Browsing by Subject "Decision Making"
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Item Bridging the Gap between Network and Project Selection Levels in Pavement Management(2011-08-08) Gurganus, Charles FelderPavement management is one of the primary responsibilities for departments of transportation and other municipalities across the country. Efficient and proper use of taxpayer dollars to preserve and improve the existing transportation system has never been more important due to the current fiscal environment. Agencies use pavement management systems to store data describing the state of the network. This information is often used to help make decisions regarding the location of pavement preservation actions. There is often a discrepancy between the need estimates of network-level pavement management systems and where and how pavement preservation and improvement dollars are actually spent (i.e., actual pavement preservation and improvement projects). This research focuses on evaluating the Texas Department of Transportation?s (TxDOT) Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) to assess the agreement between its need estimates and actual construction projects at the district level. The research revealed there is little agreement between the output of PMIS?s Needs Estimate tool and actual construction projects. Possible reasons for this disagreement include the inability of PMIS?s Needs Estimates to consider the decision makers preferences and priorities, and also its inability to consider multiple years of condition data simultaneously. Through the use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the research was able to capture the effect of several variables on the decision making process. Using this method, pavement project suggestions were created that more closely matched actual projects than what the current Needs Estimate tool suggests. The projects selected using the new method were then tested against actual construction within three counties of the Bryan district. The new method closely matches actual preservation decisions made by the district within these three counties.Item Calculating Morality and Decision Making(2013-09-13) Hansen, Joshua; Smith, Brenna; Kreitler, CrystalThe dual-process theory of moral judgment (Greene, 2008) hypothesizes that moral responses to ethical decisions are fundamentally guided by two differing systems: one based in calculated reason (utilitarianism) and the other guided by intuition and affect (deontological). The former is a consequentialist framework (i.e., it is the result of the ethical decision which determines its moral value) while the latter maintains that it is the intent of an action, and not the consequences, which determines an actions moral worth. In this study we hypothesized that if the dual-process theory of moral judgment is indeed correct, there should be an observable difference between the moral judgments of participants who were exposed to a logical prime (experimental group), and participants who were not (control group). Results revealed a significant difference in the prevalence of utilitarian responses for males in response to the Lifeboat vignette. In addition, there seemed to be some difference in the Kidney vignette between the two conditions.Item Dual Process Models of Decision Making: An Fmri Investigation of Framing Effects and Individual Differences(2010-11-02T18:17:38Z) Murch, Kevin Bertrand; Krawczyk, DanielWhile the manifestation of decisions can be explained in several ways, dual-process models provide a unique purview into the relationship between automatic and controlled components of the decision making process. Although dichotomies in processing can be observed utilizing different experimental paradigms, framing effects provide a unique reflection of these dichotomies. Framing effects have been studied behaviorally for quite some time; however, only recently have investigators begun to examine the neurobiological basis for these effects. Additionally, as these effects mirror dual-process accounts of decision making, the examination of concurrent task demands and individual differences in the manifestation of framing effects could serve to inform dual-process models. The current studies examined two different framing paradigms in the context of experimental manipulations, perspective taking and emotional priming, which were intended to facilitate processing within the subsystems of a dual-process account of social cognition. Framing manipulations included both a previously established risky-choice framing paradigm and a novel, socially relevant attribute framing paradigm. In addition to behavioral studies, an fMRI investigation of the attribute framing paradigm was conducted to examine the neural correlates associated with the observed framing effect within the neurobiological framework of the X- and C-System model of social cognition. Finally, the current studies sought to examine the role that individual differences (e.g., personality, intelligence, need for cognition, cognitive reflection, impulsivity, and attachment style) play in susceptibility to framing phenomena. Results indicated the framing manipulations utilized in these studies were successful in eliciting a bias in decision making behavior. The effects of additional experimental manipulations were mixed, with some evidence for influences on the manifestation of the framing effects. fMRI data generally showed changes in brain activity in a manner consistent with the neurobiological divisions included within the X-and C-System model and provided preliminary evidence suggesting differences in the way frames and counterframes are processed. Individual differences, both in terms of psychological constructs and brain activity, appeared