Role of honesty and confined interpersonal influence in modelling predilections

Classical models of decision-making do not incorporate for the role of influence and honesty that affects the process. This paper develops on the theory of influence in social network analysis. We study the role of influence and honesty of individual experts on collective outcomes. It is assumed that experts have the tendency to improve their initial predilection for an alternative, over the rest, if they interact with one another. It is suggested that this revised predilection may not be proposed with complete honesty by the expert. Degree of honesty is computed from the preference relation provided by the experts. This measure is dependent on average fuzziness in the relation and its disparity from an additive reciprocal relation. Moreover, an algorithm is introduced to cater for incompleteness in the adjacency matrix of interpersonal influences. This is done by analysing the information on how the expert has influenced others and how others have influenced the expert

Role of honesty and confined interpersonal influence in modelling predilections

Classical models of decision-making do not incorporate for the role of influence and honesty that affects the process. This paper develops on the theory of influence in social network analysis. We study the role of influence and honesty of individual experts on collective outcomes. It is assumed that experts have the tendency to improve their initial predilection for an alternative, over the rest, if they interact with one another. It is suggested that this revised predilection may not be proposed with complete honesty by the expert. Degree of honesty is computed from the preference relation provided by the experts. This measure is dependent on average fuzziness in the relation and its disparity from an additive reciprocal relation. Moreover, an algorithm is introduced to cater for incompleteness in the adjacency matrix of interpersonal influences. This is done by analysing the information on how the expert has influenced others and how others have influenced the expert

A Trust Risk Dynamic Management Mechanism Based on Third-Party Monitoring for the Conflict-Eliminating Process of Social Network Group Decision Making

This work was supported in part by the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province under Grant KYCX20_0507; in part by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant B200203165 and Grant B220203013; in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant 71871085; in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under Grant BK20210634; in part by the Startup Foundation for Introducing Talent of NUIST under Grant 1521182101004; and in part by the China Scholarship Council under Grant 202106710123.Every decision may involve risks. Real-world risk issues are usually supervised by third parties. Decision-making may be affected by the absence of sufficient or reasonable trust or to the opposite, an unconditional, excessive, or blind trust, which is called trust risks. The conflict-eliminating process (CEP) aims to facilitate satisfactory consensus by decision makers (DMs) through continuous reconciliation between their opinion differences on the subject matter. This article addresses trust risks in CEP of social network group decision making (SNGDM) through third-party monitoring. A trust risk analysis-based conflict-eliminating model for SNGDM is developed. It is assumed that a third-party agency monitors the DMs’ credibility and performance, which is recorded in an objective evaluation matrix and multi-attribute trust assessment matrix (MTAM). A trust risk measurement methodology is proposed to classify the DMs’ different trust risk types and to measure the trust risk index (TRI) of a group of DMs. When TRI is unacceptable, a trust risk management mechanism that controls TRI is activated. Different management policies are applicable to DMs’ different trust risk types. There are two main methods: 1) dynamically update the MTAM based on DMs’ performance and 2) provide suggestions for modifying the DM’s information with high TRI. Besides, as part of the integrated CEP, this model includes an optimization approach to dynamically derive DMs’ reliable aggregation weights from their MTAM. Simulation experiments and an illustrative example support the feasibility and validity of the proposed model for managing trust risks in CEP of SNGDM.Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province KYCX20_0507Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities B200203165 B220203013National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 71871085Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province BK20210634Startup Foundation for Introducing Talent of NUIST 1521182101004China Scholarship Council 20210671012

A Trust Risk Dynamic Management Mechanism Based on Third-party Monitoring for The Conflict Eliminating Process of Social Network Group Decision Making

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Every decision may involve risks. Real-world risk issues are usually supervised by third parties. Decision-making may be affected by the absence of sufficient or reasonable trust or to the opposite, an unconditional, excessive, or blind trust, which is called trust risks. Conflict eliminating process (CEP) aims to facilitate satisfactory consensus by decision makers (DMs) through continuous reconciliation between their opinion differences on the subject matter. This paper addresses trust risks in CEP of social network group decision making (SNGDM) through third-party monitoring. A trust risk analysis-based conflict-eliminating model for SNGDM is developed. It is assumed that a third-party agency monitors the DMs’ credibility and performance, which is recorded in an objective evaluation matrix and multi-attribute trust assessment matrix (MTAM). A trust risk measurement methodology is proposed to classify the DMs’ different trust risk types and to measure the trust risk index (TRI) of a group of DMs. When TRI is unacceptable, a trust risk management mechanism that controls TRI is activated. Different management policies are applicable to DMs’ different trust risk types. There are two main methods: 1) dynamically update the MTAM based on DMs’ performance, and 2) provide suggestions for modifying the DM’s information with high TRI. Besides, as part of the integrated CEP, this model includes an optimization approach to dynamically derive DMs’ reliable aggregation weights from their MTAM. Simulation experiments and an illustrative example support the feasibility and validity of the proposed model for managing trust risks in CEP of SNGDM

