OBJECTIVE To assess the nature of community-based health programme experience in Iran, and use the results in order to advocate more friendly policies in community, academy and funding organisations. METHODS The qualitative study was done in 2010-11 at various locations in Iran using semi structural in-depth interviews with the principals and managers of programmes, and focus group discussion...

Networks adapt to environmental demands by switching between distinct dynamical behaviors. The activity of frontal-lobe neurons during two-interval discrimination tasks is an example of these adaptable dynamics. Subjects first perceive a stimulus, then hold it in working memory, and finally make a decision by comparing it with a second stimulus. We present a simple mutual-inhibition network mod...

This study examines the productivity changes of decision making units in situation where input price vectors are varying between them and inputs are heterogeneous; that is a noncompetitive market. We present a directional measure of cost Malmquist productivity index where incorporates the decision maker's preference over productivity change over time. A simple numerical example is designed to i...

the purpose of this research was to study organizational climate and faculty members' participation in decision making in physical education faculty of tehran university. for this purpose, 30 faculty members of physical education faculty were selected with census method as the statistical sample. data were collected by two questionnaires: organizational climate (?=0.92) and participation i...

BACKGROUND Patients are often confronted with diverse medical decisions. Often lacking relevant medical knowledge, patients fail to independently make medical decisions and instead generally rely on the advice of doctors. OBJECTIVE This study investigated the characteristics of and differences in doctor-patient medical decision making on the basis of construal level theory. METHODS A total ...

Prospective medical decision-making through the use of advanced directives is encouraged and frequently helpful in guiding treatment for the critically ill. It is important to recognize the attendant shortcomings when using such tools in clinical practice.