"White-Collar Crime": The Concept and Its Potential for the Analysis of Financial Crime

Despite the ubiquity of illegality in today’s financial markets and the questions this raises with regard to the social legitimacy of today’s financial industry, systematic scrutiny of the phenomenon of financial crime is lacking in the field of sociology. One field of research in which the illegal dimensions of capitalist dynamics have long taken center stage is the field of white-collar crime research. This article makes available to economic sociologists an overview of the most important conceptual insights generated in the white-collar crime literature. In doing so, its aim is to provide economic sociologists with some orientation for future research on financial crime. Building on the insights generated in wcc literature, the article concludes by suggesting a number of promising avenues for future sociological research on the phenomenon of illegality in financial markets.Alors que l’omniprésence des illégalismes sur les marchés financiers contemporains interroge la légitimité sociale de l’industrie financière, l’examen systématique du crime financier reste à entreprendre en sociologie. Un champ de recherche s’intéresse depuis longtemps aux dimensions illégales des dynamiques capitalistes, celui du crime dit « en col blanc ». Cet article propose une vision d’ensemble des principales avancées conceptuelles caractéristiques de ce domaine de recherche. A partir des principaux acquis des travaux consacrés à la criminalité en col blanc, l’article suggère pour conclure un certain nombre de pistes prometteuses pour la recherche sociologique sur le phénomène des illégalismes sur les marchés financiers.Obwohl die weitverbreiteten, illegalen Handlungsweisen der zeitgenössischen Finanzmärkte die soziale Legitimität der Finanzindustrie hinterfragen, hat die Soziologie die Finanzverbrechen noch nicht einer systematischen Untersuchung unterzogen. Ein Forschungsbereich widmet sich seit langem den illegalen Dimensionen der kapitalistischen Dynamiken, es handelt sich um die Verbrechen der Angestellten. Dieser Beitrag vermittelt einen Überblick über die wichtigsten, konzeptuellen Erkenntnisse dieses Forschungsbereichs. Nach einer Darstellung der Haupterrungenschaften dieser Arbeiten, schließt dieser Aufsatz mit der Beschreibung einiger, vielversprechender Ansätze der soziologischen Forschung bezüglich der illegalen Handlungsweisen der zeitgenössischen Finanzmärkte

Competing with Whom? European Tax Competition, the “Great Fragmentation of the Firm,” and Varieties of FDI Attraction Profiles

International tax competition is generally framed as states competing for foreign direct investment (FDI), and analyses of the phenomenon draw heavily on FDI statistics. In and of themselves, however, FDI statistics are merely a quantification of the value of investment projects and tell us little about the heterogeneity of these projects and the distinct patterns of competitive dynamics between countries they generate. In this paper, we create a more sophisticated understanding of international tax competition by pointing out its variegated nature. To do so, we introduce the notion of the "great fragmentation of the firm" to distinguish between five categories of FDI: manufacturing affiliates, shared service centers, research and development facilities, intermediate holding companies, and top holding companies. Using a novel combination of firm-level and country-level data, we identify for each category of FDI which European Union member states are most successful in attracting it, what macro-institutional and tax arrangements they rely on for doing so, and what benefits they receive from it in terms of tax revenues and employment creation. In this way we were able to identify five distinct FDI attraction profiles and show that, rather than being a game of all against all, tax competition in the European Union increasingly takes place amongst subsets of countries that compete for similar categories of FDI.Der internationale Steuerwettbewerb wird üblicherweise als ein Wettbewerb zwischen Staaten um ausländische Direktinvestitionen (foreign direct investment, FDI) dargestellt. Analysen zu diesem Thema stützen sich weitgehend auf FDI-Statistiken, die jedoch ausschließlich den zahlenmäßigen Wert von Investitionsprojekten beschreiben. Sie besagen daher wenig über die Heterogenität dieser Projekte und die durch sie erzeugten distinkten Muster wettbewerblicher Dynamik zwischen Ländern. Mit diesem Papier möchten wir zu einem differenzierteren Verständnis des internationalen Steuerwettbewerbs beitragen, indem wir dessen vielfältige Erscheinungsformen aufzeigen. Hierzu führen wir den Begriff der „großen Fragmentierung des Unternehmens“ (great fragmentation) ein, um zwischen fünf FDI-Kategorien zu unterscheiden: Produktionsstandorte, Shared Service Centers, Forschungs- und Entwicklungszentren, Zwischenholdings und Dachholdings. Durch eine neuartige Kombination von Unternehmens- und Länderdaten ermitteln wir für jede dieser Kategorien, welche EU-Mitgliedstaaten am erfolgreichsten ausländische Direktinvestitionen darin anwerben, auf welche makroinstitutionellen und steuerlichen Arrangements sie sich hierbei stützen und welchen Nutzen im Hinblick auf Steuererträge und neu geschaffene Arbeitsplätze sie hieraus ziehen. Auf diese Weise können wir fünf verschiedene FDI-Attraktivitätsprofile erarbeiten und zeigen, dass der Steuerwettbewerb zwischen den Staaten der Europäischen Union nicht etwa ein Spiel ist, in dem alle gegen alle antreten, sondern dass er zunehmend zwischen Untergruppen von Staaten stattfindet, die in ähnlichen FDI-Kategorien miteinander konkurrieren.Contents 1 Introduction 2 The great fragmentation of the firm 3 The anatomy and geographical dispersion of corporate groups Manufacturing affiliates Shared service centers Research and development (R&D) facilities Top holding companies Intermediate holding companies 4 Analytical approach, data, and visualization Analytical approach Data Clustering analysis and visualization of the results 5 Results Manufacturing affiliates Shared service centers Research and development (R&D) facilities Top holding companies Intermediate holding companies Towards a typology of “FDI attraction profiles” 6 Conclusion Reference

