Risk-Based Analysis and Decision Making in Multi-Disciplinary Environments

Author(s):  
Martin S. Feather ◽  
Steven L. Cornford ◽  
Kelly Moran

A risk-based decision-making process conceived of and developed at JPL and NASA, has been used to help plan and guide novel technology applications for use on spacecraft. These applications exemplify key challenges inherent in multidisciplinary design of novel technologies deployed in mission-critical settings: 1) Cross-disciplinary concerns are numerous (e.g., spacecraft involve navigation, propulsion, telecommunications). These concerns are cross-coupled and interact in multiple ways (e.g., electromagnetic interference, heat transfer). 2) Time and budget pressures constrain development, operational resources constrain the resulting system (e.g., mass, volume, power). 3) Spacecraft are critical systems that must operate correctly the first time in only partially understood environments, with no chance for repair. 4) Past experience provides only a partial guide: New mission concepts are enhanced and enabled by new technologies, for which past experience is lacking. The decision-making process rests on quantitative assessments of the relationships between three classes of information-objectives (the things the system is to accomplish and constraints on its operation and development), risks (whose occurrence detracts from objectives), and mitigations (options for reducing the likelihood and/or severity of risks). The process successfully guides experts to pool their knowledge, using custom-built software to support information gathering and decision-making.

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Bushra Mahadin

Purpose-This paper aims to investigate factors that affect customer switching from Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEV’s) to Hybrid Electrical Vehicles (HEV’s), in Jordan for the period of (2010-2014).Design/methodology/approach-A self-administered survey was hand-delivered to the targeted sample of car users in Jordan. The authors delivered 400 questionnaires to customers, from which 333 were deemed valid for the analysis, corresponding to the percentage of (83.25%) which indicates the validity of the study. Findings- There was no difference in switching behavior between (ICEV’s) and (HEV’s) based on gender in the Jordanian market. Fuel consumption efficiency was the number one variable that supports the switching behavior towards (HEV's), followed by Eco friendliness, lower taxes and technological features. Price and the current trend in the market were the least supporting factors. In addition to that the perception of the battery life of (HEV's), limited choices in the market, lack of information and fear of the relatively new technology were the major hindering factors of choosing an (HEV).Research limitations-Future research needs to investigate other factors that may affect customers’ behavior such as perceived image, trust, and subjective norms. Future research should investigate into the importance of environmental awareness and new technologies, and gender differences in behavior. From an international marketing standpoint, comparative studies between Jordanian and non-Jordanian customers are potential areas of future research for international marketing strategies and cross-cultural consumer behaviour analysis. Practical implications-The paper identifies the determinants of switching behavior. marketers should focus addressing customers concerns in terms of providing enough information and building awareness towards the technology and it's benefits towards the society and the environment.Originality/value-Our study is one of the few in Jordan that investigates the switching behavior towards vehicles technology. Our study is thought to have made a modest contribution to consumer behaviour literature and, specifically, for decision making process. It offers marketers insights into the determinants of switching behavior towards the hybrid vechicle technology and how this contribute to consumers’ decision making process and attitudes to achieve the intended behavioural outcomes


Author(s):  
Agata Mardosz-Grabowska

Organizations are expected to act rationally; however, mythical thinking is often present among their members. It refers also to myths related to technology. New inventions and technologies are often mythologized in organizations. People do not understand how new technologies work and usually overestimate their possibilities. Also, myths are useful in dealing with ambivalent feelings, such as fears and hopes. The text focuses on the so-called “big data myth” and its impact on the decision-making process in modern marketing management. Mythical thinking related to big data in organizations has been observed both by scholars and practitioners. The aim of the chapter is to discuss the foundation of the myth, its components, and its impact on the decision-making process. Among others, a presence of a “big data myth” may be manifested by over-reliance on data, neglecting biases in the process of data analysis, and undermining the role of other factors, including intuition and individual experience of marketing professionals or qualitative data.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. 137-138
Author(s):  
Ionela Gheorghiu ◽  
Alain Lesage ◽  
Adam Mongodin ◽  
Marlène Galdin

