Paying for long-term performance: restructuring bankers’ pay for risk regulation

The purpose of this paper is to propose hybrid capital securities as a new approach to compensation for senior bank executives and risk-takers instead of cash or equity-based compensation currently adopted by the industry. The global financial turmoil indicated that misaligned pay-for-performance compensation arrangements encouraged management short-termism and rewarded excessive risk-taking behaviour in Anglo-Saxon system. Rather than regulating specific instruments and processes, we believe that it is much more efficient to overhaul the compensation scheme to align it with risk management and governance. This empirical paper investigates the European hybrid market by employing data from the Merrill Lynch Global Index System from 2000 to 2010. Our paper contributes to both literature and practices by designing a structured scheme to tie the executive’s interests to long-term performance of the bank, the goal of regulators and the economy at large which consequently reduce the probability of future bank failures.

Western Britain in late antiquity

The relevance of the concept of ‘Late Antiquity’ to fifth- and sixth-century Western Britain is demonstrated with reference to the archaeology of the British kingdom of Dumnonia, and then used to reinterpret portable material culture. Themes discussed include the dating of Palestinian amphorae in Britain, the extent of the settlement at Tintagel, tin as a motivation for Byzantine trade, the re-use of Roman-period artefacts, and ‘Anglo-Saxon’ artefacts on Western British sites. The central paradoxes of Late Antiquity: simultaneous conservatism and fluidity, continuity and innovation, are seen to illuminate ‘Dark Age’ Britain and offer new avenues for future research.

Finding vikings in the Danelaw

Historical, artefactual and place-name evidence indicates that Scandinavian migrants moved to eastern England in the ninth century AD, settling in the Danelaw. However, only a handful of characteristically Scandinavian burials have been found in the region. One, widely held, explanation is that most of these Scandinavian settlers quickly adopted local Christian burial customs, thus leaving Scandinavians indistinguishable from the Anglo-Saxon population. We undertook osteological and isotopic analysis to investigate the presence of first-generation Scandinavian migrants. Burials from Masham were typical of the later Anglo-Saxon period and included men, women and children. The location and positioning of the four adult burials from Coppergate, however, are unusual for Anglo-Scandinavian York. None of the skeletons revealed interpersonal violence. Isotopic evidence did not suggest a marine component in the diet of either group, but revealed migration on a regional, and possibly an international, scale. Combined strontium and oxygen isotope analysis should be used to investigate further both regional and Scandinavian migration in the later Anglo-Saxon period.

Sociocultural influences on body image concerns and body change strategies among Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australian adolescent girls and boys

Sociocultural messages about the ideal body build have been studied predominantlyamong White adolescent girls. In the current study we examined the relationships between perceived sociocultural influences, body image concerns, and body change strategies among 47 (22 boys and 25 girls) Indigenous Australian adolescents. These relationships were compared to those from 47 non-Indigenous adolescents (predominantly from an Anglo-Saxon background), who were matched on gender, age, and school grade. Overall, the sociocultural influences were found to be associated with body image concerns and body change strategies among both cultural groups. The only exception was that the sociocultural influences were not associated with the Indigenous girls levels of body dissatisfaction or body image importance. These findings are discussed in relation to past studies of White and Black girls.

International and culturally inclusive curricula-an engineering management unit audit case study

SEB421 Strategic Issues in Engineering is a final-year engineering management study unit at Deakin University in which the enrolled student population has grown to include significant numbers of international students. Given this change, it was considered timely to conduct a review of the unit, with regard to principles of international and culturally inclusive curricula. Despite the historically white Anglo-Saxon male culture of engineering education in Australia, there are a wide range of international and cultural aspects related to engineering education. A review of the literature reveals a diversity of interpretations of 'internationalisation' and 'cultural inclusiveness'. From a pragmatic perspective, it is noted that organisational policy can provide guidance for academic staff seeking to make courses more inclusive. From a review of the literature and relevant university policies, a list of 'international and culturally inclusive curricula' guidelines for engineering management education was developed. Comparing a prior audit of SEB421 with these guidelines revealed progress on international and culturally inclusive curricula, but identified opportunities for improvement. The guidelines were applied to the curriculum/syllabus, content/study materials, conduct and assessment of the unit, to identify further opportunities for improvement. A plan for improvement of the unit and an associated timetable for this work were developed. It was noted that some changes can be made immediately, while others are contingent upon the timetable imposed by university systems. It was further noted that issues of change within a single study unit intersect with wider issues of program curriculum, and, while pilot activities can provide a start, eventually the wider issue of international and culturally inclusive curricula across the entire undergraduate engineering program needs to be considered.

