Finally have the time to look for a new home

As I mentioned in Not my permanent home I wanted to look around a bit before committing to a CMS.  I tend to see blogger as a great place to throw things together in a fast and temporary way, but if I want to make this blog into something really great, I want to move it to my own server. 

Here's the thing, though--I'm a perfectionist.  And a nerd.  Combined, it's a lethal combination.

So tonight I got sidetracked (which, btw, reminds me of Kevin Macdonell's excellent blog post "There's no such thing as wasted time"), and instead of putting together something for my research summary on the donor management tool we've been working on, I found myself pouring through a report from Idealware called Comparing Open Source Content Management Systems: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Plone.

Yeah, I'm a real party animal in the off season.

Anyway, it seems as though I'll read a bit about WordPress and be sold on it...then I get swayed to Joomla, and then Drupal starts looking good.  I can feel this tingling sensation of perfectionism kicking in, and I know from experience that I could lose hours or days just combing through reviews, and available add-ins, and...well...overthinking things.

My solution to this is that I've saved the Idealware report, I'll download WordPress first, and test drive a set up.  I'll ask a couple people I know if they're happy with what they use.  But for tonight, I'm tossing this all up here on my blogger account and saving it as evidence of the journey.  It'll all still be right here when I want it, and it'll wait.

And the internship search commences....NOW

With my last final out of the way, it's time to seriously search for a summer internship.  I have a few applications out, but during this holiday break I need to sit down and find more leads.  Ideally, I'd like to find something in the Seattle area, since that's where I plan to settle after my graduation in December 2010.  On a preliminary search, I found a place I'd really like to contact and set something up: NPower Seattle.  I don't know how much (if any) analytics they offer for nonprofits, but I'd also be interested in their CRM project.  I've also applied for a Microsoft internship, since they're pushing a good amount of data mining (especially text mining) with their Bing projects.  However, MS internships are extremely hard to land (seeing as though they apparently compensate their interns quite well).  If I can't find something in Seattle, I'll have to look in the Waco-Austin area.

I believe that if I end up interning in the business analytics field, I can still use that to the benefit of nonprofits.  I just see too many similarities between private sector and nonprofits to say "oh no, I must find an internship in a nonprofit."

I wonder what the updated assumption is nowadays for internship compensation.  Back when I was an undergrad, everyone I spoke to had pretty lucrative internships, and it seemed as though full-time positions were pretty much implied in the package.  I doubt that's the case anymore, since the economy today is vastly different from 1999.  If I have to, I might be able to swing an unpaid internship by taking out the max student loan amount, and if it's a situation where I think the experience is worth it, I'd try to make it work.  Technically, I don't even need an internship for my degree because I'm told that my work experience more than fulfills that requirement...but like I've said before, I'm not doing this for another degree to hang on the wall.  I'm doing it to broaden my knowledge, to get my foot in the door, and to be put in contact with people that know more than me and are willing to mentor an eager person with a unique background.

Helping smaller nonprofits afford the IT help they need

Well, yet another round of papers is done and out of the way.  I did a rather lackluster blurb about Gogo In-flight WiFi Service which, although it wasn't my best work, might come in handy for someone traveling this holiday season (especially if you're flying on American Airlines). 

The paper I enjoyed the most though, was Fundraising Analytics: What Nonprofit Organizations Can Learn from the Private Sector (yeah, I know, sounds thrilling).  This is the one that I'm hoping to refine and turn into something more substantial, and see if I can get it published.  Anyway, my basic premise is that nonprofits are behind the curve on using data mining to it's fullest extent, and text mining might be the next big thing.  I can picture taking all those reactive research reports and dumping them into a data warehouse, and just culling through it all (along with collected news articles and contact reports) for connections.

I'm putting together a quick and dirty powerpoint for my database prof to share some ideas I have about what can do in the future to improve the product we have, and make it more analytic-ready.  Mainly, I'm going to focus on what smaller nonprofits can do to mine the information they already have, without access to the tools that larger organizations have.  For instance, we've been using Tableau to aid visualization, but considering it's limitations, I was shocked when I checked into buying the full version.

(my reaction to their insane pricing)

So, my goal during this break is to look into what options a smaller nonprofit might have to reap the benefits.  I know there are macros for excel already out there that will do regression models, so if I find ones that are free I might start throwing that together with some other basic things (I know the newest version of excel  has a few rudimentary visualization tools for data mining so I'll see if that does what I'm envisioning), and if need be, making my own free tool.  It'll be a far cry from a CRM, but it'll be something.  It needs to be easy enough so that any person without a background in this stuff can just toss in the data, click a button, and get ready-to-use findings back, with possibly some charts to help sell the idea to the management-types.  I'll also check out the offerings already out there for open source things, and see what can be done.  

