A Framework for Evaluating Model-Driven Self-adaptive Software Systems

In the last few years, Model Driven Development (MDD), Component-based Software Development (CBSD), and context-oriented software have become interesting alternatives for the design and construction of self-adaptive software systems. In general, the ultimate goal of these technologies is to be able to reduce development costs and effort, while improving the modularity, flexibility, adaptability, and reliability of software systems. An analysis of these technologies shows them all to include the principle of the separation of concerns, and their further integration is a key factor to obtaining high-quality and self-adaptable software systems. Each technology identifies different concerns and deals with them separately in order to specify the design of the self-adaptive applications, and, at the same time, support software with adaptability and context-awareness. This research studies the development methodologies that employ the principles of model-driven development in building self-adaptive software systems. To this aim, this article proposes an evaluation framework for analysing and evaluating the features of model-driven approaches and their ability to support software with self-adaptability and dependability in highly dynamic contextual environment. Such evaluation framework can facilitate the software developers on selecting a development methodology that suits their software requirements and reduces the development effort of building self-adaptive software systems. This study highlights the major drawbacks of the propped model-driven approaches in the related works, and emphasise on considering the volatile aspects of self-adaptive software in the analysis, design and implementation phases of the development methodologies. In addition, we argue that the development methodologies should leave the selection of modelling languages and modelling tools to the software developers.Comment: model-driven architecture, COP, AOP, component composition, self-adaptive application, context oriented software developmen

Leverage Ratios and Basel III: Proposed Basel III Leverage and Supplementary Leverage Ratios

The Basel III Leverage Ratio, as originally agreed upon in December 2010, has recently undergone revisions and updates – both in relation to those proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision – as well as proposals introduced in the United States. Whilst recent proposals have been introduced by the Basel Committee to improve, particularly, the denominator component of the Leverage Ratio, new requirements have been introduced in the U.S to upgrade and increase these ratios, and it is those updates which relate to the Basel III Supplementary Leverage Ratio that have primarily generated a lot of interests. This is attributed not only to concerns that many subsidiaries of US Bank Holding Companies (BHCs) will find it cumbersome to meet such requirements, but also to potential or possible increases in regulatory capital arbitrage: a phenomenon which plagued the era of the original 1988 Basel Capital Accord and which also partially provided impetus for the introduction of Basel II. This paper is aimed at providing an analysis of the recent updates which have taken place in respect of the Basel III Leverage Ratio and the Basel III Supplementary Leverage Ratio – both in respect of recent amendments introduced by the Basel Committee and proposals introduced in the United States. It will also consider the consequences – as well as the impact - which the U.S Leverage ratios could have on Basel III. There are ongoing debates in relation to revision by the Basel Committee, as well as the most recent U.S proposals to update Basel III Leverage ratios and whilst these revisions have been welcomed to a large extent, in view of the need to address Tier One capital requirements and exposure criteria, there is every likelihood, indication, as well as tendency that many global systemically important banks (GSIBS), and particularly their subsidiaries, will resort to capital arbitrage. What is likely to be the impact of the recent proposals in the U.S.? The recent U.S proposals are certainly very encouraging and should also serve as impetus for other jurisdictions to adopt a pro-active approach – particularly where existing ratios or standards appear to be inadequate. This paper also adopts the approach of evaluating the causes and consequences of the most recent updates by the Basel Committee, as well as those revisions which have taken place in the U.S, by attempting to balance the merits of the respective legislative updates and proposals. The value of adopting leverage ratios as a supplementary regulatory tool will also be illustrated by way of reference to the impact of the recent legislative changes on risk taking activities, as well as the need to also supplement capital adequacy requirements with the Basel Leverage ratios and the Basel liquidity standard

International Environmental Justice on Hold: Revisiting the Basel Ban from a Philippine Perspective

