Eastern Bank Research Articles

Pathologies of Porosity: Looming Transitions Along the Mississippi River Ship Channel

This article explores recent developments along the Mississippi River Ship Channel, the Mississippi River Delta, and the port city territory of New Orleans, US. The lower reaches of the Mississippi River through which the ship channel is maintained have become increasingly porous over the past decade, as flooding events have triggered or expanded multiple breaches or crevasses along the river’s eastern bank. This increasing porosity has generated debates between political and economic assemblages favoring different approaches to navigation management, flood control, and ecosystem restoration. The tensions and contradictions facing delta residents, planners, managers, and engineers come down to a question of hydrological porosity in the Mississippi River Delta, both in the river’s navigation channel itself, but also in the estuarine basins that extend from its banks towards the Gulf of Mexico. This article describes how over the past several decades different modes of porosity<em> </em>have emerged in scientific and public discourse around water management. The science and politics of these competing modes of porosity animate a great deal of environmental decision-making in the region today. The article’s analytical framework bridges research focused on the theme of porosity in port city territories, the political ecology of infrastructure standards, and management pathologies in ecosystem management.

Socio-Economic and Cultural Transformation of Women after Establishment of Educational Institutions: A Case Study of Diamond Harbour Blocks-I & II

Contemporary societies of Diamond Harbour two Community Development (CD) blocks are changing rapidly. The Diamond Harbour subdivision has nine CD blocks. Among them the block-I has one municipality (16 ward) and eight gram panchayets. The block-II has only eight gram panchayet. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River where the river meets the Bay of Bengal and the NH-12 highway and Diamond Harbour-Sealdah railway in the vicinity of Kolkata. These two CD blocks is large with an area of 164.02 sq.km. There are population of 346967 including male (177502) and female (169445) (according to 2011census). In the past (before 20 years) time, the two CD blocks was fully dependent on agriculture, brick field and fishery. But after establishment of the educational institutions, the two CD blocks become a developed blocks. Here the study mainly focuses on the identification of Socio-Economic and Cultural transformation of Women of the two CD blocks due to establishment of educational institutions as Neotia Institute of Technology management and Science (2002), Diamond Harbour Women university (2013), Neotia University (2014), Fakir Chand College (1948), Shishuram Das college (2010), Sadhan Chandra Mohavidyalaya (2007), Jyotirmoy Basu Vocational Training Centre (2001), Diamond Harbour Government Medical College and hospital (2019), Ramkrishna Mission Ashram (boys and girls), English Medium School, IIT Engineering College and various Schools and Madrasahs. When the Educational institutions was set up in 2000 the transformation started and then after 2013 when the Dimond Harbour Women University and Neotio University (2014) were established a huge changes is seen in change in language pattern, dress style, traditional customs, mentality of women, women's live, traditional custom disturbed, old ideas and superstitions, view point of women, literacy rate of women, attitude of men, inspire for education, daughter will go to university, try to get govt. job, moving out from house, laws and customs, divorce rate, status of women, dowry system, status of widow women, conservative minds in the women so on. It also incorporates development of music, dance, sports, art belief, morals, and knowledge, and any other capabilities of women etc. Therefore an attempt has been made here to identify the Socio-economic and Cultural transformation of two CD the blocks and its benefit of Women’s Society.

Time-Lag Response of Landslide to Reservoir Water Level Fluctuations during the Storage Period: A Case Study of Baihetan Reservoir

