This study investigates the practice of public procurement fraud in Malaysia. The aim of this research is to understand the nature and extent of the persistence of procurement fraud in the Malaysian public sector. Fraud in public procurement results in large losses of public funds which are needed by the government for delivering public services in order to build public infrastructure and facilities for healthcare and education, poverty eradication, security, defense and economic growth. A primarily qualitative methodology is employed in this study using the political economy approach in order to understand this social phenomenon. First, documentary analysis helps identifying some possible factors for the existence of fraud in public procurement in Malaysia. Then, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews are obtained using the Snowball Sampling Method (SSM). The interviews with 40 stakeholders (regulators, professionals, politicians, academics and media actors) reveal their „hidden‟ voices so as to understand public procurement fraud in Malaysia. Nevertheless, this study does not aim to make generalizations and reach concrete conclusions about this issue, but instead seeks to understand why public procurement fraud persists in Malaysia through an analysis of the subjective narratives of the stakeholders. This research identifies several possible factors explaining why fraud in Malaysian public procurement continues to exist: (1) the prevailing power of political and economic forces, (2) complexities in the check and balance system, (3) deficiencies in procurement practices, (4) constraints on the civil servants, and (5) characteristics of the Malaysian society. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge by focusing on an unexplored area of the institutional arrangements between the state and businesses in Malaysia. The institutional arrangements between state and private sector appear to be legitimate, but they have the potential to conceal fraudulent practices, thus making fraud possible. Given the sensitive nature of the subject matter of this research and the fact that fraud by its nature is often concealed, it is possible that the findings have only revealed the „tip of the iceberg‟ of public procurement fraud in Malaysia.

The ageing literature shows robust age-related declines in immediate (e.g. Bopp & Verhaeghen, 2005; Multhaup, Balota & Cowan, 1996; Verhaeghen, 2002; Verhaeghen, Marcoen & Goosens, 1993) and episodic memory (Fleischman, Wilson, Gabrieli, Bienias & Bennett, 2004; Park, 2000; Schaie, 2005; Singer, Lindenberger & Baltes, 2003). However, older adults also consistently show stable or even improving levels of semantic knowledge (Surprenant & Neath, 2007). In younger adults, Hemmer and Steyvers (2009) showed that episodic memory for the properties (i.e. size) of familiar items is influenced by multiple levels of pre-existing knowledge. In this thesis, I developed their paradigm to systematically explore these knowledge effects in healthy ageing for both episodic memory and short-term/ immediate memory. This was done by comparing memory for familiar relative to unfamiliar faces, as well as for the size of familiar everyday objects relative to unfamiliar, random shapes. Across all experiments, both age groups appeared to rely on pre-existing item-based knowledge for the familiar items to the same extent, suggesting no age-related decrement in the use of prior knowledge. Moreover, the result showed that item-specific knowledge for the unfamiliar items develops over the course of the experiment. This became apparent in cases when the distribution of target item sizes was bimodal, as this made session-based learning of the item statistics easier to observe; this experiment-based knowledge/ learning was again equivalent for both age groups. The older adults, however, consistently demonstrated greater reconstruction variability and overall error. I interpreted this as evidence of noisier memory representations of the studied items for the older adults (e.g. Noack, Lovden & Lindenberger, 2014); the findings suggest that this increase in error does not lead to more knowledge-based bias in older adults.

