Essays on Experimental Analysis of Decision-Making under Risk and Ambiguity

This thesis contributes to the experimental literature on decision-making under risk and ambiguity. In chapters 1 and 2, I study how environments of increased uncertainty, which I model as increased uncertainty about the probability of an event occurring (i.e., ambiguity), affect the decision-making process, in two settings: in chapter 1, I focus on how this increased uncertainty influences preferences over the timing of resolution of uncertainty. The results of the experiment show that in a lottery choice problem, as the ex-ante likelihood of the good outcome occurring goes up, participants turn from wanting to receive partial information before the resolution of uncertainty to being averse to it. This result has important theoretical and applied implications. In chapter 2, I analyse how social identity (e.g., political ideas, gender, ethnicity) and the stereotypical decisions made by people in the same social group are used as a reference point by decision-makers when making uncertain decisions. I find that increased uncertainty makes participants in the experiment more likely to choose the same decision as the majority of participants that belong to their social group, especially participants who do not feel a strong identification with the group. In chapter 3, my co-authors and I look at how a global social and economic shock (namely, the COVID-19 pandemic) affects risk preferences in a sample of students and professional traders. We find no significant effect of the crisis on these preferences. This result gives support to standard economic theory, which considers these preferences to be stable. We also study if the crisis affects personality traits that are economically relevant, such as trust or locus of control. We find that some of these traits do change during the pandemic. The effect, however, is heterogeneous across samples of traders and students

Bruxismo autorreportado relacionado al rendimiento académico en estudiantes de la Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego

Determinar la relación que existe entre bruxismo autorreportado y el rendimiento académico en estudiantes de la Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego. Materiales y métodos: Este estudio observacional y de corte transversal se llevó a cabo entre los meses de julio, agosto y setiembre del 2023 e incluyó un total de 260 estudiantes universitarios de 18 a 30 años, matriculados del II al X ciclo en el programa de Estomatología de la Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego. Para determinar la confiabilidad intra e inter-evaluador de la medición clínica, se llevó a cabo un estudio piloto con 30 participantes, resultando valores Kappa superiores al 0.927%. Resultados: Se encontró una baja frecuencia de bruxismo autorreportado relacionado al rendimiento académico en los estudiantes universitarios de 18 a 30 años, matriculados del II al X ciclo en el programa de Estomatología de la Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego (Con un bruxismo autorreportado poco probable 52.7% y rendimiento académico suficiente 51.2 %). Conclusión: No existe relación entre bruxismo autorreportado y el rendimiento académico en estudiantes de la Universidad Privada Antenor OrregoDetermine the relationship between self-reported bruxism and academic performance in students at the Antenor Orrego Private University. Materials and methods: This observational and cross-sectional study was carried out between the months of July, August and September 2023 and included a total of 260 university students between 18 and 30 years old, enrolled from the II to the X cycle in the University's Stomatology program. Private Antenor Orrego. To determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the clinical measurement, a pilot study was carried out with 30 participants, resulting in Kappa values greater than 0.927%. Results: A low frequency of self-reported bruxism related to academic performance was found in university students aged 18 to 30 years, enrolled from the II to the sufficient academic 51.2%). Conclusion: There is no relationship between self-reported bruxism and academic performance in students at the Antenor Orrego Private University.Tesi

Esquizofrenia: se a morte acontece sem aviso prévio, o que devemos propor para o futuro próximo?

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaNational Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental HealthUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Modelling and simulation of the effect loading on structures using and adaptive blending of discrete and finite element methods

We present a new computational model for predicting the effect of blast loading on structures. The model is based in the adaptive coupling of the finite element method (FEM) and the discrete element method (DEM) for the accurate reproduction of multifracturing and failure of structures under blast loading. In the paper we briefly describe the basis of the coupled DEM/FEM technology and demonstrate its efficiency in its application to the study of the effect of blast loading on a masonry wall, a masonry tunnel and a double curvature dam