I have an uncle that runs a battered women's shelter in a fairly rural place.  He needs a quick and easy way to browse grants, to organize contacts, and to find interested donors.  He shouldn't have to spend lots of money to get this done; their funds are better spent on their primary mission.  Uh oh, I'm sensing some scope creep...but honestly, this is the stuff that I'm passionate about, and I'll do what it takes.   

Not my permanent home

Programming note:

No, I don't intend to keep this blog on the Blogger service, it's just a temporary home to store my posts until I have time to set up a more permanent home.  I promise, sometime in the near future I'll sit down and get something better up and running (do I really seem like a premade template kind of person to you?). 

Prospect Research and Data Mining

Just FYI: Anyone looking for a peer resource for fundraising data management should sign up for MIT's Prospect-dmm mailing list.  I've been on it for a couple years now and it's always thought provoking.

Text analytics course

According to a press release Baylor University recently put out, the text analytics course I've enrolled in for the Spring semester is "the first of its kind in the United States and possibly the world. According to the class' instructor, Dr. Theresa Edgington, "Current market trends indicate Business Analytics (which include traditional business intelligence, data mining, and text analytics) is the growth field for Information Systems (IS)."  Other classes of its kind have apparently been taught in engineering departments, but not in a business school environment.

Another interesting tidbit from the article:

"Edgington also noted an interesting trend among the early registrants for her course: so far they are all women. While she emphasized men are more than welcome, she is excited about the surprising demographics. Much has been made concerning the lack of women in IS. But this new class could represent an opportunity for Baylor to promote positive change by enticing more women to the field."

As of today, I see via the registration website that there are 3 people signed up for the class (myself included).  Unlike the data mining class (that was also first offered this year), text analytics is only open to graduate students or undergrads with special permission.  I'm excited that this course is being offered just in time for me to take advantage of it, since otherwise I would have formed an independant study for this topic anyway.  At least this way, I'll have at least 2 other people to bounce ideas off of.

Wolfram Alpha and statistics

I just heard about Wolfram Alpha's scary computational abilities from Lifehacker, and had to check it out myself.  I did a quickie search to see what it could do in terms of statistics, and it turned up some things that I'll have to give further attention to.  I'm betting it could do all the typical finance equations as well.

Noncompete clauses

Brent Ozar wrote a great article entitled "Top 10 Questions to Ask When Taking an IT Job", which brought up something I'll definitely need to remember...that pesky noncompete clause that keeps popping up.  I have no problem with nondisclosure, with conforming to the ethical standards of only accepting freelance work that in no way competes with my main employer, etc.  However, I like the flexibility to pick up work on the side so this will be a good question to keep in mind.

I want to thank the Academy...

A friend of mine, David Stein, recently wrote a tribute to his favorite high school teacher.  I was fortunate enough to have a good amount of teachers that taught the fundamentals, but the ones that I still remember are the ones whose enthusiasm just bubbled out of them.  People that are passionate about what they do have helped push me to follow my own passions, and I'm so glad to have come across them.  So, thanks to Dave's reminder, I'd like to thank the following people:

Mrs. Pfiefer, who in the 6th grade once wrote on a progress report, "I fully expect to see Jennifer's name on a book jacket someday"

Pamela Stanescu, who taught my AP US History class back at Warner Robins High School.  Once, during a school bomb threat that evacuated all the buildings to a nearby parking lot, she actually gathered our class around her and kept teaching.  Other classes were milling around just killing time, but there we were, listening to her every word because she knew how to make it come alive.  I still remember "the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ration of 16:1."

Rachel Moore, who was technically an english professor at Baylor, but taught much more than that.  

David Sturgill, my favorite computer science prof at Baylor during my undergrad years when I had him for an OS class.  He knew his stuff, and (unlike a lot of profs) could effectively teach it too.

Gina Green, who has taken me under her wing as we collaborate on everything from grant writing to a custom CRM for nonprofits.

Betsy Willis, who threw me into the deep end of accounting this past summer, but whose teacher style got me back into the swing of things after 10 years away from the classroom.

I've recently been elected to serve as the MSIS rep for the Graduate Business Association (which is easy to accomplish when you're unopposed :)  ), and if I had to give a tearful acceptance speech (minus an interruption from Kanye West), it'd have been a lot like this.

