Macroeconomic risk factors in Australian commercial real estate, listed property trust and property sector stock returns: A comparative analysis using GARCH-M

This paper employs a Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity in Mean (GARCH-M) model to consider the effect of macroeconomic factors on Australian property returns over the period 1985 to 2002 Three direct (office, retail and industrial property) and two indirect (listed property trust and property stock) returns are included in the analysis, along with market returns, short, medium and long-term interest rates, expected and unexpected inflation, construction activity and industrial employment and production. In general, the macroeconomic factors examined are found to be significant risk factors in Australian commercial property returns. However, the results also indicate that forecast accuracy in these models is higher for direct office, listed property trust and property stock returns and that the persistence of volatility shocks varies across the different markets, with volatility half lives of between five and seven months for direct retail and industrial property, two and three months for direct office property and less than two months with both forms of indirect property investment

Modelling the usage and understanding of financial products: An empirical analysis of Australian owner-occupied and investor mortgages

Binary logit models are used to predict usage and understanding of owner-occupied and investor mortgages on the basis of demographic, socioeconomic and financial characteristics. The data is drawn from the 2003 ANZ Survey of Adult Financial Literacy in Australia and relates to 3,548 respondents. Factors examined include financial literacy, gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, educational level and family structure, along with household income, savings and debt. Understanding is defined in terms of knowledge of mortgage rates, fees and charges and familiarity with key mortgage terms. The results indicate that being middle-aged or a couple with children increases the likelihood of an owner-occupied mortgage, while being from a non-English speaking background, a small business owner or a skilled tradesman increases the likelihood of an investor mortgage. The evidence also suggests that understanding of mortgages is unevenly spread across mortgagees. Understanding is generally poorer for females, rural and regional households and the young, and better for professionals, the university educated and small business owners and skilled tradesmen. The area least understood is mortgage fees and charges

A Primer on Islamic Finance: Definitions, Sources, Principles and Methods

Islamic finance is one of the most rapidly growing segments of the global financial system. However, despite the increasing importance of Islamic finance, particularly in developing economies in the Middle East and South-East Asia, religious and social complexity has acted against a fuller understanding by regulators, policymakers, researchers and practitioners. This paper provides a succinct and accessible analysis of the definition, sources, principles and methods of Islamic finance. This serves as a suitable starting point for further work into Islamic finance and many of the pressing regulatory, supervisory and competitive issues that remain as yet unaddressed

An Empirical Survey of Individual Consumer, Business Firm and Financial Institution Attitudes towards Islamic Methods

Islamic finance – financial institutions, products and services designed to comply with the central tenets of Sharia (Islamic law) – is one of the most rapidly growing segments in global financial services. However, despite its growing importance, it is only relatively recently that attempts have been made to evaluate the attitudes, perceptions and knowledge of current and potential consumers and providers of Islamic financial products and services. This article provides a synoptic survey of the comparatively few empirical analyses of attitudes, perceptions and knowledge of Islamic finance. Individual consumer, business firm and financial institution attitudes to Islamic finance are examined and briefly compared with the larger body of extant work on attitudes, perceptions and knowledge of conventional financial services and products

A note on the rising cost of education in Australia

Human capital, or a better educated labour force, is a major determinant of economic growth and productivity. However, recent trends in the cost of education in Australia may cause growth and productivity to suffer. For example, during the period 1982-2003 inflation rose on average by 4.4 per cent per annum, whereas the cost of education grew overall on average by 7.8 per cent. This has made education a relatively expensive item among Australian households. This paper compares and contrasts the cost of education in Australia and comparable economies with the cost of other goods and services embedded in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) basket using the latest available quarterly data. Finally, the major determinants of the rising cost of education in Australia are examined. It is found, inter alia, that over the period 1986-2003 the increasing number of students enrolled at non-governmental primary and secondary schools and the introduction of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) were two important determinants of the rising cost of education

Spall And Dynamic Yielding Of Aluminum And Aluminum Alloys At Strain Rates Of 3X10(6) S(-1)

