Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1964. / Typescript. Abstracted in Dissertation abstracts, v. 25 (1964) no. 6, p. 3525. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1989. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Robert O. McClintock. Dissertation Committee: Ellen Condliffe Lagemann. Bibliography: leaves 197-210.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Charles M. Dorn, Florida State University, School of Visual Arts and Dance, Dept. of Art Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 08, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-128).

We develop a stochastic control model for an investor's optimal investment and consumption over an uncertain planning horizon when the investor is endowed with a defaultable income stream. The distributions of the random time of default and the random terminal time are prescribed by deterministic hazard rates, and the investor makes investments in a standard financial market with a bond and a stock, modeled by geometric Brownian motion. In addition, the investor purchases insurance against both default and the terminal date, the default insurance serving as a proxy for the investor's disutility for default. We approximate the original continuous-time problem with a sequence of discrete-time Markov chain control problems by applying dynamic programming and the Markov chain approximation. We demonstrate how the problem can be solved numerically through a logarithmic transformation of the investor's wealth variable, even when the utilities are CRRA with large risk aversion parameter. The model and computational approach are applied to a retiree's optimal annuity decision in the presence of default risk, and we demonstrate that default risk can lead a retiree to annuitize significantly smaller proportions of savings, even when a portion of the defaulted annuity can be recovered, than is traditionally considered optimal by the retirement-finance community. Hence, we show that credit risk may play an important role in resolving the annuity puzzle.

Hoarding symptoms are characterized by (1) a persistent difficulty discarding personal items (2) clutter that interferes with living areas and (3) clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning. Hoarding symptoms are common, affecting 2-6% of the general population and 20% to 56.7% of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Research suggests that individuals who hoard have impaired decision-making, particularly when it involve making decisions about personal possessions. This is thought to be a key deficit in hoarding resulting in an inability to discard unneeded possessions. Although the onset of hoarding symptoms is usually during childhood or adolescence (youth), little research has investigated hoarding symptoms in youth. The present study compared different aspects of decision-making processes between youth with OCD and youth with OCD and hoarding symptoms. Specifically, we assessed decision-making and the influence of ownership using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and an endowment trading task, respectively. Additionally, we assessed cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control and delay discounting using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), the Stop Signal Task (SST) and Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ), respectively. Participants included 52 youth (8-18 years old), all with a primary DSM-5 diagnosis of OCD. Parents completed the Child Saving Inventory to measure the presence of hoarding symptoms and to create hoarding severity groups. Youth with hoarding symptoms exhibited differences in ownership-based decision making; specifically, we found a larger endowment effect compared to the non-hoarding group. Compared to participants with OCD only, participants with hoarding exhibited significantly increased cognitive flexibility and lowered perseveration on the WCST. Performance of the hoarding and non-hoarding groups did not differ on other aspects of decision-making, including non-ownership decision-making, inhibitory control and delay discounting. Further regression analysis suggested that increased hoarding severity was associated with higher inattentive symptoms and improved performance on the WCST. These findings support the notion that hoarding is associated with specific differences in making decisions about personal items. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Legislation governing foundations and endowment funds Abstract The diploma thesis deals with the topic of foundations and endowment funds with a focus on a current legislation, that is reincorporated into the general legislation after the recodification of the private law. Brief introduction to the topic of foundations and endowment funds is followed by the chapter containing a historical analysis of foundations on the Czech territory since the 9th century. Significant changes, which the foundations went through and caused their present form, are highlighted. The third chapter is the most important and the longest part of the thesis, as it focuses on a current legislation. The chapter defines the institutes of foundation and endowment fund in the contemporary society and it is divided into the two subchapters that concerns both endowment entities separately. The diploma thesis defines the purpose, property and bodies. There is further clarified the establishment and formation process and the reverse dissolution and termination process of these legal entities. In addition, the chapter formulates the Public Benefit Status and the conclusion is devoted to the new terminology brought by the recodification. It is followed by the fourth chapter, which compares a current legislation with the previous one, that was...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-112). Also available on the World Wide Web.

The identifiability effect - the human tendency to help identified victims to a greater extent than unidentified - has been proved of being an important aspect of moral judgment. However, the endowment effect - the human tendency to overestimate our properties - is unexplored within this area, such as the impact of identifiability on the endowment effect. For the purpose of examining the impact of identifiability and endowment on moral dilemmas, an experiment with 192 participants was conducted, using a charity scenario concerning African children, framed as a trolley dilemma. The results showed that a majority of the participants choose to maximize the number of children saved. No significant effects of identifiability or endowment were found. The main conclusion of the study was that the dilemma affected men and women differently. Women felt stronger feelings of sympathy, were less confident in choosing and perceived the choice more difficult than men.

abstract: Previous research on experiences of the endowment effect and buyer's remorse has often failed to compare the two seemingly related phenomena. The current study attempts to provide a framework in which the two can be compared and to offer a possible suggestion as to when it may be beneficial to experience either the endowment effect or buyer's remorse, namely situations of resource scarcity versus abundance. The current study employed an online dating paradigm in which resource scarcity was operationalized as the sex ratio of users on the site. Two hundred and one participants were exposed to a favorable sex ratio, an unfavorable sex ratio, or a no information control condition and asked to bid on potential dates. Once matched with a potential date, participants were asked how willing they would be to give up their date and the minimum amount of points they would request to do so. These dependent variables served as indicators of experiences of the endowment effect or buyer's remorse. Results indicated that the sex ratio of the online dating site did not influence experiences of the endowment effect versus buyer's remorse. Potential mediators and moderators were also investigated although no significant effects were found. Possible reasons for the null results are discussed as well as future directions. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Psychology 2014