Decision-making in uncertain environments poses a conflict between the goals of exploiting past knowledge in order to maximize rewards and exploring less-known options in order to gather information. The descriptive modeling framework utilized in previous studies of exploratory choice behavior characterizes exploration as the result of a noisy decision process, rather than a process reflecting beliefs and/or uncertainty about the environment. It stands to reason that people do not merely negotiate the exploration-exploitation dilemma by stochastically making choices, but rather, fully utilize their knowledge of the environment structure and integrate their trial-by-trial observations of choice in order to direct exploratory choice. The work presented in this dissertation evaluates this hypothesis. As the previous used tasks structures and descriptive models obfuscate this more sophisticated form of belief-directed exploration, I describe a novel exploration-exploitation task that affords disentanglement of reflective belief-directed exploration strategy from a reflexive and naïve exploration strategy. The former strategy is distinguished from latter by its ability to update its belief states in the absence of direct observations of choice payoff changes. Accordingly, we specify cognitive models instantiating these two choice strategies and in the first experiment, we find evidence that behavior is by and large better characterized by a reflective strategy, and further, that choice latencies appear to index value computations carried out in implementing such a strategy. In a second experiment, I reveal how physiological arousal (measured by Skin Conductance Responses) appears to index a form of value computation similar to what is prescribed this reflective model, and further, how individual differences in physiological response to these value signals bear on choice behavior. In a third experiment, I demonstrate how this sophisticated form of choice behavior carries cognitive costs, and following the contemporary model-based/model-free reinforcement learning framework, I show how placing concurrent decision-makers under cognitive load diminishes the contribution of the more sophisticated reflective exploration strategy, fostering reliance on stochastic, reflexive form of exploratory choice behavior. / text

Austin is alleged to be more contentious than its peer cities with regard to land use decisions. Local blogs and media are critical of the city’s land development code and public processes and there is a perception of unfairness when it comes to changing the city’s zoning ordinance. This research explores land use decisions in Austin, El Paso, and Denver. I look at the level of conflict and the public processes in each city to understand the factors that may make Austin feel more contentious than other cities or if that heightened contentiousness is only the perception of an inherently controversial issue. Through the data collection I found that Austin does have many more changes proposed and granted to its zoning ordinance than its peer cities, likely because of how complicated and out-of-date the land development code is. The approval ratings are similarly high across all cities. This high number of changes, combined with an even higher number of zoning items posted to council agendas but then postponed, may be perpetuating a perception that the land use covenant between the citizens and the city is being amended more often than it should be. I also look at innovative ways that cities across the country are reducing conflict, or the perception of it, with regard to public input, code structures, and public education. With its approval of a new comprehensive plan, Austin is poised to rewrite its land development regulations. The city would likely benefit from exploring some of these, and other, creative solutions to these common municipal conflicts. / text

These qualitative case studies explore the experiences of leaders of local and international secondary schools in Hong Kong. The research questions guiding this study centre on Principal leadership during times of crisis and sought to explore how crisis was managed effectively and how if faced with a similar crisis could be improved. The author was interested in finding a similarity between the participant’s responses and whether external influences may have played a significant part their decision-making. The study also explores the relationship of leadership under crisis communication between Principal and staff and Principal and parents. The primary focus of this research is to understand if there was anything learnt during these crisis experiences among the participants as they relate to leadership development. The analysis of data resulted in the emergence of six primary themes: 1) the impact and extent of effective decision making under crises, 2) the quality of leadership after crisis experience and the ensuing consideration of what leadership means, 3) the role of teachers and administrators throughout the crisis, 4) the experiences related to improved leadership development and 5) correct communication among stakeholders, parents, students and staff. These themes were synthesized into three areas of discussion. First, the experiences and perspectives of the participants offer a unique, first hand, framework for exploring what leadership means in a time of crisis. Second, these same experiences begin to shed new light on the role of Principals in times of crisis. Third, the participants’ reflections on experiences related to leadership development provide a bridge between the ideas related to how leadership is learned and how these experiences become meaningful during times of crisis. The results reflect a need for further qualitative research into Principal crisis leadership as well as the opportunity to further examine the leadership role of educational leaders in crisis situations. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Background Breast cancer prevalence is increasing in most countries. Not only the threat of death and impact of breast cancer treatment, but also the participation roles during treatment decision making can be substantial, leading to psychological distress and poor quality of life. Previous studies have explored patients’ participation preference, the extent of participation congruence and related factors, revealing that women suffering from breast cancer may benefit from participation in treatment decision making whilst participation incongruity could be potentially detrimental for women with breast cancer. Objectives This study aimed to systematically review the literature and summarize the extent of breast cancer patients’ participation preference, participation congruence, and related factors. Methods Multiple searches for key words were conducted through electronic sources, including PubMed, PsycINFO, and Medline via Ovid databases for all relevant English language literature. Studies were selected basing on specific inclusion/exclusion criteria. The STROBE checklist was applied for reporting quality assessment. Results A total of 778 studies were identified. Twelve eligible studies were included in this review. Twelve factors relating to breast cancer women’s participation congruence in treatment decision making were identified as follows: age, nature of preferred role of treatment decision making, educational level, time related issues, language/ethnicity, marital status, information and recommendations of treatment, offering treatment options, physician characteristics, type of therapy or cancer program, stage of breast cancer, and surgeon volume. Conclusions Three themes (i.e. patient oriented, physician-patient interaction, and medical provision) of intervention points towards patient participation congruence were synthesized and discussed, and they were useful for improving the quality of existing breast cancer treatment decision making by addressing patient’s perceived participation congruence. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

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This thesis examines the use of information, particularly that of a technical kind, in decisions and policies in land use planning, and reports on empirical analysis on the making of development plan policies by local authority planning departments. The research examines the role of technical information in planning processes and starts by identifying different ideas put forward about the potential contribution of computerised systems to the provision of such information. It is concluded that the literature on decision processes in planning has a number of weaknesses in relation to how the use of information is understood. Research on the use of information in planning has found a complex picture which is at odds with many normative theories of planning. However, an empirically based theory of the use of technical information in planning, including that from computerised sources, is poorly developed. The thesis argues that the idea of a set of policy processes - structuring access, mode of debate and decision criteria in planning decisions - is a powerful analytical tool in understanding planning practice. Using this as a base, a conceptual framework relating these processes to information use is developed from the available literature and the findings from exploratory interviews. Through a set of six case studies oflocal authority planning departments the explanatory power of this framework is assessed. On the basis of this a refined framework is put forward and a final assessment made of it using a detailed analysis of the evolution and adoption of the policies in two development plans, the Wakefield Unitary Development Plan and the Lancashire Structure Plan. The research concludes that the use of technical information is heavily influenced by the regulatory nature of the British planning system, which places a focus on the justification of policies and gives greater importance to technical analysis in some situations than others. In development plan making the semi-judicial arena of the inquiry or examination in public is central. Information from computerised sources can playa distinctive role in planning but this is dependent on how it is incorporated into the policy processes through which decisions are made. Technical information and computerised analysis can play an important role in legitimating planning decision and shaping the evolution ofpolicies, but this can only be understood within a wider context of social and political processes.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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