Fault management and service provisioning process model of next generation access networks

Network operators are nowadays upgrading their access networks to cope with the increasing number of users and the increasing bandwidth required by services. However, cost plays a crucial factor. In order to decide which next generation access network will be implemented, an accurate cost evaluation should be performed. This evaluation requires a total cost of ownership model including a detailed model of the most costly operational processes: fault management and customer provisioning. These models help identifying the most costly sub-processes, where network providers should improve their cost efficiency. This paper presents detailed models for these operational processes and gives an approach to use them for estimating future operational costs

Strengths and weaknesses of computer science degrees: The perception from European students

Purpose: The following investigation aims to highlight strengths and weaknesses of the computer science degree from the part of students. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents the results of a quantitative investigation that sheds light on student’s motivations to pursue or reject computer science. Findings: The study identified the reasons that cause this rejection and suggest them as opportunities to enhance the domain in the future. Practical implications: This study is a preliminary phase of a larger research goal which aims to identify the strategies presented to computer science education using technology to foster interest in the domain among students and professionals in Europe. Originality/value: The declining number of computer science students in Europe is producing negative consequences in the technology field that affect other sectors like the economic and educational ones. In order to analyze this situation and in view of providing solutions to stop the decline, it is primordial to understand the reasons that retain students to choose this domain of study or that attract and retain them in the field.Peer Reviewe

Assessing the overall perceived quality of the undergraduate students

Purpose - The paper is twofold aimed: (i) defining and validating a scale to assess the quality of the university experienced by students and (ii) analyzing the role of the aforementioned di- mensions and their impact on students’ satisfaction. Methodology/Approach - A survey of 2,557 undergraduate students that finished their degrees in 2013 at universities located in the region of Catalonia has been analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). An exploratory analysis suggests the final dimensions that were confirmed in a confirmatory analysis. The psychometric characteristics of the scale are provided to show reliability and validity of the constructs. An extra model (also using SEM) assesses the impact of these dimensions on overall satisfac- tion. Findings - The quality is a multifactor construct composed by: (i) “syllabus”, which refers to the quality of the learning methods and the coordination efforts through the whole study period; (ii) “skills development”, referring to the skills that students might acquire along their studies and (iii) “services and facilities” of the university. Moreover, the first and third factors act as “enablers” for the second factor one. Nevertheless, only “Syllabus” dimension affects significantly on students’ satisfaction, whereas “services and facilities” do not have a significant role, although they are necessary in order to provide a good service. Research Limitation/implication - Although the sample is large enough to draw robust re- sults, it is limited the Catalonia. The paper provides recommendations for university managers and public administration authorities in order to allocate the available resources. Originality/Value of paper - In an era of global competition, universities are trying to adapt to these new requirements by expanding they academic offer, introducing innovative teaching methods, providing teaching resources to lecturers, and updating the general services of the university among others. All these services will be considered when students evaluate their experience at the university. The paper contributes with an assessment scale for the holistic service provided by the university within the period that the student is in the university. These findings can be applied to help define attractive academic programs and provide useful insights on how the supporting facilities should be designed to allow students take advantage of their learning process at universities.Postprint (published version

The impact of the strategic factor in knowledge management projects in the consulting industry

Los proyectos de Gestión del Conocimiento en el sector de la consultoría se han convertido en una necesidad para conseguir ventajas competitivas sostenibles en el tiempo. Entre todos los factores que influyen en el éxito de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento, los factores estratégicos tienen un peso decisivo según la literatura existente. A pesar de que muchos estudios anteriores han destacado el papel del factor estratégico para lograr el éxito de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento, pocos lo han cuantificado. El objetivo de este artículo se centra, en identificar los elementos que configuran el factor estratégico y de cuantificar su contribución en la maximización de beneficios. La metodología de la investigación se basa en los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales para validar las hipótesis. Los resultados confirman la importancia de la dimensión estratégica en un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en las empresas de consultoríaThe projects of Knowledge Management in the consulting industry have become a necessity to obtain sustainable competitive advantages. Between all the factors that influence in the success of a Knowledge Management project, the strategic ones have a decisive weight according to existing literature. Although many studies raise the issue of strategy’s influence on Knowledge Management success, few have measured them. This paper aims to identify the elements that configure the strategic dimension and measure its contribution in order to maximize the profit. The research methodology is based on a Structural Equation Model to validate the hypothesis. The findings highlight the huge influence of strategy in Knowledge Management project’s success in the consultancy industryPeer Reviewe

