The material production of virtuality: innovation,cultural geography and facticity in derivatives markets

Abstract

In the existing literature, the ‘virtual’ nature of financial derivatives is often commented upon, but how these products are brought into being has seldom been examined in any depth. This article analyses the development since 1970 of organized financial-derivatives trading in the US and UK (in particular, of derivatives exchanges and of the British financial spread-betting industry), with the goal of examining the ‘material production of virtuality’. The article explores the similarities and differences between technological innovation and innovation in derivatives; discusses the role of the ‘internal’ cultures of financial markets and of the wider culture (in particular, the legal traces of hostility to gambling); and analyses the requirement of ‘facticity’ for the measure underlying a cash-settled derivative, focusing in particular on the most important such measure, British Bankers’ Association LIBOR (London interbank offered rate).     

The theory of value and the value of theory — a reply to Cutler et al.

Abstract

Serving as a pledge against a future promise, collateral has traditionally been understood as a ‘back office’ technicality that reduces the risk of default. Yet in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the erosion of faith among market participants in the credit quality of large banks, collateral is playing an increasingly important epistemic role within finance, as an anchor that underpins the valuation of a growing number of financial instruments. This paper explores the increasing importance of collateral to the modelling practices used by ‘quants’ to value ‘over-the-counter’ interest rate derivatives since the 2008 financial crisis, and how the inclusion of collateral expertise into quants’ own modelling practices has affected these markets. This historical episode suggests that while the inclusion of collateral expertise into banks’ front office modelling practices has made banks’ pricing models less abstract and more aligned to the traditionally overlooked legal practices that underpin derivatives trading, it has also led to an explosion of complexity in the valuation of these instruments that now threatens the future existence of these markets.     

Using fire dynamics simulator to reconstruct a hydroelectric power plant fire accident

The location of the hydroelectric power plant poses a high risk to occupants seeking to escape in a fire accident. Calculating the heat release rate of transformer oil as 11.5 MW/m(2), the fire at the Taiwan Dajia-River hydroelectric power plant was reconstructed using the fire dynamics simulator (FDS). The variations at the escape route of the fire hazard factors temperature, radiant heat, carbon monoxide, and oxygen were collected during the simulation to verify the causes of the serious casualties resulting from the fire. The simulated safe escape time when taking temperature changes into account is about 236 sec, 155 sec for radiant heat changes, 260 sec for carbon monoxide changes, and 235-248 sec for oxygen changes. These escape times are far less than the actual escape time of 302 sec. The simulation thus demonstrated the urgent need to improve escape options for people escaping a hydroelectric power plant fire.     

Detection of genotype recycling fraud in U.S. immigrants

Abstract: Relationship testing laboratories provide genetic evidence to support or refute claims of kinship between U.S. citizen petitioners and potential immigrant beneficiaries. One female beneficiary presented a male amelogenin type and alleles at 15 autosomal loci that were identical to an alleged brother’s. Laboratory records showed that her alleged father had petitioned to have 15 children emigrate from Ghana. The petitioner’s 15 paternity indices exceeded 10⁵, but the children shared only four short tandem repeat (STR) profiles, suggesting fraudulent reuse of genotypes in this alleged pedigree (AP). To determine the extent of this “genotype recycling,” I examined the laboratory’s 555 APs from Ghana and 532 control APs from Nigeria. Seventeen Ghanaian APs (3.1%) but no Nigerian APs showed genotype recycling. Of 90 tested people in the 17 APs, 56 shared identical STR profiles with others in their AP. Of these 56 people, 10 were petitioners with unexpectedly high parentage indices. Seven of 56 had amelogenin types that disagreed with their declared genders. Database searches for identical multilocus genotypes in allegedly different people would best detect this fraud.     

