bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Money laundering
Authors: Ebikake Emmanuel 
Published: November 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of soft law as a technique for repressive and preventive anti-money laundering control (hereinafter AMLC).

Design/methodology/approach
This article focuses heavily on understanding the nature of international anti-money laundering (AML) law-making process. The approach towards this question is interdisciplinary and looks at the treaty and non-treaty AML obligations through a prism of two theoretical lenses (legal positivism and liberal/legal process theory) to explain the role of soft law in the area.

Findings
Current international effort to combat money laundering (ML) is fragmented (as evident in the enormous variety of law-making processes), despite the role of soft law. Part of the problem is the divergent nature of domestic criminal legislation, which is reflected in the choice of predicate crime and a lack of procedural rule to identify and enforce the law at the state level. To address the limit of current efforts, the paper will propose a uniform codification of AML law directed by a more representative body or commission of experts offering means of restating, clarifying and revising the law authoritatively and systematically.

Research limitations/implications
The research is focused mainly on the theoretical issues relating to the subject of ML and less on any empirical case study.

Practical implications
The paper will focus on the role of soft law as a technique for repressive and preventive AMLC. Based on current analyses of the role of soft law as an alternative to hard law or as a complement to hard law (leading to greater cooperation), it attempts to outline the possible advantages and disadvantages that soft law could have in the context of AMLC. For example, the use of soft law promotes harmonisation of international AML standards through the Financial Action Task Force, while the role of the FATF remains unclear in international law. This is important for the purpose of responsibility, as the law on state responsibility clearly states when a State is responsible, in the event of a breach, and the consequence in international law.

Social implications
The implication of the paper is that it contributes to the on-going debate about the increasingly role of soft law-making in international law.

Originality/value
The research perspective to the study of ML is theoretical and focuses on the nature of the law.
Money laundering and civil forfeiture regime: Malaysian experience
Authors: Aurasu Anusha , Rahman Aspalella A. 
Published: November 2016

Purpose
Money laundering is a complex issue which has been ongoing for many years globally. Developed and developing countries form anti-money laundering regime in the view to combat these ever-challenging criminal activities. Laundering of money involves the hiding and cleaning of “dirty money” derived from unlawful activities. Malaysia has come up with its own regime of anti-money laundering. Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 (AMLATFA) provides power to forfeit proceeds at the end of proceedings. This paper aims to investigate whether the current civil forfeiture regime in Malaysia is effective in fighting against money laundering.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper will be based on a doctrinal research where reliance will mainly be on relevant case laws and legislations. AMLATFA is the primary legislation which will be utilised for the purpose of analysis.

Findings
Despite the enactment of AMLATFA, little study has been carried out on the effectiveness of civil forfeiture regime under Malaysian anti-money laundering laws. Furthering into forfeiture of criminal proceeds, the findings show that forfeiture provisions are the recent law enforcement strategy to fight against crimes. It is implicit that this strategy is more efficient than the conventional approach, which only focused on punishing the individual criminal but failed to diminish the criminal operations as a whole.

Originality/value
Strengths and weaknesses of AMLATFA are identified where it is less comprehensive in terms of offences covered and standard of proof. With that, this paper analyses the civil forfeiture regime under the Malaysian anti-money laundering laws. This paper would also offer some guiding principles for academics, banks, their legal advisers, practitioners and policymakers, not only in Malaysia but also elsewhere. Anti-money laundering laws can further be improved by being a better and established civil forfeiture regime where Malaysia will be able to discharge its duties well on forfeiting benefits from criminals.
Preventing money laundering: a test of situational crime prevention theory
Authors: Gilmour Nicholas 
Published: November 2016

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the findings of a UK-based research study that sought to explore the applicability of situational crime prevention towards money laundering undertaken through the purchasing of high-value portable commodities.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents exploratory findings from research conducted between 2011 and 2013 in the UK. The research sought to identify the process, steps and vulnerabilities behind money laundering through the purchasing of high-value portable commodities and whether the introduction of situational crime prevention techniques could reduce vulnerabilities in the existing environment.FindingsDespite significant research into money laundering typologies, the use of high-value portable commodities has remained largely untouched, regardless of the increased implementation of anti-money laundering policies and procedures. This paper demonstrates how the purchasing of high-value portable commodities is extremely vulnerable to money laundering – while identifying how the successful application of situational crime prevention is possible – but inherently it depends on various characteristics directly and indirectly facilitating each stage of the money laundering process.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is of value to government policymakers, regulators and financial institutions considering future preventative measures. It is also of value to financial investigators and law enforcement agencies intent on investigating money laundering. While the paper relies on data from the UK, the overall findings are such that wherever cash-intensive businesses exist, so too does the opportunity for money laundering through the financial arrangement retained by such businesses.Originality/valueThis paper presents new research on the direct link existing between high-value portable commodities and money laundering in the UK and the viability of techniques for situational crime prevention despite significant research having previously taken place to identify and develop money laundering typologies.
Theq-factor and the Fama and French asset pricing models: hedge fund evidence
Authors: Gregoriou Greg , Racicot François-Éric , Théoret Raymond 
Published: November 2016