Fault location algorithms for optical networks

Today, there is no doubt that optical networks are the solution to the explosion of Internet traffic that two decades ago we only dreamed about. They offer high capacity with the use of Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) techniques among others. However, this increase of available capacity can be betrayed by the high quantity of information that can be lost when a failure occurs because not only one, but several channels will then be interrupted. Efficient fault detection and location mechanisms are therefore needed. Our challenge is to identify and locate failures (single or multiple) at the physical layer of an optical network in the presence of some lost and/or false alarms. After briefly introducing optical networks and the multiplexing techniques that can be used, we study the most common components and their most usual failures. We propose a classification of all the network components based on their behaviour when failures occur. This classification gives an abstract model of the optical network, which is appropriate for developing algorithms to locate faulty elements. Two algorithms that solve the fault location problem are proposed. Both algorithms cope with existence of false and missing alarms when locating single and multiple failures. The problem of locating multiple failures already in the absence of false or missing alarms, has been shown to be NP-complete. The first algorithm, which is called Alarm Filtering Algorithm (AFA) is based on the combination of two approaches: forward and backward. The forward approach returns for each network element, their domain, which is the set of network elements that will send an alarm when the considered element fails. The backward approach returns the set of elements that are directly related to the received alarms. In this approach, the alarms that are considered to provide redundant information, are discarded. The combination of the results given by both approaches allows the location of multiple failures, given an allowed number of false and missing alarms. However, this algorithm does not minimize the complexity when new alarms are received. Hence, a second algorithm, which is called Fault Location Algorithm (FLA), is proposed. The FLA concentrates the complexity in ,a pre-computation phase, so that when new alarms are received, the result of the algorithm is rapidly displayed. The FLA algorithm is based on the construction of a binary tree that realizes a non linear error correcting code. The FLA has also been extended to locate soft failures in addition to hard failures. Hard failures are unexpected failures, whereas soft failures are progressive failures due to equipment aging, misalignments or external factors such as temperature or pressure. Both algorithms are compared on some simulated networks using different network topologies and failure cases. The comparison has also be done on the basis of their worst case complexity. Some conclusions indication with which settings each algorithm perform the best, were obtained

The impact of employee empowerment on organisational performance: The mediating role of employee engagement and organisational citizenship behaviour

Purpose: This study assesses the mediating role of employee engagement and organisational citizenship behaviour in the relationship between employee empowerment (structural, psychological) and organisational performance in non-commercial banks in Ghana.Design/methodology: A structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypothesis based on 304 employees selected from eight non-commercial banks in the Bono Region, Ghana.Findings: Neither structural nor psychological empowerment are a direct contributor to organisational performance but they positively influence organisational citizenship behaviour and employee engagement. Employee engagement and organisational citizenship behaviour show no effect on organisational performance. Organisational citizenship behaviour was also found to be a significant mediator in the relationship between employee empowerment (structural and psychological) and organisational performance but employee engagement is not a significant mediator.Practical implications: The study offers managers information to help deal with absenteeism, increase employee psychological health, promote better home life, improve employee retention and increase job satisfaction. Practitioners are offered insights to help involve their employees in decision-making and offer them the freedom to act on their own. Finally, practically, the results reveal the need to retain employees who have organisational citizenship behaviour to improve performance.Originality/value: The study serves two purposes: as a confirmatory and as a hypothesised model. The confirmatory model entails goodness of fit and chi-square test. The hypothesised model relies on examining the interactions among structural and psychological empowerment, organisational citizenship behaviour, employee engagement and organisational performance in a developing econom

HeCSON: Heuristic for Configuration Selectionin Optical Network Planning

We present a transceiver configuration selection heuristic combining Enhanced Gaussian Noise (EGN) models, which shows a 40\% increase in throughput and 87\% decrease in execution time, compared to only approximate EGN and Full-Form EGN respectively

Modelo de sistema basado en los factores clave para el diseño e implementación de proyectos de Gestión del Conocimiento. Aplicación al sector de la consultoría

