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Formal Verification of Object-Oriented Software: International Conference, FoVeOO 2011, Turin, Italy, October 5-7, 2011, Revised Selected Papers (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #7421)
by Bernhard Beckert Ferruccio Damiani Dilian GurovThis book presents the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the International Conference on Formal Verification of Object-Oriented Software, FoVeOOS 2011, held in Turin, Italy, in October 2011 – organised by COST Action IC0701. The 10 revised full papers presented together with 5 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 19 submissions. Formal software verification has outgrown the area of academic case studies, and industry is showing serious interest. The logical next goal is the verification of industrial software products. Most programming languages used in industrial practice are object-oriented, e.g. Java, C++, or C#. FoVeOOS 2011 aimed to foster collaboration and interactions among researchers in this area.
Formal Verification of Object-Oriented Software: International Conference, FoVeOOS 2010, Paris, France, June 28-30, 2010, Revised Selected Papers (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #6528)
by Bernhard Beckert Claude MarchéThis book presents the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the International Conference on Formal Verification of Object-Oriented Software, FoVeOOS 2010, held in Paris, France, in June 2010 - organised by COST Action IC0701. The 11 revised full papers presented together with 2 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 21 submissions. Formal software verification has outgrown the area of academic case studies, and industry is showing serious interest. The logical next goal is the verification of industrial software products. Most programming languages used in industrial practice are object-oriented, e.g. Java, C++, or C#. FoVeOOS 2010 aimed to foster collaboration and interactions among researchers in this area.
Imagined Futures: Fictional Expectations And Capitalist Dynamics
by Jens BeckertConsumers, investors, and corporations orient their activities toward a future that contains opportunities and risks. How do these actors assess uncertainty? Jens Beckert adds a new chapter to the theory of capitalism by showing how fictional expectations drive modern economies—or throw them into crisis when imagined futures fail to materialize.
Imagined Futures: Fictional Expectations And Capitalist Dynamics
by Jens BeckertConsumers, investors, and corporations orient their activities toward a future that contains opportunities and risks. How do these actors assess uncertainty? Jens Beckert adds a new chapter to the theory of capitalism by showing how fictional expectations drive modern economies—or throw them into crisis when imagined futures fail to materialize.
Uncertain Futures: Imaginaries, Narratives, and Calculation in the Economy
by Jens Beckert Richard BronkUncertain Futures considers how economic actors visualize the future and decide how to act in conditions of radical uncertainty. It starts from the premise that dynamic capitalist economies are characterized by relentless innovation and novelty and hence exhibit an indeterminacy that cannot be reduced to measurable risk. The organizing question then becomes how economic actors form expectations and make decisions despite the uncertainty they face. This edited volume lays the foundations for a new model of economic reasoning by showing how, in conditions of uncertainty, economic actors combine calculation with imaginaries and narratives to form fictional expectations that coordinate action and provide the confidence to act. It draws on groundbreaking research in economic sociology, economics, anthropology, and psychology to present theoretically grounded empirical case studies. These demonstrate how grand narratives, central bank forward guidance, economic forecasts, finance models, business plans, visions of technological futures, and new era stories influence behaviour and become instruments of power in markets and societies. The market impact of shared calculative devices, social narratives, and contingent imaginaries underlines the rationale for a new form of narrative economics.
The Architecture of Illegal Markets: Towards an Economic Sociology of Illegality in the Economy
by Jens Beckert Matías DeweyFrom illegal drugs, stolen artwork, and forged trademarks, to fraud in financial markets - the phenomenon of illegality in market exchanges is pervasive. Illegal markets have great economic significance, have relevant social and political consequences, and shape economic and political structures. Despite the importance of illegality in the economy, the field of economic sociology unquestioningly accepts the premise that the institutional structures and exchanges taking place in markets are law-abiding in nature. This volume makes a contribution to changing this. Questions that stand at the centre of the chapters are: What are the interfaces between legal and illegal markets? How do demand and supply in illegal markets interact? What role do criminal organizations play in illegal markets? What is the relationship between illegality and governments? Is illegality a phenomenon central to capitalism? Anchored in economic sociology, this book contributes to the analysis and understanding of market exchanges in conditions of illegality from a perspective that focuses on the social organization of markets. Offering both, theoretical reflections and case studies, the chapters assembled in the volume address the consequences of the illegal production, distribution, and consumption of products for the architecture of markets. It also focuses on the underlying causes and the political and social concerns stemming from the infringement of the law.
