The Cypriot Banking Sector During the Financial Crisis and Its Reforms: An Examination in Light of the Case of the UK

The article focuses on the role of banks in the financial crisis and compares the UK and Cyprus, since the banking sector of the latter was founded on the former’s model, because of its colonialism by the British Empire. However, Cyprus financial sector has been influenced by its accession to the EMU, while the UK remains outside Euro-zone. The article begins with the theoretical background; namely the ‘Too-Big-to-Fail’ theory, the deficient banking corporate governance and their ineffective supervision, and its reflection in the UK and Euro crisis. Afterwards, the measures imposed by the UK government to its banking sector and the corresponding EU financial measures are discussed. A brief evaluation of the causes of the crisis in Cyprus follows. The article concludes that Cyprus can follow the UK example and focus its efforts on the banks’ supervision, to improve its financial industry and avoid a future financial crisis

The crystal structure of Haloferax volcanii proliferating cell nuclear antigen reveals unique surface charge characteristics due to halophilic adaptation

Background: The high intracellular salt concentration re quired to maintain a halophilic lifestyle poses challenges to haloarchaeal proteins that must stay soluble, stable and functional in this extreme environment. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a fundamental protein involved in maintaining genome integrity, with roles in both DNA replication and repair. To investigate the halophilic adaptation of such a key protein we have crystallised and solved the structure of Haloferax volcanii PCNA (HvPCNA) to a resolution of 2.0 Å. Results: The overall architecture of HvPCNA is very similar to other known PCNAs, which are highly structurally conserved. Three commonly observed adaptations in halophilic proteins are higher surface acidity, bound ions and increased numbers of intermolecular ion pairs (in oligomeric proteins). HvPCNA possesses the former two adaptations but not the latter, despite functioning as a homotrimer. Strikingly, the positive surface charge considered key to PCNA's role as a sliding clamp is dramatically reduced in the halophilic protein. Instead, bound cations within the solvation shell of HvPCNA may permit sliding along negatively charged DNA by reducing electrostatic repulsion effects. Conclusion: The extent to which individual proteins adapt to halophilic conditions varies, presumably due to their diverse characteristics and roles within the cell. The number of ion pairs observed in the HvPCNA monomer-monomer interface wasunexpectedly low. This may reflect the fact that the trimer is intrinsically stable over a wide range of salt concentrations and therefore additional modifications for trimer maintenance in high salt conditions are not required. Halophilic proteins frequently bind anions and cations and in HvPCNA cation binding may compensate for the remarkable reduction in positive charge in the pore region, to facilitate functional interactions with DNA. In this way, HvPCNA may harness its environment as opposed to simply surviving in extreme halophilic conditions

Storytelling in Consultancy

Storytelling has been widely studied in the organizational context, however there is limited research in the area of external consultancy. This study seeks to fill that gap and provides empirical evidence about consultants’ perceptions and experiences of storytelling in their business and training roles. It is an exploratory qualitative study which adopts the narrative inquiry strategy, a method that is still used to a limited extent in business and leadership studies. Primary information about the subject was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews of 10 consultants, who provided their consultancy services in more than 30 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. It is found that consultants consider storytelling to be a powerful tool that can (1) Connect People (2) Encourage Self-Discovery (3) Transform a Theoretical Concept into Compelling Pictures (4) Hold the Attention of the Audience and Encourage Conversation, (5) Inspire the Audience to Take Action and (6) be used for Manipulation. It is concluded that storytelling is used in every stage of a consultancy engagement; from the initial meeting, to the identification and analysis of the problem, and in the recommendation and implementation of a solution. Further, consultants consider that the effectiveness of storytelling can be determined both by certain characteristics that a story should have, but also by the traits of the storyteller. Storytelling can be learned and improved, and the results of this study can be used for the development of educational material and workshops about storytelling in consultancy

STUDY OF CONSENSUS PROTOCOLS AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE DELEGATED BYZANTINE FAULT TOLERANCE (DBFT) ALGORITHM

