Toward behavioural innovation economics – Heuristics and biases in choice under novelty

A framework for ‘behavioural innovation economics’ is proposed here as a synthesis of behavioural economics and innovation economics in the specific context of choice under novelty. We seek to apply the heuristics and biases framework of behavioural economics to the study of the innovation process in order to map and analyze systematic choice failures in the innovation process. We elaborate the distinction between choice under uncertainty and choice under novelty, as well as drawing out the ‘efficient innovation hypothesis’ implicit in most behavioural models of innovation. The subject domain of a research program for behavioural innovation economics is then briefly outlined in terms of a catalogue of characteristic ways in which choice under novelty renders innovation processes subject to failure.

Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Impulsive Decision Making

Delay discounting is a measure of impulsive decision making that is associated with different forms of problem behavior. This study examined the transdiagnostic effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on delay discounting in a community sample. Forty adults were randomized into eight individual sessions of ACT or an inactive control. Participants completed pre-, mid-, and post-assessments for delay discounting, psychological flexibility, distress tolerance, overall psychological symptoms, behavior change, and valued living. Data were analyzed with multilevel modeling of growth curves. Significant interaction effects of time and condition were present for psychological flexibility, distress tolerance, psychological symptoms, and the obstruction subscale of valued living. No significant interaction effect was found for two delay discounting tasks nor the progression subscale of valued living. The ACT condition had a significantly larger reduction of problem behavior at post-, but not mid-assessment. Treatment was provided in a competent and ACT-consistent manner and was rated as highly satisfactory by treatment completers. The results support use of ACT as a transdiagnostic treatment. The lack of changes in delay discounting are in contrast to previous research. The clinical implications of delay discounting need to be explored further

The implications of ‘jam’ and other ideation technologies for organisational decision making

New advances in collaborative technologies, often grouped under the umbrella term ‘web 2.0', are changing the opportunity space for organisational collaboration and decision making. Research and development can now be outsourced to external self-organising communities of scientists, new business models rely wholly on content created by end users and customers are increasingly asked for input to the development of new products and services. The way in which many strategic and operational decisions are made, once the sole prevail of executive management, is being challenged by new forms of knowledge, expertise and opinion from non-management employees, and increasingly, from those outside the organisation such as customers, partners and suppliers. The widespread adoption of web 2.0 technologies and their increasing use in the business context, in other words, is creating an inevitable tension between traditional ‘top-down' strategic decision-making principles and ‘bottom-up', ad hoc and sometimes unstructured collaborative processes. This paper examines recent changes to the innovation process and the advent of so-called 'fifth generation innovation', and discusses the way in which web 2.0 technologies are further evolving these models, highlighting that 'ideation technologies' are an important part of the new breed of so-called innovation technologies. It then explores the particular example of 'jam events', which bring together a targeted group of participants on the web for a time-limited period to respond to a specific challenge, defined by decision-makers, with ideas, opinions and votes in a socially mediated process. The final section introduces the concept of 'co-created strategy', and discusses the factors required for an organisation to build the 'absorptive capacity' needed to truly take advantage of the new knowledge created by ideation technologies

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress among adolescents

The number of individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a small percentage of those exposed to trauma; many youth who do not meet criteria for PTSD continue to experience problematic posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptomology. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has shown preliminary effectiveness in the treatment of adult PTSD, but its effectiveness in treating PTS in youth is unknown. Using a multiple-baseline design, this study investigated the effectiveness of 10-weeks of ACT to treat PTS in youth. Four adolescents from a community sample and three adolescents from a residential sample participated. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents, Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale were completed at pretreatment, posttreatement, and 3- month follow-up. Individuals reported baseline data for 7 to 66 days. Symptom and process measures were completed at each session. Results revealed a decrease in PTS symptomology across both samples with mean reductions in self-reported PTS symptomology at posttreatment of 69% and 81% for the community and residential samples, respectively, and an overall 68% and 84% respective reduction at follow-up. Reductions in clinician rated measures of PTSD were observed for all participants with mean reductions of 57% and 61% in the community and residential samples at posttreatment, and 71% and 60% at follow-up, respectively. Results provide preliminary support for ACT as a treatment for adolescent PTS. Empirical and clinical implications as well as limitations and future directions are discussed. Key Words: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Posttraumatic Stress; PTSD; Treatmen

Practicality in POCUS: Benefits of Ultrasound Training in Medical Education

As point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) becomes an integral component of healthcare, both undergraduate and graduate medical POCUS education is urgently necessary in curricula. Despite the apparent need of POCUS curricula, there remains a lingering question: Are there evidence-based benefits to POCUS training in undergraduate and/or graduate medical education settings? This systematic review utilized PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus to identify articles of interest that met the inclusion criteria and relevance to undergraduate and/or graduate medical education. Qualitative evaluation of research was conducted to identify common themes for benefits of POCUS and the requirements or characteristics for effective POCUS educational curricula. Results for undergraduate medical education were separated into pre-clinical and clinical education. In pre-clinical POCUS education, POCUS education improves anatomy education and physical examination skills for sonographic assessment of abdominal, reproductive, cardiovascular, and renal structures. Further enhancement can be achieved via simulation devices that are generalized ultrasound simulation mannequins, one defined body region such as the abdomen, or local regions of interest such as the femoral triangle. In clinical undergraduate POCUS education, benefits involved greater performance on knowledge tests and general ultrasound competency in emergency medicine, surgical, family medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilitation clerkships. These studies also found improved comprehension of specific POCUS examinations such as those for ultrasound-guided injections, FAST, eFAST, and RUSH. Further integration of POCUS education into graduate medical education was found to successfully improve ultrasound knowledge and competency in both academic and military internal medicine residencies. One limitation of this study is that this article is a review resulting in no specific intervention being introduced. The resultant hypothesis of this systematic review cannot be tested; rather evidence-based recommendations are restricted to the currently available literature within the searched databases. From this review, it was found that the inclusion of a properly integrated POCUS curriculum can result in greater confidence in ultrasound use, increased knowledge of anatomy and basic sciences for various organ systems, improved ultrasound knowledge and performance in clinical clerkships, and offers improved confidence and knowledge in ultrasound during residency