abstract: Given that lobbying activity by audit firms constitutes a potential advocacy threat to auditor independence, this paper seeks to provide an economic rationale for audit firm lobbying behavior. Specifically, I examine whether federal lobbying activity by audit firms contributes to their ability to retain existing clients and attract new clients. Consequently, I predict and find that greater lobbying activity is associated with a lower probability of auditor switching behavior as well longer auditor tenure when the client is in an industry with high interest in lobbying. I also find that, when switching audit firms, clients tend to choose audit firms with greater lobbying activity and that companies in industries with high interest in lobbying are more likely to choose an audit firm with greater lobbying activity than their previous auditor. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Accountancy 2017

abstract: This dissertation is based on an empirical study that focused on student reenrollment, an essential but largely overlooked element of school choice policies. Based on the school choice literature, I extended the hypothesis of parental charter school choice to the subject of reenrollment. In doing so, I referred jointly to theories from the fields of public choice and business, in order to better understand student reenrollment in a maturing education market. By tracking student enrollment records over multiples years and linking them to school attributes (socio-economic status, racial/ethnic composition of the student body, school quality label), student demographics, and student academic performance, I established a complex student reenrollment database. I applied a rigorous statistical model to this data, allowing me to identify a number of important insights about student reenrollment in a maturing education market. I described the reenrollment patterns at the state level, as well as a predictive model of reenrollment outcome at the individual level. My analyses indicate that student reenrollment was the most common school choice outcome: most students reenrolled in their present schools, regardless of that school's quality label; however, the student reenrollment rates in charter schools were lower than those in traditional public schools. I observed patterns of segregation in student reenrollment within Arizona, as reenrollment appeared to be significantly polarized with respect to school attributes and students' characteristics. There were two distinct patterns that appeared to coexist in Arizona's student reenrollment data: quality-oriented reenrollment and similarity-oriented reenrollment. The findings of this study extend the school choice literature to include student reenrollment. This study challenges the application of market metaphors in the context of school choice, which generally advocate the reform of public schools through encouraging students to switch, promoting school competition and thereby improving public education quality. Instead of using command and control policies to shame schools into improvement, however, policymakers and parents should employ school accountability policies and the practice of school labeling as a trigger to reinvest in struggling schools, rather than encouraging students to find a new one. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2012

This thesis seeks provide an original contribution by extending rational choice theory into a general theory of law which has not been done before. I term this theoretical framework rational constraint to distinguish it from other rational choice and contractarian theories. This is predicated on the increasing heterogeneity of contemporary populations and the claim that moral claims cannot resolve conflicts because they are not truth-apt (as I argue in chapter 1). I seek to extend rational choice theory by further developing the tradition of social contract theory as it applies to law in the contractarian tradition of Thomas Hobbes and David Gauthier. This can roughly be termed the contractarian version of social contract theory (in the introduction I distinguish this tradition from the other social contract tradition of contractualism). This tradition takes rationality to be a practical method for determining action based upon self-interest – this assumes that agents are not concerned about the wellbeing of others. Even so a broad range of restrictions are possible – this thesis seeks to take Gauthier’s theory (as the most contemporary and developed contractarian theory) further by providing a system that takes account of higher-order constraints as well. This approach is not concerned with the application of different competing sets of moral claims – rather the application of self-interested rationality to law is the focus and the original contribution of this thesis. Ultimately, I seek to provide a method for designing legal rules that can minimise conflict and cost in a heterogeneous population. The subject that I apply this framework to is reproduction which is non-economic in nature thus extending rational choice beyond it normal economic haunts. Moreover it is an area of law that concerns a part of life subject to a great deal of moral controversy thus demonstrating the superiority of the extended rational choice framework over moral systems in designing laws.

M.Comm. / Gegewe die agtergrond en probleemstelling van die studie, kan die doelwitte van die studie sons volg gefonnuleer word: Die eerste doel van die studie is om te bepaal of handelsmerklojaliteit wat sigarette betref, nog by verbruikers bestaan en 'n rol speel by die keuse van 'n handelsmerk. Die tweede doel met die studie is om te bepaal watter faktore die verbruiker se keuse van 'n spesifieke handelsmerk van sigarette beInvloed, dit wil se watter faktore beInvloed handelsmerklojaliteit. Wat die faktore betref, sal daar hoofsaaklik gekonsentreer word op die invloed van die elemente van die bemarkingsmengsel, naamlik: Produk ; Prys ; Distribusie ; Bemarkingskommunikasie. Met hierdie studie sal dus gepoog word om 'n bydrae te lewer tot die verbreding van die bestaande kennis oor handelsmerklojaliteit en die rol daarvan vir geslaagde sigaretbemarking.

