Comparison of spectrum occupancy measurements using software defined radio RTL-SDR with a conventional spectrum analyzer approach

In the present day Cognitive Radio has become a realistic option for solution of the spectrum scarcity problem in wireless communication. Recently, the TV band has attracted attention due to the considerable potential for exploitation of available TV white space which is not utilized based on time and location. In this paper, we investigate spectrum occupancy of the UHF TV band in the frequency range from 470 to 862MHz by using two different devices, the low cost device RTL-SDR and high cost spectrum analyzer. The spectrum occupancy measurements provide evidence of the utility of using the inexpensive RTL SDR and illustrate its effectiveness for detection of the percentage of spectrum utilization compared with results from the conventional high cost Agilent spectrum analyzer, both systems employing various antennas

Risks and return of banking activities related to hedge funds.

There are approximately 10,000 hedge funds worldwide, managing assets of over USD 1.5 trillion. Investment banking activities are more and more intertwined with hedge funds, as hedge funds obtain financing from banks through prime brokerage and are clients or counterparties of banks for all sorts of products. The development of hedge funds has therefore created many opportunities for investment banks. Bank benefit from hedge funds activities directly to the extent that hedge funds are their clients. All capital market activities benefit from it, from brokerage and research to derivatives. Prime brokerage has become a growing source of income. Banks have a very important business of providing derivatives and products, from vanilla products to more complex, customized and exotic products. Hedge funds are also possible underlyings for derivatives. Many banks, including Société Générale, have developed a business of writing options on hedge funds as well as providing leverage to funds of funds. Investment banks are not only making profits by transacting with hedge funds. They also benefi t indirectly through more trading: on certain specifi c specialized market, like structured complex derivatives, there would be no market at all without the availability of hedge funds that are willing to take the risks. Together, as two intertwined partners, hedge funds and investment banks have extended the reach and effi ciency of capital markets. The benefi ts that this system brings to the economy as a whole is widely recognized. Not only do hedge funds provide important benefi ts for the economy in general but their risks are manageable. The risks for investors are overplayed. Whatever the risk measure, hedge funds are clearly less risky than equities. As regards operational risks, the market itself is able to generate protection solutions. Academic research has shown that operational risks can be dealt in the most extensive way by using managed account platforms, such as the Lyxor platform. The risks for banks are under control and the move toward “risk-based margining” has improved very much their risk management. Banks in general invest a lot of resources in monitoring hedge funds qualitatively through due-diligences. They also put different types of limits in order to cover different aspects of risks: nominal limits, stress test limits, limits on delta, limits on vega, expected tail loss limits. Moreover, they regulate their capital requirements using not only Value at Risk, the usual tool used by banks to allocate capital to market risks, but also stress tests losses based on the worst possible scenarios. These very sophisticated models are quite convincing. There is no reason to believe that they will not work in practice under stress conditions. There are also general consideration about a systemic risk that would be something else than banking risks, but it has no real argument to back it up. Hedge funds are fi rst of all the result of a signifi cant improvement of asset management techniques. These improvements are here to stay, whatever the regulatory environment will become, since these techniques will be more and more part of the mainstream asset management world. Hedge funds are more and more institutionalized. They will eventually merge with “classical” asset management, while some forms of compromises between hedge funds and classical asset management, such as absolute return funds or 130-30 funds, are becoming more common. Hedge funds are just a nice new development of capital markets that, like all past capital market developments, will be irreversible and will contribute to a more effi cient fi nancial system.

Optical Networks and the Future of Broadband Services

The evolution of broadband services will depend on the widespread deployment of optical networks. The deployment of such networks will, in turn, help drive increased demand for additional capacity. In this world, service providers will have a growing need to be able to flexibly adjust capacity to accommodate uncertain and growing demand. In this article, we present a cost model that highlights the advantages of new optical networking technologies such as Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) over traditional architectures for optical networks. This analysis highlights the increased flexibility and scalability of DWDM networks, which lowers the deployment costs of such networks in light of growing and uncertain demand. The DWDM architecture holds the promise of allowing the emergence of wavelength markets, where traffic could be switched between service provider networks at the optical layer (without the need for multiple costly and wasteful electronic/optical conversions). While the DWDM and Optical Cross-Connect (OxC) technologies provide a technical infrastructure for supporting wavelength markets, additional developments are also likely to be required. This paper also considers some of the impediments to the growth of wavelength markets, namely the need for secondary markets and standardized contracts

When the Machine Stops: The Impact of Information Technology Failure on Firm Value

