No description available.

This dissertation aims to expand the current one-dimensional game theory based model to a multidimensional model for multi-actor predictive analytics and generalize the concept of position to address problems where actors’ positions are distributed over a position spectrum. The one-dimensional models are used for the problems where actors are interacting in a single issue space only. This is less than an ideal assumption since, in most cases, players’ strategies may depend on the dynamics of multiple issues when dealing with other players. In this research, the one-dimensional model is expanded to N-Dimensional model by considering different positions, and separate salience values, across different axes for the players. The model predicts the outcome for a given problem by taking into account stakeholder’s positions in different dimensions and their conflicting perspectives. Furthermore, we generalize the concept of position in the model to include continuous positions for the actors throughout the position spectrum, enabling them to have more flexibility in defining their targets. We explore different possible functions to study the role of the position function and discuss appropriate distance measures for computing the distance between positions of actors. The proposed models are able to attain the same results as the previous one-dimensional models. In addition, to illustrate the capability of the proposed models, multiple case studies are designed and examined to assess the models’ capability and explainability.

yes / In modern chemical plants, it is essential to establish an effective maintenance strategy which will deliver financially driven results at optimised conditions, that is, minimum cost and time, by means of a criticality review of equipment in maintenance. In this article, a fuzzy logic-based criticality assessment system (FCAS) for the management of a local company’s equipment maintenance is introduced. This fuzzy system is shown to improve the conventional crisp criticality assessment system (CCAS). Results from case studies show that not only can the fuzzy logic-based system do what the conventional crisp system does but also it can output more criticality classifications with an improved reliability and a greater number of different ratings that account for fuzziness and individual voice of the decision-makers.

No description available.

<p>Decision-making groups use various resources that individual members possess such as knowledge, expertise, and information. Yet, little research addresses how individual members’ sensory experiences affect group deliberation processes. The current dissertation examines the effects of an individual’s prior sensory experience on group decision making. Drawing upon social decision schemes, it was hypothesized that the experiencedmember would be more influential in the group decision-making process than unexperienced members and that the experienced member’s decision is predictive of their group’s decision, referring to this decision scheme as the sensoryexperience rule. Two remote lab-based experiments were conducted in which participants met over Zoom and were asked to select an auditory option given a specific purpose (e.g., as background music for a hotel site). Each member was provided a verbal description of each of the provided auditory alternatives. Unlike the unexperienced members, the experienced member could also listen to the provided audio samples. In both studies, the sensory experience ruledescribed group choices well including situations in which the experienced member’s choice contradicted the majority’s choice in the group. Experienced members were perceived to use more credible, but not more vivid, narratives. Analyses of group discussions revealed that experienced members spoke more and were using a larger number of auditory expressions and metaphors than unexperienced members. Their narratives contained a smaller number of first-person singular pronouns and tended reflect lower spontaneity and cognitive processing. The studies underline the impact of sensory experience in group decision making that is different from general knowledge and expertise studied in previous research.</p>

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第23941号 / 農博第2490号 / 新制||農||1090(附属図書館) / 学位論文||R4||N5376(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科生物資源経済学専攻 / (主査)准教授 三谷 羊平, 教授 伊藤 順一, 教授 梅津 千恵子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