When is a Masters not good enough?

This August article from the New York Times makes me wonder what the ROI is for a PhD in the stats field, since the only firm number the author gives is the $125K starting salary for doctoral statisticians.  What about some BBA kid with a concentration in quantitative business analytics?  More importantly (well, to me), what about people with a masters degree that load up on QBA and BI courses?  Is this going to become one of those careers where you can't even get your foot in the door without a "Dr" in front of your name? 

Case in point: my focus so far has been on nonprofit fundraising, specifically for higher education institutions.  I come from a family where one of my grandfathers didn't graduate high school, but taught himself advanced math concepts out of books likes "Calculus for the Common Man", and did it solely because he had that curiosity and interest in it.  He instilled that into my father, who without a 4 year degree, has gained more experience and know-how than most people will ever have; at this point, my dad could teach computer science and electronics better than any prof I've ever met, bar none, and he's learned quite a bit of that just because he likes to experiment and learn.  Anyway, we have this family tradition where education is a big deal to us, and we get as much of it as we can, from whatever avenues we have.  When I got my BS in computer science back in '99, I had a slew of financial aid helping me out, mainly in the form of student loans that I will be paying for the rest of my natural life (or, until 2012 wipes out humanity.  I should be so lucky). In addition to those loans, though, I received scholarships from my university.  People had gone out into the world, become successful, and then turned around and endowed scholarships to my school; their remembrance of where they got their start and their gratitude gave me a chance that I wouldn't have otherwise had.  I want to do my part, too.

So that's why I have this passion for working in the educational sector.  Nonprofits in general interest me, because it's one way to help a charity even when you can't afford to personally cut a check.  One of the clients I was most proud to work for (when I was more actively doing freelance prospect research consulting) was the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, just because it was my tiny contribution to their mission.  This is what I'm passionate about, it's what gives me that "I did something meaningful today" feeling, and it's where I want to steer my career.

That being said, there's the lure of the private sector that I have to consider.  There job availability, for one thing; finding a university job in this field would have to be a nationwide search.  Another reason is salary, since the fact of the matter is that nonprofits simply can't pay as much as a for-profit.  Granted, there are usually other benefits to compensate for that, like tuition remission.  Do I see a private sector job as selling  out?  No, because what's stopping me from then turning around and using some of that higher salary to make a monetary contribution directly to the foundation/university? 

I bring this up because in my experience (and there is no good way to put this), universities are snobbish about hiring the highest degree they can find.  Whereas 10 years ago it was fine for a prospect research position to be listed as "bachelors required, masters preferred", it's now "masters required" and the preference is "sky's the limit".  Perhaps this is how universities atone for pumping out a glut of overeducated people that the society just can't help but underemploy.  Whatever.  All I know is, it's getting harder and harder to even get your foot in the door of a large university's development office if you don't already have a masters under your belt.  If you have aspirations of climbing the ladder into VP positions, assume the PhD is a requirement.  Contrast that with the private sector (and nonprofits without an educational slant), and I see much less of that going on.  Those are positions that ask for a bachelors plus experience, but the emphasis is on your skill set and not your thesis.

This begs the question of why would you spend the additional time and money going after multiple advanced degrees just to become a legitimate contender for a job in educational fundraising that won't come close to paying what you could be earning elsewhere.  Sure, the woman mentioned in that NY Times article has a PhD from Harvard, but I assure you that Google is compensating adequately enough to make a decent return on that educational investment.

Up until now, the business intelligence field in the private sector made the pioneering strides while the nonprofits watched, learned, and adapted.  What if we're starting to see more private sector jobs requiring higher levels of education?  Remember when all you needed to get a decent job was a high school diploma and good work ethic?  Then you needed to have an associates, then a bachelors, and I'm scared of where this trend is going.  Sure, it'd be nice to be Dr. Jen, but at some point I'd really like to get out there and concentrate on...I don't know...real world experience. 

The art (literally) of data mining

Thanks to Amanda Jarman's great "Fundraising Nerd" blog, I stumbled onto a fantastic way to procrastinate on my latest paper.  At this stage in the semester, any brief diversion is a breath of fresh air.

The Personas Project, as described by their website, "shows you how the Internet sees you...Enter your name, and Personas scours the web for information and attempts to characterize the person - to fit them to a predetermined set of categories that an algorithmic process created from a massive corpus of data. The computational process is visualized with each stage of the analysis, finally resulting in the presentation of a seemingly authoritative personal profile."

