Many of the tools supporting the OWL ontological language face complexity problems when handling certain constructs of the language. This leads to the requirement of automatically changing the ontology, either by removing a specific type of construct or by adhering (downgrading) the ontology to a predefined OWL2 profile such as OWL2 EL. We present an approach to construct replacing and complexi...

Recent roll-outs of contactless payment infrastructures – particularly in Austria and Germany – have raised concerns about the security of contactless payment cards and Near Field Communication (NFC). There are well-known attack scenarios like relay attacks and skimming of credit card numbers. However, banks and credit card schemes often mitigate these attacks. They explain that attacks are imp...

We analyze the generation and management of 802.11 group keys. These keys protect broadcast and multicast Wi-Fi traffic. We discovered several issues and illustrate their importance by decrypting all group (and unicast) traffic of a typical Wi-Fi network. First we argue that the 802.11 random number generator is flawed by design, and provides an insufficient amount of entropy. This is confirmed...

This article gives examples illustrating the static hedging of CDO correlation risk. Changes in correlation result in changes in the relative portioning out of the total expected loss of a reference portfolio to the different tranches. Thus, portfolios with low correlation risk contains a number of CDO tranches whose weights are adjusted so that the daily changes in the mark-tomarket values of ...

Master‟s programmes in arts and cultural management require a wide range of skills (solid academic results in multiple disciplines, personal experience and involvement in the arts field, linguistic skills, personal and relational abilities) but they prepare students for an uncertain future in terms of employment and remuneration. Nevertheless they enjoy great success among French students. This...

Massive downgrading and defaults during the 2008/2009 financial crisis have led politicians, regulators, and the popular press to conclude that the rating agencies’ business model is fundamentally flawed. The popular argument goes as follows. Issuers of securities naturally prefer higher ratings for their issues, because these reduce their cost of capital. Because the issuer pays the rating age...

Quota restrictions on United States imports of apparel and textiles under the multifiber arrangement (MFA) ended abruptly in January 2005. This change in policy was large, predetermined, and fully anticipated, making it an ideal natural experiment for testing the theory of trade policy. Prices of quota-constrained categories from China fell by 38% in 2005, with smaller declines from other expor...

Popular perceptions of Mexico’s natural wealth changed dramatically over the course of the national period (1820s to the present). During Mexico’s first half-century of independent existence (1820s-1870s), nationals and foreigners sang praise to Mexico’s immense natural riches, maintaining Mexico was a cornucopia, which the geographical shape of the country vividly demonstrated. From the late 1...

This paper examines to what extent credit ratings directly affect capital structure decisions. The paper outlines discrete costs/benefits associated with firm credit rating level differences, and tests whether concerns for these costs/benefits directly affect debt and equity financing decisions. The tests find that firms near a rating upgrade or downgrade issue less debt relative to equity than...