I Role of Behavioral Finance in Portfolio Investment Decisions: Evidence from India Abstract Extreme volatility has plagued financial markets worldwide since the 2008 Global Crisis. Investor sentiment has been one of the key determinants of market movements. In this context, studying the role played by emotions like fear, greed and anticipation, in shaping up investment decisions seemed important. Behavioral Finance is an evolving field that studies how psychological factors affect decision making under uncertainty. This thesis seeks to find the influence of certain identified behavioral finance concepts (or biases), namely, Overconfidence, Representativeness, Herding, Anchoring, Cognitive Dissonance, Regret Aversion, Gamblers' Fallacy, Mental Accounting, and Hindsight Bias, on the decision making process of individual investors in the Indian Stock Market. Primary data for analysis was gathered by distributing a structured questionnaire among investors who were categorized as (i) young, and (ii) experienced. Results obtained by analyzing a sample of 92 respondents, out of which 53 admitted to having suffered a loss of at least 30% because of the crisis, revealed that the degree of exposure to the biases separated the behavioral pattern of young and experienced investors. Gamblers' Fallacy, Anchoring and...

<p>mRNA localization is emerging as a critical cellular mechanism for the spatiotemporal regulation of protein expression and serves important roles in oogenesis, embryogenesis, cell fate specification, and synapse formation. Signal sequence-encoding mRNAs are localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane by either of two mechanisms, a canonical mechanism of translation on ER-bound ribosomes (signal recognition particle pathway), or a poorly understood direct ER anchoring mechanism. In this study, we identify that the ER integral membrane proteins function as RNA-binding proteins and play important roles in the direct mRNA anchoring to the ER. We report that one of the ER integral membrane RNA-binding protein, AEG-1 (astrocyte elevated gene-1), functions in the direct ER anchoring and translational regulation of mRNAs encoding endomembrane transmembrane proteins. HITS-CLIP and PAR-CLIP analyses of the AEG-1 mRNA interactome of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells revealed a high enrichment for mRNAs encoding endomembrane organelle proteins, most notably encoding transmembrane proteins. AEG-1 binding sites were highly enriched in the coding sequence and displayed a signature cluster enrichment downstream of encoded transmembrane domains. In overexpression and knockdown models, AEG-1 expression markedly regulates translational efficiency and protein functions of two of its bound transcripts, MDR1 and NPC1. This study reveals a molecular mechanism for the selective localization of mRNAs to the ER and identifies a novel post-transcriptional gene regulation function for AEG-1 in membrane protein expression.</p> / Dissertation

Este trabalho destina-se a realizar um estudo dos efeitos da heurística da ancoragem em estimativas numéricas, e esta fundamentado em pressupostos teóricos apresentados por Amos Tversky e Daniel Kahneman em um estudo seminal de 1974. Sendo assim, este trabalho tem por objetivo examinar quais os efeitos da heurística da ancoragem nas estimativas numéricas sob a perspectiva da avaliação de bens de consumo. Os objetivos específicos foram testar o método proposto por Jacowitz e Kahneman (1995) para a mensuração dos efeitos da ancoragem em estimativas de quantidades incertas e comparar os resultados deste estudo, com os resultados dos trabalhos realizados anteriormente nesta área em outros países. O método utilizado segue as etapas propostas por Jacowitz e Kahneman (1995). Os resultados indicaram que, embora, novos experimentos sejam necessários para um avanço no entendimento de como a ancoragem pode influenciar o processo decisório de consumo, a confirmação da manifestação dos efeitos da ancoragem na estimação de quantidades incertas no experimento 1, e dos preços de diferentes produtos e serviços no experimento 2, numa avaliação do grupo total de participantes da pesquisa, foi a principal contribuição deste trabalho, além de seus resultados corroborarem com os resultados encontrados em estudos similares realizados em outros países, revelando que, no contexto brasileiro, também se observam os efeitos da ancoragem. Além disso, os resultados estendem a pesquisa dos efeitos da ancoragem na estimação do preço de produtos e serviços, e contribui para um melhor entendimento do comportamento do consumidor. Especificamente, o experimento 2 fornece novas percepções relativas aos estudos da ancoragem e indica como um número arbitrário apresentado a um indivíduo pode alterar o seu julgamento, quanto ao preço de um produto ou serviço. Deste modo, esses resultados sugerem que, em vez de dependerem de um enfoque mais passivo na estimação do valor de um produto para os compradores em potencial, e fixarem um preço de acordo com os métodos tradicionais de precificação, os varejistas podem adotar um papel mais ativo na determinação dos preços de determinados produtos, baseados na análise de fatores subjetivos que afetam os julgamentos de preços dos consumidores. / This research paper aims to study the effects of anchoring heuristic in numerical estimates, based on the theoretical presuppositions presented in the seminal work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1974. The purpose of this work is hence to examine what effects of anchoring heuristic has in numerical estimates for an assessment of consumer goods. The specific objectives were to