"Seemingly authoritative" would have been a great name for this blog, come to think of it.  Anyway, for kicks I ran both my full name and nickname.  Now, keep in mind that this isn't accurate at all for most people.  Using myself as an example: (click to enlarge)

I can say that the hits for politics, music, books, family, and education are think are fairly "me".  But sports?  Ha.  And what in the world is that "illegal" category?  I'm not that interesting.  Apparently, Google seems to think that I'm likely to enjoy driving my well-educated family to sporting events in a car covered with Obama bumper stickers and, while there, scalping tickets.  Good times.

So obviously, there are things like misidentifications, limited search results, algorithm limitations, and on and on.  But, that's the point.  We may hear a lot of promises from the analytics field, and there are very tangible ROIs to be had from wisely using the data you've collected, but there are also limitations.  The Personas Project is a great way to show that (perhaps more often than we'd like to admit) data/text analytics is more of an art than a science.

Interesting update on the LTE front

I just read an article about Verizon and MetroPCS plans for LTE rollout which was pretty interesting, given my recent paper LTE vs. WiMAX . Given the new projected estimates of their rollouts (and factoring in inevitable delays, time for them to deploy service to a market this size, etc), I'm comfortable saying that I'd rather wait for LTE than rush out and sign up for Clear (which, by the way, has a flashy new storefront at the intersections of 2 main highways here in town). I've never been much of an early adopter (except in the case of my HTC MyTouch android phone, which I adore. But even then, I had researched them pretty well before hand, and even bookmarked some references to use for android app development before the phone was even on the market). I like to hear real feedback from real people about the real performance of something before I invest my money and commit to a contract (though Clear does offer a month-to-month rate, the 2 year contract rate is of course cheaper). I'm just not convinced that WiMAX is worth the switch, and I'm content to wait it out.

A late night babysitting XLMiner

It's 2:30 AM, and I'm running data sets through XLMiner's neural network classification.  The first set was for 30 iterations and that took roughly ten minutes.  Now I'm running it for 150 iterations, and after that is 300.  While I dearly love this subject, and under normal conditions I'd be fascinated by what it will eventually return, it's nights like these that I wonder if my lifespan is long enough to justify this.

I'm going to be pretty peeved if the world ends a la 2012 (although if it's anything like the cheesy movie, at least I'd be amused while mankind was coming to an end).  Then again, I wouldn't have to pay back all of my student loans :)

LTE vs. WiMAX paper completed

I finished up my research paper last night, so here's my take on the LTE vs. WiMAX issue (need it in a pdf?).  Be gentle, it's the first paper I've written in 10 years (also, the style is a bit informal, because of the audience I'm gearing it towards, so it's not something I'd dream of shopping around for publication)

Future Implications of the WiMAX vs. LTE Debate

by Jennifer Olomon (November 15, 2009)

Commercials for Clear’s WiMAX service have blanketed the Waco market for months, promising a “fast mobile internet” experience.  There is a definite appeal to having internet access at better-than-broadband speeds from any local area; current WiFi options tether a user to access points that stretch no farther than a few hundred feet.  In this era of smartphones, we have had a taste of what perks might await us with mobile internet access, but until now the relatively slow speeds provided with 3G networks have proven to be more frustrating than freeing ⁽¹⁾.  The newest iteration of network technology has now introduced two 4G options in the forms of WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) and LTE (Long Term Evolution).  At this point in time, the similarities and differences between the two show no clear winner, or if there will even be a true winner-take-all situation in the first place, but examining the two technologies can hint at what we may generally expect to see in the future.

As voice and data communication began to blend together, two approaches to the field emerged.  The development of LTE was born from advancements in voice transmission that first led to the 3G network (essentially, a voice medium that could also convey data).  WiMAX, on the other hand, began as a data network that just happened to also carry voice (with applications like VOIP) ⁽²⁾.  Although Godfrey Chua, the research manager in the wireless and mobile infrastructure group at IDC, said that LTE “was designed with mobility in mind from the get-go, while 802.16 evolved from standards based on fixed wireless networking,” even he admitted that the two technologies were more alike than different.  In fact, the similarities between WiMAX and LTE led another expert to estimate that the two were “80% to 85% the same” ⁽³⁾.  Apart from the basic concept of high-speed mobile internet access and all the conveniences that entails, there are some striking parallels in the bigger picture; however, differing opinions about the finer details remind us of their separate origins.

