Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In emerging economies, the effect of excessive credit growth and non - performing loans on banking crisis

Crediting in the banking sector plays an important role for developed and developing countries, which have built their financial system more on banking rather than capital markets. For this reason, it is monitored continuously by public authorities and measures are taken to control credit supply in rapid credit increases. In addition, strict provisioning rules for non-performing credits are under practice for non-performing loans. It is well known that in emerging markets strong credit growth in a given period are likely to end up with financial crisis. In this study, the effects of credit-based variables on bank crises in the emerging 23 economies were investigated. In particular, the effects of credits and non-performing loans on crises are focussed. Additionally, bank system specific and macroeconomic control variables are included in the analysis. Findings show that private sector lending by banks and non-performing loans reflecting credit risk do not explain bank crises. Instead, it has been determined that the provisions for non-performing loans by banks and the credit gap that is considered to reflect the systemic risk in the banking system affect crises.
The influence of heteroatom functionalized ligands on catalytic activity of amino carbene complexes

THE INFLUENCE OF HETEROATOM-FUNCTIONALIZED LIGANDS ON CATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF AMINO CARBENE COMPLEXES GÜLCEMAL, Süleyman PhD Thesis in Chemistry Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Bekir ÇETİNKAYA August 2010, 166 pages The main aim of this research was to prepare a series of Pd(II) and Rh(I) based complexes incorporating donor functional NHC ligand and determine if the resulting compounds possessed more efficient catalytic behavior. This thesis consists of three parts. The first part is a concise review on donor heteroatom functionalized-N-heterocyclic carbene (dfNHC) ligands and their complexes. In part II the experimental details were explained. In part III the synthesis, characterization and catalytic studies of oligoether-, ferrocenyl phosphaneand ferrocenyl-substituted NHC derivatives were presented. Metal-NHC complexes have recently attracted considerable attention as possible alternatives for the widely used phosphine complexes in homogeneous catalysis. Because, P-C bond can easily be cleaved at catalytic conditions (high temperature) and P atom is easily was oxidized with oxygen of the air. In contrast, metal-NHC complexes are very stable toward moisture and oxygen of air. Consequently, excess ligands are not required in reaction conditions. The ligand precursors prepared all contain a bulky benzyl-benzimidazole core unit, but incorporate different donor-functional tethers within R group.
Contributions of community-based tourism to the socio-economic well-being of local communities: the case of Pulau Redang Island, Malaysia

ABSTRACT This research discusses the role of local stakeholder participation in developing sustainable community-based tourism (CBT). A survey collected in Pulau Redang, Kuala Terengganu from carefully recruited community-based tourism stakeholders is discussed to further solidify the theoretical underpinnings of stakeholder participation and community-based tourism nexus. Majority of the research participants indicated that the likelihood of them being included in the decision-making process shows improvement. In connection to this, types of community participation, strengths, motivations, and barriers to participation in community-based tourism development endeavours are highlighted. Research outcomes revealed two major influential factors for the existence of better community participation, namely, the presence of strong (CBT) organizations and committed leadership with growing support. The study concludes by providing with suggestions that further improve community-based tourism stakeholder participation in developing sustainable tourism from the perspective of the remote Island destination.
Distraction by unintentional recognition: Neurocognitive mechanisms and modulations by ageing

Previous research has suggested that aging is associated with increased distractibility and impaired intentional retrieval processes. I investigated potential age differences in the effect of unintentional recognition of to-be-ignored distractor images on intentional recognition decisions to targets words, and the brain processes that are associated with unintentional versus intentional recognition. This research involved comparing old (60-76) and young (18-24) adults' performance and brain activity during a Memory Stroop task, analysing behavioural data (accuracy and reaction times), event-related potentials (ERPs) and induced and evoked EEG oscillations in the theta and alpha bands. At the behavioural level, the older group exhibited the expected poorer intentional recognition memory for targets, but the biasing effect of unintentional distractor recognition on target decisions was very similar across age groups. In the ERP domain, the older group showed much reduced or absent ERP effects related to 'familiarity' and 'recollection' that were strongly expressed in the younger group. Furthermore, the older group showed a reversal of typical old/new ERP effects for targets, suggesting that they engaged a qualitatively different neurocognitive process during intentional recognition. This effect may reflect a compensatory mechanism that is used as part of an adaptive strategy to address age-related declines in the brain processes used by young adults to solve the task. However, broadly similar patterns of old/new differences in theta and alpha power were found across both age groups for both intentional target recognition and unintentional distractor recognition. Overall, the results show novel evidence of how the neural correlates of recognition memory are affected by aging and intentionality, and suggest that future research should employ both ERP and oscillation analysis of EEG data to better understand neurocognitive aging.
PENGARUH PERTUMBUHAN KREDIT TERHADAP NON PERFORMING LOAN STUDI KASUS PADA PD.BPR LPK LEUWILIANG KABUPATEN BOGOR

