The quest for banking stability in the euro area: The role of government interventions

We build upon a Markov-Switching Bayesian Vector Autoregression (MSBVAR) model to study how the credit default swaps market in the euro area becomes an important chain in the propagation of shocks through the entire financial system. The study sheds light on the regime-dependent interconnectedness between the risk of investing in banking and public sector bonds and provides novel evidence that a rise in sovereign debt, due to the countercyclical fiscal policy measures, is perceived by stock market investors as a burden on growth prospects. We also document that government interventions in the banking sector deteriorate the credit risk of sovereign debt. Higher risk premium required by investors for holding riskier government bonds depresses the sovereign debt market, it impairs banks’ balance sheets, and it depresses the collateral value of loans leading to bank retrenchment. The ensuing two-way banking-fiscal feedback loop indicates that government interventions do not necessarily stabilize the banking sector

Investigation Of Pressure Drop And Heat Transfer Behavior Of A Square Channel With 45° Angle Turbulators On One And Two Wall Configuration

An experimental investigation of friction and heat transfer behavior for a fully developed flow in a square channel was conducted under a wide range of Reynolds numbers (Re) from 6,000 to 150,000. The heated test section was 22 hydraulic diameters (Dh) long, and made of four aluminum plates. The interior comprised of three smooth walls and one bottom wall roughened with glued brass ribs oriented at 45° to the flow direction with a ratio of rib height to channel hydraulic diameter (e/Dh), and ratio of pitch to rib height (p/e) of 0.063 and 10, respectively. A 20Dh long acrylic inlet channel, with geometry matching the test section’s interior, ensures that the flow becomes hydrodynamically developed before entering the test section. Heat transfer tests were conducted under isothermal wall conditions for Reynolds number ranging from 25,000 to 150,000. The results show that after x/Dh = 8.0, the heat transfer coefficient becomes constant, indicating that the heated flow is thermally developed at this point. When compared with Reynolds number, Nusselt number for each heated wall increases in a power law like fashion. The ribbed bottom wall achieves the most heat transfer, while the top smooth wall achieves the least. The left and right walls display comparable heat transfer trends, however the left wall prevails over the right wall because the ribs direct the flow toward the left wall, creating a slight impinging effect. Test section Nusselt number augmentation (Nu/Nu0) decreases, then levels out at value of 1.7 after a Reynolds number of 50,000. However, friction factor enhancement (f/f0), measured at Reynold numbers ranging from 6,000 to 150,000, increases linearly increasing Reynolds number, which reduces the overall thermal performance at higher Reynolds numbers

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives on Rural Community Development: the Case of TITAN – Sharrcem in Kosovo

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an integral part of firms' strategies in their effort to increase their positive impact on society. This study investigates the impact of a CSR initiative, known as “The LAB Project”, implemented by the TITAN– Sharrcem Company, on the rural community of Hani I Elezit in Kosovo. The LAB project aims to support the establishment and operation of agricultural and food-related start-ups and, most importantly, to ensure their sustainability. The sample of the study consists of 174 area residents. This research examines local residents' perceptions about a) the TITAN-Sharrcem operations in the area, b) the LAB project's main contribution to the local community,  c) the project's overall performance, d)  the profitability of the start-ups created by the project, and e)  the project's effect on the community's quality of life. Overall, the results reveal that the project has set the foundation for the community's sustainable development. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research on the effect of such initiatives in the region. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Rural Entrepreneurship, Community Developmen

Use of Modis Satellite Images for Detailed Lake Morphometry: Application to Basins with Large Water Level Fluctuations

Lake morphometry is essential for managing water resources and limnetic ecosystems. For reservoirs that receive high sediment loads, frequent morphometric mapping is necessary to define both the effective life of the reservoir and its water storage capacity for irrigation, power generation, flood control and domestic water supply. The current study presents a methodology for updating the digital depth model (DDM) of lakes and reservoirs with wide intra and interannual fluctuations of water levels using satellite remote sensing. A time series of Terra MODIS satellite images was used to map shorelines formed during the annual water level change cycle, and were validated with concurrent Landsat ETM+ satellite images. The shorelines were connected with in-situ observation of water levels and were treated as elevation contours to produce the DDM using spatial interpolation. The accuracy of the digitized shorelines is within the mapping accuracy of the satellite images, while the resulting DDM is validated using in-situ elevation measurements. Two versions of the DDM were produced to assess the influence of seasonal water fluctuation. Finally, the methodology was applied to Lake Kerkini (Greece) to produce an updated DDM, which was compared with the last available bathymetric survey (1991) and revealed changes in sediment distribution within the lake

Strategy for the realisation of the International Height Reference System (IHRS)

In 2015, the International Association of Geodesy defined the International Height Reference System (IHRS) as the conventional gravity field-related global height system. The IHRS is a geopotential reference system co-rotating with the Earth. Coordinates of points or objects close to or on the Earth’s surface are given by geopotential numbers C(P) referring to an equipotential surface defined by the conventional value W0 = 62,636,853.4 m2 s−2, and geocentric Cartesian coordinates X referring to the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS). Current efforts concentrate on an accurate, consistent, and well-defined realisation of the IHRS to provide an international standard for the precise determination of physical coordinates worldwide. Accordingly, this study focuses on the strategy for the realisation of the IHRS; i.e. the establishment of the International Height Reference Frame (IHRF). Four main aspects are considered: (1) methods for the determination of IHRF physical coordinates; (2) standards and conventions needed to ensure consistency between the definition and the realisation of the reference system; (3) criteria for the IHRF reference network design and station selection; and (4) operational infrastructure to guarantee a reliable and long-term sustainability of the IHRF. A highlight of this work is the evaluation of different approaches for the determination and accuracy assessment of IHRF coordinates based on the existing resources, namely (1) global gravity models of high resolution, (2) precise regional gravity field modelling, and (3) vertical datum unification of the local height systems into the IHRF. After a detailed discussion of the advantages, current limitations, and possibilities of improvement in the coordinate determination using these options, we define a strategy for the establishment of the IHRF including data requirements, a set of minimum standards/conventions for the determination of potential coordinates, a first IHRF reference network configuration, and a proposal to create a component of the International Gravity Field Service (IGFS) dedicated to the maintenance and servicing of the IHRS/IHRF