Analysis of variables that are not directly observable: influence on decision-making during the research process

The sample dimension, types of variables, format used for measurement, and construction of instruments to collect valid and reliable data must be considered during the research process. In the social and health sciences, and more specifically in nursing, data-collection instruments are usually composed of latent variables or variables that cannot be directly observed. Such facts emphasize the importance of deciding how to measure study variables (using an ordinal scale or a Likert or Likert-type scale). Psychometric scales are examples of instruments that are affected by the type of variables that comprise them, which could cause problems with measurement and statistical analysis (parametric tests versus non-parametric tests). Hence, investigators using these variables must rely on suppositions based on simulation studies or recommendations based on scientific evidence in order to make the best decisions.

Skill, Luck, Overconfidence, and Risk Taking

In most naturally occurring situations, success depends on both skill and chance. We compare experimental market entry decisions where payoffs depend on skill alone and combinations of skill and luck. We find more risk taking with skill and luck as opposed to skill alone, particularly for males, and little overconfidence. Our data support an explanation based on differential attitudes toward luck by those whose self-assessed skills are low and high. Making luck more important induces greater optimism for the former, while the latter maintain a belief that high levels of skill are sufficient to overcome the vagaries of chance.

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Spring 2004

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Summer 2006

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Fall 2004

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Fall 2005

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Summer 2005

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Spring 2005

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Winter 2006

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Fresh News; The Farmers' Market Newsletter, Spring 2006

Newsletter produced by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

A Atitude do Contabilista perante Dilemas Éticos

Casos de fraudes têm ocorrido, frequentemente no mercado mundial. Diversos são os profissionais envolvidos nesses casos, inclusive os da contabilidade. Os escândalos contabilísticos, especialmente os mais famosos, como os incidido nas empresas Enron e Wordcom, acenderam para uma maior preocupação em relação a conduta ética dos profissionais da contabilidade. Como consequência há uma maior exigência quanto a transparência e a fidedignidade das informações prestadas por estes profissionais. Esta preocupação visa, sobretudo, manter a confiança das empresas, investidores, fornece-dores e sociedade em geral, de entre outras, na responsabilidade ética do contabilista, de-negrida pelo envolvimento nas fraudes detectadas. Desta forma, o presente estudo teve como objectivo verificar a conduta ética dos contabilistas, quando, no exercício da sua profissão, depararem com questões relacionadas a fraudes. Nesse sentido considerou-se factores que podem vir a influenciar o processo decisório ético de um indivíduo, demonstrados através do modelo de tomada de decisão, desenvolvido por Alves, quanto a motivar um indivíduo a cometer uma fraude, evidenciada através do modelo desenvolvido por Cressey. Tentando responder a questão norteadora desta pesquisa, executou-se a análise descritiva e estatística dos dados. Em relação a análise descritiva, foram elaboradas tabelas de frequência. Para a análise estatística dos dados foi utilizado o teste não paramétrico de Spearman. Os resultados demonstraram que a maioria dos contabilistas, da amostra pesquisada, reconhece a questão moral inserida nos cenários, e discordam dos actos dos agentes de cada cenário, e, ainda os classificam como graves ou muito graves. A pesquisa revelou maior aproximação desses profissionais a corrente teleológica, uma vez que a intenção de agir é mais influenciada por alguns factores como a oportunidade, a racionalização e principalmente a pressão. Alguns factores individuais apresentam influências sob o posicionamento ético dos contabilistas entrevistados nesta pesquisa. Cases of fraud have occurred, in the word market. Several are involved in these cases, including the accounting class. The accounting scandals, especially the most famous, such as focusing on companies and Enron Word Com, kindled to greater concern about the ethical conduct of professional accounting. As a result there is a greater demand on the transparency and reliability of information provide by these professionals This concern is aimed, primarily, to maintain the confidence of businesses, investor, suppliers and society, among others, the ethical responsibility of the meter, denigrated, by involvement in the fraud detected. Thus, this study aimed to verify the ethical conduct of accounts in when, in the exercise of their professional activities, is confronted with issues related to fraud. This is considered some factors that can both come to influence the ethical decision making of an individual, demonstrated by the model of decision making, developed by Alves, as a motivated individual to commit a fraudulent act, developed by Cressey. Seeking to answer question, guiding this study, performed to exploratory and confirmatory analysis of data. For exploratory data analysis were made table of frequencies. For confirmatory analysis of data, were used non parametric tests of Spearman. The results showed that the majority of accountings professionals, the sample, recognizing the moral issue included in the scenarios, disagrees the acts of agents of each scenario, and also classifies such acts as serious and very serious. However, we found that these accounting professionals tend to have a position more toward the teleological theory, since the intention to act is influenced by factors as opportunity, rationalization and particularly the pressure. Some individual factors also had influence on the ethical position of the professional interviewed is this research.

