Heart beats and economic decisions : Observing mental stress in the ultimatum bargaining game

One aim of experimental economics is to try to better understand human economic decision making. Early research of the ultimatum bargaining game (Gueth et al., 1982) revealed that other motives than pure monetary reward play a role. Neuroeconomic research has introduced the recording of physiological observations as signals of emotional responses. In this study, we apply heart rate variability (HRV) measuring technology to explore the behaviour and physiological reactions of proposers and responders in the ultimatum bargaining game. Since this technology is small and non-intrusive, we are able to run the experiment in a standard experimental economic setup. We show that low o�ers by a proposer cause signs of mental stress in both the proposer and the responder, as both exhibit high ratios of low to high frequency activity in the HRV spectrum.

Supporting risk-informed decisions during business process execution

This paper proposes a technique that supports process participants in making risk-informed decisions, with the aim to reduce the process risks. Risk reduction involves decreasing the likelihood and severity of a process fault from occurring. Given a process exposed to risks, e.g. a financial process exposed to a risk of reputation loss, we enact this process and whenever a process participant needs to provide input to the process, e.g. by selecting the next task to execute or by filling out a form, we prompt the participant with the expected risk that a given fault will occur given the particular input. These risks are predicted by traversing decision trees generated from the logs of past process executions and considering process data, involved resources, task durations and contextual information like task frequencies. The approach has been implemented in the YAWL system and its effectiveness evaluated. The results show that the process instances executed in the tests complete with substantially fewer faults and with lower fault severities, when taking into account the recommendations provided by our technique.

Exo1 plays a major role in DNA end resection in humans and influences double-strand break repair and damage signaling decisions

The resection of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) to generate ssDNA tails is a pivotal event in the cellular response to these breaks. In the two-step model of resection, primarily elucidated in yeast, initial resection by Mre11-CtIP is followed by extensive resection by two distinct pathways involving Exo1 or BLM/WRN-Dna2. However, resection pathways and their exact contributions in humans in vivo are not as clearly worked out as in yeast. Here, we examined the contribution of Exo1 to DNA end resection in humans in vivo in response to ionizing radiation (IR) and its relationship with other resection pathways (Mre11-CtIP or BLM/WRN). We find that Exo1 plays a predominant role in resection in human cells along with an alternate pathway dependent on WRN. While Mre11 and CtIP stimulate resection in human cells, they are not absolutely required for this process and Exo1 can function in resection even in the absence of Mre11-CtIP. Interestingly, the recruitment of Exo1 to DNA breaks appears to be inhibited by the NHEJ protein Ku80, and the higher level of resection that occurs upon siRNA-mediated depletion of Ku80 is dependent on Exo1. In addition, Exo1 may be regulated by 53BP1 and Brca1, and the restoration of resection in BRCA1-deficient cells upon depletion of 53BP1 is dependent on Exo1. Finally, we find that Exo1-mediated resection facilitates a transition from ATM- to ATR-mediated cell cycle checkpoint signaling. Our results identify Exo1 as a key mediator of DNA end resection and DSB repair and damage signaling decisions in human cells.

Scheduling decisions and their dynamic consequences on construction performance

Construction practitioners often experience unexpected results of their scheduling-related decisions. This is mainly due to lack of understanding of the dynamic nature of construction system. However, very little attention has been given to its significant importance and few empirical studies have been undertaken on this issue. This paper, therefore, analyzes the effect of aggressive scheduling, overtime, resource adding, and schedule slippage on construction performance, focusing on workers’ reactions to those scheduling decisions. Survey data from 102 construction practitioners in 38 construction sites are used for the analysis. The results indicate that efforts to increase work rate by working overtime, resource adding, and aggressive scheduling can be offset due to losses in productivity and quality. Based on the research findings, practical guidelines are then discussed to help site managers to effectively deal with the dynamics of scheduling and improve construction performance.

Factors influencing funding decisions by elected politicians at the state/provincial level : a case study of public libraries in Canada

The purpose of this study was to determine factors (internal and external) that influenced Canadian provincial (state) politicians when making funding decisions about public libraries. Using the case study methodology, Canadian provincial/state level funding for public libraries in the 2009-10 fiscal year was examined. After reviewing funding levels across the country, three jurisdictions were chosen for the case: British Columbia's budget revealed dramatically decreased funding, Alberta's budget showed dramatically increased funding, and Ontario's budget was unchanged from the previous year. The primary source of data for the case was a series of semi-structured interviews with elected officials and senior bureaucrats from the three jurisdictions. An examination of primary and secondary documents was also undertaken to help set the political and economic context as well as to provide triangulation for the case interviews. The data were analysed to determine whether Cialdini's theory of influence (2001) and specifically any of the six tactics of influence (i.e, commitment and consistency, authority, liking, social proof, scarcity and reciprocity) were instrumental in these budget processes. Findings show the principles of "authority", "consistency and commitment" and "liking" were relevant, and that "liking" were especially important to these decisions. When these decision makers were considering funding for public libraries, they most often used three distinct lenses: the consistency lens (what are my values? what would my party do?), the authority lens (is someone with hierarchical power telling me to do this? are the requests legitimate?), and most importantly, the liking lens (how much do I like and know about the requester?). These findings are consistent with Cialdini's theory, which suggests the quality of some relationships is one of six factors that can most influence a decision maker. The small number of prior research studies exploring the reasons for increases or decreases in public library funding allocation decisions have given little insight into the factors that motivate those politicians involved in the process and the variables that contribute to these decisions. No prior studies have examined the construct of influence in decision making about funding for Canadian public libraries at any level of government. Additionally, no prior studies have examined the construct of influence in decision making within the context of Canadian provincial politics. While many public libraries are facing difficult decisions in the face of uncertain funding futures, the ability of the sector to obtain favourable responses to requests for increases may require a less simplistic approach than previously thought. The ability to create meaningful connections with individuals in many communities and across all levels of government should be emphasised as a key factor in influencing funding decisions.

