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There is a rich debate on the nature of Islamic banking (IB)–growth nexus and the direction of causality governing this nexus. This study aims to focus on this issue in the case of Saudi Arabia, the largest country-holder of Islamic Banks (IBs)’ assets worldwide. It assesses empirically the nature of dynamic interactions between IBs’ financing and the real performances in the non-oil private sector (investment and GDP) in the context of a dual banking system where IBs operate alongside their conventional counterparts.

This study employs the Bounds test in the context of reparametrized autoregression distribution lags (ARDL) models to analyse both long-run and short-run dynamics governing Islamic and conventional banks’ (CBs) financings on one hand and real investment and GDP in the private sector on the other hand over the 2007q1-2016q4 period. It also uses the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) augmented Granger-causality test to assess the direction of causality governing these dynamics.

The more important results are: there is a stable and significant long-run relationship between IBs’ financing and real performances in the private sector. This nexus is governed by the “feed-back hypothesis”, implying the validity of both the “supply-leading” and the “demand-following” hypotheses. In a dual banking system context, IBs exert two effects on the financing of their conventional counterparts: a negative “crowding-out” effect and a positive and “stimulating” effect which transmits through the “competition” channel. Finally, in the long-run, steady-state, real GDP is dissociated from CBs’ financing.

This paper highlights an issue that has not received the needed attention in the case of Saudi Arabia. It has also found novel results with important policy implications.

The ups and downs of the stock markets are consistently in the news. All things considered, there's no end to reporting the trajectory of volatility. Wide value changes in stock prices are a daily event in any stock market as speculators respond to monetary, business, and political situations. The main question is − did the Indian stock market develop a speculative bubble during the time of the US subprime crisis? Also, in terms of knowledge gained for an investor or a policy maker, we ask the following question: As to what extent are speculative bubbles predictable during a financial crisis? Knowledge gained by investors is also a part and parcel of an applied knowledge economy in a broader dimension.

In this chapter, the authors use a speculative bubble tracker, based on a Wiener stochastic process, to check for the existence of speculative bubbles during the 2008–2009 US subprime crisis. The data used in the study are daily SENSEX values (i.e., combination of stock prices of 30 well-established, most actively traded stocks of financially sound companies listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange) for the period between December 2007 and December 2009. Using such forms of daily data, the authors trace out the price movements using a Brownian motion equation and hence, try to correlate the stock price fluctuations with fluctuations in the crisis index (as put together by the authors) in the Indian context. Interestingly, for India, such a speculative bubble was prevalent during the time period considered pertaining to the 2008 US subprime crisis.

Summing up, the implication in terms of knowledge gained is particularly of interest for the portfolio managers who are engaged in devising diversification strategies for their portfolios.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of oil price shocks on the Turkish sovereign yield curve factors.

To extract the latent factors (level, slope and curvature) of the Turkish sovereign yield curve, we estimate conventional Nelson and Siegel (1987) model with nonlinear least squares. Then, we decompose oil price shocks into supply, demand and risk shocks using structural VAR (structural VAR) models. After this separation, we apply Engle (2002) dynamic conditional correlation GARCH (DCC-GARCH (1,1)) method to investigate time-varying co-movements between yield curve factors and oil price shocks. Finally, using the LP (local projections) proposed by Jorda (2005), we estimate the impulse-response functions to examine the impact of different oil price shocks on yield curve factors.

Our results demonstrate that the various oil price shocks influence the yield curve factors quite differently. A supply shock leads to a statistically significant increase in the level factor. This result shows that elevated oil prices due to supply disruptions are interpreted as a signal of a surge in inflation expectations since the cost channel prevails. Besides, unanticipated demand shocks have a positive impact on the slope factor as a result of the central bank policy response for offsetting the elevated inflation expectations. Finally, a risk shock is associated with a decrease in the curvature factor indicating that risk shocks influence the medium-term bonds due to the deflationary pressure resulting from depressed economic conditions.

Our results provide new insights to understand the driving forces of yield curve movements induced by various oil shocks to formulate appropriate policy responses.

The study contributes to the literature by two main dimensions. First, the recent oil shock identification scheme of Ready (2018) is modified using the “geopolitical oil price risk index” to capture the changes in the risk perceptions of oil markets driven by geopolitical tensions such as terrorism and conflicts and sanctions. The modified identification scheme attributes more power to demand shocks in explaining the variation of the oil price compared to that of the baseline scheme. Second, it provides recent evidence that distinguishes the impact of oil demand and supply shocks on Turkey's yield curve.

The purpose of this study is to design and manufacture a new remote center of motion (RCM) mechanism for use in laparoscopic surgical operations. In addition, obtaining the forward and inverse kinematic equations of the RCM mechanism and performing real-time position control with the Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID) control method.

At the design stage, it is benefited from similar triangle rule. To obtain the kinematic equations in a simple way and facilitate control, two-fold displacement ratio is provided between the limbs where linear motion occurs. The rotation and displacement amounts required to move at the RCM point have been calculated by using the kinematic equations of the mechanism. Limb dimensions and motion limits are determined in the manner to avoid singularities and collisions. The x, y and z coordinates of the end effector have been defined as the reference point. Control of the mechanism was provided by PID control. To generate the user interface and control algorithm, MATLAB/Simulink real-time toolbox has been used. Four reference points were determined, control was performed and position error values were examined. MF634 Humusoft data acquisition card has been preferred to collect data from encoders.

A novel RCM mechanism has been designed and manufactured. Kinematic equations of this mechanism have been obtained. Position control of the cannula tip has been performed using PID control method for four different reference points. After settlement, maximum position error has been observed as 0.45 mm.

Structure of the designed mechanism is quite simple. Thus, costs are quite low. The operation area of the operator is widened by hanging the mechanism from the ceiling, so operational capability of health personnel is increasing. It helps to decrease the operation time and increase the success of the operation.

With this study, it is aimed to contribute to the literature by designing a new RCM mechanism. The rotation of the mechanism around the RCM point is provided by only one rotary motor, and the displacement of the RCM point in the vertical axis is provided by only one linear motor. The mechanism is also a surgical robot. The designed system is suitable for use in robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in terms of maneuverability.

The development of robust control algorithms for the position, velocity and trajectory control of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) depends on the accuracy of their mathematical models. Accuracy of the model is determined by precise estimation of the UUV hydrodynamic parameters. The purpose of this study is to determine the hydrodynamic forces and moments acting on an underwater vehicle with complex body geometry and moving at low speeds and to achieve the accurate coefficients associated with them.

A three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design (CAD) model of UUV is designed with one-to-one dimensions. 3D fluid flow simulations are conducted using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software programme in the solution of Navier Stokes equations for laminar and turbulent flow analysis. The coefficients depending on the hydrodynamic forces and moments are determined by the external flow analysis using the CFD programme. The Flow Simulation k-ε turbulence model is used for the transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow. Hydrodynamic properties such as lift and drag coefficients and roll and yaw moment coefficients are calculated. The parameters are compared with the coefficient values found by experimental methods.

Although the modular type UUV has a complex body geometry, the comparative results of the experiments and simulations confirm that the defined model parameters are accurate and close to the actual experimental values. In the proposed k-ε method, the percentage error in the estimation of drag and lifting coefficients is decreased to 4.2% and 8.39%, respectively.

The model coefficients determined in this study can be used in high-level control simulations which leads to the development of robust real-time controllers for complex-shaped modular UUVs.

The Lucky Fin UUV with 4 degrees of freedom is a specific design and its CAD model is first extracted. Verification of simulation results by experiments is generally less referenced in studies. However, it provides more precise parameter identification of the model. Proposed study offers a simple and low-cost experimental measurement method for verification of the hydrodynamic parameters. The extracted model and coefficients are worthwhile references for the analysis of modular type UUVs.

The purpose of this paper is to present the augmented reality (AR) eyeglass selection problem based on Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method which is a very new multi-objective method.

The author evaluates five AR goggles according to six different criteria. Criteria have different weights and determined by analytic hierarchy process. The author used neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method in order to evaluate AR eyeglasses.

Five different AR eyeglasses were evaluated and the best one was selected according to six different criteria (benefit and non-benefit). According to Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method, Sony AR eyeglass is selected as the best one. Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method uses simple computational equations and it handles multi-objective decision making problems effectively.

Evaluating AR goggles by using the Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method for the first time is the originality of this paper.

Nuclear energy is of vital importance for the energy independence of countries. Therefore, some of the countries have given priority to nuclear energy investments. However, there are some risks in nuclear reactors. For this reason, some countries are uneasy about nuclear energy investments. Thorium-based nuclear power plants are also recommended to minimize these risks. It is possible to talk about many advantages of these power plants. However, there are some negative aspects to these investments. In this study, both positive and negative aspects of thorium-based nuclear power plants are discussed simultaneously. In this context, first, the literature was comprehensively examined, and seven different factors were determined. An analysis is then carried out using the DEMATEL method. It is concluded that the cost and uncertainties have the greatest weight. In addition, suitability and physical and chemical reasons are other significant items. The results obtained show that thorium-based nuclear power plants are not very efficient now. In this context, the costs of thorium-based nuclear reactors should be reduced by new research and development activities. Otherwise, the high-cost problem reduces the efficiency of these reactors. With the developing technology, it is necessary to reduce the high costs. If the costs cannot be reduced, financial sustainability of thorium-based nuclear reactors will not be possible, although there are many benefits.

