scholarly journals Guest Editorial: The Space—Times of Decision Making

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 2801-2818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek P McCormack ◽  
Tim Schwanen

By way of an extended introduction to a theme issue on the space–times of decision making, this paper pursues two objectives. We first review some of the ways in which geographers—and especially economic geographers—have examined decision making over the past decades, showing that previous engagements with the decision are informed primarily by thinking from economics, psychology, and certain strands of sociology. Drawing on a wider range of intellectual resources, we then outline eight propositions that might guide future research by geographers and others into the space–times of decision making. These propositions help us to move beyond the idea that the decision is a singular moment abstracted from the context within which it takes place and undertaken by a discrete actor or set of actors. Instead the decision is understood as a differentiated, affectively registered, transformative, and ongoing actualisation of potential against a horizon of undecidability in which past, present, and future fold together in complex ways. A number of research questions follow from the outlined propositions: these pertain to the sites and techniques of decision making, its relationships to the governing of life, and our own decision-making practices as academics.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Feliciano Villar ◽  
Rodrigo Serrat ◽  
Michael W. Pratt

Abstract Research on later-life generativity has promoted a new view of older persons that, far from the traditional images of disability, dependence and frailty, recognises their capacities, and potential to continue growing, while underlining their participation and contributions to families, communities and society. The goal of this study was to carry out a scoping review on later-life generativity, the first one conducted on this topic as far as we know, to show how studies in this area have evolved, which aspects of generativity in later life have been studied, and the methodological and epistemological approaches that are dominant in this area of inquiry. Our scoping review shows that research into generativity in later life has grown steadily over the past 30 years, and particularly during the last decade. However, our results also show how such growing interest has focused on certain methodological approaches, epistemological frameworks and cultural contexts. We identify four critical gaps and leading-edge research questions that should be at the forefront of future research into generativity in later life, gaps that reflect biases in the existing literature identified in the study. These are classified as methodological, developmental, contextual and ‘dark-side’ gaps.


Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Hao Qinxia ◽  
Shah Nazir ◽  
Ma Li ◽  
Habib Ullah ◽  
Wang Lianlian ◽  
...  

The influential stage of Internet of Things (IoT) has reformed all fields of life in general but specifically with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has drawn the attention of researchers into a new paradigm of life standard. This revolution has been accepted around the globe for making life easier with the use of intelligent devices such as smart sensors, actuators, and many other devices. AI-enabled devices are more intelligent and capable of doing a specific task which saves a lot of resources and time. Different approaches are available in the existing literature to tackle diverse issues of real life based on AI and IoT systems. The role of decision-making has its own importance in the AI-enabled and IoT systems. In-depth knowledge of the existing literature is dire need of the research community to summarize the literature in effective way by which practitioners and researchers can benefit from the prevailing proofs and suggest new solutions for solving a particular problem of AI-enabled sensing and decision-making for the IoT system. To facilitate research community, the proposed study presents a systematic literature review of the existing literature, organizes the evidences in a systematic way, and then analyzes it for future research. The study reported the literature of the last 5 years based on the research questions, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and quality assessment of the selected study. Finally, derivations are drawn from the included paper for future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Leotta ◽  
Massimo Mecella ◽  
Daniele Sora ◽  
Tiziana Catarci

A smart space is an environment, mainly equipped with Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies, able to provide services to humans, helping them to perform daily tasks by monitoring the space and autonomously executing actions, giving suggestions and sending alarms. Approaches suggested in the literature may differ in terms of required facilities, possible applications, amount of human intervention required, ability to support multiple users at the same time adapting to changing needs. In this paper, we propose a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) that classifies most influential approaches in the area of smart spaces according to a set of dimensions identified by answering a set of research questions. These dimensions allow to choose a specific method or approach according to available sensors, amount of labeled data, need for visual analysis, requirements in terms of enactment and decision-making on the environment. Additionally, the paper identifies a set of challenges to be addressed by future research in the field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon L. Storch ◽  
Anna V. Ortiz Juarez-Paz

Use of media devices has evolved over the past 10–15 years and the resulting effects on family communication are of interest for this study. Through 26 semi-structured interviews, the authors sought to understand the role mobile devices play in family communication. Qualitative grounded theory analysis was used to find themes and interpret results (Creswell, 2013). One overarching paradoxical theme emerged from these data, family connect–family disconnect. In family connect, categories of across distance, reassurances, and boundaries are shared. Within family disconnect, distractions, misunderstandings, and negative emotional responses are conveyed. Future research avenues recommended are decision making related to mobile devices based on values and morals, in-depth social media and app usage, emoji emotional responses, individuals under 18 and between 18 and 30 years old, and a network analysis of one extended family.