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the new Fama and French (2015) five-factor model relying on a thorough sample of hedge fund strategies drawn from the Barclay’s Global hedge fund database.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a stepwise regression to identify the factors of theq-factor model which are relevant for the hedge fund strategy analysis. Doing so, the authors account for the Fung and Hsieh seven factors which prove very useful in the explanation of the hedge fund strategies. The authors introduce interaction terms to depict any interaction of the traditional Fama and French factors with the factors associated with theq-factor model. The authors also examine the dynamic dimensions of the risk-taking behavior of hedge funds using a BEKK procedure and the Kalman filter algorithm.FindingsThe results show that hedge funds seem to prefer stocks of firms with a high investment-to-assets ratio (low conservative minus aggressive (CMA)), on the one hand, and weak firms’ stocks (low robust minus weak (RMW)), on the other hand. This combination is not associated with the conventional properties of growth stocks – i.e., low high minus low (HML) stocks – which are related to firms which invest more (low CMA) and which are more profitable (high RMW). Finally, small minus big (SMB) interacts more with RMW while HML is more correlated with CMA. The conditional correlations between SMB and CMA, on the one hand, and HML and RMW, on the other hand, are less tight and may change sign over time.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors are the first to cast the new Fama and French five-factor model in a hedge fund setting which account for the Fung and Hsieh option-like trading strategies. This approach allows the authors to better understand hedge fund strategies becauseq-factors are useful to study the dynamic behavior of hedge funds.
The impact of employer-delayed deposits on plan participant wealth
Authors: Jones Jeffrey Scott 
Published: November 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of employer-delayed deposits to defined contribution plans on plan participant wealth. The history of regulatory oversight on the obligations of employers to remit deposits to defined contribution plans on behalf of employees is discussed. In light of these regulations, the paper discusses and examines situations in which employers may legally delay the deposit of employee contributions to a defined contribution plan and how the existence of various calendar anomalies may impact the returns of plan participants.

Design/methodology/approach
Simulated equity portfolios over the period 1985-2014 are created to determine the economic significance of possible delays in plan deposits on the accumulated wealth of plan participants.

Findings
The findings suggest that in situations where employees are paid monthly at the end of the month, it is always to their benefit to have their funds deposited as soon as possible. However, for employees paid weekly at the end of the week, a slight delay (one to three days) in the deposit of funds by the employer may actually be beneficial for the employee, particularly if the employee invests heavily in small and mid-cap stocks.

Originality/value
This is the first paper to explicitly study the impact of an employer’s timing of deposits to a defined contribution plan on the accumulated wealth of plan participants, and is thus the primary contribution of the paper.
Convergence and divergence in corporate governance
Authors: Krenn Mario 
Published: November 2016

PurposeWhether corporate governance systems and practices are converging to the Anglo-American shareholder-value-oriented model or continue to diverge from this model and maintain their idiosyncrasies has been controversially debated among scholars in a variety of academic disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to review, critique and integrate the disparate positions in the convergence-divergence debate in corporate governance and to suggest promising directions for future research.Design/methodology/approachThe author constructs a theoretical framework in which convergence and divergence dynamics are conceptualized as simultaneous processes of institutional change and continuity. This framework takes into account the influence of economic market forces, social embeddedness and cultural forces in shaping corporate governance at the national and the firm levels and provides a holistic and integrative perspective on the extant literature in the convergence-divergence debate.FindingsThe literature review does not support either the predictions of convergence advocates or the predictions of divergence advocates. Instead, the paper finds that convergence and divergence dynamics can coexist and lead to increasing heterogeneity in corporate governance arrangements of firms within and between corporate governance systems. This finding adds complexity to the debate and opens room for interesting research directions.Originality/valueThe paper offers a comprehensive review of the topic and draws from literature in financial economics, comparative law, economic sociology, international business, political science and strategic management. Most importantly, the paper offers a multi-theoretical framework that allows for an integration of the divergent perspectives presented in the literature.
Corporate governance and corporate performance: financial crisis (2008)
Authors: Kowalewski Oskar 
Published: November 2016

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance, as measured by the Corporate Governance Index, on firm performance and dividend payouts during the financial crisis of 2008.

