Diss. Univ. St. Gallen, 2003.

The objective of this thesis is to research how to use JavaScript to communicate with a legacy JMS broker, specifically OpenMQ 4.1 and implementing a proof- of-concept of this. This proof-of-concept should be able to send and receive JMS messages. The necessary preparations for designing this application was to research possible ways of communicating with different JMS brokers using oth- er languages than Java. This research showed that the only viable method in or- der to communicate with this version of OpenMQ is to create a Java bridge be- tween JavaScript and the JMS broker. The results shows that it's possible to use JavaScript to communicate with OpenMQ 4.1 by using a Java Bridge together with NodeJS. This result is performed by making an integration test, by first sending a message with a certain ID to the API and then receiving a response at the intended response destination with the same ID. The front-end of the proof- of-concept provides a web application UI for performing this integration test. Future improvements of this implementation can be done by extending the Java Bridge and API in such a way that it can be used against many different JMS brokers. The configuration data used can also be stored in more reliable ways, if multiple users are using the API and web application at the same time, for example by using a database instead of JSON files.

Dans le contexte du cloud computing, l'IaaS fournit des ressources de calcul virtualisées à la demande suivant un modèle de paiement à l'utilisation. Du point de vue de l'utilisateur, ce nouveau paradigme fournit un stock inépuisable de ressources, qui peuvent être dynamiquement demandées et relâchées. L'IaaS permet l'exécution de calculs scientifiques sur un budget de fonctionnement plutôt que sur un investissement initial important. L'ordonnancement sur une telle plateforme élastique constitue un défi important dans le grand nombre de tâches et de ressources à prendre en compte pour réaliser le provisioning, mais également dans le grand nombre de plateformes et de modèles économiques disponibles. Nous avons abordé ce problème en concevant un système de courtage côté client capable (1) d'automatiser le provisioning en fonction d'une stratégie sélectionnée par l'utilisateur et (2) de simuler l'exécution afin de fournir à l'utilisateur une estimation des coûts et temps qu'impliquent les différentes stratégies. Son architecture ouverte permet de s'adapter à un grand nombre de fournisseur de cloud et de stratégies de provisioning. Des expérimentations à grande échelle ont été menées sur plusieurs plateformes de clouds avec des applications de type bag-of-tasks et workflows. Elles montrent la capacité de nos outils à exécuter différents types de workloads sur des plateformes variés et à simuler avec une grande précision ces exécutions. / In the field of cloud computing, IaaS provide virtualized on-demand computing resources on a pay-per-use model. From the user point of view, the cloud provides an inexhaustible supply of resources, which can be dynamically claimed and released. IaaS is especially useful to execute scientific computations using operating budget instead of using a big initial investment. Provisioning the resources depending on the workload is an important challenge, especially regarding the big number of jobs and resoruces to take into account, but also the large amount of available platforms and economic model. We advocate the need for brokers on the client-side with two main capabilities: (1) automate the provisioning depending on the strategy selected by the user and (2) able to simulate an execution in order to provide the user with an estimation of the costs and times of his workload's execution. Many provisioning strategies and cloud providers can be used in this broker thanks to its open architecture. Large scale experiments have been conducted on many cloud platforms and show our tool's ability to execute different kind of workloads on various platforms and to simulate these executions with high accuracy.

The first chapter contains cocenpts of commodity exchanges and aspects of futures trading and speculation. In the second chapter is quite detailed description of methods of technical analysis, which are divided into patterns and indicators. The important factors of developing a trading system are mentioned in the third chapter. These consists of terms, such as money-management, position sizing, stop-loss or necessity of keeping detailed trading diary. In the very last section of my work I am analysing my own trading using historical data. I am precisely indicating the chosen market, system of trading and its rules, used software and of course the results, that has been achieved.

This study examines the factors that affect the decision by home buyers to use real estate brokers and the subsequent effect this decision has on home prices. Buyers with high opportunity costs and the least amount of information about local market conditions are the most likely to use brokers; a finding consistent with the role of the real estate broker as a market intermediary. Not surprisingly, these were some of the same factors that also have a positive impact on selling price. An important finding of this study is that when selection bias is adequately controlled, the real estate broker has no appreciable, independent impact on selling price. This, in turn, suggests a nonsegmented, highly competitive housing market.

