1,145 research outputs found
How people know their risk preference
People differ in their willingness to take risks. Recent work found that revealed preference tasks (e.g., laboratory lotteries)âa dominant class of measuresâare outperformed by survey-based stated preferences, which are more stable and predict real-world risk taking across different domains. How can stated preferences, often criticised as inconsequential âcheap talk,â be more valid and predictive than controlled, incentivized lotteries? In our multimethod study, over 3,000 respondents from population samples answered a single widely used and predictive risk-preference question. Respondents then explained the reasoning behind their answer. They tended to recount diagnostic behaviours and experiences, focusing on voluntary, consequential acts and experiences from which they seemed to infer their risk preference. We found that third-party readers of respondentsâ brief memories and explanations reached similar inferences about respondentsâ preferences, indicating the intersubjective validity of this information. Our results help unpack the self perception behind stated risk preferences that permits people to draw upon their own understanding of what constitutes diagnostic behaviours and experiences, as revealed in high-stakes situations in the real world
Extreme magnesium isotope fractionation at outcrop scale records the mechanism and rate at which reaction fronts advance
Isotopic fractionation of cationic species during diffusive transport provides novel means of constraining the style and timing of metamorphic transformations. Here we document a major (~1â°) decrease in the Mg isotopic composition of the reaction front of an exhumed contact between rocks of subducted crust and serpentinite, in the Syros mĂŠlange zone. This isotopic perturbation extends over a notable length-scale (~1 m), implicating diffusion of Mg through an intergranular fluid network over a period of ~100 kyr. These novel observations confirm models of diffusion-controlled growth of reaction zones formed between rocks of contrasting compositions, such as found at the slab-mantle interface in subduction zones. The results also demonstrate that diffusive processes can result in exotic stable isotope compositions of major elements with implications for mantle xenoliths and complex intrusions
Point-Contact Conductances from Density Correlations
We formulate and prove an exact relation which expresses the moments of the
two-point conductance for an open disordered electron system in terms of
certain density correlators of the corresponding closed system. As an
application of the relation, we demonstrate that the typical two-point
conductance for the Chalker-Coddington model at criticality transforms like a
two-point function in conformal field theory.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Disordered Electrons in a Strong Magnetic Field: Transfer Matrix Approaches to the Statistics of the Local Density of States
We present two novel approaches to establish the local density of states as
an order parameter field for the Anderson transition problem. We first
demonstrate for 2D quantum Hall systems the validity of conformal scaling
relations which are characteristic of order parameter fields. Second we show
the equivalence between the critical statistics of eigenvectors of the
Hamiltonian and of the transfer matrix, respectively. Based on this equivalence
we obtain the order parameter exponent for 3D quantum
Hall systems.Comment: 4 pages, 3 Postscript figures, corrected scale in Fig.
Localization in non-chiral network models for two-dimensional disordered wave mechanical systems
Scattering theoretical network models for general coherent wave mechanical
systems with quenched disorder are investigated. We focus on universality
classes for two dimensional systems with no preferred orientation: Systems of
spinless waves undergoing scattering events with broken or unbroken time
reversal symmetry and systems of spin 1/2 waves with time reversal symmetric
scattering. The phase diagram in the parameter space of scattering strengths is
determined. The model breaking time reversal symmetry contains the critical
point of quantum Hall systems but, like the model with unbroken time reversal
symmetry, only one attractive fixed point, namely that of strong localization.
Multifractal exponents and quasi-one-dimensional localization lengths are
calculated numerically and found to be related by conformal invariance.
Furthermore, they agree quantitatively with theoretical predictions. For
non-vanishing spin scattering strength the spin 1/2 systems show
localization-delocalization transitions.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, 4 figures (postscript
Asymptotic Limits and Zeros of Chromatic Polynomials and Ground State Entropy of Potts Antiferromagnets
We study the asymptotic limiting function , where is the chromatic polynomial for a graph
with vertices. We first discuss a subtlety in the definition of
resulting from the fact that at certain special points , the
following limits do not commute: . We then
present exact calculations of and determine the corresponding
analytic structure in the complex plane for a number of families of graphs
, including circuits, wheels, biwheels, bipyramids, and (cyclic and
twisted) ladders. We study the zeros of the corresponding chromatic polynomials
and prove a theorem that for certain families of graphs, all but a finite
number of the zeros lie exactly on a unit circle, whose position depends on the
family. Using the connection of with the zero-temperature Potts
antiferromagnet, we derive a theorem concerning the maximal finite real point
of non-analyticity in , denoted and apply this theorem to
deduce that and for the square and
honeycomb lattices. Finally, numerical calculations of and
are presented and compared with series expansions and bounds.Comment: 33 pages, Latex, 5 postscript figures, published version; includes
further comments on large-q serie
Leading-effect vs. Risk-taking in Dynamic Tournaments: Evidence from a Real-life Randomized Experiment
Two 'order effects' may emerge in dynamic tournaments with information feedback. First, participants adjust effort across stages, which could advantage the leading participant who faces a larger 'effective prize' after an initial victory (leading-effect). Second, participants lagging behind may increase risk at the final stage as they have 'nothing to lose' (risk-taking). We use a randomized natural experiment in professional two-game soccer tournaments where the treatment (order of a stage-specific advantage) and team characteristics, e.g. ability, are independent. We develop an identification strategy to test for leading-effects controlling for risk-taking. We find no evidence of leading-effects and negligible risk-taking effects
Fission yeast 26S proteasome mutants are multi-drug resistant due to stabilization of the pap1 transcription factor
Here we report the result of a genetic screen for mutants resistant to the microtubule poison methyl benzimidazol-2-yl carbamate (MBC) that were also temperature sensitive for growth. In total the isolated mutants were distributed in ten complementation groups. Cloning experiments revealed that most of the mutants were in essential genes encoding various 26S proteasome subunits. We found that the proteasome mutants are multi-drug resistant due to stabilization of the stress-activated transcription factor Pap1. We show that the ubiquitylation and ultimately the degradation of Pap1 depend on the Rhp6/Ubc2 E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme and the Ubr1 E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase. Accordingly, mutants lacking Rhp6 or Ubr1 display drug-resistant phenotypes
- âŚ