“Documentary Credit Law : An Indian Perspective"

This is a study in international trade law. Documentary credits are the most common method of payment for goods in international trade. In India also these instruments are used both in national and international trade. The law governing these transactions remains haphazard. This study identifies the deficiencies in the regulatory framework for documentary credits in India. It primarily focuses on those areas which exhibits a lack of equality and justice in its operation. An attempt has also been made to identify the rights and duties of parties involved in the transaction. The reasons for the increase of fraudulent activities associated with the documents executed in the documentary credit transactions are also examined. How far the law in India is sufficient to ensure fair business practice in international trade financing is also examined. Methodology adopted for the study is analytical. The statutory provisions, rules and case laws under these provisions have been examined. An empirical study by personal interview with the bankers is also made to ascertain the practice of bankers in India.

Análisis comparativo de la situación actual de los puertos secos en tres contextos diferentes: Colombia, México, España

El presente trabajo tiene como finalidad analizar y comparar Puertos Secos en tres países diferentes: Colombia, México y España; y con ello determinar las claves o herramientas para el éxito de estos. Para esto, la investigación se llevó a cabo a nivel documental y teórico, abarcando desde documentos de investigación académicos y de entidades supranacionales, hasta documentos de carácter legislativo de diferente orden, para los tres países de estudio, incluyendo estudios privados y herramientas estadísticas propias de los Puertos Secos o sus empresas concesionarias. Gracias a todo esto, se pudo desarrollar el documento con la siguiente estructura: Historia, Referencias, Legislación y Descripción. En la primera etapa, resalta el enfoque de desarrollo portuario y de promoción del tren como medio de transporte y herramienta comercial; en la segunda etapa, se corrobora la dificultad que estos proyectos enfrentan en Colombia por parte del sector público centralista y carente de visión y una precaria participación del sector privado; en la tercera etapa se ratifica esto al ser la principal diferencia el enfoque logístico en la legislación, partiendo de la constitución misma, y su presencia o ausencia en los marcos legales de cada país; y se termina con el resultado de estos elementos previos condensado en elementos tangibles en México y España, y tan solo ilusiones y fracasos para Colombia. Por todo lo anterior, se llega a la conclusión que un Marco Jurídico bien estructurado, una fuerte Inversión del Sector Público y Privado, y una Voluntad Política de largo impulso son las claves para el éxito de estos proyectos, y todo lo que viene ligado a ellos.

Análisis del impacto de la cooperación internacional del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo y el Fondo para el Medio Ambiente Mundial a Colombia para la protección de la biodiversidad desde el año 2010, caso: ecosistema marino del archipiélago de San Andrés

El interés de este trabajo de investigación es evaluar el impacto de la Cooperación Internacional del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo y el Fondo para el Medio Ambiente Mundial a Colombia, en la protección de la Biodiversidad en el Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina de 2010 a 2014. Se analiza y explica la relación establecida entre los tres actores y cómo esta apoya el logro de los objetivos del país a nivel ambiental por medio de la transferencia de recursos técnicos y financieros para el apoyo de iniciativas concretas en la región. Bajo la modalidad de estudio de caso, la investigación pretende comprender las dinámicas expuestas en el contexto específico de la gestión ambiental.

Assessment of the food control system in the State of Kuwait

National food control systems are a key element in the protection of consumers from unsafe foods and from other fraudulent practices. International guidance is available and provides a framework for enhancing national systems. However, it is recognized that before reaching decisions on the necessary improvements to a national system, an analysis is required of the current state of key elements in the present system. This paper provides such an analysis for the State of Kuwait. The fragmented nature of the food control system is described. Four key elements of the Kuwaiti system are analyzed: the legal framework, the administrative structures, the enforcement activity and the provision of education and training. It is noted that the country has a dependence on imported foods and that the present national food control system is largely based on an historic approach to food sampling at the point of import and is unsustainable. The paper recommends a more coordinated approach to food safety control in Kuwait with a significant increase in the use of risk analysis methods to target enforcement.

