Digital Commons Network^™

Parameter Optimization In The Regularized Shannon's Kernels Of Higher-Order Discrete Singular Convolutions, Wei Xiong, Yibao Zhao, Yun Gu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The δ-type discrete singular convolution (DSC) algorithm has recently been proposed and applied to solve kinds of partial differential equations (PDEs). With appropriate parameters, particularly the key parameter r in its regularized Shannon's kernel, the DSC algorithm can be more accurate than the pseudospectral method. However, it was previously selected empirically or under constrained inequalities without optimization. In this paper, we present a new energy-minimization method to optimize r for higher-order DSC algorithms. Objective functions are proposed for the DSC algorithm for numerical differentiators of any differential order with any discrete convolution width. Typical optimal parameters are also shown. The …

On The Strategy Of Supply Hubs For Cost Reduction And Responsiveness, Earl Barnes, Jim Dai, Shijie Deng, Doug Down, Mark Goh, Hoong Chuin Lau, Sharafali Moosa

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A supply hub is a location generally close to a manufacturer’s facility where all or some of its supplies are warehoused with the agreement that the materials will be paid for only when consumed. Supply hub is an innovative strategy employed by especially the electronics industry to achieve cost reduction and improved responsiveness. After first tracing the developments leading to the establishment of supply hubs, the paper then describes the dynamics of the operation of supply hubs. Case examples are provided to highlight the current practices. Finally, some research issues are identified.

Secure The Image-Based Simulated Telesurgery System, Yanjiang Yang, Zhenlan Wang, Feng Bao, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Telemedicine services involve transmission of patient data over open computer network, and thus confront serious security challenges when the consequences are a matter of life and death. In this paper, we introduce an image-based simulated system for kyphoplasty telesurgery, wherein special attention is given to the fine-grained security implementation issues. Various security requirements are formalized and corresponding solutions are presented. Consequently, we implement the system to work in a secure way, while taking efficiency as a premier consideration.

Tactics-Based Remote Execution For Mobile Computing, Rajesh Krishna Balan, Mahadev Satayanarayana, Soyoung Park, Tadashi Okoshi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Remote execution can transform the puniest mobile device into a computing giant able to run resource-intensive applications such as natural language translation, speech recognition, face recognition, and augmented reality. However, easily partitioning these applications for remote execution while retaining application-specific information has proven to be a difficult challenge. In this paper, we show that automated dynamic repartitioning of mobile applications can be reconciled with the need to exploit application-specific knowledge. We show that the useful knowledge about an application relevant to remote execution can be captured in a compact declarative form calledtactics. Tactics capture the full range of meaningful partitions …

Stegfs: A Steganographic File System, Hwee Hwa Pang, Kian-Lee Tan, Xuan Zhou

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While user access control and encryption can protect valuable data from passive observers, those techniques leave visible ciphertexts that are likely to alert an active adversary to the existence of the data, who can then compel an authorized user to disclose it. This paper introduces StegFS, a steganographic file system that aims to overcome that weakness by offering plausible deniability to owners of protected files. StegFS securely hides user-selected files in a file system so that, without the corresponding access keys, an attacker would not be able to deduce their existence, even if the attacker is thoroughly familiar with the …

Health Care Informatics, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The health care industry is currently experiencing a fundamental change. Health care organizations are reorganizing their processes to reduce costs, be more competitive, and provide better and more personalized customer care. This new business strategy requires health care organizations to implement new technologies, such as Internet applications, enterprise systems, and mobile technologies in order to achieve their desired business changes. This article offers a conceptual model for implementing new information systems, integrating internal data, and linking suppliers and patients.

Adaptive Transmission Power For Optimal Energy Reliable Multi-Hop Wireless Communication, Suman Banerjee, Archan Misra

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We define a transmission power adaptation-based routing technique that finds optimal paths for minimum energy reliable data transfer in multi-hop wireless networks. This optimal choice of the transmission power depends on the link distance between the two nodes and the channel characteristics. Typical energy efficient routing techniques use a transmission power such that the received signal power at the destination minimally exceeds a desired threshold signal strength level. In this paper we argue that such a choice of the transmission power does not always lead to optimal energy routes, since it does not consider differences in the receiver noise levels. …

Dividend Omissions And Intraindustry Information Transfers, Gary L. Caton, Jeremy Goh, Ninon Kohers

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine potential information transfers from companies that announce dividend omissions to their industry rivals. Specifically, we examine the abnormal stock returns and abnormal earnings forecast revisions of rivals after a company makes a dividend-omission announcement. Our results show negative and significant abnormal stock returns and negative and significant abnormal forecast revisions for rival companies in response to the announcement, and a significant and positive relation between the two. We conclude that a dividend-omission announcement transmits unfavorable information across the announcing company's industry that affects cash flow expectations and ultimately stock prices.

