Bachelor thesis within Business Administration Title: Behavioral Finance – The Student Perspective Authors: Kamran Sairafi, Karl Selleby, Thom Ståhl Tutor: Urban Österlund Date: 2008-05-30 Background: History is full of examples on how humans can create investment bubbles through speculation; from the Dutch tulip mania to the Dot Com bubble humans have proven to be capable of creating economical chaos. Classical economical theories hold the assumption that individuals act rationally regarding decisions of an economical nature. Since the information on the stock market is available to everyone who seeks it, the appearance of investment bubbles should not be possible. Behavioral finance is an academic branch which seeks to explore these phenomenons through the psychological factors affecting humans in investment decisions. Purpose: The purpose of the report is twofold. Firstly it is to examine the characteristics of investment interested business students enrolled at Jönköping International Business School. Secondly it looks into the decision-making process and choices of the population from the perspective of behavioral finance. Method: This research holds an abductive approach and is based on qualitative data. Data collection was done through an Internet-based questionnaire containing several different questions on the areas related to the inquiries. In some cases statistical analysis was conducted to test for significant correlation between key characteristics. Results: A statistically proven correlation could be discerned between trading experience and frequency; for each additional year an individual engaged in trading the frequency increased. Herd behavior was detected in a majority of the sample. When faced with a scenario in which their immediate surrounding opposed their own analysis of a stock, the greater part of the sample would reconsider their position. Two main sub-groups were detected. The first was characterized by its high tolerance of risk; the second subgroup was characterized by its inconsistency in behavior. Conclusions: This paper found that the behavior of respondents in the chosen population was best described as “student behavior”; a somehow irrational behavior explained by the learning process in which business students exist.

<p>Bachelor thesis within Business Administration</p><p>Title: Behavioral Finance – The Student Perspective</p><p>Authors: Kamran Sairafi, Karl Selleby, Thom Ståhl</p><p>Tutor: Urban Österlund</p><p>Date: 2008-05-30</p><p>Background: History is full of examples on how humans can create investment</p><p>bubbles through speculation; from the Dutch tulip mania to the</p><p>Dot Com bubble humans have proven to be capable of creating</p><p>economical chaos. Classical economical theories hold the assumption</p><p>that individuals act rationally regarding decisions of an</p><p>economical nature. Since the information on the stock market is</p><p>available to everyone who seeks it, the appearance of investment</p><p>bubbles should not be possible. Behavioral finance is an academic</p><p>branch which seeks to explore these phenomenons through the</p><p>psychological factors affecting humans in investment decisions.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of the report is twofold. Firstly it is to examine the</p><p>characteristics of investment interested business students enrolled</p><p>at Jönköping International Business School. Secondly it looks into</p><p>the decision-making process and choices of the population</p><p>from the perspective of behavioral finance.</p><p>Method: This research holds an abductive approach and is based on qualitative</p><p>data. Data collection was done through an Internet-based</p><p>questionnaire containing several different questions on the areas</p><p>related to the inquiries. In some cases statistical analysis was conducted</p><p>to test for significant correlation between key characteristics.</p><p>Results: A statistically proven correlation could be discerned between</p><p>trading experience and frequency; for each additional year an individual</p><p>engaged in trading the frequency increased. Herd behavior</p><p>was detected in a majority of the sample. When faced with a</p><p>scenario in which their immediate surrounding opposed their own</p><p>analysis of a stock, the greater part of the sample would reconsider</p><p>their position. Two main sub-groups were detected. The first</p><p>was characterized by its high tolerance of risk; the second subgroup</p><p>was characterized by its inconsistency in behavior.</p><p>Conclusions: This paper found that the behavior of respondents in the chosen</p><p>population was best described as “student behavior”; a somehow</p><p>irrational behavior explained by the learning process in which</p><p>business students exist.</p>

Decisions to refer students for disciplinary consequences (Hyman & Perone, 1998), eligibility for special services referrals (Smart, Wilton, & Keeling, 1980), and even suspension or expulsion (Brooks, Schiraldi, & Zeidenberg, 2000), are all likely to be driven by teacher perceptions of student behavior. Yet though there is a wealth of research investigating the mechanisms and consequences of teacher perceptions of student behavior, the accuracy of these perceptions has not been addressed in the literature. This study contrasted staff responses on questionnaires about student behavior by infraction category, school locations, and times with the actual referral counts from each setting to achieve a measure of perceptive accuracy for each participant. The results presented in this study extend the research literature on teacher perceptions by providing strong support for data sharing as a perception-changing mechanism among participants working in schools implementing school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). Participants assigned to conditions in which school-wide discipline data were shared had accuracy scores which were statistically higher than those in non-data sharing conditions. However, asking participants to report their perceptions more than once did not increase the accuracy of their responses in a statistically significant way. The application of an experimental research design and the use of appropriate statistical significance tests draw attention to effects which are statistically real. Additionally, the random assignment of participants within schools to one of four conditions provides us with confidence that the intervention, and not some factor, caused the change in accuracy scores among participants.