Electronic voting systems in undergraduate teaching

One of the major differences undergraduates experience during the transition to university is the style of teaching. In schools and colleges most students study key stage 5 subjects in relatively small informal groups where teacher–pupil interaction is encouraged and two-way feedback occurs through question and answer type delivery. On starting in HE students are amazed by the sizes of the classes. For even a relatively small chemistry department with an intake of 60-70 students, biologists, pharmacists, and other first year undergraduates requiring chemistry can boost numbers in the lecture hall to around 200 or higher. In many universities class sizes of 400 are not unusual for first year groups where efficiency is crucial. Clearly the personalised classroom-style delivery is not practical and it is a brave student who shows his ignorance by venturing to ask a question in front of such an audience. In these environments learning can be a very passive process, the lecture acts as a vehicle for the conveyance of information and our students are expected to reinforce their understanding by ‘self-study’, a term, the meaning of which, many struggle to understand. The use of electronic voting systems (EVS) in such situations can vastly change the students’ learning experience from a passive to a highly interactive process. This principle has already been demonstrated in Physics, most notably in the work of Bates and colleagues at Edinburgh.1 These small hand-held devices, similar to those which have become familiar through programmes such as ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ can be used to provide instant feedback to students and teachers alike. Advances in technology now allow them to be used in a range of more sophisticated settings and comprehensive guides on use have been developed for even the most techno-phobic staff.

When rules and principles are not enough: insiders’ views and narratives on the global financial crisis

Much has been written about Wall Street and the global financial crisis (GFC). From a fraudulent derivatives market to a contestable culture of banking bonuses, culpability has been examined within the frames of American praxis, namely that of American exceptionalism. This study begins with an exploratory analysis of non-US voices concerning the nature of the causes of the GFC. The analysis provides glimpses of the globalized extent of assumptions shared, but not debated within the globalization convergence of financial markets as the neo-liberal project. Practical and paradigmatic tensions are revealed in the capture of a London-based set of views articulated by senior financial executives of financial service organizations, the outcomes of which are not overly optimistic for any significant change in praxis within the immediate future.

State capitalism and social responsibility in China's banking industry

China’s financial system has experienced a series of major reforms in recent years. Efforts have been made towards introducing the shareholding system in state-owned commercial banks, restructuring of securities firms, re-organising equity of joint venture insurance companies, further improving the corporate governance structure, managing financial risks and ultimately establishing a system to protect investors (Xinhua, 2010). Financial product innovation, with the further opening up of financial markets and the development of the insurance and bond market, has increased liquidity as well as reduced financial risks. The U.S. subprime crisis indicated the benefit of financial innovations for the economy, but without proper control, they may lead to unexpected consequences. Kirkpatrick (2009) argues that failures and weaknesses in corporate governance arrangements and insufficient accounting standards and regulatory requirements attributed to the financial crisis. Similar to the financial crises of the last decade, the global financial crisis which sparked in 2008, surfaced a variety of significant corporate governance failures: the dysfunction of market mechanisms, the lack of transparency and accountability, misaligned compensation arrangements and the late response of government, all which encouraged management short-termism, poor risk management, as well as some fraudulent schemes. The unique characteristics of the Chinese banking system are an interesting point for studying post-crisis corporate governance reform. Considering that China modelled its governance system on the Anglo-American system, this paper examines the impact of the financial crisis on corporate governance reform in developed economies, and particularly, China’s reform of its financial sector. The paper further analyses the Chinese government’s role in bank supervision and risk management. In this regard, the paper contributes to the corporate governance literature within the Chinese context by providing insights into the contributing factors to the corporate governance failure that led to the global financial crisis. It also provides policy recommendations for China’s policy makers to seriously consider. The results suggest a need for the re-examination of corporate governance adequacy and the institutionalisation of business ethics. The paper’s next section provides a review of China’s financial system with reference to the financial crisis, followed by a critical evaluation of a capitalistic system and a review of Anglo-American and Continental European models. It then analyses the need for a new corporate governance model in China by considering the bank failures in developed economies and the potential risks and inefficiencies in a current State controlled system. The paper closes by reflecting the need for Chinese policy makers to continually develop, adapt and rewrite corporate governance practices capable of meeting the new challenge, and to pay attention to business ethics, an issue which goes beyond regulation.

The concentration of creditors: evidence from small businesses

This article examines the determinants of concentration of creditors. The empirical evidence drawn from this article supports the proposition of Bolton and Scharfstein (1996) that for negotiation reasons, high-quality borrowers tend to borrow from multiple sources and is contrary to the theoretical prediction of Bris and Welch (2005). This finding implies the existence of hold-up problems in financing small businesses where information conveyance is difficult between lenders. It is further supported by the evidence that dispersed bank relationships are associated with relationships of a longer history and a closer physical distance to lenders.