test the method suggested by Jacowitz and Kahneman (1995) to measure the anchoring effects in estimates of uncertain quantities and compare the results of this study with those of surveys previously conducted in this field in other countries. The method used follows the steps suggested by Jacowitz and Kahneman (1995). The results indicated that, although new experiments are necessary to further understand how the anchoring is likely to influence the consumer decision process, the confirmed appearance of the anchoring effects on the estimate of uncertain quantities in experiment 1, and the prices of different products and services in experiment 2, in an overall group assessment of those who participated in the research, was the main contribution to this work, besides the fact that its results corroborated the results found in similar studies conducted in other countries, thereby revealing that the anchoring effects are also observed in the Brazilian context. Moreover, the results broaden the research on the anchoring effects when estimating product and service prices, and contribute to a better grasp of consumer behaviour. Experiment 2, more specifically, supplies new perceptions as to surveys on anchoring and reveals how an arbitrary number presented to an individual can change their judgement as to the price of a product or service. Hence, the results suggest that instead of having to concentrate more passively on a value estimate of a product for potential buyers and fixing a price according to traditional pricing methods, retailers may adopt a more active role when fixing the price of specific products, based on the analysis of subjective factors that affect the consumer’s judgement on prices.

O trabalho apresentado tem como finalidade analisar os sistemas de ancoragem utilizados na fabricação de End Fittings (EF), através de ensaios de dois sistemas de ancoragem alternativos aos utilizados atualmente na indústria. Além disso, é apresentado o desenvolvimento de um modelo de elementos finitos (MEF) que permite a reprodução do comportamento durante o processo de pullout da ancoragem com melhor desempenho. A caracterização dos materiais envolvidos no sistema de ancoragem foi necessária para o desenvolvimento do modelo numérico. Desta forma, o modelo numérico conta com as propriedades elásticas e plásticas dos materiais, fator que influencia o comportamento do sistema assim como os valores de carga necessários para o arrancamento. A comparação das ancoragens propostas foi realizada a partir dos valores de força obtidos por meio de um teste de arrancamento, chamado de pullout. Para isto, arames da armadura de tração de uma linha flowline de 2,5 polegadas foram conformados de acordo à geometria das ancoragens propostas e embebidas em resina epóxi tentando, desta forma, representar de forma simplificada parte do sistema de ancoragem utilizado nos EF. O desempenho das ancoragens foi analisado a partir das curvas de força em função do deslocamento, nas quais se analisou a força máxima de pullout (força máxima de arrancamento), o deslocamento para força máxima de pullout e o valor de rigidez do sistema. Finalmente depois de selecionada a ancoragem com melhor desempenho, os valores experimentais foram comparados com os valores obtidos do modelo numérico, mostrando uma boa aproximação com valores de erro relativo para a força máxima de pullout e rigidez de -1% e 8%, respectivamente. Por fim, propõe-se como trabalho futuro a continuação nos estudos experimentais de pullout com o objetivo de aprofundar o conhecimento sobre os parâmetros que mais influenciam nestes sistemas, através da utilização de novas geometrias e materiais, assim como a normalização do processo de preparação e ensaio das amostras. / The work aims to analyze the anchoring systems used in manufacturing of flexible pipe End Fittings (EF) through the tests of two alternative anchoring systems different of the currently used in the industry. In addition, it is presented the development of a finite element model (MEF) that allows to reproduce the behavior during the pullout process of the anchoring system with the better performance. The characterization of the materials involved in the anchoring system was necessary for the development of the numerical model. In this way, the numerical model include the elastic and plastic properties of materials, factor that influence the behavior of the system as well as the force values needed for the pullout. The comparison of the proposed anchoring systems was performed from the force values obtained through a pullout test. For this, the armor wires of a flowline flexible pipe with a bore of 2.5-inch were conformed according the geometry of the anchoring systems proposed and then were fixed in epoxy resin, trying in this way to represent a simplified form of the anchoring system used in EF. The performance of the anchoring systems was analyzed from the force-displacement curves. The maximum pullout force, the offset for maximum strength of pullout and the stiffness value of the system were used for the analysis. Finally, after selected the anchoring system with better performance, the experimental values were compared with the values obtained from the numerical model. The results showed a good approximation, with a relative error for the maximum pullout force and stiffness of -1% and 8% respectively. As proposal for future works, the author proposes to continue with the experimental studies of pullout in order to enhance the knowledge about the influential parameters in these systems, through the use of new geometries and materials, as well as the standardization of the test samples preparation.