In many job sectors the recruitment process is something that is considered so complex andprotracted that 60% choose not to complete it (Careerbuilder, 2013). The recruitment process in the real estate sector is an area where only slight research exists. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine and get a deeper knowledge about the recruitment process in real estate brokerage companies and if recruitment failure is an eventuel consequence of this process. The study is based on a qualitative method where six semi structured interviews have been done with recruitment managers from the different real estate companies that have been selected for the study.The theoretical outsets that have been used to analyze the result from the interviews is institutionalisomorphism and two different aspects within recruitment, which is the psychometric and the social aspect. From these two aspects the Matchningsmodell and the Bedömningsmodell have also been very important for the analytical chapter.The result shows for an example that the real estate companies have three different recruitment processes depending on which kind of candidate that is requested. These three processes both have their similarities and differences in those different interviewed companies. The main similarity is that all respondents use interviews as a recruitment method where the personality of the candidates are the most deciding factor. The significant difference in their recruitment processes is the first meeting. Since the largest recruitment of real estate brokers happens among the students there are many that want to access these as early as possible into the education. It occurs “mass recruitments” that some of the companies advocates and others oppose.The conclusion shows that the real estate sector is a job sector where companies, in many ways, follow the stream and do as their competitors do. Some companies choose to break free from the stream and go their own way but many decide to keep on doing as the others do. Recruitment failure occurs, like in other job sectors, but not only because of the recruitment process.

Att sälja sin bostad kan vara en lång och jobbig process för vissa där valet av tillvägagångssätt kan vara svårt. Den traditionella mäklartjänsten har länge dominerat på marknaden men har på senare år utmanats av liknande tjänster såsom internetmäklare och hybridmäklare. Det som skiljer dessa åt är bland annat arvodet och vad säljaren gör själv. Ett annat substitut som har funnits länge är möjligheten att sälja bostaden privat, dock har det blivit mindre vanligt med åren. Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att redogöra för de olika substitut som finns till den traditionella mäklartjänsten, den geografiska spridningen av dessa substitut samt hur konsumenten tänker vid försäljning av en privatbostad. För att besvara detta syfte har både en kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod använts. Den kvantitativa delen består av en enkätstudie samt sammanställning av data, och den kvalitativa består av fem intervjuer. Utifrån den information och data som tagits fram går det att se att den traditionella mäklartjänsten fortfarande är mest efterfrågad. Enligt enkäten är det många som vet att det finns internetmäklare men har aldrig övervägt att använda den tjänsten själva. De stora anledningarna till detta var att konsumenten ville ha en mäklare med stor lokalkännedom, personlig kontakt och någon att lämna över hela processen till. Internetmäklarna och hybridmäklaren som har undersökts i den här uppsatsen har alla fasta, lägre arvoden än den traditionella mäklaren. På frågan om hur respondenten skulle gå tillväga vid försäljning av bostad i framtiden svarade många att det beror på prisskillnaden mellan alternativen. Det innebär således att när de ska sälja i framtiden kommer de få koppla arvodet till den egna arbetsinsatsen, och därmed avgöra hur mycket det är värt att göra själv för att spara pengar. Resultaten i uppsatsen visar även att internetmäklaren och substitutet ”sälja privat” är vanligare på glesbygden där tillgängligheten till en traditionell mäklare är begränsad. Vidare forskning i ämnet skulle kunna vara att dyka djupare i att undersöka den geografiska spridningen i användandet av substituten till den traditionella mäklartjänsten och tydligare klarlägga vad dessa skillnader beror på. / Selling a home can for some people be a long and tough process where the choice of approach can be difficult. The traditional brokerage service has dominated for a long time but has in recent years been challenged by similar services such as internet- and hybrid brokers. The difference between these are for example the commission and what the sellers do themselves. Another substitute that has been an option for a long time is the possibility of selling the home without a broker, however this has become less common over the years. The purpose of this essay has been to describe the different substitutes for the traditional brokerage service, the geographic spread of these substitutes and how the consumer thinks when selling an accommodation. The method that has been used to answer the purpose have been both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative part consists of a survey and assembly of data, and the qualitative consists of five interviews. From the information and the data that has been gathered for this essay it can be seen that the traditional brokerage service still is the most requested. According to the survey there are a lot of people who know that internet brokers exist but have never considered using that service themselves. The most common reasons for this were that the consumer wanted a broker with great knowledge of the area, a personal connection and someone that handles the entire process. The internet brokers and the hybrid broker that have been examined in this essay all have fixed, lower fees compared to the traditional broker. For the question regarding how the respondent would go about when selling an accommodation in the future a lot of people answered that it depends on the price difference between the options. This means that when they are selling their home in the future they will have to connect the commission to the own work effort, and decide how much is worth doing themselves to save money. The results of this essay also show that the internet broker and the “private seller” are more common in rural areas where the accessibility of a broker is limited. Further research in this subject could for example be to examine the geographic spread even more when it comes to the usage of the substitutes to the traditional brokerage service and clarify the reasons for that.