Le locus H19/IGF2 est soumis à l’empreinte génomique. A partir de l’allèle maternel, deux ARN non codants sont exprimés : H19 et 91H. L’ARN H19 est le précurseur de microARN (miR-675) dont aucune cible n’a été décrite dans la glande mammaire. Nous avons donc recherché et validé plusieurs cibles de ses microARN permettant d’expliquer les propriétés oncogéniques d’H19. En effet, le miR-675 régule l’expression des gènes c-Cbl, Cbl-b et FADD dans les cellules cancéreuses mammaires. Ces nouvelles régulations permettent l’augmentation de la prolifération cellulaire, la migration/invasion mais aussi la résistance aux apoptogènes. Dans cette étude, de manière inattendue et surprenante, nous avons également découvert un nouveau mécanisme de recrutement des microARN. Nous montrons que les protéines associées aux ARNm peuvent favoriser le recrutement du complexe RISC, mais surtout moduler l’action de celui-ci. De plus, dans certains cancers, l’ARN H19 peut s’associer aux protéines, notamment la protéine P53 dans les cancers gastriques, pour moduler leur fonction. Dans le cancer du sein, cette interaction empêche l’action de P53 et favorise sa dégradation. Cette nouvelle régulation de P53 peut être responsable de certaines résistances tumorales. Par ailleurs, l’implication d’H19 dans la formation et le maintien des cellules souches a été mise en évidence. Cette nouvelle fonction peut permettre à l’ARN H19 de promouvoir l’initiation ou la récidive tumorale. Les fonctions du long ARN non codant 91H dans les cellules cancéreuses mammaires ont également été étudiées. Cet ARN possède des propriétés oncogéniques et permet l’expression des gènes H19 et IGF2 en modulant la conformation de la chromatine au locus. Pour conclure, j’ai identifié plusieurs modes d’action de l’ARN H19 lui permettant de promouvoir l’apparition de la tumeur, sa progression et sa résistance aux thérapies. J’ai également défini le rôle de l’ARN 91H dans la tumorigenèse et au locus H19/IGF2. / The H19/IGF2 locus is submitted to the genomic imprinting. From the maternal allele, two long non-coding RNA are transcribed: H19 and 91H. The H19 RNA is a precursor of microRNA (miR-675). Few targets have been identified but neither in breast cancer cells lines. I have identified and checked three targets of miR-675 involved in H19 RNA oncogenic properties. Indeed, the miR-675 regulate expression of c-Cbl, Cbl-b and FADD mRNA. These new regulation promotes cell proliferation, cell migration/invasion and resistance of cell apoptosis. Moreover, surprisingly, in these studies, I have highlight new mechanism of microRNA recruitment and function. Indeed, I have established that proteins associated to mRNA regulate microRNA recruitment and function.In cancers, the H19 could be associated with protein, for example the P53 protein in gastric cancer, in order to regulate their function. In breast cancer cells, the H19/P53 association prevents the P53 function and promotes its degradation. This new P53 regulation could be involved in drug resistance in cancer. Otherwise, I have shown that H19 is involved in stem cell formation and maintenance. This new H19 function could be involved in tumor initiation or in tumor recurrence. To finish, I have also determined the function of the H19 antisense long non-coding RNA, 91H. In breast cancer cells, I have demonstrated that 91H acts as an oncogene and promotes H19 and IGF2 expression by modulating chromatin conformation at the locus. In conclusion, I have identified several H19 mechanism involved in tumor formation, progression or resistance to treatment. I have also decipher 91H function in tumorigenesis and at the H19/IGF2 locus.