Fluctuations in reservoir water levels exert a strong triggering effect on landslides along reservoir banks, constituting a long-term concern in the safe operation of hydroelectric projects and in the prevention and management of geological disasters. While existing research has investigated the impact of periodic water level changes on the deformation of reservoir bank landslides, observation and detection of such deformation are challenging, with noticeable gaps in understanding how these deformations respond to water level changes during the water impoundment period. To address this, our study targets the Baihetan Reservoir, leveraging 567 ascending and descending LiCSAR data and LiCSBAS (the small-baseline subset within LiCSAR) technology to construct a time series of ground deformations in the study area from 2019 to 2023. The TLCC (Time Lag Cross Correlation) model was employed to examine the time-lag response pattern of reservoir bank landslide deformations to reservoir water level changes during the impoundment period. Our findings indicate a clear time-lag response in reservoir bank landslide deformations to water level changes during the impoundment process. The rise in water levels emerged as a primary factor influencing the instability of reservoir bank landslides. During the half-year impoundment period of the Baihetan Reservoir, a time lag of 5–7 days was observed between landslide deformations and increases in water levels, with landslides on the eastern and western banks exhibiting differing time-lag response patterns. Our study illuminates the time-lag effect between water level changes during reservoir impoundment and reservoir bank landslide deformation monitoring. By proposing a quantitative analysis methodology utilizing LiCSBAS technology and the TLCC model, our findings can inform decision-making in the field of disaster prevention and reduction in reservoir engineering.

Trade in the Ports of Bushire, Khorramshahr, Bandar Abbas, Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat in 1936 A Study Based on Frank Todd’s Report

This article deals with the commercial conditions in the Arab Gulf region in 1936 based on the report prepared by Frank Todd, the British Vice Consul in Bushire. This paper studied only six Gulf ports included in the report, three of which were on the eastern bank of the Arabian Gulf, namely Bushire, Khorramshahr, Bandar Abbas, and three Arab ports, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat. The study provides a clear and integrated picture of their commercial conditions, especially in terms of trade movement, participating countries, exchanged commodities, and financial statements related to exports and imports in terms of increase or decrease. The most prominent finding of this paper was the continuation of British trade in those ports, but not at the level desired by the British government, as its trade witnessed a decline in some ports due to international competition, especially from Japan.

Active faults studies in Delhi and national capital region (NCR): Inferences from satellite data and field investigations

In recent years, the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi has experienced several earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 1.0 to 6.7. According to the last 50 years of earthquake data, the majority of earthquakes in the NCR have occurred near the Mahendragarh Dehradun Fault (MDF) and the Sohna Fault (SF). The region is bounded by a number of subsurface Ridges, Faults, and Lineaments, which are also influenced by the active plate boundary of the Indian and Eurasian plates. Active fault mapping is critical for the precise identification and marking of active fault traces in the NCR area for a precise seismic hazard assessment. We used high resolution Cartosat-1 stereopair data obtained from NRSC, Hyderabad, and Anaglyph (A 3D representation of the surface) and DEM prepared with ENVI software to map the active faults. We identified 12 sites in the NCR region based on satellite data interpretation, primarily along the MDF and Sohna Fault and their extensions. The presence of tectono-geomorphic markers along the MDF and Sohna Fault, such as warped surfaces indicative of fault scarps, stream offsets, gully erosion, and sag ponds, suggests active tectonic movement along these faults, most likely in the recent geological past. We believe the MDF is a right-lateral strike-slip fault with a compressional component on the western side and an extensional component on the eastern side. It acts as a segment boundary between compressional and extensional boundaries. We also identified the right lateral Nuh-Jhirka fault (NJF), which can be the Sohna Fault’s southern extension from Nuh to Jhirka. The western limb of the Delhi Mega fold has also seen a few right-lateral strike-slip movements that have extended up to the eastern bank of the Yamuna River, where the river reflects the base-level change and tight meandering on its upward side and a straight pattern on its downward side. This fault is known as the Delhi Fault (DF). The findings are preliminary, and further research would be required to create a detailed active fault map of the Delhi-NCR region to conduct a precise Seismic Hazard Assessment (SHA) of the region.

Non-Performing Loans and Net Interest Margin in the MENA Region: Linear and Non-Linear Analyses

This paper analyzes the linear and non-linear relationship between non-performing loans and bank profitability measured by the Net Interest Margin for a sample of 74 Middle Eastern and North African banks over the period of 2005–2020. We used the System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) as a linear approach and the Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) model as a non-linear approach. The empirical results of the SGMM approach indicated that the ratio of NPLs negatively affects bank profitability. The findings of the non-linear relationship based on the PSTR model confirmed the existence of a threshold effect. We found that below the threshold of 4.42%, the effect of NPLs is negative but not significant, while after surpassing this threshold, the effect becomes negative and significant. As for bank specifics, we revealed that bank size is positively and significantly associated with bank profitability. For industry factors, we found that more bank concentration decreases bank profitability. Regarding the financial environment, we concluded that the global financial crisis exerted a negative impact on bank profitability. Moreover, we revealed a positive and significant impact of GDP on bank profitability as well as a negative impact of inflation on bank profitability. This study has some limitations regarding the social, economic, and financial differences of the whole sample, which includes banks from the Middle East and others from North Africa. Hence, decomposing the whole sample into two sub-samples could improve the results of this paper.

