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IntroductionThe global rise in climatic calamities necessitates effective strategies for understanding and addressing Earth’s climate complexities. Although recent research underscores simulation tools’ effectiveness in elucidating complex concepts related to Earth’s climate, partner influence on climatic decisions within simulation studies has been overlooked.MethodsEmploying the Partner Interactive Climate Change Simulator (P-ICCS), we examined 180 participants across varied conditions. The study manipulated partner nature (optimal, irrational, or none) and climate change probability (high or low) to observe effects on participants’ responses (mitigation or adaptation) within P-ICCS.ResultsResults revealed a significant impact of partner presence, with the optimal partner notably enhancing monetary investments against climate change compared to the irrational partner. Intriguingly, climate change probability did not sway participants’ investment behavior.DiscussionThe findings emphasize the pivotal role of partner influence in climate decision-making, offering insights for effective mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Motorcycles, popular in developing countries for their flexibility and affordability, often exacerbate traffic issues like congestion in mixed-traffic settings. This study investigates motorcyclists’ route choice behaviour under the variable message sign environment to foster more balanced and efficient network usage, leveraging traffic information for better-informed decisions. It also explores the potential of ramp metering in urban areas. A stated preference survey was undertaken to collect the behavioural responses, while a discrete choice model was applied to perform the estimation. The mixed path-size logit model outperformed the standard logit, revealing preferences for shorter distances, wider roads, less traffic, lower travel times, and minimum ramp metering waiting times. Those who use motorcycles for work purposes favour shortcuts for time efficiency, while individuals over 50 tend to avoid them for safety concerns. This study led to an enhanced understanding of motorcyclists’ reactions to traffic information and regulations, aiding effective traffic management strategy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child stunting (chronic undernutrition) is a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. In Rwanda, an estimated 33% of children are affected. This study investigated the household living conditions and the impact of gender-related decision-making on child stunting. The findings contribute to ongoing discussion on this critical public health issue. In December 2021, a population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Rwanda's Northern Province; 601 women with children aged 1-36 months were included. Stunting was assessed using low height-for-age criteria. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was used to determine household socioeconomic status. Researcher-designed questionnaires evaluated gender-related factors such as social support and household decision-making. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified risk factor patterns. Six hundred and one children were included in the study; 27.1% (n = 163) were diagnosed as stunted; there was a higher prevalence of stunting in boys (60.1%) than girls (39.9%; p<0.001). The MPI was 0.265 with no significant difference between households with stunted children (MPI, 0.263; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.216-0.310) and non-stunted children (MPI, 0.265; 95% CI, 0.237-0.293). Most households reported a lack of adequate housing (78.9%), electricity (63.0%), good water sources (58.7%), and proper toilets (57.1%). Male-headed households dominated (92% vs. 8.0%; p = 0.018), and women often shared decision-making with their partners. However, 26.4% of women reported forced sexual intercourse within marriage (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.81; 95% CI, 1.15-2.85). Lack of support during illness ([OR], 1.93; 95% CI, 1.13-3.28) and absence of personal guidance (OR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.41-4.26) were significantly associated with child stunting. Poverty contributes to child stunting in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Limited social support and women's lack of decision-making power in the household increase stunting rates. Interventions should empower women and address the broader social and economic context to promote both women's and children's health., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Utumatwishima et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The current study will examine the interactive effects of motives for cannabis use (i.e., health or recreational) and risky decision making (DM) on cannabis use trajectories among adolescents. Data from 171 adolescents, aged 14–17 at the initial visit (baseline), were prospectively analyzed across five time points approximately six months apart. Latent growth curve modeling and linear regression analyses were used. We found a significant interactive effect of “recreational motives” and risky DM on the rate of cannabis use over time. Specifically, among those less likely to use cannabis for recreational purposes, riskier DM was associated with a faster increase in the rate of use over time relative to those with lower risky DM. Additionally, a significant main effect showed that those with a greater proclivity to use cannabis for health purposes had higher initial levels of use at baseline and faster increases in the rate of use over time. Regardless of risky DM, using cannabis for health purposes is associated with faster increases in cannabis use escalation. Additionally, risky DM does impact the association between recreational motives for use and cannabis use trajectories. Future work should examine these associations with additional motives for cannabis use that have been previously validated within the literature.

Entrepreneurial networks are important for the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities and development in the context of social media. This exploratory research investigates the relationships in entrepreneurial networks, by considering decision-making, and entrepreneurial opportunities, and focusing on the role of decision-making in the relationship between entrepreneurial networks and entrepreneurial opportunities. Using data from 512 Chinese entrepreneurial firms, hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modeling are employed to create a mediation model that links entrepreneurial networks to entrepreneurial opportunities through decision-making. Our findings are as follows: (1) heterogeneous networks are positively related to innovative opportunities, and homogeneous networks are positively related to imitative opportunities; (2) heterogeneous networks positively affect non-linear decision-making (non-linear DM) while homogeneous networks positively influence linear decision-making (linear DM); (3) positive relationships exist between non-linear DM and innovative opportunities and between linear DM and imitative opportunities; and (4) non-linear DM fully mediates between heterogeneous networks and innovative opportunities, and linear DM partially mediates between homogeneous networks and imitative opportunities. This paper contributes to literature on entrepreneurship by broadening understanding of the mechanisms of entrepreneurial opportunity formation in emerging markets and provides important insights for entrepreneurs and policymakers.