Previous research on information technology (IT) failures has predominantly focused on determining the impact of security breaches on firm value. However, little is known about IT failures that emerge accidentally and are unrelated to security incidents. This study approaches this notable research gap by applying the resource weakness framework and utilizing event study methodology. Based on a sample of 571 failure events from publicly-traded European firms, we find that non-security-related IT failures result on average in a 0.32% decline in firm value over a two-day event window. Interestingly, this decline is diminishing in more recent years. Moreover, the loss in firm value is particularly pronounced if the failure is caused by a software error (1.08%). In sum, our findings suggest that the often-neglected resource weakness perspective – that complements resource strengths within resource-based view – has strong explanatory power regarding the contingency factors of IT failure events

Impact of Service-Centric Computing on Business and Education

Service-centric computing is one of the new IT paradigms that are transforming the way corporations organize their information resources. However, research and teaching activities in the IS community are lagging behind the recent advances in the corporate world. This paper investigates the impact of service-centric computing on business and education. We first examine the transformative impacts of service-centric computing on business and education in the foreseeable future. Then, we discuss opportunities and challenges in new research directions and instructional innovations with respect to service-centric computing. We believe that this article will serve as a good starting point for our IS colleagues to explore this exciting and emerging area of research and teaching

Resource based view of industrial automation original equipment manufacturers and dynamic capabilities for competitive survival: an African perspective

The overall automation industry is dominated by a few major multinationals and this industry has experienced a revolution in the 1980’s when computers were introduced as human machine interfaces and pneumatic instruments were replaced by digital instruments. Although this revolution changed the way automation technology was perceived, over the last few decades the industry has not experienced significant technological success in term of breakthrough innovation that would advance its solutions offerings to the market. On the contrary, the underlying technology has to an extent commoditized like IT and the playing field has been largely stagnant. Commoditization of technology being a reality, the only differentiating facets for the industry are the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) skills, capabilities and abilities to maintain strategic advantage. This research utilizes the theoretical frameworks of Resource Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities (DC) to evaluate the strategic competitiveness and sustainability of industrial automation OEM’s in Africa. The subject matter of this case study is Schneider Electric, this OEM operates across the continuous and discreet automation spectrums with a presence across Africa. The case study identifies the Dynamic Capabilities of an industrial automation OEM by using Schneider Electric as a reference to understand how industrial automation OEM’s can develop and sustain strategic competitiveness within the industry in Africa. This study also identifies the predicament of an industrial automation OEM to invest in resources and undertake actions that are required to maintain competitiveness on the African continent.A indústria global de automatização é dominada por grandes multinacionais tendo sofrido uma revolução nos anos 80 quando se introduziram os computadores como um Interface Homem Máquina (IHM) e os instrumentos pneumáticos foram substituídos por instrumentos digitais. Embora esta revolução tenha mudado a forma como percebemos a tecnologia de automatização, nas últimas décadas, esta não obteve muito em termos de sucesso tecnológico e inovação de forma a incentivar o seu processo de evolução. Muito pelo contrário, tem sido amplamente comoditizada, ex. Tecnologia Informática, em que os seus campos de actuação estão, em grande parte, estagnados. A comoditização da tecnologia, sendo uma realidade, faz com que os únicos factores diferenciadores e que permitem manter uma vantagem estratégica para a indústria sejam os Fabricantes de Equipamentos Originais (FEO), as competências e as capacidades. Este trabalho de pesquisa utiliza o enquadramento teórico da Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR), as Capacidades Dinâmicas (CD) e princípios de Organização de Aprendizagem (AO) para avaliar a competitividade estratégica e a sustentabilidade dos FEO’s de automatização industrial em África. O objecto deste estudo é a Schneider Electric. Este FEO, opera através de espectros de automatização contínuos e discretos com presença em todo o continente Africano. Este estudo identifica as CD de um FEO de automatização industrial usando a Schneider Electric como referencia para compreender como os FEO’s de automatização industrial podem desenvolver e manter a competitividade estratégica nesta indústria em África. Este estudo também identifica a dificuldade para um FEO em investir em recursos e levar a cabo as acções necessárias para manter a competitividade no continente Africano

What Is an Index?

Technological advances in telecommunications, securities exchanges, and algorithmic trading have facilitated a host of new investment products that resemble theme-based passive indexes but which depart from traditional market-cap-weighted portfolios. I propose broadening the definition of an index using a functional perspective—any portfolio strategy that satisfies three properties should be considered an index: (1) it is completely transparent; (2) it is investable; and (3) it is systematic, i.e., it is entirely rules-based and contains no judgment or unique investment skill. Portfolios satisfying these properties that are not market-cap-weighted are given a new name: “dynamic indexes.” This functional definition widens the universe of possibilities and, most importantly, decouples risk management from alpha generation. Passive strategies can and should be actively risk managed, and I provide a simple example of how this can be achieved. Dynamic indexes also create new challenges of which the most significant is backtest bias, and I conclude with a proposal for managing this risk