Cooperative banks: What do we know about competition and risk preferences?

In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis the discussion on preventive regulatory policies has generally overlooked the role of different business models and goals. Credit institutions with mutual objectives are a case in point that is the object of this study, which focuses on the relationship between competition and financial stability in European cooperative banking between 2006 and 2014. Our results show that there exists a hump-shaped relationship between market power and stability, particularly in the loan market. Interestingly, we also find that, diversification in assets and liabilities significantly increases cooperative banks’ solvency

Anderson localization of a Tonks-Girardeau gas in potentials with controlled disorder

We theoretically demonstrate features of Anderson localization in the Tonks-Girardeau gas confined in one-dimensional (1D) potentials with controlled disorder. That is, we investigate the evolution of the single particle density and correlations of a Tonks-Girardeau wave packet in such disordered potentials. The wave packet is initially trapped, the trap is suddenly turned off, and after some time the system evolves into a localized steady state due to Anderson localization. The density tails of the steady state decay exponentially, while the coherence in these tails increases. The latter phenomenon corresponds to the same effect found in incoherent optical solitons

Significant contribution to total mass from very small glaciers

A single large glacier can contain tens of millions of times the mass of a small glacier. Nevertheless, very small glaciers (with area ≤1 km<sup>2</sup>) are so numerous that their contribution to the world's total ice volume is significant and may be a notable source of error if excluded. With current glacier inventories, total global volume errors on the order of 10% are possible. However, to reduce errors to below 1% requires the inclusion of glaciers that are smaller than those recorded in most inventories. At the global scale, 1% accuracy requires a list of all glaciers and ice caps (GIC, exclusive of the ice sheets) larger than 1 km<sup>2</sup>, and for regional estimates requires a complete list of all glaciers down to the smallest possible size. For this reason, sea-level rise estimates and other total mass and total volume analyses should not omit the world's smallest glaciers. In particular, upscaling GIC inventories has been common practice in sea level estimates, but downscaling may also be necessary to include the smallest glaciers

Thermoelectrical manipulation of nanomagnets

We investigate the interplay between the thermodynamic properties and spin-dependent transport in a mesoscopic device based on a magnetic multilayer (F/f/F), in which two strongly ferromagnetic layers (F) are exchange-coupled through a weakly ferromagnetic spacer (f) with the Curie temperature in the vicinity of room temperature. We show theoretically that the Joule heating produced by the spin-dependent current allows a spin-thermo-electronic control of the ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic (f/N) transition in the spacer and, thereby, of the relative orientation of the outer F-layers in the device (spin-thermo-electric manipulation of nanomagnets). Supporting experimental evidence of such thermally controlled switching from parallel to antiparallel magnetization orientations in F/f(N)/F sandwiches is presented. Furthermore, we show theoretically that local Joule heating due to a high concentration of current in a magnetic point contact or a nanopillar can be used to reversibly drive the weakly ferromagnetic spacer through its Curie point and thereby exchange couple and decouple the two strongly ferromagnetic F-layers. For the devices designed to have an antiparallel ground state above the Curie point of the spacer, the associated spin-thermionic parallel-to-antiparallel switching causes magneto-resistance oscillations whose frequency can be controlled by proper biasing from essentially DC to GHz. We discuss in detail an experimental realization of a device that can operate as a thermo-magneto-resistive switch or oscillator.Comment: This paper, published in J. Appl. Phys. 107, 123706 (2010), is an expanded version of arXiv:0710.5477 (8 pages, 12 figures, two additional authors and experimental section added

DC spin generation by junctions with AC driven spin-orbit interaction

An unbiased one-dimensional weak link between two terminals, subjected to the Rashba spin-orbit interaction caused by an AC electric field which rotates periodically in the plane perpendicular to the link, is shown to inject spin-polarized electrons into the terminals. The injected spin-polarization has a DC component along the link and a rotating transverse component in the perpendicular plane. In the adiabatic, low rotation-frequency regime, these polarization components are proportional to the frequency. The DC component of the polarization vanishes for a linearly-polarized electric field.Comment: published versio

Vela spila : preliminarna analiza starijeneolitičkih i mezolitičkih naslaga iz sonde istražene 2004. godine

Naslage u “sondi” h x 5-7 površine oko 3-4 m² odlikuju se pravilnim sedimentiranjem i razmjerno brojnim arheološkim materijalom. Najstariji u ovome radu pobliže opisan materijal pripada mezolitiku, njegovu mlađem razvojnom stupnju, tijekom kojega je stanovništvo gotovo u potpunosti okrenuto moru, odnosno prehrani namirnicama morskoga podrijetla. Grob iz sloja 12 jedinstven je i zasad najstariji primjer mezolitičkog ukapanja poznat na istočnoj obali Jadrana. Za slojeve br. 8 i 7 smatramo da predstavljaju prijelazno razdoblje tijekom kojega mezolitički pomorci s apulijske na istočnu obalu prenose nov način cijepanja kamena, a postupno i ostale elemente “neolitičkoga paketa”. U slojevima od br. 6 do 4 bilo je moguće izdvojiti sva tri razvojna stupnja impresso-kulture

Possible Implications of Two Management Types in Olive Groves on Plant Diversity

To evaluate the impact of two predominant management types (mowing vs. tilling) in olive groves on plant diversity, we have surveyed olive groves at ten localities in the surroundings of Šibenik (Dalmatia, Croatia). Among the surveyed groves, 12 were managed by tilling and 11 were managed by mowing. Altogether 323 taxa from 207 genera and 58 families were recorded. The families with the highest numbers of taxa were Fabaceae, Poaceae, Cichoriaceae and Asteraceae. Mowed olive groves were significantly richer in flora (280 taxa) in relation to the tilled ones (181 taxa), with 138 taxa in common to the both management types. An analysis of the life forms showed the domination of therophytes (54.18%) and the phytogeographycal analysis showed that the most frequent floral element was Mediterranean (46.13%). Mowed olive groves almost exclusively contained endemic and endangered species while the invasive alien plant taxa were recorded mostly in the tilled olive groves. Mowing seems as much better management practice from the standpoint of the nature conservation. Based on its floristic composition and richness, tillage seems to completely remove the nursing effect that olive groves can provide for the dry grasslands listed in the Annex I of the Habitat Directive, which are otherwise, in open spaces without grazing exposed to disappearing through the process of secondary succession