Para uso em aplicações tecnológicas os cristais líquidos são geralmente confinados em em celas, onde a interação do cristal líquido com a superfície de contorno é de grande importância para o bom desempenho do dispositivo. Os cristais líquidos liotrópicos em particular, possuem propriedades físicas muito mais complexas que os termotrópicos, que não são conhecidas em sua totalidade. Dessa forma, desenvolvemos um estudo com o objetivo de investigar a influência da superfície na configuração de uma amostra de cristal líquido liotrópico. Utilizamos alguns tratamentos de superfície para alterar as condições de contorno e investigar a orientação induzida ao cristal líquido. Esses tratamentos alteram as propriedades físico-químicas das superfícies, tais como o caráter hidrofílico (utilizando lâminas de vidro) e hidrofóbico (utilizando lâminas de vidro recobertas com polímero). Outro tratamento empregado consiste no esfregamento dos substratos ao longo de uma direção preferencial que pode alterar a topografia das superfícies. Variamos a espessura da amostra para comparar os efeitos devido as interações da superfície em relação as interações entre as moléculas no volume. Efetuamos análise de textura da amostra de cristal líquido liotrópico após colocada nas celas fabricadas com os substratos tratados. Através de medidas de transmitância de um feixe de luz polarizada pela amostra, investigamos os processos dinâmicos de reorientação e relaxação induzidos por um campo magnético externo. / The use of liquid crystals (LC) in technological applications (LC displays) implies that these materials might be confined in thin cells, where the interactions with the boundary surfaces are of great importance for a good performance of such displays. The physical properties of lyotropic liquid crystals, in particular, are much more complexe than those of thermotropic LC, and are not up to now completely understood. Therefore, we have performed a study with the objective of investigating the influence of the boundary surface on the configuration of a lyotropic liquid crystal sample. Different surface treatments were used to modify the boundary conditions and to investigate the orientation induced to the liquid crystal. These surface treatments may affect the physico-chemical properties of the surfaces, such as the hydrophilicity (using clean glass plates) and hydrophobicity (by coating the glass plates with a polymer). Another treatment that have been used is the unidirectional rubbing of the substrates that can change the surfaces topography. The sample thickness was also varied in order to compare the effects due to surface interactions with respect to the intermolecular interactions in the bulk. We have performed an analysis of the texture of the lyotropic liquid crystal sample once confined in the cells built from the treated substrates. By means of the measurements of the intensity of a polarized light beam crossing the sample, we have investigated the dynamics of the reorientation and relaxation processes induced by the an external magnetic field.

