Information and Its Value

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-31
Author(s):  
J. Michael Dunn ◽  
Amos Golan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Value Of Information ◽  
A Value ◽  
Concept Of Information

In this chapter, we are interested in understanding the nature of information and its value. We focus on information that is used for making decisions, including related activities such as constructing models, performing inferences, and making predictions. Our discussion is mostly qualitative, and it touches on certain aspects of information as related to the sender, receiver, and a possible observer. Although our emphasis is on shedding more light on the concept of information for making decisions, we are not concerned here with the exact details of the decision process, or information processing itself. In addition to discussing information, our expedition takes us through the traditional notions of utility, prices, and risk, all of which, under certain conditions, relate to the value of information. Our main conclusion is that the value of information (used in decision making) is relative and subjective. Since information is relative, it can have more than one value, say a value for the sender, a value for the receiver, or even different values for different senders and receivers, and various values for various “eavesdroppers.” Of course, the value might be zero for any of these. Importantly, that value is inversely related to risk when the information is used for decision making. Although this conclusion is likely expected, we did argue for it in a way that relies on some fundamentals about both value and information.

Are negative and positive reviews regarding apparel fit influential?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eonyou Shin ◽  
Telin Chung ◽  
Mary Lynn Damhorst
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Purchase Decision ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Consumers ◽  
Online Purchase ◽  
Apparel Product

PurposeThe purpose of the current study is to explore how valenced fit reviews affect the consumer decision-making process during online apparel shopping.Design/methodology/approachA single factor (valence of fit review) within-subject experimental design was employed to examine how the valenced fit review (negative vs positive) affects the consumer online purchase decision process. A mock website was created to simulate the online shopping environment through four steps for developing a stimulus website for the main study. The data were analyzed using repeated multivariate analysis of variance and structural equation modeling.FindingsA total of 418 female consumers completed an online self-administrated survey. Results showed that positive fit review was more compelling than negative fit review for female consumers when they like the apparel product. Two aspects of information credibility (review and site credibility) and confidence in purchase decision evoked by both fit reviews and overall product information were significant determinants of the consumer purchase decision process in increasing consumers’ future purchase intentions through attitude to the online retailer.Originality/valueThe current study was an attempt to fill the gap in knowledge regarding the crucial role of fit reviews in apparel product purchase decisions in an online context. This study confirmed the type of fit reviews that would be influential on female consumers’ online purchase decision-making process for apparel products when they liked the apparel product, supporting positive confirmation bias from the information processing point of view. This study contributed to the importance of the two concepts (i.e. credibility and confidence in the purchase decision) in online information processing and purchase decision-making process.

Simulation Model Refinement for Decision Making Via a Value-of-Information Based Metric

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitesh H. Panchal ◽  
Christiaan J. J. Paredis ◽  
Janet K. Allen ◽  
Farrokh Mistree
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Simulation Model ◽  
Value Of Information ◽  
Design Space ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Model Refinement ◽  
Physical Behavior ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Difference

Since no simulation model is perfect, any simulation model for modeling a system’s physical behavior can be refined further. Hence, the question faced by a designer is — “How much refinement of a simulation model is adequate for a particular design problem?” To answer this question, we present a value-of-information based approach for determining the appropriate extent of refinement of simulation models. The value of additional information obtained via refinement of simulation models is measured as the difference between the maximum payoff that could possibly be achieved throughout the design space and the minimum possible payoff at the point in the design space selected using the simple model. The approach is presented using two examples — design of a pressure vessel and the design of a material.

Medicare Part D Beneficiaries’ Plan Switching Decisions and Information Processing

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 721-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayoung Han ◽  
Julie Urmie
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Medicare Part D ◽  
Medicare Part ◽  
Part D ◽  
Process Understanding ◽  
Plan Selection ◽  
Concept Of Information ◽  
Extensive Involvement ◽  
Current Plan

Medicare Part D beneficiaries tend not to switch plans despite the government’s efforts to engage beneficiaries in the plan switching process. Understanding current and alternative plan features is a necessary step to make informed plan switching decisions. This study explored beneficiaries’ plan switching using a mixed-methods approach, with a focus on the concept of information processing. We found large variation in beneficiary comprehension of plan information among both switchers and nonswitchers. Knowledge about alternative plans was especially poor, with only about half of switchers and 2 in 10 nonswitchers being well informed about plans other than their current plan. We also found that helpers had a prominent role in plan decision making—nearly twice as many switchers as nonswitchers worked with helpers for their plan selection. Our study suggests that easier access to helpers as well as helpers’ extensive involvement in the decision-making process promote informed plan switching decisions.

scholarly journals Urgency, Leakage, and the Relative Nature of Information Processing in Decision-making

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Trueblood ◽  
Andrew Heathcote ◽  
Nathan J. Evans ◽  
William R. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Gating Model ◽  
Simplifying Assumptions