This research explores the process by which individual buying decisions are modified as a result of group discussion to arrive at a buying center decision. Existing evidence shows that, in some cases, group decisions are more cautious than those of individuals while in other situations they are more risky. The objective of this paper is to examine how individual buying center member choices are formed, how these choices and preferences are influenced by group discussion, and how the purchase decision context influences the riskiness of individual versus group purchasing discussions. One of the key concepts from prospect theory that guides an individual buying decision is the decision frame. However, little is known about how the decision frame of multiple individuals coming together to discuss a decision issue affects the group's overall decision. This research develops a model which describes (1) how an organizational buyer's individual choice is formed, (2) how the influence processes that transpire during buying center discussion changes those choices resulting in a different buying center choice, and (3) explores how the purchasing context may impact these processes. The model was tested in two controlled laboratory experiments in which 256 undergraduate business students made supplier selection decisions both individually and in groups based on information contained in four hypothetical procurement scenarios. The results were analyzed using a partially confounded experimental analysis of variance procedure and a series of t tests which tend to provide Support for the model. Specifically, the findings suggest that the decision frame used by individual buyers combined with group influence affects buying center choices. However, contrary to the predictions offered by prospect theory, when decision were framed as a gain, buyers selected the risky supplier and when decisions were framed as a loss, buyers selected the cautious supplier. For this study, no evidence was found to support the notion that group discussion intensifies the effect of the decision frame. Finally, whether the procurement is goods- or service-based seems to impact the effect of influence on the polarization of the buying centers choice. / Ph. D.

The Quaker tradition of consensus decision-making provides a provocative approach to internal governance in Quaker related colleges and universities. Guilford College, a small, private, liberal arts college with Quaker roots in Greensboro, North Carolina, employs the consensus model in college governance. Guilford College recently used the consensual model while developing a policy on open source containers of alcohol, particularly small kegs of beer, in College residence halls. This research project of the consensual process at Guilford College used qualitative research methods and examined the extent to which the consensual process was actually employed in a particular policy making event. A written summary of the actual case was developed followed by a series of interviews with students, administrators, and staff. These interviews were targeted at assessing the extent to which consensus decision-making was used to create the policy permitting open source containers of beer in the residence halls. The research project findings indicate that Guilford College employs elements of the consensual model in student affairs policy making while there also exists elements of a more bureaucratic model. While not indicative of true Quaker consensus decision-making as indicated by the literature in this area, many of the anticipated outcomes associated with consensus decision-making are exhibited by the participants of this particular consensual process. The findings offer, for student affairs practitioners at colleges and universities, a provocative model of alternative decision-making in working with students. Additional research about the effects of consensual decision-making on student learning and personal growth would be helpful to student affairs professionals as they continue their work with college students. / Master of Arts

The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is a group decision making process which was developed to minimize the process losses of the traditional, interacting method. While proven to be superior to the widely-used interacting method by earlier research studies, NGT does not appear in the school administration literature as a useful technique for participatory problem solving. Because the original NGT can take one or more hours to complete, the assumption was tested that NGT could be made more useful to school administrators if it were modified for use into two brief sessions on successive days. This study modifies the NGT process by dividing the phases of the process into brief, two day sessions. The NGT problem question was a problem identification task of identifying major teacher stressors in an elementary school setting. This study is a post-test only, control group design involving 36 elementary school teachers. Dependent measures were (1) the perceived satisfaction of participants with the processes and outcomes, and (2) the similarity of responses generated by NGT and modified NGT (MNGT) groups. Similarity of response data were analyzed using a chi-square test, and satisfaction data were analyzed by applying at-test. Conclusions of this study were that NGT and MNGT yield similar results with regard to participant satisfaction and similarity of responses. As a result of this study, school administrators have access to a reliable process for obtaining in-put from the total faculty within the contractual school day. / Doctor of Education

There has been increasing research interest in recent years in using the power of computers to support group work. There have been two main areas of research: experimental research into GDSS supported group work in laboratory settings, and research designed to develop GDSSs which are effective, efficient and acceptable to their users. However, there have been some contradictory findings from these two areas of research. The developmental effort has shown great promise in relatively controlled developmental settings. At the same time, experimental research has indicated that GDSSs may not provide the hoped for increases in effectiveness and efficiency while being accepted by their users. This study has attempted to clarify this situation by using a field study to assess the implementation of a GDSS in an operational environment. The setting for this study was a large engineering and manufacturing site of a large electronics company. A GDSS which had been developed at the University of Arizona was installed at the host company's site, and it was assessed for the first nine months of its use. Results indicate that the system was perceived to be effective, efficient and acceptable for use by its intended users.