Aversion Analysis

In this paper : a) the consumer’s problem is studied over two periods, the second one involving S states, and the consumer being endowed with S+1 incomes and having access to N financial assets; b) the consumer is then representable by a continuously differentiable system of demands, commodity demands, asset demands and desirabilities of incomes (the S+1 Lagrange multiplier of the S+1 constraints); c) the multipliers can be transformed into subjective Arrow prices; d) the effects of the various incomes on these Arrow prices decompose into a compensation effect (an Antonelli matrix) and a wealth effect; e) the Antonelli matrix has rank S-N, the dimension of incompleteness, if the consumer can financially adjust himself when facing income shocks; f) the matrix has rank S, if not; g) in the first case, the matrix represents a residual aversion; in the second case, a fundamental aversion; the difference between them is an aversion to illiquidity; this last relation corresponds to the Drèze-Modigliani decomposition (1972); h) the fundamental aversion decomposes also into an aversion to impatience and a risk aversion; i) the above decompositions span a third decomposition; if there exists a sure asset (to be defined, the usual definition being too specific), the fundamental aversion admits a three-component decomposition, an aversion to impatience, a residual aversion and an aversion to the illiquidity of risky assets; j) the formulas of the corresponding financial premiums are also presented.

Conditioned food aversion to control poisoning by Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa in goats

Para testar a técnica de aversão alimentar condicionada como método de controle para a intoxicação por I. carnea, foram realizados 3 experimentos administrando cloreto de lítio (LiCl) na dose de 175-200mg kg-1 após a ingestão da planta por caprinos. No primeiro, foram induzidos à aversão 10 caprinos que tinham o hábito de ingerir a planta e com sinais clínicos da intoxicação. Apesar da realização de diversos tratamentos aversivos, após os animais ingerirem a planta, a aversão não foi eficiente, demonstrando que a técnica não é eficiente em caprinos que já estão habituados a ingerir a planta. No segundo experimento, 14 caprinos foram adaptados a ingerir a planta na pastagem e, após ingerirem a planta a campo, foram induzidos à aversão com LiCl. Neste grupo, a aversão persistiu até o fim do Experimento, 2 anos e 8 meses após a aversão. Em outro experimento, 20 caprinos foram adaptados a consumir I. carnea e, em seguida, induzidos à aversão com LiCl. Esses animais foram transferidos para uma propriedade na Ilha de Marajó, onde foram realizadas 9 visitas com intervalos de 2-3 meses para verificar a duração da aversão. Após 2 anos de observações, nenhum animal voltou a ingerir a planta na pastagem e não foram observados casos de intoxicação, enquanto que, em 6 propriedades vizinhas, a doença foi observada com uma prevalência de até 60%. Esses resultados demonstram a eficiência da aversão alimentar condicionada para evitar a ingestão de I. carnea em caprinos recém adaptados a ingerir a planta, nas regiões invadidas por esta planta e nas condições naturais da Ilha de Marajó.

Methods of inducing conditioned food aversion to Baccharis coridifolia (mio-mio) in cattle

Foram realizados três experimentos para determinar a eficácia de vários métodos de aversão a Baccharis coridifolia em bovinos: administração oral forçada de 0,5g kg^-1 de peso vivo de B. coridifolia fresca; inalação forçada da fumaça proveniente da queima de B. coridifolia e esfregação da planta no focinho e na boca dos animais; e introdução dos animais em pastagens com baixa infestação por B. coridifolia. Os resultados demonstraram que os animais forçados a ingerir pequenas doses tornaram-se fortemente avertidos, quando introduzidos nos piquetes entre 23 a 26 horas após a aversão. Entretanto, bovinos introduzidos nos piquetes após 1 a 10 horas não foram totalmente avertidos. Inalação da fumaça de B. coridifolia e esfregação da planta no focinho e boca dos animais não foram eficientes para produzir aversão. A introdução de bovinos em piquetes com aproximadamente 1% de B. coridifolia foi eficiente quando os animais permaneceram cinco meses na área, mas não quando ficaram apenas 60 horas, pois os bovinos precisam de tempo para aprender a evitar a planta.

