This paper investigates the influence of two representative other-regarding preferences on specified issues. The first chapter studies the preferred tax rate and labor supplies of voters in the presence of income inequality aversion in a two-stage redistribution game. The two-stage redistribution game consists of a first stage in which voters vote for a flat tax rate on income with the revenues redistributed evenly and a second stage in which workers, who are also voters, provide the labor supplies with the tax rate given. I specify inequality aversion preferences into two ways: The payoff inequality aversion represents people's preference to divide their material payoff evenly, and the income inequality aversion represents people's preference to divide their income evenly without considering their efforts to earn that income. In conclusion, payoff inequality-averse workers provide the same labor supplied as a worker who does not have any inequality aversions (a standard worker) but prefers a higher tax rate to a standard worker. The income inequality-averse workers, first, provide their labor supply considering their positions in a skill distribution and, therefore, adjust their labor supply such that the income curve becomes flatter. High-skilled workers tend to earn less income, while low-skilled workers tend to earn more income. Second, the income share of the richest decreases with the degree of inequality aversion up to a point. Third, inequality-averse workers do not necessarily prefer a higher tax rate to a standard worker, mainly because some level of income inequality is already self-adjusted in the second stage. The second chapter looks at how reciprocal preferences influence coalition size in international environmental agreements. Reciprocal preferences represent how a decision maker gains an additional positive utility when it responds to a kind action with a kind action or to an unkind action with an unkind action. I incorporate reciprocal preferences in a two-stage game that predicts the decision of each government to participate in an agreement that decreases pollutant emissions. The main result shows that bigger coalition forms than the standard preference does not include reciprocal preferences. Reciprocal governments that participate in the treaty (signatories) suffer from unkindness based on pollution by non-signatories so that the threat to retaliate by polluting becomes credible. Then, free-rider governments (non-signatories) on the margin surrender to the implicit threat and participate in the treaty. Furthermore, including reciprocity reverses the usual result that there is an inverse relationship between the marginal benefit and coalition size. In other words, the size of coalition increases with the marginal benefit of abatement in an equilibrium when the reciprocal sensitivity is sufficiently high. Signatories are more likely to retaliate against non-signatories because the benefit to non-signatories of refraining from decreasing emissions aggravates the unkindness to signatories.

This dissertation is concerned with the role of regret aversion in decision making. Specifically, it examines how regret aversion influences decision process, choice, and post-decisional behaviors and feelings. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the past empirical findings and theorizing on regret aversion. Chapter 2 examines whether regret aversion leads to a stronger or weaker preference for so-called reason-based choices (cf., Shafir, Simonson, & Tversky, 1993), or options that are more easily justifiable. Specifically, four experiments test whether four well-known reason-based choice effects are amplified or attenuated when regret is made salient. These effects are the asymmetric dominance effect, the compromise effect, the select/reject effect, and the most important attribute effect. Chapter 3 reports on five experiments that examine whether regret aversion leads decision makers to engage in more careful decision processing as suggested by Janis and Mann (1977). It extends the study of regret aversion from choice behavior to decision processing. Chapter 4 studies the effects of regret aversion in repeated decisions. Specifically, it examines experimentally how decision makers handle the trade off between seeking feedback on foregone options that may facilitate learning and better decision making in future decisions, and avoiding feedback on foregone options as such feedback may cause feelings of regret. Chapter 5 summarizes the contributions of this dissertation and concludes.

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The most commonly used method of euthanasia of laboratory rodents is exposure to carbon dioxide (CO₂), but recent studies have shown that rodents find this gas aversive. The aim of my thesis was to evaluate rat aversion to inhalant agents that could be used as humane alternatives to CO₂. The first study used approach-avoidance testing to examine rat responses to argon-induced hypoxia when argon was introduced at flow rates of 40-239% of the test cage volume per min. Rats never remained in the test cage long enough to lose consciousness when tested with argon. They consumed fewer reward items, stopped eating sooner, and left the test cage more quickly than when tested with air. Rats stopped eating and left the test cage when the oxygen (O₂) concentration had dropped to about 7.7 and 6.8%, respectively, but these O₂ concentrations are too high to cause unconsciousness. Although humans exposed to hypoxia report only subtle symptoms that include cognitive impairments and light headedness, rats are burrowing rodents and could therefore be more sensitive to these effects. I conclude that argon is not a humane alternative to CO₂. The second study used approach-avoidance testing to evaluate rat responses to different concentrations of the inhalant anaesthetics halothane and isoflurane introduced with vaporizers or from soaked cotton balls. On the first day of exposure to anaesthetics, most rats remained in the test cage until they were ataxic and showing difficulty returning to the home cage. On subsequent days of testing most rats left the test cage within seconds, but if given the option, all promptly returned and stayed until they were ataxic, indicating that the learned aversion is transient. Rats were likely sedated by the time they chose to leave, suggesting that forced exposure from the onset of aversion until loss of consciousness is less of a welfare concern than forced exposure to non-sedating agents. I suggest that the use of inhalant anaesthetics for inducing unconsciousness prior to euthanasia is a more humane method than the commonly used CO₂.

