Lending remains one of the major functions of banks in all economies. In fact, interest charged on loans and advances today constitute a sizeable part of banks’ earnings. However, the possibility of failure of loans creates nightmares for not only the borrower and lender, but also poses a serious setback to the economy. This paper identifies non-performing credit as a major threat to the profit...

In the Esalen Institute Transformation Project we are developing an archive of scientific studies concerned with exceptional psychophysical capacities that appear in sport, contemplative practice, the performing arts and other disciplines. In a related and recent study of sport participants, a colleague, Rhea White, and I (Murphy & White, 1978) collected several thousand incidents of altered me...

This paper explores the tensions and incongruities between conventional thesis presentation and the principles of action research. Through the experiences of the authors alternative approaches to thesis structure are proposed which are argued to be more congruent with the epistemological, methodological and ethical aspects of action research. Consistent with our arguments, the paper is presente...

A multidisciplinary dance and theatre arts program geared for high school-aged youth can result in both short-term and the long-term outcomes for its students if it seeks to offer a life-changing peak experience as part of the arts training and performance process. By integrating a combination of dance, movement, theater, music, creative and reflective writing, as well as identity exploration a...

Visual Agents are software entities which assist people in performing graphical tasks. One useful and interesting graphical task is to make a textand-graphic record of a group meeting. When the recording is done live ill view of the group on a large display, such as on a whiteboard, it is a performing art which can be called "Group Graphics." During group graphics, collaboration is enhanced bec...

We are exploring the relationship between accents and expression in piano performance. Accents are local events that attract a listener’s attention and are either evident from the score (immanent) or added by the performer (performed). Immanent accents are associated with grouping (phrasing), metre, melody and harmony. In piano music, performed accents involve changes in timing, dynamics, artic...

The financial crisis of 2008 has heightened the need for more effective and transparent tools in the modelling of capital markets. In this paper we propose to use strategic port-graph rewriting (a particular kind of graph transformation system, where port-graph rewriting rules are controlled by user-defined strategies) as a visual modelling tool to analyse credit derivative markets. We illustra...

This article looks at the negative images on cash trades of in-game assets in Taiwan, through interview of participants in this activity, we believe the blurring of boundaries between work and play, adulthood and adolescence, real and virtual is what distinguishes this market from previous markets of virtual goods, resulting in its social stigma. We then discuss how the participants confront th...