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Pakistan conducted six thermonuclear tests in response to five Indian nuclear tests in 1998. There existed an interplay of various actors at the external and the internal level which enabled Pakistan to reach the decision to detonate. This thesis examines the motivations and intentions that acted as a driving force for Pakistan to make the decision to go nuclear. In order to identify these intentions, this thesis applies the national decision making model presented by Graham Allison. The arguments presented will demonstrate whether Allison's model explains the complexity of Pakistan's decision to go nuclear and which part of the model best explains the motivations that led Pakistan to respond India in kind. The conclusion of this thesis suggests that Allison's Rational Actor, Organizational Process and the Bureaucratic Politics Models have some usefulness in explaining Pakistan's decision to conduct nuclear tests in 1998. But these models cannot be applied solely to explain the decision-making rather it has to be a combination of all the three models to suggest what motivated Pakistan to detonate.

This essay provides a critical assessment of an important contribution to the debate on institutional efficiency and inefficiency in European policy-making: the thesis on the 'joint-decision trap'. This trap was identified by Fritz W. Scharpf, first in German federalism and later in policy-making in the European Union. The essay argues that joint-decision traps may be a much more prevalent phenomenon than envisaged by Scharpf. However, the essay demonstrates that joint-decision traps are not inherent to joint-decision systems. The basic argument of the essay is that the effects of joint-decision systems on public policy is contingent upon the central government's ability to threaten intergovernmental actors with exit. If this is possible, joint-decision systems turn into an asset. This argument is made on the basis of an analysis of intergovernmental relations in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark and a comparison of the Scandinavian systems with those of France and Germany. (European Journal of Political Research / FUB)

ABSTRACTTop‐level decision making in business organizations is characterized by high degrees of uncertainty, incomplete information, and conflicting objectives. To support top‐level decision making effectively, decision support systems (DSSs) have been proposed. Information supplied by a DSS must be selective in that not all possible information sets may be feasibly or economically represented in the data base. This study suggests that discovery of perceptual complexity (dimensionality) of information items, and the subsequent categorization of decision makers having the same perceptions of those information items, is a first step in the ultimate design of an effective DSS. Through the use of multidimensional scaling in a field setting, this study shows the feasibility of creating relatively homogeneous groups of decision makers according to the content and number of dimensions associated with various information items. Further results of the research suggest that information can be tailored to classes of users, which has cost‐benefit implications as well as the potential to improve the quality of the resultant decisions.

Rational public decision-making is nearly impossible for two reasons : the organisational complexity of public services and the existence of two circuits, a political one (parties, parliament...), and an administrativeone (bureaucracy).Moreover, public decisions are made by different pressure groups, and from different decision centres. In Belgium the impact of political parties is steadily increasing, up to the point where they function as master-organisations that have set up their own institutions to carry out public tasks (e.g. education). In thesocio-economie field the government acts more often as an arbitrator and money-supplier than as a decision-maker.In the welfare state the government's position in the whole field of decision-making amounts to delegating decisions to private organisations and pressure groups, which in due course leads to corporatism andirrationality. Finally, the organisation structure of the civil service itself stimulates irrationality because it was set up as a pyramid hierarchy in a time when the government did not have many tasks.

Discussion of the "redress of grievances" in Britain has not, until recently, distinguished between the control of maladministration in a narrow sense and the review of allegedly unjust or unreasonable decisions which do not result from faulty operation of decision procedures by officials. A distinction of this kind was made by the Whyatt Committee in 1961 and, despite criticism, was embodied in the Labour Government's legislation. The Parliamentary Commissioner Act has been in operation since April 1, 1967. It relates only to injustice caused by maladministration in central government departments, and all complaints must be submitted through the agency of members of the House of Commons. These limitations of scope and purpose remain open to debate. They raise the general question whether Ombudsman machinery should bring scrutiny to bear on complaints which arise from policy and legislative decisions.

