Evaluating complex interventions is complicated. The Medical Research Council9s evaluation framework (2000) brought welcome clarity to the task. Now the council has updated its guidance

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/337/bmj.a1655.full.pdf

Developing and evaluating complex interventions: The new Medical Research Council guidance

This paper discusses the discounted utility (DU) model: its historical development, underlying assumptions, and "anomalies" - the empirical regularities that are inconsistent with its theoretical predictions. We then summarize the alternate theoretical formulations that have been advanced to address these anomalies. We also review three decades of empirical research on intertemporal choice, and discuss reasons for the spectacular variation in implicit discount rates across studies. Throughout the paper, we stress the importance of distinguishing time preference, per se, from many other considerations that also influence intertemporal choices.

/pdf/time-discounting-and-time-preference-a-critical-review-47don96ek5.pdf

Time Discounting and Time Preference: A Critical Review

Process evaluation is an essential part of designing and testing complex interventions. New MRC guidance provides a framework for conducting and reporting process evaluation studies

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/350/bmj.h1258.full.pdf

Process evaluation of complex interventions: Medical Research Council guidance

This article examines how consumer decision making is influenced by automatically evoked task-induced affect and by cognitions that are generated in a more controlled manner on exposure to alternatives in a choice task. Across two experiments respondents chose between two alternatives: one (chocolate cake) associated with more intense positive affect but less favorable cognitions, compared to a second (fruit salad) associated with less favorable affect but more favorable cognitions. Findings from the two experiments suggest that if processing resources are limited, spontaneously evoked affective reactions rather than cognitions tend to have a greater impact on choice. As a result, the consumer is more likely to choose the alternative that is superior on the affective dimension but inferior on the cognitive dimension (e.g., chocolate cake). In contrast, when the availability of processing resources is high, cognitions related to the consequences of choosing the alternatives tend to have a bigger impact on choice compared to when the availability of these resources is low. As a result, the consumer is more likely to choose the alternative that is inferior on the affective dimension but superior on the cognitive dimension (e.g., fruit salad). The moderating roles of the mode of presentation of the alternatives and of a personality variable related to impulsivity are also reported.

Heart and Mind in Conflict: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making

This book provides an introduction to the mathematics needed to model, analyze, and design feedback systems. It is an ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students, and is indispensable for researchers seeking a self-contained reference on control theory. Unlike most books on the subject, Feedback Systems develops transfer functions through the exponential response of a system, and is accessible across a range of disciplines that utilize feedback in physical, biological, information, and economic systems. Karl strm and Richard Murray use techniques from physics, computer science, and operations research to introduce control-oriented modeling. They begin with state space tools for analysis and design, including stability of solutions, Lyapunov functions, reachability, state feedback observability, and estimators. The matrix exponential plays a central role in the analysis of linear control systems, allowing a concise development of many of the key concepts for this class of models. strm and Murray then develop and explain tools in the frequency domain, including transfer functions, Nyquist analysis, PID control, frequency domain design, and robustness. They provide exercises at the end of every chapter, and an accompanying electronic solutions manual is available. Feedback Systems is a complete one-volume resource for students and researchers in mathematics, engineering, and the sciences.Covers the mathematics needed to model, analyze, and design feedback systems Serves as an introductory textbook for students and a self-contained resource for researchers Includes exercises at the end of every chapter Features an electronic solutions manual Offers techniques applicable across a range of disciplines

/pdf/feedback-systems-an-introduction-for-scientists-and-596yj6j5hm.pdf

John O'Neil

Papers

Out of Control