Inherited Wealth (PDF)
by Jens Beckert Thomas DunlapHow to regulate the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next has been hotly debated among politicians, legal scholars, sociologists, economists, and philosophers for centuries. Bequeathing wealth is a vital ingredient of family solidarity. But does the reproduction of social inequality through inheritance square with the principle of equal opportunity? Does democracy suffer when family wealth becomes political power? The first in-depth, comparative study of the development of inheritance law in the United States, France, and Germany, Inherited Wealth investigates longstanding political and intellectual debates over inheritance laws and explains why these laws still differ so greatly among these countries. Using a sociological perspective, Jens Beckert sheds light on the four most controversial issues in inheritance law during the past two centuries: the freedom to dispose of one's property as one wishes, the rights of family members to the wealth bequeathed, the dissolution of entails (which restrict inheritance to specific classes of heirs), and estate taxation. Beckert shows that while the United States, France, and Germany have all long defended inheritance rights based on the notion of individual property rights, they have justified limitations on inheritance rights in profoundly different ways, reflecting culturally specific ways of understanding the problems of inherited wealth.
Beyond the Market: The Social Foundations of Economic Efficiency
by Jens Beckert Barbara HarshavBeyond the Market launches a sociological investigation into economic efficiency. Prevailing economic theory, which explains efficiency using formalized rational choice models, often simplifies human behavior to the point of distortion. Jens Beckert finds such theory to be particularly weak in explaining such crucial forms of economic behavior as cooperation, innovation, and action under conditions of uncertainty--phenomena he identifies as the proper starting point for a sociology of economic action. Beckert levels an enlightened critique at neoclassical economics, arguing that understanding efficiency requires looking well beyond the market to the social, cultural, political, and cognitive factors that influence the coordination of economic action. Beckert searches social theory for the components of an alternative theory of action, one that accounts for the social embedding of economic behavior. In Durkheim and Parsons he finds especially useful approaches to cooperation; in Luhmann, a way to understand how people act under highly contingent conditions; and in Giddens, an understanding of creative action and innovation. Together, these provide building blocks for a research program that will yield a theoretically sophisticated understanding of how economic processes are coordinated and the ways that markets are embedded in social, cultural, and cognitive structures. Containing one of the most fully informed critiques of the neoclassical analysis of economic efficiency--as well as one of the most thoughtful blueprints for economic sociology--this book reclaims for sociology the study of one of the most important arenas of human action.
Beyond the Market: The Social Foundations of Economic Efficiency (PDF)
by Jens Beckert Barbara HarshavBeyond the Market launches a sociological investigation into economic efficiency. Prevailing economic theory, which explains efficiency using formalized rational choice models, often simplifies human behavior to the point of distortion. Jens Beckert finds such theory to be particularly weak in explaining such crucial forms of economic behavior as cooperation, innovation, and action under conditions of uncertainty--phenomena he identifies as the proper starting point for a sociology of economic action. Beckert levels an enlightened critique at neoclassical economics, arguing that understanding efficiency requires looking well beyond the market to the social, cultural, political, and cognitive factors that influence the coordination of economic action. Beckert searches social theory for the components of an alternative theory of action, one that accounts for the social embedding of economic behavior. In Durkheim and Parsons he finds especially useful approaches to cooperation; in Luhmann, a way to understand how people act under highly contingent conditions; and in Giddens, an understanding of creative action and innovation. Together, these provide building blocks for a research program that will yield a theoretically sophisticated understanding of how economic processes are coordinated and the ways that markets are embedded in social, cultural, and cognitive structures. Containing one of the most fully informed critiques of the neoclassical analysis of economic efficiency--as well as one of the most thoughtful blueprints for economic sociology--this book reclaims for sociology the study of one of the most important arenas of human action.