Generational Communication Disparities in Leadership

Companies seek to strategically utilize their resources and personnel to obtain an advantage over competitors. With generational diversity being a relevant topic, emphasis is placed on the strategic management of its personnel as they are essential in the innovative practices’ companies implement to evolve organizations and enable them to be viable in a dynamic business environment. The aspect of leadership methodologies is demonstrative in not only their verbal communication, but also nonverbal behaviors. Contributors to leadership styles displayed through communication cues may be emblematic of cultural upbringings and demographic differences. As organizations develop the skillsets of their personnel, diversification should be instrumental in the process particularly in emerging leaders from an array of backgrounds into leadership positions. As the variety in the organization’s demographical makeup is transforming with societal norms, it is beneficial to analyze the leadership styles and the reception of their subordinates. In delving into the peculiarities of leaders, this paper will explore the upbringings of leaders in conjunction with demographical considerations, which is inclusive of generational miscellany

Producers of indecent images of children : a qualitative analysis of the aetiology and development of their offending patterns

The term ‘producers of IIOC’ refers to individuals who create or are involved in the creation of indecent images of children. This thesis is a qualitative analysis of 22 interviews undertaken with individuals who produced IIOC. The production of IIOC is not a new phenomenon. However, producers of IIOC are a group about which little is known, even though they supply a large market. With the advancement of modern technology and the development of the internet, IIOC has become more readily available and easier to produce. Accordingly, it is important to gain a greater understanding of those who create such material in the interests of prevention, child safeguarding and detection. Law enforcement and the legal system worldwide are chasing the ever-advancing means of sexually abusing and exploiting children. Research and safeguarding organisations regularly highlight the exponential number of new IIOC available and the apparent increasing demand for such material. The low-age range of victims of IIOC and extreme abuse being perpetrated have been noted in seized material, and live streaming of child sexual abuse is a concerning development. The participants in this study emerged as a heterogeneous group in terms of social demographics. Their early life experiences were marked by prevalent issues such as neglect, abuse and exposure to violence. A large proportion of them had never had a long-term adult relationship and many others were either separated or divorced. Their grooming techniques were many and varied, and they presented as being able to adapt their grooming process depending upon the environment and victim. IIOC of both known and stranger victims were produced, demonstrating a variation in the relationships between perpetrators and the children who were exploited. The methodology employed to produce IIOC was examined, covering both remote and adjacent producers, as well as those who were covert about their behaviour. The cognitive distortions that supported the behaviour suggest minimising of harm and distancing techniques. The function of the production behaviour was not found to be exclusively sexual and included a variety of other motivating factors, ranging from commercial gain to social status. However, all participants acknowledged a sexual arousal to children. This research has found that the process of producing IIOC appears to be evolving. The advancement of technology, in particular the internet, makes it easier to produce IIOC and share such material with others. As sex offenders seem to be capitalising on new equipment and the increasingly mainstream culture of photographing and recording almost unreservedly, so too must law enforcement and front-line professionals keep pace. Recognising that production of IIOC may be an aspect of an individual’s sexually exploitative behaviour, even when there is initially no apparent evidence, is essential. It appears that it may be an overlooked or undetected area of offending and in turn, not dealt with in assessment, intervention and safeguarding. Future research is advisable to obtain a greater understanding of individuals who produce IIOC, in order to prevent, deter, and deal with the behaviour, as well as to help their victims

