Search results for "making"
showing 10 items of 1218 documents
Decision-making in energy planning. Application of the Electre method at regional level for the diffusion of renewable energy technology
2003
The authors show an application of the multicriteria decision-making methodology used to assess an action plan for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies at regional scale. This methodological tool gives the decision-maker considerable help in the selection of the most suitable innovative technologies in the energy sector, according to preliminary fixed objectives. In this paper, a case study is carried out for the island of Sardinia. This region presents, on one hand, a high potential for energy resources exploitation, but on the other hand, it represents a specific case among other Italian regions, because of its socio-economic status and history. Three decision scenarios have bee…
A decision support system to compare different strategies for achieving the Italian Kyoto Protocol commitment
2008
Abstract: In order to meet the Italian Kyoto Protocol commitment, in 2002 the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) approved the national allocation plan for the reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), envisioning various alternative scenarios. In this paper an extended impact assessment of the plan is accomplished and some further options are conceived and analysed in order to find an optimal trade-off among the different economic, environmental and social items at stake. After the selection of a set of independent indicators, nine different scenarios for the GHG reductions were evaluated and they were sorted according to the principles of the multicriteria analysis. The re…
Modulation of Irisin and Physical Activity on Executive Functions in Obesity and Morbid obesity
2016
Whether the executive profile is different between obesity (OB) and morbid obesity (MO) remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) can act as a cognitive enhancer. Irisin is a recently discovered hormone associated with some of the positive effects of PA. The objective of the study was to investigate the executive profile in OB and MO, and to explore the role of PA and irisin. 114 participants were included (21 OB, 44 MO and 49 healthy controls-HC) in the study and assessed with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Color and Word Test, and Iowa Gambling Task. All participants were female, aged between 18 and 60 years. Results showed a similar dysfunctional prof…
Affect, Uncertainty, and Decision-Making
2016
International audience; Decision-making is a complex cognitive process of selecting an action among various alternatives. Everyday life is full of situations calling for multiple decisions: living somewhere, moving home, choosing a route, changing route are all decisions that determine our life setting and way of life. These decisions may have a limited impact or over the longer term may cause slight inconvenience, a fleeting feeling of well-being or deep unease, or possibly even unbearable anxiety.
Registered nurses' clinical reasoning in home healthcare clinical practice: A think-aloud study with protocol analysis.
2016
Abstract Background The home healthcare context can be unpredictable and complex, and requires registered nurses with a high level of clinical reasoning skills and professional autonomy. Thus, additional knowledge about registered nurses' clinical reasoning performance during patient home care is required. Objectives The aim of this study is to describe the cognitive processes and thinking strategies used by recently graduated registered nurses while caring for patients in home healthcare clinical practice. Design An exploratory qualitative think-aloud design with protocol analysis was used. Settings Home healthcare visits to patients with stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary…
Rethinking clinical decision-making to improve clinical reasoning
2022
Improving clinical reasoning techniques is the right way to facilitate decision-making from prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic points of view. However, the process to do that is to fill knowledge gaps by studying and growing experience and knowing some cognitive aspects to raise the awareness of thinking mechanisms to avoid cognitive errors through correct educational training. This article examines clinical approaches and educational gaps in training medical students and young doctors. The authors explore the core elements of clinical reasoning, including metacognition, reasoning errors and cognitive biases, reasoning strategies, and ways to improve decision-making. The article addres…
Untangling knowledge fields and knowledge dynamics within the decision-making process
2020
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the influences of different types of knowledge and their inherent dynamics on the effectiveness of the decision-making (DM) process. Knowledge dynamics (KD) is envisioned through the lens of the knowledge fields theory while effective DM process is objectivised via organisational appreciation and reward, higher business performance, sustainable partnerships and managerial satisfaction with previous achievements.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire-based survey was conducted with 275 middle managers from companies operating in the business consulting field. The conceptual and structural model was tested using the partial least squares stru…
Resin and fatty-acid analysis by solid-phase extraction coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization–mass spectrometry
2007
Using gas-chromatographic analysis, the suitability of liquid–liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods was studied for the rapid separation of resin and fatty-acid fractions from papermaking process waters. In the second phase of this study, a novel procedure (correlation coefficient >0.99 and repeatability RSD <8%) for on-line monitoring of selected individual acid components (limits of detection 11–78 µg L−1) by SPE combined with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization–mass spectrometry was developed. The suitability of this technique for quality control of papermaking process waters was tested by means of industrial samples. The method was also found suitable for the a…
XRF analysis to identify historical photographic processes: The case of some Interguglielmi Jr.’s images from the Palermo Municipal Archive
2017
Abstract In the early period, even though professional photographers worked with similar techniques and products, their artistic and commercial aims determined different choices and led them to follow different, often personal, recipes. For this reason, identification of the techniques through date and name of the photographer or through some visual features like colour, tonality and surface of the image layer, often needs further investigation to be proved. Chemical characterization, carried out in a non or micro destructive way, can be crucial to provide useful information about the original composition, degradation process, realization technique, in obtaining an indirect dating of the ph…
Exploring theoretical frameworks for the analysis of fertility fluctuations
1988
The Easterlin theory, popular during the 1970s, explained population fluctuations in terms of maximization of choice, based on the evaluation of previously acquired information. Fluctuations in procreational patterns were seen as responses to conflict between 2 consecutive generations in which the propensity to procreate is inversely related to cohort size. However, the number of demographic trends not directly explainable by the hypothesis imply that either the model must be extended over a longer time frame or that there has been a drastic change of regime, i.e., a basic change in popular attitudes which determine decision making behavior. 4 strategic principles underlie reproductive deci…