Integration-segregation decisions under general value functions: "create your own bundle - choose 1, 2, or all 3!",

Whether to keep products segregated (e.g., unbundled) or integrate some or all of them (e.g., bundle) has been a problem of profound interest in areas such as portfolio theory in finance, risk capital allocations in insurance and marketing of consumer products. Such decisions are inherently complex and depend on factors such as the underlying product values and consumer preferences, the latter being frequently described using value functions, also known as utility functions in economics. In this paper, we develop decision rules for multiple products, which we generally call ‘exposure units’ to naturally cover manifold scenarios spanning well beyond ‘products’. Our findings show, e.g. that the celebrated Thaler's principles of mental accounting hold as originally postulated when the values of all exposure units are positive (i.e. all are gains) or all negative (i.e. all are losses). In the case of exposure units with mixed-sign values, decision rules are much more complex and rely on cataloging the Bell number of cases that grow very fast depending on the number of exposure units. Consequently, in the present paper, we provide detailed rules for the integration and segregation decisions in the case up to three exposure units, and partial rules for the arbitrary number of units.

The difficulty of establishing causation in medical negligence cases : two recent Australian decisions

This editorial on health and guardianship law provides an overview of the causation issues that precluded the recovery of two medical negligence claims in the cases of Wallace v Kam [2013] HCA 19 and Waller v James [2013] NSWSC 497.

Attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs underlying people’s curbside household waste recycling decisions

This study examined the beliefs underlying people’s decision-making, from a theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework, in the prediction of curbside household waste recycling. Community members in Brisbane, Australia (N = 148) completed a questionnaire assessing the belief based TPB measures of attitudinal beliefs (costs and benefits), normative beliefs (important referents), and control beliefs (barriers) in relation to engaging in curbside household waste recycling for a 2-week period. Two weeks later, participants completed self report measures of recycling behaviour for the previous fortnight. The results revealed that the attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs for people who performed higher and lower levels of recycling differed significantly. A regression analysis identified both normative and control beliefs as the main determinants of recycling behaviour. For normative beliefs, high level recyclers perceived more approval from referents such as partners, friends, and neighbours to recycle all eligible materials. In addition, the strong results for control beliefs indicated that barriers such as forgetfulness, lack of time, and laziness were rated as more likely to hamper optimal recycling performance for low level recyclers. These findings provide important applied information about beliefs to target in the development of future community recycling campaigns.

Does it matter whether friends, parents, or peers drink walk? Identifying which normative influences predict young pedestrian's decisions to walk while intoxicated

Drink walking, that is walking in a public place while intoxicated, is associated with increased risk of injury and fatality. Young people and males are especially prone to engaging in this behaviour, yet little is known about the factors associated with individual’s decisions to drink walk. The present research explores the role of different normative influences (friendship group norm, parent group norm, university peer group norm) and perceived risk, within an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework, in predicting young people’s self-reported drink walking intentions. One hundred and eighteen young people (aged 17-25 years) completed a survey including sociodemographic measures and extended TPB measures related to drink walking. Overall the extended TPB explained 72.8% of the variance in young people’s intentions to drink walk in the next six months with attitude, perceived behavioural control, friendship group norm, and gender (male) emerging as significant predictors. Males, as compared with females, had higher intentions to drink walk and lower perceptions of risk regarding drink walking. Together, these findings provide a clearer indication of the salient normative influences and gender differences in young pedestrian’s decisions to walk while intoxicated. Such findings can be used to inform future interventions designed to reduce injuries and fatalities associated with drink walking.

The role of the molecular footprint of EGFR in tailoring treatment decisions in NSCLC

The majority of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) present with advanced disease, with targeted therapies providing some improvement in clinical outcomes. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase (TK) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of NSCLC. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which target the EGFR TK domain, have proven to be an effective treatment strategy; however, patient responses to treatment vary considerably. Therefore, the identification of patients most likely to respond to treatment is essential to optimise the benefit of TKIs. Tumour-associated activating mutations in EGFR can identify patients with NSCLC who are likely to have a good response to TKIs. Nonetheless, the majority of patients relapse within a year of starting treatment. Studies of tumours at relapse have demonstrated expression of a T790M mutation in exon 20 of the EGFR TK domain in approximately 50% of cases. Although conferring resistance to reversible TKIs, these patients may remain sensitive to new-generation irreversible/panerb inhibitors. A number of techniques have been employed for genotypic assessment of tumourassociated DNA to identify EGFR mutations, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. This review presents an overview of the current methodologies used to identify such molecular markers. Recent developments in technology may make the monitoring of changes in patients' tumour genotypes easier in clinical practice, which may enable patients' treatment regimens to be tailored during the course of their disease, potentially leading to improved patient outcomes.

