Essays on banking sector performance in the CISs

This thesis consists of essays on the financial performance of the Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) banking systems. Chapter 2 presents a historical overview of the financial sectors development in transition countries and the CISs in particular. It shed light on key issues of the massive changes in the financial systems of the former soviet bloc countries and their influence on the countries’ banking system landscape nowadays. This chapter aims to contribute to the better understanding of the transition processes from momobank system to two-tier banking system in the CIS countries by providing theoretical background and empirical evidence of transition processes. After more than 20 years of transition the financial systems in the CIS countries have features to different extents, which are the legacy of the former system of finance. Nevertheless, overall the banks in the CISs were transferred into commercial banks and adopted the concept of conventional banking though to different degrees across countries. One of the most important transformations in the CIS banking sectors is the ownership of banks, which were fully state-owned during the soviet times; and privatisation and liberalisation completely reshaped the ownership structure in the CISs. Moreover, the changes in regulation and supervision have critically transformed banks’ risk-taking behaviour, which is also one of the major concerns of our study. Chapter 3 examines bank performance in terms of technical efficiency with particular attention to the impact of bank ownership and risk-taking behaviour and addressing environmental effects on banks technical efficiency in the CISs. Our findings provide empirical evidence that ownership structure matters for the CIS banks efficiency. Using state-owned banks as a benchmark we found that while private banks are less technically efficient than state-owned banks in the CIS countries as well as banks with foreign majority ownership, the CIS-owned banks are more efficient than other banks in the region. Risks-taking behaviour has different impact on performance in the CIS countries. This research has found positive association between capital, credit and market risk and performance, while negative association between liquidity risks and bank performance in the CISs. Chapter 4 examines cost and profit efficiency incorporating important variables, which are considered critical for differences in efficiency, as in Chapter 3. We include ownership type, risk-taking behaviour and different environmental factors to estimate reliable cost and profit efficiency measures. Different concepts of efficiency introduced in this study extend our analysis of bank efficiency, and offer a comprehensive study of the CIS banks performance. We found that privately owned banks are less cost efficient than state-owned banks. Although foreign banks are more profitable than state-owned banks, they are as cost efficient as state-owned banks. The CIS-owned foreign banks are less cost efficient than other banks in the CIS countries. There are different impacts of risk-taking behaviour on bank cost and profit efficiency in the CIS countries. Banks with lower capital risk are more cost efficient. Higher credit risk taking is associated with lower profitability of banks. While banks with lower liquidity risk are more profit efficient, they are less cost efficient. Higher market risk is associated with less cost efficiency. Finally, there is a convergence in cost and profit efficiency scores of banks across the CIS countries indicating a process of re-integration among CIS financial systems. Chapter 5 explores the impact of competition on the stability of banks in the CIS countries. We found that competition is good for stability and verified the competition-stability nexus for the CIS countries. This study also concluded that the improvement of legal rights of borrowers and lenders and bank supervision in the CISs would contribute to banking system stability. Our concluding policy recommendation is that policymakers need to design regulations that would ensure stability and market discipline without impeding competition and efficiency of banks in the CISs

Cooperative effects in surfactant adsorption layers at water/alkane interfaces

In the present work, the properties of dodecyl dimethyl phosphine oxide (C12DMPO) at the water/decane interface are studied and compared with those obtained earlier at the interface to hexane. To simulate the interfacial behavior, a two-component thermodynamic model is proposed, which combines the equation of state and Frumkin isotherm for decane with the reorientation model involving the intrinsic compressibility for the surfactant. In this approach, the surface activity of decane is governed by its interaction with C12DMPO. The theory predicts the influence of decane on the decrease of the surface tension at a very low surfactant concentration for realistic values of the ratio of the adsorbed amounts of decane and surfactant. The surfactantrsquo;s distribution coefficient between the aqueous and decane phases is determined. Two types of adsorption systems were used: a decane drop immersed into the C12DMPO aqueous solution, and a water drop immersed into the C12DMPO solution in decane. To determine the distribution coefficient, a method based on the analysis of the transfer of C12DMPO between water and decane is also employed

Using the "Flipped Classroom" Mixed Learning Model for the Formation of Phonetic and Phonological Competence

The article deals with the problem of the formation of phonetic and phonological competence in teaching English in the context of modern FGOS and the potential of the model of mixed learning “Flipped Classroom" for the formation of this competence. The essence of phonetic and phonological competence, its relation to communicative competence and the reasons why this competence is important during English language teaching are revealed. The potential of the “Flipped Classroom” mixed learning model for the formation of phonetic and phonological competence and the implementation of new FGOS requests is identified and justified. The analysis of the features of this learning model is carried out; its advantages and disadvantages are revealed, as well as difficulties in implementing it into the educational process

On the Problem of Teaching Listening to Authentic Foreign Texts: Using Social Media

The work is devoted to the problem of the formation of students' listening skills through the use of English-language materials of social networks. The relevance of the study is explained by the increasing role of social networks as a phenomenon of modern life. The purpose of the study is to study the principles of selecting social media materials that are appropriate to use in the process of teaching listening to high school students, and in testing these materials.  The main tasks are to study the possibilities of using social networks in teaching listening and to develop types of tasks aimed at the formation of listening skills. The novelty of the research lies in the use of authentic English-language materials of the "In the contacts” social network for teaching listening. The developed tasks can be effectively used in teaching listening to students of schools and universities