开放经济条件下东北地区出口敏感度比较分析

在"十二五"规划中,我国提出了"全面振兴东北地区等老工业基地"的战略,但是作为东北地区经济助推动力之一的出口发展较为薄弱,敏感度不甚相同。所以,基于开放的经济环境,东北地区发挥出口增长的拉动效应、促进经济增长是当务之急。随着与国外地区经济往来的不断深入,汇率因素发挥了越来越重要的作用,协整检验和状态空间模型表明,汇率对东北地区出口的影响程度不断增强,为了应对汇率变动所带来的压力,东北地区应加强传统出口农产品的科技研究,改善出口结构,提升出口竞争力。     

大连市人口非平衡特征与犯罪统计研究

文章基于孟建柱部长在全国公安机关社会管理创新工作座谈会上的讲话精神,通过对大连市20年来人口与犯罪动态特征的可拓统计分析,得出了大连市社会犯罪的数量特征、关系特征、不确定性特征和动态演化等多元特征,立足人口特征与犯罪的关系,运用非平衡系统理论建立了人口周期犯罪率和人口容率的概念,提出了可拓犯罪统计的思想和方法,同时对自然人口与犯罪的惯性增长态势、流动人口与犯罪增长的突变特点以及城市化进程对犯罪规模的影响进行了统计分析。研究表明,只有对城市人口特征和犯罪增长与演化模式进行可拓统计与评价,才能实现社会管理优化的目标。     

关于行为人实施犯罪的经济学分析

犯罪是严重破坏刑法所保护的社会主义社会关系的行为,具有严重的社会危害性,在当今社会转型期,犯罪率呈现出上升的趋势。犯罪分子之所以实施犯罪,根源在于各种利益的驱使。从经济学的角度来看,犯罪作为一种社会活动,犯罪分子在进行犯罪活动之前,必然会对将要进行的犯罪活动从成本到收益进行全面的衡量,以确定是否选择实施犯罪行为。     

孕产妇健康目标及全球进程差异分析

自从2000年《联合国千年宣言》把孕产妇健康作为八项千年发展目标之一以来,增进孕产妇健康和减少孕产妇死亡率成为全社会共同的重点内容。本文通过对全球孕产妇健康状况、自1990年以来的变化趋势及区域之间变化差异的分析,指出减少孕产妇死亡比率和实现普遍享有生殖保健服务的全球发展目标依然艰巨,需要发达国家和发展中国家共同为之努力。     

Fiji Economy: Muddling Through

Abstract

Twenty-five years since the first military coup in 1987, Fiji continues to muddle through both politically and economically. The promise of a general election under a race-free constitution remains the fervent hope of all citizens. Economically the country continues to slide downwards, reflected in poor economic growth in 2010 and 2011. A poor level of private sector investment remains a feature of the macroeconomic picture, and it is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future. This article provides an overview of the Fiji economy and reflections on future prospects.     

Speeding While Black? Assessing the Generalizability of Lange et al.’s (2001, 2005) New Jersey Turnpike Speeding Survey Findings

Across three months during 2001, Lange, Blackman, Johnson and Voas collected data from the New Jersey Turnpike to determine whether there were differences in speeding behavior grounded in race and ethnicity, while controlling for age and gender. They reported that Black drivers were more likely to speed at high rates (15 mph or more over the speed limit) in 65 mph speed zones, as were young drivers and male drivers. In the scholarly report of their research, Lange and colleagues concluded: “our research offer[s] a plausible explanation for the findings that Black drivers are represented among traffic stops at a higher rate than they are represented in the population.” The present research assesses the generalizability of the findings reported by Lange and colleagues using data reported by Massachusetts State Police officers during April and May of 2001. We also find that Black drivers, young drivers, and male drivers are more likely to speed at high rates in 65 mph speed zones. We therefore remind scholars that Lange and colleagues’ findings and our own are entirely consistent with theory and research on the correlates of law violative actions. Our fundamental conclusion, however, is that more research is needed to determine whether traffic stops for Driving While Black are in small part the result of Speeding While Black.