Are experts overconfident?: An interdisciplinary review

This article explores the emerging field of Behavioral Macroeconomics, which seeks to integrate insights from psychology into traditional economic models. The intersection of behavioral science and macroeconomics opens new avenues for understanding economic phenomena by incorporating human behavior, emotions, and cognitive biases into the analysis. We examine key principles, methodologies, and challenges in this interdisciplinary approach, emphasizing the potential implications for policy-making and the broader understanding of economic dynamics.

BackgroundIn recognition of the interconnected nature of complex challenges such as COVID-19, a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach, referred to as One Health, has been employed to address sustainable development and strengthen global health security. Although significant investments have been made to build global health capacity, characterization of the One Health is absent from the literature.Methods and findingsWe collected and analyzed perspectives from students, graduates, workers, and employers in One Health through a multinational online survey across health disciplines and sectors. Respondents were recruited through professional networks. A total of 828 respondents from 66 countries participated, representing governmental and academic institutions and students, among others; 57% were female, and 56% had completed professional health degrees. Interpersonal communication, communication with non-scientific audiences, and the ability to work in transdisciplinary teams were valued in the workplace and were considered essential competencies to build an interdisciplinary health workforce. Employers indicated difficulty recruiting workers, while workers indicated limited availability of positions. Employers identified limited funding and ill-defined career pathways as prominent challenges for retaining One Health workers.ConclusionsSuccessful One Health workers use interpersonal skills and scientific knowledge to address complex health challenges. Aligning the definition of One Health will likely improve the matching of job seekers and employers. Encouraging the employment of the One Health approach for a diverse range of positions, even if they do not explicitly include “One Health” in the job title, and clarifying the expectations, roles and responsibilities within a transdisciplinary team will lead to building a stronger workforce. As One Health has evolved to address food insecurity, emerging diseases, and antimicrobial resistance, it holds promise for supporting an interdisciplinary global health workforce that can make substantial progress on Sustainable Development Goals and improve global health security for all.

Background:Technological advances in the smart home have created new opportunities for supporting digital citizens’ well-being and facilitating their empowerment but have enabled new types of complex online harms to develop. Recent statistics have indicated that ‘smart’ technology ownership increases yearly, driven by lower costs and increased accessibility. Research on smart homes has also grown, focusing on technology perspectives at the expense of a user-centric approach sensitive to the smart home’s harms, risks, and vulnerabilities. Objective:This scoping review addresses the information gap by underscoring the scope of literature that exists regarding complex online harms, vulnerabilities, and risks associated with smart home technologies and citizens’ agency. The goal is to understand the state of knowledge, gaps in the literature, and areas for future study. The importance and originality of this paper lie in its interdisciplinary review and approach. It is hoped that this research will contribute to a deeper understanding of complex online harms in the smart home. Design:Three online databases were utilised to identify papers published between 2017 and 2022, from which we selected 235 publications written in English that addressed harms, risks, vulnerabilities, and agency in the smart home context. This allowed us to map contemporary literature to reveal significant gaps in our understanding of the complex online harms affecting smart home users and identify opportunities for further research. Results:This review identified emerging themes of ‘risks’, ‘vulnerabilities’, and ‘harms’ in that order of frequency within the literature on smart homes. The usage of terms is skewed towards computing science and information security, which comprised the majority of the literature at 54.6%. Human–computer interaction papers contributed 24.4%, while social sciences accounted for 16.2%. Conclusion:Risks, harms and vulnerabilities within smart home ecosystems and IoTs are ongoing issues with complexities that necessitate research. Privacy, security, and well-being are key themes that embody the scope of complex harms affecting smart home devices in the broad literature. This review establishes disciplinary research gaps, especially in user-centred perspectives, due to a heavy technology focus in the existing literature. Therefore, further research is needed to address emergent risks, harms and vulnerabilities of smart home devices and understand how user agency and autonomy can complement the design, interface, and socio-technical aspects of smart home systems.

Ocean Acidification (OA) has become one of the most studied global stressors in marine science during the last fifteen years. Despite the variety of studies on the biological effects of OA with marine commercial species, estimations of these impacts over consumers’ preferences have not been studied in detail, compromising our ability to undertake an assessment of market and economic impacts resulting from OA at local scales. Here, we use a novel and interdisciplinary approach to fill this gap. We experimentally test the impact of OA on commercially relevant physical and nutritional attributes of mussels, and then we use economic discrete choice models to assess the marginal effects of these impacts over consumers’ preferences and wellbeing. Results showed that attributes, which were significantly affected by OA, are also those preferred by consumers. Consumers are willing to pay on average 52% less for mussels with evidences of OA and are willing to increase the price they pay to avoid negative changes in attributes due to OA. The interdisciplinary approach developed here, complements research conducted on OA by effectively informing how OA economic impacts can be analyzed under the lens of marginal changes in market price and consumer’ welfare. Thereby, linking global phenomena to consumers’ wellbeing, and shifting the focus of OA impacts to assess the effects of local vulnerabilities in a wider context of people and businesses.

