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1 – 10 of over 3000This chapter focuses on spy action as a way to answer the question: where can we find queer female action heroes? The chapter will identify three films – D.E.B.S. (Advocate, 2005…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on spy action as a way to answer the question: where can we find queer female action heroes? The chapter will identify three films – D.E.B.S. (Advocate, 2005), Atomic Blonde (David Leitch, 2017) and The Spy Who Dumped Me (Susanna Fogel, 2018) – worth attention to highlight the potential and problems of the queer female hero in spy action. This chapter examines how each of these spy action films contributes to the ongoing yet uneven development of the female hero as a queer figure in post-millennial action cinema. The chapter will consider to what extent these queer female-led action films may pose a challenge to some of the dominant standards and conventions associated with the action hero, gender roles and the representation of sexuality, but also reinforce others. Some comparisons will be made to James Bond in recognition that the Bond franchise has played an important role in the spy action genre.
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Alan S. Marcus, Katherine A. Griffith and Francis Gary Powers Jr
In this article, we use the film Bridge of Spies – which depicts the case of U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers – and relevant primary sources, particularly Powers' letters from…
Abstract
Purpose
In this article, we use the film Bridge of Spies – which depicts the case of U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers – and relevant primary sources, particularly Powers' letters from prison, to provide teachers with a case that can engage students with the complexity of the Cold War. Understanding USA–Russia relations is as important today as ever as we watch the tragedy unfold in Ukraine. Using primary sources to reflect on the Cold War can help secondary students understand the historical context of the war in Ukraine as well as how to evaluate and critique sources of information about the war.
Design/methodology/approach
The film and personal letters provide insights often not available or obvious when we focus on the political or military history of an event or time period. The Cold War is frequently defined by the rhetoric of the USA and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) governments – but everyday people and citizens had a wider range of views and experiences. The film and letters bring out the humanity of the Cold War.
Findings
This article supports secondary teachers in incorporating film and primary sources as teaching tools to study the Cold War while more broadly thinking about these sources as ways to understand the past. The letters used, including those from U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers, help us understand his time in a Soviet prison as well as the behind-the-scenes work to free him as part of a prisoner exchange.
Originality/value
The U-2 Incident and other events of the Cold War provide important context for understanding the Cold War-like tensions between the USA and Russia today. The distrust between these countries has a long history. However, documents like the film and letters discussed here show that there is much more to the bluster of political leaders and the military chess game. There is an important human element to these events and an impact on individuals who are much more than pawns in international diplomacy.
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The purpose of this study is to extend the work of DeFusco, Ivanov and Karels by examining pricing deviation of DIA, SPY and QQQQ on intradaily basis.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to extend the work of DeFusco, Ivanov and Karels by examining pricing deviation of DIA, SPY and QQQQ on intradaily basis.
Design/methodology/approach
The DIA is designed to be one hundredth of the DJIA, the SPY is designed to be one tenth of the S&P 500 and QQQQ is designed to be one fortieth of the NASDAQ 100. This feature of ETFs requires the estimation of the difference between the proportional level of the index and the price of the ETF, which is the ETF pricing deviation.
Findings
The paper finds that the DIA, SPY and QQQQ pricing deviations are 0.0429, −0.0743 and 0.4298, respectively. The findings indicate that the prices of DIA and QQQQ are on average lower than the underlying indexes. SPY is the exception having a price which is higher than the theoretical price of the S&P 500 index. The author finds that this is due to the increased demand for the SPY. Additionally, the paper provides an explanation for the large change (increase) in the pricing deviation of QQQQ after December 1, 2004 which DeFusco, Ivanov and Karels could not explain. On December 1, 2004 QQQQ trading was consolidated on NASDAQ. The paper finds negative growth in the volume of QQQQ after December 1, 2004 indicating decrease in popularity of this ETF. The decrease in popularity of QQQQ might explain the increase in its pricing deviation.
Research limitations/implications
The paper uses high frequency data in the analysis of pricing deviation which might be artificially deflating standard errors and thus inflating the t‐test significance values.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the ongoing search in the finance literature of precision ETF performance metrics.
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In this lesson, students discover how the role of espionage was crucial in securing a victory against the British in the American Revolution. Based on the National Council for the…
Abstract
In this lesson, students discover how the role of espionage was crucial in securing a victory against the British in the American Revolution. Based on the National Council for the Social Studies Notable Trade Book, George Washington, Spymaster—How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolution by Thomas B. Allen, this lesson introduces students to various spy techniques and strategies used by the colonists under the leadership of General George Washington. Thomas B. Allen presents an intriguing and accurate account of double agents, covert operations, codes, and ciphers of the colonists’ efforts to spy on the British army during the American Revolution War. Using the Internet as a resource, students conduct historical research through the critical examination of a variety of primary sources.