Methodical provisions for evaluating the condition of administration the harmonization of integrated enterprises activity

У статті визначено об'єкти гармонізації с позицій процесного, ситуаційного та проектного управління. Уточнено поняття об'єктів адміністрування, стосовно до управління гармонізацією взаємодії різних процесів, що здійснюються при функціонуванні інтегрованих підприємств. Наведено розподіл виділених цільових напрямів адміністрування за комплексами завдань, що вирішуються спрямованих на гармонізацію діяльності ІП. Розроблено методологічну та методичну основу побудови методики оцінки стану адміністрування робіт з гармонізації діяльності ІП з урахуванням виявлених вимог і підходів.В статье определены объекты гармонизации с по- зиций процессного, ситуационного и проектного управле- ния. Уточнено понятие объектов администрирования, применительно к управлению гармонизацией взаимодей- ствия различных процессов, осуществляемых при функци- онировании интегрированных предприятий. Представле- но распределение выделенных целевых направлений адми- нистрирования с комплексами решаемых задач, направ- ленных на гармонизацию деятельности ИП. Разработана методологическая и методическая основа построения методики оценки состояния администрирования работ по гармонизации деятельности ИП с учетом выявленных требований и подходов.The article defines the objects of harmonization from the process, situation and project management positions. The concept of administration objects was clarified, which is related to the harmonization management of interaction between different processes, implemented during the integrated enterprises functioning. The distribution of the selected target areas of administration with complexes of solved tasks, directed to harmonizing the integrated enterprise activity, was presented. The methodological and methodical basis of construction the technique of evaluating the condition of works administration for harmonization of integrated enterprises activities based on identified requirements and approaches was worked out

Energy-efficient building management via model predictive control

The growing world population and energy consumption, along with the depletion of fossil energy resources and increasing concern regarding the pollution of the environment, make the world-energy problem the largest challenge for technology in the forthcoming decades [1]. Distributed generation could play a major role in the technological changes of the new electricity service paradigm. The use of localized energy sources is only one of the faces of energy management in buildings. A large part of the produced energy is used for heating and cooling systems, in order to maintain acceptable levels of comfort for the occupants of the apartments (hereafter referred to as "users"). Therefore, at a local level, there is a need for the definition and the testing of intelligent algorithms that can automatically manage distributed energy sources, at the same time taking into account the management of heating/ cooling systems

Energy-efficient building management via model predictive control

The growing world population and energy consumption, along with the depletion of fossil energy resources and increasing concern regarding the pollution of the environment, make the world-energy problem the largest challenge for technology in the forthcoming decades [1]. Distributed generation could play a major role in the technological changes of the new electricity service paradigm. The use of localized energy sources is only one of the faces of energy management in buildings. A large part of the produced energy is used for heating and cooling systems, in order to maintain acceptable levels of comfort for the occupants of the apartments (hereafter referred to as "users"). Therefore, at a local level, there is a need for the definition and the testing of intelligent algorithms that can automatically manage distributed energy sources, at the same time taking into account the management of heating/ cooling systems

The LIKE system, a novel protein expression toolbox for Bacillus subtilis based on the liaI promoter

Background: Bacillus subtilis is a very important Gram-positive model organism of high biotechnological relevance, which is widely used as a host for the production of both secreted and cytoplasmic proteins. We developed a novel and efficient expression system, based on the liaI promoter (P-liaI) from B. subtilis, which is under control of the LiaRS antibiotic-inducible two-component system. In the absence of a stimulus, this promoter is kept tightly inactive. Upon induction by cell wall antibiotics, it shows an over 100-fold increase in activity within 10 min. Results: Based on these traits of P-liaI, we developed a novel LiaRS-controlled gene expression system for B. subtilis (the "LIKE" system). Two expression vectors, the integrative pLIKE-int and the replicative pLIKE-rep, were constructed. To enhance the performance of the P-liaI-derived system, site-directed mutagenesis was employed to optimize the ribosome binding site and alter its spacing to the initiation codon used for the translational fusion. The impact of these genetic modifications on protein production yield was measured using GFP as a model protein. Moreover, a number of tailored B. subtilis expression strains containing different markerless chromosomal deletions of the liaIH region were constructed to circumvent undesired protein production, enhance the positive autoregulation of the LiaRS system and thereby increase target gene expression strength from the P-liaI promoter. Conclusions: The LIKE protein expression system is a novel protein expression system, which offers a number of advantages over existing systems. Its major advantages are (i) a tightly switched-off promoter during exponential growth in the absence of a stimulus, (ii) a concentration-dependent activation of P-liaI in the presence of suitable inducers, (iii) a very fast but transient response with a very high dynamic range of over 100-fold (up to 1,000-fold) induction, (iv) a choice from a range of well-defined, commercially available, and affordable inducers and (v) the convenient conversion of LIKE-derived inducible expression strains into strong constitutive protein production factories