More than Just the Final Straw: Stolen Elections as Revolutionary Triggers

Stolen elections are triggering events that overcome barriers to revolutionary action against electoral authoritarian regimes. They mobilize ordinary citizens, strengthen the opposition, and divide the regime. As neo-institutionalist theories of revolution suggest, the relative openness of electoral authoritarianism inhibits mass protest. But when elections are stolen, regimes undergo “closure,” increasing the probability of protest. The failure of other potential revolutionary precipitants underlines that stolen elections are not merely replaceable final straws. Stolen elections have not only been crucial for the emergence of revolutionary situations, they have shaped outcomes as well. Linking popular mobilization to fraudulent elections has become part of the repertoire of contention of democratic revolutionaries.

‘Being in a womb’ or ‘playing musical chairs’ : the impact of place and space on infant feeding in NICUs

Background: Becoming a parent of a preterm baby requiring neonatal care constitutes an extraordinary life situation in which parenting begins and evolves in a medical and unfamiliar setting. Although there is increasing emphasis within maternity and neonatal care on the influence of place and space upon the experiences of staff and service users, there is a lack of research on how space and place influence relationships and care in the neonatal environment. The aim of this study was to explore, in-depth, the impact of place and space on parents’ experiences and practices related to feeding their preterm babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in Sweden and England. Methods: An ethnographic approach was utilised in two NICUs in Sweden and two comparable units in England, UK. Over an eleven month period, a total of 52 mothers, 19 fathers and 102 staff were observed and interviewed. A grounded theory approach was utilised throughout data collection and analysis. Results: The core category of ‘the room as a conveyance for an attuned feeding’ was underpinned by four categories: the level of ‘ownership’ of space and place; the feeling of ‘at-homeness’; the experience of ‘the door or a shield’ against people entering, for privacy, for enabling a focus within, and for regulating socialising and the; ‘window of opportunity’. Findings showed that the construction and design of space and place was strongly influential on the developing parent-infant relationship and for experiencing a sense of connectedness and a shared awareness with the baby during feeding, an attuned feeding. Conclusions: If our proposed model is valid, it is vital that these findings are considered when developing or reconfiguring NICUs so that account is taken of the influences of spatiality upon parent’s experiences. Even without redesign there are measures that may be taken to make a positive difference for parents and their preterm babies.

O Papel das cooperativas de trabalho no contexto das transformações da sociedade brasileira: um estudo do caso no Município do Rio de Janeiro

The changes that have occurred in the Brazilian work market, mainly due to the opening of the economy in the 90th decade, have caused, as a consequence, the unemployment in the formal sector, with the reduction of posts of work in the industry and the precarization of the laborwork. In order to face these questions, it¿s necessary an analysis of the alternative measures, among them, the creation of the cooperative societies, which have increased about 90,8% in the last years. The purpose of this study is to identify and to analyze the functions of the work cooperatives, just in face of the changes of the Brazilian society. The analysis was directed towards a group of eight work cooperatives that work in lots of areas of professionals in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro. The study reveals the existence of false work cooperatives, whose sole purpose is to intermediate the handiwork with the intention of benefiting enterprises that intend to decrease their own costs of production, just contributing for the precarization of the relations of work. The structure of the Judicial Power offers solutions that protect the workers who are exploited through fraudulent actions, by the false cooperatives, handiworkers. It can be noticed that this structure is enough to answer the challenges presented. It means that it is too bad to apprehend the revival of the work cooperativism and that it must be combated. Of course, it is maniqueist conception that distorts reality and disdains positive aspects of cooperative system. The results of the search have permitted to point out the main characteristics of the work cooperatives analyzed, the profile of the cooperative workers, and also the main obstacles to the development of the cooperative system in Brazil today . A long the analysis of tributary and labor questions and about the participation of the cooperative workers in the management of the cooperative - the most questionable points - it could be observed the development of real cooperative practices, trying to establish the differences between these and the fraudulent ones, also studied in this work. This study represents a contribution to all those who intend to study new relations of work in a critical away and from experiences in development.

