Evaluation of the Factors Leading to Loan Default at Equity Bank, Kenya

This paper gives an evaluation of the causes of loan default among the customers of Equity bank. A sample of 80 respondents out of 240 respondents which comprised of both the bank managers and loan defaulters at Equity Bank was used in the study. This represented 33% of the target population. The population was stratified into bank managers and loan defaulters while loans were stratified into performing and nonperforming loans. Data was collected using two sets of questionnaires which were administered separately to the target population. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel Data Analysis Tools. In the evaluation of the causes of nonperforming loans, the paper considered the contribution of the factors such as the banks’ lending practices as well as the economic backgrounds and financial decision making among loans recipients at Equity Bank Ltd. Microsoft Excel Data Analysis Tools were used to establish the relationship between amounts of loan advanced to an individual and the amount of loan defaulted. The paper established that the major factors influencing nonpayment of borrowed loans at Equity Bank Ltd were both internal and external. The paper recommended that banks’ credit policies be reviewed to match the highly volatile economic trends within financial markets with a strong emphasis on institutional appraisals on credit worthiness. Keywords: Loans, Bank, Default

Lending Rates and its impact on Economic Growth in Kenya

After the liberalization of interest rates in Kenya in 1992, there has been an upward trend in the interest rates. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the factors influencing lending interest rates and their impacts on the general performance of the economy. This study examined various factors influencing lending interest rates and their impacts on the general performance of the economy. Specifically, it: investigates the effects of international interest rates on local lending interest rates in Kenya and determines the effects of budget deficit financing on lending interest rates. Annual secondary time series data spanning from 1980 to 2010 obtained from the World Bank annual reports, IMF annual reports, annual government publications and reports and other relevant publications were used. This data was parametrically analyzed using EVIEWS to present descriptive and inferential statistics. Unit roots, cointergration tests and the Error Correction Model were carried out to investigate the dynamic behavior of the model. Results of the study indicates that the impact of budget deficit and inflation on interest rates in Kenya were positive and significant. This implies that any attempt to control the rise in interest rates must pay attention to expansionary macroeconomic policies and reduce the budget deficit. Such policies should address structural and non-structural causes of inflation. For instance, it involves enacting policies to reduce the cost of doing business in Kenya. Keywords: Lending rates, Economic growth and Error Correction Mode

Learning from artificial intelligence researchers about international business implications

Artificial intelligence is a dynamic and emerging form of technological innovation that has numerous ramifications for international business managers. The aim of this article is to obtain commentary from researchers about the role artificial intelligence will play in the global arena. This includes asking questions about how it will affect internationalization processes and whether it will lead to more international collaboration. Well‐known researchers provide advice on what international business managers should do in terms of staying competitive but also how they can integrate learning from artificial intelligence into their business operations. Lastly, suggestions for future research regarding the interplay between international business and artificial intelligence are provided

The role of terrestrial productivity and hydrology in regulating aquatic dissolved organic carbon concentrations in boreal catchments

Abstract The past decades have witnessed an increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in the catchments of the Northern Hemisphere. Increasing terrestrial productivity and changing hydrology may be reasons for the increases in DOC concentration. The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of increased terrestrial productivity and changed hydrology following climate change on DOC concentrations. We tested and quantified the effects of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (RE) and discharge on DOC concentrations in boreal catchments over three years. As catchment characteristics can regulate the extent of rising DOC concentrations caused by the regional or global environmental changes, we selected four catchments with different sizes (small, medium and large) and landscapes (forest, mire and forest-mire mixed). We applied multiple models: Wavelet coherence analysis detected the delay-effects of terrestrial productivity and discharge on aquatic DOC variations of boreal catchments; thereafter, the distributed-lag linear models (DLMs) quantified the contributions of each factor on DOC variations. Our results showed that the combined impacts of terrestrial productivity and discharge explained 62% of aquatic DOC variations on average across all sites, whereas discharge, GPP and RE accounted for 26%, 22% and 3%, respectively. The impact of gross primary production (GPP) and discharge on DOC changes was directly related to catchment size: GPP dominated DOC fluctuations in small catchments (1 km2). The direction of the relation between GPP and discharge on DOC varied. Increasing RE always made a positive contribution to DOC concentration. This study reveals that climate change-induced terrestrial greening and shifting hydrology change the DOC export from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. The work improves our mechanistic understanding of surface water DOC regulation in boreal catchments and confirms the importance of DOC fluxes in regulating ecosystem C budgets.Peer reviewe

The role of terrestrial productivity and hydrology in regulating aquatic dissolved organic carbon concentrations in boreal catchments