Discussion of the 'redress of grievances' in the UK has not, until recently, distinguished between the control of maladmin in a narrow sense & the review of allegedly unjust or unreasonable decisions which do not result from faulty operation of decision procedures by officials. A distinction of this kind was made by the Why attitude Committee in 1961 &, despite criticism, was embodied in the Labor Gov's legislation. The Parliamentary Commissioner Act has been in operation since Apr 1, 1967. It relates only to injustice caused by mal administration in central gov dept's, & all complaints must be submitted through the agency of members of the House of Commons. These limitations of scope & purpose remain open to debate. They raise the general question of whether ombudsman machinery should bring scrutiny to bear on complaints which arise from policy & legislative decisions. HA.

This timely study analyses the ways in which competing ideologies and cultural narratives have influenced the Obama administration's decision-making on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, situating these decisions within the broader history of American foreign policy.

"This book explores the world of Decision Making Support Systems (DMSS), which encompasses Decision Support Systems (DSS), Executive Information Systems (EIS), Expert Systems (ES), Knowledge Based Systems (KBS), Creativity Enhancing Systems (CES), and more"--Provided by publisher

This article describes the Decision Support System for the distribution of military resources. This system aims to automate the management processes providing military formations. Its use will improve the efficiency of decision-making on distribution of resources.

Ideal for all health care professionals, Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions, 5th Edition provides a solid foundation in basic ethical theory, the terms and concepts of ethics, and current ethical issues. Expert authors Ruth Purtilo and Regina Doherty outline a unique 6-step decision-making process as a guide to making effective choices that lead to a professional and caring response to patients. They also suggest practical approaches to commonly encountered clinical issues such as confidentiality, informed consent, information sharing, and end-of-life care. With this book, you will develop the skills you need to recognize, understand, and resolve ethical problems. Unique! 6-step process of ethical decision-making provides an organizing framework for the steps to take in arriving at an ethical decision. Step 1: Gather relevant information Step 2: Identify the type of ethical problem Step 3: Analyze the problem using ethics theories or approaches Step 4: Explore the practical alternatives Step 5: Act Step 6: Evaluate the process and outcome Patient stories begin each chapter with an ethical dilemma and frame the rest of the chapter, tying abstract principles to real-life situations and demonstrating the ethical decision-making process for each story. Content on end-of-life care shows how to develop a caring response toward dying patients and identifies basic ethical concepts applying to patients with life-threatening conditions. Unique! More than 100 Reflection boxes indicate important concepts and include space to jot down thoughts. HIPAA and patient confidentiality information covers current laws and addresses what types of information are appropriate and inappropriate to include in the patient's medical record. Questions for thought and discussion help you apply the ethical decision-making process to different situations. Unique! Over

AbstractPatients are increasingly interested in becoming involved in the medical decision‐making process. As a result, healthcare providers and researchers are concerned with finding new ways to integrate patients' preferences, by understanding their commitment to and the stability of those preferences. Preventive medicine, such as colorectal cancer screening, presents an opportunity for personalising the decision‐making trajectory based on patients' preferences. In this paper, we propose a framework for a joint decision‐making process, capable of integrating patients' changing preferences, as described by a stability analysis of those preferences and design scenarios for implementing the process in clinical practice. In this study, a secondary data analysis, we present scenarios that demonstrate how the stability analysis of an Analytic Network Process (ANP) model supports personalising the process of agreeing on an appropriate colorectal cancer screening option. We illustrate the framework using two patients whose preferences have different stabilities and for whom the healthcare provider has different rankings for the recommended alternatives. The results show the differences in additional medical information the healthcare provider might need to provide as part of the joint decision‐making process in order to reach an agreement between the patient and the provider. A stability analysis of the patient's preferences provides the healthcare provider with a mapping of the preferred options. It also shows how the patient's most preferred alternative might change as the patient obtains additional relevant medical information. Knowing how the patient's priorities might change supports a personalisation of the medical decision‐making process. We conclude that the healthcare provider can utilise the stability analysis of a patient's preferences to identify possible dialogue paths that would enable reaching a consensus about an appropriate screening option.