INTRODUCTION:Our Hospital-based Health Technology Assessment unit (HB-HTA) was founded in 2011 following the nomination of Louis-H. Lafontaine hospital as the Montreal University Mental Health Institute (IUSMM). From the beginning, the HB-HTA has been supporting and advising the Chief Executive Officer of IUSMM in the decision-making process concerning the implementation of new technologies and practices in mental health. Since 2015, the HB-HTA is part of the East of Montreal Regional Integrated Health and Social Services Centre (CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l’Île de Montréal), continuing to support decisions in mental health. Currently, the HB-HTA unit is nested in the Quality, Performance and Ethics department.METHODS:Formed by a coordinator, a scientific advisor and a manager, the HB-HTA team plans, organizes and sets up the evaluation activities. The unit benefits from the support of a Steering Committee which consists of representatives of clinical, administrative and research directions, as well as of health users and families. This committee determine the strategic orientation of the HB-HTA unit, prioritize the projects, approves the evaluation products and gives indications on the knowledge transfer process.RESULTS:To answer the decision questions, our HB-HTA unit employs two types of products: evaluation reports and informative notes. Based on an exhaustive literature search and consultations with stakeholders, the evaluation reports offer recommendations to support the decision-making process. The informative notes are rapid responses based on a partial literature search. The nature of this type of analysis does not allow the formulation of recommendations, however, a conclusion of the consulted literature is offered.CONCLUSIONS:Based on the work of our HB-HTA unit, some important decisions were made by the IUSMM. As an example, the systematic screening of psychiatric patients for drug and alcohol was not favored by our institution; rather than this, priority was given to staff training, in order to better identify and treat psychiatric patients with substance abuse comorbidity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Emin Qerim Neziraj ◽  
Aferdita Berisha Shaqiri

Before the decision makers set much higher requirements in the decision-making than ever before due to the environment of decision-makers subject to change under the influence of progress and development of new technologies, networking individual or organization inside and the outside environment, and modern means of communication enabling continuous inflow, flow and sharing of data and information. In these modern conditions the process of collecting, analyzing, selecting data and information to make informed decisions in the context of possible restrictions and the available options, and ultimately making decisions as the basis for future business or behavior, is not simplified. The use of new technologies in the decision-making process provided numerous opportunities to facilitate decisions selection. However, the decision maker should still be able to differentiate which knowledge should be used to serve in decision making, and which models, methods, tools, systems, and procedures to be used in certain situations, with the purpose of successful decision selection. In this paper, we will examine the decision making process during the business process of the companies in Kosovo.


2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Mad ◽  
Sabine Geiger-Gritsch ◽  
Gerda Hinterreiter ◽  
Stefan Mathis-Edenhofer ◽  
Claudia Wild

Objectives: A new decision-making process was set up by the Austrian Ministry of Health to regulate coverage of new proposed Extra Medical Services (EMS; German: Medizinische Einzel-Leistung [MEL]) in 2008. As part of the annual decision-making process an independent academic institution (LBI-HTA) is evaluating relevant evidence on these new technologies and provides HTAs, including evidence-based recommendations for decision makers.Methods: About ten EMS assessments are performed annually by the LBI-HTA simultaneously between January and March. Each peer-reviewed report consists of a systematic literature review and critical appraisal of evidence using the GRADE methodology. The generation of numerous reports of good quality standards within the short timeframe is achieved by a standardized workflow with predefined assignment of tasks for all participants.Results: In total, the LBI-HTA performed twenty-five EMS assessments on thirty-three different interventions in the last three years. Coverage was recommended with limitation for eleven (33%) interventions, and not recommended for twenty-two (66%) interventions. The federal health commission decided on acceptance or preliminary acceptance of coverage in seven (22%) cases, rejection in eighteen (55%) cases and changed the status to “subject to approval” in seven (24%) cases.Conclusions: Pre-coverage assessment of new hospital interventions was implemented successfully in Austria. It has proved to be a useful tool to support decision makers with objective evidence when deciding whether or not to reimburse medical services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 288-292
Author(s):  
Christopher McCabe ◽  
Jeff Round

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has always sought to incorporate the evidence of all patients affected in the decision-making process. While health system budgets could increase to cover costs of new technologies, the relevant patients are those benefitting from access to the technology being appraised. More recently, with health system budgets effectively fixed, costs of new technologies are covered by displacing other, currently funded care. This reallocation means the patients affected by the decision include those whose healthcare is displaced. These patients are typically unidentified, however, and so HTA in this instance involves choosing between identified and unidentified patients. We argue that HTA should take account of identifiability bias in this decision-making, to avoid promoting inequitable and inefficient access to healthcare.


