Probability: modeling and applications to random processes

This is a review of the book "Probability: Modeling and Applications to Random Processes" by Gregory K. Miller

Do Professional Traders Exhibit Myopic Loss Aversion? An Experimental Analysis

Two behavioral concepts, loss aversion and mental accounting, have been combined to provide a theoretical explanation of the equity premium puzzle. Recent experimental evidence supports the theory, as students-behavior has been found to be consistent with myopic loss aversion (MLA). Yet, much like certain anomalies in the realm of riskless decision-making, these behavioral tendencies may be attenuated among professionals. Using traders recruited from the CBOT, we do indeed find behavioral differences between professionals and students, but rather than discovering that the anomaly is muted, we find that traders exhibit behavior consistent with MLA to a greater extent than students.

A simple test of expected utility theory using professional traders

We compare behavior across students and professional traders from the Chicago Board of Trade in a classic Allais paradox experiment. Our experiment tests whether independence, a necessary condition in expected utility theory, is systematically violated. We find that both students and professionals exhibit some behavior consistent with the Allais paradox, but the data pattern does suggest that the trader population falls prey to the Allais paradox less frequently than the student population.Allais paradox, experiments, futures traders

Industrial relations: will they survive the Labour Relations Act 1987?

To venture predictions in the Held of industrial relations is unwise. Many if not most predictions will be wrong, and these tend to be remembered by industrial law commentators. Having said that it is the writer's view that the heyday of the use of unjunctions in industrial law has been and gone. Their future use is likely to be considerably reduced. To support th1s proposition. a brief examination of the use of interim injunctions in industrial law is necessary

Studies in the field of metal β-ketoenolate chemistry

The syntheses of 188 metal complexes and 19 ligands (the majority of which are newly reported here) are described. These were individually studied by several physical techniques including IR spectroscopy, NMR spectrometry, conductance determinations and magnetic susceptibility determinations. The NMR spectra of 42 variously substituted pyridines were determined. The results are used to discuss the nature of the bonding and structure of these molecules

Gas concentration effects on plant cell cultures of Artemisia Annua

1993 Spring.Includes bibliographic references (pages 155-162).Many of the costly organic chemicals used by modern society are harvested from plants. A number of investigators have studied the use of plant cells in culture, rather than whole plants, as sources of some of the more valuable organic compounds. Before such processes can become a viable manufacturing option, a great deal more must be learned about the optimum conditions for growth and productivity of cells in culture. One aspect of this problem that has been relatively little studied is the effect of gaseous compounds on plant cell behavior. The most influential gases are believed to be oxygen, carbon dioxide and ethylene. One such organic compound of interest is the promising antimalarial artemisinin (known as "qing hao su" in China where it has been a folk remedy for centuries). It is produced in very low concentrations by Artemisia annua ("sweet wormwood"). The present author grew A. annua cells under a variety of dissolved gas conditions. Suspended cells were grown in tightly plugged flasks, in flasks under somewhat permeable conventional closures and under conditions of continuous headspace flushing with known gas mixtures. In the plugged culture tests, the usage rate of oxygen and production rates of carbon dioxide and ethylene per quantity of biomass were investigated. In the flushed headspace tests, cultures were exposed to various concentrations of the three key gases. The culture conditions were such that equilibrium between the culture liquid and gas headspace was assured. The growth rate of the cells and their production rates of artemisinin and related compounds were determined. These quantities were correlated as functions of the gas concentrations and compared with those exhibited by the conventional cultures

Information Cascades: Evidence from An Experiment with Financial Market Professionals

Previous empirical studies of information cascades use either naturally occurring data or laboratory experiments with student subjects. We combine attractive elements from each of these lines of research by observing market professionals from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in a controlled environment. As a baseline, we compare their behavior to student choices in similar treatments. We further examine whether, and to what extent, cascade formation is influenced by both private signal strength and the quality of previous public signals, as well as decision heuristics that differ from Bayesian rationality. Analysis of over 1,500 individual decisions suggests that CBOT professionals are better able to discern the quality of public signals than their student counterparts. This leads to much different cascade formation. Further, while the behavior of students is consistent with the notion that losses loom larger than gains, market professionals are unaffected by the domain of earnings. These results are important in both a positive and normative sense.

Client’s championing characteristics that promote construction innovation

Purpose: clients or users of products, processes or services are being identified as potential sources of innovation in construction. There are concerns on the degree of innovation within the construction industry, despite having potential to be innovative. The role that can be played by the construction client to promote innovation in the industry is well documented. However, lack of knowledge on the desirable characteristics of the construction client was identified as one of the barriers for the construction client to be an effective innovation promoter. Accordingly, the paper evaluates the characteristics of the construction client that promotes innovation. Research Methodology: the multiple holistic case studies were used as the research strategy and semi-structured interviews were used as the principal data collection technique. Code-based content analysis and cognitive mapping were used to analyse the interviews. Data analysis was supported by two computer aided software namely NVivo and Decision explorer. Findings: clients can increase the efficiency of work carried out towards the construction process, stimulate team dynamics and team action through the championing characteristics which in turn can strengthen the innovation process that lead to the innovative product. Being a team player, promoting respect for people, and knowledge and information dissemination are identified as constituents of the championing characteristics of clients that promote innovation in construction projects. The personal skills of clients such as competence, value judgement, flexibility, and self motivation will energise the success of the championing characteristics. Originality/value: the client characteristics identified from the study widen the knowledge base of the client to successfully engage in construction innovation