Introduction: The global rise in climatic calamities necessitates effective strategies for understanding and addressing Earth's climate complexities. Although recent research underscores simulation tools' effectiveness in elucidating complex concepts related to Earth's climate, partner influence on climatic decisions within simulation studies has been overlooked. Methods: Employing the Partner Interactive Climate Change Simulator (P-ICCS), we examined 180 participants across varied conditions. The study manipulated partner nature (optimal, irrational, or none) and climate change probability (high or low) to observe effects on participants' responses (mitigation or adaptation) within P-ICCS. Results: Results revealed a significant impact of partner presence, with the optimal partner notably enhancing monetary investments against climate change compared to the irrational partner. Intriguingly, climate change probability did not sway participants' investment behavior. Discussion: The findings emphasize the pivotal role of partner influence in climate decision-making, offering insights for effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): Mara Olekalns [sup.1] , Philip L. Smith [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.1008.9, 0000 0001 2179 088X, Melbourne Business School, The University of Melbourne, , 200 Leicester St, 3053, Carlton, [...], Using a simulated negotiation, we test how negotiators&apos; decision frames (gain vs loss) influence their social utilities. Recognizing that utilities are shaped by both economic and social concerns, we measure four attributes of negotiator satisfaction: satisfaction with own economic outcomes, satisfaction with self, other&apos;s satisfaction with outcome, and other&apos;s willingness to negotiate in the future. Drawing on Prospect Theory and modifications of Prospect Theory, we tested whether decision frames showed the same relationship between outcomes and satisfaction on all measures of satisfaction, or whether this relationship was context-sensitive. Our first set of models, which used individual outcomes and outcome differences to predict satisfaction, demonstrated that the relationship between decision frames and satisfaction is context sensitive. Across the four attributes of satisfaction, gain-framed negotiators were more sensitive to equity and advantageous inequity than loss-framed negotiators whereas loss-framed negotiators were more sensitive to disadvantageous inequity than gain-framed negotiators. Our second set of models, which predicted satisfaction from individual and joint outcomes showed that, across all attributes of satisfaction, loss-framed negotiators were more sensitive to changes in joint outcomes than gain-framed negotiators. Finally, we showed that negotiators maximized their outcomes when they engaged in moderate levels of competition (offers, positional arguments). For gain-framed negotiators, an improvement in outcomes was associated with a reduction in competitiveness whereas for loss-framed negotiators an improvement in outcomes was associated with an increase in competitiveness.

A study of 498 employees in 51 nursing homes to analyze how they perceived their effect on decision making was carried out. Variables which indicated strong staff influence on patient care and management of employees giving that care included how often the staff met, how independent the administrators were in making decisions and whether the nursing assistants took part in the shift report. The staff's assessment of decision making was also associated with number of beds in the facility, ownership type and other structural features.

The spatiotemporal index (STI) is a measure of movement pattern stability exhibited over repeated performance of the same motor task (such as speech production). By incorporating repeated utterances across the [...], Purpose: The spatiotemporal index (STI) is a widely used approach for measuring speech pattern stability across multiple repetitions of a stimulus. In this study, we examine how methodological choices in the implementation of the STI (including the number of repetitions, length of stimuli, and parsing procedure) can affect its value. Method: To evaluate how each methodological decision affects the STI, we use a synthetic data framework that allows for the generation of random productions of the template phrase "Buy Bobby a Puppy" at different stability levels. Within this framework, we conduct three experiments: Experiment 1 investigates the effects of the number of repetitions, Experiment 2 investigates the effects of stimulus length, and Experiment 3 investigates the effects of parsing errors. Results: In Experiment 1, we observed that STI values based on fewer repetitions will systematically underestimate larger repetition estimates. Experiment 2 showed that STI values will tend to be higher when calculated on longer (multimovement) stimuli independent of any differences in the stability of the underlying speech patterns. Finally, in Experiment 3, we showed that even minor parsing errors ([approximately equal to] 10 ms) increase the value of the STI. Conclusions: The results of this study illustrate that even minor choices in the implementation of the STI can have a noticeable impact on the resulting value. These findings highlight the care that needs to be taken when designing studies and comparing STI values across studies to ensure that different STI values are capturing real differences in motion pattern stability rather than trivial methodological variation.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) subserves complex cognitive abilities, including risky decision-making; the modulation of this brain area is shown to alter the way people take risks. Yet, neuromodulation of the PFC in relation to risk-taking behavior remains relatively less well-studied. Moreover, the psychological variables that influence such neuromodulation remain poorly understood. To address these issues, 16 participants took part in 3 experimental sessions on separate days. They received: (i) left anodal-right cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); (ii) left cathodal-right anodal stimulation; or (iii) sham stimulation while they completed two risk-taking tasks. They also measured on several cognitive-affective abilities and personality traits. It was revealed that left cathodal-right anodal stimulation led to significantly reduced risk-taking under a context of haste. The reduction of risk-taking (relative to sham) correlated with state and trait impulsivity, such that the effect was larger in more impulsive individuals. For these individuals, the tDCS effect size was considered to be large (generalized partial η(2) > .17). The effect of prefrontal-neuromodulation in reducing risk-taking was influenced by baseline impulsivity, reflecting a state-dependent effect of neuromodulation on the PFC. The results of this study carry important insights into the use of neuromodulation to alter higher cognition.