to be associated with susceptibility to framing phenomena. In total, the current series of studies provide several novel contributions to the existing literature on framing effects, and by extension, dual-process accounts of decision making.Item Experiments on decision making and auctions(2009-06-02) Watson, Elizabeth AnnExperimental economics is often called upon to inform theory and aid in explaining real world behavior. As such it is important to carefully design laboratory experiments to test the validity of new theories and to reexamine results that demonstrate robust anomalies of classic theory. My first aim is to design an experiment that will allow me to test the propensity of subjects to use CaseBased Decision Theory (from now on referred to as CBDT). I carefully design a setting in which the predicted choices of CBDT are deterministic and unique to CBDT (i.e. different from the predicted choices of other relevant decision making processes). I examine how well CBDT organizes subject choices when subjects are asked to make thirty independent decisions each with a fixed and given history. I find that some subjects do appear to be using the information given to them in the form of CaseBased Decision making. My second goal is to revisit traditional firstprice private values auction experiments with the idea of making the priceprobability tradeoff, the central consideration in auctions, more salient to subjects. I approach this in two different ways. First, I use a customdesigned graphical interface which displays all results both visually and numerically. In this treatment I find that subjects bid more aggressively than predicted by riskneutral BayesNash equilibrium. Second, I restructure the presentation of the idiosyncratic reservation value. Subjects are now engaging in some economic behavior and earning their total consumer surplus each period. This differs from traditional firstprice private values auction experiments in which subjects only earn a payoff if they win the auction. Here I observe that market prices in a sealedbid implementation are significantly lower than those reported using the standard auction setup.Item Personality Traits and User Behavior(2012-02-14) King, Christopher RonaldPsychologists and human resources personnel have used personality profiling as a predictor of human behavior in various environments for many decades. Knowing the personality traits of a particular individual allows management to tailor an environment ideally suited for an individual, attempting to maximize a person's productivity and job satisfaction. Measurements of personality are classically achieved through a self-reporting survey. This method has a potential inaccuracy due to its lack of objectivity and a bias due to cultural influences. This research explores the relationships between specific computer user behavior patterns and personality profiles. The results may provide a partial map between personality profile traits and computer user behavior. In an attempt to discover such correlations, forty-five fraternity and sorority students from Texas A&M University were selected to participate in a personality survey and three computer based tests. One test measured the subject's perceptive abilities, another measured their decision-making requirements, and a third measured their methods employed in organizing a task. The results show conclusively that some personality profile traits do influence how people visually interpret information presented on a computer screen. Individuals who exhibit high conscientiousness or agreeableness scores on a personality assessment survey take less time to find an icon among a collection during an icon search test. However, the results also show a significantly large variability in individuals, indicating that many other factors may influence attempts to measure an individual's personality traits. This indicates that the tests presented in this study, even though they show that behavior is related to personality traits, cannot be used as diagnostic tools. Further research will be required to obtain that goal.Item When Sugar Turns to Sh%&: Immediate Action Decision Making and Resilience in High Reliability Teams(2012-02-14) Wesner, Bradley ScottOrganizational scholars have long been interested in organizations which exemplify high reliability. While such organizational studies have provided valuable clues to the ways in which such organizations form and function, this paper argues that a more nuanced study of high reliability processes within team contexts is warranted. This study focuses on organizational teams which are faced with the challenges of maintaining high levels of reliability. Of particular interest is how teams manage adverse events which disrupt the team's process and how they make adaptations immediately to restore their functionality. In my dissertation, I: (1) explore the existing literature surrounding high reliability organization and resilience, (2) present a qualitative analysis of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams to explore and identify factors surrounding adaptation within the critical moment, and (3) discuss the implications of these factors in the theory and research surrounding high-reliability teams. The findings of this study find strong connection with the work of Weick and serve to advance and clarify previous characteristics associated with high reliability organizing; however, by using the small group as the unit of analysis for the study additions to concepts traditionally associated with high reliability organizing can be noted: (1) controlling variability during team function, (2) accepting the value of the unexpected, (3) continuous forward motion, and (4) the role of tacit and explicit knowledge.