixed and single decision problem. This paper instead focuses on decision criteria, rather than on simple behaviors, as the general behavioral rules under selection in the population: the evolutionary fitness of classic decision criteria for rational choice is analyzed through Monte Carlo simulations over various classes of decision problems. Overall, quantifying the uncertainty in a probabilistic way and maximizing expected utility turns out to be evolutionarily beneficial in general. Minimizing regret also finds some evolutionary justifications in our results, while maximin seems to be always disadvantaged by differential selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important question in economics is how people choose between different payments in the future. The classical normative model predicts that a decision maker discounts a later payment relative to an earlier one by an exponential function of the time between them. Descriptive models use nonexponential functions to fit observed behavioral phenomena, such as preference reversal. Here we propose a model of discounting, consistent with standard axioms of choice, in which decision makers maximize the growth rate of their wealth. Four specifications of the model produce four forms of discounting—no discounting, exponential discounting, hyperbolic discounting, and a hybrid of exponential and hyperbolic discounting—two of which predict preference reversal. Our model requires no assumption of behavioral bias or payment risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative robots (cobots) are emerging in manufacturing as a response to the current mass customization production paradigm and the fifth industrial revolution. Before adopting this technology in production processes and benefiting from its advantages, manufacturers need to analyze the investment. Therefore, this study aims to develop a decision-making framework for cobot adoption, incorporating a comprehensive set of quantitative and qualitative criteria, to be used by decision-makers in manufacturing companies. To achieve that objective, a qualitative study was conducted by collecting data through interviews with key actors in the cobot (or advanced manufacturing technologies) adoption decision process in manufacturing companies. The main findings of this study include, firstly, an extensive list of decision criteria, as well as some indicators to be used by decision-makers, some of which are new to the literature. Secondly, a decision-making framework for cobot adoption is proposed, as well as a set of guidelines to use it. The framework is based on a weighted scoring method and can be customizable by the manufacturing company depending on its specific context, needs, and resources. The main contribution of this study consists in assisting decision-makers of manufacturing companies in performing more complete and sustained decision analyses regarding cobots adoption. • Financial aspects, safety, productivity, and ergonomics are important criteria. • A decision-making framework for cobot adoption based on the weighted scoring method • Incorporating quantitative and qualitative criteria in the adoption decision • The framework is customizable to the company's context, needs, and resources. • Empirical perspective of decision-makers in manufacturing companies was considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article by Waitzberg et al on dual agency in hospitals reports on three strategies to mitigate dilemmas arising from conflicting clinical and economic considerations. This could be further explored by using systems science methods that allow in-depth analyses of (health) system dynamics, networks, and agent-based modelling, and that take into account local context, incentives and how institutions work. Future studies may also draw on the literature of multi-criteria decision-making and evidence-informed deliberative processes (EDPs) that are increasingly being used to optimise legitimate health benefit package design. Toolkits to assist hospital professionals in improving their decision-making need to be practical, with ample attention for the process of decision-making, including transparency, use of evidence, and opportunities for health professionals (and possibly others stakeholders) to contest or formally appeal against certain decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]