Increased conflicts related to the construction of new linear infrastructure (e.g. transportation networks or high-tension cables) has resulted in longer and more expensive environmental impact studies. In order to reduce such conflict, the French government has changed the decision-making process. With this shift the notion of "the environment" has become more central, the perspectives of local stakeholders are integrated at the beginning of the projects, and environmental and regulatory laws have become more strict. These shifts, which require incorporating public participation into the decision-making process, have made conducting environmental impact studies more complex. GIS in combination with multicriteria analysis can be used to address this new decision-making context. In this thesis I will analyze the complexity of the decision-making process and will evaluate existing decision-making tools. I will then propose a set of new tools designed to evaluate the environmental impact of any given linear infrastructure project. Finally I will demonstrate the potential value of these new tools based on their application to a particular case study: the northern part of the highway project between Lyon and Narbonne (France). ; La généralisation et le durcissement des conflits d'implantation linéaire entraînent le rallongement des études et l'alourdissement du coût des projets. Pour limiter ces conflits, le gouvernement a fait évoluer la procédure décisionnelle : durcissement du cadre législatif, élargissement de la notion d'environnement, implication des acteurs locaux en amont des projets. Cette évolution complexifie les études environnementales et rend obsolète les méthodes traditionnelles.L'association des potentialités des SIG et des méthodes d'analyse multicritère est susceptible de répondre aux nouveaux besoins.Cette thèse se propose, après avoir exposé la situation décisionnelle complexe et présenté ces outils d'aide à la décision, de souligner leurs potentialités pour l'étude des projets linéaires. Une ...

Increased conflicts related to the construction of new linear infrastructure (e.g. transportation networks or high-tension cables) has resulted in longer and more expensive environmental impact studies. In order to reduce such conflict, the French government has changed the decision-making process. With this shift the notion of "the environment" has become more central, the perspectives of local stakeholders are integrated at the beginning of the projects, and environmental and regulatory laws have become more strict. These shifts, which require incorporating public participation into the decision-making process, have made conducting environmental impact studies more complex. GIS in combination with multicriteria analysis can be used to address this new decision-making context. In this thesis I will analyze the complexity of the decision-making process and will evaluate existing decision-making tools. I will then propose a set of new tools designed to evaluate the environmental impact of any given linear infrastructure project. Finally I will demonstrate the potential value of these new tools based on their application to a particular case study: the northern part of the highway project between Lyon and Narbonne (France). ; La généralisation et le durcissement des conflits d'implantation linéaire entraînent le rallongement des études et l'alourdissement du coût des projets. Pour limiter ces conflits, le gouvernement a fait évoluer la procédure décisionnelle : durcissement du cadre législatif, élargissement de la notion d'environnement, implication des acteurs locaux en amont des projets. Cette évolution complexifie les études environnementales et rend obsolète les méthodes traditionnelles.L'association des potentialités des SIG et des méthodes d'analyse multicritère est susceptible de répondre aux nouveaux besoins.Cette thèse se propose, après avoir exposé la situation décisionnelle complexe et présenté ces outils d'aide à la décision, de souligner leurs potentialités pour l'étude des projets linéaires. Une ...

AbstractThis paper explores how transformative experience generates decision-making problems of particular seriousness in medical settings. Potentially transformative experiences are especially likely to be encountered in medicine, and the associated decisions are confronted jointly by patients and clinicians in the context of an imbalance of power and expertise. However in such scenarios the principle of informed consent, which plays a central role in guiding clinicians, is unequal to the task. We detail how the principle's assumptions about autonomy, rationality and information handle transformative experiences poorly, appealing to several difficult cases for medical decision-making to illustrate the resulting problem, and we consider how the existing literature on complications with consent fails to offer a resolution. We argue that recognition of the problem has a role to play in achieving a more effective response to transformative decisions. In Sect. 1 we introduce several representative cases of challenging patient decision-making that clinicians might face. In Sect. 2 we detail how transformative experience has been analysed in the recent literature, before outlining in Sect. 3 the theoretical basis of the principle of informed consent, which plays a central role in how clinicians are expected to support decision-making. In Sect. 4, having laid the groundwork for a clear description, we return to the cases given in Sect. 1 to confirm how their transformative nature presents a problem: either clinicians treat the decisions faced by these patients as 'normal', encouraging them to focus on information provision that patients may be unable to act on, or they treat them as transformative, in which case they lack the resources to recognise whether they are helping patients make (subjectively) good decisions. In Sect. 5 we argue that the existing literature does not offer any escape from this problem. We close in Sect. 6 by noting the significant impact that appreciating the problem of transformative experience could have on supporting transformative decisions in medicine and briefly suggesting how we might aim to develop new approaches to dealing with these.