A Practical Procedure To Estimate The Quality And The Adverse Impact Of Single-Stage Selection Decisions, Wilfried De Corte, Filip Lievens

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The quandary posed by the conflicting goals of valid selection and a diverse workforce is one of the most perplexing problems facing the practice of personnel selection today. To help address the issue, the article presents a comprehensive method and a related computer program to estimate the expected adverse impact and the expected quality of the majority, the minority and the total selected work force. Compared to previous related procedures, the present method is much more general as it can address situations with both multiple predictor and multiple criterion dimensions. In addition, the expected effects can be computed given the …

Markov Switching Garch Models Of Currency Crises In Southeast Asia, Celso Brunetti, Roberto S. Mariano, Chiara Scotti, Augustine H. H. Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper develops a model which is able to forecast exchange rate turmoil. Our starting point relies on the empirical evidence that exchange rate volatility is not constant. In fact, the modeling strategy adopted refers to the vast literature of the GARCH class of models, where the variance process is explicitly modeled. Further empirical evidence shows that it is possible to distinguish between two different regimes: îordinaryî versus îturbulenceî. Low exchange rate changes are associated with low volatility (ordinary regime) and high exchange rate devaluations go together with high volatility. This calls for a regime switching approach. In our model …

Market Structure And Performance: An Anti-Trust Story Of Endogenous Growth, Hing-Man Leung

Research Collection School Of Economics

Since Schumpeter, a major concern has been: what monopoly does to growth? Monopoly’s static, allocative inefficiency is well established. How much this is offset by its dynamic progressiveness is unclear. First, using the empirical literature, we argue that the presumed progressiveness of monopoly must be rejected. Second, we extend the endogenous growth model to obtain a full Pareto ranking of competition, monopoly, Cournot and Bertrand. Competition beats Cournot, which in turn beats monopoly. Growth rate is invariant with structures, which accords well with empirical evidence. Bertrand happens to share the ranking with competition. The findings have a strong anti-trust overtone.

Experience Sampling: Promises And Pitfalls, Strengths And Weaknesses, Christie N. Scollon, Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Focuses on experience sampling methodology (ESM) in psychological research. History of ESM; Types of experience sampling; Pros and cons of ESM.

Challenging Forensic Evidence? Observations Of The Use Of Dna In Certain Criminal Trials, Mark Findlay, Julia Grix

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Our interest in forensic evidence, and in the use of DNA within criminal trials in particular, arises out of our recent responsibility to review the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 in New South Wales. This review engaged various methodologies to enable an understanding of forensic evidence procedures, from investigation through to courtroom practice. Crucially, the review explored the significance of DNA evidence within criminal trials in order to speculate on ways in which such evidence may be received by the trial 'fact-finders' in an appropriate and enlightening manner.

Reform Of The Choice Of Law Rule Relating To Torts: Report Of The Law Reform Committee Of The Singapore Academy Of Law, Jimmy Yim, Suresh Divyyanathan, Woon Yin Liew, Yock Lin Tan, Joel Tye Beng Lee, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

An act done abroad is actionable as a tort in Singapore if it is both actionable as a tort according to the law of Singapore and the law where the act was done. This double actionability rule which requires actionability by the law of Singapore even though the act in question was done abroad, was first enunciated in the 19th century when proof of foreign law was difficult and unfamiliarity with and perhaps suspicion of foreign law was inevitable. The UK, Australia, and Canada have replaced the rule with a more ‘international’ choice of law rule which reflects changes in …

Maca-P: A Mac For Concurrent Transmissions In Multi-Hop Wireless Networks, Arup Acharya, Archan Misra, Sorav Bansal

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents the initial design and performance study of MACA-P, a RTS/CTS based MAC protocol that enables simultaneous transmissions in multihop ad-hoc wireless networks. Providing such low-cost multihop and high performance wireless access networks is an important enabler of pervasive computing. MACA-P is a set of enhancements to the 802.11 DCF that allows parallel transmissions in many situations when two neighboring nodes are either both receivers or both transmitters, but a receiver and a transmitter are not neighbors. Like 802.11, MACA-P contains a contention-based reservation phase prior to data transmission. However, the data transmission is delayed by a control …

Energy-Efficient Broadcast And Multicast Trees For Reliable Wireless Communication, Suman Banerjee, Archan Misra, Jihwang Yeo, Ashok Agrawala

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We define energy-efficient broadband and multicast schemes for reliable communication in multi-hop wireless networks. Unlike previous techniques, the choice of neighbors in the broadband and multicast trees in these schemes, are based not only on the link distance, but also on the error rates associated with the link. Our schemes can be implemented using both positive and negative acknowledgement based reliable broadcast techniques in the link layer. Through simulations, we show that our scheme achieves up to 45% improvement over previous schemes on realistic 100-node network topologies. A positive acknowledgment based implementation is preferred. Our simulations show that the additional …

The Director's Fiduciary Obligations: A Fresh Look?, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

It is a pillar of equity that a person in a fiduciary position must not make a profit out of his trust which is part of the wider rule that a trustee must not place himself in a position where his duty and his interest may conflict (per Lord Upjohn in Phipps v. Boardman [1967] 2 A.C. 46, 123). The House of Lords in Regal (Hastings) v. Gulliver [1942] 1 All E.R. 378 demonstrated the unrelenting nature, and some have argued inequitable severity (see, e.g., Jones, (1968) 84 L.Q.R. 472), of the director-fiduciary’s obligations to his company. Such absolutism (Lowry …

Confidence And The Constructive Trust, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Almost every leading work on the law of confidence mentions the possibility ofa declaration of a constructive trust as a remedy for a claim involving an abuseof confidence. Apart from the Canadian Supreme Court, no other appellatecourt in the Commonwealth has seriously debated this issue. This paperinvestigates the legitimacy of the use of the constructive trust in this context.

Motion Analysis And Segmentation Through Spatio-Temporal Slices Processing, Chong-Wah Ngo, Ting-Chuen Pong, Hong-Jiang Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents new approaches in characterizing and segmenting the content of video. These approaches are developed based upon the pattern analysis of spatio-temporal slices. While traditional approaches to motion sequence analysis tend to formulate computational methodologies on two or three adjacent frames, spatio-temporal slices provide rich visual patterns along a larger temporal scale. In this paper, we first describe a motion computation method based on a structure tensor formulation. This method encodes visual patterns of spatio-temporal slices in a tensor histogram, on one hand, characterizing the temporal changes of motion over time, on the other hand, describing the motion …

Service Links And Wage Inequality, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

In our general equilibrium model, the variety of specialized service links affects international production fragmentation in manufacturing. Decreases in cost of education or fixed cost of service links raise the relative supply of skilled workers, increase service specialization, and decrease the price of aggregate services. Consequently, the market for service- and skill-intensive component manufacturing enlarges, raising relative demand for skilled workers. Empirically, endogenous change in international outsourcing rather than skill-biased technological progress is the main reason for a modest decline in wage gap despite the rapid rise in relative supply of skilled workers in Singapore from 1978 to 2000.

Optimal Sequential Decision Architectures And The Robustness Of Hierarchies And Polyarchies, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies collective decision making in the context of a project selection model. We derive the optimal decision architecture when marginal decision costs are present, and investigate the circumstances under which the hierarchy and polyarchy exist as optimal sequential architectures. Our analysis extends previous results on optimal committee decision-making to a sequential setting, and further demonstrates the fragility of the hierarchy and polyarchy as optimal architectures.

The Role Of The Eu In The Non-Proliferation Of Nuclear Weapons: The Way To Thessaloniki And Beyond, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Over the past few years the EU has begun taking some steps against the spread of nuclear weapons within its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). At the Thessaloniki Summit June 2003, the European Council adopted its first draft Strategy against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). In order to assess the significance of the Strategy, this paper will first present and evaluate the Union’s record in the field, then review the newly released Strategy, and finally make suggestions as to how it can be improved.