FACE‐ing the facts: inconsistencies and interdependence among field, chamber and modeling studies of elevated [CO₂] impacts on crop yield and food supply

Standard models in economics and finance usually assume that people are rational, self-interested maximisers, effectively co-ordinated via the invisible hand of the price mechanism. Whilst these approaches produce tractable, simple models, they cannot fully capture the uncertainties and instabilities that affect everyday choices in today's complex world. Insights from the other social and behavioural sciences can help to fill the gap and behavioural economics is the subject which brings economics and finance together with psychology, neuroscience and sociology. Behavioural Economics and Finance introduces the reader to some of the key concepts and insights from this rich, inter-disciplinary approach to real-world decision-making.

The concepts of explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge are introduced, and the research actuality of tacit knowledge in recent years is expatiated. On the base of this, it is pointed out that establishing knowledge interchange system of the corporation is an efficient pass to realize tacit knowledge sharing and improve the core competitiveness within the corporation. In this paper, the definition, structure, design principles and actions of the knowledge experts' map (KEM) are studied, the optimal choice model of knowledge experts (KE) with objective functions of refer charge is established, and the objective optimal choice model of knowledge experts that minimizes the waiting probability when a person has arrived interchange system is also established. Finally, the elementary computation and analysis of an example are given.

Gradient Boosted Decision Trees (GBDT’s) are a powerful tool for classification and regression tasks in Big Data. Researchers should be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of current implementations of GBDT’s in order to use them effectively and make successful contributions. CatBoost is a member of the family of GBDT machine learning ensemble techniques. Since its debut in late 2018, researchers have successfully used CatBoost for machine learning studies involving Big Data. We take this opportunity to review recent research on CatBoost as it relates to Big Data, and learn best practices from studies that cast CatBoost in a positive light, as well as studies where CatBoost does not outshine other techniques, since we can learn lessons from both types of scenarios. Furthermore, as a Decision Tree based algorithm, CatBoost is well-suited to machine learning tasks involving categorical, heterogeneous data. Recent work across multiple disciplines illustrates CatBoost’s effectiveness and shortcomings in classification and regression tasks. Another important issue we expose in literature on CatBoost is its sensitivity to hyper-parameters and the importance of hyper-parameter tuning. One contribution we make is to take an interdisciplinary approach to cover studies related to CatBoost in a single work. This provides researchers an in-depth understanding to help clarify proper application of CatBoost in solving problems. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey that studies all works related to CatBoost in a single publication.

Will This Time Be Different? A Review of the Literature on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment, Incomes and Growth

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the main character of Patrick Süskind's Perfume, was an expert perfumer. His knowledge of aromas, his ability to differentiate, dissect, mix, and create various smells gave him a craft and made other people adore and hate him. And yet, from the very beginning of the book, it is clear that Grenouille was not a "typical" individual: His language development was delayed, his cognitive abilities were challenged, and his motor functioning appeared to be impaired. Yet he was a true expert of smell – he knew how to imitate the perfume of a blossom, the smell of a dog, various human odors, and even the aromas of those rare humans who inspire love. His skill was recognized and admired, and Grenouille kept developing and strengthening it.

The functional and neural organisation of auditory knowledge is relatively poorly understood. The breakdown of conceptual knowledge in semantic dementia has revealed that pre-morbid expertise influences the extent to which knowledge is differentiated. Whether this principle applies to a similar extent in the auditory domain is not yet known. Previous reports of patients with impaired auditory vs. intact visual expert knowledge suggest that expertise may have differential effects upon the organisation of auditory and visual knowledge. An equally plausible alternative, however, is that auditory knowledge is simply more vulnerable to deterioration. Thus, expertise effects in the auditory domain may not yet have been observed because knowledge of auditory expert vs. non-expert knowledge has yet to be compared. We had the opportunity to address this issue by studying SA, a patient with semantic dementia and extensive pre-morbid knowledge of birds. We undertook a systematic investigation of SA's auditory vs. visual knowledge from matched expert vs. non-expert categories. Relative to a group of 10 age, education and IQ matched bird experts, SA showed impaired auditory vs. intact visual avian knowledge, despite intact basic auditory perceptual abilities. This was explained by independent effects of modality and expertise. Thus, he was also disproportionately impaired for auditory vs. visual knowledge of items from non-expert categories. In both auditory and visual modalities, his performance was relatively more impaired on tests of non-expert vs. expert knowledge. These findings suggest that, while auditory knowledge may be more vulnerable to deterioration, expertise modulates visual and auditory knowledge to a similar extent.

This article examines the tradition of nyekar, or grave pilgrimage, in the Islamic Archipelago as a religious and cultural phenomenon that has significance for Indonesian society. This paper is based on the important role of nyekar in the lives of Muslims in the archipelago, where the practice is not only seen as a form of respect for ancestors but also as a spiritual means to reflect on life after death and strengthen social relations. This tradition illustrates the fusion of Islamic teachings and local culture, making it a distinctive practice in Nusantara Islam. This research uses an interdisciplinary approach by combining theological, anthropological and sociological studies to understand the various aspects inherent in the nyekar tradition. The method used is qualitative, with data collection techniques through literature studies. The data were analysed descriptively-interpretatively to explore the meaning and importance of nyekar from various disciplinary perspectives. The research findings show that nyekar is a tradition full of religious and cultural values in which Nusantara Muslims combine religious beliefs with local customs. Besides reflecting religious practices, nyekar also serves as a means of maintaining social ties and preserving cultural identity. This article concludes that the nyekar tradition in Nusantara Islam has a dual role, namely as a form of worship and as an effort to preserve cultural values that are passed down between generations.