Conditioned food aversion to Ipomoea carnea var. fistulosa induced by Baccharis coridifolia in goats

Baccharis coridifolia é uma planta tóxica que possui forte poder aversivo em ruminantes. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram induzir aversão condicionada a Ipomoea carnea avar. fistulos em caprinos utilizando B. coridifolia como agente aversivo e comparar a eficiência desta aversão com a aversão induzida por cloreto de lítio (LiCl). Treze cabras foram divididas em dois grupos: o Grupo 1 com seis cabras foi avertido com 175mg/kg de peso corporal (pc) de LiCl e o Grupo 2, com sete cabras, foi avertido com 0,25g/kg de pc de B. coridifolia seco. Todas as cabras foram avertidas no dia 1 logo após a ingestão de I.carnea. A aversão foi repetida nos dias 2, 3 e 7 nos caprinos que ingeriram qualquer quantidade de I. carnea, utilizando-se o mesmo procedimento do dia 1. Os caprinos de ambos os grupos foram desafiados nas baias nos dias 23 e 38 após o último dia da aversão e desafiados na pastagem nos dias 11, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27 e 29 após o último dia da aversão. Posteriormente os caprinos foram desafiados a cada 15 dias na pastagem até o 330º dia após o último dia da aversão (7º dia). Duas cabras do Grupo 1 ingeriram I. carnea no primeiro dia do desafio na pastagem, quatro dias após o ultimo dia da aversão nas baias. Além disso, outra cabra do mesmo grupo reiniciou a ingestão da planta no 18º dia e outras duas no 20º dia. Uma cabra do Grupo 1 que nunca havia ingerido a planta após a aversão morreu no 55º dia. Uma cabra do Grupo 2 começou a ingerir I. carnea no primeiro dia de desafio na pastagem e uma segunda reiniciou o consumo da planta no 182º dia. No final do experimento no 330º as cinco cabras avertidas com B. coridifolia permaneciam sem ingerir a planta. Estes resultados sugerem que B. coridifolia ou algum princípio ativo dessa planta pode ser utilizado para induzir aversão condicionada a plantas tóxicas. A utilização de B. coridifolia como agente aversivo é aparentemente mais barato e mais fácil de ser utilizado do que o LiCl, o qual requer o uso de sonda oro-gástrica e pessoal qualificado para sua implementação.

The provision of visitable housing in Australia: Down to the detail

In response to the ratification of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), Australian housing industry leaders, supported by the Australian Government, committed to transform their practices voluntarily through the adoption of a national guideline, called Livable Housing Design. They set a target in 2010 that all new housing would be visitable by 2020. Research in this area suggests that the anticipated voluntary transformation is unrealistic and that mandatory regulation will be necessary for any lasting transformation to occur. It also suggests that the assumptions underpinning the Livable Housing Design agreement are unfounded. This paper reports on a study that problematised these assumptions. The study used eleven newly-constructed dwellings in three housing contexts in Brisbane, Australia. It sought to understand the logics-of-practice in providing, and not providing, visitable housing. By examining the specific details that make a dwelling visitable, and interpreting the accounts of builders, designers and developers, the study identified three logics-of-practice which challenged the assumptions underpinning the Livable Housing Design agreement: focus on the point of sale; an aversion to change and deference to external regulators on matters of social inclusion. These were evident in all housing contexts indicating a dominant industry culture regardless of housing context or policy intention. The paper suggests that financial incentives for both the builder and the buyer, demonstration by industry leaders and, ultimately, national regulation is a possible pathway for the Livable Housing Design agreement to reach the 2020 goal. The paper concludes that the Australian Government has three options: to ignore its obligations under the CRPD; to revisit the Livable Housing Design agreement in the hope that it works; or to regulate the housing industry through the National Construction Code to ensure the 2020 target is reached.

