It's about Time: A Systems Thinking Analysis of the Litigation Finance Industry and Its Effect on Settlement

This thesis reviews the history and methodology of systems thinking and its importance to framing ideas. It concludes that systems thinking is central to scientific method and, supported by the logic of the C19th pragmatist philosopher, Charles Sanders Peirce, provides a rigorous framework for the management of knowledge in organisations.

Influence of health systems in malaria case management as part of malaria control in Tanzania

Financial structure differs greatly across countries. In bank-based financial systems such as in Germany, Japan (until a decade ago), and India, banks offer the main financial services in mobilizing savings, allocating capital, monitoring corporate managers, and providing risk management services.1 In market-based systems such as in the UK, the US, and Malaysia, both stock markets and banks play important roles in all financial services. What explains financial structure? Does the combination of institutions and markets that constitutes the financial system have any impact on economic development? These questions have fascinated economists for decades. One of the earliest attempts to address these questions was Goldsmith (1969), who 40 years ago tried to document the change of financial structure over time and to assess the impacts of financial development on economic development. He states that ‘one of the most important problems in the field of finance, if not the single most important one, almost everyone would agree, is the effect that financial structure and development have on economic growth’. With data from 35 countries for the pre-1964 period, he finds positive correlation between financial development and economic growth. But he could not go far on financial structure due to data constraints: he could only rely on careful comparisons of Germany and the United Kingdom. Obviously it is hard to extend the conclusions from case studies to the rest of the world.KeywordsStock MarketCorporate GovernanceVenture CapitalMarket DevelopmentLarge BankThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This study analysed the environmental follow-up of a public organisation from a systems thinking approach, including follow-up within different phases of operation and with different environmental management tools. The Swedish Rail Administration (SRA), a public authority responsible for Swedish rail infrastructure, was used as a case organisation. The main aim was to identify different follow-up activities during planning, construction and operation of rail infrastructure. Additional aims were to identify limiting factors for effective environmental follow-up and to provide suggestions on how SRA follow-up can better be used as an organisational learning tool. The follow-up proved to be highly influenced by Environmental Management System and was mainly used for showing compliance with legal regulations or contract requirements. Use of environmental monitoring data was limited to the specific project in which the follow-up was carried out, possibly because of the project-based structure of the organisation following rail deregulation. Theory on organisational learning was applied in the study to discuss how to improve the distribution and use of follow-up data. A more complete 'organisational memory' seems to be required for learning from experience and adapting to change.

Systems thinking approaches are employed to construct a formal decision making methodology for equitably allocating water among competing users in a river basin when taking into account both the societal and physical systems aspects of the allocation problem. In particular, within the societal component of the decision problem, multiple participants, their multiple objectives, equity principles, and economic factors are considered, while the physical systems part reflects relevant hydrologic and environmental factors. The Cooperative Water Allocation Model (CWAM) incorporates these societal and physical systems concerns within the framework of a large-scale optimization program which is divided into two main steps. Firstly, water is allocated among users based on existing legal water rights regimes or agreements. Secondly, water and associated benefits are reallocated among stakeholders to maximize basin-wide welfare. CWAM is applied to the South Saskatchewan River Basin located in the Canadian province of Alberta to demonstrate how it can be conveniently applied to a water allocation system of systems problem.

1. Introduction Corporation as a form of business for economic entities is a powerful driving force that promotes economic growth. One of the most important elements of the national corporate system is the Limited Liability Companies, which determines development of commercial corporative organizations both in the institutional aspect and in the sphere of their financial resources formation. Unstable economic environment entails a steady share of borrowed funds in financing of the commercial business; LLCs have to set up target indicators in the structure of financial resources. Practice shows that the LLCs do not determine the target values of the indicators that characterize their financial structure; rather the companies stochastically form their financial resources not bringing them in accordance with the phases of the business cycle (Tyapkina, Mongush and Akimova 2014; Ivanova, Mackay, Platonova and Elagina 2017; Frank, Mashevskaya, and Ermolina, 2016). However, despite the fact that the problems of forming and evaluating the strategic target structure of financial resources have a long period of development, there is ambiguous understanding of the notion "target structure of financial resources" in the financial literature. That makes it difficult to develop a tool for its evaluation and as a result, negatively influencing the result of the corporation's activities (Manuylenko and Mishchenko, 2016; Fetai, 2015). For instance, Kovalev (2015) characterizes the target capital structure by means of interrelations of the long-term financial resources, wheras Bocharov (2006) describes it through the ratio between own and borrowed resources indicating its different purposes. I. Ansoff notes that it is not possible to create a full picture of the future "external environment" only "... applying information systems according to the reports providing extrapolation" and it is advisable to use several complementary forecasting methods (Ansoff, 2016). International corporations identify the changes in the target capital structure applying LoTus forecast model, which uses authentic forecast indicators that are designed based on the information entered into the database package of the applied program. In the Russian practice of financial management, unfortunately, such models are not applied. Some aspects of financial modeling are generally disclosed in the study of Jackson and Staunton, (2006), they form the methodological aspect of the problem, thus emphasizing the relevance of this study. The purpose of this study is to develop a scientifically approved set of tools for assessing the strategic target structure of financial resources in corporations and substantiating the areas for its practical implementation. Achievement of the purpose required fulfillment of the following tasks: justify development of the model for the strategic target structure of the financial resources of LLCs based on extrapolation methods and stochastic modeling, and to test it in the frames of practical corporative activities. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is grounded in the scientific works of foreign and Russian scientists, specialists, legislative and regulatory documents of the Government of the Russian Federation, of the North Caucasus Federal District, and of the Stavropol Territory; as well as periodicals, and the internal regulatory framework of the regional LLCs for evaluation their financial resources. Methodological basis of the study: logical, system, situational scientific approaches to the evaluation of financial resources of LLCs. Methodological toolkit for assessing strategic target structure of financial resources in corporations, such as LLCs, was formed and tested with the help of general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, system thinking, grouping, analytical, graphical, comparative, economic-statistical, economic-mathematical, extrapolation, coefficient analysis, authoring software of general MS EXCEL and special EXCEL-VBA, etc. …

This paper gives an overview of the principles project of Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT), the coalition of business, and library customers of mass-market software products. AFFECT has successfully blocked passage of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) since two quick enactments in 2000, before the opposition effectively organized. The law of mass-market digital products is in need of clarification to protect both the interest and the public interest in sound information policy that fosters innovation and competition. Unfortunately, UCITA is poorly drafted and not an improvement over the existing patchwork of common law, Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and federal intellectual property law. UCITA is slanted toward mass-market producers and against the interests of consumers and the public more generally. AFFECT has now moved beyond opposition to a bad statute and is engaged in a positive search for better alternatives. As a first step, it has produced a statement of principles. These principles can be used as a basis for specific reform efforts, including drafting a model license and writing a more modest and targeted model statute than UCITA. They also can be used by protection officials and consumers' counsel to choose cases to litigate and by advocates to identify bad practices to bring to the attention of the media and the consuming public. The principles have been written to be accessible to the general public as well as lawyers and policymakers. Many end-users of mass-market digital products are alarmed by unfair terms and practices. They are looking for ways to effect change. The principles identify what is wrong in current practices as they envision better ones. This paper, in addition to tracing the origins of the principles in the struggle against UCITA and discussing their possible uses, explains their underlying theory. The principles draw upon familiar ideas from the law of contracts, commercial transactions, protection and intellectual property law. They also adapt these ideas to the digital world. Some key concepts are good advance disclosure (easy on the Internet) to maximize shopping for the best terms, meaningful assent, and substantive limits on terms that are unfair or contrary to public policy, particularly information policy. The principles also reflect the insight that the category consumer should include all customers who purchase mass-market products with non-negotiated terms. The minority of customers who read and shop over terms introduce only weak competition in non-salient terms in the mass-market. This is why substantive limits are also needed. In mass-market transactions, general standards such as unconscionability - requiring expensive and time-consuming case-by-case litigation - are not an effective way to deal with identified problems that could be quickly solved by specific rules. The principles address such common issues in the world of digital products as transfer and use rights, disclosure of product defects, and security of systems and data.

