Understanding credit risk in Norwegian real estate crowdlending : Analysis of credit quality among Norwegian real estate crowdlending borrowers across FundingPartner, Kameo and Monio

The Norwegian crowdlending industry has grown rapidly in the last decade, resulting in the emergence of several platforms of notable sizes. Regulations are lagging, and government instances are discussing incorporating EU directives. This thesis aims to investigate risk differences in credit classifications across Norwegian crowdlending platforms. We identify risk factors and analyze potential differences in risk related to loans issued by FundingPartner, Kameo and Monio. We analyzed differences both for the platforms overall and within the credit classifications. The results provide an overview of differences in credit assessment that may benefit the decisions of both lenders and policymakers. The analysis is based on a manually assembled data set containing loan data, financial statements and policy rates. Our empirical analysis uses three bankruptcy models to evaluate borrowers' credit risk based on financial statements. The results from the bankruptcy models are tested to ensure significance. Moreover, we integrate project-specific risk elements such as collateral, loan size, loan term and interest rates to explain the differences we discovered. We also consider actual default rates and check if they are consistent with our empirical results. Despite having equal credit classification, we discovered significant differences between borrowers of such loans. FundingPartner issued A-classified loans with significantly riskier borrowers than Monio, despite Monio rewarding their lenders with higher interest rates. Borrowers of Monio are overall the least risky, yet the platform hosts the riskiest borrowers in our sample. Kameo borrowers with D-classified loans are significantly less risky than Monio's. Furthermore, we observe considerable differences in the use of collateral to secure lenders in the event of default. Lastly, we compare our empirical findings against confirmed defaults.nhhma

Morris Jesup Spur and Rise north of Greenland – exploring present seabed features, the history of sediment deposition, volcanism and tectonic deformation at a Late Cretaceous/early Cenozoic triple junction in the Arctic Ocean

The narrow Morris Jesup Spur and an adjacent broader western rise extend 220 km into the Eurasia Basin from the shelf edge north of Greenland. We have used a hovercraft platform drifting with the sea to collect the first seismic reflection transect across an area postulated to be a former triple junction between the Greenland, Eurasian and North American plates. The narrow, flat-topped Morris Jesup Spur is a succession of west-dipping (? 3°) sediments overlying a basal volcanic unit truncated at the top by an unconformity. The Morris Jesup Rise is formed by intensely deformed sediments and volcanic rocks with a deformation front to the northwest. The basin between theMorris Jesup Rise and the Lomonosov Ridge has a sediment thickness of >3 km with a large submarine channel/levee complex in the upper part and repeated volcanic units present in the deeper stratigraphy below 1.0 sec. sub-bottom. Volcanism on the Morris Jesup Spur is considered to be Late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic in age, and continued into the late Miocene on the Morris Jesup Rise and possibly into early Oligocene in the SW Amundsen Basin. The western slope of the Morris Jesup Spur represented the continental slope north of Svalbard in the Late Cretaceous. A block which included the Morris Jesup Spur and Yermak Plateau rifted off during the initial opening of the Eurasia Basin and moved as part of Greenland until about Chron 22. The architecture of the Morris Jesup Rise is a result of plate convergence possibly including a former extensional plate boundary segment which connected the Gakkel spreading centre to the Hornsund Fault between Chron 22 and Chron 13. The Morris Jesup Rise may be a northern tectonic outlier of a more extensive Eurekan tectonic domain hidden below the Lincoln Sea continental shelf. The Morris Jesup Spur remained subaerial until latest Miocene and submergence of the spur most likely intensified the East Greenland Current.publishedVersio

Sediment deformation atop the Lomonosov Ridge, central Arctic Ocean: Evidence for gas-charged sediment mobilization

We have used a hovercraft platform drifting with the sea ice to acquire the first digitally recorded seismic reflection data transects across the Canada/Greenland (89°N-85°N) section of the Lomonosov Ridge, central Arctic Ocean. The flat-lying, laterally uniform Cenozoic sediment package on top of the ridge at 87°N, 60° W shows at least four sites with local seismic amplitude anomalies. The common feature is a column (<600 m wide) of partly discontinuous or chaotic bright reflection events at the center of a <1.5 km wide dome (amplitude <25 m) terminating at the seabed in a 8–12 m deep depression. The amplitude anomalies are interpreted as gas-charged fluid escape pipes marked by a pockmark at the seabed. Gas and fluids introduced from below have mobilized the overlying high porosity, low density Eocene bio-siliceous ooze causing the doming. The gas and fluids appear to originate from the top of rotated fault blocks and sub-basalt sediments of Mesozoic or older age deposited when the Lomonosov Ridge was part of the pre-Late Cretaceous continental margin north of Franz Josef Land.publishedVersio

In-Class Interaction and Students\u27 Motivation in Intensive Course Classes

This brief study is to see the relationship of peer interaction within class as well as the lecturer in-class attitude affected the students\u27 motivation and perception in a university education course where English is taught as a foreign language. The lecturers, each functioned as the language class instructor, managed a 100-minute-session in a class consisted of about twenty students ranged from 18 to 21 years old. The setting was the University of Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya in which a sort of matriculation program called Intensive Course becomes a compulsory subject for the freshmen. The hypothesis established confirmed that in-class lecturer\u27s attitude and the peer-interaction affect students\u27 motivation in learning, compared to the material content being exposed. A set of questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection and distributed to the sample of class participants of Intensive Course program. It was hoped that the result would contribute beneficial findings that confirm whether interactions happened fostered the learning motivation of the class participants and how it affected them. Result showed that the hypothesis was verified to some extent as the students under study stated that the quality of their peer interaction was one of the grounds that contributed security feeling they need to have in order to freely participate in the learning process without having had to fear of making mistakes. The other ground which is also crucial is the trait of the lecturers that motivate them to persistently continue learning English, found to be challenging to most. Such trait is characterized as being understanding and friendly toward students. It is then hoped that the teachers of English as a Foreign language would realize the importance of having necessary teaching personality that accentuate their classe

Speckle contrast optical tomography: A new method for deep tissue three-dimensional tomography of blood flow

A novel tomographic method based on the laser speckle contrast, speckle contrast optical tomography (SCOT) is introduced that allows us to reconstruct three dimensional distribution of blood flow in deep tissues. This method is analogous to the diffuse optical tomography (DOT) but for deep tissue blood flow. We develop a reconstruction algorithm based on first Born approximation to generate three dimensional distribution of flow using the experimental data obtained from tissue simulating phantoms

Brief communication: Effects of conditioned media from human platelet lysate cultured MSC on osteogenic cell differentiation in vitro.

Culturing mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in human platelet lysate (HPL) supplemented media can enhance their osteogenic differentiation potential. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that conditioned media (CM) derived from HPL-cultured MSC also have pro-osteogenic effects. Pooled CM was prepared from HPL-cultured human bone marrow MSC (BMSC) of multiple donors and applied on BMSC of different donors (than those used for CM preparation), with or without additional supplementation [HPL, fetal bovine serum (FBS)] and osteogenic stimulation. At various time-points, cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, osteogenic gene expression and in vitro mineralization were assessed. BMSC in standard unstimulated growth media served as controls. After 3-7 days, CM alone did not promote BMSC proliferation or ALP activity; supplementation of CM with HPL slightly improved these effects. After 2 and 7 days, CM alone, but not CM supplemented with HPL, promoted osteogenic gene expression. After 14 days, only CM supplemented with FBS and osteogenic stimulants supported in vitro BMSC mineralization; CM alone and CM supplemented with HPL did not support mineralization, regardless of osteogenic stimulation. In summary, CM from HPL-cultured BMSC promoted osteogenic gene expression but not in vitro mineralization in allogeneic BMSC even when supplemented with HPL and/or osteogenic stimulants. Future studies should investigate the role and relevance of supplementation and osteogenic induction in in vitro assays using CM from MSC

The effect of feedback during training sessions on learning pattern-recognition based prosthesis control

Human-machine interfaces have not yet advanced to enable intuitive control of multiple degrees of freedom as offered by modern myoelectric prosthetic hands. Pattern Recognition (PR) control has been proposed to make human-machine interfaces in myoelectric prosthetic hands more intuitive, but it requires the user to generate high-quality, i.e., consistent and separable, electromyogram (EMG) patterns. To generate such patterns, user training is required and has shown promising results. However, how different levels of feedback affect effectivity in training differently, has not been established yet. Furthermore, a correlation between qualities of the EMG patterns (the focus of training) and user performance has not been shown yet. In this study, 37 able-bodied participants (mean age 21 years, 19 males) were recruited and trained PR control over five days. Three levels of feedback were tested for their effectiveness: no external feedback, visual feedback and visual feedback with coaching. Training resulted in improved performance from pre-to post-test with no interaction effect of feedback. Feedback did however affect the quality of the EMG patterns where people who did not receive external feedback generated higher amplitude patterns. A weak correlation was found between a principal component, composed of EMG amplitude and pattern variability, and performance. Our results show that training is highly effective in improving PR control regardless of feedback and that none of the quality metrics correlate with performance. We discuss how different levels of feedback can be leveraged to improve PR control training

Serious gaming to generate separated and consistent EMG patterns in pattern-recognition prosthesis control

Pattern-Recognition (PR) control of upper-limb prosthetics has shown inconsistent results outside lab settings, which might be due to the inadequacy of users’ electromyogram (EMG) patterns. To improve the separability and consistency of their EMG, users can receive training. Conventional training uses an internal focus of attention as prosthesis users focus on the muscle contractions of their (phantom) hand together with explicit learning processes facilitated by a coach guiding the user. In this study we investigated if an alternative training paradigm using an external focus of attention exploiting implicit learning processes based on serious gaming without a coach could lead to more separable and consistent EMG. Able-bodied participants (N = 25; mean age 22 years, 13 females) were recruited and followed conventional or game training for five days. In conventional training, participants performed the Motion Test thrice daily and received coaching on how to adapt their muscle contractions. In game training, participants controlled an avatar using a direct mapping from electrode to avatar direction. The participants utilized implicit learning processes, by exploring which muscle contractions made the avatar go in which directions. Performance in both groups was evaluated by using the Motion Test in a pre/post-test design. Training resulted in improved performance, with no differences between training paradigms. Participants who followed game training showed 51% more separated EMG patterns. EMG pattern consistency did not change over training. It was concluded that serious game training using an external focus of attention and implicit learning can be considered as a viable alternative to conventional training.</p

Hvor lønnsomt er det å drive avtalepraksis? En studie av markedet og lønnsomhetsforhold for privatpraksiser innen psykologi

Formålet med oppgaven er å undersøke markedet og lønnsomhetsforhold for norske privatpraksiser innen psykologi for å forstå hvorfor det har blitt færre søkere på avtalehjemlene de siste årene. Markedet kan deles inn i to delmarkeder bestående av henholdsvis avtalepraksiser og helprivate praksiser. Utredningen baseres på kvantitative og kvalitative analyser som belyser markedsforhold og lønnsomhetsnivå for privatpraksiser generelt, og lønnsomhetsvariasjoner for avtalepraksiser. Lønnsomheten er analysert med utgangspunkt i data innhentet fra Bisnode SmartCheck og Helsedirektoratet. Datagrunnlaget består av 21 avtalepraksiser og 36 helprivate praksiser gjennom analyseperioden fra 2016 til 2020. Vi har også intervjuet to avtalespesialister, en helprivat psykolog, samt en advokat og spesialrådgiver i Norsk psykologforening som har bidratt til dybdeinnsikt i markeds- og lønnsomhetsforhold. Markedsforholdene for de to praksisformene er noe ulike med hensyn til etableringsbarrierer og kundemakt. Fra intervjuene fremgår det likevel at ingen av delmarkedene preges av konkurranse på grunn av etterspørselsoverskudd. Avtalepraksisene er underlagt de regionale helseforetakene og er derfor i større grad regulert, og opplever lavere grad av autonomi. Flere reguleringer de senere årene kan dermed ha bidratt til færre søkere på avtalehjemlene. Gjennomsnittlig lønnsomhetsnivå for avtalepraksiser og helprivate praksiser i vårt utvalg er på henholdsvis 25 og 23 prosent driftsmargin, men det er ikke signifikant mer lønnsomt å drive avtalepraksis. Sammenliknet med andre aktører innenfor helsetjenesten fremstår lønnsomheten relativt høy. Samtidig er det store lønnsomhetsvariasjoner mellom praksisene i delmarkedene. Gjennom analyseperioden ser lønnsomheten ut til å ha falt 6 prosentpoeng for avtalepraksiser, mens utviklingen har vært relativt stabil for helprivate praksiser. Nedgangen i lønnsomhet for avtalepraksisene kan muligens være en årsak til færre søkere på hjemlene. Fra analyser av lønnsomhetsvariasjoner fant vi at antall pasienter var den eneste variabelen med signifikant innvirkning på lønnsomheten for avtalepraksiser i vårt utvalg. Avtalepraksiser med flere pasienter virker dermed å være mer lønnsomme. Likevel er ikke resultatet robust for endringer, og hvilke forhold som forklarerer lønnsomhetsforskjeller er derfor usikkert. Utredningen er for øvrig en pilotstudie på lønnsomhet for privatpraksiser og bærer derfor preg av begrensninger knyttet til utvalgsstørrelse, kvalitet på datamateriale og tidligere empiri.nhhma