This thesis examines the use of precision agriculture data, specifically yield maps, for makingsite-specific economic decisions for improved farm management. The adoption of precisionagriculture on farms has allowed producers to collect a greater quantity and more specificinformation about production than ever before. With such information, site-specific decisions canbe made. Incorporating economic data with yield map data, two primary decision examples aredeveloped: defining areas of production and nonproduction and managing temporal risk spatiallyacross a field. Included with the production/ nonproduction decision are the effects that landtenure arrangements and risk aversion levels have on the decision. The risk maps are developedusing break-even analysis, the coefficient of variation, and a mean-variance framework, all based ona twenty year average of temporal net returns, measured spatially. The risk maps are repeatedincorporating a crop insurance option, a commonly used risk management tool. Results show thatdeveloping these maps can be used by agricultural producers to help with their decision making. Byincorporating these maps into the decision-making process, decisions can be made to increase farmprofitability.

Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (June 27, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this bachelor thesis was to investigate how local farmers of sunflower and local processors of sunflower oil in Babati, Tanzania perceive constraints and possibilities to value chain upgrading by conducting a case study. Open-ended interviews were conducted during a period of eight weeks with local sunflower farmers, local sunflower processors and other actors with knowledge of the sunflower value chain. The results from the study show that the main constraints perceived by farmers were lack of capital and incentive to buy new seeds, lack of knowledge of how to re-plant old seeds, their lack of bargaining position and market knowledge which together put restrains on their market access. The main constraints, perceived by local processors, were lack of access to credit, lack of market access with regard to sunflower cakes, a bi-product of sunflower oil production, and a shortage of sunflower seeds on the local market. With regard to the shortage of seeds produced in the area this was discussed further with the respondents as it seems to be connected with actors need for diversification as a form of risk aversion. The main upgrading options as perceived by farmers were value addition by also processing and selling the sunflower oil and different forms of horizontal integration. The main upgrading option perceived by local processors of sunflower oil was an insourcing of the labelling and packaging of sunflower oil which would create access to higher value markets.

Aversion is a complex phenomenon that arises over time through performance of cognitively demanding tasks and has been associated with the mechanisms of mental fatigue and compensatory control. However, little is known about this sensation to dissociate from the task at hand and the causation thereof. It is apparent that aversion is a negative state for the operator and could result in decreased performance and productivity. Through identification of factors that contribute to aversion when performing cognitively demanding tasks, recommendations to reduce design deficits may be employed to promote worker wellbeing and further advance performance and productivity. The current study examined possible factors that may influence aversion experienced through execution of cognitive tasks. A subsequent aim of this study was to assess a possible cause of aversion. The cause of aversion was hypothesized to be related to efficiency, namely the perception of efficiency when performing tasks and actual efficiency calculated through performance of tasks in relation to the expenditure of effort. Four investigations were undertaken with a non-repeated design between investigations and a repeated design within investigations. The first investigation was an analysis of the effect that stimulus cycling had on the aversion experienced. This consisted of a proof reading task with two conditions varying in the repetitiveness of the text, therefore, allowing an analysis as to how aversion is altered by the provision of a new stimulus to the participants. Investigation two investigated the effect that task difficulty imposed on aversion experienced. This comprised of two conditions with varied difficulty that were implemented through a driving simulator tracking task with difficulty altered by the width of the driving lane. The effect of performance feedback on the aversion experienced towards a task was the focus of the third investigation. The effect on aversion experienced was assessed through a driving simulator tracking task with a condition providing feedback of performance to participants and a condition with no knowledge of performance. The final experiment evaluated the effect of task alternations on aversion. This experiment was conducted through alternations between a driving simulator tracking task and a choice reaction task. The choice reaction tasks required participants to identify critical and non-critical stimulus. Four conditions were required for this experiment and were made up of two conditions where there was provision of alternation that varied in frequencies between the two tasks (medium alternation condition and fast alternation condition) and two conditions where no alternations were instated (driving simulator task condition and choice reaction task condition). Separations between all testing conditions were three or more days apart with sixty participants distributed between the investigations. Test duration of each condition was 30 minutes. Subjective data was recorded throughout investigations for all conditions in the form of aversion, subjectively perceived efficiency and rate of perceived exertion. Objective data was collected in the form of physiological responses and performance of tasks for the analysis of objective efficiency. For factors influencing aversion analysis, no differences in aversion experienced were found for the task difficulty and performance feedback investigations. Aversion was found to be less for the changes imposed through the task cycles and task alternation investigations. This concludes that aversion is aggravated through monotonous tasks and by a change of the stimulus or the structure of the cognitive tasks provided to operators; aversion can be alleviated. The results for the cause of aversion analysis found no difference in objective efficiency over time, with a subsequent decrease in perceived efficiency associated with the increasing aversion. Inference from these findings suggest that aversion cannot be attributed to objective inefficiency of task performance, however it can further be assumed that perception of actual efficiency is inaccurate. Perception of efficiency however had a large influence on the sensation of aversion. Aversion is seen to be more of a product of time on task, however whether this is mechanism of fatigue or compensatory control is still to be determined.