Abstract The past decades have witnessed an increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in the catchments of the Northern Hemisphere. Increasing terrestrial productivity and changing hydrology may be reasons for the increases in DOC concentration. The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of increased terrestrial productivity and changed hydrology following climate change on DOC concentrations. We tested and quantified the effects of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (RE) and discharge on DOC concentrations in boreal catchments over three years. As catchment characteristics can regulate the extent of rising DOC concentrations caused by the regional or global environmental changes, we selected four catchments with different sizes (small, medium and large) and landscapes (forest, mire and forest-mire mixed). We applied multiple models: Wavelet coherence analysis detected the delay-effects of terrestrial productivity and discharge on aquatic DOC variations of boreal catchments; thereafter, the distributed-lag linear models (DLMs) quantified the contributions of each factor on DOC variations. Our results showed that the combined impacts of terrestrial productivity and discharge explained 62% of aquatic DOC variations on average across all sites, whereas discharge, GPP and RE accounted for 26%, 22% and 3%, respectively. The impact of gross primary production (GPP) and discharge on DOC changes was directly related to catchment size: GPP dominated DOC fluctuations in small catchments (1 km2). The direction of the relation between GPP and discharge on DOC varied. Increasing RE always made a positive contribution to DOC concentration. This study reveals that climate change-induced terrestrial greening and shifting hydrology change the DOC export from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. The work improves our mechanistic understanding of surface water DOC regulation in boreal catchments and confirms the importance of DOC fluxes in regulating ecosystem C budgets.Peer reviewe

Learning from artificial intelligence researchers about international business implications

Artificial intelligence is a dynamic and emerging form of technological innovation that has numerous ramifications for international business managers. The aim of this article is to obtain commentary from researchers about the role artificial intelligence will play in the global arena. This includes asking questions about how it will affect inter-nationalization processes and whether it will lead to more international collaboration. Well-known researchers provide advice on what international business managers should do in terms of staying competitive but also how they can integrate learning from artificial intelligence into their business operations. Lastly, suggestions for future research regarding the interplay between international business and artificial intelligence are provided

Transmission of mitochondrial DNA following assisted reproduction and nuclear transfer

Review of the articleMitochondria are the organelles responsible for producing the majority of a cell's ATP and also play an essential role in gamete maturation and embryo development. ATP production within the mitochondria is dependent on proteins encoded by both the nuclear and the mitochondrial genomes, therefore co-ordination between the two genomes is vital for cell survival. To assist with this co-ordination, cells normally contain only one type of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) termed homoplasmy. Occasionally, however, two or more types of mtDNA are present termed heteroplasmy. This can result from a combination of mutant and wild-type mtDNA molecules or from a combination of wild-type mtDNA variants. As heteroplasmy can result in mitochondrial disease, various mechanisms exist in the natural fertilization process to ensure the maternal-only transmission of mtDNA and the maintenance of homoplasmy in future generations. However, there is now an increasing use of invasive oocyte reconstruction protocols, which tend to bypass mechanisms for the maintenance of homoplasmy, potentially resulting in the transmission of either form of mtDNA heteroplasmy. Indeed, heteroplasmy caused by combinations of wild-type variants has been reported following cytoplasmic transfer (CT) in the human and following nuclear transfer (NT) in various animal species. Other techniques, such as germinal vesicle transfer and pronuclei transfer, have been proposed as methods of preventing transmission of mitochondrial diseases to future generations. However, resulting embryos and offspring may contain mtDNA heteroplasmy, which itself could result in mitochondrial disease. It is therefore essential that uniparental transmission of mtDNA is ensured before these techniques are used therapeutically

Phosphorus nutrition of potatoes

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient required by potatoes and all other plants. Potato plant roots readily absorb P in the form of phosphate from the soil ( water) solution. The absorbed phosphate moves upward and downward in the plant. Phosphorus-deficient potato plants transfer P from older tissues to actively growing, younger tissues. Symptoms of P deficiency include darker green, stunted, spindly leaves with younger leaflets that turn upward or curl. With prolonged deficiency, plants are small and have reduced leaf area

Virtual Field Studies: Conducting Studies on Public Displays in Virtual Reality

Field studies on public displays can be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. We investigate the feasibility of using virtual reality (VR) as a test-bed to evaluate deployments of public displays. Specifically, we investigate whether results from virtual field studies, conducted in a virtual public space, would match the results from a corresponding real-world setting. We report on two empirical user studies where we compared audience behavior around a virtual public display in the virtual world to audience behavior around a real public display. We found that virtual field studies can be a powerful research tool, as in both studies we observed largely similar behavior between the settings. We discuss the opportunities, challenges, and limitations of using virtual reality to conduct field studies, and provide lessons learned from our work that can help researchers decide whether to employ VR in their research and what factors to account for if doing so

Systematic bioinformatic analysis of expression levels of 17,330 human genes across 9,783 samples from 175 types of healthy and pathological tissues

Our knowledge on tissue- and disease-specific functions of human genes is rather limited and highly context-specific. Here, we have developed a method for the comparison of mRNA expression levels of most human genes across 9,783 Affymetrix gene expression array experiments representing 43 normal human tissue types, 68 cancer types, and 64 other diseases. This database of gene expression patterns in normal human tissues and pathological conditions covers 113 million datapoints and is available from the GeneSapiens website