The thesis is composed of three chapters which analyze the monetary and macro-prudential policy using a New Keynesian DSGE model with the banking sector. The first chapter evaluates the effectiveness of time-varying macro-prudential tools and their interaction with monetary policy using the model framework of Gertler and Karadi (2011) which emphasizes the role of bank capital and endogenous leverage constraint due to the moral hazard problem. We consider the following three types of countercyclical macro-prudential tools: (i) capital requirements (CAR), (ii) deposit-based reserve requirements (DBRR), and (iii) asset-based reserve requirements (ABRR). The main findings are as follows. First, all three types of macro-prudential policy tools reacting to the financial condition (credit to output gap) are effective to mitigate the fluctuation of credit and business cycle by weakening the pro-cyclicality of banks' net worth and the counter-cyclicality of the endogenous leverage and external finance premium. Second, the effectiveness of each instrument differs by the source of shocks to the economy. In response to a TFP shock, the counter-cyclical CAR is the most effective to mitigate the fluctuation of credit and output and the ABRR is relatively more effective in response to capital quality shocks (credit supply shock). Third, all types of macro-prudential tools are welfare improving in combination with monetary policy, but the use of macro-prudential policy is relevant in response to the credit supply shock (financial shock). Finally, when the economy is hit by a financial shock, a relatively direct tool like asset-based reserve requirement (ABRR) can be the most welfare-improving and the relationship between monetary and macro-prudential policy can be complementary each other. The second chapter examines the role of banks' endogenous reserves and capital and the usefulness of financial condition (credit aggregates and external finance premium) as an indicator for setting up a relevant monetary policy rule. For the task, I construct an extended version of Goodfriend and McCallum (2007) model which is characterized by banks' loan production function with inputs (collaterals, monitoring works and bank capital buffer) under the households' deposit in advance (DIA) constraint. Main findings are as follows. First, banks' endogenous reserves can mitigate the variation of external finance premium by substituting costly monitoring works for lending. However, the effect of endogenous reserves on output and credits depends on types of shocks (credit-demand vs credit-supply shock), which reflects the role of external finance premium (EFP) as a banking attenuator (pro-cyclical EFP) or financial accelerator (counter-cyclical EFP) respectively. Second, the effect of banks' endogenous reserves can be limited when banks can adjust their capital flexibly compared to when banks' keep their capital to asset ratio (leverage) stable. Third, considering the role of money and the frictions on the credit-supply side, monetary policy reacting actively to the financial condition is welfare improving. These results imply that quantitative easing (QE) policy during the crisis was effective but the effectiveness of QE can be limited when banks can lower their leverage in a pro-cyclical manner. And monetary policy should pay more attention to the financial condition and prevailing interest rates as well as inflation and output gap in the presence of substantive financial frictions on the credit supply side in particular when the banking shocks dominate the economy. In the last chapter (co-authored with Professor Jagjit S. Chadha), we investigate the question facing many emerging economies: the extent to which a workhorse advanced economy model can yield important insights for monetary policy-making. We note that the standard sticky-price, monopolistically competitive model does not allow analysis of money and credit dynamics and led to a concentration of research on simple interest rate reaction functions. However, time-varying financial frictions tend to act as a tax on intermediation activities and so can vary output in a significant manner. In this chapter, we consider the implications of financial frictions for baseline monetary policy using a model calibrated on Indian data and find that a simple interest rate reaction function may not be welfare maximizing when banking shocks are dominant in the economy.

This research starts from the comparison between warranty and insurance in their coverages, policies, data and, particularly, policy optimisation techniques. Based on abundant literature in related areas, the result of this comparison indicates that warranty policy optimisation can be improved by considering the application of the portfolio theory, dependence modelling and risk measures that are widely used in the actuarial science and the financial discipline. In the following chapters, Chapter 1 introduces the Importance of this research and lists its aim and objectives. Chapter 2 mainly conducts a critical and comprehensive literature review relating to warranty management and actuarial science and summarised the knowledge gaps identified. Chapter 3 establishes a collective warranty policy optimisation framework, with the benefits of the modern portfolio theory borrowed from the actuarial and financial disciplines and copulas from the probability and statistics. With progressing of this research, the disadvantage of the symmetric risk measure, variance, is uncovered in dealing with the extreme events. Chapter 4 proposes using two of the downside risk measures used in the financial discipline, Value-at-Risk and Conditional Value-at-Risk, into the optimisation of warranty policy and a new portfolio optimisation framework of warranty optimisation based on copulas. Chapter 5 investigates the interplay among the hardware, software and users of individual products under different scenarios relating to the warranty claims. Considering such an interplay, it then develops a more comprehensive framework for warranty policy optimisation. This fits the trend that that more and more products can be considered as a system composed of three subsystems: hardware, software and user subsystems and considers that the existing warranty policy optimisation methods in the literature merely focus on products composed of hardware systems. Even though the above chapters have developed warranty policy optimisation frameworks collectively and comprehensively, this research can also be improved in many aspects. As such, in Chapter 6, the sale volume modelling, renewing warranty policy optimisation and copula selection are discussed. Chapter 7 wraps up the research and discusses future research.