Both technologies support roaming between existing 2G and 3G networks by using dual mode devices, which seems to be their definition of “backwards compatible” ^{(4; 5)}.  In the strictest sense, it does not appear as though either LTE or WiMAX could directly interface with these older networks, although some sources claim that LTE’s architecture design allows for a smooth handover between 3G and LTE, whereas WiMAX has a hard enough time being backwards compatible between 802.16m and previous standards iterations ⁽⁶⁾.

In terms of performance, there is again a vast array of opinions.  The overwhelming majority of sources indicate that LTE should be the leader, with top download speeds estimated at 100Mbps whereas top download speeds for WiMAX are estimated at 40Mbps (though in practice these rates would be much lower depending on mobile vs. fixed implementations, interference, etc.).  However, since LTE has yet to be deployed in any area, there is no data on its real world speeds ⁽¹⁾.  Some believe that because both technologies use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), the implementation of multiple antennas at the receiver and transmitter sites (MIMO), an “all IP-based” design, and a “flattened” architecture, the difference in speeds should ultimately be negligible ⁽⁷⁾.  It is likely that only time and the final LTE implementation will answer this question.

The eventual coverage for each technology will largely depend on the coverage of existing cell sites, since most carriers will re-use their existing infrastructures to deploy their 4G networks.  Although Clear has a 2-year head start, with current coverage in 9 states and plans for expansion and LTE has no current coverage areas at all, LTE is still estimated to end up with more than 4 times the users of WiMAX. (3; 8)  This is in part due to the fact that 80% of cellular service in use today uses GSM, so the conversion of existing cell sites should favor a GSM-related technology such as LTE.  As one expert said, ^“Whenever two technologies perform the same function, the one with the larger installed base wins. But, you say, LTE has no installed base. Yes, but its parents do.” ⁽⁹⁾  Since it is estimated that WiMAX’s appeal as a DSL substitute gives it an estimated base of 1 billion, while LTE may grow from GSM’s base of 4.6 billion, the greater coverage for LTE may be a deciding factor in its success. ⁽³⁾

Another similar claim between WiMAX and LTE is the promise of more security-conscience transmissions than previous technologies.  WiMAX has learned from the evolution of WiFi, and its adopted standards have reaped the benefits of having been tested in the marketplace ⁽¹⁰⁾.  Although LTE standards are still being debated, an eye has been kept on security from the start and there is strong support at the physical layer for mature protocols as well as at higher levels ^{(11; 12)}.

The issue of standards is just one large difference between WiMAX and LTE.  WiMAX’s current standard version is 802.16-2009; however, ongoing discussion about a newer and faster 802.16m are under way ⁽¹³⁾.  On the other hand, LTE’s standards are not yet ratified and details are still being hammered out ⁽³⁾.  Regarding the belief that WiMAX’s standards were created in a more open environment than LTE, one author stated, “If WiMAX is the hippie, grass-roots parents on ‘Family Ties,’ LTE is closer to Alex P. Keaton.” ⁽¹⁴⁾  It is also interesting to note that neither technology’s standards can be called 4G yet in the technical sense, since they lack the required minimum of 100 Mbps mobile and 1 Gbit/s fixed (in the future, WiMAX’s 802.16m and LTE’s revision 10 should  bring them both within this range) ⁽³⁾.

Pricing is another area where the experts disagree: would WiMAX or LTE be cheaper once both are available on the open market?  Some argue that because WiMAX has been developed openly as its standards were formed, that this should lead to equipment that meets the requirements at a cheaper price point than proprietary hardware. ⁽¹⁴⁾  However, if LTE does indeed have lower associated costs with the necessary network upgrades at the same time as more manufacturers provide LTE compatible handsets in the market, it is possible that LTE could eventually become the more affordable choice overall. ⁽⁴⁾

Ultimately, the availability of the services and equipment may play a large part in which technology becomes popular.  Clear first rolled out its services in September 2008, giving it an estimated 2 year head start on LTE. ⁽¹⁾  Clear also has the backing of some powerful investors, such as Comcast, Google, Intel, Sprint, and Time Warner Cable, which definitely helps when it comes to raising the investment capital and interest needed to blanket the market. ⁽¹⁾  Although LTE may not become available until at least 2010, it’s garnering support from some of the major industry players, such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. ⁽⁹⁾  Equipment manufacturers such as Ericsson, Nokia, and Motorola have decided to back LTE as well, which will provide the lion’s share of available devices and will in turn fuel public opinion to favor LTE. ^{(3; 4)}

While some people in the industry have likened the WiMAX vs. LTE debate to Betamax vs. VHS (with WiMAX being the eventual obsolete technology) this may be a gross oversimplification, and there may not even be a case of winner-take-all. ^{(14; 15)}  Because the similarities between each network provide many of the same benefits, they may be able to coexist by servicing different areas (WiMAX is seen as more a more likely winner in rural regions, for instance) instead of fighting for overlapping markets ⁽¹⁾.  Otherwise, LTE seems to have more overall potential in terms of technology, coverage, and availability of devices, despite WiMAX’s 2 year lead time.