Author(s):  
Heather A Horst ◽  
Cherry Baylosis ◽  
Sheba Mohammid

From innovations such as virtual fit through 3D body scanning, smart clothes, wearable technology and virtual styling assistants to more mundane capabilities such as digital photography and social media, deciding what to wear and how to wear an item is now accompanied by a range of new information and perspectives. This article examines the sociotechnical systems that support everyday decisions about what to wear, and how this decision-making process is being re-imagined in response to technology. Drawing upon closet ethnographies with women in the USA and Australia, we focus upon the ways in which women make decisions about what will help them to ‘look professional’. Specifically, we attend to two key dimensions of the decision-making process – visions and validations – to understand the ways in which women weigh the opinion of other people, media and technologies, and the real and imagined role of how new technologies such as the Amazon Echo Look may be integrated into this process. Through fine-grained analysis of the ways that women receive, reject or ignore information about their performance of looking professional, we reflect upon the relative importance of different technologies in the process of decision-making.


Societies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kendall ◽  
Soo Oh ◽  
Delena Amsters ◽  
Mary Whitehead ◽  
Justin Hua ◽  
...  

Society is currently facing unprecedented technological advances that simultaneously create opportunities and risks. Technology has the potential to revolutionize rehabilitation and redefine the way we think about disability. As more advanced technology becomes available, impairments and the environmental barriers that engender disability can be significantly mitigated. The opportunity to apply technology to rehabilitation following serious injuries or illnesses is becoming more evident. However, the translation of these innovations into practice remains limited and often inequitable. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that not all relevant parties are involved in the decision-making process. Our solution was to create a sociotechnical system, known as HabITec, where people with disabilities, practitioners, funders, researchers, designers and developers can work together and co-create new solutions. Sociotechnical thinking is collaborative, interdisciplinary, adaptive, problem-solving and focused on a shared set of goals. By applying a sociotechnical approach to the healthcare sector, we aimed to minimize the lag in translating new technologies into rehabilitation practice. This collaborative co-design process supports innovation and ensures that technological solutions are practical and meaningful, ethical, sustainable and contextualized. In this conceptual paper, we presented the HabITec model along with the empirical evidence and theories on which it has been built.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (S1) ◽  
pp. 56-57
Author(s):  
Mírian Cohen ◽  
Ana Flávia Lima ◽  
Sandro Miguel ◽  
Marina Aziz ◽  
Ricardo Bertoglio Cardoso ◽  
...  

IntroductionSince 2007, 23 Núcleos de Avaliação de Tecnologias em Saúde or hospital-based health technology assessment (HB-HTA) units have been established in teaching hospitals across Brazil. These units aim to promote the development of health technology assessment in hospitals, assisting the decision-making process for implementing new technologies and evaluating and promoting the rational use of widespread technologies.MethodsAn online questionnaire was sent by e-mail to all HB-HTA units registered in the Brazilian Network for Evaluation of Health Technologies. Information was acquired to comprehensively assess the activity of the units.ResultsAll 23 HB-HTA units answered the questionnaire. Of these, 65 percent had a technology prioritization process. The technologies assessed included drug therapies (73%), equipment (64%), medical devices (64%), clinical protocols (46%), and emerging technologies (27%). The dimensions of health technology assessment (HTA) evaluated by these organizations were: efficacy (76%); effectiveness (67%); safety (67%); costs (52%); cost effectiveness or cost utility (52%); and budget impact (43%). The hospital departments that required more HTA studies were: cardiology (50%); infectious diseases (45%); hospital management (45%); oncology (40%); surgery (40%); and endocrinology (20%). HTA studies supported: incorporation of new technologies (81%); protocol or guideline development (57%); new indications for already approved technologies (38%); and withdrawal of obsolete technologies (29%). Half of the institutions also conducted educational or training activities. The main difficulties reported were a lack of trained professionals (78%), funding (70%), and material resources (48%).ConclusionsFor low- and middle-income countries, the process of implementing HB-HTA units remains a challenge. Even though human resources and funding are scarce, HB-HTA units continue to develop. Given their importance in the decision-making process, it is imperative that every effort is made to ensure their activities continue.


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