El objetivo principal de esta Tesis Doctoral es construir un modelo para el diseño e implementación de proyectos de Gestión del Conocimiento basado en los factores clave en el sector de la consultoría en Catalunya. La investigación está estructurada en cuatro grandes bloques:El primer bloque (Bloque I) titulado "Introducción y estado del arte" consta de dos partes. La primera de ellas es una introducción general al trabajo, donde se detallan la justificación y los objetivos de la investigación, la metodología de trabajo y la aportación original de la Tesis. La segunda parte describe el estado del arte que proporciona el marco teórico de la investigación tras la revisión de la bibliografía consultada. Se tratan los conceptos básicos y la revisión de los modelos de esta disciplina, además de realizar un análisis del sector de la consultoría. Por último, se plantean las hipótesis de la investigación.El segundo bloque (Bloque II) trata de la contrastación de los factores clave de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en una empresa consultora. En primer lugar, se explica cómo se ha desarrollado la investigación empírica a través de las encuestas y el tratamiento estadístico posterior. El modelo teórico utilizado se basa en el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales, ampliamente utilizado para conocer relaciones causales entre variables. En segundo lugar se realiza la contrastación de cada una de las hipótesis planteadas.El tercer bloque (Bloque III) propone el diseño del modelo del proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en una empresa consultora basado en los factores clave identificados. El último bloque (Bloque IV), desarrolla las conclusiones e implicaciones de la Tesis Doctoral. Además, se explican líneas de investigación futuras que se abren con esta investigación. Por último se detalla la bibliografía utilizada en la Tesis Doctoral. Tras la revisión de la literatura existente y de la investigación empírica realizada, se concluye que los factores clave de éxito se pueden agregar en tres grupos, que son los estratégicos, tecnológicos y culturales. En primer lugar, están los factores estratégicos que son aquellos que garantizan que el proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento esté concebido desde una perspectiva estratégica y al que la dirección de la compañía dé todo el apoyo de una forma expresa, pública y real. Por otro lado, la dirección debe procurar una flexibilidad en la estructura de la empresa para que las personas tengan la libertad y autonomía suficiente para desarrollar su trabajo de manera profesional. Además, los proyectos de Gestión del Conocimiento en las empresas consultoras pueden ser aprovechados por la dirección de la empresa para reorientar el rumbo de ésta. Es decir, actúan de soporte para reorientar la visión, misión y valores de la compañía y alcanzar de este modo los objetivos establecidos.En segundo lugar, una buena elección e implantación de la tecnología permitirá obtener beneficios importantes para la organización. En la actualidad, la tecnología permite realizar múltiples trabajos y de diferentes modos y maneras. Un aspecto fundamental es que la empresa elija, dentro de la variedad existente en el extenso mercado tecnológico, la herramienta que solucione la problemática de la empresa consultora y que sea adecuada y proporcionada. Es indiscutible que uno de los facilitadores para implementar de manera eficiente un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento son las tecnologías de la información.En tercer lugar, están los factores culturales, entendidos como aquellos valores que son compartidos por la organización y determinan el modo de funcionar de la empresa. Estos valores deben fomentar la colaboración entre las personas, la confianza en la transmisión de conocimientos y la cooperación entre sus miembros. Sin todos estos aspectos la incidencia positiva de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento en una empresa consultora será menor de lo esperado.Con este estudio se quiere aportar a esta línea de investigación un mayor soporte empírico Los trabajos previos sugieren una relación positiva entre los factores clave y el éxito del proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento, pero ninguno lo relaciona cuantitativamente y este punto es una aportación original en esta materia. Esta investigación, pues, ofrece una metodología innovadora dentro del estudio de los factores clave de éxito de un proyecto de Gestión del Conocimiento.The main objective of this Doctoral Thesis is to build a model for the design and implementation of Knowledge Management projects based on the critical success factors in the sector of the consultancy in Catalonia. The investigation is structured in four main blocks: The first block (Block I) entitled "Introduction and literature review" consists of two parts. The former gives a general introduction to the work, which includes the research justification and its objectives, the used methodology and the results of this thesis. The later describes the state of the art, which provides a theoretical frame of the research and it introduces the hypotheses of the investigation. The second block (Block II) contrasts the critical success factors of a Knowledge Management project in a consulting company. First, the empirical investigation based on surveys is explained, as well as the subsequent statistical treatment. This data is used by the theoretical model, which is a structural equation model, widely used to know causal relations between variables. The results of this model are the relations of the critical success factors. Next, each of the presented hypotheses is compared. The third block (Block III) proposes the design and methodology of a Knowledge Management project in a consulting company based on the critical success factors obtained previously. The last block (Block IV), concludes the Thesis by wrapping the results and summarizing the most important findings. In addition, this part proposes future research topics, which have been left open after the performed research. Lastly, the detailed biography used in this thesis is given.Based on the literature review and the performed empirical investigation, it can be concluded that the critical success factors can be grouped in three groups: strategic, technological and the cultural ones: The strategic factors guarantee that the Knowledge Management projects are conceived from a strategic perspective. The senior management should fully support them in an express, public, and real way. Furthermore, the management should also offer a flexible organisational structure, so that the people can have enough freedom and autonomy to develop their own work in a professional way. Furthermore, the Knowledge Management projects in consulting companies can be useful to reorient the vision, mission and values of the companies.Concerning the technological factors, it can be concluded that a good election and implantation of the technology helps obtaining important benefits for the organization. At the present time, technology allows making diverse tasks in different ways. A fundamental aspect for a company to achieve high benefits, is that it is able to choose, among the extensive technological market, the tool that solves the specific consulting company problem in a proportional and adequate way. It is indisputable that one of the key enablers for implementing efficiently Knowledge Management project is information technologies.The cultural factors, which are those values that are shared by the organization, determine the way the company works. These values must encourage the collaboration between people, the confidence in the knowledge exchange and the cooperation between their members. Without all these aspects, the positive incidence of a Knowledge Management project in a consultant company would be significantly less than expected. With this study we aimed at contributing the empirical support to confirm the importance of these factors. Previous work suggested a positive relation between the critical success factors and the success of a Knowledge Management project, but none related in a quantitative way as presented in this thesis. Thus, this investigation offers an innovating methodology within the study of the success factors in a Knowledge Management project in the consulting firms to achieve the maximum success