Decision Fusion with Unknown Sensor Detection Probability

In this correspondence we study the problem of channel-aware decision fusion when the sensor detection probability is not known at the decision fusion center. Several alternatives proposed in the literature are compared and new fusion rules (namely 'ideal sensors' and 'locally-optimum detection') are proposed, showing attractive performance and linear complexity. Simulations are provided to compare the performance of the aforementioned rules.Comment: To appear in IEEE Signal Processing Letter

Can oil prices forecast exchange rates?

This paper investigates whether oil prices have a reliable and stable out-of-sample relationship with the Canadian/U.S. dollar nominal exchange rate. Despite state-of-the-art methodologies, the authors find little systematic relation between oil prices and the exchange rate at the monthly and quarterly frequencies. In contrast, the main contribution is to show the existence of a very short-term relationship at the daily frequency, which is rather robust and holds no matter whether the authors use contemporaneous (realized) or lagged oil prices in their regression. However, in the latter case the predictive ability is ephemeral, mostly appearing after instabilities have been appropriately taken into account.Foreign exchange rates ; Economic forecasting

Low-complexity dominance-based Sphere Decoder for MIMO Systems

The sphere decoder (SD) is an attractive low-complexity alternative to maximum likelihood (ML) detection in a variety of communication systems. It is also employed in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems where the computational complexity of the optimum detector grows exponentially with the number of transmit antennas. We propose an enhanced version of the SD based on an additional cost function derived from conditions on worst case interference, that we call dominance conditions. The proposed detector, the king sphere decoder (KSD), has a computational complexity that results to be not larger than the complexity of the sphere decoder and numerical simulations show that the complexity reduction is usually quite significant

The Human Capital Valuation: A Methodological Proposal Among Intellectual Capital Elements

Intellectual Capital (IC) is an important source of value for companies and in recent years has been the focus of attention for scholars. In a knowledge-based economic scenario the role of human resources has been reallocated over time in the theory of the firm to a higher degree than in the past. The worker\u27s labor and management have been transformed as a result of the growing attention to the intangible assets held by each business system. In knowledge economy, manufacturing industries are investing more and more in the processes of scientific and technological research in order to introduce new knowledge in production systems and ensure its survival by creating business value. The competitive firm invests in new productive ideas through scientific and technological research, the human factor and services. The knowledge worker, at every organizational level, has the knowledge that allows the organization to be competitive and deal with the complexity of the environment by creating intellectual added value. The traditional factors of old economy based on physical assets has been replaced, or at least reinforced with the belief that the new economy takes it steps mainly through CI. The aim of this paper is to examine the methods of evaluation of human capital and to provide an empirical methodology proposed by using an intersection logic concerning the increase in value of the three components of intellectual capital. In particular, the proposed methodology consists in the construction of an adjusted multiplier based on a simplified version of VAICTM capable of expressing a direct relationship with the Return on Equity (ROE) from the perspective of creating value for shareholders based on the dynamics of the company’s performance compared to that of industry

The Human Capital Valuation: A Methodological Proposal Among Intellectual Capital Elements

Intellectual Capital (IC) is an important source of value for companies and in recent years has been the focus of attention for scholars. In a knowledge-based economic scenario the role of human resources has been reallocated over time in the theory of the firm to a higher degree than in the past. The worker\u27s labor and management have been transformed as a result of the growing attention to the intangibl e assets held by each business system. In knowledge economy, manufacturing industries are investing more and more in the processes of scientific and technological research in order to introduce new knowledge in production systems and ensure its survival by creating business value. The competitive firm invests in new productive ideas through scientific and technological research, the human factor and services. The knowledge worker, at every organizational level, has the knowledge that allows the organization to be competitive and deal with the complexity of the environment by creating intellectual added value. The traditional factors of old economy based on physical assets has been replaced, or at least reinforced with the belief that the new economy takes it steps mainly through CI. The aim of this paper is to examine the methods of evaluation of human capital and to provide an empirical methodology proposed by using an intersection logic concerning the increase in value of the three components of intelle ctual capital. In particular, the proposed methodology consists in the construction of an adjusted multiplier based on a simplified version of VAICTM capable of expressing a direct relationship with the Return on Equity (ROE) from the perspective of creating value for shareholders based on the dynamics of the company‘s performance compared to that of industry

Feasibility Study and Design of a Wearable System-on-a-Chip Pulse Radar for Contactless Cardiopulmonary Monitoring

A new system-on-a-chip radar sensor for next-generation wearable wireless interface applied to the human health care and safeguard is presented. The system overview is provided and the feasibility study of the radar sensor is presented. In detail, the overall system consists of a radar sensor for detecting the heart and breath rates and a low-power IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee radio interface, which provides a wireless data link with remote data acquisition and control units. In particular, the pulse radar exploits 3.1–10.6 GHz ultra-wideband signals which allow a significant reduction of the transceiver complexity and then of its power consumption. The operating principle of the radar for the cardiopulmonary monitoring is highlighted and the results of the system analysis are reported. Moreover, the results obtained from the building-blocks design, the channel measurement, and the ultra-wideband antenna realization are reported