This thesis explores, in a case study, the interests served by the UK Financial Services Act of 1986. The Act put in place a revolutionary new regulatory framework for controlling the sale of investment products such as pensions and insurance. The stated objectives of the new regime were to protect the ordinary investor, 'Aunt Agatha', from mis-selling and bad advice. However, there is casual evidence to suggest that the regime has failed in this objective. Moreover, there exists, in public choice theory, an explanation for why regulation might fail in this way. The study investigates whether regulation did fail to achieve its official objectives, and if it did, what were the reasons for this failure? Does public choice provide an explanation for the failure of the FSA? The study explores the interests served by the FSA. Specifically, it contributes to knowledge on three fronts: (i) related to the application of a sophisticated public choice analytical framework to a case study of British government regulation; (ii) related to the comparing of the practical adequacy of the public interest and public choice theories of regulation; and (iii) related to the case study itself, which develops a greater understanding of the origins, development, effects, and interests served by the FSA. The thesis concludes that the regulators, in large part, failed to enforce the rules and moreover that the cause of this failure, as public choice theory suggests, was the influence of the industry. In short, the thesis finds that the regulators were captured by the industry.

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Denna uppsats behandlar turism i utvecklingsländer och den problematik som kan uppstå i samband med detta. Uppsatsen visar att denna problematik har en bredd som sträcker sig över både medborgerliga och politiska rättigheter och ekono¬miska, sociala och kulturella rättigheter. I uppsatsen tas bland annat ekonomi, ar-bets¬rättigheter, miljöförstöring, sexturism, ursprungsbefolkningar, tvångsför¬flyttningar och kulturella rättigheter upp. På alla dessa områden finns problem som turismindustrin, på olika sätt, försöker hantera. Uppsatsen innehåller en undersökning av hur de tre svenska marknadsledande paketresearrangörerna, Fritidsresor, Apollo och Ving, valt att arbeta med denna problematik. Studien görs genom att undersöka de uppförandekoder, policydoku¬ment och övriga initiativ som företagen tagit för att motverka problematiken. Slutligen så utvärderas också företagen och ställs mot beroendeteori för att se huruvida företagens arbete är tillräckligt för att överbrygga de särskilda förhållan¬den som råder i utvecklingsländerna. / This paper deals with tourism in the Third World and the problems that could be related to this. The paper shows that these problems have a scope from civil and political rights to economic, social and cultural rights. The paper covers the problems related to economy, labor rights, environ¬mental pollution, sextourism, indigenous peoples, forced displacement and cul¬tural rights. In all these areas there are problems that the tourism industry, in dif¬ferent ways, is trying to handle. The paper also includes a study on how the three market leading tour operators in Sweden, Fritidsresor, Apollo and Ving, are working with these problems. This study is conducted by examining the codes of conduct, corporate policies and other initiatives from the tour operators. The paper is concluded by an evaluation of the tour operator with the help of dependency theory. This is done to estimate the sufficiency of the operators social work in relation to the special conditions of developing countries.