Author(s):  
Michelangelo Vercesi

This chapter deals with the internal decision-making process of political executives in parliamentary systems, that is, how executives take their own collective decisions. The focus is on the cabinet system as a whole, including both cabinet members and other involved party-political and bureaucratic actors. In particular, the chapter reviews literature’s debates about the nature of cabinet government, the role of prime ministers, and variations of decision-making. A special attention is payed to factors explaining intra-cabinet power distribution and the choice of different decision-making arenas. After introducing the topic, an overview of conceptual issues and main research questions is provided. Subsequently, the work discusses the way in which scholars have addressed these issues and the findings they have reached. The final part stresses existing deficits and seeks to set the agenda for future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1773) ◽  
pp. 20180304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. Ewald ◽  
Holly A. Swain Ewald

Most known oncogenic viruses of humans use DNA as their genomic material. Research over the past quarter century has revealed that their oncogenicity results largely from direct interference with barriers to oncogenesis. In contrast to viruses that have been accepted causes of particular cancers, candidate viral causes tend to have fewer viral than cellular genomes in the tumours. These low viral loads have caused researchers to conclude that the associated viruses are not primary causes of the associated cancers. Consideration of differential survival, reproduction and infiltration of cells in a tumour suggest, however, that viral loads could be low even when viruses are primary causes of cancer. Resolution of this issue has important implications for human health because medical research tends to be effective at preventing and controlling infectious diseases. Mathematical models may clarify the problem and help guide future research by assessing whether low viral loads are likely outcomes of the differential survival, reproduction, and infiltration of cells in a tumour and, more generally, the extent to which viruses contribute to cancer. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Silent cancer agents: multi-disciplinary modelling of human DNA oncoviruses’.


Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 380
Author(s):  
Luis Diaz-Balteiro ◽  
Carlos Iglesias-Merchan ◽  
Carlos Romero ◽  
Silvestre García de Jalón

In recent years modern societies have attached a multifunctional requirement to the use of renewable resources, making their optimal sustainable management more complex. In the last decades, in many cases, this complexity is addressed by formulating management models with the help of the concepts and methods belonging to the well-known multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) paradigm. The purpose of this paper was to undertake a hermeneutic meta-analysis of the literature provided in primary journals on issues related to the management of these resources with the help of the MCDM paradigm. In this way, the paper aimed to obtain new, basic insights with considerations that might improve the efficiency of future research in the field studied. The meta-analysis was implemented by formulating and testing a battery of hypotheses of how the MCDM methods have been used in the past for the formulation of management models for the type of resource analyzed.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Dolnicar

Purpose This paper aims to provide a snapshot of key learnings about paid online peer-to-peer accommodation trading, as it relates to tourism and hospitality, and to identify future research questions. Design/methodology/approach The paper paints a picture and discusses research conducted in the past, which relates to paid online peer-to-peer accommodation, in brief. It also lists a number of specific research questions which should be investigated in future. Findings Some of the key topics, such as the business model of facilitators of peer-to-peer trading and the necessary regularly responses, have been extensively studied. The focus should now turn on how peer-to-peer trading of travel-related services can best be leveraged to the benefit of economies, communities and people. Originality/value The main value of this perspective paper lies in offering a succinct overview of research into paid online peer-to-peer accommodation and pointing to key questions for future research.


1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Duane Ireland ◽  
Philip M. Van Auken

Small business literature for the past ten years was examined and each piece categorized according to five dimensions. The results indicate some interesting trends and provide the basis for formulating research questions.


Management ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-198
Author(s):  
Dariusz Sobotkiewicz

Summary The aim of this elaboration is to recognize trends in management of multiple economic entities. The attention was focused on centralized and decentralized management system. This study has a theoretical and empirical character. It is based on the literature studies and the results of researches obtained by the representatives of the scientific community over the past ten years in centralization/decentralization of management in complex economic units. In addition, there are included the latest findings concerning the discussed issue in the mining industry, made by the author of the study. The elaboration demonstrates that the flexibility of the organizational structures of multiple economic entities is diversified and depends on the type of multiple organization. The more flexible structure, the greater tendency to decentralize management. There is also an attempt to define current trends in management of multiple organizations. The study also tries to answer the following research questions: in what direction heads the management of the complex economic units, so-called multiple economic entities? whether there is a tendency for centralization or decentralization of management? whether internal subsidiaries are carrying out ever larger scope of organic functions and decision-making powers or whether it is limited for them? The elaboration ends with a resume and a bibliography.


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