The University of Buckingham Press Journals
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Darkness in Conrad's Heart of Darkness : A Linguistic and Stylistic Analysis
Get PDFThis paper is intended to discuss the concept of "darkness" in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It incorporates a fairly detailed linguistic and stylistic analysis of the novel in terms of setting, lexical choices and grammatical choices which all indicate mystery, obscurity, murkiness and then darkness. A linguistic and stylistic analysis of the novel is used to illustrate the literary value of the book. Most specifically all linguistic and stylistic devices used can not only provide a more detailed descriptive basis for widely accepted interpretation of the novel , but also identify the significant linguistic features which may not noticed by critics
PROSECUTING PRESIDENT AL BASHIR, AND THE SHORT ARM OF JUSTICE
Get PDFProsecutor v Omar Hassan Ahmad Al BashirIn this decision the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) condemned Malawi, as a member state of the ICC, for the failure to comply with the request to arrest and surrender the President of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir. Significantly, the Chamber determined that the traditionally sacrosanct concept of immunity of Heads of State no longer applied before an international court or tribunal. Whilst the intention to create universal jurisdiction over perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity is extremely laudable, the legal reasoning by the Chamber is regrettably unsound. If the decision remains unchallenged, the implication is that no Head of State, whether or not they are a signatory to the ICC, is immune from prosecution on the mere basis of the ICC’s status as an international court
PIERCING THE VEIL – A DODO OF A DOCTRINE?
Get PDFIn the course of the 2012/13 legal year, the Supreme Court has had to consider the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil twice, in VTB Capital plc v Nutritek International Corpn (VTB), and more recently in Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd (Prest). On both occasions, the Court was in effect asked to remove the whole doctrine from English Law, but narrowly failed to do so, begging the question, does the doctrine really serve any purpose now? Let me start with Prest.
Market Efficiency and Profitability of Technical Trading Rules: Evidence from Vietnam
No full textMarket Efficiency and Profitability of Technical Trading Rules: Evidence from Vietnam Abstract We apply several well-known and popular technical indicators to the daily data for the Vietnam Ho Chi Minh stock index (VSI) from 5/15/2002 to October 31 of 2012. The empirical results strongly support the predictive power of technical trading rules; these strong results also hold for each sub-period analyzed. Further, we ask whether a trader can use the predictive power of technical analysis to beat the profitability of the buy-and-hold strategy considering both transaction costs and risk. Designing four strategies of various trading rules, we conclude that it is possible to beat the buy-and-hold strategy even considering transaction costs and risk
ANALYSIS OF THE DISPOSITION EFFECT: ASYMMETRY AND PREDICTION ACCURACY
No full textThe disposition effect describes investors’ common tendency of selling a winning investment too soon and holding on to losing investments too long. We analyze the disposition effect in a prediction market for economic indices. We show that the effect for individual traders as well as on an aggregated level. Furthermore we find a significant asymmetry of the disposition effect. The effect can almost exclusively be attributed to the percentage of gains realized (PGR). Additionally we link the aggregated disposition effect and market efficiency. A common hypothesis of the behavioral finance literature is that if participants make systematically biased decisions, market efficiency will suffer. Our setup is well-suited to studying the behavioral aspects of decision making because, in contrast to financial markets (i) the value of shares in our market is ultimately known and (ii) we can measure the participants’ behavioral biases (i.e the disposition effect). Against intuition we find no correlation between the disposition effect and prediction accuracy - a proxy for market efficiency
What's the Difference Between the Stockmarket and the Racetrack?
No full textThere are many anecdotes likening the stockmarket to betting, often voiced from the perspective of an inexperienced investor or gambler to whom the risks seem the same in either marketplace. A fundamental aspect of the stockmarket that separates it from all forms of gambling is that a naive investor who carries a well diversified portfolio, and holds it long enough, is bound to win (based on historical evidence at least). In gambling markets, an unsophisticated player is bound to lose, the more so the longer he plays. For well informed or otherwise sophisticated traders, the racetrack and stockmarket are effectively analogous, in that both present opportunities to take money off less well informed players, albeit not so much that they lose interest. The stockmarket does not offer the recreational attractions of the racetrack, and must therefore return profits to most or all investors, at least in the long run, if they are to stay in the game
SP Betting as a Self-Enforcing Implicit Cartel
No full textA large share of the UK off-course horse racing betting market involves winning payouts determined at Starting Prices (SP). This implies that gamblers can bet with off-course bookies on any horse before a race at the final pre-race odds as set by on-course bookies for that horse.Given the oligopolistic structure of the off-course gambling market in the UK, a market that is dominated by a small number of large bookmaking firms, we study the phenomenon of SP as a type of self-enforcing implicit collusion. We show that given the uncertainty about a race outcome, and their ability to influence the prices set by on-course bookies, agreeing to lay bets at SP is superior for off-course bookies as compared with offering fixed odds. We thus extend the results of Rotemberg and Saloner (1990) to markets with uncertainty about both demand and outcomes,We test our model by studying the predicted effects of SP betting on the behavior of on-course bookies. Using data drawn from both the UK and Australian on-course betting markets, we show that the differences between these markets are consistent with the predicted effects of SP betting in the UK off-course market and its absence from the Australian market
INTERNET SPORTS BOOKS OPERATING IN AN INEFFICIENT MARKETPLACE
No full textThis research challenges widely accepted theories regarding sports gambling and the bookmaking industry. Specifically, the assertions by Strumpf (2003) and Levitt (2004) that risk-seeking bookmakers maximize profit rather than minimize exposure is tested. To do so, this research focuses on an area that few scholars have explored: internet sports books. A unique data set to analyze the dynamics of competition in NFL gambling industry is used along with a different estimation technique than other scholars have used: cluster analysis. The results of cluster analysis offer insight into the data structure. An alternate hypothesis regarding the workings of the industry are tested to better understand this data structure
THE POWER OF REAL OPTIONS IN GAMES BETTING: AN APPLICATION OF SWITCHING OPTIONS
No full textThere are varieties of real options, which include shrinking, expanding, switching and abandon options. This paper applies a switching real options approach to the game betting which allows the gamblers to switch between teams during the game. The volatility of odds is not only a source of concern for the gamblers but also a source of profit opportunities. In this paper, we combine features of the odds volatility and options to switch and find that with low switching cost, gamblers can exploit the variability of a team's odds volatility to increase their profits
ARE LOTTERIES SUBSTITUTES FOR EACH OTHER?
No full textAs lottery becomes a more and more important source for government tax revenue, one opinion argues that governments should strategically manage different lotteries and coordinate the prices of different lotteries. Although, in the literature, many studies have examined single lottery price elasticity, little has been done to understand the relationship between different lotteries. We examine the substitution effect between two almost identical national lotteries in Canada: Lotto 6/49 and Super 7 (Now called Lotto Max). By exploiting a social experiment, we employ a Regression Discontinuity method to estimate the elasticity of the lotteries. We find surprisingly low cross elasticity between these two, almost identical, Canadian lotteries. If the nominal ticket price of one lottery doubles, the demand for the other lottery does not change significantly. This puzzlingly low substitution effect between the two, almost identical, Canadian lotteries provides a benchmark for future theoretical studies