Constructing Quality: The Classification Of Goods In Markets
by Jens Beckert Christine MusselinHow can we engage in a market relationship when the quality of the goods we want to acquire is unknown, invisible, or uncertain? For market exchange to be possible, purchasers and suppliers of goods must be able to assess the quality of a product in relation to other products. Only by recognizing qualities and perceiving quality differences can purchasers make non-random choices, and price differences between goods be justified. "Quality" is not a natural given, but the outcome of a social process in which products become seen as possessing certain traits, and occupying a specific position in relation to other products in the product space. While we normally take the quality of goods for granted, quality at a closer look is the outcome of a highly complex process of construction involving producers, consumers, and market intermediaries engaged in judgment, evaluation, categorization, and measurement. The authors in this volume investigate the processes through which the quality of goods is established. They also investigate how product qualities are contested and how they change over time. The empirical cases discussed cover a broad range of markets in which quality is especially difficult to assess. The cases include: halal food, funeral markets, wine, labor, school choice, financial products, antiques, and counterfeit goods. The book contributes to the sociology of markets. At the same time it connects to the larger issue of the constitution of social order through cognitive processes of classification.
Effects of Herbicide-Tolerant Crop Cultivation: Investigating the Durability of a Weed Management Tool
by Michel Beckert Yves DessauxOverall, this work identifies key points to be taken into account when drawing up guidelines that govern the use of herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops in order to preserve the effectiveness of this innovation over time. This multidisciplinary expert report, based on an international literature review, assesses the effects of the cultivation of crops possessing HT traits. HT crops may appear to be useful complementary tools when farmers are facing certain difficult weed-management situations or in the context of a diversification of weed-control strategies. Their repeated use, however, can rapidly induce changes in the weed flora that can constitute more complex challenges in terms of weed control. Issues coming up with the development of agricultural production systems including HT crops are the objects of this expert report: what are the perceptions of these varieties by society and the reasons for their adoption by farmers? Are the savings on herbicides promoted by seed companies long-lasting? Can the cultivation of HT crops impact biodiversity?
Empire of Cotton: A New History of Global Capitalism
by Sven BeckertWINNER OF THE 2015 BANCROFT PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2015 PHILIP TAFT PRIZEFINALIST FOR THE 2015 PULITZER PRIZE FOR HISTORYSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2015 CUNDHILL PRIZE IN HISTORICAL LITERATUREEconomist BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015'A masterpiece of the historian's craft' The NationFor about 900 years, from 1000 to 1900, cotton was the world's most important manufacturing industry. It remains a vast business - if all the cotton bales produced in 2013 had been stacked on top of each other they would have made a somewhat unstable tower 40,000 miles high. Sven Beckert's superb new book is a history of the overwhelming role played by cotton in dictating the shape of our world. It is both a gripping narrative and a brilliant case history of how the world works.
How The Stock Market Works: A Beginner's Guide to Investment
by Michael BecketWant to start investing your money wisely but not sure how? This book is for you. Get to grips with everything you need to know about the investment and financial markets with this practical guide.In today's economy it is clear to see how everyday politics and global events can have a lasting impact on your pension, savings and investments, but you don't have to feel powerless when it comes to safeguarding your future. Now more than ever, it is vital to understand how the markets work and what you can do to maintain financial security. This book gives concise and practical information which will help you understand how the stock market works, breaking down complex jargon to simple explanations.Fully updated for this seventh edition, How the Stock Market Works provides you with the tools needed to understand investing in the light of major events such as the UK's exit from the EU. Chapters cover the basics from explanations of shares, bonds and gilts and range to where to find help and advice when needed. With guidance on how to be a responsible shareholder and information on the taxation regime, this established guide will help you take control of your finances.