Inside Reflexive Management Learning in the Workplace: An Ethnographic Study

This thesis generates new insights and understandings of the concept of reflexive management learning (RML). To date, most scholarship has taken the form of prescriptive theory suggesting what RML should be and should mean for managers and organisations. In the main, however, RML remains empirically under-theorised and as a result rather detached from real world contexts and from the practitioners that would constitute its intended learning audience. This thesis helps to rebalance the scholarly scales by presenting the results of a two-year reflexive insider’s ethnographic study of RML in the Irish subsidiary of a services industry MNC. This heretofore unavailable methodological vantage point provides a novel perspective on RML which elucidates its highly contextualised character. The concern here has been to make managerial voice in RML clearer and more pronounced. Doing this highlights the need for more political reflexivity in RML theorising: defined as the adequate recognition of the complex role of context in RML and the accompanying need to direct this learning approach towards practice-based concerns which matter to the managers involved, without allowing its inherently critical character to be unduly censored by contact with the organisational status quo. The key findings of this thesis report on how challenging RML is as told through the experiences of the managers involved. But these experiences also portray something which has been less prominent in previous empirical work: RML’s promise-laden potential and despite the difficulties and risks involved, paradoxically even because of them, its ability to translate into reflexive action attempted beyond the learning space. These findings led to, and are articulated in this thesis through, a new theoretical framework for RML which also draws from the work of political theorist Hannah Arendt. Titled the ‘Reflexive Space of Appearance’, this new spatial and political theoretical framework provides RML with a much needed theory of action, or praxis, which can make new contributions to scholarship and practice

Students and Discourse: an Insider Perspective

A student's direct experience is used to explore the hypothesis that student problems may be associated with lack of exposure to appropriate discourse. I became a student again to find out about discourses that students encounter. Literature associated with student experience is reviewed from two perspectives: phenomenography and sociocultural theory. A critique of the former highlights the pervasive deep/surface/strategic distinction with respect to approaches to learning and suggests that there may be alternative descriptions that take more account of students' responses to discourse. While phenomenography offers some valuable observations on variation, the emphasis on outcomes and student predilections may mask some other important aspects of student experience. Sociocultural theory offers more reference points, at individual, social and cultural levels of analysis. I took an HNC and then a university module in Mechanical Engineering and used a reflective journal to record "what a student notices". I used this to produce "thick descriptions" of what was happening - that is, descriptions that took account of the sociocultural context and also of my own intentions and internalised , responses to the discourse. I explored exposure and barriers to four kinds of discourse: engineering, pedagogic, institutional and social. I then reviewed evidence for progress with the discourse. The thesis contributes insights into the many actions that a student undertakes in an attempt to engage in the activities of tertiary level education. A number of tensions and contradictions in higher education from a student's perspective are highlighted in the study. For example, access to HE may exclude access to its discourses; "outcomes" are not necessarily what they appear to be; some assessment may say more about a student's potential than about what they can do unaided. To succeed, students need a good deal of exposure to appropriate discourse practices as well as time to assimilate them

Religion and brand activism: Faith-based segments in the UK and their engagement in boycotting behaviour.

At present, brand activism has become an emerging marketing strategy for companies who aim to distinguish themselves in a fragmented marketplace by publicly addressing social and political issues. In a bid to foster loyalty and nurture lifelong customers, brands are aligning their values with meaning causes to spark change and inspire action. However, several brands have faced criticism or faced boycotts because of their decisions to support contentious causes. The contrasting positions adopted by brands such as Huda Beauty and McDonald's Israel amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict serve as a notable example. Existing works have focused on consumer motives for, responses to, and the effectiveness of brand boycotting. Also examined is the role of consumer affinity and animosity play in the context of boycotting campaigns. In addition to this, social media has simplified the process for activists to connect with a broader audience and garner more substantial support for their causes. With this said, the impact of religious animosity on people's attitudes toward macro boycotts is said to be culturally dependent. Yet, little research was located on the boycotting behaviour of faith-based segment in secular societies like the UK. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to examine the impact religion (and religious commitment) has on faith-based segments when boycotting brands. The objectives of the paper are threefold. First, to uncover individual motives and expectations (i.e., from personal views to social expectations). Second, identify their engagement and participation (i.e., communication, product, purchase and response) in boycotts online and offline. Third, to understand how faith-based segment perceive or measure the success of their boycotts (i.e., business impact vs. society impact). The study will encompass followers of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Sikhism, and includes respondents with no religious affiliation. variations will be assessed among religion and religiosity group, with the latter being measured through two dimensions (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic). The implication of this research enables companies to understand the mechanism of consumer boycotting behaviour in instances of brand activism

The identification of social giftedness in young adolescents

2 volsAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX77351 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo