Does Massive MIMO Fail in Ricean Channels?

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is now making its way to the standardization exercise of future 5G networks. Yet, there are still fundamental questions pertaining to the robustness of massive MIMO against physically detrimental propagation conditions. On these grounds, we identify scenarios under which massive MIMO can potentially fail in Ricean channels, and characterize them physically, as well as, mathematically. Our analysis extends and generalizes a stream of recent papers on this topic and articulates emphatically that such harmful scenarios in Ricean fading conditions are unlikely and can be compensated using any standard scheduling scheme. This implies that massive MIMO is intrinsically effective at combating interuser interference and, if needed, can avail of the base-station scheduler for further robustness.Comment: IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, accepte

Statistics on Loss of Nationality in the EU. CEPS Liberty and Security in Europe No. 70/December 2014

This paper was prepared as a Policy Brief for discussion at the final conference of the project on Involuntary Loss of European Citizenship: Exchanging Knowledge and Identifying Guidelines for Europe, 11-12 December 2014. Co-funded by the European Commission’s DG for Justice, Citizenship and Fundamental Rights, the ILEC project has aimed to establish a framework for debate on international norms on involuntary loss of nationality. For more information visit: www.ilecproject.eu

Mapping Statistics on Loss of Nationality in the EU: A new online database. CEPS Liberty and Security in Europe No. 76/December 2014

Statistics can be useful when assessing the practical relevance of varying rules and practices on the involuntary loss of nationality across EU member states. Yet while much progress has been made within the EU in recent years with regard to the collection of comparable and reliable information on the acquisition of nationality, statistics on the loss of nationality are hard to find and, where available, difficult to interpret. In this comparative report, the authors explore the landscape of existing statistical data on loss of nationality in the European Union. They identify challenges to the existing methods of data collection and data interpretation and introduce an online statistical database, bringing together all existing statistical data on loss of nationality in the EU. These data are summarised in tables and graphs and discussed with reference to the relevant national and European sources. The authors conclude with recommendations to policy-makers on how to improve data collection in this area

Peran Orangtua dalam Mendidik Keuangan pada Anak (Kajian Pustaka)

One of the misconceptions about money is waiting the children to grow into an adult to teach them how to manage money properly. This effects the growth of children into adulthood without having the knowledge and skill in managing money properly, which reduce the chances in achieving financial freedom. Through this research, financial education is explained as one forms of financial literacy to be taught by the parents to the children. Furthermore, a concrete way in teaching children to have knowledge and skills in managing money properly is also described. Keywords: financial education, financial literacy, children, parent

Surveying trends in analogy-inspired product innovation

Analogies play a well-noted role in innovative design. Analogical reasoning is central to the practices of design-by-analogy and bio-inspired design. In both, analogies are used to derive abstracted principles from prior examples to generate new design solutions. While numerous laboratory and classroom studies of analogy usage have been published, relatively few studies have systematically examined real-world design-by-analogy to describe its characteristics and impacts. To better teach design-by-analogy and develop support tools for engineers, specific insights are needed regarding, for example, what types of product advantages are gained through design-by-analogy and how different design process characteristics influence its outcomes. This research comprises two empirical product studies which investigate analogical inspiration in real-world design to inform the development of new analogy methods and tools. The first, an exploratory pilot study of 57 analogy-inspired products, introduces the product study method and applies several categorical variables to classify product examples. These variables measure aspects such as the composition of the design team, the driving approach to analogical reasoning, and the achieved benefits of using the analogy-inspired concept. The full scale study of 70 analogy-inspired products uses formal collection and screening methods and a refined set of classification variables to analyze examples. It adopts a cross-sectional approach, using statistical tests of association to detect relationships among variables. Combined, these surveys of real-world analogy-inspired innovation inform the development of analogy tools and provide a general account of distant analogy usage across engineering disciplines. The cross-sectional product study method demonstrated in this work introduces a valuable tool for investigating factors and impacts of real-world analogy usage in design.M.S

Cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccinating children in Malawi with RTS,S vaccines in comparison with long-lasting insecticide-treated nets

BACKGROUND: New RTS,S malaria vaccines may soon be licensed, yet its cost-effectiveness is unknown. Before the widespread introduction of RTS,S vaccines, cost-effectiveness studies are needed to help inform governments in resource-poor settings about how best to prioritize between the new vaccine and existing malaria interventions. METHODS: A Markov model simulated malaria progression in a hypothetical Malawian birth cohort. Parameters were based on published data. Three strategies were compared: no intervention, vaccination at one year, and long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) at birth. Both health service and societal perspectives were explored. Health outcomes were measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted and costed in 2012 US$. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated and extensive sensitivity analyses were conducted. Three times GDP per capita ($1,095) per DALY averted was used for a cost-effectiveness threshold, whilst one times GDP ($365) was considered ‘very cost-effective’. RESULTS: From a societal perspective the vaccine strategy was dominant. It averted 0.11 more DALYs than LLINs and 0.372 more DALYs than the no intervention strategy per person, while costing$10.04 less than LLINs and $59.74 less than no intervention. From a health service perspective the vaccine’s ICER was$145.03 per DALY averted, and thus can be considered very cost-effective. The results were robust to changes in all variables except the vaccine and LLINs’ duration of efficacy. Vaccines remained cost-effective even at the lowest assumed efficacy levels of 49.6% (mild malaria) and 14.2% (severe malaria), and the highest price of $15. However, from a societal perspective, if the vaccine duration efficacy was set below 2.69 years or the LLIN duration of efficacy was greater than 4.24 years then LLINs became the more cost-effective strategy. CONCLUSION: The results showed that vaccinating Malawian children with RTS,S vaccines was very cost-effective from both a societal and a health service perspective. This result was robust to changes in most variables, including vaccine price and vaccine efficacy, but was sensitive to the duration of efficacy of the vaccine and LLINs. Given the best evidence currently available, vaccines can be considered as a very cost-effective component of Malawi’s future malaria control programmes. However, long-term follow-up studies on both interventions are needed

Population-level approaches to universal health coverage in resource-poor settings: Lessons from tobacco control policy in Vietnam

Population-based health promotion and disease prevention approaches are essential elements in achieving universal health coverage; yet they frequently do not appear on national policy agendas. This paper suggests that resource-poor countries should take greater advantage of such approaches to reach all segments of the population to positively affect health outcomes and equity, especially considering the epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases and associated modifiable risk factors. Tobacco control policy development and implementation in Vietnam provides a case study to discuss opportunities and challenges associated with such strategies