Commercial property prices and bank performance

We seek to assess the effect of changes in commercial property prices on bank behaviour and performance in a range of industrialised economies, extending the existing micro literature on bank performance. The results suggest that, consistent with macro-level studies, commercial property prices have a marked impact on the behaviour and performance of individual banks. The signs found are consistent with a view that commercial property provides important forms of collateral that are perceived by banks to reduce risk and encourage lending. Such an impact exists even when conventional independent variables determining bank performance are included. Moreover, there is evidence that the magnitude of this impact is related to the size of the bank, the direction of commercial property price movements, and regional factors. The results have implications for risk managers, regulators and monetary policy makers. Notably, they underline the crucial relevance of commercial property prices as a macroprudential variable that warrants close scrutiny by the authorities. They also highlight the need to develop indicators of individual bank exposure to the property market that could help to calibrate the potential impact of changes in prices in stress tests

Legal Professional Privilege: Is It Absolute?

Legal Professional Privilege ('LPP') is deeply rooted in the common law and has even been described as a right of a constitutional nature. In the recent decision of the Three Rivers case (2005), Lord Scott described LPP as an 'absolute right', subject only to the well established crime / fraud exception. In another decision, Taylor CJ opined that once LPP is established, it is not subject to any further balancing exercise. In contrast, the Canadian Supreme Court refused to adopt the same approach and decided to subject LPP to the same proportionality exercise as any fundamental constitutional right. This article explores the scope of LPP and argues that the Canadian approach should be preferred. While the Canadian approach seems to have been endorsed by the Court of Final Appeal in a recent disciplinary appeal, it criticises the Court of Final Appeal for having swung the pendulum too far by adopting a relatively loose standard to allow LPP to be abrogated. Finally, it explores how the Court should approach an application for a warrant to conduct covert surveillance under the newly adopted Interception of Communication and Surveillance Ordinance 2005 when such covert surveillance may interfere with LPP.published_or_final_versio

Time and Organizational Learning: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

This paper examines the time dimensions of organizational learning. While several recent studies have addressed aspects of time in relation to organizational learning, the topic of time has received little attention in reviews of the field, and this promising domain of research is fragmented. The objective of this paper is to bring these dispersed conceptualizations and findings together and to provide a more solid conceptual foundation for the time dimensions of organizational learning as a new research avenue. Three sets of mechanisms are discerned: concerning time as duration; the timing of organizational learning; and the role of the past, present and future in organizational learning. Each of these perspectives offers unique insights, which when integrated can help map new directions for future research

Effect of various carbon and nitrogen sources on cellulose synthesis by Acetobacter lovaniensis HBB5

The effect of various carbon and nitrogen sources on cellulose production by Acetobacter lovaniensis HBB5 was examined. In this study, glucose, fructose, sucrose and ethanol as carbon source and yeast extract, casein hydrolysate and ammonium sulphate as nitrogen source were used. Among the carbon sources, glucose gave the highest yield, followed by fructose, sucrose and ethanol. Besides, among the nitrogen sources, yeast extract gave the highest yield, followed by casein hydrolysate and ammonium sulphate. In Hestrin-Schramm (HS) medium that contained 2% (w/v) glucose and 0.5% yeast extract, bacterial cellulose production was 0.040 g/l (dry weight) after 7 days. Morphological view of A. lovaniensis HBB5 strain and the bundle structure of cellulose which were produced at optimum conditions were monitored by scanning electron microscopy. From TLC analysis, glucose was found as the main content of the bacterial cellulose monosaccharide. Moreover, the chemical structure of the bacterial cellulose was examined by FT-IR and NMR spectrophotometers. FT-IR and NMR spectrophotometry revealed that, all the bacterial cellulose samples were highly crystalline and were of cellulose type I.Key words: Acetobacter, cellulose, production, characterization

Molecular gas in nearby powerful radio galaxies

We report the detection of CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emission from the central region of nearby 3CR radio galaxies (z$<$ 0.03). Out of 21 galaxies, 8 have been detected in, at least, one of the two CO transitions. The total molecular gas content is below 10$^9$ \msun. Their individual CO emission exhibit, for 5 cases, a double-horned line profile that is characteristic of an inclined rotating disk with a central depression at the rising part of its rotation curve. The inferred disk or ring distributions of the molecular gas is consistent with the observed presence of dust disks or rings detected optically in the cores of the galaxies. We reason that if their gas originates from the mergers of two gas-rich disk galaxies, as has been invoked to explain the molecular gas in other radio galaxies, then these galaxies must have merged a long time ago (few Gyr or more) but their remnant elliptical galaxies only recently (last 10$^7$ years or less) become active radio galaxies. Instead, we argue the the cannibalism of gas-rich galaxies provide a simpler explanation for the origin of molecular gas in the elliptical hosts of radio galaxies (Lim et al. 2000). Given the transient nature of their observed disturbances, these galaxies probably become active in radio soon after the accretion event when sufficient molecular gas agglomerates in their nuclei.Comment: 6 pages, including 2 figures,in "QSO Hosts and Their Environments", ed. I. Marquez, in pres

What is the experience of being readmitted to hospital for people 65 years and over? A review of the literature

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Aim: To explore the experience of readmissions to hospital from the perspective of older adults. Methods: A systematic review with an interpretative approach was conducted. CINAHL, Embase, and Medline were consulted in October 2016. Results: Six studies with data collection between 2004 and 2013 fit the relevant criteria and included a total of 68 older adults. Two overarching themes were developed with relevant subthemes: Experience during initial hospital stay distinguished by exclusion (Feeling powerless; Feeling disregarded; Perception of readiness for discharge); Patients experience uncertainty following discharge (Perception that community-based services are not available or adequate; Perception that hospital is the only safe place; Difficulty in adapting to a “new normal”). Conclusions: A cycle of exclusion exists during the initial hospital stay and beyond. The experience of being readmitted to hospital is challenging, mostly perceived as negative, and, existential, emotional and psychological well-being is not satisfactorily addressed by healthcare professionals

Children, gender and sexual exploitation: A quantitative analysis of adminstrative data

In this case study, we focus on our recent large-scale quantitative analysis of 9,042 children who accessed sexual exploitation support services provided by a major UK charity. In doing so, our aim is to discuss the practicalities of one important but often neglected source of data for research into child sexual exploitation: data that are routinely generated and collected by non-academic institutions in the course of their everyday business activities. There are considerable practical, logistical and ethical benefits to using such secondary data. Child sexual exploitation is a highly sensitive and largely hidden issue that is notoriously difficult to research. Consequently, we benefitted greatly from the unobtrusive approach, increased reach and cost-effectiveness, that our research design permitted. Nonetheless, there can also be substantial challenges associated with working with secondary data not generated for research purposes. Among the key barriers we encountered were lack of clarity around key terms and fundamental parameters, missing data and difficulties finding appropriate baselines against which to interpret our results. We will discuss approaches we took to mitigate these challenges and to ensure high-quality research outputs. Finally, we will reflect on some more general lessons both for the providers and the users of non-research oriented secondary data. Their application, we contend, could help ensure more effective research collaborations in future

Patient centred diagnosis: sharing diagnostic decisions with patients in clinical practice.

Patient centred diagnosis is best practised through shared decision making; an iterative dialogue between doctor and patient, whichrespects a patient’s needs, values, preferences, and circumstances. Shared decision making for diagnostic situations differs fundamentally from that for treatment decisions. This has important implications when considering its practical application. The nature of dialogue should be tailored to the specific diagnostic decision; scenarios with higher stakes or uncertainty usually require more detailed conversation

Studies on spatial pattern of NDVI over Indiaand its relationship with rainfall, air temperature, soil moisture adequacy and ENSO

The changes in spatial distribution of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are studied for different seasons in India for the period 1982 to 2000. The inter-annual variability of All India NDVI (AINDVI) has been studied and related to rainfall, air temperature, soil moisture adequacy, Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and Nino 3 Sea Surface Temperature (Nino 3 SST) to understand the influence of these variables on vegetal cover. The results show that the NDVI is high during the south-west (June to September) monsoon and retreat (October and November) seasons where in major crop seasons Kharif and Rabi take place over India. The trend of AINDVI is increasing and displayed higher values during La Niña and lower in El Niño episodes. The correlation between rainfall and NDVI of All India is not significant on monthly basis (+0.13) but it is more prominent when the cumulative annual amounts of rainfall are involved (+0.61). NDVI responded very well to the variations of soil moisture adequacy (SAD) which enumerates the strongest correlation (+0.73) of crop performance with NDVI. This significant strong correlation inferred that SAD can be taken as the indicator for the NDVI variations rather rainfall. The linear regression analysis of AINDVI and the ENSO indices revealed the strong impact of sea surface temperatures than SOI on vegetation pattern over India

Studies on spatial pattern of NDVI over india and its relationship with rainfall, air temperature, soil moisture adequacy and ENSO

The changes in spatial distribution of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are studied for different seasons in India for the period 1982 to 2000. The inter-annual variability of All India NDVI (AINDVI) has been studied and related to rainfall, air temperature, soil moisture adequacy, Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and Nino 3 Sea Surface Temperature (Nino 3 SST) to understand the influence of these variables on vegetal cover. The results show that the NDVI is high during the south-west (June to September) monsoon and retreat (October and November) seasons where in major crop seasons Kharif and Rabi take place over India. The trend of AINDVI is increasing and displayed higher values during La Niña and lower in El Niño episodes. The correlation between rainfall and NDVI of All India is not significant on monthly basis (+0.13) but it is more prominent when the cumulative annual amounts of rainfall are involved (+0.61). NDVI responded very well to the variations of soil moisture adequacy (SAD) which enumerates the strongest correlation (+0.73) of crop performance with NDVI. This significant strong correlation inferred that SAD can be taken as the indicator for the NDVI variations rather rainfall. The linear regression analysis of AINDVI and the ENSO indices revealed the strong impact of sea surface temperatures than SOI on vegetation pattern over India