Traditional Economy in Northern Nigeria: Pre-1968 Economic Activities of the Gungawa of Yauri and Borgu Emirates

This paper examines what some scholars of Economic History such as A.G. Hopkins described as ‘Domestic Economy’ or what others like T.B. Ingawa and G.O. Ogunremi referred to as ‘Pre-Colonial Economy’ of African people. The Economic History of a people is an account of how the people in a particular place or a community earned their living in the past. The primary focus of this paper is an examination of economic activities of the Gungawa before their forceful resettlement from their traditional homeland on the numerous islands and banks of River Niger in Yauri and Borgu Emirates to the eastern and western banks of the river as a result of the construction of Kainji Dam. Although discussions in the paper centre on the pre-colonial period, the scope of the paper is extended to almost two decades after colonial period because the resettlement in 1968 produced everlasting consequences on the pre-1968 economic activities of the Gungawa.

A NEW DATA TO THE STUDIES OF EARLY IRON AGE IN SOUTHERN VOLHYNIA (the Upper Horyn riven region)

This paper introduces the materials of excavations archaeological objects (ash-hills and kurgan) explored in Bazar tract within the Netishyn town of Khmelnytska oblast in 2017. This area is located on the covered with forest first terrace of the eastern bank of Horyn river. Seven possible mounds of an elevation of 0.4—1 m were visually observed at the territory of c. 1 ha. Excavations have shown that this group included seven ash-hills (objects 3—5, 7), kurgan (object 2) and two pseudo-mounds (objects 1 and 6).
 The construction of ash-hills was preceded by functioning of the multi-layered settlement. The layers represent Late Palaeolithic (Swiderian culture), Middle Bronze Age (Gorodotsko-Zdovbytska culture), Late Bronze Age (Trzciniec-Komarivka culture) and Early Iron Age (Mohylianska group). Ash-hills were constructed by Mohylianska group population using the soil from the cultural layer of the settlement. Therefore ash-hills include numerous settlement data, i. e. animal bones, flints, kitchen and table pottery, ceramic spindles etc.
 After a certain chronological gap the site territory was used as a cemetery by Mylohrad culture population, perhaps presuming earlier ash-hills for kurgans. Milohrad population constructed a kurgan, a mound over the main burial, which visually did not differ from ash-hills. Bones were extremely weakly preserved because of the effects of local soils. Funeral inventory includes two pots, iron knife and bronze finger ring. Two more fragmented pots in the mound of one of the ash-hills (object 7), probably, mark one more Mylohrad culture burial there.

Population structure and dynamics of Petrolisthes armatus (Gibbes, 1850) (Anomura: Porcellanidae) in an Amazon estuary

The aim of this study was to assess the environmental factors that modulate the spatiotemporal distribution of Petrolisthes armatus and analyze their population structure, dynamics and secondary production in an Amazon estuary. Monthly samplings were carried out over one year in the intertidal rocky outcrop considering the following environmental features; season (dry and rainy), areas (middle and lower estuary), banks (east and west), substrate with different rock sizes, and the upper and lower intertidal zones. Crab density was positively correlated with salinity and negatively correlated with temperature. Higher densities occurred during dry season, on the eastern bank, in the lower estuary, in the lower intertidal zone, and in the larger rock substrate. The high abundance of P. armatus indicates that this estuary is a suitable habitat for the development of this anomuran, and salinity and substrate were the most important factors driving population structure. High production reflects high density and biomass and the fast growth of this crab indicated that this filter feeder generates substantial production to the benthos. This study corroborated the hypothesis that the high metabolism of P. armatus combined with the high temperature in the Amazon region results in short life span (∼one year), high mortality rate (∼6 year −1), and high P/B ratio (∼4 year −1).

