Regulations, Governance, and Resolution of Non-Performing Loan: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

How do banks resolve a severe bad loan problem in a capital-constrained, low-income economy when a government bailout is not an option? We address this question by examining new evidence from a sharp decline in bad loan ratios in a panel of conventional commercial banks in Bangladesh. On the aggregate level, the bad loan ratio in this market has dropped from 41% in 1999 to only 10% in 2012. We find that at a micro level, this dramatic improvement is associated with bank management quality and internal governance that were substantially enhanced during a decade of large-scale regulatory reforms. The bank-level findings persist even after controlling for market monitoring, bank- and industry-level factors, and macroeconomic variables. Both economic growth and financial development paved the way for banks operating in this macroeconomic environment to reduce non-performing loans over time

Enhancing IPsec Performance in Mobile IPv6 Using Elliptic Curve Cryptography

Internet has become indispensable to the modern society nowadays. Due to the dynamic nature of human activities, the evolving mobile technology has played a significant role and it is reflected in the exponential growth of the number of mobile users globally. However, the characteristic of the Internet as an open network made it vulnerable to various malicious activities. To secure communication at network layer, IETF recommended IPsec as a security feature. Mobile IPv6 as the successor of the current mobile technology, Mobile IPv4, also mandated the use of IPsec. However, since IPsec is a set of security algorithm, it has several well-known weaknesses such as bootstrapping issue when generating a security association as well as complex key exchange mechanism. It is a well-known fact that IPsec has a high overhead especially when implemented on Mobile IPv6 and used on limited energy devices such as mobile devices. This paper aims to enhance the IPsec performance by substituting the existing key exchange algorithm with a lightweight elliptic curve algorithm. The experiments managed to reduce the delay of IPsec in Mobile IPv6 by 67% less than the standard implementation

Spiritual Intelligence (SI) in the eyes of Muslim academicians: a qualitative exploratory study

Spiritual intelligence (SI) has various definitions. However, most research has maintained that spiritual intelligence is concerned with the integration of the inner life of mind and spirit with the outer life. It is important for a human being to have a balance between the inner self and the outer life to carry on with their life in the society. Spiritual intelligence and its components have not been thoroughly investigated from Islamic perspective. Hence, this study aims to explore views of Muslim academicians on the concept of spiritual intelligence, its components and inclusion in Muslim education. The qualitative exploratory study used open-ended interviews of two academicians for collecting data. The interviewees were purposefully selected from an Islamic university in Malaysia and they had religious and psychological backgrounds and more than fifteen-year experience in the field of Usulu Eddin (Theological Teaching). In addition, they also had published articles on Spiritual Intelligence in various reputed journals. The thematic analysis of their interviews showed that SI has no distinctive definition and components determined by the Muslim scholars. The respondents have stressed that the SI definitions and components should be based on the main sources of Islamic education (i.e. Quran and Sunnah) and approaches of human personality development. Moreover, they clarified that the Western perspective on IS differs from Islamic perspective. They suggest to include SI in Muslim education system to enhance students’ spirituality. Further qualitative and quantitative studies are recommended to be carried out in order to have a better understanding of SI

Clinical significance of BRAF mutations in metastatic melanoma

Forty to eighty percent of melanoma tumors have activating mutations in BRAF although the clinical importance of these mutations is not clear. We previously reported an analysis of BRAF mutations in metastatic melanoma samples from 68 patients. In this study, we correlated patient baseline characteristics, prognostic factors, and/or clinical outcomes with the presence of BRAF mutations. No significant differences were observed in age, gender, location of primary melanoma, stage at the diagnosis, and depth of primary tumor between patients with and without BRAF mutations. Melanomas harboring BRAF mutations were more likely to metastasize to liver (P = 0.02) and to metastasize to multiple organs (P = 0.048). Neither time to progression to stage IV nor overall survival were associated with BRAF mutations. In conclusion, we observed no significant differences in clinical characteristics or outcomes between melanomas with or without BRAF mutations. Although there was an increased frequency of liver metastasis and tendency to metastasize to multiple organs in tumors with BRAF mutations, there was no detectable effect on survival. Future prospective studies should include analysis of whether BRAF mutations in melanoma tumors correlate with an increased tendency to metastasize to liver or to multiple organs

Structural performance of isolated steel beam-to-column connection

The present study attempts to determine the main characteristics of a new proposed steel connection retrofitted by an elastomeric isolator. Its stiffness, strength, and ductility are investigated. The elastomeric isolators were designed according to the Japanese Society of Base Isolation with the aim of improving the energy dissipation of the connection. Experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the moment rotation (M-θ) curve of the proposed connection as well as of fully-rigid (SidePlate) and semi-rigid (flush end-plate) connections. The behaviour of beams with flexible and fixed-end connections was also studied by classical methods of analysis. The initial stiffness and classification index of the connections were identified by an analytical calculation in compliance with the methods suggested by Eurocode 3 Part 1-8 and ANSI/AISC 360-10. The results confirmed that the new proposed connection can be classified as a flexible connection in terms of its initial stiffness; however, it developed 90% of the plastic moment capacity of a connected beam. Besides, it showed that the isolated connection did address the AISC drift angle capacity requirement of θSD for a special moment frame (SMF)