AbstractOver the last decade, there has been a robust debate in decision neuroscience and psychology about what mechanism governs the time course of decision making. Historically, the most prominent hypothesis is that neural architectures accumulate information over time until some threshold is met, the so-called Evidence Accumulation hypothesis. However, most applications of this theory rely on simplifying assumptions, belying a number of potential complexities. Is changing stimulus information perceived and processed in an independent manner or is there a relative component? Does urgency play a role? What about evidence leakage? Although the latter questions have been the subject of recent investigations, most studies to date have been piecemeal in nature, addressing one aspect of the decision process or another. Here we develop a modeling framework, an extension of the Urgency Gating Model, in conjunction with a changing information experimental paradigm to simultaneously probe these aspects of the decision process. Using state-of-the-art Bayesian methods to perform parameter-based inference, we find that 1) information processing is relative with early information influencing the perception of late information, 2) time varying urgency and evidence accumulation are of roughly equal importance in the decision process, and 3) leakage is present with a time scale of ~200-250ms. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study to utilize a changing information paradigm to jointly and quantitatively estimate the temporal dynamics of human decision-making.

A Value-of-Information Framework for Personalizing the Timing of Surveillance Testing

2021 ◽  
pp. 0272989X2110492
Author(s):  
Aasthaa Bansal ◽  
Patrick J. Heagerty ◽  
Lurdes Y. T. Inoue ◽  
David L. Veenstra ◽  
Charles J. Wolock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Value Of Information ◽  
Patient Monitoring ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
A Value ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Frequent Testing ◽  
Personalized Risk ◽  
Time Point

Background Patient surveillance using repeated biomarker measurements presents an opportunity to detect and treat disease progression early. Frequent surveillance testing using biomarkers is recommended and routinely conducted in several diseases, including cancer and diabetes. However, frequent testing involves tradeoffs. Although surveillance tests provide information about current disease status, the complications and costs of frequent tests may not be justified for patients who are at low risk of progression. Predictions based on patients’ earlier biomarker values may be used to inform decision making; however, predictions are uncertain, leading to decision uncertainty. Methods We propose the Personalized Risk-Adaptive Surveillance (PRAISE) framework, a novel method for embedding predictions into a value-of-information (VOI) framework to account for the cost of uncertainty over time and determine the time point at which collection of biomarker data would be most valuable. The proposed sequential decision-making framework is innovative in that it leverages the patient’s longitudinal history, considers individual benefits and harms, and allows for dynamic tailoring of surveillance intervals by considering the uncertainty in current information and estimating the probability that new information may change treatment decisions, as well as the impact of this change on patient outcomes. Results When applied to data from cystic fibrosis patients, PRAISE lowers costs by allowing some patients to skip a visit, compared to an “always test” strategy. It does so without compromising expected survival, by recommending less frequent testing among those who are unlikely to be treated at the skipped time point. Conclusions A VOI-based approach to patient monitoring is feasible and could be applied to several diseases to develop more cost-effective and personalized strategies for ongoing patient care. Highlights In many patient-monitoring settings, the complications and costs of frequent tests are not justified for patients who are at low risk of disease progression. Predictions based on patient history may be used to individualize the timing of patient visits based on evolving risk. We propose Personalized Risk-Adaptive Surveillance (PRAISE), a novel method for personalizing the timing of surveillance testing, where prediction modeling projects the disease trajectory and a value-of-information (VOI)–based pragmatic decision-theoretic framework quantifies patient- and time-specific benefit-harm tradeoffs. A VOI-based approach to patient monitoring could be applied to several diseases to develop more personalized and cost-effective strategies for ongoing patient care.

“Little Plants in the Country”: Henry Ford's Village Industries and the Beginning of Decentralized Technology in Modern America

Prospects ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 181-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard P. Segal
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
New York ◽  
Information Processing ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
New York Times ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical Proximity ◽  
The World ◽  
Word Processors

“Technology Spurs Decentralization Across the Country.” So reads a 1984 New York Times article on real-estate trends in the United States. The contemporary revolution in information processing and transmittal now allows large businesses and other institutions to disperse their offices and other facilities across the country, even across the world, without loss of the policy- and decision-making abilities formerly requiring regular physical proximity. Thanks to computers, word processors, and the like, decentralization has become a fact of life in America and other highly technological societies.

Evaluation of inspection features including exposure risk using a value of information analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-58
Author(s):  
Domenic Di Francesco ◽  
Marios Chryssanthopoulos ◽  
Michael Havbro Faber ◽  
Ujjwal Bharadwaj
Keyword(s):  
Value Of Information ◽  
Information Analysis ◽  
Exposure Risk ◽  
Value Of Information Analysis ◽  
A Value
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