Liquidity and Arbitrage in Options Markets: A Survival Analysis Approach

This paper examines the determinants of the time it takes foran index options market to return to no arbitrage values afterput-call parity deviations, using intraday transactions datafrom the French index options market. We employ survival analysisto characterize how limits to arbitrage influence the expectedduration of arbitrage deviations. After controlling for conventionallimits to arbitrage, we show that liquidity-linked variablesare associated with a faster reversion of arbitrage profits.The introduction of an Exchange Traded Fund also affects thesurvival rates of deviations, but this impact essentially stemsfrom the reduction in the level of potential arbitrage profits.     

WWOOFing in Australia: ideas and lessons for a de-commodified sustainability tourism

This paper considers Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOFing) as a form of sustainable tourism with particular focus on its social and cultural dimensions and the means by which deep engagement in these appear to lead participants to a better awareness or understanding of ecological sustainability issues. It draws upon a grounded theory-based exploration of the perspectives and interactions of WWOOFers and WWOOF hosts in Australia, using 323 formal written surveys of hosts and 188 surveys of WWOOFers, together with 16 in-depth unstructured WWOOFer interviews, which collectively enhances understanding of WWOOFing as an emerging, unique and valuable form of sustainable tourism. By virtue of the highly engaged and symbiotic basis of the exchange involved, WWOOFing is commonly perceived to facilitate a transcendence of the role of tourist. The research indicates this is the product of a unique relationship forged in the WWOOFing context, which differs markedly to relationships forged in more typical fee-for-service tourism contexts in which there is a different relationship at play between power, authenticity and sustainability. This relationship is outlined in order to articulate the notion that WWOOFing represents a type of “sustainability tourism” that is unexplored in the sustainable tourism literature.     

Occupational roles and expectations of research scientists and research managers in scientific research institutions†

Publicly funded research institutes in most countries have been pressed by economic and political pressures through the 1990s to become more financially independent, to be more accountable and to adopt more businesslike principles and practices. In this context the occupational roles and career options for scientists and research managers in these organisations have undergone considerable change. As the research cultures of these institutions take on a more commercial perspective, new and critical career path choices for both researchers and the organisations themselves have emerged. This article focuses on the changing occupational roles of research scientists and research managers in the Australian CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), one of the world's largest multidisciplinary research organisations. Two critical occupational pathways are discussed: one between science and science management and another between science management and commercial management. Key points where the pathways diverge are identified and linked to broader issues of organisational culture and human resource management. The authors argue that research institutes such as the Australian CSIRO require a ‘multicultural’ management approach that horizontally integrates the industrial, scientific and commercial domains of the organisations’ research cultures.     

Branch banking network assessment using DEA: A benchmarking analysis—A note

This paper presents a benchmarking analysis of the branches and regional banks of a large French banking group. The analysis focuses on operational performance. Starting from an ‘individual’ diagnosis at branch level, a ‘network’ diagnosis is developed at regional bank level. The aim of the paper is to develop (i) operational performance indicators from the inefficiency score and (ii) a benchmarking procedure adapted to the network structure of the banking group under study. The banking group comprises 1611 branches that form 16 regional groups. The branches operate in six different business environments. A method is therefore required (a) to aggregate the inefficiency scores of individual branches to evaluate the regional groups and (b) to integrate the differences in environment into the evaluation procedure. Inefficiency scores are calculated using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. This is based on the principle of comparison; once identified, the best practices are used to construct the efficiency frontier. Each entity is then positioned relative to that frontier. The model proposed in this paper determines one efficiency frontier for each type of environment. The results reveal that 30% of branches are efficient. Special emphasis is placed on quantifying productivity gains at regional bank level and on practicing intra- and inter-regional bank benchmarking.