I denna uppsats granskas och jämförs fastighetsmäklarens utbildningskrav och arbetssätt i Sverige och i USA. Det har gjorts en kvalitativ studie genom att intervjua fastighetsmäklare som studerat till och arbetat som mäklare både i Sverige och i USA. Detta ämne valdes för att arbetssätten och kunskapskraven ser så olika ut i respektive land och jag hade ett intresse av att fördjupa mig i på vilket sätt ländernas arbetssätt skiljer sig åt. Intervjuerna har fokuserat på hur upplevelsen av att börja arbeta som nyexaminerad mäklare i USA är, och jämförts med hur det är att börja i Sverige.  Eftersom fastighetsmäklares arbetssätt samt utbildningskrav skiljer sig åt i olika delstater, då lagarna ser olika ut i de olika delstaterna, har jag valt att fokusera på endast två delstater; Kalifornien och Florida. Intervjuer med fyra olika mäklare som arbetar i USA, varav tre även jobbat som mäklare i Sverige, gav resultatet att utbildningen skiljer sig åt mellan USA och Sverige, både längdmässigt samt innehållsmässigt. Det visade sig även att arbetssätten skiljer sig åt avsevärt. Den största skillnaden ligger i att man i USA ofta arbetar partiskt, genom att representera antingen köpare eller säljare, jämfört med i Sverige där man arbetar som en opartisk mellanman mellan köpare och säljare. Skillnaderna i hur partisk man behöver vara i sitt arbete leder till skillnader i hur kundrelationerna ser ut i Sverige och i USA. Eftersom yrkesrollerna ser olika ut i respektive undersökt land visade det sig att det är olika svårt att börja mäkla som nyexaminerad mäklare i Sverige och i USA. Det visade sig även att det finns skillnader både i utbildningen och i arbetssättet om man jämför delstaterna Kalifornien och Florida. Resultaten i denna studie ledde till intressanta upptäckter som kan användas som bas för ytterligare fördjupande studier inom ämnet. / In this assignment an evaluation and comparison of the educational requirements and working environment of real estate brokers will be made, as I believe these areas of the profession are disparate depending on country of practice. In order for me to immerse myself fully in the topic and gain a deeper understanding of it, a qualitative study in the form of first hand interviewing of real estate brokers who have studied and worked in both Sweden and the US was carried out. The focus of the interviews was to investigate the ways in which a newly graduated real estate broker perceives their working environment when they start working in the US, compared to their experience in Sweden. As the educational requirements and working procedures are very different in the US depending on state, my focus in this assignment was to examine my topic in regards to the two states Florida and California. After carrying out interviews with four different real estate brokers who are currently working in the US but where three of these brokers have previously worked in Sweden, the results of my study show that the educational aspect of becoming a real estate broker is different in Sweden and the US, both in terms of length as well as educational content. The results also show that the working procedures vary significantly. The biggest difference was that a broker in the US often work in a more biased way by representing either the buyer or the seller. In turn, this leads to a fundamental difference in terms of forming client relationships. As the professional roles of the broker look different depending on country, the study showed that the level of difficulty varies in terms of starting a career as a newly graduated real estate broker in the US and in Sweden. However an interesting point was also the apparent educational and professional differences in terms of state. The results of this study led to interesting discoveries which can be used as a base for further studies within the field.

Today applications are often designed with a modular approach, dividing functionality into micro services rather than relying on a monolithic structure. This requires solutions for decoupled message exchange throughout the distributed system and can be achieved by implementing a message broker. In some cases, it is interesting to make the message broker itself a distributed system, which has been a development path for systems such as RabbitMQ, Apache Kafka, and others. This thesis seeks to understand the alternative approaches to implementing  a distributed solution for the message broker LavinMQ. To find out which algorithm would be the most suitable for this purpose, a comparative analysis of the most common alternatives was performed based on LavinMQ's requirements and a literature review of related comparisons. The results showed that Raft would be the best choice due to its simple but effective nature. To further investigate the consensus approach in LavinMQ, a Raft prototype was developed in the programming language Crystal. The prototype was then evaluated based on correctness and performance in terms of mean replication time and mean election time. The prototype successfully passed the correctness tests, showing that the prototype successfully achieves correctness according to LavinMQ standard. The mean election time results show that the prototype recovers from a leader failure in 216 ms and that the most effective range for the heartbeat timeout is 150 to 300 ms. The replication time test results show that the mean replication time is 84.45 ms and the most efficient interval for message replication is 0.13 ms. The performance results are consistent with the results of related work, however result in overall slower performance and indicate that some additional features and optimizations need to be implemented in order to consider the prototype for practical use.

In 2005, following the deaths of several marriage migrants known as "mail-order brides", the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act was created. Designed to regulate the international matchmaking industry and provide women with the information to make informed, safe decisions about their future partnership in an attempt to decrease instances of violence, this law was the result of an increase in awareness, collaboration between interested parties, and incorporation into a broader bill. For years, marriage brokers had operated using stereotypes about submissive foreign women to attract customers, recently bringing business onto the internet and creating websites marketing women as purchases. Five years after the passage of the law, however, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act fails to address six key vulnerabilities faced by female marriage migrants. For this reason, women immigrating to the United States to marry a spouse after introduction through a marriage broker still face an increased likelihood of domestic violence and even death. The author concludes with a discussion about future improvements in both legislation and operation to address violence against immigrant women. / Master of Arts