THE ROLE OF RULES-BASED COMPLIANCE SYSTEMS IN THE NEW EU REGUALTORY LANDSACPE: PERSPECTIVES OF INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE AND AGENCY

The financial crisis of 2007-2009 and the subsequent reaction of the G20 have created a new global regulatory landscape. Within the EU, change of regulatory institutions is ongoing. The research objective of this study is to understand how institutional changes to the EU regulatory landscape may affect corresponding institutionalized operational practices within financial organizations and to understand the role of agency within this process. Our motivation is to provide insight into these changes from an operational management perspective, as well as to test Thelen and Mahoney?s (2010) modes of institutional change. Consequently, the study researched implementations of an Investment Management System with a rules-based compliance module within financial organizations. The research consulted compliance and risk managers, as well as systems experts. The study suggests that prescriptive regulations are likely to create isomorphic configurations of rules-based compliance systems, which consequently will enable the institutionalization of associated compliance practices. The study reveals the ability of some agents within financial organizations to control the impact of regulatory institutions, not directly, but through the systems and processes they adopt to meet requirements. Furthermore, the research highlights the boundaries and relationships between each mode of change as future avenues of research

INSTITUTIONAL PRESSURES ON FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS: THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

The financial crisis of 2008 led to new international regulatory controls for the governance, risk and compliance of financial services firms. Information systems play a critical role here as political, functional and social pressures may lead to the deinstitutionalization of existing structures, processes and practices. This research examines how an investment management system is introduced by a leading IT vendor across eight client sites in the post-crisis era. Using institutional theory, it examines changes in working practices occurring at the environmental and organizational levels and the ways in which technological interventions are used to apply disciplinary effects in order to prevent inappropriate behaviors. The results extend the constructs of deinstitutionalization and identify empirical predictors for the deinstitutionalization of compliance and trading practices within financial organizations

NNLO predictions for dijet production in diffractive DIS

Cross sections for inclusive dijet production in diffractive deep-inelastic scattering are calculated for the first time in next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) accuracy. These cross sections are compared to several HERA measurements published by the H1 and ZEUS collaborations. We computed the total cross sections, 49 single-differential and five double-differential distributions for six HERA measurements. The NNLO corrections are found to be large and positive. The normalization of the resulting predictions typically exceeds the data, while the kinematical shape of the data is described better at NNLO than at next-to-leading order (NLO). Our results use the currently available NLO diffractive parton distributions, and the discrepancy in normalization highlights the need for a consistent determination of these distributions at NNLO accuracy

High-Contrast 3.8 Micron Imaging Of The Brown Dwarf/Planet-Mass Companion to GJ 758

We present L' band (3.8 $\mu m$) MMT/Clio high-contrast imaging data for the nearby star GJ 758, which was recently reported by Thalmann et al. (2009) to have one -- possibly two-- faint comoving companions (GJ 758B and ``C", respectively). GJ 758B is detected in two distinct datasets. Additionally, we report a \textit{possible} detection of the object identified by Thalmann et al as ``GJ 758C" in our more sensitive dataset, though it is likely a residual speckle. However, if it is the same object as that reported by Thalmann et al. it cannot be a companion in a bound orbit. GJ 758B has a H-L' color redder than nearly all known L--T8 dwarfs. Based on comparisons with the COND evolutionary models, GJ 758B has T$_{e}$ $\sim$ 560 K$^{^{+150 K}_{-90K}}$ and a mass ranging from $\sim$ 10--20 M$_{J}$ if it is $\sim$ 1 Gyr old to $\sim$ 25--40 M$_{J}$ if it is 8.7 Gyr old. GJ 758B is likely in a highly eccentric orbit, e $\sim$ 0.73$^{^{+0.12}_{-0.21}}$, with a semimajor axis of $\sim$ 44 AU$^{^{+32 AU}_{-14 AU}}$. Though GJ 758B is sometimes discussed within the context of exoplanet direct imaging, its mass is likely greater than the deuterium-burning limit and its formation may resemble that of binary stars rather than that of jovian-mass planets.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter

Reductio ad discrimen: Where features come from

This paper addresses two fundamental questions about the nature of formal features in phonology and morphosyntax: what is their expressive power, and where do they come from? To answer these questions, we begin with the most restrictive possible hypothesis (all features are privative, and are wholly dictated by Universal Grammar, with no room for cross-linguistic variation), and examine the extent to which empirical evidence from a variety of languages compels a retreat from this position. We argue that there is little to be gained by positing a universal set of specific features, and propose instead that the crucial contribution of UG is the language learner's ability to construct features by identifying correlations between contrasts at different levels of linguistic structure. This view resonates with current research on how the interaction between UG and external 'third factors' shapes the structure of language, while at the same time harking back to the Saussurean notion that contrast is the central function of linguistic representations

Catching the Banksters: The Use of Big Data Analytics in Billion Dollar Regulatory Investigations

Following the financial crisis, emboldened regulators have increased the magnitude of fines levied for financial malfeasance. The automation of the data discovery process underpins the rise in internal investigations, which financial organizations are obliged to conduct on the behest of regulators, keen to reduce information asymmetries and bolster transparency. Yet little research exists into the technologies which underpin post-crisis regulatory agendas. Our study focuses on big data technologies (eDiscovery tools) which facilitate investigations, where rare yet serious breaches have occurred. We focus on the micro/data level (volume, veracity, variety and velocity) to understand how these tools are influencing regulatory outcomes. The findings illustrate the need for financial organizations to adopt robust information governance policies to ease future investigatory efforts. We identify various practices which may help compliance managers better respond to regulatory investigations faster and more easily to ease the burden of post-crisis regulation

Parallel development and characterisation of an anti-oxidant stent coating and an in vitro biological model for qualitative assessment

Restenosis is a major cause of coronary artery stent failure and is linked to vascular endothelium damage with resultant oxidative and inflammatory stress. Drug eluting stents (DES) have failed to eliminate this risk; particularly for diabetic patients. Here, we have assessed the potential therapeutic effects of a novel antioxidant stent coating using (i) a common chemical assay, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and (ii) superoxide scavenging ability using NBT (nitroblue tetrazolium) reduction and have identified high antioxidant potential that is not dependent on drug incorporation within the coating. To assess the biological effect of this novel antioxidant coating, we have initially used human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with pro-inflammatory cytokines to mimic the inflammation stress encountered post-stent placement. Pro-inflammatory signalling was assessed by measuring phospho-P65 (pP65) expression using quantitative western blotting and oxidative stress assessed by measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation using DCFDA. In addition, we have specifically examined expression and activation (via oxidation) of an enzyme called Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II-delta (CaMKIIδ) that is known to be a central component of vascular pathology during acute and chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. HUVECs were stimulated with pro-inflammatory cytokines, Tissue Necrotic Factor alpha (TNFα) and Interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β). Stimulation with IL-1β (10 ng/ml) for 1h resulted in the highest overall level of P65 phosphorylation (7.80 ± 1.41 (fold increase ± S.E.M. in pP65 expression in IL-1β -stimulated cells c.f. unstimulated controls, n=4, p<0.05). Conversely, stimulation with TNFα (10 ng/ml) for 6h led to the highest overall increase in ROS (5.02 ± 0.54, fold-stimulation ± S.E.M. in ROS in TNFα -stimulated cells c.f. unstimulated controls, n=3, p<0.05). We have shown that CaMKIIδ is highly expressed in HUVECs and that stimulation with IL-1β (10 ng/ml) for 3h significantly induced CaMKII oxidation (1.56 ± 0.06 (fold-increase ± S.E.M. in oxCaMKII in IL-1β stimulated cells c.f. unstimulated controls, n=4, p<0.05). Preventing the oxidation-induced activation of CaMKII may present a therapeutic mechanism by which antioxidant stents can improve endothelial recovery and future work will examine the reduction or reversal of this effect in the presence of our novel stent coating. In conclusion, we have developed a novel anti-oxidant stent coating and established an in vitro system to test biological activity. This approach will now be applied to more physiologically relevant cell types before examining the novel coating’s efficacy