The role of commercial real estate investments in the banking crisis of 1985-92

This article examines the role of commercial real estate investments in the banking crisis of 1985-92, an unprecedented period during which more than 1,300 banks failed. Bank failures are fundamentally important because of the unique role played by financial institutions in the provision of business credit. We discover three striking features of banks failing during this period. First, commercial real estate was only a factor in the bank failures of 1988-92. Second, construction loans played a much larger role in bank failures than permanent loans, and the relationship is strongest with construction loans booked during 1983-1985. Third, other ex ante risk measures are systematically related to banking failure throughout the sample period. These results suggest that risk-seeking banks brought about their own demise and commercial real estate, especially construction lending, was one of the vehicles.bank; bank failure; commercial bank; commercial real estate; construction lending; real estate

Parallelism between Naufragios and The Odyssey : the lack of truth in Cabeza de Vacas text

La lectura de Naufragios, de Cabeza de Vaca, tradicionalmente ha sido la de una crónica colonial que muestra no solo las dificultades que enfrentó el explorador español y sus experiencias en el Nuevo Mundo, sino también como un retrato de los paisajes y los habitantes de la región. Este trabajo pretende mostrar los paralelos que existen entre este texto y la Odisea con el propósito de sugerir que no solo es un texto documental, sino también de ficción escrito con el propósito de ganar favor real.Traditionally critics have read Cabeza de Vacas Naufragios as a colonial crónica that, not only portrays the difficulties that the Spanish explorer faced during his journey through this region of the New World, but also as a documentary of the landscape and the native population. This study pretends to show the numerous parallels between this book and the Odyssey. The purpose of it is to show that Naufragios was written as a documental text but also as a work of fiction with the intention to gain royal favors.Fil: Cole, George. Texas Tech Universit

Incorporating concern for relative wealth into economic models

This article develops a simple model that captures a concern for relative standing, or status. This concern is instrumental, in the sense that individuals do not get utility directly from their relative standing, but, rather, the concern is induced because their relative standing affects their consumption of standard commodities. The article investigates the consequences of a concern for relative wealth in models in which individuals are making labor/leisure decisions. The analysis shows how individuals' decisions are affected by the aggregate income distribution and how the concern for relative wealth can generate behavior that can be interpreted as conspicuous consumption when wealth is not directly observable.Consumption (Economics) ; Wealth

Lithostratigraphy and depositional environment of the Archaean Nsuze Group, Pongola Supergroup

M.Sc. (Geology)Please refer to full text to view abstrac

Optimal and Robust Neural Network Controllers for Proximal Spacecraft Maneuvers

Recent successes in machine learning research, buoyed by advances in computational power, have revitalized interest in neural networks and demonstrated their potential in solving complex controls problems. In this research, the reinforcement learning framework is combined with traditional direct shooting methods to generate optimal proximal spacecraft maneuvers. Open-loop and closed-loop feedback controllers, parameterized by multi-layer feed-forward artificial neural networks, are developed with evolutionary and gradient-based optimization algorithms. Utilizing Clohessy- Wiltshire relative motion dynamics, terminally constrained fixed-time, fuel-optimal trajectories are solved for intercept, rendezvous, and natural motion circumnavigation transfer maneuvers using three different thrust models: impulsive, finite, and continuous. In addition to optimality, the neurocontroller performance robustness to parametric uncertainty and bounded initial conditions is assessed. By bridging the gap between existing optimal and nonlinear control techniques, this research demonstrates that neurocontrollers offer a flexible and robust alternative approach to the solution of complex controls problems in the space domain and present a promising path forward to more capable, autonomous spacecraft

The British labour movement: A syllabus for study classes

https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism/1178/thumbnail.jp

Feasibility Study of Variance Reduction in the Logistics Composite Model

The Logistics Composite Model (LCOM) is a stochastic, discrete-event simulation that relies on probabilities and random number generators to model scenarios in a maintenance unit and estimate optimal manpower levels through an iterative process. Models such as LCOM involving pseudo-random numbers inevitably have a variance associated with the output of the model for each run, and the output is actually a range of estimates. The reduction of the variance in the results of the model can be costly in the form of time for multiple replications. The alternative is a range of estimates that is too wide to realistically apply to real-world maintenance units. This research explores the application of three different methods for reducing the variance of the output in the Logistics Composite Model. The methods include Common Random Numbers, Control Variates, and Antithetic Variates. The differences in the 95% confidence intervals were compared between the variance reduction techniques and the original model to determine the degree of variance reduction. The result is a successful variance reduction in the primary output statistics of interest using the application of the Control Variates technique, as well as a methodology for the implementation of Control Variates in LCOM