How the Stock Market Works
by Michael BecketPraise and Reviews 'Almost everyone has a stake in the stock market, directly or indirectly, yet ignorance about how it works is widespread. This book is not just for investors, but for anyone who wishes to understand our financial system, and how we all fit into it. ' - Neil Collins, Daily Telegraph City Editor 'This book cuts through the institutions' mystique with basic information for the amateur. . . covers all the important issues and takes a sceptical swipe at the pretentious jargon employed by the so-called experts. ' - Industry At times of fluctuating share prices and changes in trading, an investor needs to know enough about the stock market to ask the right questions, make the right choices, and not to be taken in by sharp salesmen. Here is the grounding to strip away the hype and unlock the jargon. This fully revised new edition will tell investors what is being traded and how, who does what with which and to whom, and how to evaluate both the shares and the proponents' claims. In his acclaimed lucid style, Michael Becket cuts through the investment hype to answer such questions as: What are shares? What are gilts? What are futures and options? What about overseas shares? How do you pick a share to buy? Whose advice can you trust? When do you sell a share? There is money to be made and it does not require genius to make a fortune, but you do need care, common sense, lots of luck and the expert advice of How the Stock Market Works.
Public Management and the Rule of Law
by Julia BeckettFilled with practical tools and guidelines, this book addresses an essential competence for public managers - incorporating governance and law in public administration. It links democratic constitutional values to administrative decision making and practices by stressing how public law authorizes, informs, and democratically constrains public servants in fulfilling public policies. The author addresses important aspects of governance in chapters that discuss democratic values of the rule of law, constitutional law, legislation and policy, administrative law, judicial practice, contract law, and tort law. The book also considers the practical aspects of public management (such as tax collection, benefits administration, personnel administration, and more), with application guidelines and techniques based on thorough legal grounding.
Public Management and the Rule of Law
by Julia BeckettFilled with practical tools and guidelines, this book addresses an essential competence for public managers - incorporating governance and law in public administration. It links democratic constitutional values to administrative decision making and practices by stressing how public law authorizes, informs, and democratically constrains public servants in fulfilling public policies. The author addresses important aspects of governance in chapters that discuss democratic values of the rule of law, constitutional law, legislation and policy, administrative law, judicial practice, contract law, and tort law. The book also considers the practical aspects of public management (such as tax collection, benefits administration, personnel administration, and more), with application guidelines and techniques based on thorough legal grounding.
Public Administration and Law
by Julia Beckett Heidi O. KoenigPublic Administration and Law has been edited for use as a supplement for an undergraduate or MPA level course on administrative law. The selections, all from the pages of Public Administration Review, have been chosen to enlighten and enliven the contents of any standard administrative law textbook. Each of the book's main sections begins with introductory text and discussion questions by the volume editors, Julia Beckett and Heidi Koenig, followed by relevant readings from PAR. The book's contents follow the standard pattern established by the field's major textbooks to facilitate the instructor's ability to assign readings that illuminate lectures and text material. The book concludes with two invaluable resources - a bibliography of 65 years of PAR articles concerning public law, plus a bibliography of law-related articles appearing in other journals published by ASPA.
Public Administration and Law (Aspa Classics Ser.)
by Julia Beckett Heidi O. KoenigPublic Administration and Law has been edited for use as a supplement for an undergraduate or MPA level course on administrative law. The selections, all from the pages of Public Administration Review, have been chosen to enlighten and enliven the contents of any standard administrative law textbook. Each of the book's main sections begins with introductory text and discussion questions by the volume editors, Julia Beckett and Heidi Koenig, followed by relevant readings from PAR. The book's contents follow the standard pattern established by the field's major textbooks to facilitate the instructor's ability to assign readings that illuminate lectures and text material. The book concludes with two invaluable resources - a bibliography of 65 years of PAR articles concerning public law, plus a bibliography of law-related articles appearing in other journals published by ASPA.
Beneficial Ownership and Legal Responsibility: Concealment, Avoidance and Impunity (The Law of Financial Crime)
by Paul BeckettThis book explores the connection between ownership, on one hand, and immunity from legal responsibility, on the other. It presents a definition of the concept of beneficial ownership, the reasons for its concealment, and failures in international legal structures and arrangements. Globally, States confront complex criminality, such as corruption, tax evasion, doctrinal fanaticism, trafficked slaves, terrorism and, war. At the personal level, men and women may seek to escape their creditors, to disinherit unwanted heirs, to cheat divorced partners, and to appear straightforward when this is not the case. The response of politicians and regulators has been a global State initiative to identify beneficial owners via public registers to promote transparency and accountability. Yet, at the same time, there is an equally powerful global and personal counter-initiative to promote beneficial ownership avoidance. Where there is no owner, there is no accountability. This book examines what “ownership” means in legal terms across multiple legal systems and explains why singling out “ownership” as being pivotal to State and personal accountability is a strategy both flawed and disingenuous. It is argued that an apparent lack of political will coupled with shape-shifting definitions of “ownership” have resulted in tokenism. Particular attention is paid to those “orphan” structures which have evolved from standard models, or which have been designed for the purpose in each case of facilitating ownership concealment and avoidance. The author explains how the virtual world of the blockchain, crypto-assets and cryptocurrency, and virtual entities such as the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO), all of which elude legal classification, have opened a new world of possibilities. Applicable across all jurisdictions and legal systems, the book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policy-makers working in the areas of Financial Crime, Regulation, Compliance, Business, and Accountancy.