Ethical structures and processes of corporations operating in Australia, Canada and Sweden : A longitudinal and cross-cultural study

Based on the ‘Partnership Model of Corporate Ethics’ (Wood, 2002), this study examines the ethical structures and processes that are put in place by organizations to enhance the ethical business behavior of staff. The study examines the use of these structures and processes amongst the top companies in the three countries of Australia, Canada, and Sweden over two time periods (2001–2002 and 2005–2006). Subsequently, a combined comparative and longitudinal approach is applied in the study, which we contend is a unique approach in the area of business ethics. The findings of the study indicate that corporations operating in Sweden have utilized ethical structures and processes differently than their Canadian and/or Australian counterparts, and that in each culture the way that companies fashion their approach to business ethics appears congruent with their national cultural values. There does, however, appear to be a convergence of views within the organizations of each culture, as the Swedish companies appear to have been more influenced in 2005–2006 by an Anglo-Saxon business paradigm than they have been in the past.

Inculcating the ethos of public-sector codes of ethics in Sweden : a longitudinal approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the measures put in place by the largest public sector organizations in Sweden in order to communicate the ethos of their codes of ethics to their employees.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based upon a longitudinal survey approach.

Findings – In the public sector organizations of Sweden the use of regulations and staff support is rather modest in respect to the inculcation of codes of ethics artefacts into the organisations. This longitudinal approach indicates an overall increase across the examined areas in the usage of measures to support the ethos of public sector codes of ethics.

Research limitations/implications – The artefacts to support the ethos inherent in public sector codes of ethics are rarely explored in the literature. This paper helps to fill this gap with the present longitudinal approach.

Practical implications – One could speculate that society at large and its public sector organizations may have been influenced not only by the scandalous happenings of recent years in Swedish business, but also by the impact of an Anglo-Saxon style of “corporatisation”, whereby public authorities take on the form of a corporation or business brought on by globalisation.

Originality/value – The present paper may be used as a point of reference for further research efforts.

1948 and 1968 Czech refugee settlers in Australia : a comparison of the settlement and integration processes among two waves of settlers

Nearly eighteen years ago when I first became interested in the history and sociology of Australian immigration, I was particularly attracted by the fact and opportunity to incorporate immigration settlement, experience and accomplishments in my history teaching in secondary school. In particular it was the area of the settlement of Australia that needed a fuller understanding in the teaching of Australian history. By that I mean it was needed to show that there were many other ethnic groups besides the Anglo-Saxon group which had participated in the development of Australia since 1788. Since the end of World War II, the Australian population has doubled, the population structure and characteristics have changed and knowledge about the diverse groups forming the Australian nation is now sought. Sane ethnic groups, mainly the numerically large, have been studied and numerous reports are available. But many of the smaller groups have attracted little interest among Australian scholars. This was one of the reasons that I decided to research the behaviour of one of the smaller groups - the Czechs - to find out about their immigration history to Australia; their immigration processes such as re-settlement and re-establishment; and their community life since World War II. Because of the scarcity of written materials on Czechs in Australia, I had to rely on interviews, personal reminiscenses, letters and documents translated from the Czech language. I should like to express my gratitude to all people and officials of Czech ethnic organisations and clubs in Australia, who agreed to be interviewed and who provided me with documentary material so important for my work. Respecting the wishes of my interviewees their anonymity had to be preserved. In the course of my research, I have received substantial help and the encouragement from the Editor of the now extinct Czech language paper Newspaper Hlas domova, Mr. F.V., whose co-operation is gratefully recognised. I am also grateful to Associate Professor William D. Rubinstein for his help and encouragement in all stages of my work. The introductory part of the study is covered in Chapter One. She reasons for the need to increase Australia's population after World War II and an analysis of the development of settlement in Australia between 1947 and 1984 are discussed. The emigration of Czechs into Australia and their place in the post-war immigration scheme is introduced. To obtain an overview of how Czechs have emigrated around the world, the literature describing their settlement is compared. Also discussed in the literature on Czech settlement in Australia from an historical point of view. The studies on the concept of ethnicity and settlement in Australia are used to document the theoretical issues for an understanding of Australian society. This chapter also contains aspects of sources and research, shewing the processes of documentary research, interviews and related matters. In Chapter Two the history of Czech emigration is discussed, covering the period from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The first contacts with Australia are highlighted, continuing into the inter-war period and finally the re-settlement of Czechs after World War II. To understand why Czechs left their ancestral country after World War II, the political situation in Czechoslovakia is analysed. The third chapter concentrates mainly in the 1948 wave of settlers, who left Czechoslovakia after the communist take-over in 1948. Their means of departure from their homeland, selection of Australia as a new homeland and their re-settlement and re-establishment are discussed. Their attitudes after their arrival and their later stages of their settlement are analysed. The formation of numerous Czech ethnic organisations which mushroomed between 1950 and 1954 led to an active community life which began to change about five years after their arrival. These charges led to disorganisation of Czech community's life. The causes of these changes which were influential for the failure of the 1948 group to establish a viable community in Australia are analysed. In Chapter Four the wave of 1968 is viewed, their arrival and settling is covered. The study of their group attitudes and formation of group institutions is the main part of this section. A comparison of my data of the two waves, 1948 and 1968, reveals the information that these two groups did not develop the harmonious relationship expected of them as members of the one ethnic group. Chapter Five discusses immigration typologies and concentrates on the differences between legal and illegal emigrants from the Czechoslovak point of view. The integration processes of Czechs and their incorporation into Australian society are discussed. The sixth chapter sums up the findings of this disertation and states the influences which were responsible for the divisions in Czech ethnic life in Australia in the 1980s.