We have explored the role that grain size, impurity particles and alloying in aluminum play in dynamic yielding and spall fracture at tensile strain rates of similar to 3x10(6) We achieved these strain rates shocking the aluminum specimens via laser ablation using the Z-Beamlet Laser at Sandia National Laboratories. The high purity aluminum and 1100 series aluminum alloy produced very different spall strengths and nearly the same yield strengths. In contrast, various grain-sized Al + 3 wt. % Mg specimens presented the lowest spall strength, but the greatest dynamic yield strength. Fracture morphology results and particle analysis are presented along with hydrodynamic simulations to put these results in context. Impurity particles appeared to play a vital role in spall fracture at these fast strain rates. Alloying elements such as Mg seem to be the dominant factor in the dynamic yield results.Mechanical Engineerin

THE EFFECT OF INDIVIDUALISED COACHING INTERVENTIONS ON ELITE YOUNG FAST BOWLERS‘ TECHNIQUE

Fast bowling in cricket is an activity well recognised as having a high injury prevalence. Previous research has associated lower back injury with aspects of fast bowling technique. Coaching interventions that may decrease the likelihood of injury, whilst maintaining or increasing ball speed, remain a priority within the sport. Selected kinematics of the bowling action of 14 elite young fast bowlers were measured using an 18 camera Vicon Motion Analysis System. Subjects were tested before and after a two year coaching intervention period, during which subject-specific coaching interventions were provided. Mann-Whitney tests were used to identify significant differences in the change in the selected kinematics between those bowlers who were coached or un-coached on each specific aspect. Coached athletes demonstrated a significant change in shoulder alignment at back foot contact (more side-on, P = 0.002) and shoulder counter-rotation (decreased, P = 0.001) relative to un-coached athletes. There was no difference in the amount of change in flexion angles of the front or back knee or lower trunk side-flexion between those who received coaching intervention and those that did not. This study shows that specific aspects of fast bowling technique in elite players can change over a two year period and may be attributed to coaching intervention

Large droplet impact on water layers

The impact of large droplets onto an otherwise undisturbed layer of water is considered. The work, which is motivated primarily with regard to aircraft icing, is to try and help understand the role of splashing on the formation of ice on a wing, in particular for large droplets where splash appears, to have a significant effect. Analytical and numerical approaches are used to investigate a single droplet impact onto a water layer. The flow for small times after impact is determined analytically, for both direct and oblique impacts. The impact is also examined numerically using the volume of fluid (VOF) method. At small times there are promising comparisons between the numerical results, the analytical solution and experimental work capturing the ejector sheet. At larger times there is qualitative agreement with experiments and related simulations. Various cases are considered, varying the droplet size to layer depth ratio, including surface roughness, droplet distortion and air effects. The amount of fluid splashed by such an impact is examined and is found to increase with droplet size and to be significantly influenced by surface roughness. The makeup of the splash is also considered, tracking the incoming fluid, and the splash is found to consist mostly of fluid originating in the layer

Intestinal dendritic cells specialize to activate transforming growth factor-β and induce Foxp3+ regulatory T cells via integrin αvβ8

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The intestinal immune system is tightly regulated to prevent responses against the many nonpathogenic antigens in the gut. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β is a cytokine that maintains intestinal homeostasis, in part by inducing Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) that suppress immune responses. TGF-β is expressed at high levels in the gastrointestinal tract as a latent complex that must be activated. However, the pathways that control TGF-β activation in the intestine are poorly defined. We investigated the cellular and molecular pathways that control activation of TGF-β and induction of Foxp3(+) Tregs in the intestines of mice to maintain immune homeostasis. METHODS: Subsets of intestinal dendritic cells (DCs) were examined for their capacity to activate TGF-β and induce Foxp3(+) Tregs in vitro. Mice were fed oral antigen, and induction of Foxp3(+) Tregs was measured. RESULTS: A tolerogenic subset of intestinal DCs that express CD103 were specialized to activate latent TGF-β, and induced Foxp3(+) Tregs independently of the vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid. The integrin αvβ8, which activates TGF-β, was significantly up-regulated on CD103(+) intestinal DCs. DCs that lack expression of integrin αvβ8 had reduced ability to activate latent TGF-β and induce Foxp3(+) Tregs in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: CD103(+) intestinal DCs promote a tolerogenic environment in the intestines of mice via integrin αvβ8-mediated activation of TGF-β