Multiple Approaches to the Buildup of Asymmetric Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Membranes for Efficient Water Purification

The versatility of polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) coatings is very promising for their use as separation layers in nanofiltration applications. These membranes can for example be suited for the removal of micropollutants, such as medicines and pesticides, from water. The selectivity of PEM coatings can be further improved by so-called asymmetric coating. In this approach, the pores of the support membrane are filled with an open PEM layer to maintain a good water permeability, and subsequently a thin, dense layer is coated on top to determine the separation properties. Coating a dense top layer can be achieved in different ways. In this work, we systematically investigate the effectiveness of these different types of top layers. We show that coating a top layer at lower ionic strength than the bottom layer leads to a higher permeability and MgSO4 retention, compared with the reference, bottom-type layer coated with the same total number of layers. Also, other salt retentions can be improved with this approach. However, micropollutant retentions are hardly affected. Coating a top layer with a polyelectrolyte pair that forms denser layers at equal ionic strength, in contrast, leads to a significant change in separation properties with much higher MgSO4 and micropollutant retentions and improved water permeability compared with the reference layer. The concept of membrane optimization via asymmetric coating is thus most effective when using different polyelectrolyte pairs on top of each other. Moreover, we show that this approach allows us to selectively cross-link the top layer for further enhancement of the micropollutant retention, while water permeability is not much reduced. Asymmetric PEM coatings are therefore a promising method to optimize PEM membranes for micropollutant removal and other separation processes

Dakotah Poesy (1990)

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Navigating the balance between nanofiltration and oxidation to remove organic micropollutants from wastewater treatment plant effluent

The removal of organic micropollutants (OMPs) from wastewater treatment plant effluent is becoming more important due to the adverse effects of these compounds on the environment. To overcome the limitations of currently available technologies, this study proposes a combination of hollow fiber membrane filtration with advanced oxidation to remove OMPs. The possible synergy between these processes was investigated. The nanofiltration membrane ensures the removal of organic matter and thus an improvement of transmittance, after which oxidation with UV/H2O2 of the permeate can remove OMPs more effectively and at a significantly lower energy consumption than without a membrane. Six membranes were evaluated with a pure water permeability between 6.7 and 106 Lm−2 h−1 bar−1 and a MgSO4 retention ranging from 0.93 to 0. The molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) varied from 250 Da to more than 10 kDa. The measured MWCO can depend strongly on the applied flux. The UV-transmittance of NF permeate of treated wastewater was investigated experimentally to be between 97% and 50%. These values were used for an estimation of the specific energy consumption (SEC) for the membrane and the oxidation step, resulting in a combined SEC of 0.17–0.18 kWhm−3 for 70 or 80% removal of OMPs, respectively. Remarkably, this lowest SEC was not found for the combination with the most dense membrane, but for a slightly more open membrane. The reported SEC is comparable to the total energy consumption required for ozonation and adsorption, while producing clean water with a double barrier, high transmittance and 70–80% removal of OMPs.</p