Beneficial Ownership and Legal Responsibility: Concealment, Avoidance and Impunity (The Law of Financial Crime)
by Paul BeckettThis book explores the connection between ownership, on one hand, and immunity from legal responsibility, on the other. It presents a definition of the concept of beneficial ownership, the reasons for its concealment, and failures in international legal structures and arrangements. Globally, States confront complex criminality, such as corruption, tax evasion, doctrinal fanaticism, trafficked slaves, terrorism and, war. At the personal level, men and women may seek to escape their creditors, to disinherit unwanted heirs, to cheat divorced partners, and to appear straightforward when this is not the case. The response of politicians and regulators has been a global State initiative to identify beneficial owners via public registers to promote transparency and accountability. Yet, at the same time, there is an equally powerful global and personal counter-initiative to promote beneficial ownership avoidance. Where there is no owner, there is no accountability. This book examines what “ownership” means in legal terms across multiple legal systems and explains why singling out “ownership” as being pivotal to State and personal accountability is a strategy both flawed and disingenuous. It is argued that an apparent lack of political will coupled with shape-shifting definitions of “ownership” have resulted in tokenism. Particular attention is paid to those “orphan” structures which have evolved from standard models, or which have been designed for the purpose in each case of facilitating ownership concealment and avoidance. The author explains how the virtual world of the blockchain, crypto-assets and cryptocurrency, and virtual entities such as the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO), all of which elude legal classification, have opened a new world of possibilities. Applicable across all jurisdictions and legal systems, the book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policy-makers working in the areas of Financial Crime, Regulation, Compliance, Business, and Accountancy.
Ownership, Financial Accountability and the Law: Transparency Strategies and Counter-Initiatives (The Law of Financial Crime)
by Paul BeckettThere is something visceral about ownership. This is mine; you can’t have it. This is mine; you can share it. This is ours. Try to find it. Contemporary literature and investigative journalism are showing that the scale of the problem of tax evasion, money laundering, organised crime, terrorism, bribery, corruption and gross human rights abuses is vast. Ownership – specifically, the quest to identify beneficial owners - has been chosen by national and international regulators as the touchstone, the litmus test in the fight back. An owner by definition must possess something for which they are financially accountable. But what is meant by "ownership"? This book explains why ownership is pivotal to accountability, and what ownership means in common law, civil law and Shariah law terms. It looks in detail at State, regional and international transparency strategies and at an equally powerful global private counter-initiative to promote beneficial ownership avoidance through the use of so-called "orphan structures". Where there is no owner, there is no accountability. The distinction between privacy and legitimate confidentiality on the one hand, and concealment on the other is explained with reference to commercial and trade law and practice, principles of corporate governance and applicable business human rights. This book introduces one further counter initiative: the phenomenon of transient ownership made possible through the use of cryptocurrency and the blockchain. The study concludes with a blueprint for action with recommendations addressed to states, international organisations, practitioners and other stakeholders.