Importância da Programação Linear na Determinação de Informações de Gestão - Caso Moave, Sa

A Investigação Operacional vem demonstrando ser uma valiosa ferramenta de gestão nos dias de hoje em que se vive num mercado cada vez mais competitivo. Através da Programação Linear pode-se reproduzir matematicamente um problema de maximização dos resultados ou minimização dos custos de produção com o propósito de auxiliar os gestores na tomada de decisão. A Programação Linear é um método matemático em que a função objectivo e as restrições assumem características lineares, com diversas aplicações no controlo de gestão, envolvendo normalmente problemas de utilização dos recursos disponíveis sujeitos a limitações impostas pelo processo produtivo ou pelo mercado. O objectivo geral deste trabalho é o de propor um modelo de Programação Linear para a programação ou produção e alocação de recursos necessários. Optimizar uma quantidade física designada função objectivo, tendo em conta um conjunto de condicionalismos endógenas às actividades em gestão. O objectivo crucial é dispor um modelo de apoio à gestão contribuindo assim para afectação eficiente de recursos escassos à disposição da unidade económica. Com o trabalho desenvolvido ficou patente a importância da abordagem quantitativa como recurso imprescindível de apoio ao processo de decisão. The operational research has proven to be a valuable management tool today we live in an increasingly competitive market. Through Linear Programming can be mathematically reproduce a problem of maximizing performance or minimizing production costs in order to assist managers in decision making. The Linear Programming is a mathematical method in which the objective function and constraints are linear features, with several applications in the control of management, usually involving problems of resource use are available subject to limitations imposed by the production process or the market. The overall objective of this work is to propose a Linear Programming model for scheduling or production and allocation of necessary resources. Optimizing a physical quantity called the objective function, given a set of endogenous constraints on management thus contributing to efficient allocation of scarce resources available to the economic unit. With the work has demonstrated the importance of the quantitative approach as essential resource to support the decision process.

Decision-making in lumbar spinal stenosis: A survey on the influence of the morphology of the dural sac.

Surgical decision-making in lumbar spinal stenosis involves assessment of clinical parameters and the severity of the radiological stenosis. We suspected that surgeons based surgical decisions more on dural sac cross-sectional area (DSCA) than on the morphology of the dural sac. We carried out a survey among members of three European spine societies. The axial T2-weighted MR images from ten patients with varying degrees of DSCA and morphological grades according to the recently described morphological classification of lumbar spinal stenosis, with DSCA values disclosed in half the assessed images, were used for evaluation. We provided a clinical scenario to accompany the images, which were shown to 142 responding physicians, mainly orthopaedic surgeons but also some neurosurgeons and others directly involved in treating patients with spinal disorders. As the primary outcome we used the number of respondents who would proceed to surgery for a given DSCA or morphological grade. Substantial agreement among the respondents was observed, with severe or extreme stenosis as defined by the morphological grade leading to surgery. This decision was not dependent on the number of years in practice, medical density or specialty. Disclosing the DSCA did not alter operative decision-making. In all, 40 respondents (29%) had prior knowledge of the morphological grading system, but their responses showed no difference from those who had not. This study suggests that the participants were less influenced by DSCA than by the morphological appearance of the dural sac. Classifying lumbar spinal stenosis according to morphology rather than surface measurements appears to be consistent with current clinical practice.