Return to Play After Hamstring Injuries: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Definitions and Criteria

Background: More than half of the recurrent hamstring injuries occur within the first month after return-to-play (RTP). Although there are numerous studies on RTP, comparisons are hampered by the numerous definitions of RTP used. Moreover, there is no consensus on the criteria used to determine when a person can start playing again. These criteria need to be critically evaluated, in an attempt to reduce recurrence rates and optimize RTP. Objective: To carry out a systematic review of the literature on (1) definitions of RTP used in hamstring research and (2) criteria for RTP after hamstring injuries. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: Seven databases (PubMed, EMBASE/MEDLINE, CINAHL, PEDro, Cochrane, SPORTDiscus, Scopus) were searched for articles that provided a definition of, or criteria for, RTP after hamstring injury. There were no limitations on the methodological design or quality of articles. Content analysis was used to record and analyze definitions and criteria for RTP after hamstring injury. Results: Twenty-five papers fulfilled inclusion criteria, of which 13 provided a definition of RTP and 23 described criteria to support the RTP decision. “Reaching the athlete’s pre-injury level” and “being able to perform full sport activities” were the primary content categories used to define RTP. “Absence of pain”, “similar strength”, “similar flexibility”, “medical staff clearance”, and “functional performance” were core themes to describe criteria to support the RTP decision after hamstring injury. Conclusion: Only half of the included studies provided some definition of RTP after hamstring injury, of which reaching the athlete’s pre-injury level and being able to perform full sport activities were the most important. A wide variety of criteria are used to support the RTP decision, none of which have been validated. More research is needed to reach a consensus on the definition of RTP and to provide validated RTP criteria to facilitate hamstring injury management and reduce hamstring injury recurrence. PROSPERO systematic review registration number: CRD42015016510

Clinical findings just after return to play predict hamstring re-injury, but baseline MRI findings do not

__Abstract__ Background Acute hamstring re-injuries are common and hard to predict. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between clinical and imaging findings and the occurrence of hamstring re-injuries. Methods We obtained baseline data (clinical and MRI findings) of athletes who sustained an acute hamstring injury within 5 days of initial injury. We also collected data of standardised clinical tests within 7 days after return to play (RTP). The number of re-injuries was recorded within 12 months. We analysed the association between the possible predictive variables and re-injuries with a multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression model. Results Eighty patients were included at baseline and 64 p

Update on the Role of Actovegin in Musculoskeletal Medicine: A Review of the Past 10 Years

Background: Actovegin is a biological drug with a controversial history of use in the treatment of sports injuries during the past 60 years. Particular concerns have been raised about its ergogenic potential to enhance performance, but some of these have been based on little more than anecdote. Objectives: In this article, we review the most recent scientific evidence to determine the clinical efficacy, safety profile, and legal status of Actovegin. Methods: We considered all studies directly commenting on experience with Actovegin use as the primary intervention within the past 10 years. Outcomes included mechanisms of action, clinical efficacy in enhancing muscle repair, any report of safety issues, and any evidence for ergogenic effect. Results: Our database search returned 212 articles, abstracts were screened, and after inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied, 25 articles were considered: Publications included 11 primary research articles (7 in vitro studies and 4 clinical trials), 8 review articles, 5 editorials, and a single case report. Conclusions: Current literature is still yet to define the active compound(s) of Actovegin, but suggests that it shows antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties, and may also upregulate macrophage responses central to muscle repair. Clinical efficacy was supported by one new original research article, and the use of Actovegin to treat muscle injuries remains safe and supported. Two articles argued the ergogenic effect of Actovegin, but in vitro findings did not to translate to the outcomes of a clinical trial. An adequate and meaningful scientific approach remains difficult in a field where there is immense pressure to deliver cutting-edge therapies