An empirical investigation of hybrid corporate governance systems in large firms : evidence from India

The heightened pace of corporate governance reforms has focussed attention on countryspecific governance models. In relation to India, scholars have observed that a hybrid of the outsider Anglo-Saxon system and the insider Continental system is likely. This paper reports
the results of a study that investigated the corporate governance system of five large firms in 2008. It presents evidence based on publicly available documents and twelve key executive interviews. The paper initially presents a literature review and establishes six propositions
based on the distinguishing features of the two major systems, and then presents the methodology, findings and discussion. The governance characteristics of the Indian firms are classified in terms of the two systems with a view to assessing the extent and nature of hybridization. The findings endorse the hybrid corporate governance system in India.
However, the scope of this study was limited to large listed companies and business groups. Future research should use a larger and more diverse sample including private and unaffiliated firms for outcomes that can be generalized.

An empirical investigation of hybrid corporate governance systems in large firms: Evidence from India

The heightened pace of corporate governance reforms has focused attention on country-specific
governance models. Considerable debate has ensured as to whether the outsider Anglo-Saxon system
or the insider Continental system is most applicable to India. This paper reports the results of a study
of Indian governance which used a primary qualitative approach of twelve interviews of key executives
of five large firms in 2008 as well as publicly available documents. A literature review establishes six
key characteristics that distinguish the two major systems. The governance characteristics of the
Indian firms are classified in terms of the two systems with a view to assessing the extent and nature of
hybridization. The findings endorse the hybrid corporate governance system of India, clearly
identifying similarities and differences to the two major governance models. In drawing on rich
interview data, the paper delves into the national characteristics of India that have influenced the
hybrid model such as stewardship, corporate social responsibility and partnerships between the
corporate and community sectors. The evolution of the governance practices and the rationale for their
existence are also examined. The paper demonstrates that the hybrid governance system has emanated
from country-specific culture including values and ideologies, and political orientation of socialism.
The scope of this study was limited to large listed companies and business groups. Future research
should use a larger and more diverse sample including private and unaffiliated firms for outcomes that
can be generalized.

Impro-exchange '10 no. 3

lmpro Exchange brought together practicing artists primarily from NSW but also from other states in Australia to articulate questions and as physically expressed and evoked through improvisation. It was curated by two of Australia's most senior and respected performing artists in the contemporary dance/performance scene- Tess De Quincey and Martin Del Amo. Dialogue across the different backgrounds was both challenging and stimulating. For example, dancers came from Japanese, Pacific Islander, Aboriginal, German and Anglo-Saxon Australian cultural backgrounds. These dancers also spoke/danced from their respective cultural understandings about dance and from the ways of moving these cultures embody. The dancers also ranged across different generations thus requiring negotiation as to what dance means at different ages and how dialogue can be achieved with such different physical capacities. Made possible by the flexibility of improvisation as a medium, the dialogue was important in a sector where dancing careers usually end when dancers reach their early thirties. Equally important, and with such a large group of dancers, was the 'working through' of performance problems about how improvisation can be improvised and composed with such a multiplicity of voices, backgrounds, styles and practices. These negotiations were presented in a one-hour public performance.

Cinco modelos de capitalismo

Besides analyzing capitalist societies historically and think them in terms of phases or stages, we may compare different models or varieties of capitalism. In this work I make a survey of the literature on this subject, distinguish the classification that have a production or business approach to the ones that use mainly a political criterion. And present my own view on the matter that views five forms of capitalism. Among the rich countries, I see the “liberal-democratic or Anglo-Saxon model, the social or European model, and endogenous social integration or Japanese model; among developing countries, I distinguish the Asian developmental model from the liberal-dependent model that characterizes most other developing countries including Brazil.

Estrutura de propriedade e teoria da agência: um estudo de empresas brasileiras e seus diferentes tipos de controladores

A estrutura de propriedade anglo-saxônica, e o seu clássico problema de agência, com conflitos entre gestores e acionistas, caracterizados por propriedades pulverizadas, apesar de ser predominante na literatura, não constituí a regra, mas sim a exceção. O Brasil, diferentemente dos Estados Unidos e da Inglaterra, possuí uma estrutura de propriedade concentrada, onde é forte a presença de acionistas majoritários. Nesse caso, o conflito verificado não é entre gestores e acionistas (conflito agente X principal), mas sim entre acionistas majoritários e acionistas minoritários (conflito principal X principal). No mercado de capitais brasileiro, há duas classes de ações, as ordinárias (com direito a voto), e as preferências (sem direito a voto), o que viola a regra existente em muitos países, como nos Estados Unidos, de uma ação, um voto. Sendo assim, em muitos casos, ocorre uma combinação de muito poder com pouca alocação de recursos próprios na empresa. Diante disso, o presente estudo teve como objetivo estimar a magnitude dos direitos de votos, de fluxo de caixa, e do excesso de votos dos acionistas majoritários (das ações ordinárias) das empresas listadas no índice Bovespa – Ibovespa para os anos de 2009 e 2010 (carteira teórica do terceiro quadrimestre dos respectivos anos), separando-as por setor de atuação e por tipo de acionista majoritário. Para este estudo foi analisada uma amostra de 121 empresas, utilizando a metodologia quanto aos fins (descritiva e explicativa), e quanto aos meios (bibliográfica e documental). A coleta de dados foi feita no sistema Economática e nos IAN’s da CVM. Como resultados a pesquisa corroborou as hipóteses da literatura existente de que a estrutura de capital das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto é concentrada, principalmente no capital acionário (média de 51,95% e mediana de 51,20% em 2009, e 47,16% e 51,70% em 2010), e ocorrendo em vários casos uma distância considerável entre o poder de voto e o poder do fluxo de caixa dos acionistas majoritários (média de 1,10 em 2009 e mediana de 1,24, e 1,07 e 0,98 em 2010). Com isso, também se verifica que o conflito principal X principal é o predominante no Brasil.

Grandes projetos urbanos, segregação social e condições da moradia em Belém e Manaus

O objeto central da pesquisa que deu origem a esta tese de doutorado foi analisar os efeitos segregativos que os grandes projetos urbanos provocam sobre as condições de moradia nas metrópoles amazônicas de Belém e Manaus. Adotam-se as projeções teóricas que interpretam a dinâmica urbana enquanto produto da acumulação do capital e que gera segregação social, numa perspectiva que permite comparar intervenções urbanas nessas duas metrópoles. Em cada uma dessas cidades, grandes projetos urbanos estão sendo implantados. Para efeito deste estudo, as experiências do Projeto Portal da Amazônia, em Belém-Pará e o Programa de Saneamento Ambiental dos Igarapés Manaus (PROSAMIM), na cidade Manaus-Amazonas, foram analisados como experiências de grandes projetos urbanos na Amazônia. O referencial teórico-metodológico teve a contribuição das teorias produzidas pela Escola Sociológica francesa, as anglo-saxônicas e as brasileiras, permitindo a construção de um pensamento crítico sobre a lógica que permeia os grandes projetos urbanos nas metrópoles amazônicas. Para isso, elegeu-se um procedimento operacional do tipo quali-quantitivo, tendo em dados primários e secundários as principais fontes de informação, materializadas por documentos históricos, oficiais, dados estatísticos, observação direta e realização de entrevistas com lideranças dos movimentos em defesa da moradia e da reforma urbana, moradores das áreas afetadas direta e indiretamente pelos programas em estudo e agentes de órgãos públicos. Os principais resultados são a constatação de que nas metrópoles amazônicas o processo de urbanização vem se dando desde o final do século XIX, com o advento da economia gomífera, intensificando-se a partir do Golpe Militar de 1964, quando foram fortalecidos os processos de exploração de recursos naturais e de adensamento populacional, com consequentes alterações físico-territoriais em Belém e Manaus. Nos anos recentes, as duas cidades vêm acompanhando o movimento de globalização do capital, ao adotarem os grandes projetos urbanos como a principal estratégia de renovação urbana, com suporte técnico e financeiro do Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento (BID). Por fim, estes resultados apontaram efeitos segregativos, determinados pela implantação destes grandes projetos urbanos, uma vez que as ações de deslocamento compulsório impactaram de forma negativa a condição de moradia e trabalho de expressivas frações das classes trabalhadoras, tornando inacessível o Direito à Cidade, tanto em Belém como em Manaus.