When rationality fails: Making sense of the "slippery slope' to corporate fraud

Management fraud is often explained through wealth-maximization paradigms. This article invokes a different approach, namely a behavioural one, and argues that fraud may happen as a consequence of failures in the decision-making process. Relying on extensive evidence in the case of Parmalat, it maintains that this fraud was not brought about by the desire of the CEO, chairman and founder to maximize his economic goals, but was rather a consequence of his failure to produce an objective description of reality. This was induced by a number of behavioural mechanisms such as self-deception, managerial hubris, emotions and the ‘endowment effect’. This article also contributes to a broader debate on the rationality of economic actors and its limits, and sheds light on the seeds of potential crises contained within genuine Schumpeterian entrepreneurs. This work has received generous financial support from the Centre for Corporate Reputation, Said Business School Oxford, which I gratefully acknowledge.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE via http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/136248061561214

Explaining criminal networks: Strategies and potential pitfalls

This article offers some remarks on a few critical issues related to explanation in criminal network research. It first discusses two distinct perspectives on networks, namely a substantive approach that views networks as a distinct form of organisation, and an instrumental one that interprets networks as a collection of nodes and attributes. The latter stands at the basis of Social Network Analysis. This work contends that the instrumental approach is better suited to test hypotheses, as it does not assume any structure a priori, but derives it from the data. Moreover, social network techniques can be applied to investigate criminal networks while rejecting the notion of networks as a distinct form of organisation. Next, the article discusses some potential pitfalls associated with the instrumental approach and cautions against an over-reliance on structural measures alone when interpreting real-world networks. It then stresses the need to complement these measures with additional qualitative evidence. Finally, the article discusses the use of Quadratic Assignment Procedure regression models as a viable strategy to test hypotheses based on criminal network data.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from SAGE Publications via http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/205979911562274

Dogs are not better than humans at detecting coherent motion

The ability to perceive motion is one of the main properties of the visual system. Sensitivity in detecting coherent motion has been thoroughly investigated in humans, where thresholds for motion detection are well below 10% of coherence, i.e. of the proportion of dots coherently moving in the same direction, among a background of randomly moving dots. Equally low thresholds have been found in other species, including monkeys, cats and seals. Given the lack of data from the domestic dog, we tested 5 adult dogs on a conditioned discrimination task with random dot displays. In addition, five adult humans were tested in the same condition for comparative purposes. The mean threshold for motion detection in our dogs was 42% of coherence, while that of humans was as low as 5%. Therefore, dogs have a much higher threshold of coherent motion detection than humans, and possibly also than phylogenetically closer species that have been tested in similar experimental conditions. Various factors, including the relative role of global and local motion processing and experience with the experimental stimuli may have contributed to this result. Overall, this finding questions the general claim on dogs' high performance in detecting motion

Exploitation in Human Trafficking and Smuggling

This article explores the mechanisms that underpin human smuggling and trafficking. It argues for the continued analytical relevance of the distinction between “trafficking” and “smuggling”, as posited by the 2000 UN Protocols. While this distinction has come under sustained criticism from several authors over the last 15 years, it nonetheless continues to capture the essential features of two distinct phenomena (control over a human being vs. illegal entry into a country), and acknowledges the role of agency in smuggling. The paper goes on to discuss three different scenarios that may emerge as a result of the interplay between smugglers and smuggled persons, and it specifies the role of exploitation in each scenario. In addition, the paper offers empirical evidence of the key building blocks of smuggling – namely the search for reliable information and the reaching of an agreement in regard to the service offered – and of how smuggling can turn into trafficking. This work concludes by drawing out the relevant policy implications.This work was supported by the European Union / FP7 Framework (Fiducia Project, Grant agreement 290563, FP7-SSH-2011-12).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10610-015-9286-

Lawyers, yakuza and zombie firms: A quasi-natural experiment

In the aftermath of the bursting of Japan’s “Bubble” economy and the subsequent banking crisis of 1997, we find it is possible to have “too few lawyers”. The decline of extra-legal resolution of financial distress via banks’ suspension of banking transactions leads to an increase in yakuza numbers as “dark side” private ordering increases and there is an increase in loss-making “zombie” firms. Japanese legal reforms in 2002 lead to a significant increase in lawyer numbers. These new lawyers play an economically significant role in reducing the number of “zombie” firms in Japan and the yakuza’s involvement in civil disputes. Using a panel of 47 prefectures we find new lawyers lead to a rise in the dissolution and liquidation of firms and a reduction in the number of loss-making “zombie” firms, as well as a reduction in crimes associated with yakuza involvement in civil dispute resolution