Nowadays, blockchain is one of the most popular and innovate technologies over the world. Although this technology appears for first time in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency, in recent years, a lot of researchers and industries from different fields such as banking, financial, supply chain management, etc. have given more involved than ever before. The blockchain is implemented in decentralized and distributed ledgers in peer-to-peer (p2p) networks where non-trusting peers can implement digital asset transactions without the need of central authority. Then, other peers in the network, according specific rules determined by the network, validate these transactions, insert them in the block and append the block in the chain (ledger). The key contribution for the proper operation of the blockchain is the consensus protocols. Through these protocols, all the peers in the network or the majority of them, they have to reach an agreement for a specific block in order to insert it in the chain based on different blockchains rules. In this master thesis, we will analyze in depth the general architecture of the blockchain and various consensus protocols that implemented in different blockchains in order to be able to improve the Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (DBFT) consensus algorithm, which is used in the NEO blockchain technology. Finally, a development of a reputation mechanism is needed based on the improvement of the DBFT algorithm in order to measure the reputation of the peers for a specific day

Critical Flavor Number in the Three Dimensional Thirring Model

We present results of a Monte Carlo simulation of the three dimensional Thirring model with the number of fermion flavors N_f varied between 2 and 18. By identifying the lattice coupling at which the chiral condensate peaks, simulations are be performed at couplings g^2(N_f) corresponding to the strong coupling limit of the continuum theory. The chiral symmetry restoring phase transition is studied as N_f is increased, and the critical number of flavors estimated as N_{fc}=6.6(1). The critical exponents measured at the transition do not agree with self-consistent solutions of the Schwinger-Dyson equations; in particular there is no evidence for the transition being of infinite order. Implications for the critical flavor number in QED_3 are briefly discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Data Envelopment Analysis as a Complement to Marginal Analysis

The consideration in the present study is mainly conceptual. The objective is to show how Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) can be used to reveal the true input-output relations in an industry. In the estimation of a production function it is assumed that all firms use the existing technology efficiently. However, in the real world the observed firms produce homogeneous outputs with differences in factor intensities and in managerial capacity. Hence, inefficiencies are hidden in the estimated production functions. In order to overcome this drawback of the parametric approach and to reveal the true nature of the input-output relations in production, given the available technology, the DEA approach is applied. In this study DEA is applied in order to select the farms that utilize efficiently the existing technology, allowing the estimation of a production function that reveals the true input-output relations in sheep-goat farming, using farm accounting data from a sample of 108 sheep-goat farms.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Returning home and Leaving Again: A Phenomenological Investigation of a Sojourner’s Experience

Two studies were conducted for this project. The goal of the first study was to describe the structure of the experience of individuals who have returned home after their stay abroad. The goal of the second study was to describe the structure of the experience of individuals who have returned to the country in which they studied, after having returned home. To accomplish these goals, phenomenological interviews were conducted with seventeen participants. In the first study, nine participants were interviewed in their own country after they had been abroad for their studies. In the second study, eight participants were interviewed; these individuals were back in the country in which they studied after going back home for a period of time. Participants in the first study responded to the question of “Please describe your experience of returning home after your study abroad.” Participants in the second study responded to the question: “Now that you are back in the U.S. after being at home, what are some specific experiences that stand out for you?” Questions were followed by probes as needed for the purpose of clarification. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and the data analyzed. The analysis was done in the context of research groups. In these groups, members read the transcripts with the goal being to understand the participant’s re-entry experience. These groups provided a more varied interpretation of the data than if the researcher had read the transcripts alone. By moving back and forth between parts of each transcript and the whole of the transcript, thematic meanings began to emerge. By comparing separate transcripts to each vi other, groups of meaning units began to emerge to become a theme. The name given to the theme conveys the essence of the entire group. Some themes have a sub-theme, and all taken together, describe the experience of the participant. Themes that emerged were of a bipolar nature indicating that participants’ experience ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. Themes that emerged in the first study were contextualized (grounded) by the theme of Cultural Comparison. From this ground, three bipolar themes emerged: Shock/Adjustment, Freedom/Restriction, and Changing/Static. Internal Change and External Change were sub-themes to the theme of Changing/Static. The themes that emerged in the second study also were grounded by the theme of Cultural Comparison. From this ground, five bipolar themes emerged: Conflict/Peace, Reality/Idealization, Freedom/Restriction, Changing/Static, and Comfort/Discomfort. Frustration and Ambivalence were sub-themes for Conflict; Adjustment and Identity were sub-themes for Changing/Static. There were no sub-themes that emerged from any of the remaining themes. The implication of the findings is that there is much to be learned of the experience of returning home after an extended stay abroad. The scarcity of research in this area leads to the conclusion that returning home has been underestimated and not typically seen as a difficult transition process. The findings of this study indicate otherwise, and illustrate the difficulties and frustrations experienced by many re-entering sojourners. This leads us to the famous question Thomas Wolf once asked – can you go home again