The most commonly used method of euthanasia of laboratory rodents is exposure to carbon dioxide (CO₂), but recent studies have shown that rodents find this gas aversive. The aim of my thesis was to evaluate rat aversion to inhalant agents that could be used as humane alternatives to CO₂. The first study used approach-avoidance testing to examine rat responses to argon-induced hypoxia when argon was introduced at flow rates of 40-239% of the test cage volume per min. Rats never remained in the test cage long enough to lose consciousness when tested with argon. They consumed fewer reward items, stopped eating sooner, and left the test cage more quickly than when tested with air. Rats stopped eating and left the test cage when the oxygen (O₂) concentration had dropped to about 7.7 and 6.8%, respectively, but these O₂ concentrations are too high to cause unconsciousness. Although humans exposed to hypoxia report only subtle symptoms that include cognitive impairments and light headedness, rats are burrowing rodents and could therefore be more sensitive to these effects. I conclude that argon is not a humane alternative to CO₂. The second study used approach-avoidance testing to evaluate rat responses to different concentrations of the inhalant anaesthetics halothane and isoflurane introduced with vaporizers or from soaked cotton balls. On the first day of exposure to anaesthetics, most rats remained in the test cage until they were ataxic and showing difficulty returning to the home cage. On subsequent days of testing most rats left the test cage within seconds, but if given the option, all promptly returned and stayed until they were ataxic, indicating that the learned aversion is transient. Rats were likely sedated by the time they chose to leave, suggesting that forced exposure from the onset of aversion until loss of consciousness is less of a welfare concern than forced exposure to non-sedating agents. I suggest that the use of inhalant anaesthetics for inducing unconsciousness prior to euthanasia is a more humane method than the commonly used CO₂. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

La prise de décision stratégique concernant des ressources de valeur devrait tenir compte du degré d'aversion au risque. D'ailleurs, de nombreux domaines d'application mettent le risque au cœur de la prise de décision. Toutefois, ce n'est pas le cas de l'apprentissage automatique. Ainsi, il semble essentiel de devoir fournir des indicateurs et des algorithmes dotant l'apprentissage automatique de la possibilité de prendre en considération le risque dans la prise de décision. En particulier, nous souhaiterions pouvoir estimer ce dernier sur de courtes séquences dépendantes générées à partir de la classe la plus générale possible de processus stochastiques en utilisant des outils théoriques d'inférence statistique et d'aversion au risque dans la prise de décision séquentielle. Cette thèse étudie ces deux problèmes en fournissant des méthodes algorithmiques prenant en considération le risque dans le cadre de la prise de décision en apprentissage automatique. Un algorithme avec des performances de pointe est proposé pour une estimation précise des statistiques de risque avec la classe la plus générale de processus ergodiques et stochastiques. De plus, la notion d'aversion au risque est introduite dans la prise de décision séquentielle (apprentissage en ligne) à la fois dans les jeux de bandits stochastiques et dans l'apprentissage séquentiel antagoniste. / Strategic decision-making over valuable resources should consider risk-averse objectives. Many practical areas of application consider risk as central to decision-making. However, machine learning does not. As a result, research should provide insights and algorithms that endow machine learning with the ability to consider decision-theoretic risk. In particular, in estimating decision-theoretic risk on short dependent sequences generated from the most general possible class of processes for statistical inference and through decision-theoretic risk objectives in sequential decision-making. This thesis studies these two problems to provide principled algorithmic methods for considering decision-theoretic risk in machine learning. An algorithm with state-of-the-art performance is introduced for accurate estimation of risk statistics on the most general class of stationary--ergodic processes and risk-averse objectives are introduced in sequential decision-making (online learning) in both the stochastic multi-arm bandit setting and the adversarial full-information setting.