Exploring ways to provide education in conflict zones: implementation and challenges

Millions of children in conflict-affected countries are deprived of their fundamental rights to education. Using the qualitative exploratory research method, this study aims to explore ways of providing education to such children, and to identify the challenges facing their implementation. It also presents two short case studies conducted on Palestinian and Syrian refugees residing in Malaysia to explore their perceptions towards their education in their current situation and future orientation. The results show that despite the educational programmes initiated by various organizations, the affected community continue to face numerous political, financial, psychological, economic, administrative, or institutional challenges. The analysis of the interviews data revealed several categories and themes, among them related to the participants’ current situation, educational needs, roles of different members of the community involved, and the challenges. The study recommends increasing efforts to meet the educational demands of the huge number of children out of schools. ********************************************************** Jutaan kanak-kanak di negara-negara bergolak sedang dinafikan hak asasi mereka untuk mendapatkan pendidikan. Melalui keadah penyelidikan kualitatif eksploratori, kajian ini meninjau kaedah-kaedah untuk memberikan pendidikan kepada golongan kanak-kanak ini, dan untuk mengenal pasti cabaran-cabaran berkaitan pelaksanaannya. Kajian ini turut membentangkan dua kajian kes pendek yang telah dijalankan ke atas pelarian Palestin dan Syria yang kini menetap di Malaysia untuk meneroka persepsi mereka terhadap pendidikan dalam situasi semasa mereka serta pandangan masa hadapan. Hasil dapatan menunjukkan bahawa walaupun program-program pendidikan telah diwujudkan oleh banyak pihak, golongan pelarian berterusan mengalami cabaran-cabaran dari segi politik, kewangan, psikologi, ekonomi, pentadbiran, serta perubahan institusi. Analisis ke atas temu bual menunjukkan kategori-kategori dan tema-tema, antaranya berkaitan pengalaman partisipan mengenai keadaan semasa, keperluan-keperluan pendidikann, peranan pelbagai anggota komuniti yamg terlibat, serta cabaran-cabaran. Kajian ini mencadangkan supaya usaha-usaha dapat ditingkatkan untuk memenuhi keperluan pendidikan kanak-kanak keciciran yang bilangannya amat ramai

Severe loading assessment of modern and new proposed beam to column connections

The performance of two different steel beam to column connec-tions known as SidePlateTM and a new proposed connection by seismic loading and progressive collapse were investigated in this research. Seismic performance evaluated included consideration of interstory drift angles and flexural strengths based on 2010 AISC Seismic Provisions while investigation of progressive collapse was conducted through satisfaction of acceptance criteria by rotational capacities of the connections provided in UFC 4-023-03 guideline. The results indicated that both SidePlate and the new proposed moment connection were capable of achieving adequate rotational capacity and developing full inelastic capacity of the connecting beam. Also, an excellent performance was exhibited by the con-nections in terms of keeping the plastic hinges away from the connection and exceeding interstory drift angle of 0.06 rad with-out fracture developments in beam flange groove-welded joints. Based on results, it was concluded that the SidePlate and the new proposed connection possess sufficient stiffness, strength and ductility to be classified as rigid, full-strength and ductile connections

Evaluation of extreme load performance of pre-Northridge connections

Katastrofalne posljedice djelomičnog urušavanja apartmana Ronan Point 1968. i potresa u Northridgeu 1994. razotkrile su osjetljivost čeličnih okvira izloženih ekstremnim opterećenjima. Izvješća ovih dvaju katastrofalnih događaja pokazala su značajnu ulogu priključka nosač-stup gdje su se pretežno događala oštećenja. Numeričko i eksperimentalno istraživanje provedeno je u skladu sa 2010 AISC seizmičkim odredbama i UFC 4-023-03 smjernicama. Nisko ciklično ponašanje i rotacijski kapacitet proizlaze iz analize gdje je lom u blizini sučeonog zavara bio način otkazivanja uzoraka.Disastrous consequences of a partial collapse of the Ronan Point apartment in 1968, along with the 1994 Northridge earthquake, exposed the vulnerability of steel moment frames subjected to extreme loading. The reports of these two catastrophic events revealed the significant role of the beam-to-column connection where the damage was mainly formed. A numerical and experimental investigation was conducted in accordance with 2010 AISC Seismic Provisions and UFC 4-023-03 Guideline. An inadequate cyclic behaviour and rotational capacity resulted from the analysis where the fracture in the vicinity of groove welding was due to a poorly designed connection