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

What is an algorithm

To make a computer do anything, you have to write a computer program. To write a computer program, you have to tell the computer, step by step, exactly what you want it to do. The computer then "executes" the program, following each step mechanically, to accomplish the end goal. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2852

What is an emerging technology?

There is considerable and growing interest in the emergence of novel technologies, especially from the policy-making perspective. Yet as an area of study, emerging technologies lacks key foundational elements, namely a consensus on what classifies a technology as ’emergent’ and strong research designs that operationalize central theoretical concepts. The present paper aims to fill this gap by developing a definition of ’emerging technologies’ and linking this conceptual effort with the development of a framework for the operationalisation of technological emergence. The definition is developed by combining a basic understanding of the term and in particular the concept of ’emergence’ with a review of key innovation studies dealing with definitional issues of technological emergence. The resulting definition identifies five attributes that feature in the emergence of novel technologies. These are: (i) radical novelty, (ii) relatively fast growth, (iii) coherence, (iv) prominent impact, and (v) uncertainty and ambiguity. The framework for operationalising emerging technologies is then elaborated on the basis of the proposed attributes. To do so, we identify and review major empirical approaches (mainly in, although not limited to, the scientometric domain) for the detection and study of emerging technologies (these include indicators and trend analysis, citation analysis, co-word analysis, overlay mapping, and combinations thereof) and elaborate on how these can be used to operationalise the different attributes of emergence

What is an intelligent system?

The concept of intelligent system has emerged in information technology as a type of system derived from successful applications of artificial intelligence. The goal of this paper is to give a general description of an intelligent system, which integrates previous approaches and takes into account recent advances in artificial intelligence. The paper describes an intelligent system in a generic way, identifying its main properties and functional components, and presents some common categories. The presented description follows a practical approach to be used by system engineers. Its generality and its use is illustrated with real-world system examples and related with artificial intelligence methods

What is an Almost Normal Surface

A major breakthrough in the theory of topological algorithms occurred in 1992 when Hyam Rubinstein introduced the idea of an almost normal surface. We explain how almost normal surfaces emerged naturally from the study of geodesics and minimal surfaces. Patterns of stable and unstable geodesics can be used to characterize the 2-sphere among surfaces, and similar patterns characterize the 3-sphere among 3-manifolds. Analogous patterns of normal and almost normal surfaces led Rubinstein to an algorithm for recognizing the 3-sphere

What is in an octopus\u27s mind?

It is difficult to imagine what an animal as different from us as the octopus ‘thinks’, but we can make some progress. In the Umwelt or perceptual world of an octopus, what the lateralized monocular eyes perceive is not color but the plane of polarization of light. Information is processed by a bilateral brain but manipulation is done by a radially symmetrical set of eight arms. Octopuses do not self-monitor by vision. Their skin pattern system, used for excellent camouflage, is open loop. The output of the motor system of the eight arms is organized at several levels — brain, intrabrachial commissure and local brachial ganglia. Octopuses may be motivated by a combination of fear and exploration. Several actions — a head bob for motion parallax, a ‘Passing Cloud’ skin display to startle prey, and particularly exploration by their arms — demonstrate the presence of a controlling mind, motivated to gather information. Yet most octopuses are solitary and many are cannibalistic, so they must always be on guard, even against conspecifics. The actions of octopuses can be domain general, with flexible problem-solving strategies, enabling them to survive “by their wits” in a challenging and variable environment

What effects is EMU having on the euro area and its member countries? An overview

This paper addresses the effects of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) since the introduction of the euro -- on economic and financial structures, institutions and performance. What type of changes is the euro fostering? What forces is it setting in motion that were not there before? Six years after the launch of the euro, was an appropriate time to start taking stock of these effects. For this purpose, in June 2005, the ECB held a workshop on “What effects is EMU having on the euro area and its member countries?” The workshop was organised in five areas: 1. trade integration, 2. business cycles synchronisation, economic specialisation and risk sharing, 3. financial integration, 4. structural reforms in product and labour markets, and 5. inflation persistence. This paper sets the workshop in the context of the current debate on the effects of EMU and brings together several of the issues raised by the leading presentations: i.e., this paper serves as an overview. Overall, the effects of the euro observed are beneficial. However, progress has been uneven in the above areas. Many potential concerns preceding the launch of the euro have been dispelled. Moreover, it will take more time for the full effects of the euro to unravel. JEL Classification: E42, F13, F33, F42Economic and Monetary Integration and EMU, Optimum Currency Area

What Exactly is an Insight? A Literature Review

Insights are often considered the ideal outcome of visual analysis sessions. However, there is no single definition of what an insight is. Some scholars define insights as correlations, while others define them as hypotheses or aha moments. This lack of a clear definition can make it difficult to build visualization tools that effectively support insight discovery. In this paper, we contribute a comprehensive literature review that maps the landscape of existing insight definitions. We summarize key themes regarding how insight is defined, with the goal of helping readers identify which definitions of insight align closely with their research and tool development goals. Based on our review, we also suggest interesting research directions, such as synthesizing a unified formalism for insight and connecting theories of insight to other critical concepts in visualization research.Comment: Technical report. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2206.0476