Works Cited

1. Kapustka, Paul. Why LTE Vs. WiMax Isn't Your Typical Standards Battle. [Online] December 20, 2008. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212501054 .

2. Pazhyannur, Rajesh. LTE vs. WiMAX: Part 1: Introduction. [Online] October 15, 2009. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] https://www.myciscocommunity.com/community/sp/mobility/blog/2009/10/15/lte-vs-wimax-part-1-introduction;jsessionid=287020518473A5A0BF3458AB22DE6F33.node0.

3. Blackwell, Gerry. The Future of 4G: LTE vs. WiMAX. [Online] October 22, 2009. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3845111.

4. Ericcson. LTE – an introduction. [Online] June 2009. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://www.ericsson.com/technology/whitepapers/lte_overview.pdf.

5. Yaghoobi, Hassan. Mobile WiMAX Update and IEEE 802.16m. [Online] March 25, 2009. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/sps/WiMAX_Update_802-16m.pdf.

6. Ghadialy, Zahid. WiMax and LTE backwards compatibility. [Online] June 21, 2008. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://3g4g.blogspot.com/2008/06/wimax-and-lte-backwards-compatibility.html.

7. Jenkins, Sam. Implement OFDMA, MIMO for WiMAX, LTE. [Online] March 17, 2008. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://www.eetasia.com/ARTICLES/2008MAR/PDF/EEOL_2008MAR17_RFD_NETD_TA.pdf?SOURCES=DOWNLOAD.

8. Clear. Coverage. [Online] [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://www.clear.com/coverage#cities.

9. Mathias, Craig. LTE vs. WiMAX - A Contest or Not? [Online] April 4, 2008. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://www.networkworld.com/community/print/26632.

10. Airspan Networks, Inc. Mobile WiMAX Security. [Online] 2007. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] www.airspan.com/pdfs/WP_Mobile_WiMAX_Security.pdf.

11. LTE Security Principles. [Online] July 18, 2009. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://lteworld.org/blog/lte-security-principles.

12. State of the Art of the Wireless Security in OFDM(A)-Based Systems. Prasad, Neeli Rashmi. 2009, 2009 IEEE Mobile WiMAX Symposium, pp. 107-110.

13. IEEE Std 802.16-2009: Publication History. [Online] May 29, 2009. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://www.ieee802.org/16/pubs/80216-2009.html.

14. Higginbotham, Stacey. LTE vs WiMAX: A Little 4G Sibling Rivalry. [Online] March 5, 2008. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://gigaom.com/2008/03/05/a-little-4g-sibling-rivalry/.

15. Bajwa, Afzal. LTE vs. WiMAX: The 4G Wireless War. [Online] May 20, 2009. [Cited: November 15, 2009.] http://technologizer.com/2009/05/20/lte-vs-wimax-the-4g-wireless-war/.

How do I convert all my MS Word Citations to superscript?

I've long had a battle with the new version of Word; things are never where I feel they logically should be, and I hate wasting time trying to find a feature that I *know* exists...somewhere.

Well, I'm here to say that in the very least, I love the way it manages citations.  I think it's saved me at least an hour or two tonight.

For this particular paper I was using ISO 690 citation format, just because I like the lack of clutter that things like MLA tends to bring.  I was a bit annoyed, however, that the default wasn't to have the numbers show as superscript.  Thankfully, a quick google search brought me to BibWord and I was able to insert a handy macro that converted all my citations with one click.

Now, if only Microsoft would make that feature standard...

Progress is being made...I think

I've been working at a new outline today for my paper on WiMAX vs. LTE (I did the same thing last weekend, but had a flash of organizational mojo and decided to revamp it today).  The professor, when making this assignment, said that this wasn't meant to be a very taxing write-up; as he put it, "More than 3 sources is probably too much." 

I'm up to 11.

I have a lot that I feel needs to be covered, and although I'll try to keep the paper itself as concise as possible, I don't think the elegance of a haiku would do it justice either.  I'll write until I'm done.  Then I'll edit it down.  He needn't feel as though it's too troublesome an assignment--the purpose was to learn something, right?