由於市場的開放與競爭，銀行業需面對信用風險、市場風險、作業風險等風險挑戰；而新巴塞爾資本協定的施行，使現行英美先進國家之監理已將傳統監理模式轉為以風險監理之機制。為強化本國銀行之風險管理能力，使我國銀行業資本適足性規範與國際接軌，我國已於民國96年起正式實施新巴塞爾資本協定。另為落實新巴塞爾資本協定第二支柱及第三支柱，亦規定本國銀行將自民國97年起向金管會申報其資本適足性評估相關資料，期許我國在風險監理上邁入一新里程碑。 本論文以銀行監理為研究主體，參考英國金融監理總署(FSA)以風險為基礎之監理架構（Advanced Risk Responsive Operating FrameWork, ARROW）制度，並考量我國國情及銀行業者狀況，以三大風險（信用風險、市場風險、作業風險）監理為探討主軸，整合監理資訊系統，提出風險監理評估模型，透過系統量化與質化的指標，依據風險評估結果來要求業者降低風險等級，有助提升監理人員之效率，並將監理經驗透過系統化傳承，落實金融監理差異化管理。 本研究具體研究結論為： 1.建立風險群組： 建立風險群組－－第一支柱資本適足率要求、第二支柱監理審查信用風險、第二支柱監理審查市場風險、第二支柱監理審查作業風險、公司治理、財務健全度，及各分險群組之風險因子。 2.風險分級及燈號： 分別依據風險因子訂定分級指標。燈號分為紅、粉紅、黃、綠，分別對應4級風險。 3.銀行監理整合資訊系統流程： 依據風險模型，評估銀行風險等級並據此進行相關追蹤控管，俾協助銀行降低所承受之風險。最後仍需適時檢討風險模型之有效性，並提出修正，繼續進行風險監理循環（Risk Supervision Cycle）。 4.監理資訊整合架構： 往昔監理機關間對於資料交換，僅使用傳真或Email方式進行，對於跨業監理資料之取得並無制度化標準處理流程，以致傳輸管道不符合資訊安全及資料無法有效後續利用。本系統運用SOA技術進行整合監理機關系統，其整合對象均為監理機關既有系統，其中如監理資訊系統、跨監理機關資料源及外部新聞資料源等，皆運用標準資訊交換技術及應用模組介接方式達成整合目標，俾建立以風險監理為主軸之整合資訊系統架構。 本研究已將英國監理機關FSA ARROW的風險群組，成功的運用巴塞爾監理委員會所關注的三大風險整合，並與其他業務監理評估風險制度結合，提出風險監理評估模型，透過系統量化與質化的指標，未來並可依風險評估結果來要求業者降低風險等級，有助提升監理人員之效率，並將監理經驗透過系統化傳承，已順利達成新巴塞爾資本協定第二支柱與業務監理評估風險制度結合的目標，並落實金融監理差異化管理。

A single-beam acoustic seabed classification system was used to map coral reef environments in the upper Florida Keys, USA, and the Bahamas. The system consisted of two components, both produced by the Quester Tangent Corporation. A QTCView Series V, operating with a 50 kHz sounder, was used for data acquisition, and IMPACT software was used for data processing and classification. First, methodological aspects of system performance were evaluated. Second, the system was applied to the assessment of grouper and snapper habitat. Two methodological properties were explored: transferability (i.e. mapping the same classes at multiple sites) and reproducibility (i.e. surveying one site multiple times). The transferability results showed that a two-class scheme of hard bottom and sediment could be mapped at four sites with overall accuracy ranging from 73% to 86%. The locations of most misclassified echoes had one of two characteristics: a thin sediment veneer overlying hard bottom or within-footprint relief on the order of 0.5 m or greater. Reproducibility experiments showed that consistency of acoustic classes between repeat transects over the same area on different days varied, for the most part, between 50% and 65%. Consistency increased to between 78% and 92% when clustering was limited to two acoustic classes, to between approximately 70% and 100% when only echoes acquired within two degrees of nadir in the pitch direction were used, and to between 81% and 87% when a limited set of features was used for classification. The assessment of grouper and snapper habitat addressed the question whether areas of high fish abundance were associated with characteristic acoustic or geomorphological signatures. The results showed, first, that the hard bottom / sediment classification scheme was a useful first step for stratifying survey areas to increase efficiency of grouper census efforts. Second, an index of acoustic variability complemented the hard bottom / sediment classification by further targeting areas of potential grouper habitat. Finally, five grouper and snapper spawning aggregation sites were all found to have similar associations with drowned shelf edge reefs in the upper Florida Keys.

