Media releases

• Brock University research explains why there have been no Wall Street reforms

  Wednesday, April 20, 2016 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: R00087 – 20 April 2016

  There was a public outcry. There was a financial industry commission. Yet few changes have been made on Wall Street as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.

  Brock University Assistant Professor Trish Ruebottom recently co-authored a paper on Wall Street reform that examined industry executives to understand and explain how they maintained their positions after the crisis and why the needed industry changes didn’t happen.

  In researching testimony from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and several media reports where executives spoke on behalf of their banks, Ruebottom and her co-authors found that executives spoke in a way that reaffirmed their authority and undermined their culpability in the crisis. They did so by talking about their own expertise and concern for stakeholders, while challenging the same of government and regulatory bodies.

  Not much has happened, even after a huge outcry for reforms, Ruebottom says, adding that the research shows in order for reforms to take place, another governing body needs to claim the authority.

  “Consumers themselves need to have trust in another body that’s not the Wall Street executives,” she says.

  Ruebottom says the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be able to take on the authority necessary to challenge Wall Street executives, but this is yet to be proven.

  “The reforms can only happen if there is independent leadership and the ability to challenge the authority,” she says.

  When asked about what voters need to take into consideration in the upcoming American presidential election, Ruebottom talks about the need to look for a plan to make the reforms.

  “Bernie Sanders has been positioning himself as the independent candidate, but this is only one piece of the puzzle. He has talked about how he would not put a Goldman-Sachs person in charge of the regulatory bodies, but he hasn’t talked about who he would put in,” she says.

  Ruebottom says one key takeaway from her research is that there needs to be a space for counter-narratives wherever people have positions of power.

  Assistant Prof. Trish Ruebottom recently recorded a podcast with the Goodman School of Business discussing her research. The full audio is available for download at Soundcloud.com/brock-university
   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca,
  905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock University tops post-secondary Twitter ranking

  Tuesday, April 19, 2016 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE
  R00086
  19 April 2016
  Brock University — Communications & Public Affairs

   

  For the second straight year, Brock University has been recognized as having the best Twitter account among all Canadian universities.

  Analytics firm Engagement Labs named its honour roll of the top-performing colleges and universities using social media, noting Brock’s responsiveness makes it a leader on Twitter.

  “The home of the badgers, Brock University, backed up their first-place ranking on Twitter for Canadian higher education with excellent response strategies,” Engagement Labs said in a news release detailing the rankings. “Brock made the grade when it took the time on Twitter to respond to questions from their followers, making sure to give timely and informative updates to their inquiring minds.”

  Brock also performed well on the two other social platforms ranked, coming in at No. 5 for its Instagram use and No. 12 on Facebook out of the top 30 post-secondary institutions.

  “Brock University has an amazing story to tell, and we consider social media one of the best ways to share our story,” said Gord Hunchak, executive director of Marketing and Communications. “It’s great to see the efforts of our social media teams recognized as leaders among Canadian post-secondary institutions.”

  Cate Talaue, interim social media co-ordinator, said social media builds and strengthens the University’s relationship to its audiences.

  “Our main purpose on social media is to engage students while they’re on campus and when they become alumni, as well as being their resource for all things Brock,” she said.

  She said a variety of different platforms are utilized to reach past, present and future Badgers.

  The @BrockUniversity Twitter account has more than 35,000 followers and the Facebook page also has 35,000. The @BrockUniversity Instagram account has 13,300 followers and continues to grow. Another social platform growing in engagement is @BrockUni on Snapchat.

  “The mortal enemy of social media is the status quo, so if you want to engage your audience, it means re-thinking your strategy and experimenting with new tools and messages,” Talaue said. “At Brock we don’t think social media needs to be formal or stiff. Being part of the Brock community means being welcoming, inclusive, warm, fun and full of Badger pride — all of which our platforms speak to.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca,
  905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases