Testing Integration between the Major Emerging Markets

This study examines the stock market integration between major emerging markets in different regions of the world, namely, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Korea, South Africa, and Poland. The study employs a variety of co-integration tests; i.e., Engle-Granger (EG) (1987), Johansen (1988), Johansen and Juselius (1990), the Bounds test (Pesaran et al) (2001) to measure the long-term relationship, and Granger causality approach for the short-term relationship between those markets. The results unfolded that between Brazil and Polish markets long and short-term relationship could be diagnosed through the aforementioned tests save the Bounds test; whilst the same Bounds test confirmed the existence of a significant co-integration between Russian and Korean stock markets.Stock Markets, Co-integration, Diversification

Reflections of Mathematical and Mathematics Educational Values on Pedagogical Formation Students' Teaching Preferences

As in all fields, values are an important component of classroom’s affective environment in mathematics course, too, and have a significant impact on students’ mathematical efforts. As it would directly affect classroom practices and learning, it is deemed important to determine preservice teachers’ value profiles. This research aimed to address mathematical and mathematics educational values of mathematics students receiving pedagogical formation in terms of constructivist and positivist approaches and examine these values along with their opinions on the use of different teaching strategies, methods and techniques (SMTs) in courses. The participants were 288 mathematics students receiving pedagogical formation at two public universities. As data collection instruments, Mathematical and Mathematics Educational Values Scale and a written interview form were used to associate their values with their teaching preferences. The study concluded a significant difference in favor of constructivist values when comparing participants’ levels of having positivist values with their levels of constructivist values. The findings achieved from the interview forms indicated that majority of participants preferred student-centered teaching strategies, methods and techniques; in other words, they regarded themselves rather as constructivists

UTJECAJ VANBILANČNIH AKTIVNOSTI NA POSLOVANJE KOMERCIJALNIH BANAKA: PERSPEKTIVA TRŽIŠTA U NASTAJANJU

This paper examines the effect of off-balance sheet (OBS) activities on performance of the banks listed on Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE). We use four measures of performance including bank’s risk exposures, profitability, leverage, and liquidity position. We find that both bank-specific risk and foreign exchange rate risk are positively related with OBS activities. This indicates that OBS activities increase bank-specific and foreign exchange risk exposures of the banks in Turkey. The positive relationship might serve as a warning to bank’s speculative action using OBS transactions in the market. The results also indicate that OBS activities, due to its hedging perception, improve bank’s stock returns but have a negative impact on return on equity. In addition, OBS activities do not have a statistically significant impact on leverage or liquidity.Ovaj rad istražuje utjecaj vanbilančnih aktivnosti na poslovanje banaka koje kotiraju na Istambulskoj burzi (ISE). Istraživanje je provedeno na četiri mjere uspješnosti bankovnog poslovanja: izloženost rizicima, profitabilnost, zaduženost i likvidnost. Rezultati pokazuju da su nesistemski, bankovno-specifični rizik te valutni rizik u pozitivnoj vezi s vanbilančnim aktivnostima. Ovakvo stanje je pokazatelj da vanbilančne aktivnosti povećavaju nesistemski i valutni rizik banaka u Turskoj. Dokazana pozitivna veza može služiti kao upozorenje u slučaju špekulativnog korištenja vanbilančnih aktivnosti na tržištu. Dobiveni rezultati također pokazuju da zbog percepcije njihovog korištenja u svrhu zaštite, vanbilančne aktivnosti povećavaju prinose na bankovne dionice ali istovremeno smanjuju prinos na kapital banaka. Osim toga, vanbilančne aktivnosti nemaju statistički signifikantan utjecaj na zaduženost i likvidnost banke

Co-movements of REIT indices with structural changes before and during the subprime mortgage crisis: evidence from Euro-Med markets

This paper examines the long-run relationships between the REIT indices of the UK, Turkey and Israel in the Euro-Med zone with that of MSCI US REIT Index by using weekly data over the period 2003Q3 through 2009Q3, which includes the latest US subprime mortgage crisis and its effects on global stock markets. Although our EG test results do not indicate a long-run relationship, after taking account of the structural changes by applying the GH test, we find a long-run interaction between the REIT indices of UK and Israel with that of the US. However, our results indicate the lack of co-movement between REIT index of Turkey with the US. In addition, our dynamic OLS test results indicate a perfect relationship between the UK and the US indices. Our findings show that international investors who make long-term investments can only gain from diversifying into the real estate market of Turkey among the involved markets in the Euro-Med zone

Plant lectins: the ties that bind in root symbiosis and plant defense

Lectins are a diverse group of carbohydrate-binding proteins that are found within and associated with organisms from all kingdoms of life. Several different classes of plant lectins serve a diverse array of functions. The most prominent of these include participation in plant defense against predators and pathogens and involvement in symbiotic interactions between host plants and symbiotic microbes, including mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Extensive biological, biochemical, and molecular studies have shed light on the functions of plant lectins, and a plethora of uncharacterized lectin genes are being revealed at the genomic scale, suggesting unexplored and novel diversity in plant lectin structure and function. Integration of the results from these different types of research is beginning to yield a more detailed understanding of the function of lectins in symbiosis, defense, and plant biology in general

The impact of geopolitical risks on connectedness among natural resource commodities: A quantile vector autoregressive approach

This study examines the impact of global geopolitical risk on connectedness among major natural resource commodities. We implemented a Quantile Vector Autoregressive connectedness estimation approach from 5 January 2010 to 3 March 2023, including many geopolitical turbulences, such as the Russian-Ukrainian war. We found high connectedness under both extraordinarily high and low return conditions. The extreme return shocks in metals tended to spillover to energy commodities. The spillover index peaked during important economic, political, and financial developments. In addition, geopolitical risk drives connectedness among natural resources commodities under average market conditions. Our results may help investors with portfolio optimization and risk management practices and guide policymakers toward attaining financial market stability.Environmental Studie

Stable Peace And Reconciliation Between Sovereign States

Uluslararası ilişkiler literatüründe egemen devletler arasında uzlaşma, istikrarlı barış ve yakınlaşma içiçe geçmiş kavramlardır. Aynı şekilde diplomatik anlamda başlayan yakınlaşmanın kalıcı bir barışa dönüşmesi ile ulusların aralarındaki çatışmalaIn the discipline of international relations the concepts of reconciliation, rapprochement and stable peace have overlapping contents. In the same vein, it is generally assumed that nations reconcile in concomitant with the stable peace which evo