The EU is not an unitary actor in the nuclear non-proliferation domain, …

Dynamical Evolutionary Psychology: Individual Decision Rules And Emergent Social Norms, Douglas T. Kenrick, Norman P. Li, Jonathan Butner

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A new theory integrating evolutionary and dynamical approaches is proposed. Following evolutionary models, psychological mechanisms are conceived as conditional decision rules designed to address fundamental problems confronted by human ancestors, with qualitatively different decision rules serving different problem domains and individual differences in decision rules as a function of adaptive and random variation. Following dynamical models, decision mechanisms within individuals are assumed to unfold in dynamic interplay with decision mechanisms of others in social networks. Decision mechanisms in different domains have different dynamic outcomes and lead to different sociospatial geometries. Three series of simulations examining trade-offs in cooperation and mating …

Enterprise-Wide Strategic Information Systems Planning For Shanghai Bell Corporation, Y. Long, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Z. Zhu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In response to increasing competition and technological advancement, Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd., a leading telecommunications enterprise located in Shanghai, China, carried out a major initiative to develop its next generation Information Technology/Information Systems (IT/IS) strategic plan. The initiative was prompted by limitations of its current enterprise application systems where the systems were neither able to keep up with the evolving needs due to organizational change nor satisfy the increasing demands for information sharing and data analysis. This case describes the environmental and organizational context of Shanghai Bell Corporation, and the problems and challenges it encountered in developing an enterprise-wide strategic …

Mobile Communications And Mobile Services, Keng Siau, Z. Shen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As wireless technologies evolve, the coming mobile revolution will bring dramatic and fundamental changes to the world. This revolution has already begun and is gaining momentum. The revolution will impact numerous facets of our daily lives and the way business is conducted. It will provide important data in real time to assist decision makers, exert great influence on communications between businesses and their customers, and transform the way we live our lives. This paper examines issues in providing services via wireless technologies, i.e. mobile services. The paper discusses the challenges facing mobile services, such as changes in business strategies, investment …

Analyzing Erp Implementation At A Public University Using The Innovation Strategy Model, Keng Siau, J. Messersmith

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have revolutionized the way companies are using information technology in their businesses. ERP was created in an effort to streamline business processes and has proven to be successful in many operations. Unfortunately, not all ERP implementations have met expectations. One way that businesses may be able to increase success rates is to embrace creativity and innovation in their ERP implementations. For businesses to do this, they must first understand how creativity originates and how that creativity can be integrated into business solutions. This article presents a case study that examines the ERP implementation at a …

Developmental Financial Institutions As Technology Policy Instruments: Implications For Innovation And Entrepreneurship In Emerging Economies, Gerard George, Ganesh N. Prabhu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Developmental financial institutions (DFIs) in emerging economies regularly assess new technology platforms to support their investments in new ventures, established firms, and technology institutions (TIs). Their financing decisions are guided by national priorities such as achieving technological self-reliance. By providing attractive financing options and related support, DFIs are well placed to consciously channel finance into designated priority technology areas. To better understand DFI roles, we conducted multiple interviews with participants affiliated with DFIs, firms and TIs in India. From data gathered from these interviews and secondary data on DFIs in emerging economies, we develop a preliminary framework to suggest that …

The Use Of Rewards To Increase And Decrease Trust: Mediating Processes And Differential Effects, Donald L. Ferrin, Kurt T. Dirks

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Hypotheses asserting that reward structures - an omnipresent element of the work context - have a strong influence on interpersonal trust are tested, and the cognitive and behavioral routes through which the effects may occur are explored. Specifically, attribution theory is used to identify several core processes including social perception, self-perception, and attributional biases that may explain trust development. A 3 x 2 experimental design in a problem-solving task was used to examine the hypotheses. The results suggest that reward structures have a strong influence on trust, and that the effect is mediated by causal schemas, suspicion effects, and self-perception. …

Low-Wage Employment Subsidies In A Labor-Turnover Model Of The `Natural Rate, Hian Teck Hoon, Edmund S. Phelps

Research Collection School Of Economics

No abstract provided.

Are All Rivals Affected Equally By Bond Rating Downgrades?, Gary L. Caton, Jeremy Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We use revisions in analysts' earnings forecasts to examine how the bad news associated with a bond rating downgrade gets transferred from the downgraded company to its rivals. In general, we find that stock analysts revise their earnings expectations downward for rivals of companies with downgraded debt. However, the significance of the revision is limited to rivals of downgraded companies with non-investment grade debt only. For the rivals of companies with investment grade debt, we find no significant forecast revisions. We hypothesize that this differential impact is due to differing levels of market visibility. This is consistent with our finding …