Competition and Market Dynamics on the Russian Deposits Market

In the early transition era in Russia entry barriers for commercial banks were about absent. It resulted in the mushrooming of hundreds of small, poorly-endowed and inexperienced banks. In this paper we address the question whether the claimed benefits of low entry barriers - competition and market dynamics - have resulted. We use a sample of commercial saving banks for the 1994-97 period. We conclude that there were important mobility barriers and that the removal of entry barriers did not lead to intensified competition

Molecular evolution of the MAGUK family in metazoan genomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Development, differentiation and physiology of metazoans all depend on cell to cell communication and subsequent intracellular signal transduction. Often, these processes are orchestrated via sites of specialized cell-cell contact and involve receptors, adhesion molecules and scaffolding proteins. Several of these scaffolding proteins important for synaptic and cellular junctions belong to the large family of membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUK). In order to elucidate the origin and the evolutionary history of the MAGUKs we investigated full-length cDNA, EST and genomic sequences of species in major phyla.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results indicate that at least four of the seven MAGUK subfamilies were present in early metazoan lineages, such as Porifera. We employed domain sequence and structure based methods to infer a model for the evolutionary history of the MAGUKs. Notably, the phylogenetic trees for the guanylate kinase (GK)-, the PDZ- and the SH3-domains all suggested a matching evolutionary model which was further supported by molecular modeling of the 3D structures of different GK domains. We found no MAGUK in plants, fungi or other unicellular organisms, which suggests that the MAGUK core structure originated early in metazoan history.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary, we have characterized here the molecular and structural evolution of the large MAGUK family. Using the MAGUKs as an example, our results show that it is possible to derive a highly supported evolutionary model for important multidomain families by analyzing encoded protein domains. It further suggests that larger superfamilies encoded in the different genomes can be analyzed in a similar manner.</p

The Community of Inquiry perspective on students' social presence, cognitive presence, and academic performance in online project‐based learning

Project-based learning (PjBL) engages students in knowledge acquisition, application, and construction through artefact development. Based on the Community of Inquiry framework, this study characterized college students' social and cognitive presences in online PjBL and examined how presence was related to their academic performance. Twenty-four groups of students participated in a 3-week project via WeChat discussion groups and created a final product. Transcripts of students' online discourse were collected and analysed by a coding scheme. The quality of students' artefacts was evaluated by a grading rubric. Descriptive results showed that the component of affectiveness and the level of exploration accounted for the majority of students' social and cognitive presences, respectively. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that certain components and sub-components of students' social presence, and levels and sub-levels of their cognitive presence were positively associated with their academic performance. Practical implications for teachers and suggestions for further research are provided. Teaching and Teacher Learning (ICLON

Relationship between collaborative learning, need satisfaction, and student satisfaction with a blended project-based learning course

Teaching and Teacher Learning (ICLON