Nineteen years after the Basel Ban was adopted it still has not garnered the necessary ratifications to enter into force. This article aims to revisit the Basel Ban and understand it from the perspective of a developing country, particularly the Philippines, and draw out possible obstacles it faces in ratifying this instrument of international environmental justice. In addition the article will review the major issues raised by those opposed to the Basel Ban and verify if these concerns raised nineteen years ago still hold true today. This article has four main sections. The first section of this article briefly looks at the roots of international environmental justice in domestic environmental justice. The second section reviews the rise of toxic waste trade in the 1980s and the eventual rise of the Basel Convention and the Basel Ban. The article delves into the framework of the Basel Convention and the Basel Ban, their weaknesses and the elements of environmental justice found in both instruments. The third part of the article examines the current landscape of the Basel Ban from the perspective of a developing country, the Philippines. The Philippines is similar to many developing countries, with its high incidence of poverty and its own experience with illegal toxic waste trade. The Philippine perspective is important because it was a party to the Basel Convention when the Basel Ban was adopted. Thus, it is one of the qualifying countries whose ratification is needed for the Basel Ban to enter into force. Moreover, the Philippines is often cited as a case where the Basel Ban could cause adverse impacts on the local recycling industry and in turn affect national development. In examining the Philippine context, the article focuses on the trade in used lead acid batteries (ULABs) and electronic waste (e-waste) and where the country derives these wastes for its recycling industry. The article will also examine the anti-trade arguments leveled against the Basel Ban and the agreements that the Philippines has entered into to see the precedents the government is following, if any. The last section of this article is the conclusion. What is critical at this point in the ongoing saga of the Basel Ban is for countries to reexamine the issues surrounding the Basel Ban, and see if the arguments of the past still hold true. Undoubtedly, the Basel Ban has firmly left its mark in international law. Whether it remains a paper tiger will depend on the perseverance of developing countries to fight for this principle at the international level and ratify the instrument, and its observance and implementation nationally at the domestic level

Procrastination Does Pay Sometimes: How the Delay in Implementing Basel II Reduced the Effect of the Subprime Financial Crisis

Basel II, a major international regulatory capital revision, was supposed to have been implemented in the U.S. by 2004, but delays pushed it back more than five years. Basel II could have lowered minimum capital standards and made the largest banks even more vulnerable to the subprime financial crisis and economic downturn had it been adopted before its onset in 2007. Consequently, the procrastination in implementing Basel II made the banking industry more stable as it entered the financial crisis. In this study, the assets of the 11 largest bank holding companies at year-end 2006 were separated into broad asset classes with similar default characteristics as set forth under the second Basel Accord. The hypothetical capital to be held by the BHCs against their loans and leases was computed as required under Basel II and compared with the actual capital the banks held at year-end 2006. Based on these computations, it appears that Basel II would have made banks even more vulnerable to the financial crisis had it been adopted earlier. Consequently, the procrastination in implementing Basel II benefited both the banking industry and the federal government. Among the 11 bank holding companies, total capital could have decreased by more than $170 billion under Basel II compared to the actual capital being held. The change would have amounted to a 29.7% decrease in total capital and a 52.9% drop in capital held against loans and leases, both on a weighted-average basis. Without question, Basel II needs to be adjusted to be more conservative

Basel III and Responding to the Recent Financial Crisis: Progress made by the Basel Committee in relation to the Need for Increased Bank Capital and Increased Quality of Loss Absorbing Capital

Developments since the introduction of the 1988 Basel Capital Accord have resulted in growing realisation that new forms of risks have emerged and that previously existing and managed forms require further redress. The revised Capital Accord, Basel II, evolved to a form of meta regulation – a type of regulation which involves the risk management of internal risks within firms. The 1988 Basel Accord was adopted as a means of achieving two primary objectives: Firstly, “…to help strengthen the soundness and stability of the international banking system – this being facilitated where international banking organisations were encouraged to supplement their capital positions; and secondly, to mitigate competitive inequalities.” As well as briefly outlining various efforts and measures which have been undertaken and adopted by several bodies in response to the recent Financial Crisis, this paper considers why efforts aimed at developing a new framework, namely, Basel III, have been undertaken and global developments which have promulgated the need for such a framework. Further, it attempts to evaluate the strengths and flaws inherent in the present and future regulatory frameworks by drawing a comparison between Basel II and the enhanced framework which will eventually be referred to as Basel III

Risk Management by the Basel Committee: Evaluating Progress made from the 1988 Basel Accord to Recent Developments

This paper traces developments from the inception of the 1988 Basel Capital Accord to its present form (Basel II). In highlighting the flaws of the 1988 Accord, an evaluation is made of the Basel Committee’s efforts to address such weaknesses through Basel II. Whilst considerable progress has been achieved, the paper concludes, based on one of the principal aims of these Accords, namely the management of risk, that more work is still required particularly in relation to hedge funds and those risks attributed to non bank financial institutions.risk;management;regulation;banks;Basel;Committee

The Responsive Approach by the Basel Committee (on Banking Supervision) to Regulation: Meta Risk Regulation, the Internal Ratings Based Approaches and the Advanced Measurement Approaches.