MS Access Security for Sensitive Data

This week was a fairly quiet workload; we mainly just touched up some security issues in the database project.  Seeing as though this database houses some extremely sensitive data regarding abused women, it's paramount that the information is secure.  Unfortunately, MS Access' built in security features leave much to be desired.

For instance, did you know that just using an input mask for a password field doesn't stop you from just removing the mask to reveal the text?  We clearly need to do more research about how to modify user permissions.

Information Systems Deployment, aka "What NOT To Do", and hopeful publication

Our discussion topics for this week were IS deployment, specifically dealing with the following questions:

• What are the key components of project management? (Answer: Scope (the outcome), Sponsorship and Management (the people), Management Methodology (the process), Reporting (communications), Control (the quality), and Value (business value and technology support)).
• What role does a project's sponsor need to play in the technology implementation process? (Answer: Providers and clients both have responsibilities to fulfill if a project is to succeed.  More than anything, this boils down to an issue of clear communication)
• What are the key managerial authorities a project manager needs to succeed? (Answer: power over who's on the project's team, the power to make assignments, and the power to provide performance consequences)
• What questions does the project sponsor need to ask a project manager?  (I found this chapter in the book to be one I marked as useful in a managerial position of any type.  Again, it all boils down to communication skills)
• Whys is it important to explicitly state the intended business result of an IT project?  How should this be done? (This chapter discussed "MOPS"--measure of performance, as consisting of intended goals and expected constraints.  A book was mentioned, Robert F. Mager's "Goal Analysis: How to Clarify Your Goals So You Can Actually Achieve Them", and it looks as though our university library has it, so I'm going to pick it up on Monday for some leisure reading.  Hey, I have plenty of goals that need to be achieved, so it's worth a shot).

Finally, we discussed a classic What NOT To Do case regarding Maine's failed Medicaid system.  It's a good example of how decisions that seem to make sense at the time, can really snowball and backfire.

We've been assigned a research paper, and I've chosen the topic of Business Intelligence Implications for Nonprofits.  I've seen nonprofits of various sizes use data mining for many different jobs...everything from gathering metrics to justify certain projects, to hone in on donor targets, to refine events and outreach programs.  I'm not sure yet if I'll be crafting a survey to send out to some random nonprofits, but it's an option.  The professor has mentioned that he'd be more than happy to help us with publication, and I'm going to opt for that track as time permits.

RFID data imports in MS Access, and Tableau path tracking

This weekend will be spent completing a take-home exam that covers various analysis methods, and putting the finishing touches on the lab book that's due Thursday.  On Tuesday I'm making a short presentation to show some preliminary data views for our main class project.

The project itself is a pretty interesting concept.  The Junior League has held annual Christmas Bazaars for a couple years now, consisting of booths in the local convention center featuring merchants from the area, a "Breakfast with Santa" event for children, a Mother Daughter Tea, etc.  This year, in partnership with Ohio University's RFID lab, RFID readers were set up at various points around the convention center, and tags were concealed in each ticket.  We were interested in seeing how many people attended which events, what else they visited while there, traffic to certain booths, etc.

After speaking with the professor, I took it upon myself to visit the event prior to its kickoff, and make a note of which merchants were in which booths (perhaps there'd be a correlation between certain traffic patterns and types of wares for sale?  Never know if you don't look).  After we got the data back from the RFID team, I imported the data into an MS Access database, along with the merchant information, and coordinates that mapped to a jpg of the convention center layout.  Then using a basic sql query to join the table data, we could import the data in a useful format to Tableau.  In Tableau, we're experimenting with some path tracking, so we can see the tracks of visitors.  Our class has divided up into 4 teams, each covering 1 days of the event, and we're tasked with examining the data to answer specific questions posed by the professor, as well as any other useful patterns that pop up.  From here until the end of the semester, this is what we'll work on, and I'm looking forward to what we might find.

Our class on Thursday was enjoyable for me, since the professor asked me to teach the rest of the class about how to use the data and basic Access tools, then demo the import process and a quick sample data view.  I wish I had known ahead of time that I'd be asked to do this, since I would have come more prepared, but it was still a fun experience.  I've always enjoyed teaching, and this was a nice break in the usual life as a student.