Background. The current problem of modern science and philosophy is the formation of national identity, considering the transformation of the value system in the context of deglobalization. An attempt has been made to identify the factors determining the future position of Russia in the emerging multipolar world. Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the work of foreign and Russian authors devoted to the issues of globalization and deglobali-zation; information society; mediatization and networking; national identity; value orientations and life strategies. The use of the systematic, as well as a structural and functional approach enables comprehensively examining the problem of the formation of national identity with regard to the value transformations, taking into account the interconnection and interdependence of factors influencing the change in the structure of values of the Russians, including young people. In addition, the interdisciplinary approach allows including, along with philosophical concepts and categories, concepts of economics, political science, cultural studies, etc. Results. The author finds that deglobalization is a megatrend today that testifies to the changes in global development. Despite the differences in approaches to assessing the process of deglobalization, it is obvious that nowadays the processes of disintegration have affected almost all spheres of life. There is a fundamental shift in the global community towards a decentralized economic model that allows all countries to focus on their own interests and values. A mood of deep doubt has arisen in the social space regarding the flawlessness of the prospects for globalization. The threats and risks that lead to a deterioration of the position of the country in the global space are identified; the existing disadvantages that prevent the consolidation of various groups of the Russian population are outlined. The external factors that determine possible advantages and strengths, which may create favorable conditions for the formation of national identity, are determined. Conclusions. The analysis of historical, philosophical, scientific, theoretical and methodological sources shows the improvement of the social, economic and political climate in Russia. Favorable prerequisites for the formation of national identity as a condition of national security have developed in the public consciousness. Further promotion of Russian national interests in the international arena and awareness of national identity is a demonstration of the modern trend of deglobalization and therefore, despite fears and concerns of an isolationist nature, all this will contribute to strengthening national and societal security, as well as the successful development of the country, which coincides with the expectations of almost all segments of the population.

The time spent at the slaughterhouse represents a relatively short period in an animal’s life, yet it holds substantial relevance for animal welfare. Thereto, slaughterhouse businesses are profit-driven and must maintain an efficient process flow whilst producing high-quality products that meet societal expectations. The overall aim of this thesis was to map animal welfare-related aspects during the slaughter of pigs and cattle and assess the economic relevance of animal welfare improvements for slaughterhouse businesses. This research is primarily conducted from a Swedish perspective, but it also holds international relevance. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines animal science and production economics, the work develops a theoretical economic model for animal welfare at slaughter, includes on-site slaughterhouse observations, analyses post-mortem meat inspection data, and simulates the economic effects of improved animal welfare at slaughter. The results show that process flow and personnel-related aspects are key factors for slaughterhouses in the decision-making process of investing in animal welfare improvements. Stunning efficiency in both pigs and cattle varied widely between slaughterhouses, and longer stun-to-stick intervals were associated with inadequate stun quality and the likelihood of re-stunning. The occurrence of traumatic injuries was linked to higher condemnation rates, resulting in both direct and indirect economic effects on slaughterhouse operations. Economic simulations revealed that the prevalence of stun failures had implications for both animal welfare and economic outcomes. These simulations demonstrated that the primary drivers of net benefit change for improving stunning efficiency were costs related to labour and investments in new stunning equipment in both pig and cattle slaughterhouses. This thesis concludes that animal welfare and economic outcomes at slaughter are interconnected, often favourable, indicating that animal welfare should not be solely treated as a cost. The results provide an empirical basis for understanding the complex connections between animal welfare and economic outcomes, offering insights for decisions on slaughterhouse, authority and policy level.

This chapter explores the field of Happiness Economics, an interdisciplinary approach that integrates economic and psychological insights to better understand human well-being. Unlike traditional economic models that emphasise income and consumption, Happiness Economics incorporates subjective well-being (SWB) indicators such as life satisfaction, emotional experiences, and perceived purpose. The chapter traces the historical evolution of happiness in economic thought, from classical philosophers to modern behavioural economics, and highlights key methodological developments, such as the use of large-scale surveys and econometric models (e.g., ordered probit and logit). It examines how happiness data can complement conventional indicators to provide richer insights into issues like inequality, globalisation, unemployment, and public health. The analysis includes empirical evidence from Qatar, where economic indicators such as GDP per capita and unemployment rate are assessed alongside subjective well-being metrics. Despite methodological challenges, including potential biases in self-reported data, the chapter argues that Happiness Economics offers a valuable framework for evaluating policy outcomes and improving quality of life. By emphasizing expressed preferences and subjective perceptions, this approach helps bridge the gap between economic policy and human experience.