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The purpose of this study is to provide a unique insight into what happens in a country labelled as a "tax haven", in response to international regulatory and labelling initiatives: whether the intended effects are achieved, and whether interaction with international standards improves or debilitates the motivation to engage with the standards in a meaningful way. I examine the impact that international regulations and policies have on the Seychelles financial services sector through an interpretative interdisciplinary study. Conceptually I build on philosophical insights of Deleuze and Guattari, which have so far been used frugally in studies around regulations. The theoretical concepts employed develop the Deleuzian conceptualisation of power, "control society", to help understand the new possibilities and forms of resistance in the global digital age. The thesis consists of three empirical parts, each making a separate contribution. The findings in the first empirical chapter help inform policy-making decisions on international standards of transparency. The second part provides a close examination of the processes involved in constructing a local version of compliance with international standards, highlighting the dichotomy of the term in national and international contexts. Thirdly, there are important implications for popular public opinions and discourses related to "tax havens".

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast is the second most common histologic subtype of breast cancer. A majority of ILCs are estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) with a diffuse growth pattern that is difficult to detect. Patients with ILC often present at a clinically advanced stage with a low recurrence risk score. The combination of “molecularly low risk” and “clinically high risk” attributed the unique diagnostic and treatment challenges of this type of breast cancer. Dedicated breast positron emission tomography with [18F]fluoroestradiol (FES-dbPET) with high sensitivity and spatial-resolution is a new functional imaging approach to characterize ER+ breast cancers. In this observational study, we hypothesized that FES-dbPET imaging followed by a radiomic-based analysis of the primary tumor might aid in-depth characterization of ILC. Methods: Patients with biopsy-confirmed locally advanced ILC were imaged with dbPET using 5 mCi of FES before treatment. The primary tumor 3D volume was segmented from the ipsilateral breast. The segmentation of the whole contralateral breast volume was also obtained. Standardized uptake values (SUVs), background uptake values (BPUs), and radiomic features were computed. The top 9 radiomic features were selected for further analysis using the “Maximum Relevance – Minimum Redundancy” (mRMR) machine learning algorithm. Spearman rank correlation and Wilcoxon rank-sum test were performed to assess the relationship between imaging measurements and tumor characteristics, such as size and growth. All statistical analysis was performed using Python v 3.9 with Pandas v. 0.23.0, Numpy v. 1.21.0, Pingouin v. 0.4.0, Scipy v. 1.7.0, MatPlotLib v. 2.2.2, and Seaborn v. 0.11.1 packages to execute calculations and construct figures. P-values with α= 0.05 were calculated and reported for all measurements to establish the level of statistical significance. Results: A cohort of 15 ILC patients was included in this analysis. A total of 107 radiomic features were analyzed. A total of 12 radiomic features showed a statistically significant correlation with MRI tumor size, while only one radiomic feature correlated with Ki67 (p-value < 0.05). The tumor-background ratio (TBR) showed weak and insignificant correlation trends with tumor characteristics. No other significant correlations were found. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a whole-tumor methodology to characterize the early stage primary ILC, offering more in-depth information relating imaging features to tumor characteristics. Shape (4) and intensity (2) features, as well as non-uniformity (6) and gray-level zone emphasis (1) features from the textural analysis exhibited promising trends in characterizing ILC with respect to MRI tumor size and Ki67. Due sample size limitations, a larger cohort study is needed to verify the initial findings.

This paper examines consumer preferences regarding men’s underwear and aimed to assist the owner of the Skidmark brand with recommendations how to improve existing product and to extend product portfolio. Primary and secondary data was used in this study to overview the industry and to identify market trends and consumers preferences. Two data collection activities are discussed, ten one-on-one interviews and one focus group which revealed consumer’s reactions and feedback regarding Skidmark exciting and proposed products. Recommendations for production, price and promotion are given; limitations of the study discussed.