Planning for green infrastructure based on integration of multi-driving factors: A case study in pilot site of sponge city

The implementation of green infrastructure (GI) is crucial for improving the resilience of cities to the challenges of urbanization and climate change. However, the practicality of GI retrofitting is often neglected in traditional GI planning, which tends to focus mainly on the benefits of GI. In this study, we spatially quantify regional states from six aspects, including stormwater management, air quality, access to green space, urban heat island effect, habitat quality and development level on 1km2 grids. While the first five indicators represent the benefits of GI, the last indicator represents the opportunity cost for GI retrofitting. These regional states are treated as driving factors to sway overall GI planning and are further integrated for synergy and trade-off analysis, priority ranking and grids clustering. The results reveal significant spatial unevenness of regional states, which indicates the necessity for targeted GI planning. The spatial pattern of synergy and priority ranking suggests that the city center in the eastern bank of the river should be prioritized for GI intervention. Adaptive GI strategies are proposed based on the results of grids clustering. The developed approach could be conducive for decision makers in implementing targeted GI planning for responding to spatial unevenness.

Drowned Landscapes: The Rediscovered Archaeological Heritage of the Mosul Dam Reservoir

Like natural catastrophes or armed conflicts, resource extraction projects herald the alteration or destruction of natural and cultural landscapes alike. Dam construction is a major threat to cultural heritage in Western Asian archaeology. One event may result in obliterating hundreds of sites, most of which never reappear or do so only sporadically following cyclical water fluctuation. Destruction of sites remains ongoing, necessitating constant assessment of damage and the establishment of strategies of documentation and maintenance. This paper proposes a new paradigm for future safeguarding and, more widely, a new tool for managing contiguous terrestrial and lacustrine cultural zones. It outlines a new set of cost-efficient tools for observing these archaeological localities’ “emergence patterns” and quickly assessing damage timescales and site areas. As a case study, Iraq’s largest hydroelectric basin, the Mosul Dam reservoir on the upper Tigris, is discussed, as it offers several insights into tackling endemic issues of site recording, monitoring, and threat assessment in a constantly shifting environment. The research has profited from an unexpected drought in 2018 yielding archaeological sites and villages thought forever lost and is informed by new archaeological projects recently undertaken on the eastern bank of the lake.

Urban expansion and archaeological sites of Wat Chulamani, the oldest temple in Muang Phitsanulok, Thailand

Wat Chulamani is one of the oldest and the most important Buddhist temples located on the eastern bank of Nan River in Muang Phitsanulok, Thailand. This research aimed to study land use changes of Wat Chulamani itself and surrounding areas in three periods of time: 1997, 2007 and 2017 by using Remote Sensing and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Survey (UAV The satellite data sets derived from LANDSAT–5 TM and LANDSAT–8 OLI systems. To classify land use, supervised classification methodology has been employed using the maximum likelihood algorithm. Land use is classified into 5 classes, which are agricultural land, forest land, urban land, water land and miscellaneous land. The Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to process satellite images and to detect changes over time. The result shows that Wat Chulamani and surrounding areas have been changed because of urban expansion which was mainly induced by Naresuan University establishment in 1990. The observed change shows a reduction of agricultural land and an increase in urban land in the past two decades. This paper demonstrates the potential and usefulness of UAV for mapping and monitoring the archaeological sites. It has been found that Wat Chulamani has experienced a number of changes and renovations.

Sonar investigation of the old Nubian Villages in the bottom topography of Nasser Lake, Egypt

Underwater sonar survey using Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Single beam Echo-sounder (SBES) was used for the investigation of the old Nubian archaeological villages buried within the bottom topography of Nasser Lake. The research objective involved emphasizing the efficiency of marine geophysical techniques in the detection of the submerged old Nubian Villages in Nasser Lake behind the High Dam, the study also aimed to study riverbed topography and determining the old course of the Nile River in the area. The resulted bathymetric maps showed that the two former banks of the Nile River in the study area were characterized by two distinct natures, while the shoreline has retreated with different extents starting from 250 m at the southern regions up to 3 km in the northern parts. The high-resolution sonar images of the bottom uncovered distinctive acoustic patterns according to difference in the returned backscatter strength. Submerged Nubian houses were detected along some areas of the eastern bank, which were found either standing over elevated rocky cliffs or built on multiple tiered levels. Precise target measurements were applied on the detected houses and different dimensions were obtained, which suggest that these houses were built according to the availability of suitable land to construct such dwellings.