We seek to quantify the relationship between urbanization and economic growth in China using recent advances in econometric techniques.

This study adopts a smoothed instrumental variables quantile regression (SIVQR) estimator to obtain consistent estimates of the effects of urbanization on economic growth in China. Our approach accounts for the differential impacts of urbanization across the conditional distribution of economic growth while allowing for an identification strategy that addresses the endogeneity of urbanization. Our main findings reveal that ignoring urbanization endogeneity leads to inconsistent estimates of urbanization effects. Further, we find a positive relationship between urbanization and growth resembling an inverted U-shape. This supports the hypothesis that the beneficial effects of urbanization intensify at initial stages while diminishing beyond a certain threshold, due perhaps to weakening scale economies.

Our main results indicate that the individual productivity gains brought by urbanization outweigh the negative effects thereof that impede productivity, thus contributing to the economic growth in China. Further, we find that ignoring differential impacts of urbanization underestimates the beneficial effects of urbanization for provinces whose quality of governance is in the vicinity of the center of quality distribution. Ignoring the endogeneity of urbanization generates inconsistent estimates of the elasticity of economic growth with respect to urbanization. Finally, we estimate an inverted U-shape resembling relationship between urbanization and growth.

First, future studies would benefit from incorporating more data as provinces further east on the mainland become more urbanized and urbanization runs its course. Second, controlling the barriers to rural-urban mobility would contribute to the robustness of the estimated relationship between urbanization and growth once such data became available. Unveiling the impact of government-imposed barriers is key to designing optimal policies that help fuel economic growth in the country. Finally, future research could benefit from information on urbanization sources not considered here such as inter-provincial migration, as such data become publicly available.

Quantifying the beneficial effects of urbanization on economic growth can help guide the government in China to further fuel the growth through a set of relevant policy tools that promote urbanization.

Rural-urban migration in China lays the groundwork for economic advancement in recipient cities and economies, as it may induce scale economies. This can benefit both the economy at large and the migrants.

The SIVQR estimator accounts for potential heterogeneous effects of urbanization across the entire conditional distribution of growth while allowing for an identification strategy that addresses the endogeneity of urbanization. An additional distinguishing feature of the current study is our use of the most recent novel, provincial-level data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Our focus on a single country allows sidestepping issues arising from the inconsistency of the definition of urban across different countries while accounting for intra-country urbanization drivers intrinsic to China, such as natural features and geographic characteristics. Therefore, our approach has the potential to sidestep the bias resulting from the differences in mechanisms behind urbanization-growth relationships across different countries.

Technologies are constantly developed to address new demands and provide further opportunities. Owing to a number of potential application areas of nanotechnologies within this sector, the purpose of this study is to take defense as a case and propose a strategic roadmap for the use of nanotechnologies in the Turkish Defense Industry.

The study presented in this paper uses a bibliometric analysis of the most cited publications in the past decade with the aim of identifying the trends in the development of nanotechnology. Interviews were carried out with experts based on the featured words of bibliometric analysis (nanoparticles, nanostructure, self-assembly, drug delivery, graphene, etc.) to reveal the commercialization time of nanotechnology products and applications. After that, a survey was carried out with engineers for determining the possible emergence time of nanotechnology applications and/or products used in military up to year 2035. Finally, a roadmap was created based on the obtained data from bibliometric analysis, interviews and survey results.

Nanotechnology roadmap was prepared, one which would contribute to the preparation of the defense industry for the future and help in keeping up with technological developments.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further. Interviews and surveys have limitation with the bounded rationality of corresponders.

The paper proposed a nanotechnology roadmap for the defense sector with a data-led foresight practice.

Performing such a study is considered to be crucial for the armies of developed and developing countries, so that the military sector also avails benefits from this revolutionary technology. Quantitative and qualitative methods were mixed for developing the roadmap.

It is predicted that the bitcoin system will enter many areas of our lives in the future. Although it has many benefits, the most criticized issue of this system is excessive energy consumption. Since an excessive amount of energy is used in this process, it is vital that the preferred energy is environmentally friendly. For example, mining bitcoin with fossil fuels is likely to release a significant amount of carbon gas into the atmosphere. This will cause serious environmental problems. Therefore, great attention should be paid to the type of energy that will be used in bitcoin mining. In this study, it was stated that it would be beneficial to prefer nuclear energy in bitcoin mining. As a result of the use of nuclear energy, no carbon gas is released into the atmosphere. This will help reduce environmental pollution to a significant extent. Another dimension of nuclear energy being preferred in bitcoin mining is that the energy produced is continuous. The main reason for this is that nuclear energy is not affected by climatic conditions and temperature differences. Thanks to the preference of nuclear energy in bitcoin mining, it will be possible to contribute to the uninterrupted progress of this process.