Entscheidungsunterstützung unter Berücksichtigung der Anforderungen von Entscheidungsträgern am Beispiel der Gestaltung von optionalen Girokonto-Tarifen

Quantitative decision models are used only if managers’ implementation conditions are met. Decision makers want tools that offer a set of good solutions so that they can evaluate different solutions according to various objectives without being forced to make their trade-offs explicit in a functional form. This also allows taking into account strategic aspects that cannot be modeled otherwise. In such situations, heuristics are needed which derive solutions from the structure and not so much from the mathematical properties. We present such a decision support tool for the problem of determining a menu of optional tariffs for checking accounts. The heuristic is based on the idea that for reasonably separable preferences across segments it is the best to offer for each segment the most preferred product. We use latent class choice-based conjoint analysis to estimate customer preferences and develop a customized choice-based conjoint design to take differences in individual demand into account. The proposed heuristic was used to support an actual decision problem for which the profit contribution has been increased substantially without having faced a considerable loss of customers.     

Alcohol and Power on Palm Island

By analysing the circumstances surrounding criminal behaviour on Palm Island, a close association is found between alcohol abuse and crimes of disorderly behaviour and violence. It is argued that one of the reasons for this association is alcohol's capacity to provide an experience of personalized power and in the case of Australian Aborigines this effect of alcohol is enhanced by the role played by alcohol throughout the history of Aboriginal legislation. Viewed in this way, the prevention of Aboriginal alcohol abuse becomes a political rather than an educational issue.     

Child sexual abuse programs: Recommendation for refinement and study

Child assault prevention programs have increasingly been instituted in school systems throughout the country. this paper reviews and summarizes research findings on child abuse, child abuse prevention programs, and evaluations of child abuse prevention programs. In addition, the author presents issues for program developers to consider as they re-examine and refine existing child abuse prevention programs.