Buying a home is among the most important choices that any individual is likely to make in their lifetime. It has lasting consequences for happiness, well-being and personal finances. Yet, given the infrequency with which such decisions are made; the difficulty getting information from an opaque and decentralised marketplace; and the high transactions costs involved, there is a significant risk that decision making may depart from the high standard imposed by the normative economic concept of 'rational choice'. This thesis uses the insights of the economic theory of choice - from behavioural economics in particular - to examine housing choice from a new perspective. It considers the potential for estate agents, knowingly or otherwise, to exploit behavioural biases in decision making to influence preference and, ultimately, choices over housing. This naturally is of interest to estate agents and policy makers involved in housing markets; but most importantly to individuals as decision makers: making better decisions relies on understanding when and where vulnerability to manipulation may lie. Using evidence from a series of classroom experiments with 280 student volunteers and from two online surveys with over 4,000 adult respondents, significant areas where individuals may be consistently vulnerable to manipulation of judgement are found and recorded. In particular, both student and adult respondents are susceptible to biases involving manipulation of the decision making context, known as the choice frame. Students also tend to rely on arbitrary 'anchor' points to make value estimates, which results in significantly impaired judgements, even in the presence of incentives for accuracy. Finally, evidence of a significant new form of behavioural bias is found, in which elements of the choice frame have an unexpectedly negative impact on perceptions. This new bias is persistent across several experimental scenarios and is labelled the 'choice pollution effect'.

My thesis is about choice of internet connection. In my paper I focus on application methods of multicriterial evaluation of alternatives (VHV) on different types of internet connection. In my paper I want to compare different types of VHV and I want to say if they are convenient or not to use them in choice of internet connection. In this paper I compare different tariffs of internet connection and different types of internet connections between each other. For comparison I chose ADSL connection, connection trough cable TV and wireless connection. In comparison I used next methods: lexicographical method, ORESTE, WSA, TOPSIS and ELECTRE III. For internet connection is the best to use connection trough cable TV, second is ADSL connection and the worst is wireless connection. Lexicographical method is not very good for choice of internet connection. It is usable only in special cases. Other methods are acceptable for choice of internet connection.

Thesis submitted by Jinrui Pan for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Manchester, and entitled, “Time and Risk Preferences: Theoretical Models and Applications.” Date of submission 2014.This thesis makes contributions to two important areas of behavioural economics, namely individual decision making over time and under risk. Following the Introduction, Chapter 2 presents a new discounting function for analysing intertemporal choice. Liminal discounting, the model developed here, generalises exponential discounting in a parsimonious way. It allows for well-known departures, whilst maintaining its elegance and tractability. It also can be seen as an extension of quasi-hyperbolic discounting to continuous time. A liminal discounter has a constant rate of time preference before and after some threshold time; the liminal point. A preference foundation is provided, showing that the liminal point is derived endogenously from behaviour. Chapter 3 proposes an axiomatic model featuring a differential treatment of attitudes towards risk and time. Such distinction has been strongly suggested by experimental research when studying intertemporal choice, since the future is inherently risky. In the proposed model, non-linear probability distortions are incorporated into a dynamic model with discounted utility. Time is captured by a general discounting function independent of probabilities and outcomes. Utility of outcomes is captured by standard vNM utility independent of time. A two-parameter probability weighting function captures intertemporal probabilistic risk attitudes, with one parameter being constant over time, the other being time-dependent. An index of optimism is derived that depends on both parameters, which allows to model the observed high risk tolerance for delayed lotteries. Further, a preference foundation is provided. Interestingly, the model allows behaviour to be consistent with discounted expected utility, when risk is sufficiently distant from the present.