Para uso em aplicações tecnológicas os cristais líquidos são geralmente confinados em em celas, onde a interação do cristal líquido com a superfície de contorno é de grande importância para o bom desempenho do dispositivo. Os cristais líquidos liotrópicos em particular, possuem propriedades físicas muito mais complexas que os termotrópicos, que não são conhecidas em sua totalidade. Dessa forma, desenvolvemos um estudo com o objetivo de investigar a influência da superfície na configuração de uma amostra de cristal líquido liotrópico. Utilizamos alguns tratamentos de superfície para alterar as condições de contorno e investigar a orientação induzida ao cristal líquido. Esses tratamentos alteram as propriedades físico-químicas das superfícies, tais como o caráter hidrofílico (utilizando lâminas de vidro) e hidrofóbico (utilizando lâminas de vidro recobertas com polímero). Outro tratamento empregado consiste no esfregamento dos substratos ao longo de uma direção preferencial que pode alterar a topografia das superfícies. Variamos a espessura da amostra para comparar os efeitos devido as interações da superfície em relação as interações entre as moléculas no volume. Efetuamos análise de textura da amostra de cristal líquido liotrópico após colocada nas celas fabricadas com os substratos tratados. Através de medidas de transmitância de um feixe de luz polarizada pela amostra, investigamos os processos dinâmicos de reorientação e relaxação induzidos por um campo magnético externo. / The use of liquid crystals (LC) in technological applications (LC displays) implies that these materials might be confined in thin cells, where the interactions with the boundary surfaces are of great importance for a good performance of such displays. The physical properties of lyotropic liquid crystals, in particular, are much more complexe than those of thermotropic LC, and are not up to now completely understood. Therefore, we have performed a study with the objective of investigating the influence of the boundary surface on the configuration of a lyotropic liquid crystal sample. Different surface treatments were used to modify the boundary conditions and to investigate the orientation induced to the liquid crystal. These surface treatments may affect the physico-chemical properties of the surfaces, such as the hydrophilicity (using clean glass plates) and hydrophobicity (by coating the glass plates with a polymer). Another treatment that have been used is the unidirectional rubbing of the substrates that can change the surfaces topography. The sample thickness was also varied in order to compare the effects due to surface interactions with respect to the intermolecular interactions in the bulk. We have performed an analysis of the texture of the lyotropic liquid crystal sample once confined in the cells built from the treated substrates. By means of the measurements of the intensity of a polarized light beam crossing the sample, we have investigated the dynamics of the reorientation and relaxation processes induced by the an external magnetic field.

Neste trabalho foi feito o estudo do efeito de orientação de moléculas de cristal líquido (5CB) em superfícies recobertas com fotopolímeros. Estudamos o processo de alinhamento fotoinduzido às moléculas de cristal líquido, de forma a caracterizar a intensidade de energia de ancoramento em função da energia de luz incidente e da concentração de cromóforos nos fotopolímeros. Foi realizado um estudo do efeito de competição entre duas direções distintas induzidas por fotoalinhamento, através da gravação de microtexturas periódicas. Neste trabalho, foi utilizado um modelo teórico para explicar como se dá a transição orientacional conforme se muda o período da textura periódica gravada. Foi feito também a gravação de grades de relevo nesses materiais, utilizando luz polarizada com alta potência incidente através da técnica de interferência de luz. O objetivo principal deste trabalho seria uma tentativa de se realizar o efeito de competição de alinhamento entre os processos fotoinduzidos: um efeito de fotoalinhamento, levando em conta a orientação das cadeias poliméricas, e outro de relevo, levando em conta a deformação da superfície tratada. Um resultado obtido foi a impossibilidade de se realizar este estudo, pois as intensidades de energia de ancoramento induzidas envolvidas diferem entre si de um fator de duas ordens de grandeza, mostrando que a direção de fotoalinhamento sempre acaba prevalecendo. Para contornar este problema, foi estudada a competição de fotoalinhamento com a técnica de rubbing, tendo em vista que as intensidades de energia de ancoramento estudadas eram compatíveis entre si. / In this work we performed a study of the orientacional effect of the liquid crystals molecules in substrates coated with azopolymers films. We studied the photoalignment induced to liquid crystals molecules to determine the behavior of the magnitude of anchoring energy as a function of incident energy and azodyes concentration in the polymer. Then we performed a competition study of the competition of photoalignment effect by recording a microtexture pattern on the azopolymer surface, with two directions of alignment. In this work, we also introduced a theoretical model to explain the orientacional transitions observed as we changed the period of the patterned microtexture. Another technique utilized was the Surface Relief Grating recording, by using polarized light with enough power and creating an interference pattern in the azopolymer surface, we were able to create a topological structure in the surface. The main objective of this work was supposed to investigate the competition between these two photoinduced effects, when one is caused by a photoalignment of the polymer chains, and the other is due to topological issues. We concluded that it was not possible to have competition between these two effects, mainly because the magnitude of the anchoring energy induced by SRG was found to be a hundred times smaller than the photoinduced one. As an alternative to this approach, we studied, then, the competition between the rubbing process and the photoalignment effect, as the magnitude of these two effects was found to be compatible.