The “Temporal and Urban Peripheries” is the fall project of the final year of the Architecture program of Izmir University of Economics in Turkey. With a critical and contextual look at the built environment, the studio focuses on the significance of the incorporation of history, urban design, and parametric architectural design. This short article presents the thrust of the studio, basic concepts, the process, and outcomes.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT IN LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, in the 1950s was without a doubt the desegregation of Central High School. The political drama and violence inspired by nine African-American students' effort to integrate the school has inspired many theses, articles, and books. The national media attention to the events of September 1957 clearly overshadowed an episode that took place two years before in Little Rock and North Little Rock that also involved its share of drama and violence but received only brief, local coverage. While the earlier events had relatively little to do with civil rights, they were the result of another crucial historical development, the urban evolution of the United States. On June 22, 1955, 178 drivers and mechanics of Division 704 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway, and Motor Coach Employees of America went on strike in Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Cammack Village.' The employer, Capitol Transit Company (CTC), and Division 704 had been unable to agree on an arbitrator to settle a wage dispute. While CTC president F. Norman Hill claimed the company could not afford to raise wages without going deeper into debt, the union insisted that the CTC was stuffing its pockets at the expense of drivers and mechanics.2 When the company decided to hire scabs to operate the buses, violence erupted. Although no one died as a result of the strike, it climaxed in the bombing of a bus that nearly killed two people. Yet the CTC strike has not been previously examined. Perhaps because the decline of urban transit systems in general does not attract a lot of study, even intense episodes in that history, such as the CTC strike, have been forgotten. But the strike merits examination for its inherent drama, the role it played in the history of Little Rock transit, and how it reflects the broader history of public transportation in the United States. In addition to representing a breakdown in labor relations, the strike exacerbated a strained relationship between the city governments of Little Rock and North Little Rock and CTC. The city of Little Rock had filed several civil suits against the company going back to June 1951. One of the cases was not resolved until 1958, two years after CTC had surrendered its franchise, ending the strike.3 The North Little Rock city council argued with the company in 1953 over franchise and service agreements.4 These conflicts between labor, the company, and officials of Little Rock and North Little Rock all had their roots in changes in the structure of the American city. How could an urban bus company expect to make enough money to substantially raise wages or pay higher franchise fees and assessments to cities when fewer people were riding buses every year? This was a question posed not only by CTC but by transit companies across the U.S. By the mid-195 Os, automobiles were stealing customers from bus companies, and television provided Americans entertainment without their having to leave the house at night.5 The abandonment of restrictions on rubber and gasoline after World War II had increased the production of automobiles, which had caused a drop in the price. Postwar prosperity enabled a wealthier middle class to purchase cars and suburban homes and move farther away from inner cities. Prosperity also meant transit companies spent more for labor while seeing smaller profits. The federal government began to improve urban highways, making car travel more convenient within cities.6 All of this added up to a death sentence for private urban transit systems across the country. Nearly 200 companies ceased operations between 1954 and 1963. Some communities the same size as the Greater Little Rock area (150,000 in 1960) saw their transit systems completely vanish.7 Although Greater Little Rock's transit system survived, it witnessed a sharp decline in ridership-and fare revenue-in the years following World War II. …

Learning outcomes This case serves as a useful backdrop for discussing a few important conceptual frameworks in the field of finance. The dilemmas are still evolving for Sharīʿah-compliant asset management company (AMC); i.e. Al Meezan, and may seem complex to the students – particularly in the Pakistan’s financial structure – but framing the discussion from a market perspective ought to help the students of finance. Case overview/synopsis This case study focuses on Al Meezan Investment Management Limited (Al Meezan) journey since inception. Al Meezan is a full-fledged Sharīʿah-compliant AMC and one of the major players in the mutual funds industry of Pakistan. Al Meezan offers a comprehensive range of Sharīʿah-compliant investment solutions especially designed to meet the financial goals of their existing and potential clients. The case study covers all the key events before the inception of Al Meezan, from late 1990s till March 2020. The case is based on interview with chief executive officer (CEO) (the protagonist) of Al Meezan. The case also covers various challenges faced by Mohammad Shoaib, CEO and his senior team, to make Al Meezan a vibrant institution offering Islamic financial services. Complexity academic level This case is aimed at undergraduate students in their final year (i.e. taking electives in the field of Finance/Islamic Finance) or graduate students majoring in Finance/Islamic Finance. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS1: Accounting and Finance.