WiMAX vs. LTE

This week, my big project for Telecommunications is a paper on WiMAX vs. LTE, with a nod to future expectations.  I have the research compiled, and it's just sitting on my desk waiting for the write up. Rajesh Pazhyannur has written part 1 of what promises to be a great series on the debate, but I've contacted him to see if subsequent parts will be available soon and no answer is forthcoming.  So, I'll read it later for my own enjoyment, but it won't be available for use in my paper.  Other research I'm using (either citing it formally, or it's been helpful as a starting point):

LTE vs WiMAX: A Little 4G Sibling Rivalry by Stacey Higginbotham (who wins the Most Humorous Quote contest with "If WiMax is the hippie, grass-roots parents on “Family Ties,” LTE is closer to Alex P. Keaton.")
LTE & WiMAX Myths & Realities
Why LTE Vs. WiMax Isn't Your Typical Standards Battle by Paul Kapustka
LTE vs. WiMAX - A Contest or Not? by Craig Mathias
The Future of 4G: LTE vs. WiMAX by Gerry Blackwell
LTE vs. WiMAX: The 4G Wireless War by Afzal Bajwa

In short, the more I read, the more I see LTE as the clearly superior technology...but as we all know, sometimes that's not enough to win marketshare.  I also find it interesting to see how many authors are referring the topic as a Betamax vs. VHS type "battle", which seems like a gross oversimplification.  Then again, time will tell.

This isn't the first time this semester I've delved into WiMAX; I also presented this topic during my Information Systems for Management class.  My research was just to describe the basic technologies involved, and only superficially mentioned LTE.  Since so much advertising is hitting us (for some reason, the greater Waco area has been chosen as a test market for Clear), it's been something we've all been curious about, so I wanted personally to find out what it involved.  After my presentation was over, I was asked during the Q and A if I would sign up for a WiMAX service myself, and frankly, I'm not sure.  Clear is on record as saying customers can expect the following:

Compare CLEAR^TM Mobile Plans

Plan Name	Unlimited Mobile Internet	2GB Mobile	4G+ Mobile Internet	Mondi 2GB Promo	Mondi Unlimited Promo
Monthly Rate	$30.00 for the first 6 months $45.00	$35.00	$70.00	$25.00 for the first 6 months $35.00	$35.00 for the first 6 months $45.00
Download speeds up to*	6.0 Mbps	6.0 Mbps	Unlimited	4.0 Mbps	Unlimited
Upload speeds up to*	1.0 Mbps	1.0 Mbps	1.0 Mbps	1.0 Mbps	1.0 Mbps
Monthly usage limits	Unlimited	2GB	Unlimited	2GB	Unlimited
Overage charge	None	$10 per 1GB	None	$10 per 1GB	None
Activation Fee	free**	free**	free**	free**	free**

*Typical download speeds are 3-6 Mbps with bursts over 10 Mbps. Actual performance may vary and is not guaranteed. Performance claim based on tests performed on the CLEAR commercial network by CLEAR.
**Free with 2 year sign up

Compare CLEAR^TM Home Plans

Plan Name	Basic Home	Fast Home	Faster Home
Monthly Rate	$25.00	$30.00	$45.00
Download speeds up to*	1.0 Mbps	3.0 Mbps	6 Mbps
Upload speeds up to*	500 Kbps	1.0 Mbps	1 Mbps
Activation Fee	free**	free**	free**

*Typical download speeds are 3-6 Mbps with bursts over 10 Mbps. Actual performance may vary and is not guaranteed. Performance claim based on tests performed on the CLEAR commercial network by CLEAR.
**Free with 2 year sign up

Now, at home we're on the Roadrunner basic service, which says I can expect 5 Mbps download and 384 Kbps, for $34 a month.  For $5 more a month, they'd give us 7 Mbps down and 512 up.  I ran some speed tests on my current service, and on average I'm seeing 2.8 Mb/s download and .47 Mb/s upload.  So that's taking speed and cost into account, but what about the technology?  I'm not sure if Clear includes the WiMAX receiver; let's say they don't, and I have to make that investment on my own.  Now, factor in that Clear wants me to sign a 2 year agreement...in 2 years will LTE be the winner and I'm facing yet another switch?

Quite honestly, I'm not as concerned about speed as I am about price.  With 3 kids, 1 income, and grad school expenses, we're on a razor thin budget, so I'm looking to get the most bang for my buck.  I'll most likely stick with Roadrunner for now, just because I'm about as far from an "early adopter" as you can get, and we've bundled our service with our cable and phone so it seems like a small hassle.  From what I hear in other markets, Clear really isn't living up to its promises, so at the very least, I'm guessing that my family will wait to switch over, if at all.  Plus, if they're asking me to make an initial investment in their technology, I'd rather wait a year or two and see if something better comes along.