Design/methodology/approach
The empirical approach followed in the study involved constructing a comprehensive measure of corporate governance for 298 non-financial companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the years 2006-2010.

Findings
The results show that prior to the crisis, there was a positive association between corporate governance and performance as measured by Tobin’s q. Moreover, the study presents evidence that higher corporate governance leads to an increase in cash dividends. Amid the financial crisis, corporate governance was positively associated with a higher return on assets, yet this was not observed when measured by Tobin’s q. Additionally, during this period, better-governed companies paid dividends less generously than firms with lower corporate governance standards did.

Originality/value
The study provides new evidence on the impact of corporate governance on firm performance and valuation in an emerging market during the financial crisis. Moreover, the study shows that governance mechanisms operate differently in crisis and non-crisis periods.
Correlational selection on personality and social plasticity: morphology and social context determine behavioural effects on mating success
Authors: Montiglio Pierre‐Olivier , Wey Tina W. , Chang Ann T. , Fogarty Sean , Sih Andrew 
Published: November 2016

Summary

Despite a central line of research aimed at quantifying relationships between mating success and sexually dimorphic traits (e.g., ornaments), individual variation in sexually selected traits often explains only a modest portion of the variation in mating success.

Another line of research suggests that a significant portion of the variation in mating success observed in animal populations could be explained by correlational selection, where the fitness advantage of a given trait depends on other components of an individual's phenotype and/or its environment. We tested the hypothesis that interactions between multiple traits within an individual (phenotype dependence) or between an individual's phenotype and its social environment (context dependence) can select for individual differences in behaviour (i.e., personality) and social plasticity.

To quantify the importance of phenotype‐ and context‐dependent selection on mating success, we repeatedly measured the behaviour, social environment and mating success of about 300 male stream water striders, Aquarius remigis. Rather than explaining individual differences in long‐term mating success, we instead quantified how the combination of a male's phenotype interacted with the immediate social context to explain variation in hour‐by‐hour mating decisions. We suggest that this analysis captures more of the mechanisms leading to differences in mating success.

Males differed consistently in activity, aggressiveness and social plasticity. The mating advantage of these behavioural traits depended on male morphology and varied with the number of rival males in the pool, suggesting mechanisms selecting for consistent differences in behaviour and social plasticity. Accounting for phenotype and context dependence improved the amount of variation in male mating success we explained statistically by 30–274%.

Our analysis of the determinants of male mating success provides important insights into the evolutionary forces that shape phenotypic variation. In particular, our results suggest that sexual selection is likely to favour individual differences in behaviour, social plasticity (i.e., individuals adjusting their behaviour), niche preference (i.e., individuals dispersing to particular social conditions) or social niche construction (i.e., individuals modifying the social environment). The true effect of sexual traits can only be understood in interaction with the individual's phenotype and environment.
Impact of alcohol use on EEG dynamics of response inhibition: a cotwin control analysis
Authors: Harper Jeremy , Malone Stephen M. , Iacono William G. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractResearch indicates that alcohol misuse is associated with behavioral disinhibition, but the neurophysiological mechanisms governing this relationship remain largely unknown. Recent work suggests that successful inhibition and cognitive control involve electrophysiological theta‐band dynamics, including medial frontal cortex (MFC) power enhancement and functional connectivity between the MFC and dorsal prefrontal cortex (dPFC) regions, which may be disrupted by alcohol misuse. In addition, research suggests that, compared to men, women are at heightened risk of experiencing the negative physical and neurocognitive correlates of drinking. The present study tested the hypothesis that alcohol misuse has a deleterious effect on theta‐band response inhibition EEG dynamics in a sample of 300 24‐year‐old same‐sex twins. A cotwin control (CTC) design was used to disentangle premorbid risk for alcohol use from the causal effects of alcohol exposure. Drinking was negatively associated with theta‐band MFC power and MFC–dPFC connectivity during response inhibition, and this effect was stronger among women. The CTC analysis suggested that, for women, reduced nogo‐related theta‐band MFC power and MFC–dPFC connectivity were both consistent with the potential deleterious causal effects of alcohol exposure. These findings suggest that diminished theta‐band MFC power and MFC–dPFC connectivity may be neurophysiological mechanisms underlying alcohol‐related disinhibition. Although preliminary, these results suggest that normative levels of alcohol use during emerging adulthood have potential sex‐specific causal effects on response inhibition EEG dynamics, and thus have potentially significant public health implications.
Coverage of alcohol consumption by national surveys in South Africa
Authors: Probst Charlotte , Shuper Paul A. , Rehm Jürgen 
Published: November 2016