The dismissal of the ordinary and the embrace of chaos are characteristics of the thriller which has, over the last decade, accounted for nearly 25 percent of the best‐seller…
Abstract
The dismissal of the ordinary and the embrace of chaos are characteristics of the thriller which has, over the last decade, accounted for nearly 25 percent of the best‐seller market. In spite of its existential overtones, the thriller, with rare exceptions, is seldom viewed as quality fiction, yet is not generally classified as genre fiction with attendant categorization by libraries and bookstores. Readers of thrillers in pursuit of authors must either search through the general fiction or “mystery” shelves where thrillers are sometimes placed. However, the latter solution offends both mystery and thriller readers.
BUSINESS ESPIONAGE is currently one of the most insidious threats facing successful British companies.
Jamie Kang and Tim Leung
The purpose of this study is to analyze the overnight and intraday returns of the most traded American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Asian companies, understand the different…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the overnight and intraday returns of the most traded American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Asian companies, understand the different levels of volatilities realized in these asynchronous markets and develop trading strategies based on empirical findings.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents an empirical analysis on the overnight and intraday returns of Asian ADRs. The authors propose a measure to quantify the relative contributions of the intraday and overnight returns to the ADR's total volatility. Furthermore, the return difference between S&P500 index and each ADR is fitted to an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model via maximum-likelihood estimation.
Findings
This study finds that ADRs' overnight returns are more volatile, whereas the intraday returns are significantly more strongly correlated with the US market returns. The return spreads between the S&P500 and ADRs are found to be a mean-reverting time series and motivate a pairs trading strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology used in this study is not limited to Asian ADRs and can be adapted to analyze the overnight and intraday returns of other non-Asian ADRs and stocks.
Practical implications
Investors should be aware of the overnight price fluctuations while intraday traders may consider strategies that capture the mean-reverting return spread between an ADR (or an Exchange-Traded Funds [ETF] of Asian stocks) and the S&P500 index ETF (SPY).
Social implications
ADRs are among the most popular securities for investing in foreign (non-US) companies. The total global investments in ADRs are estimated to be close to US$1tn. Understanding the risks of ADRs is important to not only individual/institutional investors but also regulators.
Originality/value
This study provides a new measure to quantify and compare the relative contributions of volatility by overnight and intraday returns. Optimized pairs trading strategies involving ADRs and ETFs are developed and backtested.
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There are seven main characters of which five are women: Sindiswa, Mia, Susan, Thenjiwe and Nicky. The other two characters, Glen and Zaccaria, represent males from very different…
Abstract
There are seven main characters of which five are women: Sindiswa, Mia, Susan, Thenjiwe and Nicky. The other two characters, Glen and Zaccaria, represent males from very different socio-economic and political backgrounds. The character of Dumasani, a young boy, is referred to in the play. What makes the play especially significant is that of a cast of seven, five are women. Throughout the play the character of Glen, a spy for the apartheid government, reveals the manipulative and deceitful manner in which the members of the South African police force and political informers carried out their work. He forms relationships with people about whom he professes to care; however, his only concern is that they are able to provide information that will secure financial reward for his spying activities for the apartheid government. Born in the RSA offers the audience an interesting exchange of ideas and thoughts about the political, economic and social situation in apartheid South Africa. Through the exploration of narratives and improvisation a landscape of violence is thrown open. A landscape of violence, that is not only physical, but also psychological. The play presents a complex situation in which violence does not only come from one source but from various sources such as the government, the youth, the opposition parties, the comrades, the private domestic space, subversive activities and political organisations. Any opposition to government policies results in harsher and more extreme violence by the apartheid regime strengthening their oppressive forces.
When the economy takes a nosedive, a more sinister type of business is likely to flourish — industrial espionage — reports ex‐Fraud Squad member, Vincent Carratu. The threat comes…
Abstract
When the economy takes a nosedive, a more sinister type of business is likely to flourish — industrial espionage — reports ex‐Fraud Squad member, Vincent Carratu. The threat comes from companies who are determined to outwit competitors in a contracting market and from aggrieved employees who fall prey to the cash incentives of selling secrets. Carratu, who now heads one of Europe's biggest investigation agencies, pinpoints some of the security loopholes which are all too easy for the industrial spy.