Lubrication model of a knee prosthesis, with non newtonian fluid and porous rough material

Tibial component of knee prostheses, made of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), experiences a high degree of wear and may be expected to last twelve years on average. In this work, a steady state one-dimensional lubrication model of a knee prosthesis is solved through a nu-merical technique based on the Finite Element Method. The model takes into account a non Newto-nian synovial fluid, its ultra filtration mechanism and the surface roughness of a porous elastic layer on the tibial component. The benefits of a porous compliant material placed at the top of the metallic tibial component are shown taking into account the stiffness and exudation capacity of the material and hyaluronic acid concentration of synovial fluid.Fil: Berli, Marcelo Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Campana, Diego Martin. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Ubal, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Di Paolo, José. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentin

Search for X-ray emission from subdwarf B stars with compact companion candidates

Stellar evolutionary models predict that most of the early type subdwarf stars in close binary systems have white dwarf companions. More massive companions, such as neutron stars or black holes, are also expected in some cases. The presence of compact stars in these systems can be revealed by the detection of X-rays powered by accretion of the subdwarf's stellar wind or by surface thermal emission. Using the Swift satellite, we carried out a systematic search for X-ray emission from a sample of twelve subdwarf B stars which, based on optical studies, have been suggested to have degenerate companions. None of our targets was detected, but the derived upper limits provide one of the few observational constraints on the stellar winds of early type subdwarfs. If the presence of neutron star companions is confirmed, our results constrain the mass loss rates of some of these subdwarf B stars to values <10^{-13}-10^{-12} Msun/yr.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Computer simulation of platelet activation in a pulsatile ventricular assist device, through finite elements and a simplified geometry

Ventricular assist devices are a technological solution for patients who suffer from cardiac insufficiency and await a transplant. In this work, a new design of an implantable pulsatile blood pump is analyzed in terms of blood damage, by means of finite elements on a simplified geometry. It is a double effect volumetric pump, which has a noncontact driven piston and four active valves. The analysis is done by means of blood flow simulation into the pump and the prediction of platelets activation. The last is a measure of the pump compatibility with human life.The platelet activation state is evaluated by an equivalent or representative shear stress and compared with bibliographic data corresponding to other VAD kinds and cardiac prosthetic valves. The results show that, for the complementary blood flow rate supplied by the simulated VAD, the predicted platelet damage is in the same levels of current cardiac devices, particularly other VADs.Fil: Fries, Exequiel. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Física Química. Laboratorio de Biomecánica Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Berli, Marcelo Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Física Química. Laboratorio de Biomecánica Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Campana, Diego Martin. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Física Química. Laboratorio de Biomecánica Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Ubal, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Di Paolo, José. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Física Química. Laboratorio de Biomecánica Computacional; Argentin

The effect of experience and of dots\u2019 density and duration on the detection of coherent motion in dogs

Knowledge about the mechanisms underlying canine vision is far from being exhaustive, especially that concerning post- retinal elaboration. One aspect that has received little attention is motion perception, and in spite of the common belief that dogs are extremely apt at detecting moving stimuli, there is no scientific support for such an assumption. In fact, we recently showed that dogs have higher thresholds than humans for coherent motion detection (Kanizsar et al. in Sci Rep UK 7:11259, 2017). This term refers to the ability of the visual system to perceive several units moving in the same direction, as one coherently moving global unit. Coherent motion perception is commonly investigated using random dot displays, containing variable proportions of coherently moving dots. Here, we investigated the relative contribution of local and global integra- tion mechanisms for coherent motion perception, and changes in detection thresholds as a result of repeated exposure to the experimental stimuli. Dogs who had been involved in the previous study were given a conditioned discrimination task, in which we systematically manipulated dot density and duration and, eventually, re-assessed our subjects\u2019 threshold after extensive exposure to the stimuli. Decreasing dot duration impacted on dogs\u2019 accuracy in detecting coherent motion only at very low duration values, revealing the efficacy of local integration mechanisms. Density impacted on dogs\u2019 accuracy in a linear fashion, indicating less efficient global integration. There was limited evidence of improvement in the re-assessment but, with an average threshold at re-assessment of 29%, dogs\u2019 ability to detect coherent motion remains much poorer than that of humans