Ownership, Financial Accountability and the Law: Transparency Strategies and Counter-Initiatives (The Law of Financial Crime)
by Paul BeckettThere is something visceral about ownership. This is mine; you can’t have it. This is mine; you can share it. This is ours. Try to find it. Contemporary literature and investigative journalism are showing that the scale of the problem of tax evasion, money laundering, organised crime, terrorism, bribery, corruption and gross human rights abuses is vast. Ownership – specifically, the quest to identify beneficial owners - has been chosen by national and international regulators as the touchstone, the litmus test in the fight back. An owner by definition must possess something for which they are financially accountable. But what is meant by "ownership"? This book explains why ownership is pivotal to accountability, and what ownership means in common law, civil law and Shariah law terms. It looks in detail at State, regional and international transparency strategies and at an equally powerful global private counter-initiative to promote beneficial ownership avoidance through the use of so-called "orphan structures". Where there is no owner, there is no accountability. The distinction between privacy and legitimate confidentiality on the one hand, and concealment on the other is explained with reference to commercial and trade law and practice, principles of corporate governance and applicable business human rights. This book introduces one further counter initiative: the phenomenon of transient ownership made possible through the use of cryptocurrency and the blockchain. The study concludes with a blueprint for action with recommendations addressed to states, international organisations, practitioners and other stakeholders.
Tax Havens and International Human Rights (Human Rights and International Law)
by Paul BeckettThis book sails in uncharted waters. It takes a human rights-based approach to tax havens, and is a detailed analysis of structures and the laws that generate and support these. It makes plain the unscrupulous or merely indifferent ways in which, using tax havens, businesses and individuals systematically undermine and for all practical purposes eliminate access to remedies under international human rights law. It exposes as abusive of human rights a complex structural web of trusts, companies, partnerships, foundations, nominees and fiduciaries; secrecy, immunity and smoke screens. It also lays bare the cynical manipulation by tax havens of traditional legal forms and conventions, and the creation of entities so bizarre and chimeric that they defy classification. Yet from the perspective of the tax havens themselves, these are entirely legitimate; the product of duly enacted domestic laws. This book is not a work of investigative journalism in the style of the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Panama Papers, exposing political or financial corruption, money laundering or the financing of terrorism. All those elements are present of course, but the focus is on international human rights and how tax havens do not merely facilitate but actively connive at their breach. The tax havens are compromising the international human rights legal continuum.
Tax Havens and International Human Rights (Human Rights and International Law)
by Paul BeckettThis book sails in uncharted waters. It takes a human rights-based approach to tax havens, and is a detailed analysis of structures and the laws that generate and support these. It makes plain the unscrupulous or merely indifferent ways in which, using tax havens, businesses and individuals systematically undermine and for all practical purposes eliminate access to remedies under international human rights law. It exposes as abusive of human rights a complex structural web of trusts, companies, partnerships, foundations, nominees and fiduciaries; secrecy, immunity and smoke screens. It also lays bare the cynical manipulation by tax havens of traditional legal forms and conventions, and the creation of entities so bizarre and chimeric that they defy classification. Yet from the perspective of the tax havens themselves, these are entirely legitimate; the product of duly enacted domestic laws. This book is not a work of investigative journalism in the style of the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Panama Papers, exposing political or financial corruption, money laundering or the financing of terrorism. All those elements are present of course, but the focus is on international human rights and how tax havens do not merely facilitate but actively connive at their breach. The tax havens are compromising the international human rights legal continuum.
Operational Risk Management in Banks and Idiosyncratic Loss Theory: A Leadership Perspective
by Sophia Beckett Velez Ph.D.A systemic risk event that leads to significant losses in banks that are significant financial institutions can expose them to insolvency, significant volatility and impose serious negative impact on a country’s economy, as witnessed during the 2008 financial crash. The viral spread of operational losses through global markets by interconnected multinational banks can be referred to as idiosyncratic viral loss theory. Operational Risk Management in Banks and Idiosyncratic Loss Theory: A Leadership Perspective identifies important considerations that can bolster effective risk management practices in comprehensive enterprise-wide risk, fraud control, going beyond minimum risk assessment required by banking regulators as well as independent risk identification and management. These considerations towards improving risk management practices may help reduce systemic operational losses spread virally in banks. Operational Risk Management in Banks and Idiosyncratic Loss Theory is a useful tool for scholars, bank practitioners, regulators, and accountants to understand the behaviour of idiosyncratic viral losses in banks and in the use of effective risk management practices. Bank practitioners and regulators can leverage the suggestions made by the panel of sector experts and bank leaders to construct action plans and training programs.