The Application of Optimal Defaults to Improve Elementary School Lunch Selections: Proof of Concept.

Background: In this study, we applied behavioral economics to optimize elementary school lunch choices via parent-driven decisions. Specifically, this experiment tested an optimal defaults paradigm, examining whether strategically manipulating the health value of a default menu could be co-opted to improve school-based lunch selections.

Methods: The design was a randomized comparison of optimal versus suboptimal (standard) default lunch menus for all first-graders in a school district for a period of 1 week.

The application of defaults to optimize parents' health-based choices for children.

Optimal defaults is a compelling model from behavioral economics and the psychology of human decision-making, designed to shape or "nudge" choices in a positive direction without fundamentally restricting options. The current study aimed to test the effectiveness of optimal (less obesogenic) defaults and parent empowerment priming on health-based decisions with parent-child (ages 3-8) dyads in a community-based setting. Two proof-of-concept experiments (one on breakfast food selections and one on activity choice) were conducted comparing the main and interactive effects of optimal versus suboptimal defaults, and parent empowerment priming versus neutral priming, on parents' health-related choices for their children.

Pearls and pitfalls: medico-legal considerations for sinus surgery.

Purpose Of Review: Patients being treated for chronic rhinosinusitis, whether via medical or surgical means, account for a significant percentage of all medical malpractice claims against otolaryngologists. In this study, we present suggestions to help otolaryngologists safeguard against unnecessary claims.

Recent Findings: A significant proportion of malpractice claims associated with sinus surgery refer to failure of the physician to provide proper and complete informed consent.

Assessment of stakeholder perceptions in water infrastructure projects using system-of-systems and binary probit analyses: a case study.

Globally, water management is evolving toward integrating participatory processes for decision-making to increase the sustainability of the decision outcome. Information about the perceptions and concerns of stakeholders needs to be readily available to those involved in the decision-making process early in the planning stage to assist in developing viable alternatives that may be implementable with limited public opposition and engender general consensus among stakeholders. The current literature does not identify an appropriate means to incorporate stakeholder views early in the preliminary planning stages without requiring relatively large time commitments or the physical presence of the key stakeholders for meetings and discussions.

Life cycle assessment of potential biojet fuel production in the United States.

The objective of this paper is to reveal to what degree biobased jet fuels (biojet) can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the U.S. aviation sector.