This thesis aims to analyse the process of branding young and emerging artists in the contemporary art market, focusing on the valuation of works of art. The ambiguous borderline of being a work of art in terms of appearance poses a challenge for the market, which requires an explanation of its symbolic value and meaning. A thick, multifarious group of intermediaries in the art world contributes to the construction of legitimacy for artists and their artworks, engendering the understanding of such value. Through the legitimation process, artworks by young and emerging artists are rendered accepted and validated, thereby branding them. Some researchers on arts marketing have explored the valuation process by applying socio-cultural perspective on branding. However, such application has empirically overlooked two important mediums: art fairs and online platforms. Theoretically, the complex and fluid valuation structure in the art market, driven by the uncertain value of contemporary art and the repositioning of inner members of the art world, is a compelling research issue to be explored at the societal level. To do so, this thesis begins with investigating Andy Warhol's Brillo Box. This research also explores Frieze London and the Other Art Fair by collecting data from direct observation and secondary sources. The research additionally conducts an instrumental case study of Saatchi Art, using data from interviews, observation, and document reviews. The key finding of the historical case is that the legitimacy of Warhol and his artworks was shaped by various elements such as the intermediaries, a myth in society, an artistic movement, the artists' persona and social networks. Moreover, the empirical cases of art fairs and an online platform enact the functions of discovering, introducing, instructing, and including young and emerging artists. This indicates that these institutions play the role of intermediaries and contribute to framing the legitimacy of the artists and artworks, thereby branding new artists. Although art fairs and an online platform hold varying positions in the hierarchical order of valuing artworks in the art world (depending on the extent of their accumulated symbolic value), it is noteworthy that such mediums, which did not exist in the hierarchical structure before the twentieth century, have become important insiders in the structure. However, this research concludes that this change does not substantially reconstitute the stratified structure of the art world that has existed prior to their emergence. The theoretical contribution of this thesis lies in extending the application of Holt's (2004) theory of cultural branding to the context of arts. Building on the recent literature on cultural branding of artists (Kerrigan et al. 2011; Hewer, Brownlie and Kerrigan 2013; Muñiz, Norris and Fine 2014; Preece and Kerrigan 2015; Rodner and Preece 2015), this thesis conceptualises the process of legitimising young and emerging artists and their artworks as normative and cultural-cognitive legitimacy shaped by intermediaries through the stages of discovery, introduction, instruction, and selection. Moreover, by drawing on sociological arguments by Becker (1984) and Bourdieu (1996), the conceptual framework of the present study acknowledges the hierarchical structure of the art market and intricate interactions among intermediaries in the art world.

This qualitative research study into professional youth work identities and practices offers an insider perspective on the youth work community of practice. The research inquiry adopts a socially constructivist theoretical framework and was contextualised by the political and socio-economic climate in the north-west of England in 2013. Seventeen professionally-qualified youth workers took part in focus groups and interviews that were audio-recorded and transcribed, producing data for both thematic and discursive analyses. The data seeks to shed light on personal, professional and political dimensions of youth work identities; the professional knowledge used by youth workers, evidence of the value of youth work and the discursive construction of youth work accounts. Noticeably, the youth workers’ descriptions and explanations of their practice portrayed the formative influence of biography and learning in shaping their journey into youth work. They expressed commitment to reflective practice and had passion for youth work, espousing roles as listeners, advocates and informal educators in evolving practice situations. Moreover, some innovative youth work responses to young people’s needs were being recognised in some formal inter-agency contexts. Nevertheless, the data depicted youth workers conjuring up ‘the blitz spirit’ to deal with funding shortfalls that created feelings of being ‘the poor relation’ at times and finding themselves ‘fighting the corner’ against the onset of managerial preoccupations with targeting and outcome measures that side-lined the professional value base. The discursive lens illuminated the dialogical interaction that was positioning speakers in the discourse and constructing social and professional identities. It was evident that these were animated accounts of practice, infused with evocative imagery and capturing vibrant youth work voices that articulated the youth work point of view, an under-represented perspective in wider discourses on work with young people.