The purpose of this thesis was to assess the influence of the teachers' classroom behavior on students' classroom behavior. Three hypotheses were made as the teacher systematically increases positive responses and decreases negative responses in the classroom, 1) the total time spent with the misbehaving student will decrease, 2) student non-attentive behavior will decrease and student attentive behavior will increase, and 3) there will be an inverse relationship between teacher negative responses and student attentive behavior. Student subjects were selected randomly from a previously selected group of misbehaving students; teacher subjects were 12 volunteers from a Junior High School who wanted to learn more about classroom behavior management. During the treatment process, teachers were to attempt to 1) decrease the amount of teacher negative reaction, 2) increase the amount of teacher positive response, and 3) to implement the various types of methods, procedures, and principles learned in the training course. Six trained observers were used to collect data over a 3-month period. A baseline of classroom behavior was established while the teachers were simultaneously involved in a classroom behavior management training course. Both student and teacher behaviors were computed and graphed on a logarithmic graph. All three hypotheses were confirmed at or beyond the .05 level of significance. Results were discussed in terms of the relationships that exist between the variables, and how they apply to the hypotheses.

This applied dissertation presented a mixed method design to gain a broader perspective of the perceptions of classroom management practitioners within a particular school district. Many teachers, or practitioners, experience issues with classroom management because of their understanding of strategies they use. Because of the researcher’s position within the education system, it was recognized practitioners are mandated to utilize specific classroom management strategies. As such, the study was designed to glean the perceptions of these practitioners in relation to the misunderstandings and mandates related to the strategies dealt with on a daily basis. The perspectives gleaned afforded opportunities to generate statistical data. The last question presented to the study participants allowed each participant to express his or her ideas, related to the questionnaire or otherwise, in any way they saw fit. The analysis of the study took into consideration the open response comments as they pertained to the statistical data generated. Findings revealed the most favorable, as well as most effective, strategies as perceived by actual practitioners. Practitioners also expressed their opinions indicating their displeasure regarding mandated classroom management strategies commonly referred to as Office Referrals. Practitioners indicated they perceived revoking student privileges, placing students in time-out areas, and utilizing counseling services as more effective when choosing strategies relative to managing their classrooms.

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Character education has been a part of public schooling in the United States since its beginning. It has undergone dramatic changes over the years, from didactic instruction to service learning; it continues to evolve as more and more schools become involved in teaching students right from wrong. The current emphasis on character education in schools began in the early 1990s as an attempt to alleviate the increasingly violent behavior of students as reported in the media. The purpose of this study was to determine how character education affected the behavior of students. The study involved: observing student behavior; interviewing teachers, students, and parents to determine their perceptions of the effects of the character education program on student behavior; and reviewing disciplinary records to identify behavioral patterns. The findings from this study suggested that character education programs may have a positive effect on student behavior. Furthermore, the findings led to recommendations regarding the implementation of character education programs in elementary schools. Character education should be an integral part of the curriculum, not taught as a separate subject. This includes not only academic subjects but also specialty areas such as art, music, and physical education. Classroom rules should be based on the principles of good character and teachers should model good character for the students to observe. Additionally, students should be taught character through hands-on service activities that contribute to the school, the community, and society in general. This will help the students develop a sense of ownership of the program and should help to improve student behavior.

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Students' behavior on buses continues to be an issue that requires administrators to spend significant time investigating and applying consequences for the behavior (Neatrour, 1994; Pattington, 1945; Putnam, Handler, Ramirez-Plat, and Luiselli, 2003). The purpose of this study was to identify policies and practices that may improve student bus behavior. Two research questions were addressed: (a) What policies could school districts implement to facilitate the improvement of student bus behavior? (b) What practices could school districts implement to facilitate the improvement of student bus behavior? A three-round Delphi technique was used to conduct the research. The goal was to obtain consensus among experts on the policies and practices that school districts could implement to improve student bus behavior. A panel of 22 experts on student bus behavior participated in one or more rounds of the study. Panelists were selected based on their involvement with and knowledge of student bus behavior and their geographic location, using the five-region structure of the National Association for Pupil Transportation. This process resulted in a broad representation of experts on student bus behavior throughout the United States. The panel of experts included superintendents, directors of transportation, principals or assistant principals, bus drivers, presidents of out-sourced school transportation companies, authors, researchers, and members of the National Association for Pupil Transportation Board of Directors. Panelists recommended 19 policies and 284 practices for school districts to implement to improve student bus behavior. Based on the consensus of the panelists, student bus behavior could be improved if polices were enacted in eight areas: bus driver responsibility, stakeholder training, bus driver evaluation through observation, student consequences for assaulting a bus driver, bus ridership, bus surveillance technology, bus routes for special education students, and a district-wide universal transportation system with supporting programs. Panelists indicated that student bus behavior could be improved if practices were implemented in nine areas: stakeholder communication, bus driver knowledge, stakeholder training content, stakeholder training processes, stakeholder daily practices, the enforcement of policies and procedures, positive behavior support systems, data analysis, and a district advisory committee. / Ed. D.