Besarnya pertumbuhaan kredit yang disalurkan akan menentukan keuntungan yang diperoleh. Akan tetapi tidak berarti bahwa jumlah kredit yang disalurkan besar akan memberikan keuntungan yang besar pula, hal ini akan berdampak pada tingkat Non Performing Loan Ban. Semakin besar kredit yang disalurkan oleh Bank maka pertumbuhan kredit juga semakin bertambah. Pertumbuhan kredit yang baik akan meningkatkan pertumbuhan keuntungan Bank berupa pendapatan bunga Bank. Oleh karena itu pengelolaan kredit harus dilakukan dengan sebaik-baiknya mulai dari perencanaan jumlah kredit, penentuan suku bunga, prosedur pemberian kredit, analisis pemberian kredit, sampai dengan pengendalian kredit yang macet. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui Pengaruh Pertumbuhan Kredit terhadap Non Performing Loan Pada PD.BPR LPK Leuwiliang Kabupaten Bogor.
Hearing Improvement after Myringoplasty in Sudanese Patients

Myringoplasty is a reconstructive operation of the tympanic membrane to prevent recurrent ear infection and improve the hearing. Objective: to assess the hearing improvement after myringoplasty and factors that might affect the outcome. Patients and methods: Fifty one patients who had undergone myringoplasty were taken on this prospective study. They were subjected to clinical and audiological examination by a questionnaire, and the results of pure tone audiogram were analyzed. Results: Most of the patients (51 %) were in the age group 0-20 years. Male to female ratio was 1:1.12. The common cause of perforation was chronic ear infection and its commonest size was subtotal (34 patients=66.7%). Most of the patients had conductive hearing loss (47 patients=92.2 %), while mixed hearing loss was found in 4 patients (7.8%). Postauricular approach was used in18 patients (35.3%) and had higher hearing threshold improvement (94.4%). Underlay technique and temporalis fascia graft both had a higher hearing threshold improvement. The overall hearing threshold improvement was 80.4% and air-bone gap had decreased in 80.4%. Conclusion and recommendations: in this study myringoplasty was mainly performed in young age, had best hearing threshold improvement and better outcome in female, temporalis fascia, underlay technique and postauricular approach. We recommend for further studies conducted with more number of patients and long-time follow up after myringoplasty for assessment of hearing improvement.
Attitude Toward Electronic Information Resources Usage Among Afghan Students In Malaysia

The usage of electronic information resources in university libraries is increasing and expanding, enhancing its functionality as an information provider and self-learning tool among students. The attitude toward the use of electronic information resources can predict the future use of electronic information resources among users. The objective of this study is to examine attitude toward electronic information resources among Afghan international university students in Malaysia. In this study, Technology Acceptance Model was used to examine the effect of five variables that is perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, facilitating conditions and electronic information resources complexity on attitude toward electronic information resources use. Data were collected through an online survey from 117 Afghan international university students and was analyzed using descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation and multiple regressions analysis using SPSS version 23. This study found strong and positive relationship between four variables namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, and facilitating conditions. This study also found that three variables were found to be significant predictors namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and facilitating conditions. However, two other variables namely subjective norm and electronic information resources complexity were not significant. The implication of the study is that universities should provide long term and compulsory electronic information
Stabilization Policy, Infrastructure Investment, and Welfare in a Small Open Economy

Abstract Using a two-sector neoclassical growth model in an open economy setting with heterogeneous agents, this paper studies the distributional effects and welfare implications of a joint monetary and fiscal policy response to public infrastructure expansion in emerging market economies. The results show that fiscal stabilization policy is critical for achieving fiscal sustainability and price stability. With joint support of monetary and fiscal policy, government infrastructure investment provides significant welfare gains to the economy, and the choice of fiscal instruments has major distributional effects across agents: saving households accrue the highest welfare gains with new bond issuance, while hand-to-mouth consumers are better off when non-distorting taxes are adjusted. These potential tradeoffs in welfare due to households’ differing responses to infrastructure expansion have important implications for policy making.
EFFECT OF MULTIMODAL STRATEGIES ON THE LEARNING OF LISTENING SKILLS AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOKOTO METROPOLIS, SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA

This research investigated the effect of multimodal strategies of teaching listening skills in Junior Secondary Schools in Sokoto metropolis, Sokoto State. The objective was to find out if using multimodal strategies to teach listening skills will enhance their learning when compared to traditional method. The population was 59,265 JSS students in Sokoto Metropolis. Stratified sampling technique was used to select the schools while random sampling technique was used to select one intact class from each school. Thus, the sample size was 394 JSS1 students. The instrument used for collecting data after treatment was Listening Level Test (LLT). Thirty questions were designed with options A, B and C. A group of 10 questions were set relating to each of the listening type: attitudinal, informative and appreciative. The validity of the instrument was determined by some Junior Secondary School English teachers and language education experts in the Department of Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. Pilot study was conducted on twenty students through test-re-tests method to determine the reliability of the study. The results were correlated using Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient formula which produced a reliability index of 0.83. The data collected after administration of the treatment was analyzed using mean, standard deviation to answer the research questions and t-test to test the null hypotheses of the research. It was found that multimodal strategies enhanced the listening comprehension skills of the subjects. The researchers recommended that teachers should use multimodal strategies to teach listening skills in junior secondary schools so as to help students perform very better in listening skills.
Digestibility of energy and caloric value in nursery pigs fed commercially available lipids

ABSTRACT Objective The objective was to determine the DE of various lipids and compare these values with predicted values based on published equations. Materials and Methods Pigs (480) weaned at 24 d of age were fed a common diet for 7 d after which they were fed a basal or lipid-based diet for 28 d. Lipids (7.13%) were added in place of the basal diet, and all diets were pelleted and offered ad libitum. Fecal samples were collected on d 25 from 2 pigs per pen and pooled for subsequent analysis. Apparent total-tract digestibility of GE of the diet was determined by the indirect method and the DE content of each lipid source using the difference procedure. Results and Discussion The DE for butter fat, canola oil, coconut oil, fish oil, flaxseed oil, lard, olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, and tallow was 8,911, 9,474, 9,380, 9,464, 8,584, 8,648, 9,606, 8,304, 9,979, and 8,071 kcal/kg, respectively. Using these values and the chemical composition of each lipid, the best fit prediction equation was DE, kcal/kg = 10,267 − (110.3 × FFA, %) − (41.8 × C16:0, %) − (39.7 × C18:0, %) − (98.0 × unsaturated:saturated ratio) + (6.4 × iodine value), SE = 164, R2 = 0.97, P = 0.01. Implications and Applications The determined DE herein were approximately 12% greater than predicted based on published equations, indicating the refining of published prediction equations is needed. These results indicate that DE of lipids can vary depending on their fatty acid composition, which consequently affects pig performance.
Board of directors specificities in the context of Portuguese corporate governance and corporate law

The corporate governance is a mechanism to protect investors in the markets around the world. This study analyses the board of directors’ specificities in the context of Portuguese Corporate Governance, and study the corporate governance effect of Portuguese listed firms on firm performance. The results show that the Latin Model (Two-Tier Model) is the most (least) adopted by Portuguese firms. The percentage of executive members is higher than that of non-executive members. In the year of 2014, women held only 9.5% of positions on board, which is very low. The results concerning the relationship between corporate governance and firms’ performance are not consensual. Although some studies find evidence of a positive relation between the two variables, others find no relationship. With this study, we contribute to the state of art of corporate governance in a country which investigation is still scarce.
Does Economic Freedom Determine the Control of Corruption

The article aims to examine whether or not the economic freedom (EFI) matters for the control of corruption (COR). The relationship between variables of interest is explored in three panels. The first overall panel contains 113 countries; the second contains 36 developed countries, while the third panel contains 77 developing countries in the time span ranging from 2002 to 2016. The findings of linear dynamic panel data estimators confirm the positive impact that is found to be higher in terms of developed countries. Granger causality test indicates a bidirectional relationship between EFI and COR in overall sample as well as in the case of both, developed and developing countries. ARDL framework reports a significant positive relationship between variables of interest in both, short- and the long-term. Therefore, the overall conclusion indicates that policy makers need to enable and create legal and institutional basis for securing economic freedom in order to improve the control of corruption
Creatine transporter knockout mice (Slc6a8) show increases in serotonin-related proteins and are resilient to learned helplessness