This thesis seeks to understand how and why police use 'Offences Taken Into Consideration' (TIC) processes as part of their crime management work. Informed by empirical data collected in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the study utilises a multi-method research design, to understand the organisation of TIC process and the variety of factors influencing the ways they are implemented and the outcomes they deliver in different areas of London. A key feature of the research is its use of focused comparative case studies of TIC work based upon in-depth qualitative fieldwork and interviews. The evidence and insight gleaned from these case studies are augmented and corroborated by the examination of material derived from the examination of official police case files. A key theme explored through exploration of the empirical data concerns the role and meaning of 'performance indicators'. Specifically, the analysis highlights how a range of organisational, subcultural and individual level factors interact to produce very different approaches to the use of TICs across different geographical areas. There are various interpretations applied to the TIC policy and procedures, which highlight the implications of such variant approaches. Theoretically, the evidence helps to shine a light on a neglected aspect of police practice and how crime detections are produced. The findings also have policy and practice implications, as the TIC policy wordings and processes may have been misinterpreted. As discussed in the thesis, potentially this could have led to miscarriages of justice or even breaches of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998.

This thesis seeks to show through both historical and contemporary examples what makes Russia an ‘outlier’ among key sports mega-events hosts. More specifically, this thesis sets out to establish how external and internal objectives Russia pursued in the context of the 1980 Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics differed from those of other sports mega-event hosts, including non-liberal states. The originality of this thesis lies not only in the fact that it sheds light on Russia’s strategy of sports mega-event hosting, but that it does so from the vantage point of the combination of the three most popular approaches in the extant sports mega-event research: public diplomacy, place branding and soft power. Moreover, this study places Russia’s hosting of sports mega-events within constructivist international relations theory, which prioritises identity and interests. In this respect, this research, by uncovering Russia’s motives behind sports mega-events hosting, seeks to add predictability to Russia’s behaviour in the international arena. Further, this thesis shows that the pursuit of domestic soft power goals appear to be much more important to Russia than the attainment of external reputational benefits. In this respect, this thesis explores at length what role elite sport and sports mega-events play in a nation-building project in Russia and how they are used to legitimise the incumbent elites. Finally, this thesis is an attempt to overcome a Western-centric paradigmatic hegemony in sports mega-event research.

This thesis explores the experiences and perceptions of people living with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and the healthcare professionals charged with diagnosing and treating the condition. LHON is the first disease linked to a mitochondrial mutation, characteristically resulting in bilateral sight loss over a period of 6‒12 weeks from the initial onset and predominantly (but not exclusively) affecting young men in their teens and early twenties. As with other mitochondrial conditions, there is currently no cure for LHON, and treatment options to slow the progress of the condition are limited. Qualitative research exploring the effect of LHON following a sudden and dramatic loss of sight has been absent from the literature. Addressing this gap, my study involves: (1) semi-structured interviews (N=41) with affected men and women, mothers who carry the condition, and genetic ophthalmologists; (2) participant observation over a period of nine months in two genetic ophthalmology clinics located in UK hospitals. Drawing upon key theoretical and empirical contributions from medical sociology and beyond, such as the work of Bury (1982) and Charmaz (1983), I explore the past, present and future lives of people with LHON by describing their chronic illness trajectory. Drawing predominantly on the interview data, I document their experience of the initial symptoms of sight loss, the challenges of receiving a formal diagnosis (as an uncertain, contested and often misdiagnosed condition), the aftermath of receiving a genetic diagnosis for participants and their wider family, and the disruption to everyday, mundane moments in people's daily lives. Moreover, I unpack how people restore their former self-images (Charmaz 1987, 1991), gain control over their lives, and regain some sense of 'normality' (Davis 1995), whilst also reflecting on future aspirations with respect to treatment options and reproductive imaginaries. To conclude, I acknowledge how my thesis contributes to knowledge by uncovering the multi-faceted experience of people living with sudden bilateral sight loss-a group who have, thus far, been invisible in the sociological literature.