A new interlink decision making index for making multi-criteria decisions

In this paper a mechanism that is the brain child of the authors, has been proposed to overcome the potential manipulation of results as a direct consequence of the applied weightings. It is known as the Interlink Decision Making Index

Piercing the decision-making sphere : happiness as the key to real shareholder participation

The purpose of this article is to explain why recent corporate governance reforms and initiatives proclaiming to enhance shareholder participation and elevate shareholder rights, do not go far enough. Indeed, it is suggested that corporate governance polices and reform programs, which have emerged across the world in response to a number of high-profile corporate collapses, act to re-emphasise the limited, 'passive' role which individual shareholders have traditionally experienced in public companies. Although increasing the amount information provided to shareholders about corporate decisions and strategies, and providing shareholders with a greater opportunity to participate in annual general meetings, do go some way in 'empowering' shareholders, it is argued that shareholders essentially remain passive observers, rather than becoming active participants. To become active participants, or corporate governance 'insiders " it is argued that corporate law needs to be directed at piercing the 'decision-making sphere' for individual shareholders in public companies. This involves accommodating an active role for shareholders in the actual decision-making processes of the corporation, rather than simply being informed of decisions that are made and being entitled to veto decisions at the annual general meeting. The second part of the article looks specifically at how the 'oppression' or 'unfair prejudice' remedy, the most commonly used shareholder remedy, is capable - if reformulated so that the pursuit of happiness, rather than vague notions of 'fairness' and 'justice' is the central objective of the remedy - of being used to influence a change of culture within public companies directed at facilitating an active participatory role for shareholders.

Parental decision-making surrounding complicated births: the impact on parent-infant and infant-marital relationships

This paper reviews current research regarding the impact of birth complications on parental decisionmaking, and the resulting effects on parent-infant and infant-marital relationships. It discusses the importance of informed decision-making on parental satisfaction of the birthing experience, and the benefits of certain strategies, such as kangaroo care, in the facilitation of greater levels of attachment and improved relationships. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research areas to focus on finding better ways to prepare and support parents in these situations, thus improving the quality of relationships between parents and with their child.

Strategic decision-making and emotions

Senior management decisions play a critical role not only in organizational performance but also in the competitiveness of Australia in the international arena. In this conceptual paper, I present a multi-level model of affect in strategic decision-making to understand the impact that emotions have on senior managements' decision-making processes. The aim of the model is to extent on current theory (specifically Affective Events Theory) to minimize the negative impact of emotions on decision-making to produce high quality decisions and, consequently, more effective and competitive organizations. Hypotheses, practical implications and future research opportunities are also discussed.

Toward incorporating human dimensions information into wildlife management decision-making

This paper presents a comparison of values of wildlife held by stakeholder groups and public samples in Victoria, Australia, with a sample of wildlife managers' beliefs about these groups. It also examines the managers' views of the importance of utilizing human dimensions information in their decision-making. In-depth interviews were conducted with wildlife/environmental managers in a sample of state and local government agencies and members of wildlife management stakeholder groups. Questionnaires were used to explore values of wildlife held by stakeholder group members and the Victorian public. There are several instances of interviewed managers misunderstanding the values held by stakeholder groups and subsets of the Victorian public. Such discrepancies can be reduced by incorporating systematically obtained human dimensions information into management decisions. Interviewed wildlife managers appear to appreciate the importance of human dimensions information; however, there was some uncertainty about how it could be applied.

Patients' decision-making strategies for managing postoperative pain

Despite technological advances, many postoperative patients continue to suffer unrelieved pain. The aim of this study was to identify the strategies used by postoperative patients to bring about pain management decisions. A single-group noncomparative study design was chosen using observations as the means of examining pain activities in 2 surgical units of a metropolitan teaching hospital in Melbourne, Australia. A total of 52 nurses and 312 patients participated in the study, and 316 pain activities were observed. The most common strategy used was patients acting as a passive recipient for pain relief (60%), whereas problem solving (23%) and active negotiation (17%) were less commonly used. Patients in this study were admitted for surgical treatment of a particular condition, and their subsequent pain was specifically related to this acute event. Therefore, the lack of familiarity of the situation and the severity of pain experienced may have encouraged passivity. Patients may have also felt uncertain about how to approach the pain decision, preferring to defer to nurses. Because increased pain levels can be associated with fear, patients could have been unwilling to speak with nurses to discuss their need for pain relief.

Do knowledge and experience have specific roles in triage decision-making?

Accuracy of triage decisions is a major influence on patient outcomes. Triage nurses' knowledge and experience have been cited as influential factors in triage decision-making. The aim of this article is to examine the independent roles of factual knowledge and experience in triage decisions. All of the articles cited in this review were research papers that examined the relationship between triage decisions and knowledge and/or experience of triage nurses. Numerous studies have shown that factual knowledge is an important factor in improving triage decisions. Although a number of studies have examined the role of experience as an independent influence on triage decisions, none have found a significant relationship between experience and triage decision-making. Factual knowledge appears to be more important than years of emergency nursing or triage experience in triage decision accuracy. Many triage education programs are underpinned by the assumption that knowledge acquisition will result in improved triage decisions. A better understanding of the relationships between clinical decisions, knowledge, and experience is pivotal for the rigorous evaluation of education programs.

