The effect of anticipated and experienced regret and pride on investors' future selling decisions : [Version November 2012]

This paper investigates the effect of anticipated/experienced regret and pride on individual investors’ decisions to hold or sell a winning or losing investment, in the form of the disposition effect. As expected the results suggest that in the loss domain, low anticipated regret predicts a greater probability of selling a losing investment. While in the gain domain, high anticipated pride indicates a greater probability of selling a winning investment. The effects of high experienced regret/pride on the selling probability are found as well. An unexpected finding is that regret (pride) seems to be not only relevant for the loss (gain) domain, but also for the gain (loss) domain. In addition, this paper presents evidence of interconnectedness between anticipated and experienced emotions. The authors discuss the implications of these findings and possible avenues for further research

The Effects of Unions on Productivity: Evidence from Large Coffee Producers in Guatemala

The general perception of unions in the Guatemalan business community has been that they have a negative effect on firms. Although this is a strong statement, there are very few studies of unionization in Guatemala, and most of them are only descriptive. This paper provides an econometric analysis of the impact of unions on productivity in Guatemala, specifically on the production of coffee. Although union density is low, we conclude from the empirical analysis that there is evidence that unions when present have a negative effect on the productivity of large coffee plantations. We use different estimations of a production function and the effect of unions on productivity. The first uses a union dummy and other independent variables, such as a capital proxy, the proportion of administrative and permanent workers, land per worker, total workers, farm elevation above sea level and a union dummy. The second uses these same equations, but with interaction terms between the original variables and the union dummy. The results show that these other variables, when significant, had a positive effect on productivity. The only is total workers, which could be indicating that diseconomies of scale are present. As for the interaction terms, when a union is present, the productivity of variables such as land per worker and height is reduced significantly. Also, it seems that capital has a larger effect on unionized farms productivity than on non-unionized farms. The presence of permanent workers on farms, both in unionized and non-unionized settings, has a negative effect on productivity.

Why do investors sell losers? How adaptation to losses affects future capitulation decisions

According to disposition effect theory, people hold losing investments too long. However, many investors eventually sell at a loss, and little is known about which psychological factors contribute to these capitulation decisions. This study integrates prospect theory, utility maximization theory, and theory on reference point adaptation to argue that the combination of a negative expectation about an investment’s future performance and a low level of adaptation to previous losses leads to a greater capitulation probability. The test of this hypothesis in a dynamic experimental setting reveals that a larger total loss and longer time spent in a losing position lead to downward adaptations of the reference point. Negative expectations about future investment performance lead to a greater capitulation probability. Consistent with the theoretical framework, empirical evidence supports the relevance of the interaction between adaptation and expectation as a determinant of capitulation decisions. Keywords: Investments , Adaptation , Reference Point , Capitulation , Selling Decisions , Disposition Effect , Financial Markets JEL Classification: D91, D03, D8

The impact of technology: value-added classroom practice: final report

This report extends Becta’s enquiries into the ways in which digital technologies are supporting learning. It looks in detail at the learning practices mediated by ICT in nine secondary schools in which ICT for learning is well embedded. The project proposes a broader perspective on the notion of ‘impact’ that is rather different from a number of previous studies investigating impact. Previous studies have been limited in that they have either focused on a single innovation or have reported on institutional level factors. However, in both cases this pays insufficient attention to the contexts of learning. In this project, the focus has been on the learning practices of the classroom and the contexts of ICT-supported learning. The study reports an analysis of 85 lesson logs, in which teachers recorded their use of space, digital technology and student outcomes in relation to student engagement and learning. The teachers who filled in the logs, as well as their schools’ senior managers, were interviewed as part of a ‘deep audit’ of ICT provision conducted over two days. One-hour follow-up interviews with the teachers were carried out after the teachers’ log activity. The aim of this was to obtain a broader contextualisation of their teaching

PARTICLE MORPHOLOGY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON FRICTION AND DILATANCY OF SANDS

Particle morphology outlines the general analytical method used to describe soil particles’ structure and shape. The characteristics defining this term include sphericity, roundness, and surface texture. Particle morphology has a significant influence on sand behavior and consequently affects dilatancy and friction. Understanding the relationship between shear strength parameters and particle morphology answers fundamental questions about the mechanics of granular materials in general and has the potential to enhance the development of advanced constitutive models that describe granular materials’ behavior. Many researchers have reported measurements for sphericity, roundness, and surface texture using both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images to analyze the effects on granular materials’ friction and dilatancy angles. This thesis investigates the influence of morphology measurements from 3D images on friction and dilatancy of three types of sands (#1 Dry Glass, GS#40 Columbia, and F-35 Ottawa Sand) and on glass beads. A series of direct shear experiments were conducted at various normal stresses and densities to achieve this goal. Experimental measurements of friction and dilatancy angles were compared to findings in a previous study. A stepwise regression analysis was performed to develop statistical models predicting friction and dilatancy using the specimen’s relative density, normal stress, and particle morphology as input parameters. This thesis discusses how these explanatory variables affect the model and compares the experimental results with the predicted values. A reasonable agreement is found between the model’s predictions and the experimental results. The development of simple statistical models capable of accurately predicting friction and dilatancy values has a major impact on many field applications (e.g., processing granular materials for industrial and engineering purposes, foundation design, landslides, agricultural and pharmaceutical products, and future research on granular materials’ behavior). This study contributes to further advancements in theories predicting granular materials’ behavior and provides experimental evidence to support improvements of constitutive models that describe the behavior of sands

Quantitative Health Risk Assessment of Metals on Surfaces Using the Construction Industry as a Test Environment

Routes of human exposure to hazardous substances include inhalation, ingestion, skin, and eye contact. To protect worker health against airborne contaminants numerous occupational exposure limit values (OELVs) have been established by regulatory or health authorities. These limits are airborne concentrations of hazardous substances which are often established as health-based benchmarks according to epidemiological and toxicological evaluations. OELVs have exclusively focused on the inhalation exposure pathway because it has been considered the most important route of exposure (Anderson & Meade 2014; Schneider et al. 1999). In contrast, there is a lack of quantitative exposure limits to assess skin exposures in the workplace. A research gap with respect to the development of health-based skin exposure limits for metals was identified. This thesis addressed two main research questions; (1) What methods should be employed to measure skin exposure to metals? (2) What is an acceptable skin exposure limit to metals using the construction industry, where there is a high prevalence of occupational skin exposures, as a test environment

El sueño de vivir. Entrevista a la arquitecta española Carmen Espegel

Entrevista realizada a Carmen Espegel en relación a la vivienda del futuro