Levels and Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Marine Sediments of Eastern Bank Wesha Peninsular, Pemba Island, Tanzania

Levels and Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Marine Sediments of Eastern Bank Wesha Peninsular, Pemba Island, Tanzania

The Social and Political Life of Armenians in the Holy Land

A Palestinian Armenian: The Intertwine between the Social and the Political. Varsen Aghabekian. Dar al-Kalima University Press (2021)The Armenian presence in the Middle East, and in the Holy City in particular, goes back thousands of years. Armenians’ presence in the territory dates back to 420AD when they participated in the construction of St James (Sourp Hagop) Convent. By the sixth century, they had constructed sixty-six religious institutions in Jerusalem. Currently, they still play a big role in the social and religious life in the Holy Land, where the Armenian Quarter stands as the one of the essential religious and ethnic pillars of the old city next to the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish quarters. The Holy Land refers to Palestinian territory and some parts of Israel, an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River. But this book is not solely about the history of the Armenians’ presence in Palestine. As reflected in its title, The Intertwine Between the Social and the Political, this book is about the past and the present of the Armenians of Palestine with implications about their future role in Palestinian nation-building.

First Estimate Biosiliceous Sedimentation Flux in the Pearl River Estuary from 2000–2020 by Satellite Remote Sensing

Biosiliceous sedimentation, closely related to carbon sedimentation in water, has a significant impact on the marine biogeochemical cycle. However, large-scale monitoring data are scarce due to the constraints of biosiliceous sedimentation flux (BSF) gathering methods. There are few reports on the spatiotemporal variation of BSF in estuaries and offshore waters. Additionally, few studies have used satellite remote sensing methods to retrieve BSF. In the paper, satellite images from 2000 to 2020 were used for the first time to estimate the BSF distribution of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) over the past 20 years, based on a remote sensing model combined with particulate organic carbon (POC) deposition data and water depth data. The results showed that the BSF ranged from 100 to 2000 mg/(m2 × d). The accuracy tests indicated that the correlation coefficient (R2) and significance (P) of Pearson correlation analysis were 0.8787 and 0.0018, respectively. The BSF value varied seasonally and increased every year. The BSF did not follow a simple trend of decreasing along the coast to open water. Shenzhen Bay (SZB) generally had a higher BSF value than the Dragon’s Den Waterway (DDW). The BSF in autumn and winter was investigated using empirical orthogonal function analysis (EOF). In autumn, the BSF of the PRE’s eastern bank showed little change, while the BSF of the western bank showed obvious differences. In winter, the BSF in Hong Kong waters and inlet shoals fluctuated less, whereas the BSF in DDW and Lingding Waterway (LW) fluctuated more. The grey correlation analysis (GRA) identified two factors affecting BSF: chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and total suspended solids (TSS). Most BSF were primarily affected by TSS during winter. In spring, the two effects were balanced. TSS affected the east coast in summer, and CDOM was the dominant effect in autumn. Four main parameters influencing the distribution of BSF in the PRE were analyzed: ecosystem, reef, flow field and flocculation. This study showed that using satellite remote sensing to estimate BSF has excellent potential, which is worthy of further discussion in terms of spatiotemporal resolution and model optimization.