A gaze through the lens of decision theory toward knowledge translation science

Research findings become evidence when an individual decides that the information is relevant and useful to a particular circumstance. Prior to that point, they are unrelated facts. For research translation to occur, research evidence needs filtering, interpretation, and application by individuals to the specific situation. For this reason, decision science is complementary to knowledge translation science. Both aim to support the individual in deciding the most appropriate action in a dynamic environment where there are masses of uncensored and nonprioritized information readily available. Decision science employs research theories to study the cognitive processes underpinning the filtering and integration of current scientific information into changing contexts. Two meta-theories, coherence and correspondence theories, have been used to provide alternative views and prompt significant debate to advance the science. The aim of this article is to stimulate debate about the relationship between decision theory and knowledge translation. Discussed is the critical role of cognition in clinical decision making, with a focus on knowledge translation. A critical commentary of the knowledge utilization modeling papers is presented from a decision science perspective. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications for knowledge translation when viewed through the lens of decision science.

Harm reduction and decision making among recreational ecstasy users

Recent research indicates that 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as ‘ecstasy’, is becoming increasingly popular as an illicit drug among young people. This study investigated risk and harm reduction practices among recreational ecstasy users. A semi-structured interview with 40 participants was designed to investigate how ecstasy users identify and manage the harms associated with their drug use, and the underlying decision-making process. Overall, the participants identified both positive and negative effects. The reported positive effects predominantly centred around enhanced psychological, physiological and social experiences. However, there were a number of factors that contributed to regulating ecstasy use. These included specific in-group and out-group practices executed within the peer group, preventative harm-reducing practices, shared decision making, and shared responsibility for harm prevention. Recommendations for promoting harm reduction strategies and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Cross-cultural differences in consumer decision-making styles

This article compares consumer decision-making styles between Singaporeans and Australians. Utilising Hofstede’s framework, the paper argues that cultural dimensions influence consumer decision making styles. It is essential that managers understand cross-cultural consumer decision-making styles to make strategic decisions or effectively handle members of these nationalities. Marked differences were found between the two populations for: brand consciousness, innovativeness and overchoice confusion. The results suggest that some consumer decision-making styles differ due to consumers’ cultural values. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.

Decision making effectiveness in wildfire incident management teams

During large scale wildfires, suppression activities are carried out under the direction of an Incident Management Team (IMT). The aim of the research was to increase understanding of decision processes potentially related to IMT effectiveness. An IMT comprises four major functions: Command, Operations, Planning, and Logistics. Four methodologies were used to study IMT processes: computer simulation experiments; analyses of wildfire reports; interviews with IMT members; and cognitive ethnographic studies of IMTs. Three processes were important determinants of IMT effectiveness: information management and cognitive overload; matching component function goals to overall goals; and team metacognition to detect and counter task-disruptive developments. These processes appear to be complex multi-person analogues of individual Incident Command processes identified previously. The findings have implications for issues such as: creating IMTs; training IMTs; managing IMTs; and providing decision support to IMTs.

Decision-making models used by `graduate nurses` managing patients` medications

Background. Nurses in a graduate programme in Australia are those who are in the first year of clinical practice following completion of a 3-year undergraduate nursing degree. When working in an acute care setting, they need to make complex and ever-changing decisions about patients' medications in a clinical environment affected by multifaceted, contextual issues. It is important that comprehensive information about graduate nurses' decision-making processes and the contextual influences affecting these processes are obtained in order to prepare them to meet patients' needs.
Aim. The purpose of this paper is to report a study that sought to answer the following questions: What are the barriers that impede graduate nurses' clinical judgement in their medication management activities? How do contextual issues impact on graduate nurses' medication management activities? The decision-making models considered were: hypothetico-deductive reasoning, pattern recognition and intuition.
Methods. Twelve graduate nurses who were involved in direct patient care in medical and surgical wards of a metropolitan teaching hospital located in Melbourne, Australia participated in the study. Participant observations were conducted with the graduate nurses during a 2-hour period during the times when medications were being administered to patients. Graduate nurses were also interviewed to elicit further information about how they made decisions about patients' medications.
Results. The most common model used was hypothetico-deductive reasoning, followed by pattern recognition and then intuition. The study showed that graduate nurses had a good understanding of how physical assessment affected whether medications should be administered or not. When negotiating treatment options, graduate nurses readily consulted with more experienced nursing colleagues and doctors.
Study limitations. It is possible that graduate nurses demonstrated a raised awareness of managing patients' medications as a consequence of being observed.
Conclusions. The complexity of the clinical practice setting means that graduate nurses need to adapt rapidly to make sound and appropriate decisions about patient care.