Organizational ignorance: an ethnographic study of high-frequency trading

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of strategic uses of ignorance or not-knowing in one of the most secretive industries within the financial sector. The focus of the paper is on the relation between imitation and ignorance within the organizational structure of high-frequency trading (HFT) firms. In social studies of finance (SSF) literature imitation is considered a strategic act, i.e. imitation is a term applied when traders copy the strategies of other traders. I wish to turn this relation between ignorance and imitation on its head and consider ignorance itself as a strategic unknown and investigate the kinds of imitations that might be produced from structures of not-knowing (i.e. structures intended to divide, obscure and protect knowledge). This point is illustrated through ethnographic studies and interviews within five HFT firms. The data show how a black-box structure of ignorance is replicated within the organizational setting of these firms and re-enacted by the traders. Towards the end of the paper the politics of the relationship between imitation and ignorance is discussed.     

Participatory Budgeting in Australian Local Government: An Initial Assessment and Critical Issues

Participatory budgeting (PB), a process whereby governments seek direct input from citizens into financial decisions, is gaining a foothold in the community engagement practices of Australian local governments. Following questions of definition, we survey the theoretical terrain, locating PB within several components of local democracy. We then provide details of six PB processes in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia. We identify several questions for the future of PB in Australian local governments, including the role of deliberative practices as part of the broader work of councils, the issue of the adaptability of councils and leaders, the impacts upon state and local governments, and the role of third parties. The article concludes by reflecting on how PB sits with democratic practices at the local level if it continues to be implemented.     

A multimodal discourse analysis of international postgraduate business students’ finance texts: an investigation of theme and information value

Thematic progression patterning and the composition of information value facilitate the development of well-structured messages. The text-based research of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) into textual features has been confined to language learning and workplace contexts. Empirical research studies involving finance have investigated students’ performance in finance courses and the effects of class attendance on their performance. However, no published studies have yet explored or analysed the textual features of tertiary finance texts. This study investigated the Theme and information value in 6 group assignments in finance, written by 19 Master's students in accounting. Underpinned by Halliday's SFL and Kress and van Leeuwen's system of the composition of information value, this study employed a systemic functional multimodal discourse analysis (SF-MDA) of the texts. The SF-MDA revealed a high frequency of Theme reiteration patterns, the rare occurrence of a linear Theme pattern, and the minimal use of a multiple-Theme pattern. These findings have both theoretical and pedagogical implications for the teaching and learning of writing, particularly in the context of teaching English for business purposes.     

国际金融一体化趋势与金融风险的法律防范

我国应加紧构筑金融风险的防范体系,其中的防范法律体系分为主体金融法律、金融业务规章、执法机制等。在当前,尤其应重点解决三个问题：一是严格金融市场主体资格审查,二是强化中央银行的管理职能,三是完善商业银行等金融机构的内控制度     

Benchmarking tax systems

International institutions, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Agency for International Development, have been assessing tax system performance and capabilities for decades without having a solid international comparator basis for undertaking these assessments. This article provides a series of indicators and benchmarks that can help to put such assessments into an international perspective, set specific targets for performance, reform and modernisation, and monitor progress over time. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

关于建立公共财政框架的探讨

我国当前正在向公共财政转型。公共财政应具备四方面特征。为此,要收缩生产建设职能,合理掌握财政分配的顺序和轻重缓急,形成规范的公共选择机制、为公众服务的意识与制度规范和协调、配套的公共财政管理体系,转变和创新理财的方式。     

关于控制行政管理成本建设节约型政府的思考

我国已成为行政管理高成本国家。居高不下的行政管理成本容易引发财政支出结构不合理、加大整个社会的经济负担、严重影响政府的公信力、行政效率低下等问题。控制我国行政管理成本建设节约型政府应注意：解决官员的观念问题;深化行政体制改革;降低政府采购成本;建立节能奖惩制度;强化人大对于一切公共部门的监督和制约,等等。     

村镇银行支农性制度构建研究

要保证村镇银行的支农性,可考虑借鉴美国《社区再投资法》的相关做法,在确保村镇银行盈利性和商业可持续性的前提下,明确规定其发放贷款的一定比例必须针对"三农"客户,特别是要对中低收入农户以及农村中小企业贷款的金额、发放笔数、贷款分布和占该机构在本社区贷款总额的比例等进行详细的规定,并建立合理的指标体系对村镇银行满足所在区域内贷款、服务需求的程度进行评价。与此同时,应强化执行力度和惩处措施。     

银行在公司法人治理中的作用

德国、日本的银行和美国、英国的银行在公司治理中虽然有着不同的地位 ,但都发挥着重大的作用。同样 ,我国银行也可以在公司法人治理中发挥积极的作用。我国不应借鉴德日银行股权式参与公司治理的模式 ,而应当参考美英的做法制定金融控股公司法给包括银行在内的金融机构积极参与公司治理提供一个充分发挥其作用的平台。     

Choosing channels. Intra-state and extra-state strategies of Belgian subnational authorities in response to the European Semester

Europeanization literature has found that, in general, subnational authorities prefer to target the EU indirectly via member state channels. This article tests whether these findings hold in the non-legislative domain of the European Semester. With respect to the Belgian case, the article concludes that all Belgian subnational authorities indeed primarily use the cooperative intra-state channels as a response to the domestic division of competences and the EU decision-making procedures. It also finds that in addition especially Flanders invests substantially in extra-state strategies towards EU institutions. The article concludes that stronger time constraints, lower compliance pressure and the more politically salient issues of the European Semester trigger the most prosperous and identity prone region to adopt additional extra-state channels on top of the dominant intra-state channels.