The in-depth study of Romanian prehistoric ceramics: Late Neolithic/Eneolithic pottery and clay materials from the Foeni Tell-Orthodox cemetery in Timiş county

The study aims to analyze pottery samples from the archaeological site Foeni Tell – Orthodox Cemetery, a late Neolithic & early Eneolithic multi-stratified site (three phases, covering the period 4720-4457 cal BC), also inhabited during the Early Bronze Age and Middle Ages. The site is located on the western edge of Foeni (Timiș county, Romania), on the eastern bank of the Timișaț river. The analyzed samples come from 20 pottery shards, belonging to the Foeni cultural group (4920/4675–4580/4460 cal BC, corresponding to the later period of the Vinča culture, from the end of phase C to the end of phase D), and are representative of the categories (black, red, orange, painted) and types (fine, semi-fine, coarse) pottery associated with the cultural group; also analyzed were soil samples from the site. Complementary techniques were used in the analysis (TG/DTG, FT-IR, SEM, EDX, XRF, XRD and LIBS) to ascertain details regarding production technology and origin of the raw materials used in making the pottery. Results indicate the pottery was based on a high plasticity illite and montmorillonite paste, alongside albite, microcline, analcime, with heavy use of quartz and mica as temper. The clay composition shows an obvious link between the pottery and the local sampled source, implying the local production of Foeni type pottery. The firing temperature is uniform in Foeni pottery, estimated in the range of 550–600 °C, with a maximum firing temperature of 600 °C, with slightly higher temperatures for painted wares, of up to 620–630 °C, with a maximum temperature of 650 °C. The sole exception has an estimated firing temperature in excess of 900 °C.

Estimating the Risk of Financial Distress Using a Multi-Layered Governance Criterion: Insights from Middle Eastern and North African Banks

In this study, we explored the association of bank-level governance and state-level governance with the likelihood of banks’ financial distress in developing economies. Using a panel data sample of 954 bank-year observations of 106 conventional banks across 14 Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries from 2010 to 2018, we found that bank governance arrangements seemed to be negatively attributed to the probability of financial distress. We also found that the relationship of political stability with financial distress prospects is—contrary to our expectation—insignificant, whereas government effectiveness negatively influences the likelihood of financial distress. Our empirical evidence offers practical implications for bank managers, regulators, and credit rating agencies, and suggests several future research avenues that can build on our findings.

«В краю отцов» российского царедворца: Придунавье — родина И. П. Кутайсова

Studying the Russian-Turkish war of 1768—1774 allows us to shed light on the circumstances preceding the appearance of I. P. Kutaisov (1759—1834) in Russia. Kutaisov was a well-known and powerful courtier during the reign of Pavel I (1796—1801), and the founder of a dynasty of counts very close to the throne. A detailed comparison of the events in 1770 allowed us to find out that during the “sabotage” in Chilia fortress (in August), count N. V. Repnin’s soldiers captivated a Tatar boy from Burkut aul on the eastern bank of the Lake Katlabukh near the Danube, in the vicinity of the fortified locality named ‘Kitay’ (Shikirli-Kitay, now Suvorovo). It seems that his surname Kutaisov derives from this toponym and was given to the child later, in Saint Petersburg. It was a joint effort of several representatives of the Russian elite to send the boy to the capital city as a ‘gift’ to Catherine the Great, after the conquest of Bender (in September). After a solemn ceremony, the Empress sent this ‘live’ gift to serve her son, prince Pavel, who gave the boy his own name (Pavlovich).

Ecological status of Lake Nasser Khors, Egypt, before operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Lake Nasser is an artificial reservoir that represents the national freshwater reserve of Egypt and has a number of khors (side extensions) along its eastern and western banks. These khors covered approximately 79% of the lake’s total surface area and have an important effect on water quality and fish production in the lake. This study aimed to monitor and assess the water quality, distribution, and structure of the biotic community, including phytoplankton, zooplankton, macrophytes, epiphytes, and macrobenthos in two main khors (Tushka West and Dahmeit) during postflood and preflood periods. There was urgency associated with the study, as it was the last opportunity before the storing of the water behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which had begun to fill in July 2020. Although the study confirmed that the water quality of Lake Nasser was good, it is classified as a eutrophic lake (depending on the levels of Chlorophyll-a and nutrients). This study found that pH, NO2, SiO4, NH4, PO4, and temperature were the factors with the greatest effect on the biota community, especially in Dahmeit Khor. In contrast to the phytoplankton and macrobenthos, the highest total density of zooplankton and epiphytic microalgae were detected during the postflood period. This study could be useful in monitoring possible changes in the Lake Nasser environment after the complete filling of the GERD reservoir.