Novel bioassays to examine the host-finding ability of plant-parasitic nematodes

We present two novel bioassays to be used in the examination of plant-parasitic nematode host-finding ability. The host-finding 'pipette-bulb assay' was constructed from modelled Pasteur pipette bulbs and connecting barrels using parafilm fastenings. This assay examines the direction of second-stage juvenile (J2) migration in response to a host seedling, through a moistened sand substrate, which underlies terminal upward-facing 'seedling bulbs', one containing a host seedling in potting compost, the other with only potting compost. An equal watering regime through both upward-facing seedling bulbs creates a directional concentration gradient of host diffusate chemotactic factors. Positive chemotactic stimuli cause the J2 to orientate and migrate towards the host plant. We present validation data collected from assays of the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, and the potato cyst nematode, Globodera pallida, which indicate a highly significant positive attraction of J2 of both species to respective host plants. This represents a simple, quick and inexpensive method of assessing host-finding behaviour in the laboratory. We consider that the pipette-bulb assay improves on previous host-finding/chemo-attraction assays through creating a more biologically relevant environment for experimental J2; analysis is quick and easy, allowing the straightforward interpretation of results. In addition, we have developed an 'agar trough' sensory assay variant which we believe can be used rapidly to ratify nematode responses to chemical gustatory or olfactory cues. This was constructed from a water agar substrate such that two counting wells were connected by a raised central trough, all flooded with water. Two small water agar plugs were dehydrated briefly in an oven and then hydrated in either an attractant, repellent or water control; these plugs were then placed in the terminal counting wells and subsequently leached the attractant or repellent to form a concentration gradient along the central trough, which contained the initial J2 innoculum. Our data show that both M. incognita and G. pallida J2 are positively attracted to host diffusates. In addition, they displayed a strong repulsion in response to 1 M NaCl2. J2 of M. incognita displayed a mild aversion to a non-host oak root diffusate, whereas G. pallida J2 displayed a strong aversion to the same non-host diffusate; neither species responded to a compost leachate. We believe that the agar trough assay improves on previous methods by facilitating rapid diffusion of attractant or repellents. Both of the aforementioned assays were designed as tools to assess the impact of RNAi-based reverse genetics screens for gene targets involved in chemosensory orientation.

Long-chain n-3 PUFA: intakes in the UK and the potential of a chicken meat prototype to increase them

With the wide acceptance of the long-chain (LC) n-3 PUFA EPA and DHA as important nutrients playing a role in the amelioration of certain diseases, efforts to understand factors affecting intakes of these fatty acids along with potential strategies to increase them are vital. Widespread aversion to oil-rich fish, the richest natural source of EPA and DHA, highlights both the highly suboptimal current intakes in males and females across all age-groups and the critical need for an alternative supply of EPA and DHA. Poultry meat is a popular and versatile food eaten in large quantities relative to other meats and is open to increased LC n-3 PUFA content through manipulation of the chicken's diet to modify fatty acid deposition and therefore lipid composition of the edible tissues. It is therefore seen as a favourable prototype food for increasing human dietary supply of LC n-3 PUFA. Enrichment of chicken breast and leg tissue is well established using fish oil or fishmeal, but concerns about sustainability have led to recent consideration of algal biomass as an alternative source of LC n-3 PUFA. Further advances have also been made in the quality of the resulting meat, including achieving acceptable flavour and storage properties as well as understanding the impact of cooking on the retention of fatty acids. Based on these considerations it may be concluded that EPA- and DHA-enriched poultry meat has a very positive potential future in the food chain.

Avaliando questionários de risco e o comportamento do investidor sobre a ótica de behavioral finance