AbstractBackground and aimsEvidence suggests that adult per‐capita alcohol consumption, as estimated from self‐reports of nationally representative surveys, underestimates ‘true’ consumption, as measured as the sum of recorded and unrecorded consumption. The proportion of total adult alcohol per capita reported in representative surveys is usually labelled ‘coverage’. The aim of the present paper was to estimate coverage for South Africa under different scenarios of alcohol use assessment and ‘true’ consumption.DesignFive nationally representative surveys from South Africa were used to estimate the prevalence of drinking and the grams per day among current drinkers. All surveys used a complex multi‐stage sampling frame that was accounted for by using survey weights. The total (recorded and unrecorded), the recorded and the adjusted total adult per‐capita alcohol consumption in South Africa served as different estimates of the ‘true’ consumption.SettingSouth Africa.ParticipantsAlcohol use information was assessed on a total of 8115, 16 398 and 13 181 adults (15 years or older) in surveys from the years 2003, 2005 and 2008, respectively. Two surveys in 2012 included 27 070 and 18 688 adults.MeasurementsCoverage of the alcohol use reported in the surveys was calculated, compared with the ‘true’ adult per‐capita alcohol.FindingsThe survey data covered between 11.8% [2005; 95% uncertainty interval (UI) = 9.3–16.2%)] and 19.4% (2003; 95% UI = 14.9–24.2%) of the total alcohol used per capita. The highest coverage of 27.9% (95% UI = 22.4–36.8%) was observed when looking only at recorded alcohol in 2003.ConclusionsEvidence from five nationally representative surveys assessing alcohol use suggests that less than 20% of the total adult per‐capita alcohol consumption in South Africa is reported in surveys.
New neovascular age‐related macular degeneration is associated with systemic leucocyte activity
Authors: Subhi Yousif , Lykke Sørensen Torben 
Published: November 2016

AbstractPurposeTo investigate systemic leucocyte activity in subtypes of age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) and onset of neovascular AMD.MethodsPatients with early and late AMD and age‐matched control individuals were recruited consecutively, and venous blood was sampled for differential leucocyte counts. Patients with neovascular AMD were grouped based on time of blood sampling in relation to diagnosis of neovascular AMD: diagnosis of new neovascular AMD more than 30 days before blood sampling, within 30 days of blood sampling and more than 30 days after blood sampling.ResultsOf 347 recruited participants, 330 fulfilled the eligibility criteria (77 age‐matched controls, 33 with early AMD, 56 with geographic atrophy and 164 with neovascular AMD). We did not find any differences in the differential counts between patients at different stages of AMD and age‐matched control individuals. However, lymphocyte and monocytes–basophils–eosinophils mixed (MXD) counts were both significantly increased in patients with new neovascular AMD. Among these patients; higher MXD correlated with lower BCVA, larger central foveal thickness and larger total lesion size; higher lymphocytes correlated with smaller total lesion size; higher neutrophils correlated with CNV lesion size; and higher neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio correlated with larger lesion size.ConclusionsSystemic leucocyte activity is associated with onset of CNV in patients with AMD and correlate with lesion size and BCVA, which suggest that acute systemic immune activity may play a role in neovascular flaring of AMD.
Prevalence and distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis genovars in Indian infertile patients: a pilot study
Authors: Rawre Jyoti , Dhawan Benu , Malhotra Neena , Sreenivas Vishnubhatla , Broor Shobha , Chaudhry Rama 
Published: November 2016

To determine the prevalence and distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis genovars in patients with infertility by PCR‐RFLP and ompA gene sequencing. Prevalence of other etiological agents (viz., Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma hominis) were also assessed. Endocervical swabs were collected from 477 women and urine was collected from 151 men attending the Infertility Clinic. The samples were screened for C. trachomatis by cryptic plasmid, ompA gene and nested ompA gene PCR. Genotyping was performed by PCR‐RFLP and sequencing. Samples were screened for Ureaplasma spp. and M. hominis. The prevalence of C. trachomatis in infertile women and their male partners were 15.7% (75 of 477) and 10.0% (15 of 151) respectively. Secondary infertility was significantly associated with chlamydial infection. Genovar E was the most prevalent followed by genovar D and F. Twenty‐four C. trachomatis strains were selected for ompA gene sequencing. No mixed infection was picked. Variability in ompA sequences was seen in 50.0%. Both PCR‐RFLP and ompA gene sequencing showed concordant results. High prevalence of C. trachomatis in infertile couples warrants routine screening for C. trachomatis infection in all infertile couples. Genotyping of the ompA gene of C. trachomatis may be a valuable tool in understanding the natural history of C. trachomatis infection.