Small Satellites Constellations and Their Impact on CBRNe Management in Africa

A wave of small satellites massive constellations, in the range of hundreds of units each, is progressively populating the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with a low-price, and varied, offer of Telecom (speed band) and Earth Imaging services (Starlink, Planet, One Web, etc.). It is a market - driven trend based on new satellite interlocking technologies, which cut down the supplier costs of launch and in orbit operations compared to the traditional technology based on big (and much heavier) geostationary satellites operating at high altitudes. This is a disruptive phenomenon especially for the developing world, where such vital services have always been hard to access, and their use therefore remained scarce, not consolidated, or even completely missing. Among these, Emergency management is definitely crucial. The geographical focus of this study is Africa and it deals not only with Institutional PRS users but with a wider potential context (corporations, private subjects, etc.). It clearly appears that a general degree of “Country readiness” toward Space technology and organization is necessary for these initiatives to take place. This can be achieved through certified international cooperation. The authors then, based on an estimated demand Model for services with their relative pricing corresponding to a cost-designed constellation of small microsatellites, presented already, among other, at several International Astronautical Federation(IAF)Symposia on Space Economy, simulate the resulting type of services available: TLC by band types and relative upload and download rates, Earth imaging by refresh rates and optical quality and resolution, Ground segment configuration for signal backhauling and user terminal receiving.. This info isapplied to a specific African Country case (Nigeria) whose significance emerged over other Countries after the application of comparative grids. Finally, an insight on the specifically configuration of services for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNe) like management by local users, both maritime and land, with the relative costs, is offered. This is consequently left open for follow ups and discussion, due to the customer – design, project financing approaches of this Model programme.

Association between telehealth use and general practitioner characteristics during COVID-19: findings from a nationally representative survey of Australian doctors

ObjectiveTo investigate factors associated with the use of telehealth by general practitioners (GPs) during COVID-19.DesignA nationally representative longitudinal survey study of Australian doctors analysed using regression analysis.SettingGeneral practice in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants448 GPs who completed both the 11th wave (2018–2019) of the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) Survey and the MABEL COVID-19 Special Online Survey (May 2020).Outcome measuresProportion of all consultations delivered via telephone (audio) or video (audiovisual); proportion of telehealth consultations delivered via video.Results46.1% of GP services were provided using telehealth in early May 2020, with 6.4% of all telehealth consultations delivered via video. Higher proportions of telehealth consultations were observed in GPs in larger practices compared with solo GPs: between +0.21 (95% CI +0.07 to +0.35) and +0.28 (95% CI +0.13 to +0.44). Greater proportions of telehealth consultations were delivered through video for GPs with appropriate infrastructure and for GPs with more complex patients: +0.10 (95% CI +0.04 to +0.16) and +0.04 (95% CI +0.00 to +0.08), respectively. Lower proportions of telehealth consultations were delivered via video for GPs over 55 years old compared with GPs under 35 years old: between −0.08 (95% CI −0.02 to −0.15) and −0.15 (95% CI −0.07 to −0.22), and for GPs in postcodes with a higher proportion of patients over 65 years old: −0.005 (95% CI −0.001 to -0.008) for each percentage point increase in the population over 65 years old.ConclusionsGP characteristics are strongly associated with patterns of telehealth use in clinical work. Infrastructure support and relative pricing of different consultation modes may be useful policy instruments to encourage GPs to deliver care by the most appropriate method.

Effects of relative pricing of alternative cooking energy sources on their substitution between rural and urban households in Enugu State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effects of relative pricing of alternative cooking energy sources on their substitution. The study was conducted in Enugu State Nigeria using primary data collected from two hundred and four households from rural and urban areas of the state, using structured questionnaires. The information collected were pattern and levels of energy use, relative pricing of alternative energies and energy substitution pattern. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis and Chow test. Results show that the energy sources used in the rural areas are fuelwood (51.5%) and kerosene (48.5), while those used in the urban areas are fuelwood (30.6%), charcoal (31.6%), kerosene (33.7%) and liquefied petroleum gas (4.1%). There was a relative cross inelastic nature of the energy sources. The price of fuel wood varied inversely and directly with quantities of kerosene demanded in the rural and urban areas, respectively, while the price of charcoal had an inverse relationship with the quantities of kerosene consumed in both urban and rural areas. In particular, policies geared towards subsidizng cost of kerosene and LPG and making them more readily available will lead to reduction in the use of fuelwoods and charcoal in both the rural and urban areas, thereby reducing excessive pressure on our forest and green house gas emission..Keywords: Energy substitution, energy pricing, forest conservation

Market-neutral trading with fuzzy inference, a new method for the pairs trading strategy

Financial pricing and prediction of stock markets is a specific and relatively narrow field, which have been mainly explored by mathematicians, economists and financial engineers. Prediction with the purpose of making profits in a martingale domain is a hard task. Pairs trading, a market neutral arbitrage strategy, attempts to resolve the drawback of unpredictability and yield market independent returns using relative pricing idea. If two securities have similar characteristics, so should their prices. Deviation from the acceptable similarity range in prices is considered an anomaly, and whenever noticed, trading is executed assuming the anomaly will correct itself.This work proposes a fuzzy inference model for the market-neutral pairs trading strategy. Fuzzy logic lets mimicking human decision-making in a complex trading environment and taking advantage of arbitrage opportunities that the crisp models may miss to acquire for the trade decision-making. Spread between two co-integrated stocks and volatility of the spread is used as decision-making inputs. Spread is a measure of the distance between two stocks and volatility is an indicator of how soon the spread would disappear. We conclude that fuzzy engine contributes to the profitability and efficiency of pairs trading type of strategies.

Deal Pricing and Returns in Private Equity

Deal returns of private equity (PE) transactions are strongly influenced by EV/EBITDA multiple expansion, which in turn is the result of differences in deal pricing from entry to exit. This article sheds light on how relative pricing, in comparison to market price levels, influences multiple expansion and thus deal returns. The authors analyze the influence of both market price levels by themselves, as well as of deal pricing in relation to those market price levels. In addition, they analyze the influence of this relative pricing on final deal returns. Using a sample of 2,174 unique PE transactions, they find that multiple expansion is an important factor in explaining deal returns. The authors further find that buying low and selling high in comparison to market prices from the same segment positively influences multiple expansion. While there is a need for both, selling high yields about twice as much as buying low. They attribute a skill set to general partners who are investing in PE deals, as general partners can influence the pricing when buying or selling companies through their negotiations. Because a negotiation is something entered consciously, the outcome—resulting in deal pricing—is not based on luck alone. The authors thus recommend that limited partners providing capital to PE funds look for fund managers with this skill set as it can help achieve higher than normal returns in their transactions and funds.