Urban commuting patterns can be viewed as the spatial manifestation of the outcome of labour market processes. Recent theoretical and empirical work investigating urban labour markets has emphasized the role of spatial wage differentials in mediating the interrelationship between labour supply and demand distributions and the dynamics of land-use change. This thesis represents an extension of such research. A simulation approach to commuting modelling, based on the explicit characterization of the interrelationship between urban location and interaction in terms of labour market processes, is developed. The solution path logic of the simulation model is designed to provide normative commuting outcomes, given the spatial pattern of labour supply and demand, under a wide range of assumptions concerning labour market processes and choice-making behaviour of market participants. An explicit characterization of the labour market, based on the specification of an endogenous behavioural assumption set, defines a model version. Thus, the model may be used to test the ability of various behavioural constructs to explain empirical commuting patterns. The justification and internal logic underlying the development of a specific model version is presented. This version is based on the assumption that the decision by a worker to apply for a job is objectively rational, given that the market environment does not provide certainty as to the outcome of an application. It is shown that such choice behaviour is analogous to the game-theoretic mixed strategy solution to non-cooperative games under uncertainty. The algorithm of the operational model incorporating this approach is detailed. The model was tested on empirical commuting patterns derived from Vancouver Census data, and model results were compared with those obtained from a positive entropy-based model. Commuting predictions exhibited a level of accuracy comparable to that achieved by the calibrated entropy model. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

The main purpose of this study was to investigate a theory of information storage and retrieval of a simple motor task as an explanation of the repetition effect (RE) in a 2-choice reaction time task. Subsidiary problems involved 1) examining the effect of inter-trial interval (ITI) on RE, 2) examining the effect of probability (P) of occurrence of an S-R pair on the RE and, 3) examining the interacting effects of ITI and P on the RE. The experimental task was a 2-choice reaction time (RT) task where the subject had to respond as quickly as possible by depressing a response key following the onset of a stimulus light. Two types of tasks were used: 1) self-paced, in which the ITI was approximately 380 msec. and, 2) discrete, in which the ITI was approximately 1600 msec. Each subject was tested in both tasks and on all three probability conditions (P = .33, .50, .67). Sixteen students and staff of the University of British Columbia served as subjects. The results, which were somewhat tenuous due to equipment malfunctions, indicated that there was no RE in either the discrete or serial CRT task. This suggested that there were no differences in the subjects response strategies in either the discrete or serial task. The model of motor memory retrieval was not supported by this investigation. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. / A person constitutes his world and determines to a large extent his happiness by means of choices. The individual find himself in a society with a network of relationships wherein several values and views of life are representative. In this complex structure of views and relationships a person can easily feel unfettered in the midst of choices in respect of which he does not feel ready to take a view. It is against this background that a study was made as to the education of responsible choices as a means of coping. The goal of the study was to investigate the making of choices as a means of coping against the background of a fundamental-agogic perspective. It shall also be endeavoured to highlight the educational implications of the findings and to express same in functional terms. To determine what the underlying basis of a person's daily choices is, it is necessary to determine a person essential characteristics from a universally valid perspective. This essential characteristics are then brought in connection with the ground motives which regulate a person's daily existence. In futherance of the universally valid perspective the motives relating to personal aspects and to other people within the ideological context and how such motives are manifested within the specific context are investigated. In futherance of the fenomenologistic view on choices, it will be shown what the educational requirements are when the exercise of choices takes place. It will also be shown concisely how a lack of choice-awareness may be a contributing factor in socioeducational problem areas for instance misbehaviour and suicide amongst the youth. The most important findings from the above mentioned study are the following: It is the task of the educator to make the educant aware that he has, as a human being, a choice potential and to encourage him to make use of such potential. An awareness of choices as a life-skill should underlie the rational making of choices. A persons options are determined by his specific time-space situation and the parameters of his responsibility. Because of the uniqueness of every person's circumstances rigid directives of choices cannot be fundamentally or universally valid. There are however certain singular core matters which are generally present in the education of choices namely: The possibility of education toward choices exists because the exercise of choices is a conscious mental process. Through choices the educant obtains a share in his growth process and will his helplessness be gradually reduced. A person should exercise choices from within the safe basis of a value structure to experience order and security. When the educator makes the educant aware of his choice-potential, he should also unfold the sense of life to him, because choices one makes in relation to meaning of his existence also determines to a great extent the goals of the other choices which he will make. The educant should obtain the opportunity for making choices in a climate of responsible discipline. By utilizing choices as a life skill, a person can answer to his basic motives and anthropological needs. Because of choices a person can establish himself as somebody and can enter into relationships with the others of his existence being the divine, his fellowman and objects.