Tolerância ao risco é fundamental quando se tomam decisões financeiras. No entanto, a avaliação da tolerância ao risco tem se baseado ao longo dos anos em diferentes metodologias, tais como julgamentos heurísticos e a teoria da utilidade esperada que tem como base a hipótese dos mercados eficientes. Foi dentro desta ótica que este trabalho se desenvolveu. O objetivo é analisar três diferentes questionários de avaliação ao risco que são na prática amplamente utilizados por consultores financeiros. Foi assumido para isso que os investidores são considerados racionais, conhecem e ordenam de forma lógica suas preferências, buscam maximizar a "utilidade" de suas escolhas, e conseguem atribuir com precisão probabilidades aos eventos futuros, quando submetidos a escolhas que envolvam incertezas. No entanto, em uma análise preliminar dos questionários, estes poderiam estar utilizando conceitos de behavioral finance para avaliarem a tolerância ao risco, ao invés de utilizarem somente a metodologia tradicional da teoria da utilidade esperada. Dessa forma tornou-se necessário o estudo dos conceitos de behavioral finance. O primeiro capítulo então trata dos aspectos psicológicos do investidor, procurando entender como este se comporta e como este forma suas preferências. Apesar do estudo assumir racionalidade nas decisões, se a teoria de behavioral estiver correta e os investidores apresentarem desvios a racionalidade, como a teoria prospectiva afirma, o questionário poderia ser o veículo ideal para identificar tais desvios, sendo possível então educar e orientar o indivíduo em suas escolhas financeiras, afim de maximizá-las. O capitulo dois coloca a análise dos questionários inserida no contexto da teoria moderna de finanças, falando das escolhas de portfólio para investidores de longo prazo. O capítulo mostra de forma bem resumida e simplificada como o investidor maximiza a sua utilidade da riqueza. A idéia desse capítulo é entender como alguns julgamentos heurísticos assumidos na prática por consultores financeiros afetam as escolhas de portfólio e em quais condições esses julgamentos heurísticos são verdadeiros. Isso se torna importante pois os questionários mesclam medidas de risco com horizonte de investimentos do investidor. Estes questionários são utilizados para traçar uma política de investimentos completa para o investidor. Para cada perfil de risco encontrado a instituição traça um modelo de alocação de portfólio. O capítulo três trata da avaliação dos questionários em si tendo como base a teoria da utilidade esperada, os conceitos de behaviral finance e as lições tiradas das escolhas de portfólio para investidores de longo prazo.

Supermodularity and risk aversion

In this paper, we consider the relationship between supermodularity and risk aversion. We show that supermodularity of the certainty equivalent implies that the certainty equivalent of any random variable is less than its mean. We also derive conditions under which supermodularity of the certainty equivalent is equivalent to aversion to mean-preserving spreads in the sense of Rothschild and Stiglitz. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cracking the USA? Interpreting UK-to-US TV Drama Translations

For well over half a century, British TV drama production has both inherited from and aimed to appeal to nations and cultures beyond the UK, particularly the lucrative (yet notoriously tough) US TV market. However, in the context of mainstream American broadcasting, British-produced imports have never been anything more than a peripheral presence on US small screens. A currently prominent production strategy aiming to counter the mainstream US TV market's aversion to foreign-sourced drama, in an attempt to access prime-time broadcasting positions, is a process which can be labelled as UK-to-US TV drama ‘translation’: the ‘recreation’ of British-based dramas within an American cultural framework. Whilst the cultural reconfiguration of game show and reality/lifestyle TV formats has received heightened critical attention in recent years, investigation into the international translation of TV drama remains less developed. This paper investigates both the internal textual operations and the external production dynamics involved in the process of UK-to-US TV drama translation, drawing on direct interview material from industry professionals. The UK and US versions of the crime drama Cracker constitute the core translation case study, utilising the close analysis of text and production context as a lens through which to examine the mechanics of UK-to-US TV drama translation.

Virtual-Build-to-Order as a Mass Customization Order Fulfilment Model

Virtual-build-to-order (VBTO) is a form of order fulfilment system in which the producer has the ability to search across the entire pipeline of finished stock, products in production and those in the production plan, in order to find the best product for a customer. It is a system design that is attractive to Mass Customizers, such as those in the automotive sector, whose manufacturing lead time exceeds their customers' tolerable waiting times, and for whom the holding of partly-finished stocks at a fixed decoupling point is unattractive or unworkable. This paper describes and develops the operational concepts that underpin VBTO, in particular the concepts of reconfiguration flexibility and customer aversion to waiting. Reconfiguration is the process of changing a product's specification at any point along the order fulfilment pipeline. The extent to which an order fulfilment system is flexible or inflexible reveals itself in the reconfiguration cost curve, of which there are four basic types. The operational features of the generic VBTO system are described and simulation is used to study its behaviour and performance. The concepts of reconfiguration flexibility and floating decoupling point are introduced and discussed.