Bounded rationality and voting decisions over 160 years : voter behavior and increasing complexity in decision-making

Using a quasi-natural voting experiment encompassing a 160-year period (1848–2009) in Switzerland, we investigate whether a higher level of complexity leads to increased reliance on trusted parliamentary representatives. We find that when more referenda are held on the same day, constituents are more likely to refer to parliamentary recommendations when making their decisions. This finding holds true even when we narrow our focus to referenda with a relatively lower voter turnout on days on which more than one referendum is held. We also demonstrate that when constituents face a higher level of complexity, they follow the parliamentary recommendations rather than those of interest groups. "Viewed as a geometric figure, the ant’s path is irregular, complex, hard to describe. But its complexity is really a complexity in the surface of the beach, not a complexity in the ant." ([1] p. 51)

Make-Buy Decisions in the Face of Radical Innovations

Make-buy decisions are an important aspect of the overall strategic plans for most firms, and the introduction of a new and potentially radical technology into an industry should therefore be a cue for managers to review their make-buy policies. Should a company make in-house the components and processes underpinning the technology, or should it buy them from an outside supplier? Earlier attempts to answer this question may have failed to agree on a single verdict because they have overlooked two important market forces: supplier relations and industry clockspeed. Based on an intensive three-year study at the University of Cambridge which analyzed supply chain management practices from a broad range of manufacturers around the world, this book helps to resolve this classic technology outsourcing dilemma and gives managers the tools they will need to determine if they should make or buy the components and processes that go into a potentially radical innovation.

Birth control : to what extent do women report being informed and involved in decisions about pregnancy and birth procedures?

Background: Health policy, guidelines, and standards advocate giving patients comprehensive information and facilitating their involvement in health-related decision-making. Routine assessment of patient reports of these processes is needed. Our objective was to examine decision-making processes, specifically information provision and consumer involvement in decision-making, for nine pregnancy, labour, and birth procedures, as reported by maternity care consumers in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Participants were women who had a live birth in Queensland in a specified time period and were not found to have had a baby that died since birth, who completed the extended Having a Baby in Queensland Survey, 2010 about their maternity care experiences, and who reported at least one of the nine procedures of interest. For each procedure, women answered two questions that measured perceived (i) receipt of information about the benefits and risks of the procedure and (ii) role in decision-making about the procedure. Results: In all, 3,542 eligible women (34.2%) completed the survey. Between 4% (for pre-labour caesarean section) and 60% (for vaginal examination) of women reported not being informed of the benefits and risks of the procedure they experienced. Between 2% (epidural) and 34% (episiotomy) of women reported being unconsulted in decision-making. Over one quarter (26%) of the women who experienced episiotomy reported being neither informed nor consulted. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for interventions that facilitate information provision and consumer involvement in decision-making about several perinatal procedures, especially those performed within the time-limited intrapartum care episode.

Greener workplace : understanding senior management's adoption decisions through the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Human Resources (HR) policies and practices have changed due to global environmental instability. These policies and practices are key factors for successful environmental management. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this article aims to understand the critical factors which influence senior management’s decision to adopt ‘green’ HR practices. Data were collected from 210 organisations in Australia using two separate surveys. Survey one, which was addressed directly to HR managers and directors, contained questions relating to HR policies (the dependent variables), while survey two, which was addressed directly to CEOs and senior managers, contained questions about environmental-related attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control (the independent variables). Results indicated that senior management’s environmental-related attitudes, subjective norms from stakeholders and perceived green resource readiness influenced their decision to adopt green HR initiatives. However, attitudes and green resource readiness in particular had greater impacts than subjective norms. Limitations, implications and future research are also outlined.

The influence of teachers on students' decisions about choosing science : comparing student and teacher perceptions

This paper reports results from a study comparing teachers’ and students’ perceptions about the relative degree of influence parents, teachers, friends, older students and careers advisors have on students’ decisions about enrolling in non-compulsory high school science subjects. The comparison was carried out as part of the Choosing Science project - a large-scale Australian study of 15 year-old students’ experiences of school science and intentions regarding further participation. The study found that students considered their science teachers to have had the greatest influence, followed by parents and then friends. In contrast, however, science teachers believed their students to be most influenced in their decisions by friends and peers, followed by older students and siblings and parents, with teachers themselves having relatively little influence. Both groups believed that advice from careers advisors was of little influence. The findings are unique in the science education literature in providing an insight into differences and similarities in the perceptions of students and their teachers. In particular they indicate that teachers play a far greater role in students’ decisions about enrolling in science than they believe. This has important implications for science teachers and teacher educators in terms of appreciating their influence and applying it in ways that encourage participation in science courses.