Approximately 20% of adults in the U.S. will experience an affective disorder during their life. While it is well established that serotonin (5-HT) is a crucial factor in mood, impaired cellular bioenergetics are also implicated. Creatine (Cr), through the Cr/Phospho-Cr (PCr) shuttle, maintains high ATP concentrations in the neuron. This system may be implicated in the etiology of affective disorders, as reduced Cr, PCr, and ATP are often seen in the brains of affected patients. To address this issue, Cr transporter (Crt) deficient male mice (Slc6a8−/y) and female mice heterozygous for Crt expression (Slc6a8+/−) were used to evaluate how a Cr deficient system would alter affective-like behaviors. Slc6a8−/y and Slc6a8+/− mice had more escapes and faster escape latencies in learned helplessness, indicating a potential resilience to behavioral despair. Elevated zero maze and tail-suspension test performance matched that of wildtype mice, however. Slc6a8−/y mice have increased 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid content in the hippocampus and striatum and increased monoamine oxidase protein and tryptophan hydroxylase-2 protein content in the hippocampus, while serotonin levels are unchanged. This indicates an increase in 5-HT turnover. Our results indicate that Cr plays a complex role in affective disorders and 5-HT neurotransmission, warranting further investigation.
Rising Innovative City-Regions in a Transitional Economy: A Case Study of ICT Industry in Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Abstract City-regions have become the focused locations for economic development and policy intervention for innovation activities. As existing literature mostly studied innovative city-regions of the Global North, there is an urgent need to examine the emerging latecomers, particularly those from the transitional economies. In this paper, Cluj-Napoca, Romania has been used a case to study the rising innovative city-regions in the transitional economies, their role in the global innovation networks, and the development of domestic innovation capability. The paper's specific objectives are to evaluate the current status of its regional innovation cluster in the global network, its structural strength and weakness, and the effectiveness of institutional management. A multi-case analysis approach has been used to analyze domestic companies and multinational corporations that are key actors in local innovation system. In addition to the secondary data, 23 interviews were conducted with local business, university researchers, and government officials. The main findings are: first, while Romania as an economy is still categorized as a factor-driven economy, sectors of some city-regions in the country, such as the ICT sector, has started to move towards the innovation-driven economy closely articulated in the global innovation network, especially in Europe's innovation network of software development. Second, while the region can be characterized as to have the relatively strong global pipelines, i.e., linkages with outside players, it has weak local buzz, i.e., local networks. Third, multinational corporations that have generally been attracted to the region due to the overseas-returnee community who are interested in linking Cluj-Napoca to the global innovation network. Local companies have equally benefited from the returning IT talents. One particular challenge is that although start-ups were emerging in Cluj-Napoca, the city-region was not effective at retaining these start-ups by providing opportunities for their further growth. Fourth, like any other city-region, Cluj-Napoca has been under the institutional influence at multiple levels, from the European Union (EU), the national government, the regional government, the county government, to the municipal government. However, close university-industry connection remains a challenge. It is recommended that the city-region should consider a variety of approaches to enhance the local buzz, specifically the social networks and innovation milieu of the city-region. Moreover, it needs to provide more resources for start-ups and do a better job in the retention of the start-ups.
Observation and Attribution of Temperature Trends Near the Stratopause From HALOE

This study considers time series of temperature versus pressure, T(p), from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) across the stratopause region, where the effects of radiative forcings from the greenhouse gases (CO2 and H2O) and from ozone are most pronounced. Trend analyses of HALOE T(p) values for 1993–2005 are for six levels from 2.0 to 0.3 hPa with a vertical resolution of about 4 km and for eight latitude zones from 65°S to 65°N. The analyses account for the forcing effects from the 11‐yr solar cycle. HALOE trends at 2.0 hPa are of the order of −1.0 K/decade across the tropics and subtropics but then become smaller (−0.5 K/decade) at the middle latitudes. Near‐global T(p) trends are of order −0.5 K/decade but have a minimum of −0.2 K/decade at 1.0 hPa; they are clearly negative in the southern but slightly positive in the northern hemisphere. The combined radiative forcings from CO2, H2O, and ozone vary between −0.4 and −0.7 K/decade for 1993–2005 and are hemispherically symmetric. The HALOE temperature trend and total radiative cooling profiles differ from those reported from observations and calculations for 1980–2000, mainly because the ozone trends changed from clearly negative in the 1980s through mid‐1990s to slightly positive during the time of HALOE. Trends at low latitudes for the tracer, methane (CH4), increase from 2% to 4%/decade from 50 to 10 hPa and then to ~6%/decade by 5 hPa. Analyses of time series of CH4 across the stratopause reveal subseasonal scale variability within the northern hemisphere that reduces the significance of the T(p) trends.