Crimes financeiros e política criminal : estudo de acórdãos do TRF da 3ª Região sobre os crimes de gestão fraudulenta e gestão temerária no período de 2001 a 2010

Este trabalho visa produzir conhecimento sobre como o Tribunal Regional Federal da 3ª Região tem decidido sobre dois dos principais crimes afetos à administração das instituições financeiras: gestão fraudulenta e gestão temerária. Trata-se de delitos criticados pela doutrina em razão das falhas de definição dos tipos, desde a edição da Lei 7.492, em 1986. Além disso, a sua previsão legislativa possui características que os aproximam do paradigma do direito penal do risco, ou seja: são crimes de perigo abstrato, que tutelam bem jurídico supra-individual, praticados por administradores detentores do dever de probidade na condução das instituições frente aos riscos inerentes à dinâmica do sistema financeiro. A adoção desse paradigma é controversa na doutrina penal por implicar a flexibilização de garantias do Estado Democrático de Direito sob a perspectiva do paradigma do direito penal tradicional. Diante disso, adota-se a metodologia de análise de conteúdo de decisões para se responder a dois problemas de pesquisa: (1) Quais os critérios adotados pelo Tribunal para a configuração dos crimes? (2) As decisões aproximam-se de algum paradigma de direito penal? As hipóteses objeto de teste são: (1) que o Tribunal considera principalmente a prática da conduta sem analisar a sua potencialidade lesiva sob uma perspectiva ex ante; e, (2) que esse discurso de imputação de responsabilidade aproxima as decisões do paradigma do direito penal do risco, considerados, em contexto, outros elementos presentes nas decisões. Na primeira parte, é feita uma introdução metodológica; na segunda, estabelece-se o referencial teórico; na terceira e na quarta, realizam-se as análises dos resultados quantitativos e qualitativos obtidos com a sua discussão; por fim, procede-se à conclusão, levantando-se novo problema a ser investigado.

Viagem ao centro da denúncia: explorando as “camadas” que influenciam as denúncias de fraudes nas organizações

As fraudes contábeis representam uma grande perda para a economia global tanto na esfera pública quanto privada, destacando, assim, os prejuízos sociais ocasionados por elas. Nesta perspectiva, diversas pesquisas têm demonstrado que as denúncias são um dos principais mecanismos de detecção de fraudes nas organizações. Inspirado em Taylor e Curtis (2010), o presente trabalho tem como objetivo identificar a influência das “camadas” pessoal, organizacional, profissional na intenção individual em denunciar uma situação fraudulenta que o mesmo tenha conhecimento. Ressalta-se, porém, a inclusão de uma “camada social”, bem como a consideração de aspectos peculiares da cultura brasileira na elaboração e análise das hipóteses. Para operacionalização das camadas foram utilizadas variáveis latentes coletadas por meio de um questionário respondido por 124 contabilistas. Para mensuração da influência na intenção em denunciar foi utilizado um Modelo de Equação Estrutural (SEM) estimado pelo método dos Mínimos Quadrados Parciais (PLS). Os resultados obtidos confirmaram a importância das camadas de influência no comportamento do eventual denunciante. Destaca-se, principalmente, a importância da camada social, a qual, além de influenciar diretamente de forma significativa a Intenção de Denunciar, também media o impacto da camada profissional. A camada organizacional não afeta de forma significante a intenção de denunciar. Nota-se, também o grande impacto causado pela camada pessoal. Tais fatos corroboram alguns dos principais traços da cultura brasileira, como a prevalência de relações informais e pessoais em detrimento de relações formais, além de identificar os traços da ambiguidade moral.

Falsidade ideológica em compras com cartão não presente e comparação entre modelos de prevenção

Em compras realizadas pela internet ou televendas com cartões de crédito, em muitos países como Brasil e EUA, não há apresentação física do cartão em nenhum momento da compra ou entrega da mercadoria ou serviço, tampouco são populares mecanismos como senhas que assegurem a autenticidade do cartão e seu portador. Ao mesmo tempo, a responsabilidade por assumir os custos nessas transações é dos lojistas. Em todos os estudos anteriores presentes na literatura, a detecção de fraudes com cartões de crédito não abrangia somente esses canais nem focava a detecção nos principais interessados nela, os lojistas. Este trabalho apresenta os resultados da utilização de cinco das técnicas de modelagem mais citadas na literatura e analisa o poder do compartilhamento de dados ao comparar os resultados dos modelos quando processados apenas sobre a base da loja ou com ela compartilhando dados com outros lojistas.