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur hög precision äldre personer har när de ålderskattar maskerade och omaskerade ansikten. 21 kvinnor och 19 män, totalt 40 deltagare med genomsnittlig ålder på 57,7 år fick skatta åldern på 30 maskerade och 30 omaskerade ansiktsbilder. Samma stimuluspersoner användes med och utan mask. Stimulusbilderna delades upp i grupperna yngre (18-32 år) samt äldre (39-72 år). Resultatet visar att omaskerade ansikten skattas med högre precision än maskerade ansikten och att kvinnor hade en högre precision än män. Inga signifikanta skillnader fanns i deltagarnas förmåga att skatta yngre eller äldre ansikten. Tre interaktionseffekter hittades. (1) Mellan ålder och kön, (2) mellan ålder och maskering och (3) mellan mask, ålder och kön. De systematiska avvikelserna visar att de yngre och omaskerade stimuluspersonernas ålder överskattades samt att de äldre personernas ålder underskattades. Resultatet diskuteras i relation till åldersskattnig och självförankringseffekt. / The purpose of this study was to examine how precise older people can estimate the age of masked and unmasked faces. 21 women and 19 men, 40 participants in total, were shown pictures of 30 masked and 30 unmasked faces, and asked to estimate their age. The same stimulus persons were both masked and unmasked. The pictures were divided into age groups, younger (18-32) and older (39-72). The results showed that unmasked faces were better estimated than masked faces, and that women were more precise than men. There were no significant difference between participants ability to estimate the age of young and old faces. Three interaction effects was found. (1) Between age and sex, (2) between age and mask and (3) between mask, age and sex. The systematic divergences show that the age of the younger and unmasked stimulus persons were overestimated, and that the age of the older persons were underestimated. The results are discussed in relation to age estimation and self-anchoring effects.

A liquid crystal (LC) at its boundary surface adopts a preferential alignment, which is referred to as anchoring. The direction of this alignment (i.e., anchoring direction) may be perpendicular, parallel or tilted with respect to the surface. Transitions from one anchoring condition to another may occur when the parameters (e.g., temperature) charactering the surface change, as referred to as anchoring transitions. In the LC-polymer composite systems under our study, the anchoring and temperature- driven anchoring transitions of nematic fluids is very sensitive to the structure of the side chain of poly (alkyl acrylate) matrixes that encapsulate the LC. We have shown that the anchoring transition temperature of these systems can be tuned far below the nematic-to-isotropic transition temperature, by varying either the length, branching structure of the side chains of homopolymers, or the composition of copolymer of two dissimilar monomers. Both sharp and broad anchoring transitions with respect to the temperature range over which a transition occurs were observed. It is postulated that microscopic interactions between the polymer side chains and LC molecules play an important role in determining the anchoring. In particular, the conformation of the polymer side chain is proposed to have important control over the anchoring. Anchoring strength and tilt angle as a function of temperature during the anchoring transitions were also experimentally investigated, which contribute to understanding of the microscopic mechanism for such transitions. Based on the LC-polymer composites with controlled anchoring, a LC display with reverse switching mode and a novel electrically switchable diffraction grating have been demonstrated. The advantages of these devices are ease of manufacturing, low operation voltage, and mechanical stability offered by polymer matrix. Moreover, a detailed study of the director configuration of wall defects found in these composite films was carried out using fluorescence confocal polarized microscopy.

It has been widely accepted that people do not always behave rationally when making decisions. However, cognitive biases are still of interest to a relatively small group (mostly working in the area of psychology) even though they have been introduced to a wider audience by Tversky and Kahneman&rsquo / s article in Science in 1974. It has already been shown that behavioral biases affect most decisions of people / therefore, they have an important role in a wide range of fields, from financial marketing to gambling. The purpose of this study is to investigate some cognitive biases (anchoring, reference point, probability judgment and risk propensity) in Turkey. In brief, anchoring bias is the fallacious effect of anchor values on decision making process, the presence of reference point bias proves that people are excessively affected by comparisons, probability judgment bias is the erroneous evaluation of probabilities, and risk propensity bias is the fallacious effect of the risk propensity levels on decision making processes. The relationships of these biases with individual cognitive ability levels and socioeconomic variables are also inspected. The data are collected by using a survey that is composed of the related measures which are taken from previous surveys in the literature. The sample is composed of a large number of participants (1575) from a wide range of socioeconomic statuses, from students to working professionals to retired individuals. The results lend support to the presence of a reference point bias, and an effect of risk propensity levels on decisions. However, an evidence which supports anchoring and probability judgment biases are failed to be found at a significant level. A significant relationship between cognitive ability level and risk propensity level is found. Moreover, demographic variables are also found to have an effect on the selected biases and cognitive ability.