Studies On Adenosine-mediated Neuromodulation In The Enteric Nervous System

Although the role of adenosine in the inhibition of acetylcholine release from myenteric neurons of the small intestine is firmly established, the classification and characteristics of such receptors have not been adequately described. Unlike in the central nervous system, it is not clear if heterogeneity of adenosine receptors exists, or if nucleoside-mediated inhibition of the release of other neuromediators occurs in the enteric nervous system. The studies reported in this thesis were directed at these questions.;Adenosine recognition sites were characterized in ligand binding studies at purified myenteric varicosities. The receptor nature of the binding sites labelled by selective adenosine analogs is supported by the saturability of binding, the good correlation between binding affinity and biological activity (ie. inhibition of Ach release) as well as the potency of adenosine receptor antagonists in displacing their specific binding.;Evidence was obtained for the presence of a heterogeneous population of adenosine receptors on enteric nerve endings. The data is consistent with the presence of A{dollar}\sb1{dollar}-like adenosine receptors with affinity for both N{dollar}\sp6{dollar}- and 5{dollar}\sp\prime{dollar}- substituted adenosine analogs, as well as A{dollar}\sb2{dollar} adenosine receptors with affinity only for 5{dollar}\sp\prime{dollar}-N-ethylcarboxamide adenosine. The A{dollar}\sb2{dollar} receptor may be present in higher concentrations on enteric nerve endings.;Adenosine mediated inhibition of tachykinin release was demonstrated using cholecystokinin (CCK-8) and field-stimulated responses of atropinized guinea pig ileal strips. The data obtained indicates that the same adenosine receptor inhibits the release of both acetylcholine and tachykinins.;The presence of substantial quantities of alpha-neurokinin, substance P, met-enkephalin, leu-enkephalin and gastrin releasing polypeptide (GRP) in this synaptosomal preparation suggested its possible utility in functional studies on modulation of release of endogenous peptides by nucleosides. The finding of both potassium evoked- and GRP mediated-release of several neuropeptides from crude synaptosomal suspensions support this contention

Polycationic Arene Chromium Tricarbonyl Complexes

The formation of charged arenes bound to metals may provide materials with interesting electrical properties and such materials may exhibit molecular recognition with specific molecules. Polysubstituted benzyl-alcohols and benzyl-polyols were converted to the corresponding chromium carbonyl complexes. Reactions with PBrs, BBr3 and HBr converted these into the corresponding bromides, which were then treated with DABCO (1,4 diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) and N-mono-substituted DABCO derivatives to give polycationic arene chromium complexes. Certain patterns of substitution produced complexes which show restricted rotation. The chromium tricarbonyl unit can be used as a probe for the electron density on the ring, since the carbonyl bands in the infra-red spectrum change in frequency, depending on the electronic effects of the groups on the ring. The more electron-withdrawing the groups, the higher the frequency of the carbonyl bands. By observing these shifts in the carbonyl bands, the counter-ions of the polycationic arene chromium tricarbonyl complexes were shown to interact to a different extent with the polycationic complexes. A model is advanced to account for these observations. The binding strength of these polycationic complexes with various anions in host-guest type chemistry was investigated using the method of NMR titration. Changes in the chemical shift are observed with different concentrations of counter-ions and by varying the concentrations of host and guest it is possible to determine the binding constant and the stoichiometry of binding. A comparison was made between the complexed and uncomplexed systems as hosts with the same guest molecules