Barriers to colorectal cancer screening in Asia: A systematic review

Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the top five cancers afflicting both men and women globally. Once predominantly a Western disease, it has begun to rise in Asian countries as well. This systematic review aims to compile and analyze the various barriers towards colorectal cancer screening in Asia, and to determine if the barriers are consistent throughout the continent. Methods: Article Inclusion criteria for based on year of publication from year 2008 till 2015, has been conducted in Asia, and written in English language. A total of 23 studies were included in this review, chosen via primary search of journal websites and databases, and a secondary search through the reference lists of eligible articles. Results: It was found that major barriers of colorectal cancer screening are; poor education/knowledge, negative perceptions towards screening, aversion to test results, financial constraints, time constraints, lack of physicians’ recommendation, limited/difficult access to screening locations, fatalistic beliefs, low perceived risks, language barriers, confidence in traditional medicine/distrust in Western medicine, ignorance and old age. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge/education is the most critical barrier that is linked to a majority of other barriers that can hinder a person from undergoing CRC screening for early prevention, detection and treatment. Majority of these barriers encountered regarding the poor rates of CRC screening are similar across countries in Asia.

Joseph A. Schumpeter, capitalism, socialism, and democracy

This is a review of "Capitalism, socialism, and democracy", by Joseph A. Schumpeter, New York, Harper Perennial, 1942 (first Harper Colophon edition published 1975). "The public mind has by now so thoroughly grown out of humor with it as to make condemnation of capitalism and all its works a foregone conclusion – almost a requirement of the etiquette of discussion. Whatever his political preference, every writer or speaker hastens to conform to this code and to emphasize his critical attitude, his freedom from ‘complacency’, his belief in the inadequacies of capitalist achievement, his aversion to capitalist and his sympathy with anti-capitalist interests. Any other attitude is voted not only foolish but anti-social and is looked upon as an indication of immoral servitude." We might easily mistake this for a voice weary of contemplating the implications for neo-liberal nostrums of our current global financial crisis were it not for the rather formal, slightly arch, style and the gender exclusive language. It was in fact penned in the depths of World War II by Harvard economist Joseph Schumpeter, who fell off the map only to re-emerge from the 1970s as oil shocks and stagflation in the west presaged the decline of the Keynesian settlement, as east Asian newly industrialising economies were modelling on his insistence that entrepreneurialism, access to credit and trade were the pillars of economic growth, and as innovation became more of a watchword for post-industrial economies in general. The second coming was perhaps affirmed when his work was dubbed by Forbes in 1983 – on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of both men – as of greater explanatory import than Keynes’. (And what of our present resurgent Keynesian moment?)...

Gender and public attitude toward corruption and tax evasion

The topics of corruption and tax evasion have attracted significant attention in the literature in recent years. We build on that literature by investigating empirically: (1) whether attitudes toward corruption and tax evasion vary systematically with gender and (2) whether gender differences decline as men and women face similar opportunities for illicit behavior. We use data on eight Western European countries from the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey. The results reveal significantly greater aversion to corruption and tax evasion among women. This holds across countries and time, and across numerous empirical specifications. (JEL H260, D730, J160, Z130)

The financial services cultural orientation matrix

With saturation within domestic marketplaces and increased growth opportunities overseas, many financial service providers are investing in foreign markets. However, cultural attitudes towards money can present market entry challenges to financial service providers. The industry would therefore benefit from a strategic model that helps to align financial marketing mixes with the cultural dimensions of a foreign market. The Financial Services Cultural Orientation (FSCO) Matrix has therefore been designed, with three cultural dimensions identified which influence preference for financial products; preference for cash, aversion to debt and savings orientation. Based on a combination of these dimensions and their relative strength within a culture, eight different consumer segments for financial products are identified, and marketing strategies for each consumer segment are then proposed. Three cultural clusters from the GLOBE Project House et al. (2002) are used to highlight possible geographic markets for each of these consumer segments. In particular, this paper focuses on GLOBE’s Confucian Asia, Southern Asia and Anglo cultural clusters, as these clusters represent the most well established financial markets in the world and the fastest growing financial markets for the future. The FSCO Matrix provides the financial services industry with an innovative and practical tool for addressing cross-cultural challenges and developing successful marketing strategies for entry into foreign markets.