The article substantiates the relevance of research in the field of project management in general and project financing in particular. In particular, the low level of implementation of practices in one of the areas of project management – cost management (and specifically – project financing) in the practical activities of project management in Ukraine. The main reasons for the failure of domestic enterprises to use various methods of project financing are analyzed. The main directions of scientific research in the field of project financing are investigated. It is proved that the main method of project financing is bank lending. The structure of project financing by different methods of attracting financial resources in terms of regions and sectors of the economy is researched. The dynamics of bank loans attracted within the framework of project financing in the world during the last 10 years is analyzed. The analysis of loans raised within the project financing in 2019-2020 by regions was also analyzed, the structure of project financing by regions was researched. The changes in the volumes of attracted project financing in 2020 are revealed and substantiated. A comparative analysis of the dynamics and structure of project financing attracted through bank lending and debt securities issuance in 2019-2020. Significant differences in the structure of project financing attracted through bank lending and debt securities issuance were identified and substantiated. In particular, it is proved that using of the method of issuing debt securities is the most common in the region of America. The urgency of improving project financing schemes in developing economies is proved. The influence of the project financing method on the development of the project financing scheme is substantiated. Recommendations on the main groups of characteristics of project financing schemes are identified and substantiated. It is proved that the coordination of project constraints and parameters of the project financing scheme is the final stage of forming the project financing scheme and is carried out according to the model formed and substantiated in the study on the basis of traditional project management according to the project triangle rule.

Since the mid‐1960s there has been a significant increase in the number of public interest groups in Canada and the United States. Representing environmental, social and consumer interests, these groups serve as focal points through which consumer, business and government sectors interact. In the area of housing and community planning, public interest groups have been able to influence housing and planning policy to reflect the interests of housing consumers. Never, however, has a senior's advocacy group arisen with the purpose of attempting to influence the public and private sectors in the field of mortgage finance. Canadians for Home Equity Conversion (CHEC) is a grassroots advocacy group that represents exactly this cause. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the evolution of CHEC in order to broaden our understanding of the role of consumer interest groups in new product development. Home equity conversion will be discussed in the context of consumer, business and government interaction, and will serve as a case study that illustrates the public interest movement.

Building on the pioneering study by Covey (1999), this paper addresses a central question: according to the iceberg model of system thinking, can media play a relevant role in the financial market structure and hence influence the behaviour of investors? This study identifies specialised press as a key-player in the financial market. Through analysis with an event study approach, the effect of publication of spin-off news in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) between 2000 and 2013 on the abnormal returns of 179 listed companies has produced the following results: 1) top newspapers seem to affect stock prices while not providing any new information, when publication follows the announcement; 2) top newspapers have a significant impact on the behaviour of investors, when the publication of news precedes the spin-off announcement.

A systems approach to sustainable finance: Actors, influence mechanisms, and potentially virtuous cycles of sustainability.

Building on the pioneering study by Covey (1999), this paper addresses a central question: according to the iceberg model of system thinking, can media play a relevant role in the financial market structure and hence influence the behaviour of investors? This study identifies specialised press as a key-player in the financial market. Through analysis with an event study approach, the effect of publication of spin-off news in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) between 2000 and 2013 on the abnormal returns of 179 listed companies has produced the following results: 1) top newspapers seem to affect stock prices while not providing any new information, when publication follows the announcement; 2) top newspapers have a significant impact on the behaviour of investors, when the publication of news precedes the spin-off announcement.