This dissertation is comprised of three stand-alone articles, two of them co-authored, and one solo. The solo article, "Increases in Victim Mortality Rates in the Aftermath of Mandatory Arrest Laws: A Study in Unintended Effects" is in Part I. The first co-authored article "Teachers' Strikes and Standardized Test Scores: Impact on Performance & Participation", is in Part II. The last chapter, Part III, is already published in the journal "Information Economics and Policy" (ISSN: 0167-6245), accessible under the title "The Value of Online Scarcity Signals". / Graduate / 2022-08-24

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On August 2, 2004, Citigroup traders based in the UK sold short more than $13 billion worth of government bonds only to buy them back seconds later at a profit of about $18.2 million dollars. This strategy was carefully planned, the consequences acknowledged by key participants, and it was profitable to the serious detriment of other market participants. The event is ethically questionable because it violates the spirit of European regulation. The purpose of this study is to investigate disclosures made by and about Citigroup surrounding a regulatory investigation into this short-sale within the contexts of legitimacy and institutional anomie theories.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T14:10:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tiago Gregorie Pinheiro.pdf: 2010463 bytes, checksum: 32296f9e847ae2f5096537b711998231 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-12 / The aim of this work is to analyze the internationalization of Brazilian companies in Angola. Despite the difficulties, there are numerous opportunities for Brazilian companies. This study was based on the theories of institutional gaps, specific advantages of the firm (FSA) and specific advantages of the country of origin (CSA), and the state's role in the internationalization of companies. The study sample consisted of interviews with 12 experts from Brazil-Angola relations. Research results indicate that the Brazilian companies to Angola to have well-defined competitive advantage and, in most cases, go to the African country aimed at exploring the local institutional gaps. However, the perception of the actors involved, Brazilian companies are going to explore institutional gaps, taking advantage of their competitive advantages, they are not supported efficiently by the Brazilian state. Thus, lack a state policy that prioritizes these companies. The findings also indicate that to succeed in business in Angola, it is essential to build partnerships with local actors such as entrepreneurs and especially the government. In this context, a strategic roadmap is suggested to assist Brazilian companies operating in the African country. / O objetivo desta dissertação consiste em analisar a internacionalização de empresas brasileiras para Angola. Apesar das dificuldades, há inúmeras oportunidades para as empresas brasileiras. Este estudo teve como base as teorias de vazios institucionais, vantagens específicas da firma (FSA) e vantagens específicas do país de origem (CSA), além do papel do Estado na internacionalização de empresas. A amostra do estudo foi composta de entrevistas com 12 especialistas das relações Brasil-Angola. Os resultados da investigação apontam que as empresas brasileiras que vão para Angola possuem vantagens competitivas bem definidas e, em sua maioria, vão para o país africano visando explorar os vazios institucionais locais. Porém, na percepção dos atores envolvidos, as empresas brasileiras que estão indo explorar vazios institucionais, se valendo das suas vantagens competitivas, não estão sendo apoiadas eficientemente pelo Estado brasileiro. Assim, falta uma política de Estado que priorize essas empresas. Os achados também indicam que, para ter sucesso nos negócios em Angola, é fundamental construir parcerias com agentes locais como empresários e, sobretudo, o governo. Nesse contexto, é sugerido um roteiro estratégico para auxiliar os empresários brasileiros a operar no país africano.

The aim of this dissertation is to provide a unified treatment of various spell checkers and correctors. Firstly, the spell checking and correcting problems are formally described in mathematics in order to provide a better understanding of these tasks. An approach that is similar to the way in which denotational semantics used to describe programming languages is adopted. Secondly, the various attributes of existing spell checking and correcting techniques are discussed. Extensive studies on selected spell checking/correcting algorithms and packages are then performed. Lastly, an empirical investigation of various spell checking/correcting packages is presented. It provides a comparison and suggests a classification of these packages in terms of their functionalities, implementation strategies, and performance. The investigation was conducted on packages for spell checking and correcting in English as well as in Northern Sotho and Chinese. The classification provides a unified presentation of the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques studied in the research. The findings provide a better understanding of these techniques in order to assist in improving some existing spell checking/correcting applications and future spell checking/correcting package designs and implementations. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Computer Science / unrestricted