Amending the Wagner Act: The Problem From the Manufacturer’s Viewpoint

Till följd av den globala finanskrisen år 2008 ställdes det europeiska samarbetet på prov. I och med detta presenterade EU ett förslag till ett direktiv angående en finansiell transaktionsskatt för samtliga länder inom EU. Elva av EU:s 28 medlemsländer har valt att ställa sig bakom förslaget om en finansiell transaktionsskatt, vilket innebär att dessa länder avser införa en finansiell transaktionsskatt. Tidigare empiriska erfarenheter har dock visat att en finansiell transaktionsskatt är mindre effektiv än vad förespråkarna gör gällande, varken påverkan på skatteintäkter eller marknadens volatilitet har i dessa fall levt upp till de önskvärda effekterna. Denna uppsats syfte är att analysera vad som ligger till grund för ländernas ställningstagande och uppsatsens hypotes ger vid handen att det föreligger ett positivt samband mellan finanskrisens påverkan på respektive EU land, inhemsk opinion och ett positivt ställningstagande till en finansiell transaktionsskatt inom EU. För att testa hypotesen används en induktiv metod vilken är uppbyggd på vetenskapliga artiklar och ekonomisk litteratur. Vidare genomförs flera regressionsanalyser i syfte att påvisa de positiva samband som hypotesen antar föreligger. I de uppvisade resultaten framgår att det går att stödja uppsatsens hypotes. Uppsatsen kommer därför fram till att det föreligger ett positivt samband mellan finanskrisens påverkan på respektive EU-land, inhemsk opinion och ett positivt ställningstagande till en finansiell transaktionsskatt.In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis the European Union was put to the test. As a result, the EU submitted a proposal for a directive regarding a financial transactions tax levied throughout every nation in the European Union. Eleven of the 28 EU member states decided to support the proposal for a financial transactions tax. The eleven member states adopted the stance to support the proposal in spite of the historical empirical evidence indicating a financial transactions tax to not be as effective as the advocators claim. This paper aims to analyse the basis of the EU member states adopted stance towards a financial transactions tax. The thesis statement suggest that there is a positive correlation between the impact of the financial crisis on each respective EU country, domestic public opinion and a positive stance towards a financial transactions tax in the EU. To test the thesis statement an inductive method, based on academic articles and economic literature, is applied. Furthermore a regression analysis is used to prove the appearance of the expected positive relationships in the thesis statement. The results of the paper indicate the thesis statement to be probable. Therefore, this paper concludes that there is a positive relationship between the impact of the financial crisis in the EU states, domestic opinion and a positive stance to a financial transactions tax

Galaxy Zoo: constraining the origin of spiral arms

Since the discovery that the majority of low-redshift galaxies exhibit some level of spiral structure, a number of theories have been proposed as to why these patterns exist. A popular explanation is a process known as swing amplification, yet there is no observational evidence to prove that such a mechanism is at play. By using a number of measured properties of galaxies, and scaling relations where there are no direct measurements, we model samples of SDSS and S4G spiral galaxies in terms of their relative halo, bulge and disc mass and size. Using these models, we test predictions of swing amplification theory with respect to directly measured spiral arm numbers from Galaxy Zoo 2. We find that neither a universal cored or cuspy inner dark matter profile can correctly predict observed numbers of arms in galaxies. However, by invoking a halo contraction/expansion model, a clear bimodality in the spiral galaxy population emerges. Approximately 40 per cent of unbarred spiral galaxies at z 10^10 Msolar have spiral arms that can be modelled by swing amplification. This population display a significant correlation between predicted and observed spiral arm numbers, evidence that they are swing amplified modes. The remainder are dominated by two-arm systems for which the model predicts significantly higher arm numbers. These are likely driven by tidal interactions or other mechanisms

Supermassive black holes in merger-free galaxies have higher spins which are preferentially aligned with their host galaxy

Here we use the Horizon-AGN simulation to test whether the spins of SMBHs in merger-free galaxies are higher. We select samples using an observationally motivated bulge-to-total mass ratio of < 0.1, along with two simulation motivated thresholds selecting galaxies which have not undergone a galaxy merger since z = 2, and those SMBHs with < 10% of their mass due to SMBH mergers. We find higher spins (> 5{\sigma} ) in all three samples compared to the rest of the population. In addition, we find that SMBHs with their growth dominated by BH mergers following galaxy mergers, are less likely to be aligned with their galaxy spin than those that have grown through accretion in the absence of galaxy mergers (3.4{\sigma} ). We discuss the implications this has for the impact of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback, finding that merger-free SMBHs spend on average 91% of their lifetimes since z = 2 in a radio mode of feedback (88% for merger-dominated galaxies). Given that previous observational and theoretical works have concluded that merger-free processes dominate SMBH-galaxy co-evolution, our results suggest that this co-evolution could be regulated by radio mode AGN feedback.Comment: RSB and RJS are joint first authors. Submitted to MNRAS, 10 page

Current and future role of instrumentation and monitoring in the performance of transport infrastructure slopes

Instrumentation is often used to monitor the performance of engineered infrastructure slopes. This paper looks at the current role of instrumentation and monitoring, including the reasons for monitoring infrastructure slopes, the instrumentation typically installed and parameters measured. The paper then investigates recent developments in technology and considers how these may change the way that monitoring is used in the future, and tries to summarize the barriers and challenges to greater use of instrumentation in slope engineering. The challenges relate to economics of instrumentation within a wider risk management system, a better understanding of the way in which slopes perform and/or lose performance, and the complexities of managing and making decisions from greater quantities of data

Galaxy Zoo: Are Bars Responsible for the Feeding of Active Galactic Nuclei at 0.2 < z < 1.0?

We present a new study investigating whether active galactic nuclei (AGN) beyond the local universe are preferentially fed via large-scale bars. Our investigation combines data from Chandra and Galaxy Zoo: Hubble (GZH) in the AEGIS, COSMOS, and GOODS-S surveys to create samples of face-on, disc galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.0. We use a novel method to robustly compare a sample of 120 AGN host galaxies, defined to have 10^42 erg/s < L_X < 10^44 erg/s, with inactive control galaxies matched in stellar mass, rest-frame colour, size, Sersic index, and redshift. Using the GZH bar classifications of each sample, we demonstrate that AGN hosts show no statistically significant enhancement in bar fraction or average bar likelihood compared to closely-matched inactive galaxies. In detail, we find that the AGN bar fraction cannot be enhanced above the control bar fraction by more than a factor of two, at 99.7% confidence. We similarly find no significant difference in the AGN fraction among barred and non-barred galaxies. Thus we find no compelling evidence that large-scale bars directly fuel AGN at 0.2<z<1.0. This result, coupled with previous results at z=0, implies that moderate-luminosity AGN have not been preferentially fed by large-scale bars since z=1. Furthermore, given the low bar fractions at z>1, our findings suggest that large-scale bars have likely never directly been a dominant fueling mechanism for supermassive black hole growth.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted by MNRA