The use of complex and sophisticated financial instruments, such as derivatives, in the modern financial environment, has triggered the emergence of new forms of risks. As well as the need to manage such types of risks, this paper investigates developments which have instigated the Basel Committee in developing advanced risk management techniques such as the Internal Ratings Based (IRB) approaches and the Advanced Measurement Approaches (AMA). Developments since the inception of the 1988 Basel Capital Accord have not only led to growing realisation that new forms of risks have emerged, but that previously existing and managed forms require further redress. Basel II has evolved to a form of meta regulation – a type of regulation which involves the risk management of internal risk within firms. This paper attempts to illustrate the extent to which the Basel II Capital Accord has responded to global and financial developments and concludes on the basis of available research evidence, that given the difficulties attributed to the constantly evolving nature of risk and the need for regulators to remain one step ahead, that Basel II, to an extent, has been responsive in meeting with regulatory demands. However, the existence of unregulated instruments such as hedge funds still implies that, despite its advancements and achievements, the Basel Committee still faces uphill challenges in its efforts to address and regulate risks

Exploration of the BaSeL stellar library for 9 F-type stars COROT potential targets

The Basel Stellar Library (BaSeL models) is constituted of the merging of various synthetic stellar spectra libraries, with the purpose of giving the most comprehensive coverage of stellar parameters. It has been corrected for systematic deviations detected in respect to UBVRIJHKLM photometry at solar metallicity, and can then be considered as the state-of-the-art knowledge of the broad band content of stellar spectra. In this paper, we consider a sample of 9 F-type stars with detailed spectroscopic analysis to investigate the Basel Stellar Library in two photometric systems simultaneously, Johnson (B-V, U-B) and Stromgren (b-y, m_1, and c_1). The sample corresponds to potential targets of the central seismology programme of the COROT space experiment, which have been recently observed at OHP. The atmospheric parameters T_eff, [Fe/H], and log g obtained from the BaSeL models are compared with spectroscopic determinations as well as with results of other photometric calibrations. For a careful interpretation of the BaSeL solutions, we computed confidence regions around the best $\chi$^2-estimates and projected them on T_eff-[Fe/H], T_eff-log g, and log g-[Fe/H] diagrams. (Abridged)Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX2e; version accepted for publication in the new A&A Journal: minor changes + figures in black and white for better readabilit

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Basel III: Some Evidence from the UK

This paper provides a long-term cost-benefit analysis for the United Kingdom of the Basel III capital and liquidity requirements proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS, 2010a). We provide evidence that the Basel III reforms will have a significant net positive long-term effect on the United Kingdom economy. The estimated optimal tangible common equity capital ratio is 10% of risk-weighted assets, which is larger than the Basel III target of 7%. We also estimate the maximum net benefit when banks meet the Basel III longterm liquidity requirements. Our estimated permanent net benefit is larger than the average estimates of the BCBS. This significant marginal benenfit suggests that UK banks need to increase their reliance on common equity in their capital base beyond the level required by Basel III as well as boosting customer deposits as a funding source.Basel III, Cost-Benefit analysis, Tangible Common Equity Capital, Liquidity

Comment on Neutron-Proton Spin-Correlation Parameter A_{ZZ} at 68 Mev

We present two arguments indicating that the large value for the $\epsilon_1$ mixing parameter at 50 MeV, which the Basel group extracted from their recent $A_{zz}$ measurement, may be incorrect. First, there are nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials which predict the $\epsilon_1$ at 50 MeV substantially below the Basel value and reproduce the Basel $A_{zz}$ data accurately. Second, the large value for $\epsilon_1$ at 50 MeV proposed by the Basel group can only be explained by a model for the NN interaction which is very unrealistic (no $\rho$-meson and essentially a point-like $\pi NN$ vertex) and overpredicts the $\epsilon_1$ in the energy range where it is well determined (150--500 MeV) by a factor of two.Comment: 6 pages text (LaTex) and 2 figures (paper, will be faxed upon request), UI-NTH-930